Friday, January 31, 2014
Bugging out
I was in our basement cleaning last week when school was called off due to weather. I happened to glance at the window and notice the wood appeared slightly warped. I went over to investigate. When I pressed my finger on the spot, my finger went right through the (what should have been solid) board. As I continued to press, the hole grew larger and larger.
We have a new variety of visitor: terminates. Ugh. It isn't a cheap remedy, which coupled with our leaking roof (working on it) and problematic porch (currently in the contemplating phase of repair) adds to a house sized headache.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Bedtime game
Tonight I was putting Gemma to bed and John was wrangling the big kids. I out Gemma into her crib and tucked her in. She turned her head away from me with her eyes shut. I told her good night and then she turned back to me with her eyes open. This startled me and I let out an "oh!" Gemma was instantly delighted and a game was born. She would shut her eyes and wait. Sow one would comment about the sleeping baby. Gemma would open her eyes and then giggle like mad. We played over and over. Everyone had a turn being surprised.
Amelia tries to convince Gemma
Amelia tries to convince Gemma to call her "Mimi" instead "num-na". Gemma also says "William" right at the beginning of the video. At the end, she is delighted to find baby (herself) in the video screen.
Gemma says "William"
It is quiet and near the end of the video. Gemma hands William the ball and says his name.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Num-na and Wuw
Amelia and William finally have identifiable Gemma language names.
Amelia=Num-na
William=Wu-w
I'm going to try and get video, but she is at a hard age to get video. She'd much rather watch videos of herself and usually pushes her way onto your lap while you are trying to get video.
This has been a fun time and we have taken the opportunity to remember when Amelia was a baby. William called Amelia "Meee-A". He called himself "Weeeee-Um".
Amelia called William "Yum" and she called herself "Mimi".
Amelia=Num-na
William=Wu-w
I'm going to try and get video, but she is at a hard age to get video. She'd much rather watch videos of herself and usually pushes her way onto your lap while you are trying to get video.
This has been a fun time and we have taken the opportunity to remember when Amelia was a baby. William called Amelia "Meee-A". He called himself "Weeeee-Um".
Amelia called William "Yum" and she called herself "Mimi".
Monday, January 27, 2014
Conversations
William: Amelia, you are four. That means you are...(counting on his fingers)....a D!
Amelia: what?
William: let's see...Gemma is 1, so her letter is A!
William: I am 7 now, which makes me a G!
William: mom! How old are you?
Mama: I am 34 (for a few more weeks).
William: hmmm... Uh oh! (Crestfallen look on his face).
Mama: what is wrong William?
William: you are too old for the alphabet mom.
---------------
William: mom? When you were growing up, did they have bowling?
Mama: yes, they did.
William: was it different?
Mama: no, it is a lot the same.
William: did you have to play in the dark?
Mama: what? No? Why?
William: did they have lights?
Mama: yes. Yes there were lights and electricity when I was growing up.
William: what about black and flashing dance lights? Did they have those?
Mama: yes, we had those. Not at the bowling alley though.
William: oh. Huh.
Sent from my iPhone
Amelia: what?
William: let's see...Gemma is 1, so her letter is A!
William: I am 7 now, which makes me a G!
William: mom! How old are you?
Mama: I am 34 (for a few more weeks).
William: hmmm... Uh oh! (Crestfallen look on his face).
Mama: what is wrong William?
William: you are too old for the alphabet mom.
---------------
William: mom? When you were growing up, did they have bowling?
Mama: yes, they did.
William: was it different?
Mama: no, it is a lot the same.
William: did you have to play in the dark?
Mama: what? No? Why?
William: did they have lights?
Mama: yes. Yes there were lights and electricity when I was growing up.
William: what about black and flashing dance lights? Did they have those?
Mama: yes, we had those. Not at the bowling alley though.
William: oh. Huh.
Sent from my iPhone
Sunday, January 26, 2014
William is 7!!
We sent him off with Daddy and Amelia to his favorite spot: the Science Center this morning. I stayed home with
We hosted a few friends yesterday for some bowling at the local bowling alley. It was fun to watch him interact with his friends and meet a few of them for the first time.
Now for 4 facts about William right now:
1. William is growing up. He has responsibilities and chores to complete, which he does either without any fuss or a minimum of 20 minutes of complaining.
2. William still adores dinosaurs and has checked out every single book of our local library about them at least once, if not twice. He will happily talk about dinosaurs for hours on end and has developed the ability to turn just about any conversation into one about dinosaurs.
