Late In Life Mommy

Zero video games, zero sugar = a good night's sleep?

2011-10-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

Zero video games, zero sugar = a good night's sleep?

Well, hubby and I have come to the conclusion that:

a) if J plays his DS after school, he won't study
b) if K plays his DS after school and/or watches too much t.v. in the evening, he'll scream in the middle of the night

And also:

c) if K has anything overly sugary after school and anytime in the evening, he'll scream in the middle of the night

So today the kids do not have possession of their DS games. During a typical school week, we don't allow the kids to play the Wii. Our reasoning is that if they have time for that, they have time to study. They can play outside (gee, let them use their creativity for a change), but playing video games and watching t.v. all afternoon isn't in the plan.

I felt my hubby patting my arm in the middle of the night and I immediately heard K screaming. I got up out of bed and tried not to trip on the dogs (I didn't turn on the light), and when I opened our bedroom door I saw K's door open but he wasn't in his room. He was down the hall and in the living room, screaming away. When I asked, "K, where are you?" He came back down the hall and I helped him into his bed. I told him to stay there (I've learned that asking what was wrong does no good as he mumbles something that makes no sense) and when I was convinced he was settled in, I went back to my room and into my bed.

Not a whole two minutes had passed when the screaming started again. This time, my hubby went to see what was the matter. K said, "I need to ask dad a question." Dad said, "I'm right here. What do you want?" K mumbled something and went back to sleep.

We were able to sleep the rest of the night without more interruption. I told my husband that K had candy at his church group and that might be the culprit. Hubby said, "Then he isn't going anymore." I said, "What if I talk to them and see if they can provide a different kind of snack or maybe they just don't give any of the sugary stuff to K?" He said, "That wouldn't be fair to him." Well, something must change. K loves going each week and seeing his friends and being active in his church group. I just need to figure out a happy medium.

Alarm clock from Hell

2011-10-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

I just realized, after the alarm did not go off, and after having spoken with my husband whose alarm it was and who had asked if it was set for radio alarm instead of beeping alarm, that maybe, just maybe, I set it incorrectly last night.

This morning begain badly. My husband's alarm is set for 4 a.m. For some reason, he woke abruptly at 5:30 and looked at the clock and said, "How did that happen?????" His alarm didn't go off. The display showed that it was set, yet it didn't go off. My blurry morning eyes couldn't see if the display showed a little alarm clock or music notes. As my husband wandered off to take his shower, I played with the buttons on the clock to see what was wrong. I couldn't figure it out but left my alarm alone as I wanted to see if it would go off at 5:35. It did. Hmm...
This makes me wonder if last night, when I was setting the alarms, if I didn't put his on music alarm.

We have had bad experiences with music alarms on clocks. They often don't cooperate. The radio/alarm clock we are currently using is only a couple years old, at most. However, I probably should have taken it back to the store after a couple episodes of setting the music alarm and having it go off, but without volume. And the volume was turned up pretty loud. Me thinks there's a short somewhere within the alarm/radio portion because the radio works just fine when you want to listen to music. :s

After talking with hubby on the phone just a little bit ago, after he mentioned perhaps the alarm was set for music instead of beeping, he asked me to go set one alarm for 4 a.m. and the other for 4:05 a.m. I did that before I started this post. I'm pretty sure both will go off tomorrow because why would mine go off just fine this morning if his didn't? Because I probably had his set for music. ARGH!!

A sore throat cure?

2011-08-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

Today I'm dealing with a sore throat. It comes from a little man in my house who has been congested and coughing the last few days. Since I'm trying to work and stay focused, I haven't run up to the store to get something to ease the pain. So far, I have tried:

Sucking on Halls Fruit Breezers throat drops (these do NOT work, especially when they expired September 2010)

Drinking a miriad of hot beverages (tea, Ghiradelli Extreme Chocolate cocoa [complete with marshmallows] (these did not help, either)

I then decided a cold bevvy would do the trick. DO NOT ATTEMPT A COLA! Ohmygosh, the carbonation, which I thought might help (why, why did I think that??) feels like pins going down my throat!

My next attempt at a cure will be ice cream or a popsicle, even though it will be short-lived.

Too much t.v. (screen time) = nighttime freakout fests

2011-04-06T08:35:00.000-07:00

I've realized that time in front of the t.v., whether it be just watching a show or playing the Wii, results in my youngest child waking in the middle of the night, screaming and/or walking into my room hollering, "MOM!" I did a test one day and limited his Wii time to one hour. He stayed in bed that night and did not yell or scream or anything. Last night, he woke up and tried to come into my room and was yelling "MOM!" and he had no idea he was doing it. Sleepwalking. He had been in front of the t.v. most of the day.

Hubby decided this morning that both kids are not to play the Wii. I get to break the news to them when they ask if they can play it. Lucky me! They are on Spring break this week and hubby is in school (some sort of cruel joke, me thinks) and I work from home, so of course I'm the bad guy when the house isn't quiet as I do my technical work, and I ask the kids to hush up. My work is very detailed and if I put in a wrong character (keyboard/typing/HTML stuff), everything goes awry. I need to concentrate while working! The kids can play in their rooms or go outside. They can read or go to their friends' houses.

A few months ago, I decided to check the website for Singulair (an asthma medication) and right on the front page was a notice regarding side effects. Guess what one was? Night terrors and sleepwalking! After talking with hubby, we immediately ceased giving Singulair to K. He'd been sleepwalking for years and we didn't put two and two together. His screaming and sleepwalking stopped. Now the trigger is too much screen time.

Haven't you heard the warning - children should have no more than two hours of screen time a day. It keeps their developing brains from the right kind of stimuli. They veg out in front of the thing and become fat and lazy. I don't want that to happen to my kids - do you?? Time to lay down the law with them. They can do something else besides watch t.v. and/or play video games forever.

Yeah, well, you wouldn't post either if you broke your ankle

2011-04-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

On January 15, 2011, I was in the yard with family. It was a balmy 54 degrees and I declared, "Let's work in the yard! Let's clean up and make it look good!" I should have known, when J accidentally smacked me in the head with a large branch which was cut from an overgrown Maple, that the day was to go awry.

The four of us were working down in back of the house on a slope. Hubby had the chainsaw and was cutting low-hanging limbs from trees. The boys were hauling debris down to the burn pile. I took a shovel and was digging out a fence that the previous owners had buried. I tossed the slats aside for the boys to drag to the burn pile. I had just tossed the last one aside when WOOSH! Down I went. Excruciating pain and scream from me, I managed to have my brains and yelled, "Call the hospital!!" Hubby had J go up to the house to call 911. Hubby wanted to move me off of the wet ground, and I could not stand on my left foot because it felt all crunchy inside. He carried me to a plastic chair that was carried up from the burn pile (no, it wasn't in the burn pile, but near it) and that's where I waited for the EMTs to show up.

Long story short, in the Emergency Room I was given morphine for the pain. I had never had that stuff before. Hubby has, on numerous ER visits, but not me. X-rays were taken, and I think that was the only time I cried during the whole thing. Turned out that I broke my ankle in three places. I'd always wondered what it was like to use crutches. Never broke a leg or anything up until that point. Walgreen's was open 24 hours, so that's where we went after the ER to get meds and crutches. I hate crutches. I think my wondering what they were like was an omen.

I had surgery on January 24. I now have eight pins and a metal plate in my ankle. I'd show the x-ray to you, but it's a PDF file instead of jpg or gif. I was laid up in bed until February 2. Hubby was nurse, cook, maid, you name it. He was great (and still is!) through it all.

Luckily, I work from home and was able to use a laptop in bed for a while until I felt ok enough to hobble on crutches into the living room where the desk is. That is where I've been working ever since. Now, on the topic of having the laptop upstairs and the desk upstairs - this must have been a sign. My home office is downstairs. After December, I moved up to the desk upstairs and used the laptop. The move was because my downstairs office was so frozen (no forced-air heat) that I couldn't work. When it was 13 degrees in November, that was the last straw. It's almost like this was all meant to be. And it was a Godsend that hubby wasn't working or in school at the time - who would have been my nurse, cook, housekeeper??

I've had good days and bad. I've been sad, depressed and a crying mess. Why isn't my ankle moving very far? Why is it stiff, even though I've been exercising it? Why did I have to fall in the first place? Why me??? Can I just turn back time, please?

Today is April 5. I am still using crutches, but I've been given the go-ahead to put weight on my foot and try to walk. I am anxious for physical therapy to start but first need to get through my next appointment with the surgeon. He'll move my ankle and see if I need more work (I do, I know that already) and he'll send me off to PT. That's why I haven't posted in eons. I will be better about it, I promise.

What causes stress?

2010-11-08T14:55:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here at my desk, working away, thinking about something I saw on J's dresser. About an hour ago I decided to check his online grades and saw that he got an F on an assignment for his Health class. I had gone upstairs afterwards to see if I could find the assignment in his room. I looked on top of his dresser because there were papers piled on it and if an assignment was anywhere in his room, it would be on top of his dresser.

There was a green folder on top of the dresser, and this I knew was his Health folder. I decided to take a peek and look for the assignment. That kid has no sense of organization - I found a History assignment! I also found a different Health assignment covering the topic of Stress. Glancing through, I learned that my husband and I are #3 on J's list of stress causers (is that a word??). Now, how can parents cause stress? Really. Think about it. We want our children to do their best in school. We try to teach responsibility by doling out chores to the kids. Is it our fault that our child chooses not to do his best in anything? Is it our fault he is getting bad grades? I don't think so. I think it's his problem because he has decided to just skate by and do the least amount of work. Is it our fault that we want him to learn what it means to be accountable for his actions? I don't think so. How are parents causing stress on their kids? Maybe someone needs to enlighten me.

What is worth $10?

2010-10-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

The bus for the middle school came and went. I heard it from my office downstairs. I knew J was still asleep. Here we go again. I called the school and talked to the attendance-line voicemail and said that J overslept and missed the bus AGAIN and would be walking this time. I said that I didn't know when he would get there.

At 7:15 a.m., I went upstairs to make a cup of tea and noticed that K had woken himself up and was in the bathroom. I opened J's door and said, "Are you planning on going to school today?" He seemed somewhat awake but not really, and said rather groggily, "Yeah." I said, "Well, you've missed your bus and you're walkin'!" The anguished cry that came out of his mouth was almost heartbreaking, but I had to stand firm and hold my ground. He cried, "NO!!!!!!" but I walked away and went back downstairs.

A little bit later, K hollered down the stairs, "I guess J didn't have a poptart today." I yelled back, "No, that's because he didn't wake up. He's in his room crying because he missed the bus." Maybe I shouldn't have said that, but it was the truth.

Around 7:45 I heard the front door open and close and I ran upstairs, knowing it was J going off to school. I knew he didn't take his meds, so I opened the door and found him on the porch. I asked him if he took his meds and he said he hadn't. I said, "You need to take those." He came back inside, took them, and went back out the door. I said to him, "Run."

You may be asking yourself, 'what does the subject line of this post have to do with being late for school?' Earlier in the week, J missed the bus and had to pay his dad $5 for a ride. I told J that I would take him if he paid me $10. Yes, $10. I work and driving him to school would take 30 minutes out of my day and I figure that's a good rate for me missing work. So, the way I figure it, either J didn't want to part with his remaining $10 in his wallet or he just forgot about that offer. He didn't bother trying to coax me into driving him. I think he knew he had blown it by turning off his alarm and going back to sleep. Maybe he'll learn a lesson.

