Kailin's book of choice for naps and bedtime for the last six days or so has been "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly". Usually I read it. Tonight she announced that she wanted to read it. I love when she reads. It tells me which parts of the story she enjoys the most and it usually makes me laugh really hard (inside....).
The real (abridged) version is this:
"I know an old lady who swallowed a fly. I don't know why she swallowed a fly. Perhaps she'll die. I know an old lady who swallowed a spider...that wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.... yadda yadda yadda..."
Tonight's rendition went something like this:
"I know a lady......who's gonna eat a fly? Wriggly, jiggly...tickled!! She's gonna eat a bird....who's gonna eat a fly? Sufffff.....nnnnnnffffff Tickle tickle tickle!!!! Who's gonna eat a fly...how absurd (that one was supposed to be back with the bird...)....wriggly jiggled tickle! Now she's gonna eat a cow! Tickly jiggled....she's full of course!" It was far more dear than typing it out could ever be. I loved every minute.
Meanwhile... Colby was delightedly tucking himself into and out of Kailin's bed. He'd lay down and pull the sheets up to his chin and then giggle hysterically. He looked so little in her bed and it was just beyond adorable.
Today was one of those days where I was the mom I aspire to be - all day long. Most days I'm the mom I want to be some of the day and some days I'm the mom I want to be none of the day. Today I parented exactly the way I wanted to parent. I wouldn't change a thing (which is not at all to say that I parented perfectly.) I parented the best I know how and I was patient and loving and kind. I was creative and we played games and played outside. We took a long walk after the boys went home. It was as good a day as it gets and I'm documenting it so that on a day when I don't parent the way I want to. On a day when I wonder how on earth I'll ever get through and what my husband must be thinking of my antics - I want to remember THIS day. I want to come back and remember how happy it was and how good I feel at the end of it. I want it to lift me up and give me strength and help me to be a better mom. Thank God for my wonderful kids and for giving me the chance to be their wonderful mom.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Sunscream and flying crispies...
I had the kids outside on Thursday, but it was too chilly to play in the water table. I got out our other outdoor toys and Kailin came over to ask me to help her throw the crispy. I was stumped. What do we have that sounds like crispy? Balls...trucks...lawn mower...buckets...shovels....
crispy...crispy....crispy...FRISBEE!!!!!!! So she learned to throw the crispy on Thursday. It's still hit or miss, but she's doing pretty well!
I brought the little boys out to play when they got up from their naps. Kailin asked me if I was going to put sunscream on them. It only then occurred to me that "sunscream" is what she's always called it - and maybe I ought to document that one before it is gone. That and her "bathing soup". Not sure how that would taste....not sure I want to know!
I've decided to nix swimming lessons. It would've been nice to have her in lessons with Dakota, but at the same token, we'd have to miss 2 of 10 and I really doubt that she'd let me leave her and I'd have to be wrangling Colby tonight. I don't trust that I'd be able to pay attention to her and comfort her near the pool whilst trying to contain him (and it would be LOUD when he figured out that he wasn't going to get to swim....). Just not optimal for us. Oh well - there's always next session.
crispy...crispy....crispy...FRISBEE!!!!!!! So she learned to throw the crispy on Thursday. It's still hit or miss, but she's doing pretty well!
I brought the little boys out to play when they got up from their naps. Kailin asked me if I was going to put sunscream on them. It only then occurred to me that "sunscream" is what she's always called it - and maybe I ought to document that one before it is gone. That and her "bathing soup". Not sure how that would taste....not sure I want to know!
I've decided to nix swimming lessons. It would've been nice to have her in lessons with Dakota, but at the same token, we'd have to miss 2 of 10 and I really doubt that she'd let me leave her and I'd have to be wrangling Colby tonight. I don't trust that I'd be able to pay attention to her and comfort her near the pool whilst trying to contain him (and it would be LOUD when he figured out that he wasn't going to get to swim....). Just not optimal for us. Oh well - there's always next session.