3. He adores reading. He goes to bed each night and reads by hall light for at least another 30-60 minutes. I don't even try to stop him most nights. When given the choice between TV time and books, William will choose books a surprising amount of the time. While William's favorite books now are about about dinosaurs, he really will read just about anything. He loves learning new information, so he finds nonfiction very enjoyable. Last month he discovered a book entitled: Oh Yuck. An Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty. He was delighted. He has also just started to discover comics when he checked out a book of Garfield comics. He was totally enthralled and walked around with his nose inside the book for the better part of the day. I personally CANNOT wait to introduce him to Calvin and Hobbes. However, he is not quite ready for that one yet.....
4. William is an awesome, sweet older brother. He isn't perfect, but he loves his younger sisters SO much. He loves playing with Amelia and most days can't wait to see her when he gets off the bus. She feels the same way. He is also enamored with Gemma. He plays with her and often comments about her cuteness. She adores him and he can do (almost) no wrong in her book.
A funny story: Last week, William was home from school and I asked him to play with Gemma for 8 minutes while I cleaned up a mess in the bathroom. He agreed and I got right down to work. Less than 2 minutes later, Gemma came wandering into the bathroom by herself. I went to find William and found his nose in a book. His eyes glazed over as I tried to explain what I needed his help to do. So, while he is caring and kind, he will not be ready for babysitting for quite some time.
Today is a big day for the Mama as well. I can't tell you how I feel about that because I haven't decided yet. As I was thinking about his birthday over the last few days, I realized that I have been a mother now for 7 years. This then led to the realization that I have been changing diapers every day for the last 7 years with the exception of a 48 hour work trip I took three years ago.
Anyhow. I'm sure William will be thrilled to know that my birthday thoughts for him included changing diapers.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
No school today..
Monday, January 20, 2014
Bapba?
Today I went into the kitchen and started working on dinner. I heard some rustling behind me and when I turned around, Gemma had climbed into her highchair. She was wearing her beloved winter jacket (what a difference! At this age I had to pin William down to get a jacket on him). This climbing into the high chair is a terribly unsafe habit of hers that I cannot figure out how to easily remedy.
Gemma: mama! (I really should get video of this sometime. She is quite demanding and impossible to ignore.)
Mama: what, Gemma?
Gemma: (points at empty tray)
This made me laugh out loud, so I got out my phone to take a picture of Ms Demanding. The MINUTE she saw my phone, she got very excited. We frequently talk to my parents on my phone and use the FaceTime video chat (on my phone) to video chat with them. Gemma adores these conversations. She loves them so much, every time I pull out my phone, she either demands to call Bapba or see Baby (look at pictures of herself on my phone. Which usually ends with me having a heart attack when Gemma some how manages to find a way to "delete all" my pictures.
This time is no different.
For interpretation, I repeat all of Gemma's "known" words after she says them. Almost everything else she says is a complete mystery to me.
Gemma: mama! (I really should get video of this sometime. She is quite demanding and impossible to ignore.)
Mama: what, Gemma?
Gemma: (points at empty tray)
This made me laugh out loud, so I got out my phone to take a picture of Ms Demanding. The MINUTE she saw my phone, she got very excited. We frequently talk to my parents on my phone and use the FaceTime video chat (on my phone) to video chat with them. Gemma adores these conversations. She loves them so much, every time I pull out my phone, she either demands to call Bapba or see Baby (look at pictures of herself on my phone. Which usually ends with me having a heart attack when Gemma some how manages to find a way to "delete all" my pictures.
This time is no different.
For interpretation, I repeat all of Gemma's "known" words after she says them. Almost everything else she says is a complete mystery to me.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Bapba?
Gemma loves raspberries we discovered tonight.
We had some leftover raspberries from breakfast this morning. They were tart and delicious, but very much on the sour side of the spectrum. I dumped the rest on my salad at dinner time more to get rid of them than because I thought it was going to be delicious.
We sat down to eat when Gemma spied the berries. Immediately, she began pointing and gesturing vigorously towards the berries. Reluctantly, I gave her a berry. I didn't really want to give her one because I knew how tart it was going to be. I was worried she wouldn't want to try them again if they were too sour.
Time and time again, she pointed towards my salad until she had eaten all of the raspberries out of it (in total, about 6). In the end, she was a mess, but very happy.*
I was trying to get a video of her picking up the leftover bits on her tray, when I got something much sweeter. The minute I put my phone up to take video, she thought we were going to call one of her favorite people in the world.
Bapba.
She sure loves that grandpa!
*John swears this is because I ate vast quantities of raspberries while pregnant with Gemma.
We had some leftover raspberries from breakfast this morning. They were tart and delicious, but very much on the sour side of the spectrum. I dumped the rest on my salad at dinner time more to get rid of them than because I thought it was going to be delicious.
We sat down to eat when Gemma spied the berries. Immediately, she began pointing and gesturing vigorously towards the berries. Reluctantly, I gave her a berry. I didn't really want to give her one because I knew how tart it was going to be. I was worried she wouldn't want to try them again if they were too sour.
