Can I have a mulligan please?
Oh, I so wish today was one of those days where I could just push the rewind button and start over ..... redo the mistakes the I've made .... heal some of the hurt feelings I've either caused or witnessed (which unfortunately today was both cause and witness).... I so wish I could start over and do it all over again.
Here's my list of "bad mom" moments from JUST TODAY --
-- It's been raining here for two straight days. It rained ALL day yesterday and this morning we woke up to more of the same. Everything is soggy and worms have covered the driveway. Not that I'm giving excuses, but it's just the truth here.... Since we traded car, my umbrella disappeared. I don't have one in the new car. Anyway, since it was pouring, I insisted that Katherine let me drop her off at the door of preschool. Now -- it's not like I leave her alone and drive off. One of the preschool teachers comes out to the car, helps the kids get out of their car seats and gather their bags, and walk them indoors. Oh, and these teachers actually bring out umbrellas so the kids don't get wet.
Katherine is NOT fine with this. It's NOT OK with her. She doesn't like the drop off, and until today, has never done it. Oh, and let me assure you, she's a pro at giving guilt trips. "What you're NOT walking me inside today? Don't you want to watch me write my name? Don't you want to say hi to Mrs. Schramm? Don't you want to see what I'll vote for? (Every day the kids "vote" for all kinds of stuff -- fave drink, animal, color, etc...) Don't you want to say hi to my friends? They all love to see you, Mommy". Yes, I assure her.... I love all that, but today it's raining, and I'd rather not stand outside in the pouring rain without an umbrella and bring her and Caleb and all her stuff in. I'm going to drop her off. It'll be fine, I promise her.
She starts to tear up. Only the Mommies who don't care about their kids just drop them off. They don't take the time to come in and say hi, watch them write their name and work on their alphabet books. They just rush off.
I dropped her off..... Watching her walk in by herself (with teacher) broke my heart. I wish I could run and park the car, unload Caleb, and get drenched. I'm not ready for her to grow up -- especially since she's not ready either. I couldn't help it. I felt horrible -- like I let her down and broke her heart all at the same time. I wasn't the mom she needed today, and it was all because I didn't want to get wet. How selfish am I?
-- Each week the kids have preschool homework assignments. They are to look through magazines and find pictures that start with a certain letter. I have a stack of about 20 magazines in one of the kitchen cupboards for our weekly assignment. Well this week is "X". Can I tell you how hard it is to find "X" pictures??? Dang near impossible I tell ya! After looking through ALL of the magazines together, Katherine and I decided that she'd just draw a picture. On a side note -- each week several kids don't bring pictures so drawing something yourself isn't uncommon.
Well -- today it broke her heart. She didn't have a picture to add to her alphabet book with a magazine picture of an X word. I feel terrible. Why didn't I hop on the computer and print out a picture of a xylophone or an X-ray??? Clearly I wasn't thinking, and as a result I totally let down my little girl. Strike two. UUUUGH!
-- On top of everything else, this week happens to be the week of the young child. On Wednesday they brought their bikes and helmets and rode on an outdoor course... raising money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital. I remembered it all that and she had a great day...
Well, today is was Wacky Friday. The kids were supposed to dress wacky and they had corresponding wacky activities. Guess who forgot? Yep. Me. OK, and this point, I start tearing up. How could I forget so many things in ONE day???? So when I showed up at preschool she had put her shirt on backwards and then put her pink GAP sweatshirt on backwards as well so that she could put the hood over her face. How resourceful is she??? I asked Mrs. Schramm how it went, and she laughed. Evidently Katherine was a total ham, running around and making all the other kids laugh too. Thankfully, she wasn't the only one who forgot!
-- While Katherine was at school today, Caleb and I went over to Laundervilles' house so that he could play with Caden. You'd never guess it was two little 2.5 year old boys playing together. They got along soooo well -- no fights, no yelling, no conflict of any kind. They play together amazing well. Anyway, all of a sudden, Caleb starts screaming. Evidently he fell over a tool box. His face was bloody and his lip was sliced open. Wonderful! My poor little guy...
After I clean him up and we leave to pick up Katherine and Nicholas, Caleb gives me a big hug and says, "I yyyooove (love) you Mommy. I sorry I fall down". He's apologizing to me for getting hurt????
** So yea, I'm glad this morning is over. I wish I'd walked Katherine into school, said hi to her teachers and friends, watched her write her name, helped her draw a picture in her alphabet book, and remembered to dress her appropriately. But I didn't. This morning was a disaster from start to finish.
Right now the kids are having a little quiet time and we're off to her private gymnastics lesson in about an hour. Tonight, we're spending time as a family -- and one thing is for sure -- we're all wearing wacky clothes!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Billy Joel
Last night Matt and I went to the Billy Joel concert, and it rocked. Seriously rocked. Billy was just amazing! He's such an icon. Such a classic. Several of my all time favorite songs are his, so I spent 2.5 hours singing my heart out. It was great! We had such a fun time! Oh, and he sang so many of the classics. Really, is there a better song than Piano Man? Maybe, but that song brings back so many wonderful memories. It reminds me of the cruise I went on with my Mom, brother and Grandma back when I was in college, and those memories are so sweet now with the passing of my Grandma. So, I called Isaac so that he could listen with me, but unfortunately all he heard was crowd noise. I digress....