Responsibility

2010-10-25T06:55:00.000-07:00

We are teaching our 13 y.o. about responsibility. In fact, he is "learning" about it in his Health class, but I don't think he really knows what the word "responsibility" means.

Last night, before bedtime, we were discussing a Parent Gram that comes home each week from the Health teacher. This discussion took place between my husband, our son and I. The Parent Gram is a sheet of paper that tells what is being taught in the current lesson. There are questions the parent can ask the child that pertain to the lesson. One of these was, "What does responsibility mean to you?" When our son was asked this question last night, his answer was, "Knowing you have to get stuff done and you do it." He's 13. I guess that's what he thinks it means.

This morning, as I type this, it is just about 7 a.m. My son should be on the school bus. Instead, he is asleep. He has yet to wake up. I reckon he'll awake suddenly, look at the clock on his nightstand, burst into tears and run downstairs to tell me he just woke up. I know this will happen because it has happened before. Usually my husband is home and is able to take J to school if he misses the bus, but today I am here with just two sleeping children.

My husband and I once decided to make J walk to school if he missed the bus. First of all, the school is several miles away and the road to the school is not safe during commuter hours. There are no street lights. There is no sidewalk. We then decided that if J missed the bus, my husband would drive him IF J would fork over $5 to cover gas, time, etc. I thought that would end the missed-bus scenarios, but no. Here we are again, today.

So, you see, we are teaching responsibility to my teenager. I cannot wait until I can explain to him that being responsible means waking up on time and getting to your bus stop on time. It means not being dependant on other people to get you where you need to go.

In ten minutes, I need to wake my other child if he does not wake up on his own. He is eight and in third grade and has the exact same alarm clock as his brother and, guess what? It DOES work and it DOES get set and my little man wakes up most days on his own because he had the forethought to set the alarm the night before! Now, if only his big brother would think like that!

Roger

2010-09-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

You've heard of kids having imaginary friends, right? Well, my son has an imaginary pet. My son is 8 and in third grade. He brought this "pet" into our home a couple days ago and it is a dog. When J asked K what kind of dog, K simply said "Brown."

Roger, the imaginary pet, is quite the little trooper. He likes to come out and play and ... he looks just like K! Imagine that! K said that he likes to dress Roger up in his own clothes because it's fun. This is the only way that I have ever seen Roger. And guess what else? No one else has seen Roger in K's clothes (if at all) but me. Wheee! Lucky little me!

After dinner tonight, Roger came out of hiding (yes, he likes to hide in K's room) and decided to play in the kitchen while I cleaned up. I did mention to Roger (or anyone else that wanted to hear) that K needed to take a shower, and I went about my duties in the kitchen. Not a whole minute later, K came into the kitchen to say that Roger would play with me when I was done cleaning up. Wow, how polite of Roger!

Right now, as I type this, K is in the shower. I asked him several times to take a shower but gee, Roger kept coming along to play. Hmm... oh, and totally off topic - I hear K messing with the bath drain. Why would he need to do that? He took a shower, not a bath. And it's getting downright annoying hearing the bath drain go up and down. Oh. I heard the shower curtain move (thanks to the metal hook roller things) and now he is singing and toweling off. I don't want K to get out of the bathroom and come to read what I'm typing, because he is classic at doing that. Oh for the days before he could read!

So I must end this abruptly. Oh, but wait. I just heard what sounded like a dog bark coming from the bathroom. Did K take Roger in there with him?

Cereal

2010-08-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

I am starving! It's almost 10 a.m. and I haven't had breakfast yet. I've had two cups of coffee (yes, I decided on coffee today instead of tea) but no breakfast. A couple minutes ago, I went upstairs to fix my hair and put on a little makeup and who did I find in the kitchen but J, holding a practically empty bag of Raisin Bran Crunch. He said, "There's just a little bit left but not enough for another bowl." Knowing that he can't stand raisins, I asked, "What are you going to do with the raisins? Eat them?" He answered, "Pick them out." I said, "It's Raisin Bran. There are lots of raisins. Get real." I then took the bag from him and his bowl and poured the cereal from the bowl back into the bag. He doesn't use milk in his cereal, so I didn't have to worry about it being wet. He says milk "ruins it and takes out the sweetness" but Raisin Bran isn't much sweet to start out with. The only reason he chose that cereal was because there wasn't anything else. I decided to go downstairs and get a box of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios out of the locked pantry. Locked, yes, that's what I said. J once had a problem of hoarding food, so we have to lock the pantry.

Meanwhile, I am still starving. I chose not to eat with J because he isn't much fun to be around right when he wakes up. I could bring something downstairs to eat, but it's hard to eat cereal and type at the same time!

K is 8 today!

2010-08-05T10:20:00.001-07:00

Yes, it's true. My baby is eight years old today. I can't believe that he is the same age as his brother was when they came to us. He doesn't like being referred to as the baby of the family, but I still call him my baby. He was three years old when he joined this family, and the lady that was his foster mom at the time had called him a baby. Um, hello, a three-year-old child is not a baby!

Anyway, we have a nice little day planned for K. My husband and J have some errands to run (J had neglected to get anything for K) and they have to pick up the birthday cake as well. I plan on taking K to McDonald's for lunch - this is a big deal as we rarely go there. I highly doubt J will be back from the errands by lunch time, so it'll be a sad day for him when he realizes he missed out on McD food.

We will open presents later this afternoon, followed by dinner out. Oh - and all the little toys and things that we had taken away over the past year will be given back to K today. These are all the things that he left out (outside or in other areas of the house) instead of putting them away, which is the rule. Things got taken away and put aside for this particular day. I thought it would be funny to wrap them, but then again, why? How do you wrap a scooter?

Technology

2010-08-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

This morning, my husband was online trying to create an e-card for his parents' wedding anniversary which is today. He was having difficulty getting a font to cooperate and was getting frustrated. I happened to be in earshot and heard him muttering to himself, and I walked over and suggested he copy the text and put it into a Wordpad or Notepad document so he wouldn't lose it, and start over with the card. Our oldest son J was nearby and said, "I'll get a notepad."

My husband copied the text into Word and then restarted with the card. Just as the card disappeared from the screen, J said, "Oh no! I wasn't done copying it down!" I looked at him and said, "J. This is the information age. Dad is sitting at a computer. He can copy/paste text." J just said, "Oh." He knows this stuff. I think it was just too early in the morning for him to comprehend.

It's a sad day when...

2010-08-04T06:32:00.000-07:00

1. You admit that you know your way around the Emergency Room at the hospital because you've been there often.

2. You admit that croutons are a delicacy. You say this because they are mighty tasty and you can't afford really good crackers.

3. Does there really need to be a #3 here?

Last night I had to take K, who turns 8 tomorrow, to the Emergency Room because he was screaming in his room with a really bad earache. My husband had tried calling the doctor for an appointment, but the pediatrician was unavailable. There are several branches of office and the one that could get us in was an hour away. Um.... no, ain't gonna happen. The nurse advised us to go to the ER since child was in so much pain.

It was decided that I take K to the hospital so my husband could take our other son to his martial arts lesson. I drove K, after giving him Jr. Tylenol to subside the pain, to the hospital. I knew exactly where to park, where to go, etc. I had been there a couple months ago when my husband fell ill and that's where we ended up going on doctor's orders. At least I was confident with K that I could find my way around last night. And we were only there a little over an hour, whereas with my husband we were there for nine!

So far, so good, on the ear issue. It is 6:39 a.m. and K is sound asleep. He'll get the elixir upon awakening if he has some pain. At least we all got a good night of rest without listening to him screaming/crying.

Pain in the ... ear?

2010-08-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

Here I am again, twice in the same day even!

Someone please tell me why my child, who just came downstairs to explain this to me, put water in his ear because it was hurting and now he says it hurts worse? Why does he do things like this??

K came down to ask if he could watch t.v. and I noticed he was hanging his head to the side, over his shoulder. I asked what was wrong with his head and he said his ear was hurting, so he put water in it thinking that would help. It made it worse.

Earache, here we come!

Yes, I am still alive

2010-08-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

Being a mother and a wife and a work-at-home employee is a challenge and it truly doesn't allow me the time to blog at the drop of a hat. I don't even remember what I last blogged about. Hmm... I do know that it is summer and the kids are at home and I am trying to work and my husband is trying to find a job. It's kind of difficult to keep the sanity when the kids are loud whilst the parents are sitting at computers and trying to concentrate.

Yesterday was quiet for me as my husband was out running errands, J was at a friend's house, and K was happily playing a board game in his room. I got a lot done at work, that's for sure!

This morning, J is outside washing the truck and I believe my husband is out there helping him. Oh wait, no, that is not the case as now the printer on my desk is going and out come a bunch of pages. Resume's. Well, hopefully J is able to use the 8-foot ladder by himself to reach the top of the truck. It's one of those land yachts - a Ford F350 crew cab with an 8-foot bed. It's rather tall, so that's why a ladder is needed to be able to reach the top [with a long-handled brush].

K is happily playing his Leapster but he finds it necessary to come down to my office to explain that he is getting a high score or that the game isn't working properly or some other thing. I hate to shoo him away, but I am trying to work!

Anyway, my plan is to update the blog more often so you don't go worrying about me! There's something new that happens each day in this house and it would make for great material!

The truth comes out

2010-06-01T12:48:00.000-07:00

Last week I found out the real reason my little man cut his own hair. Sure, he may have wanted straight hair, but he told me at bedtime that some of his classmates had been calling him a girl because of his longish hair. Wow. I asked him why he didn't just tell me or dad that he wanted a hair cut and he just said, "I don't know." Hmm...

My 7-yr-old, the barber

2010-05-19T08:09:00.000-07:00

I was happily working this morning when my son came into my home office with a baseball cap on his head. I said, "What is with your hair - you look like a girl." It looked as if he had pulled his hair up inside the cap. He took off the cap and proudly announced that he cut his hair. Now, let me tell you, I wish there were someone to take a picture of my expression because I know my mouth was wide open!

Yes, he cut his own hair. I asked why he did so and he said, "I wanted straight hair." This kid has (or had)the curliest hair and it's lovely but apparently he got sick of the curls. He said, "I like it." When I got a good look at his hair, I noticed that he has great clipping ability. However, there were long strands around his ears that just had to go.

I took him upstairs while telling him that he just needed to have some of it cleaned up a bit. I went into my bathroom to get my hair-cutting scissors and then back into his bathroom. I had him sit on the toilet and I wrapped a towel around him like they do at the barber shop. I only had to clip around the ears where the hair was still a bit long. While clipping, I asked him what scissors he used, and he said his school scissors. You know, the safety kind? Little-kid scissors? Yep, he used those.

After a bit of cutting, I decided it was good enough and told him that he'd be going to a barber after school today to get it so it looks more normal. I said, "If you wanted your hair cut, you should have told me or dad. We would have taken you to a professional who knows how to cut hair. Someplace like Trisha's." Trisha's is a barber shop up the road where he has gone before. K asked me, "Are you mad at me?" I said, "No, not really. I'm just surprised." He said, "I thought you'd be mad."

