Catching Up
I have failed miserably as a blog writer lately. Between family and work, life just simply got in the way. Here are some notes from the past week:
- I am not as young as I think I am. We went roller skating on Saturday. If you read my last post on roller skating, you know that I broke my elbow the last time I tried to skate. I have been wanting to try again for years and finally convinced Ed to go to Jelly Beans in Cary. I was very hesitant and so scared that I was going to lose my balance and break something. I was afraid to hold Hailey’s hand because I didn’t want her to knock me off balance. I had to take frequent breaks and finally my thighs were quivering so badly I had to give it up. I promised Ed it was out of my system and I will not be asking to go again. There – it is in writing. I hope he holds me to it. Getting out of bed on Sunday was a difficult task! Leah was too cute in her tiny skates. She tried her best but I am confidant we won’t be hearing her ask to go back anytime soon.
- Our next excursion was to Chuck E. Cheese. This was a first for me and I absolutely loved it. We had a great time and learned that I should never be allowed near a slot machine.
- Leah and I had to stay home Thursday and Friday because she had strep. She asked me one day where her daddy was and I told her he was at work. She told me that daddy got people out of jail because the big mean witch put them there and they missed their mommy and daddy.
- Leah also had her second UTI so she now has to go to UNC for testing to determine if she has urinary reflux. This will involve a catheter. I have had two children without epidurals and one catheter. I would choose childbirth any day. I wonder if they provide the mom with a sedative!
- I love Zelda (my GPS). I had to go to Raleigh yesterday to “defend” my budget proposal. I decided I wanted to eat at Zaxby’s for lunch since we do not have one in Sanford. Even though I grew up in Raleigh, learned to drive there, and go there often to visit our parents, I have no directional sense whatsoever and do not have confidence in my abilities to get from point A to point B without getting lost. Normally I would not venture off my main course, but I knew Zelda would get me from Zaxby’s to our state office in the “fastest time possible”. On the way home I realized I needed gas. I took an exit because of the “gas next right” sign. It was just my luck that there was not one of those signs that tells you which direction to go and for how many miles. Zelda to the rescue! I just clicked on the gas pump icon and she led me where I needed to go and got me back on the road with no problems.
- I got carded today. It was at Wal-Mart and they card everyone under 40, but it still felt great!
- Our book club discussed To Kill A Mockingbird tonight. If you have not read this book since middle school or high school, you should really read it again. It is a great book and even though it is set in the 30s, the messages still hold true.
- My sister, Jo Ellen (aka “Your Far Away Sister”) gave me a B&N gift card for my birthday. One of the things I got was a “Too Cool for School” box set that includes “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, “Pretty in Pink”, and “Some Kind of Wonderful”. I just need “Can’t Buy Me Love” and I am all set! I can’t wait to watch them this weekend!
- When I found out Leah had strep and had to be home, we went straight to the movie store and got “Freaky Friday” (the original, of course!), “Shaggy DA” (we watched the black and white version), and “Follow that Bird”. I’m sure I enjoyed them more than she did, but it was fun to revisit those old movies. We also had to get “Princess Diaries”. We have PD2 and Leah is obsessed. She will be 3 next month and she wants a “Princess Diaries” party.
- Hailey, Lindsay and I went shopping at the Kids Kloset consignment sale. We were really going to look for outdoor toys for the center but ended up looking for clothes for Hailey. Lindsay got to experience first hand how difficult Hailey is to clothe. She shot down almost everything we showed her. I was trying to get her excited about shorts or a short skirt for the summer. She finally agreed on 2 pink skirts and black gauchos (so cute). When she put on one of the skirts on Saturday, she told me it would be rude to wear it because it was too high above her knees. ARGH! She wanted to wear a white shirt and the only one she has is a tank top. She asked if she could wear a sweater over it because she did not want her arms to show. How many moms do you know that fight with their girls to wear shorts and tank tops??
- I’m sure there is plenty more, but for the two of you who have read this far, I promise to try and keep up a little better!