The crowd was pretty interesting too. I was shocked to see so many "old" people. There were literally tons of people 30+ years older than us. I guess it just goes to show you that Billy's music crosses generations, and is timeless at the same time.
Oh, I have a funny for you.... Matt had a huge presentation this morning with some guys in France, so he didn't have anything (but Diet Coke) to drink. Anyway, on the way out, he had to stop and use the bathroom. I was going to wait out in the hall for him as there's NO WAY I'd use those bathrooms unless it was a MAJOR emergency.... Anyway, in he goes and comes out 10 seconds later red faced and smirking. He walked straight into the women's bathroom, and got all the way in before he realized that he was in the wrong place! Love it!
So after the concert I decided two things.... 1. I'd love to be able to play the piano. I took lessons at one point, but begged my parents to let me quit. I hated it at the time, but now.... I wish they'd have made me stick it out. So I've decided that someday when Katherine takes piano lessons, I'm going to join her. Will I let her quit? Sure, but only after she gives it (or some other musical instrument) a try. 2. I have a very addictive personality. I'm fully aware, but all I want to do is listen to Billy Joel's music. I've been singing it all day. A little Uptown Girl anyone? How about Tell Her About It? Or We Didn't Start The Fire? I love them all! The list goes on and on.... And today I'm obsessed -- I'm sure it's all I'll listen to for weeks! LOL.
The crowd was pretty interesting too. I was shocked to see so many "old" people. There were literally tons of people 30+ years older than us. I guess it just goes to show you that Billy's music crosses generations, and is timeless at the same time.
Oh, I have a funny for you.... Matt had a huge presentation this morning with some guys in France, so he didn't have anything (but Diet Coke) to drink. Anyway, on the way out, he had to stop and use the bathroom. I was going to wait out in the hall for him as there's NO WAY I'd use those bathrooms unless it was a MAJOR emergency.... Anyway, in he goes and comes out 10 seconds later red faced and smirking. He walked straight into the women's bathroom, and got all the way in before he realized that he was in the wrong place! Love it!
So after the concert I decided two things.... 1. I'd love to be able to play the piano. I took lessons at one point, but begged my parents to let me quit. I hated it at the time, but now.... I wish they'd have made me stick it out. So I've decided that someday when Katherine takes piano lessons, I'm going to join her. Will I let her quit? Sure, but only after she gives it (or some other musical instrument) a try. 2. I have a very addictive personality. I'm fully aware, but all I want to do is listen to Billy Joel's music. I've been singing it all day. A little Uptown Girl anyone? How about Tell Her About It? Or We Didn't Start The Fire? I love them all! The list goes on and on.... And today I'm obsessed -- I'm sure it's all I'll listen to for weeks! LOL.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Weekend update...
Ahhh.... what a great weekend! I was sad to see it end!!
Last Friday morning I got a call from Matt, and he was wondering if I had made any plans for the coming weekend. In Matt lingo, this usually means "Have you made plans with friends for either Friday or Saturday night and if so, what are we doing"? Yes, I am the keeper of the schedule and the maker of plans. Pretty much anything that happens in this house has to run through me. After I told him nothing definite other than dance pictures on Sunday, I asked him what he had in mind. His reply.... Oh, nothing......
Riiiiiight..... Like I believe that. He never calls to find out what the plans are unless he has something in mind. Typical boy. After a few loaded questions, he told me that he had found a couple of cars in KC that he thought we should take a look at, and wondered if I wanted to go down to Kansas City for the weekend, and suggested that we leave Saturday morning. I was all for it -- not really thrilled about the idea of a new car, but the thought of getting away ..... that was another story.
So after running home and throwing in laundry, I called him back and suggested that we leave Friday night instead. So, with the go ahead from me, he called a couple of dealerships and put deposits on two cars and made hotel reservations at this Sheraton. The rest of the day was a rat race on my end -- picking up Katherine from preschool, feeding them lunch, dropping them off at my mom's house and heading to my OB appointment, running back to get the kids and then racing to gymnastics. After all that running I was exhausted! By the time I got back home and unloaded the kids, Matt was home and we started throwing stuff together for the weekend.
Friday night we got into Kansas City around 8:30 and then showed the kids around and had ice cream. The kids were thrilled and exhausted. Just being back at the Sheraton brought back so many memories.... Before kids, Matt and I used to go down there and stay for a weekend about every other month or so -- we'd go shopping, out to a nice dinner, just hang out. But... since kids arrived, we didn't make it a priority, and find the time. Things are about to change! LOL.