I couldn't pass up the chance to take pictures with my camera phone and post them on Facebook and e-mail my parents. I wanted to text my husband, who was not at home at the time, and attach a picture. I decided to wait until he got home to explain the whole scenario.

Anyway, K was ready to get outside and get on the bus and he said, "I hope they don't laugh at me." I said, "You like your hair, don't you? You said you liked it." He said, "Yeah, but I don't like people laughing at me." I said, "They may laugh, but maybe you could ask them if they have ever cut their hair. They probably haven't. You could say something like 'I wanted to try straight hair so I cut off my curls. I did it all by myself!' or something." I also didn't want his classmates to get the idea to do the same thing at home. OH! I should have taped a note to his hair that said "Don't try this at home." HA!!!

After K got off to school, I went back into the house and made a cup of coffee. Hubby came in and I said, "We had quite the morning already. Do you want to check your e-mail or Facebook? Or should I just tell you now?" He said, "Which kid?" I said, "K." He said, "Tell me now." So I went into every little detail about the hair and then a thought struck me - where were the curls??? We ran into K's room to see if we could find the cut hair. I checked the bathroom wastebasket but only saw the few bits that I trimmed off. Back into his bedroom - we checked the bed, the drawers, everywhere, but no hair. Back into the bathroom I went and dug deep into the wastebasket. I found a blob of curls down at the bottom. It was like he was trying to hide them. The blob resembled a dead animal. It appeared that K had tried to roll it all up into a ball or something.

I showed the pictures from my phone to hubby and all he said was, "Oh no. Oh no." He then said, "Guess I need to take him to a barber today. He's going to get pigshaved. That's what he gets for doing this." Actually, K's hair will get cleaned up a bit to make it look more uniform. At least he'll have a nice cut before my parents arrive next month. I was going to let him grow it out for a while and he had been fine with that. He must have just got tired of curly hair. I don't know. I'll never know. I now can totally say that kids are full of surprises.

"This is the worst afternoon ever," he said

2010-04-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

When J came home from school today, as soon as he walked in the door he said, "This is the worst afternoon ever." I looked at him (he was wearing a hoodie with the hood up) and asked what happened, and he said he had to cut gum out of his hair with scissors. Ok, my first thought was "oh gosh, it probably looks like a hack job on the back of his head." I said, "You should have waited until you got home so dad or I could get it out. You don't have to cut it off; you can use peanut butter." He looked suprised and asked how, and I said, "You put a blob of peanut butter on it and rub it around the gum and it dissolves." He simply said, "Oh." Anyway, I asked when this happened and he said, "On the bus." I asked if it was just now, on the way home, and he said it was. I asked what happened. Here is his story.

J was happily sitting on the bus, not bothering anybody (or so he says). W and some other kid were sitting in back of him and one of them put gum in his hair. J didn't realize it was gum, but felt something heavyish on his head. He put his hand up and felt the gum. He asked someone for scissors and cut the gum out.

Now... if it were YOU who had gum in your hair and you figured it came from someone behind you, wouldn't you get mad and turn around and say something??? I asked J if he got mad and if he said anything to the kids sitting in back of him and he said no. Hmm... I asked if they sat in back of him a lot. He said they did. He went on to say that they had been touching his hair for a few days. I said, "And you let them?? Why? I wouldn't let someone touch my hair all the time." He didn't say anything. I asked if this W person is the same W as is on his soccer team and he said yes.

Meanwhile, husband was sitting nearby using his computer, and he decided to give his two cents. He stated that he would have beat the crap out of the two kids who sat in back of J today. J didn't respond. What could he say? "Sure dad, next time I'll beat them up." Nah, that ain't gonna happen. J is a smaller dude than a lot of guys his age. So he's getting picked on because he's small and he doesn't fight back. He's letting these guys do things to him. So... husband and I both told J that these kids are going to keep messing with him because he doesn't do anything. J said he told the bus driver but apparently nothing happened with that.

I looked at the area where J cut the gum out of his hair and I am pleased to say that that kid really has snipping skills! I'd never have known there was gum in that spot.

Husband said to J, "On Monday, throw gum back at them." J said, "I can't do that." I agreed. I said, "He can't. He has braces and can't chew gum." Husband said, "Then take raisins and throw them at them." Raisins. HAHA!! We do have a box of Sun-Maid raisins that aren't being eaten...

Immature 13

2010-04-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, I don't know if it's because he's an ADD child, an adopted child, or what, but J's babyish talk has got to stop. This morning he said in a very high-pitched and childlike voice, "Hi mommy." My husband, who was sitting in the living room and in earshot, said something like, "He's being three." I asked J, who is 13, why he talked like that. He said, "Because it's silly." I said, "No, it's not silly, it sounds ridiculous coming from a teenager. You need to stop it. Now." He just said 'okay' and moved on.

He's a tiring kid sometimes. I had a long talk with husband about it yesterday and I said I thought J was regressing. Husband thinks J is trying to compete with K (7) for our attention. We share the love - we don't play favorites between the kids.

Sometimes Jared's maturity level is way down. We know he was neglected in his birth home and he probably didn't get the nurturing he needed. A lot of times he acts like he is 3, 4 or 5 years old. He doesn't do the temper tantrum thing, but his voice goes to a higher pitch and babyish. Some days are better or worse than others. I hope he listened to me when I said 'you need to stop it' and stops it.

Last week of the quarter

2010-04-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

My son J has until this Friday to get his act together and bring up all his grades. Friday is the last day of the term/quarter. He can try and make up any missed assignments and get them handed in. I hope he is able to manage this small task. If his next report card shows mostly A's and a couple B's, then he gets back all electronics that were taken away (cell phone, Nintendo DS and games, other handheld games, use of family Wii). You'd think that would make any 13 year old jump for joy. We'll see.

The other day I had checked online grades and saw that he was dinged 15 points on a Language Arts assignment. When he was asked why he didn't complete it, he said, "I didn't want to. I don't like doing it." Oh wow, what an awful lot of emotions that were going through me at that moment! I told him that in the working world, if you find something that you don't want to do and avoid it, you'd most likely get fired. He is so lazy and irresponsible and it annoys the heck out of me! There must be a way to get past this. There must be a book to tell us parents what to do besides throwing in the towel (which, by the way, I refuse to do because I believe in my child and I know he has the capability of doing better).

How do you get a young teen to realize his potential???

Redo, redo, redo

2010-03-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

Well, after my husband returned from conferences with J's teachers, it looks like J will be one busy boy today and through next week which is Spring break. J is able to redo assignments that got poor grades (F, D, C) and he's also able to retake two Math tests that he failed. YAY!

When hubby and I were speaking to J at lunch today, we stressed the importance (yet again) of bringing his grades up. J was upset about the Math assignments that he swore he handed in, but I asked him if maybe he just didn't hand them in because he didn't want to do them. He swore he handed them in. I asked J if he thought his study habits were a problem and he simply said, "No." I asked if he thought he had it all together and he said, "Yes." I said, "Then by all means, keep going the route you're going. If you think things are hard now, just wait until you get into high school. It's even worse there. But if you think you have it under control, by all means, keep doing what you're doing." Hubby agreed with me and reiterated what I said and put it into his own words.

If J can spend all the time in the world playing board games and card games, he apparently has a whole lot of extra time that he can spend studying. We ask him every day if he has homework and he says 'no.' Apparently his teachers say different. He should have something each and every day.

Oh, and get this - J has to rewrite some papers that he claimed to have handed in and/or that got poor grades, and he never saved them to his flash drive because he used the computers at school. I told him to get in the habit of saving everything no matter where it's typed up. Save, save, save!

Well, anyway, as is usually the case after hubby and I talk to J about school, he clams up. He's usually pretty silent and tends to tear up and cry. Today, he basically kept his mouth closed unless asked to say something. I asked him how he felt about his grades and what we want him to do (redo the assignments that were either missing or got low grades) and he said, "I don't know." I said, "Oh, I'm sure you know. You might say 'to heck with you' or something. I know you have something to say." He did go on to say he didn't understand why he got low grades in Math and we explained that it was during a time earlier this year when a substitute teacher was present. The actual teacher did state that he'd look over grades when he returned, and in this case, our child would be able to retake tests and redo assignments.

I just hope we are going in the right direction with J. He knows how we feel, but I don't know if it will actually sink in. Will he get his act together and actually try the next time? His dad and I both told him that we know how hard school is because we went through it also. We want him to do well. His teachers know he is capable of doing better. Why can't he just TRY????

Can he just get it together already??

2010-03-25T09:53:00.000-07:00

You know, it is so hard raising a child who does not care one iota if his grades are poor. Hubby and I can talk to him until we are blue in the face and it doesn't faze him one bit. J turned 13 and his lazy attitude towards school is taking its toll on his dad and I.

J has three Honors classes this year, in 7th grade, and he's pretty much doing poorly in all of them. The only class he is getting an 'A' in is Computer Keyboarding. He has Math (which he claims is his favorite subject), Literacy/Reading (which I know he dislikes), World History (an Honors class), Language Arts (another Honors class), and Life Science (Honors, yet again). Before J started 7th grade, he had to be screened (he took a test at the school district's main office in town) along with a few dozen other kids. Only so many made it into the Honors program, and J was one of them. We did ask him, before he took the test, if he really and truly wanted to be in the program. His answer was, "Yes." In order to stay in the program, the grades for Honors classes can fall no lower than B-. He's averaging C's and D's.

What really gets me is that J doesn't give his all. He doesn't try. He'd rather do as little as he can to get by. This annoys the heck (for lack of a better word) out of me and my husband. I don't know if it's something that comes from his earlier childhood (before we brought him into our home) or what. He'd much rather play board games or torment his little brother than do any sort of school work.

This morning as hubby was looking in the boys' rooms for cleanliness (or lack thereof), he saw J's school notebook sitting in his room. Bad sign. J needs that book for all his classes. Since the notebook was here at home, we decided to look through it to see if J was following through on his promise to keep it organized - all papers in place and in their proper folders, sorted by subject. We found a Math assignment in the folder for Reading; graded papers which showed J's lack of knowledge and/or preparedness of the subject; scribbled pages; doodled papers. I know he has ADD, but he does take meds. He was recently re-evaluated and the meds do seem to be doing the trick as far as keeping him less hyper and loud, and he can stay on task when it's something he really enjoys.

The kids get out early all this week because of parent-teacher conferences. We already saw K's teacher, so today it's time to visit J's teachers. Sadly, I have to work and will be home when the kids get home, but hubby will go to the middle school and talk with all J's teachers and maybe get some advice or opinions on how to get J more focused on school.

Part of me wants to let J fail and fall deep into the pit he's been digging for himself. Part of me wants him to do that and then figure out how to get out. Another part of me wants to see him figure it out and turn himself around and be a good student. Sometimes I think a boot camp is the place for him. I don't know. Hubby and I have had numerous discussions on the topic of J's grades and lack of wanting to do well. We've taken away privileges (no Nintendo DS, no cell phone, no Wii playing) and it just doesn't seem to matter to J. We are at the point where we might put a lock on the game closet (where all the board games are), but that's not fair to K. It doesn't seem to matter to J that he doesn't have these things anymore. That's what is so irritating! What will it take for him to change his attitude? I have no idea.

Awwwwww!!

