Yesterday: Rho kept asking me how to add things together. It started with numbers- what's 4 + 2, what's 10+10+10+10...etc. But then it changed to words and letters. I tried to explain you can't really add letters, so then he asked, "What's chalk + chalk?" Exasperated I answered, " I don't know. What is it?"
To which he prompty replied "Sidewalk chalk."
Which I thought it was a pretty clever response and much better than anything I could've come up with.
This AM: Xan actually making his brother a bottle. I'd ask him to grab one and just fill it up with four ounces, he came out with a bottle, had mixed the formula and was shaking it up like a pro. I quized him three times on how many scoops he'd put in, to which he replied "Two" that sounded more like "Duh!" Alrighty then!
Baby L: discovering how to use his hands in full force. If it ain't nailed down...I don't think it stands a chance. Luckily, he's not crawling yet. Then we're all in trouble.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
...a Homeowner: it all falls apart
After this past week, I've learned that there's no way in hell I would've survived being born before, oh, probably 1920. Right now, we're having a hot water issues. The hot water ranges from warm but freezing my ass off to warm i'm not shivering. Our dryer has suddenly ceased to work, which is at least easier to deal with because we have a drying rack.
You're probably wondering why hasn't she just gotten them fixed?
Easier said than done, right now. I'm fairly sure that if we could just get one of our fathers over here, they could probably figure it out. So I hate to pay for something that we could, conceivably, figure out how to fix on our own. But, I've just about hit my limit with the hot-water issue, so I may have to break down and call someone. I'm also a little worried we'll hear something like- 'well, you're just going to have to replace the whole thing'. Which has already happened this year with our oil tank ("did you know it's been leaking into your basement?").
09 hasn't been the best year so far. The house seems to be falling apart bit by bit. The refinance we were hoping for may not happen as our house has apparently dropped over 20% in value thanks to the current economy, despite improvements that we've made. It's damn cold. Our house is just under 100 years...so needless to say does not have all the modern niceties of, say, real R18 insulation, in some areas of the house.
But, it's just a house, and it's just money. It will work itself out. I have my health, the kids are healthy...it could be worse. I'm thankful that JB isn't in danger of losing his job, as so many are right now. I'm thankful that business hasn't slowed down, but instead has been busier than I anticipated. I'm thankful my cars are running, and our families are also in good health. And last but not least, I'm thankful that I have a good friend who has kindly offered me a hot shower and dryer facilities. I'll be over soon.
You're probably wondering why hasn't she just gotten them fixed?
Easier said than done, right now. I'm fairly sure that if we could just get one of our fathers over here, they could probably figure it out. So I hate to pay for something that we could, conceivably, figure out how to fix on our own. But, I've just about hit my limit with the hot-water issue, so I may have to break down and call someone. I'm also a little worried we'll hear something like- 'well, you're just going to have to replace the whole thing'. Which has already happened this year with our oil tank ("did you know it's been leaking into your basement?").
09 hasn't been the best year so far. The house seems to be falling apart bit by bit. The refinance we were hoping for may not happen as our house has apparently dropped over 20% in value thanks to the current economy, despite improvements that we've made. It's damn cold. Our house is just under 100 years...so needless to say does not have all the modern niceties of, say, real R18 insulation, in some areas of the house.
But, it's just a house, and it's just money. It will work itself out. I have my health, the kids are healthy...it could be worse. I'm thankful that JB isn't in danger of losing his job, as so many are right now. I'm thankful that business hasn't slowed down, but instead has been busier than I anticipated. I'm thankful my cars are running, and our families are also in good health. And last but not least, I'm thankful that I have a good friend who has kindly offered me a hot shower and dryer facilities. I'll be over soon.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
...a Lazy Blogger Catching Up With My Favorite Holiday Moments
If you haven't seen "The Sixth Sense" you may not want to read the last favorite moment. There's a spoiler. A big one. Just wanted to warn you :)
From Baby L: Us staying up until 2am trying to finishing wrapping, cleaning, baking, more wrapping, more cleaning and more baking and him sleeping all night, waking up with a smile on his face and just hanging out for another hour while we were still getting things ready.
From Rho: Performing his first magic trick. It went something like this.
My uncle was trying to impress the boys Christmas Eve with his magic tricks, as he does every year. Rho decided to perform his own magic trick. He took two napkin rings and stood near the wall, then held out his hands and told my uncle to "pick a hand." My Uncle picked one. "Nope." So he picked the other. "Nope!" As it turns out, both were empty. He'd backed up to the wall and used it to hold the napkin rings between his back and the wall. It was awesome and probably the best "magic" trick of the night. Sometimes the kid is just scary smart and a little too quick on his feet.
He also called my Uncle Bob "Bobby". Which I don't think any one has ever done. It was stinkin' hysterical- "Hey Bobby! You want to see what I got for Christmas Bobby?"