Time and time again, she pointed towards my salad until she had eaten all of the raspberries out of it (in total, about 6). In the end, she was a mess, but very happy.*
I was trying to get a video of her picking up the leftover bits on her tray, when I got something much sweeter. The minute I put my phone up to take video, she thought we were going to call one of her favorite people in the world.
Bapba.
She sure loves that grandpa!
*John swears this is because I ate vast quantities of raspberries while pregnant with Gemma.
Pinewood derby tiebreaker
Here is the tie breaker between William's car and another boys to determine who would advance to the final race! So exciting! William's car is on the left.
Pinewood derby, round 2
William's car was 1 of the 6 that placed to move on the the next round. There were 6 trials in this round as well. Each car would race in each of the 6 different positions. William's car was in the far right position for this race and I believe he came in third for this race.
The top 3 cars from this race went on the compete in the final race with the top cars from all the ages.
There was a tie for third place! So exciting! William and another boy had their cars race one more time to determine the winner.
The top 3 cars from this race went on the compete in the final race with the top cars from all the ages.
There was a tie for third place! So exciting! William and another boy had their cars race one more time to determine the winner.
Pinewood derby, round 1
The Pinewood Derby was this morning!
Before I tell you about it, I have to tell you about what a great guy John is. His specialty is in aerospace. Which means he is rather good at making things aerodynamic. Left to his own devices, I'm sure he could built a wonderful derby car. However, this experience wasn't about John. He made this about the kids. He helped them with designs and made suggestions. When they said, "no", he listened. When they wanted something, he tried his best to make it happen.
William wanted a dinosaur car with spikes. We did that.
Amelia wanted a zigzag design at the back end of her car and nothing else. We did that.
This was NOT a dad project that left the kids out of much. They weren't allowed to use the power tools, but they had a hand in almost everything else.
So, this was one race from the first round. Each car got to race in each lane of the track, so there were 6 races in round 1. In this race, William's car is the second car from the left.
William did really well in his first round and advanced to the next round.
Before I tell you about it, I have to tell you about what a great guy John is. His specialty is in aerospace. Which means he is rather good at making things aerodynamic. Left to his own devices, I'm sure he could built a wonderful derby car. However, this experience wasn't about John. He made this about the kids. He helped them with designs and made suggestions. When they said, "no", he listened. When they wanted something, he tried his best to make it happen.
William wanted a dinosaur car with spikes. We did that.
Amelia wanted a zigzag design at the back end of her car and nothing else. We did that.
This was NOT a dad project that left the kids out of much. They weren't allowed to use the power tools, but they had a hand in almost everything else.
So, this was one race from the first round. Each car got to race in each lane of the track, so there were 6 races in round 1. In this race, William's car is the second car from the left.
William did really well in his first round and advanced to the next round.
Pinewood derby, test run
The big Boy Scout Pinewood Derby was approaching and there was a test run for the boys at school on Wednesday evening. William and daddy worked very hard on his car over Christmas and more during the last several weeks. Amelia was also given the opportunity to make a car to compete in the "sibling race". she and daddy worked together to create her car as well. This is the only time their two cars were in the same race. William's car is on the far left of the track (it is a green dinosaur car) and Amelia's car is on the far right (hers is a blue, white and yellow car). Who was the winner?
Strong baby
Hurdles
The sidewalks were clear where they had been shoveled. However, most people appear to have shoveled the driveway and not the sidewalks. So l, I got to run a few steps and then hurdle small snow banks for almost 3 miles.
A sick day
Mom: what sweetie?**
William: I just want to read some books. I just want to read some books with my sisters.
Mom: ok. We can do that. Just maybe don't kiss them. Or cough on them.
William: ok.
*William woke up feeling a little rough last Saturday. He had a low fever and didn't feel like eating. He stuck to the couch and that was it. He woke up back to his normal self the next morning.
**I'll admit to cringing here. His requests included the following: a cold, but not cold ice pack to cool him off. A "nest" of blankets on the couch arranged to keep him warm in a circle. breakfast to fill him up but nothing that tasted funny. Something to drink with ice that wasn't cold. Good books to read that weren't his favorite.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Tacos for dinner
We had tacos for dinner on Friday night. Gemma has been super picky lately and isn't eating much at all (I suspect her 2 year molars are coming in based on the lack of eating and the constant chewing on her fingers.
She didn't eat any of her taco. She pulled it apart and made a huge mess out of it, but she didn't really eat it.
As soon as put a little bit of sour cream on Amelia's plate, Gemma started squawking. She needed sour cream too. I dolloped a scoop on her tray so I could eat myself.