Mr. and Mrs. Newparents
We were at Target on Friday (all four of us), headed for the car. Steve had Colby in the cart and I had Kailin by the hand. There was a car about to back out so we stopped. The lady in the car waved us by with this enormous smile on her face. I waved and we scooted past and crossed the lane (well, Kailin and I did - I thought our car was on the other side, but not so much....). As the car went past I saw that the woman was not the only occupant as I had previously suspected. Her husband was in the back seat with the baby. He looked over and smiled about as widely as she had. I chuckled to myself.
I'm not bashing new parents or parents who ride in the back with their baby. I just used that as an identifier that they were most likely new parents. Seasoned parents would more likely both be seated in the front seat - having come to terms with the idea that babies cry sometimes (and/or that one of them has developed adult onset backseat car sickness).
Anyway, my point in all of this is that I came to the conclusion that in the glow of their new parenthood they were looking at my family and envisioning their own family in such an outing when their child graduates to moving on his/her own and sitting up in the cart and talking (your ear off all day long....I digress....). They were basking in the glow of the perfectness....ignoring completely the idea that Kailin was on the verge of a tantrum, Colby was nearly wet-through, and we wanted only to get home, get them fed, and get them to BED. Ha ha ha. I, in turn, was ignoring their up all night, always feeding, burping, and booping needs and reminiscing about having just one child who could not speak or move of her own volition - and how simple things were back then. I wouldn't trade in what I have for what they do - but a nice break would be good sometimes. Ha ha. The grass is always greener.....
I'm not bashing new parents or parents who ride in the back with their baby. I just used that as an identifier that they were most likely new parents. Seasoned parents would more likely both be seated in the front seat - having come to terms with the idea that babies cry sometimes (and/or that one of them has developed adult onset backseat car sickness).
Anyway, my point in all of this is that I came to the conclusion that in the glow of their new parenthood they were looking at my family and envisioning their own family in such an outing when their child graduates to moving on his/her own and sitting up in the cart and talking (your ear off all day long....I digress....). They were basking in the glow of the perfectness....ignoring completely the idea that Kailin was on the verge of a tantrum, Colby was nearly wet-through, and we wanted only to get home, get them fed, and get them to BED. Ha ha ha. I, in turn, was ignoring their up all night, always feeding, burping, and booping needs and reminiscing about having just one child who could not speak or move of her own volition - and how simple things were back then. I wouldn't trade in what I have for what they do - but a nice break would be good sometimes. Ha ha. The grass is always greener.....
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Change of direction...
I wanted to let everyone know that posts may be fewer and farther between. I do not have time to both journal and blog. I need to journal for the sake of my sanity, so I'm planning to post (and cross post from my journal) here as I'm able. I hope it'll still be a couple of times a week, but I'm not ready to make any promises or anything....
Thanks to everyone who reads regularly and to those who read on occasion! Stop back now and then to see what I've said. Heaven knows that all of my questions of the universe will never be answered. Ha ha ha.
Thanks to everyone who reads regularly and to those who read on occasion! Stop back now and then to see what I've said. Heaven knows that all of my questions of the universe will never be answered. Ha ha ha.
Dark Knight better be good!!!
Steve had to teach last night (or so we thought - his students didn't show - but that's another rant...) so after the boys went home, the kids and I ran to Walmart for a birthday present for Dakota and then to the grocery store.
It was double coupon day and also they were running a promotion where if you bought 10 General Mills products (most of which were on sale for 10/$20), you'd get two free tickets to see Batman: the Dark Knight. Well we'd been talking about seeing a movie together soon and that one's as good as any, so what a deal, right? I got 9 of the products and then grabbed a box of Cheerios from an end cap. They weren't signed as 10/$20, but the box size was the same as all the ones that were.... and I asked the cashier if it was included and she referenced the ad and said she didn't know why not. Well now it's 5:55 and my kids are both READY for dinner and BED as well, so she was ringing my groceries while I was wrangling them and mediating fights...and it wasn't til the end that I looked up and saw that my milks (supposedly on sale for $2.79 each) rang up at regular price. I inquired and she said she didn't know why that was. I suggested that perhaps my store card hadn't scanned after all. She actually huffed at me and said, "Well then your coupons didn't double, either. I'm going to have to re-scan your card and re-do the coupons." Okay. Fine by me. Sorry for the trouble, but it's not my job to make sure the stuff is coming off as you ring - most of the time it doesn't come off til the end anyway, and it's not like it was going to save me $0.79 or something - we're talking about what amounted to $37!!!! I'm not walking away from $37! She fixes it, my receipt and certificate print, and I walk away.