Saturday we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel, and then stopped by the first dealership. ** Oh, about the car *** I loved my Lexus. I drove the small SUV and it was the perfect size. The main problem was that it wouldn't hold a third car seat which just won't work for us come this fall. So.... we made the decision to buy a new car right away rather than putting new brakes, tires, etc... on the Lexus, which we were forced to trade before September anyway. As soon as we came to that decision, Matt went into overdrive scouring the internet for possible cars. After some research, we decided to get a Toyota Sequoia, which is one of the "smaller" SUV's that will accommodate three car seats. Don't get me wrong -- it's still a gas guzzling road hog that will take some getting used to on my part, but what else was I to do? Get a mini-van??? AAAHH, no.
Well.... Saturday morning things fell into place and we ended up getting a good deal on the car we wanted and ended up buying it. So -- buy-bye to my beloved Lexus and hello to the mammoth that now barely fits in the garage. It's got some super cool features, but man... this thing is big! Poor Caleb -- he was lobbying so hard for a pick-up truck, but thankfully he loves "Mommy's new big car"!
After we bought the car, we took the kids out for lunch and then headed back to the hotel so that they could swim. For some odd reason, Caleb had NO interest in going into the pool, so he and I played by the side while Matt and Katherine "swam". OK, Katherine can not swim. In fact, she made the decision to get off the step without Matt right there and almost drowned. She desperately needs swimming lessons! (Which I'm signing up for today).
Saturday night we went over to Brian and Val's house for some good KC BBQ and to hang out. It was so good to see them! Definitely something we'll have to do more often! We talked about going to the Omaha Zoo sometime in May before it gets super hot and I'm large as a house, so I'm going to have to strong arm Val into giving me a date!!
Sunday morning we got up early because Katherine had her dance pictures at 12:00. (For those without a little girl in dance lessons, right before the recital, all the girls wear their recital costumes and come to the studio for group and individual pictures.) Anyway......
Right after we left the Plaza and before we got on the interstate, the low fuel light went on the in the car. Since neither one of us really wanted to backtrack, we got on I-71 with the intention of pulling off at the next exit. Normally, not a horrible idea, but Sunday, it proved to be beyond stupid. The next exit was Linwood (I'm pretty sure), and as we pulled off, we found a button telling us that we had 7 miles to go until EMPTY. That's right -- two kids in the car and we were running on fumes -- oh, and the best part.... we quickly realized that we were in the heart of the ghetto.
We didn't see a gas station right as we pulled off, so we had to make the all important decision -- do we turn right or left??? We both decided left. Let's see ..... we passed countless condemned buildings, boarded up and/or barred windows, thugs galore, a man walking around swinging a crowbar, and yes... we were about out of gas. Otherwise, we'd have gone back to the interstate, but unfortunately that really wasn't an option.
At this point, Matt looks at me and says, "You know why there aren't any gas stations, right???? They can't stay in business. They get robbed". OMG. I'm fighting back tears thinking of my two innocent babies in the backseat and praying -- literally PRAYING for our safety. Let's just say -- both Matt and I were sweating and I was more than mildly irritated remembering the conversation we had HOURS ago on the way back from Brian and Val's house. "Honey, let's just stop for gas now so we don't have to do it in the morning". For some reason, Matt wanted to wait until morning, and I agreed. Let's just say, I won't be so agreeable next time.
Finally, MILES down the road we see an Amoco, and breathe a heavy sigh of relief. Right as we pull in, we notice that there aren't any pumps. That's right, this gas station closed too, so on we drove. Finally, we found Inner City Petroleum, and with tears in my eyes and prayer on my lips I put 911 on speed dial. I was literally that afraid. Poor Matt had to go in and prepay, and the girl working was behind bullet proof glass.
Let's just say I couldn't get out of there fast enough! Call me a small town girl all you want, but I was seriously freaked out. I'm sure it made the situation a thousand times worse with Katherine and Caleb in the backseat sitting there wide eyed and innocent. If anything would have happened..... And yes, we got looks -- stares actually. At one point a jeep drove up to our car as we were filling up, stopped, looked in our car, and drove off. OMG!!!
I've never been so glad to see Johnston in my life -- and so thankful that we had to make our ghetto visit at 8:30 on a Sunday morning! If it was this bad on a Sunday morning, I can't imagine what it would have been like after dark....
Last Friday morning I got a call from Matt, and he was wondering if I had made any plans for the coming weekend. In Matt lingo, this usually means "Have you made plans with friends for either Friday or Saturday night and if so, what are we doing"? Yes, I am the keeper of the schedule and the maker of plans. Pretty much anything that happens in this house has to run through me. After I told him nothing definite other than dance pictures on Sunday, I asked him what he had in mind. His reply.... Oh, nothing......
Riiiiiight..... Like I believe that. He never calls to find out what the plans are unless he has something in mind. Typical boy. After a few loaded questions, he told me that he had found a couple of cars in KC that he thought we should take a look at, and wondered if I wanted to go down to Kansas City for the weekend, and suggested that we leave Saturday morning. I was all for it -- not really thrilled about the idea of a new car, but the thought of getting away ..... that was another story.