From Xan: Calling out my Uncle "Bobby" on his magic tricks. Ones that took me, oh I don't know, 15-20 years to figure out. He figured them out at 7.5. Another awesome moment. This rivals when JB and I watched "The Sixth Sense" when it first came out with his younger cousin who, not knowing much about the movie, asked us within the first 5 minutes "Is he like dead or something?"
From Baby L: Us staying up until 2am trying to finishing wrapping, cleaning, baking, more wrapping, more cleaning and more baking and him sleeping all night, waking up with a smile on his face and just hanging out for another hour while we were still getting things ready.
From Rho: Performing his first magic trick. It went something like this.
My uncle was trying to impress the boys Christmas Eve with his magic tricks, as he does every year. Rho decided to perform his own magic trick. He took two napkin rings and stood near the wall, then held out his hands and told my uncle to "pick a hand." My Uncle picked one. "Nope." So he picked the other. "Nope!" As it turns out, both were empty. He'd backed up to the wall and used it to hold the napkin rings between his back and the wall. It was awesome and probably the best "magic" trick of the night. Sometimes the kid is just scary smart and a little too quick on his feet.
He also called my Uncle Bob "Bobby". Which I don't think any one has ever done. It was stinkin' hysterical- "Hey Bobby! You want to see what I got for Christmas Bobby?"
From Xan: Calling out my Uncle "Bobby" on his magic tricks. Ones that took me, oh I don't know, 15-20 years to figure out. He figured them out at 7.5. Another awesome moment. This rivals when JB and I watched "The Sixth Sense" when it first came out with his younger cousin who, not knowing much about the movie, asked us within the first 5 minutes "Is he like dead or something?"
Saturday, December 20, 2008
a Mom..."And Mom and Dad Can Hardly Wait for School to Start Again..."
Today was the first official day of Christmas vacation. This morning, Rho, upon hearing that it was vacation, asked "We goin' somewhere on a plane?"
JB: No.
Rho: We goin' to Mema's house?
JB *chuckle*: No.
Rho, with marked exasperation: We goin' anywhere?
JB: No, we're staying home for the next few days.
Rho: Vacation is boring!
And it's only day one.
JB: No.
Rho: We goin' to Mema's house?
JB *chuckle*: No.
Rho, with marked exasperation: We goin' anywhere?
JB: No, we're staying home for the next few days.
Rho: Vacation is boring!
And it's only day one.
Friday, December 19, 2008
a mom...More Favorite Moments
From the baby: Sleeping all night (at under 3 months), having him wake up happy and smiling when he sees me
From Rho: getting random "I Love you Mamas" and a beautiful macaroni necklace
From Xan: Last week, the 3-5 graders did a school store/lawn sale for kids to buy stuff and for them to raise money. Xan asks for some money, so I give him $5 of his Christmas money and tell him to keep it around $2. He comes home with a bag full of stuff.
Me: "How much did you spend?"
Xan: "All of it." has a sheepish grin on his face.
Me: "I told you to only spend $2, but as it's money that you got for Christmas..."
Xan: "Oh- I forgot" slaps his forehead, though it's pretty obvious from his terrible lying that he remembered but chose to spend it all.
And then he shows me what he bought- and I'm expecting it's all mostly junk that he had to have. All but two small things were a gift for his family. Personally, I got a "pearl" necklace, bracelet and ring- he couldn't wait until Christmas. There aren't many kids I know that would just assume spend their own money on gifts rather than stuff for themselves. So I guess we're doing something right as parents.
Which is a pretty good gift in and of itself.
From Rho: getting random "I Love you Mamas" and a beautiful macaroni necklace
From Xan: Last week, the 3-5 graders did a school store/lawn sale for kids to buy stuff and for them to raise money. Xan asks for some money, so I give him $5 of his Christmas money and tell him to keep it around $2. He comes home with a bag full of stuff.
Me: "How much did you spend?"
Xan: "All of it." has a sheepish grin on his face.
Me: "I told you to only spend $2, but as it's money that you got for Christmas..."
Xan: "Oh- I forgot" slaps his forehead, though it's pretty obvious from his terrible lying that he remembered but chose to spend it all.
And then he shows me what he bought- and I'm expecting it's all mostly junk that he had to have. All but two small things were a gift for his family. Personally, I got a "pearl" necklace, bracelet and ring- he couldn't wait until Christmas. There aren't many kids I know that would just assume spend their own money on gifts rather than stuff for themselves. So I guess we're doing something right as parents.
Which is a pretty good gift in and of itself.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
...a Mom- Playing the Santa Card
In terms of child discipline, I think the holiday season is probably the most easiest time of year to get your young children to behave. Beginning mid-to-late November, the words "You better behave because Santa is watching" inevitably come out of your mouth, if you have a child like Rho, several times a day.