2010-03-01T11:22:00.000-08:00

Last night as I was driving K home from choir practice at church, I mentioned to him that next week his dad would have to take him to choir practice because I would not be able to. He asked why not, and I answered by saying that I would be out of town. He asked where I was going and I reminded him that I would be in Arizona. He sadly said, "Oh." He then asked, "How long are you gonna be gone?" I replied, "Just a few days." Again, he sounded so sad and he said, "Oh." I reassured him by saying, "I'm coming back. I am not leaving you forever. I will only be gone for about five days." He said, "Oh." I then told him that I would call him every day. His voice sounded surprised and he asked, "You can??" I said, "Sure I can! I can talk to you every day." He replied with a very happy "Ok!" The sadness he originally had in his voice broke my heart. I had to cheer him up. It was a total "aww" moment.

During choir practice, there were try-outs for various parts of the musical that the kids are putting on in June. K tried out for a couple parts and totally flubbed the first two tries on one part, but the third time he did it perfectly. I was so proud of him! However, when he came to sit down by me after he was finished, he was totally down in the dumps. He said, "I want to quit Praise & Company." I said, "Why? You have fun doing it, don't you?" He said, "Yeah, but I messed up and I feel stupid." I told him this: "This is your very first time trying out for something and it's normal to mess up. I am proud of you for even trying. You did just fine." He looked sad and miserable and said, "I just think I should quit." I said, "You won't know if you got any of the parts you tried out for if you just quit. Keep trying. You are doing just fine." I put my arm around him and he snuggled close and I kept telling him how proud I was of him. He seemed to forget his disappointment in himself and was able to go on with the choir practice when the try-outs were done.

This morning, hubby and I went to K's school to watch him get a Cougar Pride Certificate during an assembly. The certificates are awarded to students who have shown major improvement in school. Well, K got an award for listening to directions and basically being a good kid this past week and guess what? It has to do with him being on ADHD meds. He had his first full week of them last week and his good behavior got him an award. When the assembly was over, K came up to hubby and me and said, "This is weird. Every time you or dad come to the Cougar Pride assembly, I get an award. When you don't come, I don't get an award. You bring me good luck!" Cute!!!! The school mails out a letter to the parents in advance, letting them know their child will receive an award and informing them to attend the assembly. I'm not about to let K in on that secret!

The New Food Pyramid, Kid Style

2010-02-16T08:54:00.000-08:00

The other day, J was in the kitchen while his dad and I prepared dinner. J said, "We should follow the food pyramid and make meals using food in it." I said, "WE?? Who's this WE you speak of? You never help with dinner." I don't recall what he said after that, but I added, "Dad and I always consider nutrition when we make all meals. You always have the right kinds of foods." J said something about the food pyramid again and how it had vegetables and things on it, and I reminded him that he gets those daily. I then said, "Well, if you are so set on abiding by the food pyramid, then we won't buy any more Pop Tarts and Fruit Loops and things like that." You should have heard the sound that came forth from his mouth!! He'll be 13 next month, but the high-pitched "NO!" that came out sounded quite girlish! He didn't really have anything else to say after that as I think he realized that whatever plan he was trying to devise had backfired on him.

This morning as I was working away, K came downstairs and asked if he could have breakfast at home and at school. He said he wanted a Pop Tart (at home) because he knew I wanted to get rid of them in order to follow the food pyramid. I told him that he shouldn't eat a Pop Tart "just because I wanted to get rid of them" and he didn't say anything - he just went back upstairs.

When I went upstairs to get a refill of coffee, I saw K sitting at the table, eating a Pop Tart. I said, "Oh, I see you decided to have one anyway." He simply said, "Yep." I said, "Okay then, there won't be anymore after this box is empty. Since J wants to go by the food pyramid, I'm not buying that stuff anymore." He said, "That's okay, because we'll use the other side of the pyramid that has the candy and stuff." HAHAHA!!! I said, "Sorry, kid, there is no such thing!"

Let's see if they can behave

2010-02-12T08:14:00.001-08:00

This is a test. This is a test of the children-upstairs-with-no-adult-around system.

Husband is out getting a cup of coffee. I am downstairs in my home office, working. Yes, I'm typing on my blog, but that's only because my work PC is dragging today for some reason. So, here I type.

Upstairs, I hear complete mayhem. I have two boys up there who have awoken from their deep slumbers (oh how I wish they were still slumbering!) and are running amok upstairs. The younger one came down about an hour ago and asked if he could have his candy for breakfast. Like he thought I might miraculously say "Yes" ???? Of course not! He asked if he could watch t.v. and I said he could. Now I hear the older one, who obviously has not taken his meds, and he is VERY loud and I hear thumping and running.

Those kids know, at least I have told them many times, that when I am downstairs at work they should be quiet. This is not happening. They are noisy. I can be mean and tell them to go to their rooms, but why disrupt my own work time? Well, actually, it's disrupted already because I'm telling YOU about it!

J is 12, almost 13, and his dad has told him he is old enough to administer his own meds for his ADD. It is apparent that J has not taken his meds this morning.

THUD! I am totally amazed the ceiling isn't caving in now and a child isn't falling through it. I guess it's time I go see what is going on. So much for a quiet morning at work.

Lollipop, lollipop, oh lolli lolli pop

2010-02-12T07:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at school, 7-year-old K's 2nd-grade class had their Valentine's Day party. K had made his own Valentines the night before. He cut out hearts from pink and red sheets of construction paper and wrote little messages for each classmate. Some of the hearts resembled blobs, however, and he did get a little irritated and flustered so I offered to help. I was happy that he started the project on his own though.

When K came home from school, he asked if he could have some candy from the party. I said yes as he could use that as his after-school snack. He went to the dining room table and I went downstairs to finish work up for the day. When I went back upstairs, I heard a noise coming from the table that sounded like CRACK, CRUNCH, and possibly teeth breaking, but it was K who had bit right into the middle of a Blow Pop. I walked over and looked at what he was holding in his hand. The Blow Pop was severed in two - one giant chunk in his mouth and the remainder on the stick. I told him that to eat a Blow Pop means to suck it or lick it - not to just bite right on into it! I had him spit into my hand what was in his mouth (the gum!!!) and I took the stick and what was on it away and pitched it all into the trash.

I actually told K that he doesn't have proper candy etiquette. Oh dear... yes, I actually said that! Like he knew what that meant. Well, I went on to explain that suckers, lollipops, Tootsie Pops, Dum Dums, Blow Pops, and candy on a stick like that are meant to be sucked or licked. You suck and lick and then when the thing in the middle appears, be it a gum blob or a tootsie roll blob, THEN you can bite into it and get it off the stick. I told him that with a Blow Pop, especially, you suck it and lick it and THEN you get to the gum which is kind of like the prize. You then can bite the gum off the stick and chew it a while.

With K, gum is candy. You unwrap it, chew it, throw it out. The real problem is when there is a lot of it, such as a pack of gum or a bowl of Halloween candy with a large amount of individually-wrapped bubble gum pieces. He gets over-excited at the sight of it all and in his head, the gum will be eaten just like candy. He unwraps a piece, puts it in his mouth, chews it for maybe 60 seconds, spits it out, unwraps a piece, puts it in his mouth, chew it for maybe 60 seconds, spits it out, unwraps a piece, you get the idea. If I let this go on, I would buy stock in the Wrigley Corporation!

The Blow Pop never had a chance. In fact, there is one left that I took away yesterday. K asked if he could have it back and I said, "If you eat it the right way." I think yesterday, when he was eating the other one, that he was in 'the zone' of candy eating and just didn't think far enough in advance as to what he would do with a mouth full of gum when he still had half a Blow Pop in his hand.

The door has returned

2010-02-09T09:18:00.000-08:00

I certainly thought the door would be gone a while because K actually said he didn't mind it being gone, and hubby liked it gone so that K would sleep through the night instead of playing. Hubby decided to put the door back on after a fight over K'nex toys between both boys.

Yesterday afternoon, K was happily playing with his K'nex and was building what looked like the Mars rover/lander/whatever that car-thing was on Mars. J happened to be bored with whatever he was doing in his own room and walked right on into K's room and started building something with the K'nex. Apparently he had taken a piece that K wanted and they started arguing. K came out to the living room where hubby and I were and explained the situation. I just didn't really have any good advice as I was burnt out from a full day of work. I just looked at him and said, "I can just as easily take all the K'nex away and then you won't be able to play with them. You two should be able to work this out for yourselves." Hmm...

Not five minutes later, hubby and I heard K yelling at J to get out of his room and that he wanted to play by himself. It was a constant thing, "Get out of my room!!" Obviously J couldn't care less and continued to play. K continued, more loudly this time, "GET.OUT.OF.MY.ROOM!" Still J continued to play. Hubby hollered down the hall, "J, get out of his room and go do something else." Suddenly, we heard K bawling (he was in full-out pain, obviously) and hubby hollered for J to come into the living room. J came along and said that K had stood up right where J was stepping and that he 'accidentally' kicked K. Hubby had J do a strong sit by the living room windows. J was trying to state he was innocent and it was an accident but we didn't believe him because of his track record with hurting K.

I got up off the couch and went into K's room to see if he was ok. He said that J had kicked him in the gut. Now, if J had just been casually walking out of K's room, how in the world would he have been able to kick K in the gut? Something's fishy here. He would have had to kick high. Maybe K was still on the ground, playing, when J kicked him. Their stories don't jive.

Anyway, the door is back on. J thinks he is in the clear and not in any bit of trouble, but the truth is that hubby is still very angry about the whole thing. K is only 7 and J is almost 13 with a slight anger-management problem. Whenever they have a disagreement, K gets hurt. Maybe it's just that way with boys. I don't know - I just have a sister and I don't remember acting that way.

The doorless wonder

2010-02-08T15:55:00.001-08:00

K got his door taken away on Saturday night. I warned him that if he (or the neighbor kids who were there at the time) slammed the door or threw things at the door over and over (which had been happening) that the door would go away. Well, you guessed it - the door got removed and has not been returned.

This is not unusual in our house, you see, as we have done this before with both boys. They have learned that if they throw something at their door, shove something up against the door so no one can come in, or slam the door, the door will be taken off the hinges.

I thought maybe, by now, it would be time to put K's door back on, but my hubby thought it should stay off for a little bit longer. I asked why and he said that K had not been playing in his room at night. He tends to do that quite a bit. He has toys with a light source (Spy Gear binoculars and a light-bright thing for coloring) and he uses those to see and or to play with when he should be sleeping.

I guess we'll let it go for a little longer. I do wish his door was back in place so the poor kid could have privacy and also so he won't be hearing house noises (voices, t.v. volume) while he's supposed to be sleeping. We'll see how it goes.

The Bicker Brothers are at it again

2010-01-11T14:18:00.001-08:00

I gave my boys the group nickname "The Bicker Brothers." They argue a lot and pick on each other a lot. I don't know why they do it; you'd think they'd learn by now, but no. At least once a day I tell them to treat each other how they, individually, would want to be treated.

The other day at lunchtime, we were sitting at the table and the boys were fighting, calling each other names and carrying on. I told them to stop and try to say something nice about each other instead of fighting. The youngest thought of all sorts of things about his brother, starting with "I love you" and ending with "I like your hair." The oldest couldn't think of a single nice thing to say about his little brother. I was appalled!! How pathetic it was that J couldn't think of anything! I know J wishes K had never been born, and that he could trade in his little brother for a new model, but I felt horrible for K.