Leahisms
My current favorite Leahisms:
“How ’bout that?” As in, “I’m going to go get a treat, how ’bout that?”
“Uh-Huh, sure can!” – when asked to do something.
Leah is very sneaky. She likes to hide food. After Leah stayed at my mom’s, mom noticed that there were four granola bars missing. She found them a couple of days later. They were in a line under the dining room table. I bet you Leah looks for them next time she is there and wants a snack. She also hides food in her purse and has been known to use her stool from the bathroom to reach the shelves in the pantry that are off-limits.
After they both got into the candy stash, Ed made a production of throwing the whole container out. (side note: We rarely let our kids have candy. It makes them NUTS. The stash of candy including Halloween candy. It was time for it to go and it just made it all the better that we got a lesson out of it!) Not long after Ed threw the candy in the trash, Leah whispered to Hailey, “Let’s go get the candy.” So glad she learned a lesson.
We are in so much trouble.
The little green monster
We are having serious issues with jealousy in our house. I spent the last 10 days with Hailey and Leah and had to be very careful with dividing my affections and my attention. Here are some questions I got from Hailey this week:
“How come when you look at Leah you smile and when you look at me you make a face like this (she frowned)?” (ok, I probably do frown at her more than I do Leah but she WHINES and I HATE whining!)
(at a restaurant) “Why does Leah get to sit by you and I have to sit across from you?”
“Why do you love Leah more than you love me?” (too bad there is no way to prove you love both your kids the same)
“Why does Leah get all the hugs?” (and if you believe that, you are crazy)
“Did you do that with me when I was Leah’s age?” (Yes, only more because we just had you!)
“Why does Leah get a purple egg and I have a pink one?” (yeah, you just have to roll your eyes at that one)
Not to mention all the times she dissolved in tears because Leah had come to snuggle beside me first. Hailey would not think to do something until she saw Leah do it and then she would be offended at ME that she had not thought of it first.
I wanted to minimize the fighting and whining on Easter morning so I was very careful to buy duplicates of everything for their baskets. I bought two small dolls but they had different outfits – one was dressed as a duck and one as a bunny. I did this to minimize fighting over whose was whose. I asked Ed who should get what and he made a good point that the bunny would probably be the more popular one and Leah would not care if Hailey got it but Hailey would care if Leah got it. sigh. If only it was that easy. The bunny outfit had feet and the duck outfit did not. Hailey’s question? “How come you can see the toes on Leah’s doll but you can’t see them on mine?” argh!!! We can’t win!
We have talked to Hailey until we are blue in the face (Carolina blue, to be exact) but this is just something she is going to have to get over and grow out of.
Ramblings
I have neglected my blog and I have really missed it. However, when the choice is write or sleep, I am going to choose sleep every time. My random notes and thoughts of the day:
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I was very tired when I got home and in and effort to wake myself up a little, I took the girls for a walk. We rambled all through the neighborhood and had a great time looking at the flowers and watching for squirrels. We ran into Jennifer, Miles, and Honey which thrilled the girls. Hailey loves a chance to “perform” and Leah just loves dogs. I love this neighborhood and am thankful that we will be able to walk in the afternoons now that it will stay light longer.
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Buster the cat has taken to staring into the fireplace in our bedroom. It is creeping me out a little.
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Hailey and Leah were playing a nice game together just now until Leah did something “wrong” and Hailey told Leah she was not her friend anymore…Leah responded with “you’re not my sister anymore!” You gotta love sisters!
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I have an ear infection that refuses to go away. I had to go to urgent care on Wicker over the weekend…scary place. They will be building a new facility next to the new Kerr, but in the meantime, they should really do something to make the place look a little cleaner. They literally have wallpaper hanging off the walls – even in the examining room.
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My budget for the next fiscal year is due Friday and I will be in meetings Thursday and Friday. Anyone have a crystal ball I can borrow?
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I spent about 2 hours total on the phone with our IT office today because my laptop hates me. It takes 5-10 minutes just to get a Word or Excel document to open…if I can get it to open at all. I would get so much more done in a day if my computer would just keep up with me.