The next time I looked over, Gemma's hands were covered with the sour cream and she was rubbing her hands together as if she had lotion on them.
She didn't eat any of her taco. She pulled it apart and made a huge mess out of it, but she didn't really eat it.
As soon as put a little bit of sour cream on Amelia's plate, Gemma started squawking. She needed sour cream too. I dolloped a scoop on her tray so I could eat myself.
The next time I looked over, Gemma's hands were covered with the sour cream and she was rubbing her hands together as if she had lotion on them.
Gemma jumps!
I adore when kids this age try to jump, believe they are jumping, yet their feet haven't left the ground. Hilarious.
The biggest Hug
William was supposed to go back to school on Monday (January 6). with the weather, we got delayed and he didn't actually go back until Friday (Jan. 10). His last day of school was Thursday, December 19th. This means he has been off of school and our family has been together for a solid 3 weeks.
After William got off the bus our whole family was in the living room. John and I were discussing plans for dinner, the evening, etc. William was trying to convince Amelia to help him do his chores (put away his backpack, lunchbox, shoes, etc).
Gemma looked around at the loud chaos and had a huge smile on her face. All at once, she took off at a run and threw herself at William. She wrapped her arms tightly around his midsection and tipped her head back so she could gaze up at him.
William had a huge smile on his face too. "I guess she missed me...." he said.
Sent from my iPhone
After William got off the bus our whole family was in the living room. John and I were discussing plans for dinner, the evening, etc. William was trying to convince Amelia to help him do his chores (put away his backpack, lunchbox, shoes, etc).
Gemma looked around at the loud chaos and had a huge smile on her face. All at once, she took off at a run and threw herself at William. She wrapped her arms tightly around his midsection and tipped her head back so she could gaze up at him.
William had a huge smile on his face too. "I guess she missed me...." he said.
Sent from my iPhone
"Thank you Mama"
This has been a crazy week. We've had weather and school cancellations on top of trying to find our groove after the holiday and Christmas craziness.
On Thursday, I dropped Amelia off at preschool (her school was open) and went with William (his school was not open) and Gemma in search of a science project display board. The requirements for a display board are very specific* and we went to 2 stores before I finally gave up (and went with PlanB**) This boiled down to me trying to completed measurement conversions in the aisle without scrap paper while keeping Gemma from falling out of the cart and keeping William from climbing the shelves. This was a parenting task rated 8.5 on the difficulty scale. I was frustrated and crabby because William's behavior was not great and the minute I stepped more than 8 inches away from the cart Gemma would either scream, "MAMA MAMA MAMA MAMA!" or attempt to fall head first out of the cart. I was frazzled. It was not my finest parenting moment.
When Gemma pointed at some brightly colored plastic on the shelf, I happily handed it to her with the hopes of 5 seconds of quiet in order to collect my thoughts. I would have to figure out how to get the 59 cent can of playdoh from her later.
which is when she said in her sweet voice "Dank du Mama"
This was so unexpected, I just stood there in shock.
This right here is parenting for me. You are at the end of your rope and feel like you have been pushed as far as you can go when a tiny miracle happens that bowls you over.
That moment erased everything negative and brought me back to the moment.
This moment where:
My daughter spoke her first 3 word sentence (to me!)
One of my children was thankful for something I had given them.
when I finally said, "What?" She replied "Dank du Mama" again and I thought my heart would break open right there from the downright cuteness.
Needless to say, I figured out enough to know that the board wasn't going to work and we left. We left after I paid for the Playdoh. I wasn't going to take it away from her now!
*the requirements are all given in metric, which is understandable because the scientific community operates on the metric system. However, the rest of the US is happily using the English system of measurement. All project boards are labeled in English units (inches, etc) and the requirements are all in metric (centimeters, etc). Students who submit a project that does not meet the size criteria will not be allowed to participate in the science fair. So, while I don't care to make more of a 1st grade science project than it really is, I am not investing time and energy into helping him figure this out and then not be allowed to participate.
**PlanB is to call the school and find out if they still have display boards left in their school supply store. They did. Problem solved. Mostly.
Sent from my iPhone
On Thursday, I dropped Amelia off at preschool (her school was open) and went with William (his school was not open) and Gemma in search of a science project display board. The requirements for a display board are very specific* and we went to 2 stores before I finally gave up (and went with PlanB**) This boiled down to me trying to completed measurement conversions in the aisle without scrap paper while keeping Gemma from falling out of the cart and keeping William from climbing the shelves. This was a parenting task rated 8.5 on the difficulty scale. I was frustrated and crabby because William's behavior was not great and the minute I stepped more than 8 inches away from the cart Gemma would either scream, "MAMA MAMA MAMA MAMA!" or attempt to fall head first out of the cart. I was frazzled. It was not my finest parenting moment.