My mom taught me always to check my receipt before leaving the store and more often than not it serves me well to do so! Well immediately I spy that the certificate I thought was the movie thing was entirely something else (and useless!). So I look and sure enough the blasted (dad burn) Cheerios were not in the 10/$20. So I schlep my cart and my kids over to the service counter to see what (if anything) can be done to rectify the situation.
The service counter lady says that it's not exactly "easy", but it is doable, so I dig all of the GM products out of my bags and put them up on the counter. Then I take the kids and the cart back to the cereal aisle and select another box of granola bars. Now it's 6:05 and the kids are behaving remarkably well, but Colby's emptying bags of groceries that he can reach and then trying to eat through a bag of (rapidly defrosting) frozen broccoli. The service center clerk "returns" my GM products, refunds my money and then announces she has to go. So she explains the situation to the next clerk who then re-rings my GM products plus the new granola bars.
It's now 6:10 and the kids are done in the cart and Kailin wants in the cart and so I decide to placate them by allowing them to switch. Of course I find that even though I changed him directly before leaving, Colby is now wet through. I'm balancing him precariously on my hip, willing him not to soak through my t-shirt. The new clerk says "Ummm.... the certificate didn't print." WHAT???? SERIOUSLY???? So she's now visually checking all of my products. Apparently yogurt covered granola bars are a repeat offender. I have none. The only idea she can come up with is that the 11.8 oz cocoa puffs are included, but I have one box of the 11.7 oz mixed chocolate and vanilla cocoa puffs (I had a coupon and they were on sale and they count as Saturday morning "chocolate sell-el"). Okay, fine. I tell her I am leaving the cart (full of additional rapidly thawing frozen items) and taking just the kids as I schlep BACK to the cereal aisle AGAIN to procure ANOTHER box of freaking cereal. I decide on Honey Nut Cheerios this time. They ARE signed, so they better work!! BACK to the service counter where I find that a. the woman helping me has disappeared and b. there are now two other customers in line to redeem their "dual fuels" promotional certificates for free gas or groceries. Now it's 6:15 and we're heading into serious meltdown mode - for all three of us (and the groceries)!!
The new woman behind the counter assures me that I'm being helped and helps the other two people (my GM products are all laid out on top of the service desk like a giant promo). As another person approaches the service counter NNSCL (new new service counter lady) attempts to help her and she says, "oh, no - this lady's been here much longer than I have" and NNSCL responds, "Oh, she's being helped." I interject, "No, actually the other woman has been gone through two customers. It's clear that she's involved in something else now." She says that she has no idea what's going on here, so I brief her (and that wasn't true anyway - she was there the whole time that NSCL was telling me about the 11.7oz vs 11.8oz Cocoa Puffs!!). She "refunds" the original 10 products and rings the new 11 products. She asks if the original purchase was cash. I say it was and then she asks me for $2. I gave them my last $2 for the extra box of granola bars, so I tell her it'll have to be a card. She says "well I already put it in as cash - that's what you SAID." I said, as nicely as I could muster, "I'm sorry. I must've misunderstood you over my overtired children. I thought you were asking about the original purchase." Meanwhile, she's moved onto telling me that the certificate STILL didn't print. I lost it and said, "I'm incredibly frustrated right now...." and she, of course, took offense and said that she was as well and it wasn't her fault.... I told her I knew that, but that this was getting just ridiculous and that I'd go and look at the ad myself to see if there was any rhyme or reason to what was happening.