So after running home and throwing in laundry, I called him back and suggested that we leave Friday night instead. So, with the go ahead from me, he called a couple of dealerships and put deposits on two cars and made hotel reservations at this Sheraton. The rest of the day was a rat race on my end -- picking up Katherine from preschool, feeding them lunch, dropping them off at my mom's house and heading to my OB appointment, running back to get the kids and then racing to gymnastics. After all that running I was exhausted! By the time I got back home and unloaded the kids, Matt was home and we started throwing stuff together for the weekend.
Friday night we got into Kansas City around 8:30 and then showed the kids around and had ice cream. The kids were thrilled and exhausted. Just being back at the Sheraton brought back so many memories.... Before kids, Matt and I used to go down there and stay for a weekend about every other month or so -- we'd go shopping, out to a nice dinner, just hang out. But... since kids arrived, we didn't make it a priority, and find the time. Things are about to change! LOL.
Saturday we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel, and then stopped by the first dealership. ** Oh, about the car *** I loved my Lexus. I drove the small SUV and it was the perfect size. The main problem was that it wouldn't hold a third car seat which just won't work for us come this fall. So.... we made the decision to buy a new car right away rather than putting new brakes, tires, etc... on the Lexus, which we were forced to trade before September anyway. As soon as we came to that decision, Matt went into overdrive scouring the internet for possible cars. After some research, we decided to get a Toyota Sequoia, which is one of the "smaller" SUV's that will accommodate three car seats. Don't get me wrong -- it's still a gas guzzling road hog that will take some getting used to on my part, but what else was I to do? Get a mini-van??? AAAHH, no.
Well.... Saturday morning things fell into place and we ended up getting a good deal on the car we wanted and ended up buying it. So -- buy-bye to my beloved Lexus and hello to the mammoth that now barely fits in the garage. It's got some super cool features, but man... this thing is big! Poor Caleb -- he was lobbying so hard for a pick-up truck, but thankfully he loves "Mommy's new big car"!
After we bought the car, we took the kids out for lunch and then headed back to the hotel so that they could swim. For some odd reason, Caleb had NO interest in going into the pool, so he and I played by the side while Matt and Katherine "swam". OK, Katherine can not swim. In fact, she made the decision to get off the step without Matt right there and almost drowned. She desperately needs swimming lessons! (Which I'm signing up for today).
Saturday night we went over to Brian and Val's house for some good KC BBQ and to hang out. It was so good to see them! Definitely something we'll have to do more often! We talked about going to the Omaha Zoo sometime in May before it gets super hot and I'm large as a house, so I'm going to have to strong arm Val into giving me a date!!
Sunday morning we got up early because Katherine had her dance pictures at 12:00. (For those without a little girl in dance lessons, right before the recital, all the girls wear their recital costumes and come to the studio for group and individual pictures.) Anyway......
Right after we left the Plaza and before we got on the interstate, the low fuel light went on the in the car. Since neither one of us really wanted to backtrack, we got on I-71 with the intention of pulling off at the next exit. Normally, not a horrible idea, but Sunday, it proved to be beyond stupid. The next exit was Linwood (I'm pretty sure), and as we pulled off, we found a button telling us that we had 7 miles to go until EMPTY. That's right -- two kids in the car and we were running on fumes -- oh, and the best part.... we quickly realized that we were in the heart of the ghetto.
We didn't see a gas station right as we pulled off, so we had to make the all important decision -- do we turn right or left??? We both decided left. Let's see ..... we passed countless condemned buildings, boarded up and/or barred windows, thugs galore, a man walking around swinging a crowbar, and yes... we were about out of gas. Otherwise, we'd have gone back to the interstate, but unfortunately that really wasn't an option.
At this point, Matt looks at me and says, "You know why there aren't any gas stations, right???? They can't stay in business. They get robbed". OMG. I'm fighting back tears thinking of my two innocent babies in the backseat and praying -- literally PRAYING for our safety. Let's just say -- both Matt and I were sweating and I was more than mildly irritated remembering the conversation we had HOURS ago on the way back from Brian and Val's house. "Honey, let's just stop for gas now so we don't have to do it in the morning". For some reason, Matt wanted to wait until morning, and I agreed. Let's just say, I won't be so agreeable next time.
Finally, MILES down the road we see an Amoco, and breathe a heavy sigh of relief. Right as we pull in, we notice that there aren't any pumps. That's right, this gas station closed too, so on we drove. Finally, we found Inner City Petroleum, and with tears in my eyes and prayer on my lips I put 911 on speed dial. I was literally that afraid. Poor Matt had to go in and prepay, and the girl working was behind bullet proof glass.
Let's just say I couldn't get out of there fast enough! Call me a small town girl all you want, but I was seriously freaked out. I'm sure it made the situation a thousand times worse with Katherine and Caleb in the backseat sitting there wide eyed and innocent. If anything would have happened..... And yes, we got looks -- stares actually. At one point a jeep drove up to our car as we were filling up, stopped, looked in our car, and drove off. OMG!!!
I've never been so glad to see Johnston in my life -- and so thankful that we had to make our ghetto visit at 8:30 on a Sunday morning! If it was this bad on a Sunday morning, I can't imagine what it would have been like after dark....
What is it....