When Gemma pointed at some brightly colored plastic on the shelf, I happily handed it to her with the hopes of 5 seconds of quiet in order to collect my thoughts. I would have to figure out how to get the 59 cent can of playdoh from her later.
which is when she said in her sweet voice "Dank du Mama"
This was so unexpected, I just stood there in shock.
This right here is parenting for me. You are at the end of your rope and feel like you have been pushed as far as you can go when a tiny miracle happens that bowls you over.
That moment erased everything negative and brought me back to the moment.
This moment where:
My daughter spoke her first 3 word sentence (to me!)
One of my children was thankful for something I had given them.
when I finally said, "What?" She replied "Dank du Mama" again and I thought my heart would break open right there from the downright cuteness.
Needless to say, I figured out enough to know that the board wasn't going to work and we left. We left after I paid for the Playdoh. I wasn't going to take it away from her now!
*the requirements are all given in metric, which is understandable because the scientific community operates on the metric system. However, the rest of the US is happily using the English system of measurement. All project boards are labeled in English units (inches, etc) and the requirements are all in metric (centimeters, etc). Students who submit a project that does not meet the size criteria will not be allowed to participate in the science fair. So, while I don't care to make more of a 1st grade science project than it really is, I am not investing time and energy into helping him figure this out and then not be allowed to participate.
**PlanB is to call the school and find out if they still have display boards left in their school supply store. They did. Problem solved. Mostly.
Sent from my iPhone
Friday, January 10, 2014
Club cantina
Gemma was 100% enamored. She worked and worked at filling up every space on the card with her little pencil. She was so sweet and so well behaved, I had to take a picture of her hard work.
Amelia's family
Snow Day
Have I told you this story before? Feel free to skip it if it is a repeat. This time of year coupled with the string of snow days reminded about this story and I wanted to make sure I put it down.
In January 2007, I was massively pregnant with William. I was huge. I was swollen and heavy. Everyone was tiptoeing around me as if I might pop at any moment. My coworkers in particular doted upon me and were relentless in their urging me to take care of myself, sit down more, take a nap, eat more fiber, drink more water, take some vitamins and put my feet up. At the time, I found this incredibly irritating (now I find it kind beyond measure, lest you decide I am an ungrateful fool). They were so kind and caring and I just couldn't wrap my head around the whole thing. I just wanted to me - mostly normal and not the center of attention for the bizarre behavior of my pregnant body.
One day, 1-2 weeks before my due date, it started to snow. It was snowing heavily and the forecast predicted a lot of snow to fall overnight. I don't remember the exact totals, but it was going to be significant for this area (read: more than 0.5 inches accumulation. Most snow melts on contact or within 24 hours).
School was either released a little early or on time. I can't remember exactly. What I do remember is a parade of people sticking their heads in my room as the day was ending to ensure I WAS LEAVING RIGHT AWAY. I was well known that I typically stayed very late to get myself organized for the next day.*
I kid you not, at least 10-12 adults**, including people from different floors
of the building***, stopped by my room for less than 1 minute on a crazy busy day to make sure I was planning on leaving immediately. I agreed to leave early to get them out of my hair, but totally intended to stay. Because I am me. I will do it my way.
Dismissal happened. Suddenly my doorway was full of people. Several people knew me well enough to know that I was not going to alter my ways because of a little snow. They were going to walk me to my car.
I laughed it off and gathered my stuff, but I was a little bent out of shape because this wasn't my first choice.
They walked me to my car and one of them nonchalantly grabbed my elbow when we exited into the parking lot. Anyone else would have gotten an earful, but I let it slide.
I opened my car door and heard my department chair tell me to hop in and start the engine. He didn't want me to be cold.
I laughed at him and reminded him that I was from Minnesota. A little snow wasn't going to hurt me. I fully intended to clean off my car myself.
He used his teacher voice and told me to sit down and start the car- he would not allow me to brush the snow off my car.
I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the special education teacher on our floor start to scrape away the snow on my back window.
I started my car and my department chair scraped the rest of my windows while I sat inside the warmness fuming. I was so mad, I wanted to cry. Suddenly, I was holding back tears. Big, fat pregnancy hormonal tears threatened to blur my vision. I felt humiliated and stupid sitting in my car. There wasn't any reason I needed special treatment. I was perfectly capable of scraping my own car and walking in the parking lot. Or deciding when to leave work for that matter. I would not cry. I would not add salt to this wounded pride of mine and let them see me cry. I sat in my car and bit my lip to hold the tears in.
My car was clean and I was instructed to go straight home and stay there by my coworker. I swallowed the lump in my throat and agreed to go home. I also told him in a wobbly voice I could scrape my own windows.
This made him laugh out loud.
Of course I COULD he told me. But why should I do it if I didn't have to?