I think next time they argue, I'll have them whisper their argument. I'm sure it won't continue much longer and they may end up laughing instead.

Resolutions, anyone?

2010-01-05T14:42:00.001-08:00

It's the start of a new year once again. We go through this same thing every 365 days. It's time we assess our lives and decide if we want to better ourselves or do things differently this year.

I asked my family if any of them had any New Year's resolutions. My husband said that he didn't make any and he never does. My youngest (7) said, "I am going to make lunch for mom once a week." Melted my heart, I tell you! My oldest couldn't think of anything, so I gave him one that I thought he would say (if he had thought about it long enough). I said, "I would imagine you saying something like 'I want to get a really good score on a Wii game'" and everyone thought that was a great idea and a good resolution. No one really asked me what my resolutions were or if I had any. Well, here is what I have come up with and they are in no particular order:

Organize my house
Finish all the books in the house that have been sitting, unread, for a long time
Cook more to give hubby a break, even though he enjoys cooking
Blog more often
Sew more
Lean to knit and crochet
Spend time alone with God more
Declutter
Scrapbook more

That's enough. That's almost so much that I want to run for the hills and never come back! Oh, but I'm an adult and can't do that... as tempting as it sounds. I need to reprioritize my life and get back to the things I used to enjoy. Nowadays, it's all workworkwork and help-the-kids-with-their-homework and help-with-dinner and get-the-kids-in-the-tub/shower and make-sure-the-kids-have-done-their-chores and on and on. I need to make time for myself and the things I want to accomplish in the coming year.

So here's to 2010. A new year, a new attitude - out with the old and in with the new.

He's forgetful and today I am grateful

2009-12-10T06:57:00.000-08:00

Last night at church, the boys went their separate ways (to their designated classes or groups). J is in the youth group (middle school & high school kids) and I'm not totally sure he pays attention to what is being said by the pastor. When he came downstairs after his service was done, he handed me a sheet of paper. All he said was, "Here," and handed it to me. I glanced at it and it was a permission slip. I said, "What's this for?" He said it was for next week's gathering and after I really looked at it, it was for the holiday party. I asked how much it cost as there is usually a fee involved when I'm handed a permission slip. He said it didn't cost anything. I looked down at where it said "Cost:" and saw that it said "Offering for a Wii." I asked who the Wii was for, like if it was for the youth group, and he said it was for old people. I said, "Old people? What old people?" He said the youth group was going to some place that had old people. I was thinking maybe a nursing home or something but not totally sure. I said, "How old are these old people?" He said, "I don't know. They're just old." I then asked how much he was going to give to the offering. He said, "Well, I have two quarters." WHAT???? TWO quarters? That's it????? I got mad and let him know it.

Have I not raised him to be sacrificial? I thought I had. Of course, he came to live with us when he was eight, and before that he had been given everything he wanted without having to work for it. Spoiled little kid to some extent, but living in squalor and filth didn't make up for it. I know that my birthday came and went and he never would have lifted a finger or done anything for me, being that he's 12 and self-centered, but my husband made him go shopping for a present for me. Apparently J, at the cash register, remembered he hadn't brought his money and/or debit card. So, after the fact, I learned that J still owed my husband the money for the present. I told hubby to just transfer the money from J's bank account to his (hubby's) and be done with it. The fact that J doesn't want to part with his money is one thing, but to only offer 50 cents out of his stash of at least $100 is pathetic. Fifty cents for the Wii offering - not my present. I know that ended up being $25. Hubby made J spend a good amount because I am mom and I have done so much for him.

When we got home from church last night, I was still on J's case and hubby said "Are you going to lay off him now?" I said, "No, because for some reason he is being very selfish and unwilling to part with his money. He won't even pay you back for my birthday present!" And at that, hubby agreed with my point of view about the offering. J had gone to put on jammies and went into the bathroom. I was walking down the hall when he came out of the bathroom, and he just walked right past me without saying a word, went into his room, closed the door and turned off the light. I said, "Goodnight to you, too."

This morning I was ready for the worst from him and was ready to discuss the issue rationally and without getting angry. Well, he was in a great mood and either forgot about the whole topic entirely or just didn't care. He gave me a hug and started talking about the weather. Fine. I am actually relieved. However, I know it'll come up again and we'll have to talk about why he only wanted to offer 50 cents towards a Wii. I actually want to e-mail the youth pastor to find out exactly what the holiday party activities will be and who these "old people" are. Maybe he can enlighten me.

The hiding place

2009-10-21T15:45:00.000-07:00

Keeping stuff off K's floor didn't last long. That little guy thought he had all the answers. He was putting things on the floor between his bed and the wall where he thought no one would look. This morning, my husband went into that bedroom to check out how clean (or messy) it was, and he noticed a bunch of stuff between the bed and the wall. There is about a 12" x 5' area between the bed and the wall. Here is what hubby found:

last week's homework, not turned in
several pieces of Knex
Bakugon
green marker
knit hat
2 posters rolled up
Ben-10 watch
spy scope
book
pair of dirty socks
dirty underwear
baseball
3 juggling balls
hair clip - actually, K said he "found" it in the classroom. Why he didn't hand it in, I'll never know
a few miscellaneous plastic toys

What I am most pleased about is the Ben-10 watch and the spy scope. These were sources of light for K and he played in his room when he was supposed to be sleeping.

The pup dog

2009-10-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

No, we don't have puppies but we do have dogs. One has gone off to the vet today as she has a lump on her side. She's also quite the fatty. I look at this picture of her (she's 7) and it looks like she's laughing. Anyway, she's had a lump on her side for a while now and it has grown in size. It started out the size of a dime and now it is like a small potato. Time to do something about it! It doesn't seem to bother the doggy, but it bothers us to look at it. I hope she's ok!

This is Shelby. Shelby Girl, the Mustang Mama. She follows me wherever I go. She's my shadow. If one of the kids is looking for her I'll hear, "Where is Shelby?" The other child will say, "She's with mom." (smile)

I'm on to him

2009-09-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

He can't get away with his old tricks anymore. I'm talking about my 12-year-old son, J. He can't pull the same stunts with schoolwork that he pulled in 6th grade. He's in middle school this year - a big 7th grader - and he is already flunking one subject. I believe it's due to his lack of organizational skills and the fact that he has ADHD. He's on meds for his disorder, but 7th grade is a totally different ball game than 6th grade. He has six different classes which means six different teachers. He has to come up with some way to keep from being scatterbrained. I guess that's my job as a mom. I've got to figure out something that works for him and me. I'm the one that helps the kids with their schoolwork.

I am grateful that J's school is techologically advanced. Grades, assignments, attendance, agendas and the like are posted online. YIPPEE! It's every parent's dream! I check J's records a few times a day. Yesterday, for example, I knew (before he got off the bus) that he's running an F in History. When I asked him why his teacher gave him an F, he had all sorts of excuses. My first instinct was to blow up at him but I held back and kept my anger inside me. Instead, I told him that if he was unsure about anything regarding schoolwork, he could just come to me or his dad. We are here to help him. Apparently he had to make a bookcover for his textbook. Seeing as how he had no clue what to do, he just decided not to do it at all. When I talked to him about it, I told him that he could have asked us. I remember making bookcovers out of brown paper bags when I was a kid! When I was done with work, I went upstairs and gave him a bag. I asked for his book and he said he left it at school. Of course. Gee, I should have known! Also, J left his binder for all classes at home. On top of it was an assignment due today (I believe) for... you guessed it - History! UGH!

This morning I am on top of it and already have e-mailed J's Shop teacher to ask about the Shop fee that is due next week. J says he has no idea how much it is and what it's for. Hmm... me thinks he isn't paying attention in class. He got a B- on Bandsaw Safety and he needs a perfect score.

In my not-so-spare time I need to brainstorm and think of a way to get him to stay organized. I am not sure how to go about this. My life is busy enough as it is and now I have to help him with his school issues. Well, hey, I'm a mom! I should be used to this by now, right? I think I got so used to summer that I'm having problems adjusting to the school year. It's only the third week of school, so I figure by October I should have a game plan in place. Pray for me! :)

Back to the topic of messy rooms & toys being taken away

2009-09-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

I thought of something yesterday and was thrilled at my bright idea! I just had to find hubby and tell him. First off, you know how I mentioned in an earlier post that things found on the floor in the kids' rooms would be removed permanently? Well, in the middle of the night I thought of this: What if we wrapped up those toys and re-gave them to the kids at Christmas? Brilliant! Or so I thought. Hubby didn't like that idea. He figured they would never ever learn to keep things picked up. They might think, "Gee, mom took this away but I'll get it back at Christmas." My thought process was this: "Gee, I took this away but I'll give it back at Christmas all wrapped up like a new present, and then I won't buy anything new." That didn't go over real well with hubby.

On the topic of cleaning up the rooms: When I was working in J's room, he found some books that he didn't know where they came from and said he could give them to K. They were a bit over K's head, but I figured we could save them for him. I had put them on K's dresser and this morning when I was looking for a book to read to K (who was not feeling well at the time), I looked closer at these two books from J's room. One was from J's classroom LAST year in 6th grade! The fact that J couldn't even REMEMBER where it was from ... I do recall that J didn't enjoy reading that book last year and he never even finished the first chapter. Hubby returned the book to the elementary school today while he was out running errands. I truly hope we don't find more things that belong to that school.

I've got a sick little boy

2009-09-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

My deep slumber was rudely interrupted this morning at 4:15 a.m. My husband woke me up to say that K was sick and throwing up. When I got out of bed, my husband said, "He threw up in the living room and I'm cleaning that up."

I found my son in the bathroom by the toilet. I took his temperature and there was no fever. I asked him questions such as "how do you feel?" and "what hurts?" and he said his tummy was hurting and then he started crying. He then mentioned that he had puked in his room. I left him in the bathroom and went across the hall to his room and yes, indeedy, there was a pile of last night's dinner on the carpet. Yummo! NOT! I went and got the spray cleaner and paper towels from my husband and told him that K had vomited in his room as well. Hubby was not happy at all with that news. We used Oreck spot cleaner - the stuff works! Anyway, after I got that spot all cleaned up, I went back into the bathroom to talk with K and he told me that he also threw up in the dining room. WHAT??? UGH! I told him to stay in the bathroom and I went into the dining room and also mentioned to my husband (who was in the living room) that K told me he puked in the dining room. Ok... I will not repeat what husband said. Just some colorful words. I told hubby, "This is just like one of the dogs," as we have a dog who likes to puke after eating grass. Hubby said, "No, this is worse!" I asked K why he didn't throw up in the toilet and he said, "I didn't think of that."

After all the puke piles were cleaned up, and child was still complaining of a tummy ache, I gave him some Children's Pepto and he asked if he could go lie down. I told him that he could. I then went to hubby's laptop and went online to look for symptoms of Swine flu. Everything I read said it comes with a high fever and that wasn't what K was experiencing.

I went back to bed and woke up at 6 a.m. for work. I called the school to tell them that K would be absent today. K did finally wake up around 8:00 or so and told me that he had been puking all night, even after I had put him back to sleep. Great. Unfortunately, we had insulation blowers (people who install insulation) here and they had a hose running down the hall which sort of would be a distraction to a little boy needing to go puke in the toilet. I put a box of Kleenex and the bathroom wastebasket in K's room and told him that if he needed to throw up, he could do it in the wastebasket. I told him I would check on him every once in a while. I went back downstairs to work.