Now it's 6:25 and my kids are supposed to be headed to bed in five minutes and we're not even home, they haven't eaten, and we are all CRANKY! I've since switched them in and out of the cart 2 more times since I can't put Colby down or he'll take off and my arms were getting tired (but I still wasn't wet!). At this point I"m really ready to say screw it all, but then I've invested half an hour and dealt with the cranky kids, I want my freaking movie tickets!!!! I can't see anything in the ad except ambiguity. I turn around (I've literally been standing not 8 feet from the service counter) to find FOUR dual fuels redeemers have amassed!!!! I just about lost it. Finally, as if from Heaven, NSCL re-appears and NNSCL tells her that she gives up.
By some miracle NSCL re-rings the products one more time and the certificate prints. She hands it to me along with the new receipt and I say, "I didn't expect it to go that fast - I'm sorry, but I actually owe you $2 now and all I have is a card - I don't even have enough change..." She looks around for a minute and then says, "Joyce just told me that she's throwing it in for you." I said I felt bad about that and she said, "No, it's fine - you've been here a really long time. We're really sorry. This is one of the worst promotions they've ever run. It's so finicky." So I leave as quickly as I can.
But oh no... the story doesn't end there. Rush the kids home and Steve has luckily called me to learn that he should whip up something quick for dinner. Feed them and put them both to bed. As we are going to bed, I decide to hop online and redeem the certificate before it gets wrecked or lost. Would you believe that there are NO theaters in our area that allow ticketing via Fandango?????????? Would you? Luckily you can have the certificate mailed to you as a pre-paid visa debit card. The bottom line is that we MAY come out ahead as the value of the certificate cannot exceed $25.50, but with having it sent as a prepaid card, we might just get $25.50 which will exceed the two movie tickets! We'll see. I'll believe it when we successfully use the thing!
It was double coupon day and also they were running a promotion where if you bought 10 General Mills products (most of which were on sale for 10/$20), you'd get two free tickets to see Batman: the Dark Knight. Well we'd been talking about seeing a movie together soon and that one's as good as any, so what a deal, right? I got 9 of the products and then grabbed a box of Cheerios from an end cap. They weren't signed as 10/$20, but the box size was the same as all the ones that were.... and I asked the cashier if it was included and she referenced the ad and said she didn't know why not. Well now it's 5:55 and my kids are both READY for dinner and BED as well, so she was ringing my groceries while I was wrangling them and mediating fights...and it wasn't til the end that I looked up and saw that my milks (supposedly on sale for $2.79 each) rang up at regular price. I inquired and she said she didn't know why that was. I suggested that perhaps my store card hadn't scanned after all. She actually huffed at me and said, "Well then your coupons didn't double, either. I'm going to have to re-scan your card and re-do the coupons." Okay. Fine by me. Sorry for the trouble, but it's not my job to make sure the stuff is coming off as you ring - most of the time it doesn't come off til the end anyway, and it's not like it was going to save me $0.79 or something - we're talking about what amounted to $37!!!! I'm not walking away from $37! She fixes it, my receipt and certificate print, and I walk away.
My mom taught me always to check my receipt before leaving the store and more often than not it serves me well to do so! Well immediately I spy that the certificate I thought was the movie thing was entirely something else (and useless!). So I look and sure enough the blasted (dad burn) Cheerios were not in the 10/$20. So I schlep my cart and my kids over to the service counter to see what (if anything) can be done to rectify the situation.
The service counter lady says that it's not exactly "easy", but it is doable, so I dig all of the GM products out of my bags and put them up on the counter. Then I take the kids and the cart back to the cereal aisle and select another box of granola bars. Now it's 6:05 and the kids are behaving remarkably well, but Colby's emptying bags of groceries that he can reach and then trying to eat through a bag of (rapidly defrosting) frozen broccoli. The service center clerk "returns" my GM products, refunds my money and then announces she has to go. So she explains the situation to the next clerk who then re-rings my GM products plus the new granola bars.
