I don't really have anything against cell phones - much. I mean, they are handy in an emergency, even if they are annoying in public restrooms (seriously - how difficult is it to relieve your bodily functions and then call your BFF Tammy?) A cell phone is great if you are at the grocery store and can't remember if you have enough olive oil in the cupboard for that dish you were going to make for dinner and your husband is home giving the kids a bath so you get to actually shop in peace!
However this episode cracked me up and then made me realize how times have changed.
I had run to Target the other morning with my boys and I ran into my BFF Kim. This was unusual since I usually only shop in the evenings so I can leave my kids behind with Daddy and she tends to shop during the day while her kids are in school.
So we chat for a few minutes, even though we'd just had a playdate with our kids the afternoon before. Then her cell phone rings. Nothing unusual in that - it is becoming quite common place. But then I hear her say "Mom!"
Wait - didn't she tell me she was here with her mom?
"...where are you?"
Yup. Her mom had called her on her cell phone within the same shop in order to find her. Whatever happened to the days of parents and children hollering at each other across the top of the aisles? Oh, society! How you've progressed!
My friend walks to the end of the aisle and peeks out. "Mom, I'm eight feet away. Turn around!"
My favorite part is that while my friend just hangs up her phone, her mother properly says, "Oh there you are! Good-bye!"
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Speaking of Babies...
Miri likes to stand now, and one of her favorite methods is to hang off my pants while I'm in the kitchen cooking or making lotion.
Which was fine, until today, when I was still in my baggy flannels and hadn't tied them around the waist and she was "helping" me make some lotion and pulled my pants down! The sudden give of material startled her into letting go and she fell backward and whomped her head pretty good on the floor.
Poor baby, lying there with her head injury and her mama screaming in laughter with her pants halfway down.
The worst was that I lost my place while measuring and my scale turned off on me. So I had to pour the scent back into the bottle and re-measure.
Miri was fine. By the time I went back into the kitchen a few minutes later to stir, she was back at it, clinging to my pants - which this time were firmly tied!
Which was fine, until today, when I was still in my baggy flannels and hadn't tied them around the waist and she was "helping" me make some lotion and pulled my pants down! The sudden give of material startled her into letting go and she fell backward and whomped her head pretty good on the floor.
Poor baby, lying there with her head injury and her mama screaming in laughter with her pants halfway down.
The worst was that I lost my place while measuring and my scale turned off on me. So I had to pour the scent back into the bottle and re-measure.
Miri was fine. By the time I went back into the kitchen a few minutes later to stir, she was back at it, clinging to my pants - which this time were firmly tied!
Monday, January 12, 2009
And Then There Were Three!
Stop beating down my blogverbial doors! I'll give you the synopsis on our third and last child now!
Miriam was born end of March last year. I can't believe she is nine months old already. She has been our joy, truly the best-natured, happiest baby I've known, which I'm sure will come back and bite me on the arse when she is a teenager, hehehe.
Gulp.
Really, though, when you know this is your last baby, it sure is nice for that baby to be fun and a joy to be around. Miri is just so happy with life. Well, unless she is tired, hungry, or teething - but who isn't cranky in those situations?
She crawls like a fiend, pulls herself up on anything she possibly can, and has recently
discovered the joys of walking, using her baby stroller we got her for Christmas. The look of impish joy on her face as she haltingly pushes that wee stroller around is priceless beyond words!
But it is obvious from that twinkle in her eye, she means trouble - and so we better be on our toes!
Miriam was born end of March last year. I can't believe she is nine months old already. She has been our joy, truly the best-natured, happiest baby I've known, which I'm sure will come back and bite me on the arse when she is a teenager, hehehe.
Gulp.
Really, though, when you know this is your last baby, it sure is nice for that baby to be fun and a joy to be around. Miri is just so happy with life. Well, unless she is tired, hungry, or teething - but who isn't cranky in those situations?
She crawls like a fiend, pulls herself up on anything she possibly can, and has recently
discovered the joys of walking, using her baby stroller we got her for Christmas. The look of impish joy on her face as she haltingly pushes that wee stroller around is priceless beyond words!But it is obvious from that twinkle in her eye, she means trouble - and so we better be on our toes!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Second Son, NOT Same as the First
When I found out our second baby was also going to be a boy, I knew theoretically that they would be different, but in reality, I totally prepared for the baby to follow in his brother's footsteps.
Boy, was I wrong! The adage "no two children are alike" is true. So very true. I am sorry I doubted you, adage.