At 9 a.m. I went up to check on K and he said that he threw up in the wastebasket. I took his temp again and it was low. No fever. I am blaming last night's dinner which also gave me a stomach ache. Hubby threw out ALL leftovers from everything and we will start over for dinner tonight. K told me his legs were hurting so we gave him Children's Motrin and put him back in bed.

At 10, hubby told me the insulation was done and the guys were gone. I checked on K and he was awake and feeling a bit better. I decided to read some library books to him and he seemed to perk up. One was "Monsieur Saguette and His Baguette." If you haven't read that, please go check it out. It's hilarious! My son, who is 7, LOVED it!

Now it is is a bit past 12:30 and K is watching t.v. in the living room. I think he is feeling a lot better and I truly do think his stomach issues were due to something he ate. He even got dressed in his favorite Ichiro t-shirt.

Let's hope my other son doesn't feel ill! I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Soccer season again

2009-09-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was J's first soccer game of the season. He's been practicing for a few weeks now and yesterday's first game was a success. His team didn't lose! They didn't win, either. It was a tie. Score: 1-1. That's the way it is with soccer; the game is timed and when the time is up, you are stuck with whatever the score is.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon for a game. Last year, his team played in the mornings, rain or shine. We (as onlookers) were always cold and/or wet when the weather was bad and bundled up in coats and blankets. Mornings are chilly here even now, so I'm glad the games are in the afternoon this year.

We received the game schedule a couple weeks ago and noticed the time change for the games, but what we also noticed was that there will be no game over on the islands. Last year we had to take a ferry over to Whidbey Island for a game. Apparently the ferry system is used to having soccer players on board as there was a sign from the car deck to the stairs going to the passenger area (food area, tables, etc.) that said, "NO CLEATS!"

On the schedule we also noticed that J's team will play a team that they have never been able to beat. One player on the opposing team was very tall with blond curly/bushy hair. He was #12, according to his jersey. Oh, how we secretly wished he'd fall. That kid was never pulled out of the game to rest or be replaced. Why, no, why would his coach ever pull him out? He was their star player.

J had a couple head butts with the ball that moved the ball far across the field. Too bad he had a headache afterwards! He wasn't using his head properly, no pun intended. He didn't hit it with the right part of his head. His coach had said, "Use your forehead next time." J said, "If I'd have done that, I probably would have gotten hit in the nose." That's the thing with soccer - injuries. We had to sign a concussion waiver this year because of some new law. That made me realize that yes, my child could get hurt playing soccer. I guess I was in fantasy land last year or something and didn't bother to think that way. I'm more optimistic about things and don't really think of what could happen that is bad.

Anyway, we are looking forward to the next game and also the next practice. Practices are an hour long and the second half of practice is spent scrimmaging with another team. It's like a mini game and the kids have a lot of fun. They have fun during regular games, but their comments during practice are funny. A bunch of 12- and 13-year-old boys running amok on a field.

I swear something blew up in my boys' rooms!

2009-09-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I helped my 12-year-old son clean his disaster of a bedroom. You wouldn't believe the amount of stuff we threw away. Well, maybe you would if you had kids. This guy is a packrat! I was in charge of the garbage bag. I held it firmly and tossed all sorts of things into it - things I didn't want handed down to my youngest who had his room cleaned a week or so ago.

I started on the dresser and went through each drawer. We removed items from each drawer and put back what actually belonged there. If there were clothes that were too small and in good shape, they got passed down to the little brother. Other things got put into piles on the floor (cars, cards, bouncy balls, army men, etc.) for figuring out what to do with later.

Next items to attack were the two drawers under the bed. These were filled with anything and everything and it's a wonder the kid could find anything. Everything got pulled out and put on the floor.

On to the cubby! It has nine squares for storing things and there are two canvas boxes. The boxes have handles and are much like drawers. Each cubby was dealt with separately and items were put into the floor piles. We even unearthed a school library book - from last year! This child attends middle school now and the book was from elementary school. My husband is going to return the book and see if he can get his money back (apparently he paid the overdue fine last year, unbeknownst to me or J).

The nightstand was next. There are two drawers in it and they were full of junk. Everything came out and put in its rightful place - on the floor or in the garbage bag.

Closet next. Hangers were on the floor, clothes were on the floor - is this typical of boys?? My 7-year-old son's closet was the same way. He used to take pride in his room (the 7-year-old) but now he's taking after his brother.

I also attacked under the bed and between the wall and the bed. I unearthed foam darts from underneath the beanbag chair.

After arranging the dresser, cubby, closet and nightstand the way J liked it (and the way I liked it), we began organizing the mess on the floor. Like things went into plastic shoeboxes (Yu-Gi-Oh cards in one, army men in another, cars in yet another, and so on) and labeled. These boxes were put in the drawers under the bed.

Everything is now in its place. We have a rule for K (the 7-year-old) that if something is out of place and he is not in the room (or in the bathroom), that thing (book, toy, etc.) gets taken away. This may sound harsh, but if you were me (or hubby) and have been telling these kids to clean their rooms and they don't, then you'd understand. After walking into K's room and stepping on a Lego in sock feet (OUCH!), that was the last straw. J's room was just as bad. Dice on the floor, forever a game board out, shoes everywhere. Enough already! So... the rule for K is the same for J. I don't care if they are five years apart in age. If they truly treasured their toys, they'd take care of them and put them away!

Beach

2009-09-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

I love this picture. It was taken June 2008 at the ocean. The kids had no idea I was taking a picture of them, and that's the way I like it. I don't like people posing for a shot.

The little guy on the left is my baby. He was five then. Look at his hair blowing in the wind. His hair gets out-of-control curly when not kept at a decent length.

The one on the right was 11, and I love the stance. It appears he must be thinking, "Come and get me, waves!"

This picture is my profile picture. It's also the desktop wallpaper on my PC. I never tire of looking at it. That trip to the beach was such a fun time even though it was chilly most of the time. We brought the dogs (which sadly, I never got pictures of) and let them play in the water. The one who stunk up my office this morning is the one most likely to jump in the water first.

Our last night at the ocean, we all wore packs full of firewood and we hauled the wood (along with s'mores ingredients) to the beach. We found remnants of someone's driftwood fort and added our firewood to it. Hubby got a fire going and we started to make our s'mores. As UNluck would have it, the rains began to fall. We were prepared with our raingear and promptly dug it out of our packs and put it over our clothes. However, the rain was more than we really wanted - really now, would YOU want to sit out in the cold wet night trying to make s'mores?

After one or two s'mores in the rain, we decided to pack up and get back to the condo. We were good little beach goers and put out our fire. We trekked back to the condo but... we will never forget that trip!

Peeeewwwww!!!

2009-09-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

This morning after I got out of the shower, I walked into the bedroom and smelled a foul odor. It smelled like vomit. I looked around on the floor to see if one of the dogs upchucked something, but I could not find anything.

I went about my merry way and got ready for work. I went downstairs to my office and sat down at the computer and began my workday. My one little dog that follows me everywhere came along and plopped on the ground by my desk. There was that hideous smell again. I realized it was her! I briefly thought of spraying her with Febreze, but instead I ushered her out the door and closed it.

A bit later, when I needed to heat some water for tea, I went upstairs and told my hubby that the dog stunk horribly and she wasn't allowed downstairs in my office. J was there in the kitchen and said, "I was petting her. She didn't smell to me." Hubby looked at the dog and realized she must have rolled in poop the last time she was outside. Gross! As I was waiting for water to boil, I took a couple of wet paper towels and started to wipe down the dog where the poop was. Oh, it stunk! I realized this job was more than a few wet paper towels could handle and I said she needed a bath. Hubby was about to blanch a bunch of beans and he said he couldn't wash the dog right yet, and I couldn't do it either because I was working. We both looked at son #1 and said, "J, you are going to wash the dog." This was a first for J who had never done that before. J had to get dressed first as he was still in jammies.

I don't know exactly how it went, but the dog got washed. I was busy downstairs in my office. Hubby brought the dog down after she was clean and he closed my office doors (there are actually two doors that fold closed) with the dog inside. Oh she smelled lovely!

Chores

2009-08-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

It always amazes me when kids are doing chores that they take their own sweet time, dawdling all the way. They don't want to be doing the chore - they want to be playing. So why don't they get the chore done quickly and get back to playing?

I was outside a little bit ago and saw all the plums that had dropped to the ground. I came inside and told the kids that there are plums that needed to be picked up. It's their job to do it. Anyway, I know that when I've picked them up myself, it takes maybe five minutes. It will take those kids an hour! They were happily playing in one of the bedrooms (quietly, I might add) but the plums needed to be picked up so our pet doggies don't eat them later. Time is of the essence - we need to leave for swim lessons soon! It'll be interesting to see how many plums they've picked up when I go out to gather the kids up.

"Mom, do you know where my ___ is?"

2009-08-14T14:34:00.001-07:00

Every mother has heard this question, I'm sure. Your child asks if you know where X is. Apparently you, as a mom, are supposed to know where your son or daughter left X. The thing is, we have too much going on to have ESP or psychic abilities. I know I certainly have no idea where my 7 year old left his Leapster. He carries it all around the house and usually leaves it somewhere other than his room. In fact, it happens so often (when he leaves things around the house and yard), that we've started throwing things away that belong to him. He has enough stuff anyway and never misses these things at all (and doesn't know we tossed them, nor does he realize they are missing).

This week I have thrown out:

Two plastic croquet hoops left in the backyard for at least a month
An assortment of paper items (miscellaneous construction-paper pieces of varying shapes and folding techniques) that were all over his room
A suction cup
A pencil left on the couch
Broken pieces of something of which I know not

However, for some freak reason, I decided to hand over a piece of K'nex and a Lego head that I found in the grass. My young son and I were picking up plums under the tree and I saw these two items. I said, "Here is a K'nex piece," and handed it to him. Then I found the other item and said, "Hey, here's that Lego head you lost," and handed it to him while also telling him to put these things in his pocket so he could (hopefully) remember to put them in his room when he went back into the house. Of course, when it's laundry time, those pockets better be checked (by my other son who does his and his brother's laundry)!

You found WHAT??

2009-06-25T07:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I was busy working in my home office as usual. My husband had been outside mowing. My oldest son (J) was in his room, happily playing. My youngest son (K), who will be seven soon, was playing outside and hopefully staying out of his dad's way. Let me back up a minute here. We don't have a typical yard and we don't live in a typical neighborhood. We live on a rural street with houses scattered about. We have a portion of woods on our property and we have private forestland in back of the house.

K came inside and came down to my office (which is on the lower level of the house). He was all excited to show me something. It was two teeth stuck together. He said, "Mom, I found this. It's teeth." Yes, upon inspection, it appeared to be an animal's teeth. I couldn't quite tell what kind of animal as there were only the two teeth, but they were brown and looked rather old. He said, "They were on a stick and I pulled this part off." I said, "A stick? Where?" He said, "In the woods. Back down by the fence." I said, "Could you find it again? I want to see it." He said, "I know you can't come see it right now because you are working, but when you are done can you come see it?" I said, "Yes, when I stop for lunch." He left the room and went back outside. I immediately went to Facebook to post that my son found teeth in the yard.

