About Me

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I have three fabulous children and a terrific husband. I was recently laid off and have decided to try the stay-at-home gig. We'll see how it goes!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

What I've learned this week

I've learned a lot this week.  I've learned how to get silly putty out of long, thick hair after a night of it being smashed and mangled into much of my daughter's hair (baby oil, by the way).  Her hair looked like dreads... no joke.

I've learned that silly putty does not easily come out of sheets and stuffed animals.  Baby oil works, but it takes a little more elbow grease.  

I've learned that the baby will scream just to scream and all I can do is love on her.

I've learned that I don't like cleaning up clumps (we're talking 3 inch diameter and 1/2 inch thick clumps) of dried poop.  I knew that already, but somehow experiencing it really solidifies my dislike.

I've learned that the dog will vomit if she's outside for too long.  Although, she will generously vomit on hard floors for easy clean up.

I've learned that no matter how many activities you take your children to, no matter how late you keep them up, your children will get up at 6AM; earlier if you're sick.

I've learned that, while they don't stop screaming, if you move to the other side of the house it's not as loud.

I've learned that if you ask your kids to take it easy on you for a day so you can finally get over a cold that is making you miserable, they will be utterly wonderful and fantastic and give a fabulously, calm, easy-going day.

I've learned that it will take two days to clean up what they did during that calm and relaxing day.

And I've learned that my children save up all their crazy for when their father is out of town.


On a side note, it made me very nervous to watch something that is supposed to be used to keep a baby's skin smooth, literally eat away at silly putty.  Disturbing.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Kids Don't Lie

My boy:  Can you sing me a song Mommy?
Me:  I can't buddy.  I'm sick.  It hurts my throat.
My boy:  Can you read me a story?
Me:  I can't read you a story tonight buddy.  If I talk too much it makes my voice hurt.
My boy:  But Mommy, you talk too much everyday.

What do you say to that?  Nothing.  I chuckled, kissed him on the cheek and left the room.

There's nothing like a totally honest comment from one of your children to make you rethink  your habits.  I probably do talk too much; especially when my husband is out of town.  Sometimes you just need some one to talk to; even if it's a 4 year old.  Not that I say anything inappropriate.  I just talk to talk.  I guess I should back off a little.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Productivity

We are entering the third week of school and I am finally getting things done around the house; which is one of the biggest perks of being a SAHM.  The house isn't just straightened up, it's clean!  And I don't mean vacuumed and dusted; I mean scrubbed!  Books have been arranged, cobwebs vacuumed up, clothes that are too small are put away.  I even washed the outside of the refrigerator and reorganized the freezer.  I miss my kids, but it is super nice to be able to finally get some of those things done.  

The baby likes to help me too.  She follows me around and we talk and play as I scrub and organize.  The other upside to the kids being in school is that the house actually stays clean for longer than 30 minutes.  My son and I cleaned his room on Friday and nearly three days later we can still see the floor.  It's amazing what they can't accomplish is they're not in the house.

My husband even notices.  He said, "Wow, you've really been able to organize."  For me, organizing is about the best fun I can have.  Weird, I know, but that's who I am.  Next is scrubbing the kitchen cabinets and finally getting the baby's scrap book going.  Yee haw!  I can feel the thrill of labels and checking off my 'To Do' list.

Monday, August 12, 2013

He's Going Down!

My husband challenged me to a weight loss competition and I whooped him!  I was having the hardest time getting any weight off until he made it a contest.  I hate to lose, so I did what was necessary and I've lost 8 pounds!  And while I love the weight loss the process has sucked!!!!  I downloaded one of those weight loss Aps to help keep track of my calories and it decided that if I was going to lose the amount of weight I wanted I would have to keep to a 1200 calorie a day diet.  What!!??  My normal is somewhere between 2500 and 3000 calories.  For the last 2 months I have mostly kept to the 1200 calories.  I've averaged about a pound a week which means I have about 8 more weeks to go!

In the past I've been able to maintain my weight loss even eating larger quantities.  (I only gain weight when I'm pregnant.)  I hope this is still true now that I'm solidly in my mid-30s and I'll be able to go back to eating semi-normally.  I don't think I'll totally go back to my bad habits.  I actually feel much better these days.  Healthier.  I eat a lot more fresh fruits and vegetables and stay away from all the sweets and limit the bread intake.  You really can eat a lot of food at 1200 calories, you just have to pick the right food.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

The Sound of Quiet

I didn't realize just how wonderful quiet is until school started.  My daughter is out all day and my son has started pre-kindergarten.  That only leaves the baby and as long as she's not hungry, she's pretty quiet.  From about 8AM until 12:30PM my house is loud with quiet.  It's almost deafening.  My husband worked from home two days this week and he noticed it also.  It's a strange feeling to suddenly have no "noise".  You can actually hear other sounds, like rain, birds, the wind in the trees (my favorite) and you can even hear yourself think.  A-Mazing!

It almost makes me nervous.  The noise always told me the kids were alive and hadn't broken any bones.  Now I have to remind myself that they aren't home and the quiet is not an indication that they're making an atom bomb.

The best part is that I can hear my baby.  She gets drowned out so easily when the other two are around; except of course for when she screaches at the sound of shattering glass.  She hasn't done that all week!  It's been great getting to play with her uninterrupted.  She has a sweet personality and loves books, music and singing.  She sings all day long.  I never noticed that before.  I love the quiet.

Friday, August 2, 2013

The Power Struggle

I thought it would be different with the boy.  When my oldest daughter was 4, we had daily battles about how far her personal boundaries would extend.  I really hoped that it was primarily because she was a girl and demonstrated an early desire to be completely independent from us; I'm talking as soon as she could hold a bottle (2 months old!)!  But it turns out gender is a non-issue.  My incredibly adorable, charming, some-what crazy, cuddle buddy is now my biggest nemesis.  He fights everything!  He could be jumping up and down, legs crossed trying not to wet himself, and if I say, "Hey, buddy, go to the bathroom,"  his immediate response is, "No!".  

I don't get it.  Yes, he gets to do more now that he's older, but why does it have to be an all out brawl over whether he gets a blue bowl or a yellow bowl for his cereal.  Who cares?!  I don't.  I'm just not willing to pour the cereal out of one bowl into another because I don't want to wash anymore dishes.  I clean enough around here.  If he asked before I poured the cereal I wouldn't have any troubles at all exchanging.

He has also learned to completely tune out my voice.  He literally hears the first three words of any sentence and then turns off.  If my sentence starts with the word 'No", he shuts down immediately.  It is unbelievably frustrating.  I remember when my daughter went through this and it was just non-stop time-outs and vigilant discipline for weeks at a time.  It sucked!  Oh well.  That's part of being a parent and if I ever want my sweet little boy back we have to set boundaries now.  To over-dramatize it:  if we lose this battle the war will be nearly impossible to win.