Then he turned on his heel and went to help another teacher finish cleaning off the car of the teacher undergoing cancer treatments.
I drove part of the way home half sniffling and feeling sorry for myself. On a whim, I pulled into the hardware store on the way home. I walked in and selected a paint color for my baby's nursery and picked up some brushes.
With a smile on my face, I marched back out to my car with the paint can in hand. I got satisfaction out of slightly defying my orders to go straight home and carrying my own bucket of paint. When I got back to my car, a small amount of snow had accumulated on the front window. I reached for my scraper/brush and found it was missing. Somehow, it was taken out of the car and didn't get put back in. I had to start the car, use the wipers and wait for the defrost to heat things up a little.
At that moment, I had to laugh at myself. I had sat in my car for the biggest pout in history over not being allowed to scrape my own windows. I felt sorry for myself and wasn't thankful for the act of service given to me. The reality of the situation was I could not have scraped the windows if I had wanted to because I was totally unprepared. Likely if I had left work late, I would have had to wrestle with the belly in order to climb the wheel wells to reach the windows of the SUV I was driving at the time. Although they gave my pride and independent streak a big dent, my dear friends got me home safe and dry. The next week when school resumed, I apologized and thanked each person in my group of friends.
My favorite response was, "do you have any idea how scared I was telling you to get back in the car? You are one terrifying pregnant chick."
I took that as a huge compliment.
*teaching labs all day and monitoring behavior of 13-14 year olds leaves zero time for grading, lesson planning, cleaning up materials, entering grades, documenting student work, contacting parents, preparing lab materials and creating activities. In hindsight, I rarely managed my time well, but there wasn't really a way to accomplish all of the other stuff for my job during the day without sacrificing the type of classroom I wanted to run.
**the 8th graders were totally apathetic to my situation. They didn't not care one fig about how I was getting home or how I was feeling or how much water I drank in a day. They were wonderfully self absorbed in their sneakers and music, which was how I wished everyone would behave.
*** this is totally a big deal. As a teacher, I only had 25 minutes to eat my lunch, make copies, use the restroom during lunch. There were people in this building I worked with for 4 years and never learned their names because they were on a different floor.
Sent from my iPhone
In January 2007, I was massively pregnant with William. I was huge. I was swollen and heavy. Everyone was tiptoeing around me as if I might pop at any moment. My coworkers in particular doted upon me and were relentless in their urging me to take care of myself, sit down more, take a nap, eat more fiber, drink more water, take some vitamins and put my feet up. At the time, I found this incredibly irritating (now I find it kind beyond measure, lest you decide I am an ungrateful fool). They were so kind and caring and I just couldn't wrap my head around the whole thing. I just wanted to me - mostly normal and not the center of attention for the bizarre behavior of my pregnant body.
One day, 1-2 weeks before my due date, it started to snow. It was snowing heavily and the forecast predicted a lot of snow to fall overnight. I don't remember the exact totals, but it was going to be significant for this area (read: more than 0.5 inches accumulation. Most snow melts on contact or within 24 hours).
School was either released a little early or on time. I can't remember exactly. What I do remember is a parade of people sticking their heads in my room as the day was ending to ensure I WAS LEAVING RIGHT AWAY. I was well known that I typically stayed very late to get myself organized for the next day.*
I kid you not, at least 10-12 adults**, including people from different floors
of the building***, stopped by my room for less than 1 minute on a crazy busy day to make sure I was planning on leaving immediately. I agreed to leave early to get them out of my hair, but totally intended to stay. Because I am me. I will do it my way.
Dismissal happened. Suddenly my doorway was full of people. Several people knew me well enough to know that I was not going to alter my ways because of a little snow. They were going to walk me to my car.
I laughed it off and gathered my stuff, but I was a little bent out of shape because this wasn't my first choice.
They walked me to my car and one of them nonchalantly grabbed my elbow when we exited into the parking lot. Anyone else would have gotten an earful, but I let it slide.
I opened my car door and heard my department chair tell me to hop in and start the engine. He didn't want me to be cold.
I laughed at him and reminded him that I was from Minnesota. A little snow wasn't going to hurt me. I fully intended to clean off my car myself.
He used his teacher voice and told me to sit down and start the car- he would not allow me to brush the snow off my car.
I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the special education teacher on our floor start to scrape away the snow on my back window.
I started my car and my department chair scraped the rest of my windows while I sat inside the warmness fuming. I was so mad, I wanted to cry. Suddenly, I was holding back tears. Big, fat pregnancy hormonal tears threatened to blur my vision. I felt humiliated and stupid sitting in my car. There wasn't any reason I needed special treatment. I was perfectly capable of scraping my own car and walking in the parking lot. Or deciding when to leave work for that matter. I would not cry. I would not add salt to this wounded pride of mine and let them see me cry. I sat in my car and bit my lip to hold the tears in.