It's now 6:10 and the kids are done in the cart and Kailin wants in the cart and so I decide to placate them by allowing them to switch. Of course I find that even though I changed him directly before leaving, Colby is now wet through. I'm balancing him precariously on my hip, willing him not to soak through my t-shirt. The new clerk says "Ummm.... the certificate didn't print." WHAT???? SERIOUSLY???? So she's now visually checking all of my products. Apparently yogurt covered granola bars are a repeat offender. I have none. The only idea she can come up with is that the 11.8 oz cocoa puffs are included, but I have one box of the 11.7 oz mixed chocolate and vanilla cocoa puffs (I had a coupon and they were on sale and they count as Saturday morning "chocolate sell-el"). Okay, fine. I tell her I am leaving the cart (full of additional rapidly thawing frozen items) and taking just the kids as I schlep BACK to the cereal aisle AGAIN to procure ANOTHER box of freaking cereal. I decide on Honey Nut Cheerios this time. They ARE signed, so they better work!! BACK to the service counter where I find that a. the woman helping me has disappeared and b. there are now two other customers in line to redeem their "dual fuels" promotional certificates for free gas or groceries. Now it's 6:15 and we're heading into serious meltdown mode - for all three of us (and the groceries)!!
The new woman behind the counter assures me that I'm being helped and helps the other two people (my GM products are all laid out on top of the service desk like a giant promo). As another person approaches the service counter NNSCL (new new service counter lady) attempts to help her and she says, "oh, no - this lady's been here much longer than I have" and NNSCL responds, "Oh, she's being helped." I interject, "No, actually the other woman has been gone through two customers. It's clear that she's involved in something else now." She says that she has no idea what's going on here, so I brief her (and that wasn't true anyway - she was there the whole time that NSCL was telling me about the 11.7oz vs 11.8oz Cocoa Puffs!!). She "refunds" the original 10 products and rings the new 11 products. She asks if the original purchase was cash. I say it was and then she asks me for $2. I gave them my last $2 for the extra box of granola bars, so I tell her it'll have to be a card. She says "well I already put it in as cash - that's what you SAID." I said, as nicely as I could muster, "I'm sorry. I must've misunderstood you over my overtired children. I thought you were asking about the original purchase." Meanwhile, she's moved onto telling me that the certificate STILL didn't print. I lost it and said, "I'm incredibly frustrated right now...." and she, of course, took offense and said that she was as well and it wasn't her fault.... I told her I knew that, but that this was getting just ridiculous and that I'd go and look at the ad myself to see if there was any rhyme or reason to what was happening.
Now it's 6:25 and my kids are supposed to be headed to bed in five minutes and we're not even home, they haven't eaten, and we are all CRANKY! I've since switched them in and out of the cart 2 more times since I can't put Colby down or he'll take off and my arms were getting tired (but I still wasn't wet!). At this point I"m really ready to say screw it all, but then I've invested half an hour and dealt with the cranky kids, I want my freaking movie tickets!!!! I can't see anything in the ad except ambiguity. I turn around (I've literally been standing not 8 feet from the service counter) to find FOUR dual fuels redeemers have amassed!!!! I just about lost it. Finally, as if from Heaven, NSCL re-appears and NNSCL tells her that she gives up.
By some miracle NSCL re-rings the products one more time and the certificate prints. She hands it to me along with the new receipt and I say, "I didn't expect it to go that fast - I'm sorry, but I actually owe you $2 now and all I have is a card - I don't even have enough change..." She looks around for a minute and then says, "Joyce just told me that she's throwing it in for you." I said I felt bad about that and she said, "No, it's fine - you've been here a really long time. We're really sorry. This is one of the worst promotions they've ever run. It's so finicky." So I leave as quickly as I can.
But oh no... the story doesn't end there. Rush the kids home and Steve has luckily called me to learn that he should whip up something quick for dinner. Feed them and put them both to bed. As we are going to bed, I decide to hop online and redeem the certificate before it gets wrecked or lost. Would you believe that there are NO theaters in our area that allow ticketing via Fandango?????????? Would you? Luckily you can have the certificate mailed to you as a pre-paid visa debit card. The bottom line is that we MAY come out ahead as the value of the certificate cannot exceed $25.50, but with having it sent as a prepaid card, we might just get $25.50 which will exceed the two movie tickets! We'll see. I'll believe it when we successfully use the thing!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
A fine vintage for.....PINEAPPLE?!