..... about a certain 2.5 year old boy who comes to you with BOTH PALMS overflowing with liquid soap which is dripping all over the hardwood floors.... and when he looks up at you with bright blue eyes and a big smile and says, "Momma, I wanted to scrub-a-dub-a-dub but I couldn't do it without you" that just makes my heart melt???? I swear, I couldn't be upset with that kid for a second.... even if I wanted to be!
Lots to blog about from the weekend. I'll get around to it when the kids nap!
Lots to blog about from the weekend. I'll get around to it when the kids nap!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Random thoughts...
Since I (once again) have been ignoring this blog, here's a few random thoughts from the past weekend....
--- Both kids are still sick. They no longer have a fever, but their coughs are terrible. It's that deep in the lungs kind of wet cough that I HATE! Oh, and they're congested, really congested. Runny nose, watery eyes, the works. The poor little kiddos seem miserable -- especially since they've had this for over a week at this point.
--- Today after preschool, the kids and I met up with some friends at the mall to play, have lunch and go shoe shopping (for them not me -- bummer!!). I was hoping to find them some summer shoes, and since Caleb has been asking for Crocs, I thought we'd see what we could find. Since Payless was right by the play area we stopped in there first. Caleb instantly saw and fell in love with the ugliest shoes I've EVER seen. They're made of the plastic croc type material and bright red. Oh, and it's just not any shoe.... No way. These shoes are actually Lightening McQueen. When he's got these things on, all you notice is his bright red shoes. Let me assure you, these babies are something!
So I tried to get them off him (obviously) and have him try on something else, but he'd have none of it... He absolutely insisted in keeping these things on. Needless to say, yes... I bought them and yes... he wore them out of the store. I can't even count the number of times that he thanked me for buying them and told me that he "YYYOOOVED his new shoes". He even had me call Grammy so that he could tell her all about them. I'll have to take a picture of these things. They are something!
---- Gymnastics.... This was actually the first activity we did all week last week with the kids being sick. Before class I told Mr. Tarry that she'd been sick all week, and if she started coughing a lot or seemed overly tired to just have her sit down or send her out with me. He claims she didn't cough once, but once class was over she sat on the bench and looked absolutely exhausted. She just zoned out and the bags under eyes instantly came back....
Every week Tarry has the girls doing some sort of strength training exercise. This week, the girls were to hold onto the bar which was high above their heads (Katherine's arms were about 75% extended if that gives you an idea) and bring their feet off the floor and touch the bar. So, essentially they're doing leg lifts... He held their backs with one hand and their feet with the other and helped each girl touch their toes to the bar. The class record (with the exception of Katherine) was 2. When it was Katherine's turn, he put one arm on her lower back to stabilize her, but didn't touch her legs... Guess how many leg lifts Katherine got BEFORE HE STOPPED HER??? 20. That's right. T-W-E-N-T-Y! Since I was chasing Caleb, I wasn't able to see it all, but I heard cheering and clapping, and looked up to see Tarry beaming and giving Katherine high 5's. Evidently that's the most anyone (that was working at the the time) had ever seen a 5 year old do.
At the end of class the girls get two hand stamps (one on each hand) if they are well behaved in class and try their hardest. Don't get me wrong -- Tarry is amazing with kids. I can't imagine a better gymnastics coach and I feel truly blessed that Katherine has him. But, with that being said, he's been known to be stingy with hand stamps. In fact, when one girl gave him some lip and started crying, he took a baby wipe and removed her stamp. Last week Katherine came out with *three* hand stamps which is first. She was beaming and said it was because she did 20 leg lifts. Tarry them came out to talk to the parents and said the same thing. He wanted to make sure she got tons of kudos! Anyway, he then went on to tell me that 20 leg lifts like the kind Katherine did is a level 6 or 7 skill and most of the girls have a really tough time doing that many. So, yea for my little girl.
After class Tarry asked me if I had registered for summer classes yet, and I told him no, I hadn't done it yet. He asked if I was planning on enrolling her and when I told him yes, he asked what I was going to put her in. I laughed and said gymnastics, and he looked at me and said "SuperBunnies????". Of course. Superbunnies is the lowest level of "competitive" gymnastics and gets the girls on track for future competitions.
After I told him that Katherine would be in the SuperBunnies class, he pulled Katherine aside and asked her all about her new leotard. (I'm shocked that he noticed.... Fran and I had picked her up a new one at Target over the weekend, so it was the first time she had worn it to class). Anyway, he told her that he liked it, but thought she needed a new one. He brought her into the little shop that they have and pulled out a bright red leotard that she'll be able to wear now that she's in SuperBunnies. Talk about making a little girl's day. She was giddy! He then pulled out a blue leotard with red and white stars, and told Katherine that he wants her to wear this someday. I assumed it was the Level 5 leotard (which means you start competing in regional meets), but he quickly corrected me -- it was the Level 7 leotard which few girls ever reach. He went on to tell me that few girls ever reach that level, but he believes that Katherine will. He said that girls don't just show up here at 10 years of age and become an amazing competitive gymnast.....They're always found at 3 or 4 years old and when they see one, they "just know". He looked at me, smiled and said, "When I look at her, I just know. You've got a great one on your hands, and if she continues to like gymnastics in 5 years like she does today, the sky's the limit". WOW...