My car was clean and I was instructed to go straight home and stay there by my coworker. I swallowed the lump in my throat and agreed to go home. I also told him in a wobbly voice I could scrape my own windows.
This made him laugh out loud.
Of course I COULD he told me. But why should I do it if I didn't have to?
Then he turned on his heel and went to help another teacher finish cleaning off the car of the teacher undergoing cancer treatments.
I drove part of the way home half sniffling and feeling sorry for myself. On a whim, I pulled into the hardware store on the way home. I walked in and selected a paint color for my baby's nursery and picked up some brushes.
With a smile on my face, I marched back out to my car with the paint can in hand. I got satisfaction out of slightly defying my orders to go straight home and carrying my own bucket of paint. When I got back to my car, a small amount of snow had accumulated on the front window. I reached for my scraper/brush and found it was missing. Somehow, it was taken out of the car and didn't get put back in. I had to start the car, use the wipers and wait for the defrost to heat things up a little.
At that moment, I had to laugh at myself. I had sat in my car for the biggest pout in history over not being allowed to scrape my own windows. I felt sorry for myself and wasn't thankful for the act of service given to me. The reality of the situation was I could not have scraped the windows if I had wanted to because I was totally unprepared. Likely if I had left work late, I would have had to wrestle with the belly in order to climb the wheel wells to reach the windows of the SUV I was driving at the time. Although they gave my pride and independent streak a big dent, my dear friends got me home safe and dry. The next week when school resumed, I apologized and thanked each person in my group of friends.
My favorite response was, "do you have any idea how scared I was telling you to get back in the car? You are one terrifying pregnant chick."
I took that as a huge compliment.
*teaching labs all day and monitoring behavior of 13-14 year olds leaves zero time for grading, lesson planning, cleaning up materials, entering grades, documenting student work, contacting parents, preparing lab materials and creating activities. In hindsight, I rarely managed my time well, but there wasn't really a way to accomplish all of the other stuff for my job during the day without sacrificing the type of classroom I wanted to run.
**the 8th graders were totally apathetic to my situation. They didn't not care one fig about how I was getting home or how I was feeling or how much water I drank in a day. They were wonderfully self absorbed in their sneakers and music, which was how I wished everyone would behave.
*** this is totally a big deal. As a teacher, I only had 25 minutes to eat my lunch, make copies, use the restroom during lunch. There were people in this building I worked with for 4 years and never learned their names because they were on a different floor.
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Thursday, January 9, 2014
Happy 2014!
Note to self
I also found a notebook with a diagonal black marker line drawn through every single page. The whole page, corner to corner. There was also a long lost original copy of mu favorite fraction activity that I painstakingly put together a few years ago that has been highlighted on every other letter with every color of the rainbow.
Never boring, my life.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Routine
It is looking like tomorrow is going to finally bring us back to the reality of routine! We have been out of the daily grind for 3 weeks or so and school looks like it will be on for tomorrow....we can only hope! We were scheduled for a nice 2 week break, but then the snow and cold temperatures earned us 3 bonus days here at home.
I'd guess posting here will go back to the irregularly random intervals as well!
Sent from my iPhone
I'd guess posting here will go back to the irregularly random intervals as well!
Sent from my iPhone
Monday, January 6, 2014
Conversations
Gemma was in the kitchen playing and fell off a chair. She made a beeline for mama with big crocodile tears steaming down her face. She looked so sad I thought my heart might break.
Amelia: mom?
Mama: yes Amelia?
Amelia: mom! Gemma is crying!
Mama: yes, she bumped her head and she is crying. (Ohhhh, what a sweet, kind, caring big sister she is! I am mother of the year and it is only JANUARY!)
Amelia: Gemma's face looks all weird when she cries.
Mama: what?!? (What happened to my caring child?)
Amelia: when she cries, her face gets all weird. And it is loud. Does she have to cry so loud?
Mama: Amelia! She is hurt!
Amelia: (big sigh). Ok. I just don't know why she has to make that weird face all the time when she cries.
(I may have to do some more work to fully earn that mother of the year badge.....)
Sent from my iPhone
Amelia: mom?
Mama: yes Amelia?
Amelia: mom! Gemma is crying!
Mama: yes, she bumped her head and she is crying. (Ohhhh, what a sweet, kind, caring big sister she is! I am mother of the year and it is only JANUARY!)
Amelia: Gemma's face looks all weird when she cries.
Mama: what?!? (What happened to my caring child?)
Amelia: when she cries, her face gets all weird. And it is loud. Does she have to cry so loud?
Mama: Amelia! She is hurt!