Our first son had colic, and cried almost constantly (or that was what it felt like at least) for the first four months. Second son was a peach! He slept through the night after only a few weeks, and the best part was that he didn't wail for three hours before doing it, either. Isaac, even up through age two or three, took a lot of work to put to bed and usually still cried or fussed himself to sleep for a few minutes. Thad was so easy - you just laid him down and walked away. No fuss, no muss.
Of course, as Thad grew out of babyhood and into toddlerhood, the personality differences became much clearer. Thad is a very happy child, but on the rare occasions he got upset or mad, it was like a hurricane blew in, wreaked havoc, and then left - all in the space of minutes!
Thad is now three years old. He was a really late talker - in fact, he is still catching up to his peer level. We have had some concerns over his developmental delays. At 2 1/2 to 3 years old it is hard to tell whether he is just displaying extreme toddler angst or if there are deeper issues at hand. We've had evaluations done, but no one was willing to give a hard and firm diagnosis - we'd have to take him down to Children's hospital in Seattle to do that, and I am just not willing to put him through that yet. The evaluations done here were harrowing enough.
These local evaluations did qualify him for occupational and speech therapy, which we will start soon. They also qualified him for the public pre-school program aimed at children with developmental delays. He started the one-on-one prep class with his teachers in December and has done really well; we hope to integrate him into the classroom with the other children soon!
He is such a soft-hearted sweetie with a 1,000-watt smile! When he is adorable, he is the most adorable boy on earth. When he is cranky, you want to tear your hair out! I am not sure which son is more persistent - they just wear you down in different ways!
One of my favorite Thad quirks is how he will ask for something 23 billion times until you finally say, "Oh, Thad, would you like some pretzel sticks?" and then he will happily say, "Okay!" like it was all your idea - and a great one at that.
Another thing he does is say thank you - to everything. He'll be having a temper tantrum over watching a show and I'll get down and take away the DVD case as his punishment and when he calms himself down, I'll give it back to him and make him put it away. "Thanks" he says. Hahaha. Silly boy.
For a long time, he wouldn't give hugs, but he has now decided hugs are awesome, so he gives everyone one! He likes to reach around both your arms and squeeze with all his little three-year-old strength. I just love it!
I have a feeling that Thad will give us a hefty set of challenges that are completely different than his older brother's; I also think he'll bring us some of life's greatest joys. My heart swells when I spend time with Thad - he has that effect on you!
Boy, was I wrong! The adage "no two children are alike" is true. So very true. I am sorry I doubted you, adage.
Our first son had colic, and cried almost constantly (or that was what it felt like at least) for the first four months. Second son was a peach! He slept through the night after only a few weeks, and the best part was that he didn't wail for three hours before doing it, either. Isaac, even up through age two or three, took a lot of work to put to bed and usually still cried or fussed himself to sleep for a few minutes. Thad was so easy - you just laid him down and walked away. No fuss, no muss.
Of course, as Thad grew out of babyhood and into toddlerhood, the personality differences became much clearer. Thad is a very happy child, but on the rare occasions he got upset or mad, it was like a hurricane blew in, wreaked havoc, and then left - all in the space of minutes!
Thad is now three years old. He was a really late talker - in fact, he is still catching up to his peer level. We have had some concerns over his developmental delays. At 2 1/2 to 3 years old it is hard to tell whether he is just displaying extreme toddler angst or if there are deeper issues at hand. We've had evaluations done, but no one was willing to give a hard and firm diagnosis - we'd have to take him down to Children's hospital in Seattle to do that, and I am just not willing to put him through that yet. The evaluations done here were harrowing enough.
These local evaluations did qualify him for occupational and speech therapy, which we will start soon. They also qualified him for the public pre-school program aimed at children with developmental delays. He started the one-on-one prep class with his teachers in December and has done really well; we hope to integrate him into the classroom with the other children soon!
He is such a soft-hearted sweetie with a 1,000-watt smile! When he is adorable, he is the most adorable boy on earth. When he is cranky, you want to tear your hair out! I am not sure which son is more persistent - they just wear you down in different ways!
One of my favorite Thad quirks is how he will ask for something 23 billion times until you finally say, "Oh, Thad, would you like some pretzel sticks?" and then he will happily say, "Okay!" like it was all your idea - and a great one at that.
Another thing he does is say thank you - to everything. He'll be having a temper tantrum over watching a show and I'll get down and take away the DVD case as his punishment and when he calms himself down, I'll give it back to him and make him put it away. "Thanks" he says. Hahaha. Silly boy.