I know I've said this before, but truly... there is nothing better as a mom than finding your child's passion in life and watching them taste success at it. She's growing so much through gymnastics -- becoming more confident, more determined and more driven that it's absolutely impossible to look at her and not smile.
Friday we went to her private lesson, and the feel there is so different. First of all, she's in the big gym and on the "competitive" side which is a HUGE deal, and secondly, Tarry doesn't treat her like a little 5 year old. He's much harder on her. If she's doing a cartwheel or round-off or anything else, and her form isn't perfect, he's all over her. He's constantly trying to correct her and is paranoid that she'll develop bad habits. Also, he's working on her upper body strength which pales in comparison to her core muscles. It's amazing watching her though... each week, I can see her getting better and loving it even more. She's the kind of kid that would be in a gymnastics class every day if I'd allow it!
Oh, right before Katherine and Tarry went into the big gym for her lesson, she started to take off her street clothes -- sweat pants and shoes. She always leaves them with them me, but this week he told her that they didn't belong laying on the ground outside. From now on, she'd be putting them in the "team cubbies". Oh, man... does he know how to push her buttons or what??? LOL!
--- When I was cooking the other day, I turned my back on Katherine for 2 seconds, and before I knew it, she pulled one of the bar stools up to the freezer and was trying to pull out a bag of frozen peas. (This is actually the second time she's done this....). When I asked what she was doing, she looked at me like I was a total moron, and said,
K: Mommy, I need to put a few peas under my mattress
Me: Oh, really???? Why is that?
K: This will prove that I'm a real princess!
For anyone who's interested, Here's the fable. I haven't told her this story, so quite honestly I have no idea how she ever came up with it!
--- Summer has officially begun! Saturday afternoon the neighborhood had its first impromptu backyard gathering of the season and it was wonderful! They kids played so hard -- they ran around the backyard, climbed the tree, and totally enjoyed the sun. It was great! I'm so thankful that the winter is almost over and we'll be back to playing outside every day again soon!
-- Oh, I almost forgot something *really* important! Remember the Chinese house in the backyard that Matt and I wanted to buy about a year ago? (The husband was living in California and the wife and son were here). Well.... the husband just moved to Texas and Sharon (his wife) is going to move down there.... So that means that if we want to stay in this neighborhood, and add a bedroom, this may be the perfect opportunity! I must admit... I'm not as excited as I was a year ago. The thought of getting our house ready to sell, and actually moving while super pregnant, isn't super appealing, but who knows.... Maybe I'll be able to sweet talk Matt's mom to coming down for a while and helping us get ready! Oh, Fran.... LOL!
--- Both kids are still sick. They no longer have a fever, but their coughs are terrible. It's that deep in the lungs kind of wet cough that I HATE! Oh, and they're congested, really congested. Runny nose, watery eyes, the works. The poor little kiddos seem miserable -- especially since they've had this for over a week at this point.
--- Today after preschool, the kids and I met up with some friends at the mall to play, have lunch and go shoe shopping (for them not me -- bummer!!). I was hoping to find them some summer shoes, and since Caleb has been asking for Crocs, I thought we'd see what we could find. Since Payless was right by the play area we stopped in there first. Caleb instantly saw and fell in love with the ugliest shoes I've EVER seen. They're made of the plastic croc type material and bright red. Oh, and it's just not any shoe.... No way. These shoes are actually Lightening McQueen. When he's got these things on, all you notice is his bright red shoes. Let me assure you, these babies are something!
So I tried to get them off him (obviously) and have him try on something else, but he'd have none of it... He absolutely insisted in keeping these things on. Needless to say, yes... I bought them and yes... he wore them out of the store. I can't even count the number of times that he thanked me for buying them and told me that he "YYYOOOVED his new shoes". He even had me call Grammy so that he could tell her all about them. I'll have to take a picture of these things. They are something!
---- Gymnastics.... This was actually the first activity we did all week last week with the kids being sick. Before class I told Mr. Tarry that she'd been sick all week, and if she started coughing a lot or seemed overly tired to just have her sit down or send her out with me. He claims she didn't cough once, but once class was over she sat on the bench and looked absolutely exhausted. She just zoned out and the bags under eyes instantly came back....
Every week Tarry has the girls doing some sort of strength training exercise. This week, the girls were to hold onto the bar which was high above their heads (Katherine's arms were about 75% extended if that gives you an idea) and bring their feet off the floor and touch the bar. So, essentially they're doing leg lifts... He held their backs with one hand and their feet with the other and helped each girl touch their toes to the bar. The class record (with the exception of Katherine) was 2. When it was Katherine's turn, he put one arm on her lower back to stabilize her, but didn't touch her legs... Guess how many leg lifts Katherine got BEFORE HE STOPPED HER??? 20. That's right. T-W-E-N-T-Y! Since I was chasing Caleb, I wasn't able to see it all, but I heard cheering and clapping, and looked up to see Tarry beaming and giving Katherine high 5's. Evidently that's the most anyone (that was working at the the time) had ever seen a 5 year old do.