When it came time to stop for lunch, I went outside to find K and ask him where the teeth were found. He led me down into the woods, along a trail, and I realized that some tree branches had blown over during the last strong winds and decided they'd need to be removed. I had to either duck real low or pull them away in order to get through. At one point, I saw what looked like K's black knit hat. I said, "K, what's this? Why is that there?" He said, "Oh, it's wet," and kept walking. I picked it up and it was sopping wet. I wondered how long it had been out there! I carried it with the intent of draping it over the porch rail when we got back to the house.

I followed K deeper into the woods and along the back fence where my husband and I planted tree seedlings. Here, you might be wondering why, if we have all these trees already, why we planted more. Well, you see, we didn't want to be seeing Bob's house in the winter when the leaves fall off the alders and other leaf trees. We can barely see Bob's roof but just don't want to see it at all.

Anyway, back on track, K got to where the teeth were found and the 'stick' that the teeth were on. I saw it on the ground at the base of a fir tree. I said, "K, that isn't a stick. That's a part of a jaw." It was about seven inches long with a slight curve to it. It looked like a side portion of jaw. My first thought was that it came from a coyote, but maybe not because the coyotes around here aren't very big. K asked what he should do with the two teeth he found earlier, and I told him to put it back into the jaw with the other teeth where it belonged. I said he could keep the whole thing, but NOT in the house. He put the two teeth back into the jaw and carried it with him back towards the house. When we got halfway there, he noticed that the two teeth were gone from the jaw. "Where did the teeth go?" he asked. I said, "They probably fell out somewhere on the trail. You still have the jaw, though, and there are teeth on it." He said, "Yeah, I'll keep this." I said, "You can keep it, but I don't want it in the house. You find a place outside where you want to keep it."

When we got back to the house, K decided to put the bone on a landscaping brick sitting in the front yard. We went into the house to fix something for lunch, and I told K to wash his hands. Seeing as how that jaw was part of a mouth and who knows how long it had been sitting out there, I didn't want to chance a germ/bacteria infestation.

K is happy to have an artifact that he can show people. I love how he is imaginative and creative and will play outside til the cows come home. Look what he found! A jaw and teeth. That wouldn't have happened if he had been indoors all day like his brother. The two of them are so different which is why I love them so.

"It's a 6!"

2009-06-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

I am a work-at-home mom - thought I'd throw that out there because I don't think I mentioned it before. This started in mid March. So I was downstairs in my home office, working away, when my six-year-old son came down carrying a polo shirt. He said, "This is too small," and he handed it to me. I said, "It can't be, it's a 6." He said, "The sleeves are here," and he pointed to his upper arm, halfway up. I said, "It's a short-sleeve shirt. The sleeves are supposed to be there." I tossed it back to him and told him to hang it up in his closet. I think he thought it was too small because my husband and I often tell the kids that their long-sleeve shirts are too small when the sleeves are well above the wrist!

52 Free Apron Patterns You Can Make - site review and ratings

2009-06-09T17:41:00.001-07:00

52 Free Apron Patterns You Can Make - site review and ratings

Shared via AddThis

It's Friday and the kids are home

2009-05-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

It's kind of hard to work when you constantly have a child coming to your office to ask if he can play next door. It is hard to work when it's sunny outside! Most of all, it's hard to work when the child keeps coming into the room to ask questions. Why is it that even though his dad is upstairs and not doing anything significant, the child must come down to my office to bug me? Well, it's because I'm mommy and I usually give him the attention he needs. Now that I have officially quit for the day (quit working, not quit being mommy) that child is nowhere to be found. At least it's quiet upstairs. Makes me wonder what the kids are up to!

Friday and the kids are home. They had school but they get out early each Friday. A working parent's nightmare - if they work outside the home. We used to pay for daycare for the kids and it was quite a struggle getting the older one to agree to get on the bus to go there. The daycare was basically geared toward the younger set (toddlers, pre-K, etc.) and while my youngest didn't mind it, the older one was bored. As luck would have it, my husband ended up at home during the day and the kids no longer had to go to daycare. Now that I work from home as well, the kids will never have to go there again. Amen to that!

It's sunny out but it looks a little cold, so I am going to get out of this chair and go outside. I'll bring the dogs (and maybe the kids, too - if I can find them) and get some fresh air!

What should I have expected?

2008-11-13T07:15:00.001-08:00

My 11-year-old son really let me down. I was very hurt by his nonactions. Does that make sense? Let me explain. Last night he had his music program at school. Most of the program was honoring the veterans (the program was held the day after Veteran's Day) and one song was truly touching. It was called American Tears and put a lot of people in tears. Not just the song, but the slide show that the students/teachers made to go with it. The pictures in the slide show were of family members (of the students and teachers) in the military past and present. Not one of those were submitted by my boy. I was hurt and saddened. He didn't bother to ask either one of us (my husband and I) if we had pictures of his new family's relatives that had been in the service. I know my dad was, my dad's father, my father-in-law. I had tears in my eyes not just because of the lyrics, but because my own child didn't come forth and ask about pictures. Maybe it's because he forgot. Maybe it's because he's adopted and didn't think about his new family's past. I really don't know.

Talking to kids about death

2008-11-07T06:48:00.000-08:00

My cousin's husband died of a heart attack at the age of 50. I found out at work when my mom called and left a message on my voice mail while I was at lunch. She had said, "Call me as soon as you can." I called when I got back to my desk and she told me what had happened. So sad. I waited until I got home to tell my husband. He just didn't know what to say except that Keith was a fun guy and that he really enjoyed the time he spent with him.

At dinner, we say grace. We take turns saying something. Last night J started and he prayed that his team would win the last soccer game (tomorrow). I prayed for my cousin's family and for Jesus to open the door for Keith. Ok... here come the tears again. :( Anyway, Kent was next and he prayed also for Keith's family and then my youngest prayed for a yummy dinner.

During dinner, our conversation was about death and funerals and memorial services. Not your typical dinnertime talk, but it came up and we just kind of went with it. J was confused as to what a funeral was and what a memorial service was. K is only six, so we really had to talk in six-year-old language. I said that a funeral is where a dead person is put in a big box and the box is put in the ground. People stand around the box and say things and then dirt is pile up over the box. The box is buried in the ground. A memorial service is where there is no dead person, no body, no box. People come to remember the person and they can say things that they remember about that person. Kind of sounds too simple, but kids don't really understand if it's too hard.

My husband said that he wanted to be cremated. I said that at first I wanted my body to be buried, but then again, I didn't want worms crawling through my body. Cremation was probably a better plan, but where did I want my ashes? Certainly not in a little box to sit and gather dust on a mantle. Maybe to spread them down in California, a place I remember visiting as a child. My husband said, "Why not Arizona? That's where a lot of your family is." I said I just didn't know. He wants his ashes spread over the islands which are west of where we live.

Anyway, J had said that he went to a place (a building) once where all these dead people were. I looked at him and asked if he meant a mausoleum. He said he didn't know. He then asked what the area is called of a hospital that has all the dead people. I told him that was a morgue.

Meanwhile, my husband started getting gross in his explanation of something else and since it was dinner, I made him stop. We were eating chicken and he was talking about rotting flesh and stuff. Ewww!

Well, that's basically what we talked about at dinner and I don't know if it helped any, but at least we are very open and will talk about pretty much anything with the kids.

Quote for the day

2008-11-05T11:10:00.001-08:00

I couldn't resist posting this which I saw on the parent-teacher organization's web site for my kids' school:

Children seldom misquote. In
fact, they usually repeat word
for word
what you shouldn't
have said.
- Author Unknown

"Why boys need parents"

2008-10-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

I got this in an e-mail from my aunt. I don't know who wrote it, so I can't give proper credit. It is just too good to keep to myself.

You find out interesting things when you have sons, like...

1.) A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq.. ft.
house 4 inches deep.

2.) If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller
blades, they can ignite.

3.) A 3-year old Boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded
restaurant.

4.) If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong
enough to rotate a 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It
is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four
walls of a 20x20 ft. room.

5.) You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When
using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before
you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

6.) The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by
a ceiling fan.

7.) When you hear the toilet flush and the words 'uh oh', it's already too
late.

8.) Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

9.) A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a
36-year old Man says they can only do it in the movies.

10.) Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old
Boy.

11.) Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same
sentence.

12.) Super glue is forever.

13.) No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool,you still can't
walk on water.

14.) Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

15.) VCR's do not eject 'PB & J' sandwiches even though TV commercials
show they do.

16.) Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17.) Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

18.) You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.

19.) Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not
like ovens.

20.) The fire department in Austin , TX has a 5-minute response
time.

21.) The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms
dizzy.

22.) It will, however, make cats dizzy.

23.) Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

24.) 80% of Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or
without kids.

25.) 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake
fluid.

A sissy girl

2008-10-06T19:53:00.000-07:00

After dinner tonight, my youngest and I were sitting at the table playing a game - a homework assignment. He had a penny he had to flip and he had to write down if it was heads or tails. He was supposed to write a '1' if it landed on heads or tails. He decided to color in the box for 'tails' instead of writing a '1'. I gave him an eraser to use to erase the colored-in area and then write in a '1'. My fingers met with his and I noticed his nails were long AGAIN. I just clipped them! I asked him why his nails were long already and he said, "Because I'm a sissy girl." I laughed and laughed! My older son, who was sitting in the living room, burst out laughing also. Then my youngest, the one who said he was a sissy girl, said "I am a sissy girl who does the cha-cha." That is a line from the movie 'Bruce Almighty.' My boys LOVE that movie! Immediately after he had said all this, I just *had* to get online and blog it!

Soccer

2008-10-03T10:16:00.000-07:00

Last night when my husband and oldest son (11) came home from soccer practice, my husband quietly told me that he will not attend any more practices or games since our son yelled at him and told him not to talk to him during practice. It made no sense to me, so I asked him to expand on that. Apparently my husband was encouraging J to kick and dribble the ball, but J took offense or something and got mad. J told his dad not to holler or yell (that's not what he was doing) at him during games and/or practice. My husband got mad and that was the end of it.

Now I'm stuck attending all the practices and all the games... without my husband. I go normally, but it's nice to have someone to watch with. I told J last night at bedtime how hurt his dad was about all this and that he should really think about what he is saying to his dad and to be respectful of him. I said that his dad really enjoyed the practices and the games, but now he doesn't want to go because he's afraid if he says something, J will get angry with him.

Kids are not little adults. They don't think like we do and don't understand when adults take what they say in a different way than intended. I explained this to my husband but he was just too angry to let it sink in.

I hope that with a couple days of a cooling-off period that this blows over.

The hoodie came back

2008-10-03T08:19:00.000-07:00

Yes, my friends, the hoodie did come back just in time for that kid to go to scouts! He also remembered to bring home the one he wore and forgot in the classroom. Now we have all coats/hoodies accounted for. Just in time for the rains. A storm is a'brewin out on the coast and headed inland!

The missing hoodie

2008-09-30T10:43:00.001-07:00

Apparently last Thursday my child took his green hoodie to school, took it off, left it on the playground, went back into his classroom, came home..... without it. Friday he was to find it and bring it home, but apparently the playground ladies found it in a puddle and it was all wet. They said he couldn't bring it home all wet, so he'd have to wait over the weekend.