I was shocked the other day as I opened a can of pineapple to make pistachio fluff for Ellie's birthday party. The expiration date was 2029. Seriously. I read and re-read it. 2029. 21 years from now. Really? Really I'd want to just make this fluff for Kailin's 24th birthday with THIS VERY CAN of pineapple and it would taste great? In fact, maybe people will rave about the pistachio fluff and I can say, "well it's that 2008 pineapple - it makes all the difference!" Well heck, I should stockpile it at today's prices then and never have to worry about inflation again.... ha ha ha.
Speaking of Ellie's birthday party - I did forget my camera, but thankfully Katie Lemm captured this moment for me.... Colby "riding" a tricycle. His legs were too short to reach the pedals, so he scooched forward on the seat as far as he could go and then paddled along on his tiptoes with his belly poked out and his arms pulled back (since he was hanging on to the handlebars). The picture truly doesn't do it any justice, but it was HYSTERICAL!! The finale was when he gave up on the tricycle and loaded into the little red car (you moms know of which I speak), slammed the door and took off - backwards, in a circle, as fast as he could go. PRICELESS!
Speaking of Ellie's birthday party - I did forget my camera, but thankfully Katie Lemm captured this moment for me.... Colby "riding" a tricycle. His legs were too short to reach the pedals, so he scooched forward on the seat as far as he could go and then paddled along on his tiptoes with his belly poked out and his arms pulled back (since he was hanging on to the handlebars). The picture truly doesn't do it any justice, but it was HYSTERICAL!! The finale was when he gave up on the tricycle and loaded into the little red car (you moms know of which I speak), slammed the door and took off - backwards, in a circle, as fast as he could go. PRICELESS!Monday, July 21, 2008
Peachy peachy goodness!
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Well those peaches I bought have been nearly beyond description. They are simply the juiciest, sweetest, most tender peaches I've EVER had. EVER. Hands down. No contest. They're so good that you want to start saying things like "Dad burnit" and "Dad gummit" and "durn it all". Ya'll would love these peaches! Seriously, I can't say enough. One bite and the juice starts running down your arm and you are transported to the south in a house with slamming screen door and barbecue going in the back yard. It's - as I said, somewhat indescribable, but it's amazing!! My mom decided to take HALF of the peaches. HALF. Half of my peachy, peachy goodness gone. Luckily, I've found that the truck will be back in our area next week and I'm planning on another purchase!
I made a Paula Deen peach cobbler on Thursday and it was really really good. Then we ate some plain peaches on Friday and Saturday. Yesterday we had a yummy four fruit salad for lunch with bananas, grapes, peaches, and plums. I don't have to tell anyone who knows us what my kids ate first! Kailin never got to her sandwich between eating a huge bowl of fruit and a helping of cucumber salad. Oh well - there are far worse things in the world than having your kids fill up on fruits and veggies! When I was at my mom's on Friday, I asked her if she had my Grandma Alley's peach cobbler recipe. We searched and she didn't. Yesterday the phone rang and she said she'd taken Grandma some of the peaches and asked her for the recipe. Grandma said she'd look, but wasn't sure she could find it. Wouldn't you know it was the first recipe she laid her hands on?! So I got the coveted peach cobbler recipe and wasted no time! I made it last night. It's distinctly different than the Paula recipe - a much flakier, pie like crust whereas Paula's was a lot cakier. Steve and I decided that we like them both (and if I do say so myself, mine turned out just like Grandma's used to and it was a culinary step back in time for me), so I'll keep both for future use.
I fear that the peaches are fast away fading, so today during nap I'll blanch the rest of them and slice them up to get out later this year when I'm dying for a sweet peach and there are none to be found.
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