At the end of class the girls get two hand stamps (one on each hand) if they are well behaved in class and try their hardest. Don't get me wrong -- Tarry is amazing with kids. I can't imagine a better gymnastics coach and I feel truly blessed that Katherine has him. But, with that being said, he's been known to be stingy with hand stamps. In fact, when one girl gave him some lip and started crying, he took a baby wipe and removed her stamp. Last week Katherine came out with *three* hand stamps which is first. She was beaming and said it was because she did 20 leg lifts. Tarry them came out to talk to the parents and said the same thing. He wanted to make sure she got tons of kudos! Anyway, he then went on to tell me that 20 leg lifts like the kind Katherine did is a level 6 or 7 skill and most of the girls have a really tough time doing that many. So, yea for my little girl.
After class Tarry asked me if I had registered for summer classes yet, and I told him no, I hadn't done it yet. He asked if I was planning on enrolling her and when I told him yes, he asked what I was going to put her in. I laughed and said gymnastics, and he looked at me and said "SuperBunnies????". Of course. Superbunnies is the lowest level of "competitive" gymnastics and gets the girls on track for future competitions.
After I told him that Katherine would be in the SuperBunnies class, he pulled Katherine aside and asked her all about her new leotard. (I'm shocked that he noticed.... Fran and I had picked her up a new one at Target over the weekend, so it was the first time she had worn it to class). Anyway, he told her that he liked it, but thought she needed a new one. He brought her into the little shop that they have and pulled out a bright red leotard that she'll be able to wear now that she's in SuperBunnies. Talk about making a little girl's day. She was giddy! He then pulled out a blue leotard with red and white stars, and told Katherine that he wants her to wear this someday. I assumed it was the Level 5 leotard (which means you start competing in regional meets), but he quickly corrected me -- it was the Level 7 leotard which few girls ever reach. He went on to tell me that few girls ever reach that level, but he believes that Katherine will. He said that girls don't just show up here at 10 years of age and become an amazing competitive gymnast.....They're always found at 3 or 4 years old and when they see one, they "just know". He looked at me, smiled and said, "When I look at her, I just know. You've got a great one on your hands, and if she continues to like gymnastics in 5 years like she does today, the sky's the limit". WOW...
I know I've said this before, but truly... there is nothing better as a mom than finding your child's passion in life and watching them taste success at it. She's growing so much through gymnastics -- becoming more confident, more determined and more driven that it's absolutely impossible to look at her and not smile.
Friday we went to her private lesson, and the feel there is so different. First of all, she's in the big gym and on the "competitive" side which is a HUGE deal, and secondly, Tarry doesn't treat her like a little 5 year old. He's much harder on her. If she's doing a cartwheel or round-off or anything else, and her form isn't perfect, he's all over her. He's constantly trying to correct her and is paranoid that she'll develop bad habits. Also, he's working on her upper body strength which pales in comparison to her core muscles. It's amazing watching her though... each week, I can see her getting better and loving it even more. She's the kind of kid that would be in a gymnastics class every day if I'd allow it!
Oh, right before Katherine and Tarry went into the big gym for her lesson, she started to take off her street clothes -- sweat pants and shoes. She always leaves them with them me, but this week he told her that they didn't belong laying on the ground outside. From now on, she'd be putting them in the "team cubbies". Oh, man... does he know how to push her buttons or what??? LOL!
--- When I was cooking the other day, I turned my back on Katherine for 2 seconds, and before I knew it, she pulled one of the bar stools up to the freezer and was trying to pull out a bag of frozen peas. (This is actually the second time she's done this....). When I asked what she was doing, she looked at me like I was a total moron, and said,
K: Mommy, I need to put a few peas under my mattress
Me: Oh, really???? Why is that?
K: This will prove that I'm a real princess!
For anyone who's interested, Here's the fable. I haven't told her this story, so quite honestly I have no idea how she ever came up with it!
--- Summer has officially begun! Saturday afternoon the neighborhood had its first impromptu backyard gathering of the season and it was wonderful! They kids played so hard -- they ran around the backyard, climbed the tree, and totally enjoyed the sun. It was great! I'm so thankful that the winter is almost over and we'll be back to playing outside every day again soon!
-- Oh, I almost forgot something *really* important! Remember the Chinese house in the backyard that Matt and I wanted to buy about a year ago? (The husband was living in California and the wife and son were here). Well.... the husband just moved to Texas and Sharon (his wife) is going to move down there.... So that means that if we want to stay in this neighborhood, and add a bedroom, this may be the perfect opportunity! I must admit... I'm not as excited as I was a year ago. The thought of getting our house ready to sell, and actually moving while super pregnant, isn't super appealing, but who knows.... Maybe I'll be able to sweet talk Matt's mom to coming down for a while and helping us get ready! Oh, Fran.... LOL!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
little writer.....
I can't believe I forgot to blog about this....