I asked him about it yesterday, if he'd gone to find it, and he said the playground ladies wouldn't let him have it. Hmmm..... why would that be?? My husband thinks he's lying. He is six. He tends to fib. I told him if he didn't bring it home today (Tuesday) that he wouldn't be able to go to scouts on Wednesday. He LOVES scouts. I told him to tell his teacher that he needs to bring home the missing hoodie. We'll see what happens.

When mommy's sick, kids just don't care

2008-09-29T13:46:00.000-07:00

I still find it hard to comprehend kids' thinking sometimes. I had a rotten cold and was homebound for three days. My youngest, 6, wanted to play at a friend's house on Saturday and unfortunately it was around dinnertime for the friend. My husband told our son that he couldn't play over there at the time. Apparently my son asked his dad if another friend could come over to our house to play and his dad said, "No, because your mother is sick." Our son came into the house crying, and he came over to me and I asked why he was crying. He said, "I can't go play anywhere and nobody can come here because you're sick. Waaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Oh dear! I told him he could play at someone's house the following day. He was just so upset and couldn't understand why no one could play at our house. I even tried to explain it to him and he was still sad.

Meanwhile, all weekend the kids tried to avoid doing their chores. They sat around watching t.v. or playing outside. I always encourage them to play outside, but of course I like them to do their chores first. Being sick, I really wasn't on top of my game. Finally, at almost the last moment (about an hour before dinner), I reminded them of their chores. They pouted, but they did them.

UGH! Kids.

Kids DO say the darndest things!

2008-09-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

The temperatures have dropped here during the day and overnight, so we've put the woodstove in full swing, heating the house. At one point, the upstairs was so warm (almost 80 degrees!) that my husband said, "Wow, we could run around naked up here!" and my 11-year-old said, "That's disturbing. I'd run away for a week!" Ha ha! What a jokester! I laughed so hard I had to leave the room. And of course my husband was kidding.

Food likes/dislikes

2008-09-19T11:20:00.001-07:00

Today I ate a Ding Dong. You remember those - Hostess makes them. I last had one as a kid, I'm sure. My husband bought some for our boys, and yesterday my youngest wanted one as a snack after school. I said, "Sure, but save me one because I never had any out of the last box." I gave him one and picked one to save for myself.

I brought it to work with me today and had it for my morning snack. It was actually 11 o'clock when I ate it. Sure, it was kind of tasty, but nothing like I imagined it would be. I thought it was going to be super moist and would melt in my mouth. This was not the case. It had kind of that fake-o artificial chocolate taste. And you know what? It gave me a stomachache!

After eating it, I recalled how I had eaten a Twinkie a few years back and it made me ill as well. Too much sugar and artificial everything. Those goodies that I ate as a kid - I cannot handle them anymore. They don't taste as good as I remember. I guess that's why they are geared towards kids. Adults know better and stay away!

Just because you wear a hoodie...

2008-09-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

... that doesn't mean you have to wear the hood. My youngest son (6) always puts his hoodie on (a fleece jacket w/hood) and then immediately puts the hood over his head. It could be sunny out, but cold, and he'll put that on his head. No rain, no problem - put that hood over his head. I think he thinks that since it has a hood, it goes on his head. He does this with his regular jacket which has a hood. The hood goes on his head. Always. And with his jacket, when the hood is on his head, it makes him look bald because the rim of the hood is elasticized (stretchy) and is fitted quite closely around his face. Looks pretty silly. In all actuality, I think that coat is too small for him. Which leads to another topic entirely: Kids growing too quickly!

Back to school

2008-09-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

The kids are back in school again. Sixth and first grade. So far, they are enjoying it. The older one, J, is in soccer this year. He loves it! His little bro has been to a couple of the practices and just can't understand why he can't run amok on the field with the bigger kids. Maybe next year.
The team's name right now is the Cheetahs. No one has thought of a better name, so it's the Cheetahs unless something else comes along. One of the other boys on the team said they could be the Cheetos - ha! I laughed! Good one! Then another boy said, "Let's be the Cheerios!" Silly sixth graders.

AVON calling!

2008-07-11T07:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, you heard me. As if I didn't have a million other things to do, I became an AVON rep again. I sold AVON six years ago but quit when my husband became seriously ill. I decided to give it another whirl.

www.youravon.com/kristenparkinson

My kids can help me deliver products!

What am I? Chopped liver?

2008-06-12T08:37:00.001-07:00

The boys came home from school yesterday and immediately asked for a snack. A cookie? I said they could have yogurt. I gave them yogurt. Things were fine until...

The oldest, 11, mentioned he was going outside to do chores and he asked his little brother to put firewood by the fireplace. That was the last of it (the conversation and any thought of doing chores) as they both started playing some made-up game. They were shooting each other with those foam-disk guns. They played loudly (while I was trying to do some reading for book discussion group) and I asked them to be quiet.

Thirty minutes or so later, their dad walked in and guess what? The oldest immediately put his shoes on and started doing chores! Ugh!!! I felt angry because why is it that when dad appears, the kids decide to finally do their chores??

Half a bag of chips?

2008-06-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

My five-year-old came home from school the other day and asked his dad if he could have a small bag of chips. Dad said, "No, because you never eat all your dinner." Child said, "Half a bag?" Dad said, "Ok, half a bag." Dad handed over the bag. Child at the whole thing. Dad said, "You better eat all your dinner!" Child said, "I will." Child did eat all his dinner! He made it clear he was going to eat the entire thing. I think he wanted a cookie afterward, which brings me to another topic.

This same child always asks for some type of dessert after he finished his dinner. Last night it was, "Can I have a cookie now?" UGH! I flat out said, "No." He asked why and I told him it was because he is always expecting dessert. We don't have dessert on a regular basis. I'd rather he have a surprise dessert instead of expecting something every night.

Hungry? Or just wanting attention?

2008-06-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

Apparently my little man (5) came home from school yesterday and asked his daddy for a snack. He said, "Can I have chips?" My hubby said, "No, you can't have chips. No snack for you because you never eat all your dinner after you've had a snack." My boy walked into his room with his head down and cried. He was crying in his room. Was this for attention or was he honestly hungry? No idea.

Hubby walked into the room and told him he could have grapes instead of chips and that boy's eyes lit up! He ate his snack. He even ate all his dinner!

Today when I get home, the boys will be coming off the bus and they'll most likely ask for a snack (the last time they would have eaten would be 11:30 or so, for lunch) and I'll happily reply, "Yes, you can have cherries or bananas," and if they ask for anything else, the answer will be NO.

I didn't really want to discuss adoption to my 5-year-old yet

2008-06-02T08:21:00.001-07:00

He brought it up, not me. At dinner the other night, he mentioned remembering trick-or-treating when he was little (he's still little!) and that he remembers living with "an old lady and a lot of other kids" and boy, he doesn't know how right he is. He was thinking it was a dream, but we told him he did live with an elderly lady and other kids. I just didn't feel like this was a good time for him to start talking about his previous life as he is only 5 and most likely doesn't understand. He's still in a fantasy land at this age and can't distinguish between fact and fiction very well.

From the mouths of babes

2008-05-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

One weekend morning recently, my children were making a mess of the throw blankets in the living room. I asked them to please fold the blankets and put them back on the couch. They complained, of course, and said it was too hard to fold big blankets.

A little bit later, my five-year-old son said, "I think we should have a day of quiet and no being loud and no t.v. and no blankets." Ha ha! Too funny!

Baby naming

2008-05-19T12:38:00.001-07:00

I came across quite a funny website on naming infants. Thought I'd share it with you!

http://www.notwithoutmyhandbag.com/babynames/index.html

Be sure to read through all the different sections. The author is quite sarcastic, so be prepared!

No homework? Fifth grade?!?

2008-05-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

My son never has homework. Every once in a while, he'll have a paper due in which he has to do some sort of research, but it usually doesn't take him long to do. He does his rough draft during class time and has nothing to bring home. Sometimes I feel as if I have no idea what he is doing in school. He forgets to bring anything home, even after his dad and I ask. We'll say, "Did you bring home your completed math work?" He'll say he forgot (conveniently). We'll ask if he brought home his agenda and he'll say he forgot. How about if we 'forget' that he likes to play on the computer or that he'd like to play with his friends? Let's see how well that goes over.

The chocolates in the box are not the same as on the key

2008-04-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right. Although this has nothing to do with kids, I thought I'd share it anyway. You know when you buy a good-sized box of chocolates, the underside of the lid (or a separate piece of paper) has the outline of the chocolates and which flavors are where? Well, there was a box of chocolates (this reminds me of Forrest Gump) at work and I checked for dark chocolates (this was a box of truffles in assorted flavors) and found what should have been a mocha truffle. "Oh wow!" I thought. "I should be in heaven with that flavor!" I don't eat a lot of chocolate - very rarely. I figured it would be a good time for chocolate and picked up that truffle. I took it to my desk and sat down, ready to savor that morsel. Oh, to my dismay, it was not mocha but some other flavor that I couldn't distinguish. I almost spit it out! I, however, did chew it and finish it, but I was quite saddened by the fact that the key to the chocolate was incorrect. Boo hoo.

Sharing a funny

2008-04-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share something I found funny from my 2006 calendar. It was one of those page-a-day things. This was for Thursday, August 24:

"A Sure Hit"

Someone on the Internet has come up with a great idea for a new Survivor TV show. It features six dads with four kids each, and all are stuck on an island for six weeks and forced to share only one car and one TV (which has no remote). Each kid has to play two sports and take one art or music class. With no access to fast food, each dad has to cook three meals a day plus do housework, correct all homework, do laundry, and attend PTA meetings. Kids vote the men off the island based on such criteria as lunches packed and clothes ironed. The last man on the island is crowned "Mother"--and gets to repeat the experience for eighteen more years.

Learn about adoption through books

2008-04-25T07:15:00.000-07:00

I am posting a website that sells a lot of books about adoption, raising hurt children, etc. It is wonderful! They have a print catalog that you can request as well. The company is called Tapestry Books. I have ordered from them several times and highly recommend them.

Here is the link:

http://www.tapestrybooks.com/

Mom for the first time - in my 40s!

2008-04-24T10:26:00.000-07:00

Most women start their families (having babies) when they are in their 20s. Not me. Things didn't work out that way. I started when I was in my early 40s. And I got instant kids - through adoption. My husband and I adopted our kids through the foster care system and that's how it was an instant four-person family. Oh, and 8 paws (we have dogs).

After being married 14 years and me not getting pregnant, it was time for less-drastic measures than tossing $30K to the wind (for medical procedures) - hubby and I signed with an adoption agency and got started on the homestudy process. We also had to get certified in CPR and had extensive training (parenting classes, HIV awareness, Hepatitis classes, etc.). We needed to be licensed foster parents in order to bring in children from the system that we possibly wanted to adopt.

To make a long story short, we brought in two kids and knew right from the start that they were home. There would never be any other placement for them except in our house. And after over 1 1/2 years of them being with us, we were able to finalize our adoption.

So here I am, 44, with two kids in grade school. A friend of mine from high school recently became a grandma! She's got teenagers and I've got little kids. My sister has teens and 20-ish-aged kids and I've got little kids. I wouldn't trade my littles for the world. They were meant to be with my hubby and I.