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I have watched “Mr. Magorium’s Magic Emporium” 3 times in the past 3 days. I love it (and obviously my kids do too). I hope to write more about it once life calms down a bit.
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We moved furniture into the law office this weekend. There is actually a waiting room now!
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Ed sent out his first round of letters today to people who have received traffic tickets. I hope this generates some business!
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There are 3 more work days before our Spring Break…thank you, God! Being home by myself with both girls for a week should make for some interesting blogs next week!
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and Jennifer…I STILL want chocolate!!!
Things I learned from my sister, Julie
Because of our age difference (I won’t say how many years so that I don’t get in trouble), I didn’t always have my oldest sister, Julie, around. When she was around, I was either pestering her (I would hide behind the furniture in the living room when she had dates over and annoy her) or she was mean to me (sorry, Julie…you were…you played hide and go seek with Jo Ellen and I and you did not seek…that is just plain mean).
When Ed passed the bar exam and was looking for a job, he decided to call the DA for the 11th district just to see if they had any openings because we loved Sanford, knew Julie and her family loved it, wanted to live in a small town, and wanted to be able to see Julie, Jimmy, and our nephew, Jay, often. We were thrilled to learn that there was in fact an opening in the Lee County DAs office and Ed got the job. I feel very fortunate to have lived in the same town as Julie for the past seven years. I have been able to watch her parenting style with her two boys and much of how Ed and I parent is based on what we learned from Julie and Jimmy. Here are some of my favorite things I have learned from Julie:
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Laugh – no matter what is broken, ruined, stained, or lost…find a way to laugh about it because in the grand scheme of life, it really doesn’t matter.
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You are never going to have enough money to have children…money isn’t important, family is.
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Don’t scrimp and buy cheap cat food or you will pay for it later.
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Pay attention when filling out your address on work-related orders or you might just come home to find huge boxes of prom stuff on your front porch.
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If your kids want to just eat Cheerios and milk for every meal…let them. They won’t do it forever.
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If your kids want to sleep in your bed now and then…let them. They are only little once.
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Don’t stress about potty training. They’ll get it on their own time.
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Every child is different and you have to relate to them differently because of their differences.
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If someone offers to buy something for you…let them.
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Help your children discover their passion and listen when they tell you they aren’t interested in an activity.
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Finding a good deal on a great purse is reason to celebrate.
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You should buy yourself a birthday present.
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Let your children make their own mistakes…they’ll learn.
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The adventures you have with your children are more important than the “stuff” you give them.
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Kids heal…don’t stress.
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Petri dishes are a cool way to keep your matching jewelry together.
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Instant mashed potatoes can taste better than the real thing – and they are a heck of a lot easier.
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You can never have too many earrings.
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When you are pregnant, no one, and I mean, no one, will take care of you like Wesley Tyler, CNM.
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If you aren’t the best cook…marry someone who is.
Reading is pretty cool
One day your child is learning their letters and phonics and the next day they are reading a book to you…or at least that is how it seems. I asked Hailey this weekend if it was cool to go from seeing signs as meaningless letters put together with pictures to being able to read what the signs say. Hailey, in her ever dramatic and wise way said to me, “Mo-om, I can read now. I’m in Kindergarten.” Well, yeah…that was the point. Anyway, I think it is pretty awesome how reading changes the whole world around you. Not only can you read what is around you, but you can explore whole new worlds and ideas through books. We have bookshelves crammed full of books and Ed has read several chapter books to the girls (Harry Potter books are the favorites…I’ve read all the books twice but I bet you Hailey can tell you more details than I can) so books in general are in no way new to Hailey. What is new is the ability to sit down and read a book to herself, her parents, or her little sister. It really touched me tonight when Leah asked me to read her a book and Hailey said she would do it. The book was called “I’m the Big Sister” and when Leah sat down with Hailey she announced that she was the “little sister”. I love my girls. They make every day crazy, fun, sweet, and wonderful.