Katherine is learning how to read, sounding out words, and recognizing sounds. Lately she's been wanting to give it a go on her own, so she sounds out the words and writes them down to see if she can get them right. She's been doing a really a good job, but here's a few from the past couple of days that just tickled me...
bath - BAF
party - PRD
love - LUV
Riley (our dog) - RALE
Katherine is learning how to read, sounding out words, and recognizing sounds. Lately she's been wanting to give it a go on her own, so she sounds out the words and writes them down to see if she can get them right. She's been doing a really a good job, but here's a few from the past couple of days that just tickled me...
bath - BAF
party - PRD
love - LUV
Riley (our dog) - RALE
It's been a long week!!
Well.... You might as well have guessed that if I'm not blogging, we're either out of town or the kids are sick. As you guessed, it's the later....
Saturday morning Caleb woke up with a mild grade fever and a deep wet cough. By Sunday night his fever was well over 102.5 and I couldn't get it to come down. He was up all night coughing and had these super sad watery eyes... and the bags, oh the bags... his poor little eyes had these huge dark circles under them. He just looked horrible.
Monday morning Katherine woke up with the same thing. So instead of our usual preschool and story time, we took off to Dr. Jon's office. I told Jon that both kids were on Tylenol, Xopenex (nebulizer) and a prescription decongestant that Jon gave us last time we were in. He suspected that since I couldn't get his fever down, it was most likely a virus and there was nothing more he could do. Since Caleb was a good two days ahead of Katherine, he was the lucky recipient of the finger poke/blood draw. As suspected, it was a VIRUS ... no antibiotic, we just have to wait it out. So home we went for naps....
Tuesday they were still sick, so we had to cancel our play date... Today, the kids were STILL sick, so once again, no preschool and no kindermusik. Caleb wanted to go to kindermusik in the worst way. He was in tears -- sooo sad that he couldn't go....
So yea... we've been in the house since Saturday and let me assure you -- this is getting old! You can only paint so many pictures and do so many puzzles. Oh, and regardless of how sick Katherine was and how much she was coughing, it didn't keep her away from her gymnastics mat. She's been practicing the new skills Tarry taught her at her private lesson last week, and for the first time I can really tell a difference in her.
I am beyond hopeful that tomorrow we'll be back to normal. Katherine has her gymnastics class at 10, and then tomorrow night we have her preschool carnival. They've gone all out this year -- around 15 "games", a bounce house, dinner, and a silent auction, etc... Should be a really great time, and some of the stuff in the silent auction seriously rocks. Each class has made a ceramic vase with each of their little thumbprints and name. The thumbprints are turned into butterflies, and it's just adorable. Let's just say, I'm coming home with that vase. I don't care what it costs, consider it a donation to the school that Caleb and baby number 3 will attend, I'm getting that vase! They also have overnight packages, a photography package, a Hawkeye package (I'm sure Matt will love), but there's about 26 things in all. So even if the kids are still sick and can't go.... I'm going. I'm coming home with that vase!!
Saturday morning Caleb woke up with a mild grade fever and a deep wet cough. By Sunday night his fever was well over 102.5 and I couldn't get it to come down. He was up all night coughing and had these super sad watery eyes... and the bags, oh the bags... his poor little eyes had these huge dark circles under them. He just looked horrible.
Monday morning Katherine woke up with the same thing. So instead of our usual preschool and story time, we took off to Dr. Jon's office. I told Jon that both kids were on Tylenol, Xopenex (nebulizer) and a prescription decongestant that Jon gave us last time we were in. He suspected that since I couldn't get his fever down, it was most likely a virus and there was nothing more he could do. Since Caleb was a good two days ahead of Katherine, he was the lucky recipient of the finger poke/blood draw. As suspected, it was a VIRUS ... no antibiotic, we just have to wait it out. So home we went for naps....
Tuesday they were still sick, so we had to cancel our play date... Today, the kids were STILL sick, so once again, no preschool and no kindermusik. Caleb wanted to go to kindermusik in the worst way. He was in tears -- sooo sad that he couldn't go....
So yea... we've been in the house since Saturday and let me assure you -- this is getting old! You can only paint so many pictures and do so many puzzles. Oh, and regardless of how sick Katherine was and how much she was coughing, it didn't keep her away from her gymnastics mat. She's been practicing the new skills Tarry taught her at her private lesson last week, and for the first time I can really tell a difference in her.
I am beyond hopeful that tomorrow we'll be back to normal. Katherine has her gymnastics class at 10, and then tomorrow night we have her preschool carnival. They've gone all out this year -- around 15 "games", a bounce house, dinner, and a silent auction, etc... Should be a really great time, and some of the stuff in the silent auction seriously rocks. Each class has made a ceramic vase with each of their little thumbprints and name. The thumbprints are turned into butterflies, and it's just adorable. Let's just say, I'm coming home with that vase. I don't care what it costs, consider it a donation to the school that Caleb and baby number 3 will attend, I'm getting that vase! They also have overnight packages, a photography package, a Hawkeye package (I'm sure Matt will love), but there's about 26 things in all. So even if the kids are still sick and can't go.... I'm going. I'm coming home with that vase!!
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