For a long time, he wouldn't give hugs, but he has now decided hugs are awesome, so he gives everyone one! He likes to reach around both your arms and squeeze with all his little three-year-old strength. I just love it!
I have a feeling that Thad will give us a hefty set of challenges that are completely different than his older brother's; I also think he'll bring us some of life's greatest joys. My heart swells when I spend time with Thad - he has that effect on you!
Friday, January 2, 2009
When Two Extremes Collide in One Child
So now that I've professed my dedication to writing about my family (please, contain your enthusiasm - it's embarrassing) I thought I would introduce my children, as they will most likely figure prominently in most future posts.
Let's start off with my first born. He is five. My husband's and my genes must have feared he would be our only offspring, because I'm pretty sure we genetically tried to cram all of us into his tiny little body.
He is the epitome of both our extreme personalities. He is mouthy (ahem, that would be me as a child) and he has anger and temper issues (Dad as a child - actually till college). He has an insane imagination and makes up so many stories (me, me, me) and he has an amazing artistic talent and draws much in advance of his age (that would be his daddy all over).
He is Mr Melodramatic (I have NO IDEA where in the world he could ever had mined his talent for over-exaggeration AT ALL. NO IDEA!) and he talks about 97% of his waking hours (and not surprisingly, 5% of his sleeping hours - and you should hear some of the things he says in his sleep! Hahahahah)
In fact, he is chattering away at me as I write this, even though, shameful Mommy that I am, I stopped listening about 10 minutes ago.
When I consider how much he has packed into his skinny-butt body at age five, and I multiply that by three in order to imagine what he will be like at age fifteen . . . well, let's just say I barely prevented myself from passing out and as soon as I post this, I will drop to my knees and plead with God that isn't how it works, because I can tell you right now if that's the case, one of us won't survive that long.
Let's start off with my first born. He is five. My husband's and my genes must have feared he would be our only offspring, because I'm pretty sure we genetically tried to cram all of us into his tiny little body.
He is the epitome of both our extreme personalities. He is mouthy (ahem, that would be me as a child) and he has anger and temper issues (Dad as a child - actually till college). He has an insane imagination and makes up so many stories (me, me, me) and he has an amazing artistic talent and draws much in advance of his age (that would be his daddy all over).
He is Mr Melodramatic (I have NO IDEA where in the world he could ever had mined his talent for over-exaggeration AT ALL. NO IDEA!) and he talks about 97% of his waking hours (and not surprisingly, 5% of his sleeping hours - and you should hear some of the things he says in his sleep! Hahahahah)
In fact, he is chattering away at me as I write this, even though, shameful Mommy that I am, I stopped listening about 10 minutes ago.
When I consider how much he has packed into his skinny-butt body at age five, and I multiply that by three in order to imagine what he will be like at age fifteen . . . well, let's just say I barely prevented myself from passing out and as soon as I post this, I will drop to my knees and plead with God that isn't how it works, because I can tell you right now if that's the case, one of us won't survive that long.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
New Year's Resolution: Blog More
So my New Year's resolution is to blog more. One way I can do that is to talk about my family, because I just find talking about making lotion so much more boring than actually making lotion - and I can always find something to say about my family life.
For those of you who hate personal drivel, pretend I am using metaphors for deeper purposes.
Here is what I have to say about today: I'm tired. Very, very, very tired. I wore myself out preparing for Christmas and then when I was at my lowest, I managed to get some sort of flu or virus. I take two to three naps a day (well, until my husband went back to work) and I am still bone-deep tired.
For a stay-at-home mom of three children ages five years and younger, I am used to being tired, but this is ridiculous. So my New Year's wish for myself is that I miraculously become infused with energy. Magically losing 20 pounds wouldn't be amiss either!
What do you mean I have to exercise in order to lose weight? Phthbthtthbt.
For those of you who hate personal drivel, pretend I am using metaphors for deeper purposes.
Here is what I have to say about today: I'm tired. Very, very, very tired. I wore myself out preparing for Christmas and then when I was at my lowest, I managed to get some sort of flu or virus. I take two to three naps a day (well, until my husband went back to work) and I am still bone-deep tired.
For a stay-at-home mom of three children ages five years and younger, I am used to being tired, but this is ridiculous. So my New Year's wish for myself is that I miraculously become infused with energy. Magically losing 20 pounds wouldn't be amiss either!
What do you mean I have to exercise in order to lose weight? Phthbthtthbt.
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