As I can't quite remember all the gory details of the following exchange, let's say it started with an "I want" situation, followed by a "No" from JB, which was then followed by "but I want..." followed by "I all ready said no." Which is then topped off by "Well you're a big jerk!" from Rho.
Heh heh.
JB: "You need to go sit in a time out, and I'm going to call Santa about that." Picks up the phone and starts dialing.
Rho, from his time out stair: "Does this mean I'm only going to get clothes?"
As I can't quite remember all the gory details of the following exchange, let's say it started with an "I want" situation, followed by a "No" from JB, which was then followed by "but I want..." followed by "I all ready said no." Which is then topped off by "Well you're a big jerk!" from Rho.
Heh heh.
JB: "You need to go sit in a time out, and I'm going to call Santa about that." Picks up the phone and starts dialing.
Rho, from his time out stair: "Does this mean I'm only going to get clothes?"
Monday, December 8, 2008
...A Scrooge: Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree
We still have not yet got you.
First, I thought I had a prior committment on Saturday, which turned out to not be true, so we decided to get the house ready for Christmas. This involved cleaning, laundry (not sure of the connection other than that maybe we needed clean clothes to go and get the tree), a little rearranging. None of which we actually finished, which I will blame on a grumpy baby who had gotten his 2 months shots Thursday and was still out of sorts. So Sunday AM was round 2. By 11 am, the roads were covered with snow and it didn't really stop snowing until after it was too late to go and get our tree.
So it's Dec. 8th and we have no tree. I don't think we've ever gone this far into December without getting our tree. And because the place we usually get them isn't open past 4pm and it's about a 1/2 hour away, there's no way we can get there during the week. So we'll probably have to buy a crappy one from the New York City type stand that's in the next town south. They're all pre-cut (we usually cut our own) and not the greatest place for photo-ops.
Needless to say I'm not thrilled with this option. At all. I'm very particular about my trees- I don't like typical balsam trees, I like Concolor Firs.
What's so special about these trees? They have a blue spruce type coloring, and a unique citrus-y pine scent (plus they don't lose a lot of needles). I just really like them. Actually, I love them, and it makes me a little sad that we probably won't be getting one this year. Not that Christmas is defined by the tree. A big part of my disappointment is that we're not going to get to go through the whole process of walking out on the hills of our favorite tree farm, looking for just the right tree, freezing in our boots, complaining a little about the cold, struggling to saw it down, and making an afternoon of it. Usually we go with my parents, but my mom was sickly on Saturday and not up to taking the 1 1/2 hour drive up here, so we won't have the fun of going with them either.
No one but me will notice the tree. It's funny that when I started writing this post, I was just going to complain about not getting "my" tree and then I realized what I was really disappointed about. But, we're all healthy and here, and we'll be together on the big day. Eh...who needs a cool tree anyway. Charlie Brown certainly did just fine without one.
First, I thought I had a prior committment on Saturday, which turned out to not be true, so we decided to get the house ready for Christmas. This involved cleaning, laundry (not sure of the connection other than that maybe we needed clean clothes to go and get the tree), a little rearranging. None of which we actually finished, which I will blame on a grumpy baby who had gotten his 2 months shots Thursday and was still out of sorts. So Sunday AM was round 2. By 11 am, the roads were covered with snow and it didn't really stop snowing until after it was too late to go and get our tree.
So it's Dec. 8th and we have no tree. I don't think we've ever gone this far into December without getting our tree. And because the place we usually get them isn't open past 4pm and it's about a 1/2 hour away, there's no way we can get there during the week. So we'll probably have to buy a crappy one from the New York City type stand that's in the next town south. They're all pre-cut (we usually cut our own) and not the greatest place for photo-ops.
Needless to say I'm not thrilled with this option. At all. I'm very particular about my trees- I don't like typical balsam trees, I like Concolor Firs.
What's so special about these trees? They have a blue spruce type coloring, and a unique citrus-y pine scent (plus they don't lose a lot of needles). I just really like them. Actually, I love them, and it makes me a little sad that we probably won't be getting one this year. Not that Christmas is defined by the tree. A big part of my disappointment is that we're not going to get to go through the whole process of walking out on the hills of our favorite tree farm, looking for just the right tree, freezing in our boots, complaining a little about the cold, struggling to saw it down, and making an afternoon of it. Usually we go with my parents, but my mom was sickly on Saturday and not up to taking the 1 1/2 hour drive up here, so we won't have the fun of going with them either.
No one but me will notice the tree. It's funny that when I started writing this post, I was just going to complain about not getting "my" tree and then I realized what I was really disappointed about. But, we're all healthy and here, and we'll be together on the big day. Eh...who needs a cool tree anyway. Charlie Brown certainly did just fine without one.
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