Amelia: (big sigh). Ok. I just don't know why she has to make that weird face all the time when she cries.
(I may have to do some more work to fully earn that mother of the year badge.....)
Sent from my iPhone
In the last week, Gemma has shown some interest in the one puzzle I have upstairs. Before now, she liked to throw the pieces around, but never really sat down to figure out how it worked. We have about 30 other wooden puzzles, but who needs that many pieces to pick up at the end of every day?
This morning, I went down to grab 2 puzzles I thought might be a little more challenging for her and brought them up.
She was delighted. She did this farm puzzle over and over again. This evening, John got this video of her working the puzzle. Keep in mind, she has has this puzzle for less that 1 day!
I don't know what is up with the jacket. She loves it and insists on wearing it all the time. She brings it to someone and follows them around until they help her into it. If her first pick for help doesn't work out, she'll bring it to someone else who will.
This morning, Amelia put the jacket on Gemma at least twice (I won't let her eat with it on) while I was working on other things.
Williams science fair
Snow-cream
Then we added to each bowl:
1 cup of half and half
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
It was delicious! Everyone enjoyed it. The only problem was there wasn't really room in the freezer for the container. I just stuck the container out the back door and left it on the deck until after dinner (I planned on letting the kids finish it up). When I came back, the container was completely buried in the snow! I ended up just making more snow cream for everyone!
Pancake pencil
Grout, no doubt
I completed the grout today- hooray!! The grout is messy and ...messy. I think I have some bruises on my knee caps from kneeling on the hard tile floor for the last three days. I'm so glad to be done!
The room is far from done though. We still need to:
Doors back on cabinet
Paint trim (I'm still undecided)
Put in trim
Clean dust out of cabinets
Reinstall toilet
Reinstall doors x2
Clean up closet and room from tools
Clean bathroom from dust/paint/cement
Discuss shelving/towel holders/cabinet hardware/light fixture situation.
Bathroom redo
The way it works is : John mixes mortar for me (FYI: many, many Mordor references were made this week, which was very amusing. Every single time.).
Kelly installs the tiles using the mortar. John is too much an engineer for this job. He likes it to be perfect and will spend too much time on one area. The one area will be perfect, but then wall will be crooked causing John's perfect work to be for naught. Kelly can make it look good enough and isn't so worried about perfection.
John's next job is to cut all the pieces of tile to size for the corners/edges/doors/etc. this is a messy job because a tile saw shoots water for some reason (ask John, I'm sure he can explain. In fact, I'm sure he has explained it to me at least once.). Now that our basement is finished, we don't have a great place inside where he can go and cut tiles. This week it meant John was cutting tiles in the garage. This normally wouldn't be too bad except the temperatures this week were record setting cold. We kept bringing hot water out to keep the saw from freezing and John's giant work light with a heat bulb pointed at the saw. It was still really cold. So cold that John decided he was tired of getting all wet and so he made himself a poncho so he would be drier and warmer.
Last night I helped him clean up in the garage after putting in the last tile and when I picked up a piece of the saw, it stuck to my skin. My hand was damp from cleaning up a bucket of mortar and the metal stuck to my skin. That hasn't happened to me in years! I was so surprised!
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Honesty
We are just finishing up lunch when Amelia had a question.
Amelia:hey mom?
Mama: yes Amelia?
Amelia: do you remember the cookies you brought on the pink plate to Charlene's house yesterday for the party with all the people?
Mama: yes, I remember.
Amelia: no one liked the cookies.
Daddy: Amelia!
Mama: (tries not to laugh)
Daddy: how do you know that no one liked them? Those were good cookies mama made!*
Amelia: no. They weren't good. No one liked them. I watched and no one took one when we were at the party. I was right by the plate and no one took one. Lots of people ate the brownies next to our plate. No one liked your cookies mom.
Mama: (still trying not to laugh): that's okay Amelia. Not everyone likes the same thing. I think our pink cookies on the pink plate were so pretty -
It's okay if no one ate them though!
Amelia: no one ate them mom because they didn't like them.
Mama: thanks, I got the point Amelia. Finish your milk now.
*these were a new cookie this year chosen because one of the main ingredients was peppermint. I like to make things with peppermint because I dislike peppermint. Especially in cookies. It is easy for me to stay out of the cookies when they are peppermint!
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Amelia:hey mom?
Mama: yes Amelia?
Amelia: do you remember the cookies you brought on the pink plate to Charlene's house yesterday for the party with all the people?
Mama: yes, I remember.
Amelia: no one liked the cookies.
Daddy: Amelia!
Mama: (tries not to laugh)
Daddy: how do you know that no one liked them? Those were good cookies mama made!*
Amelia: no. They weren't good. No one liked them. I watched and no one took one when we were at the party. I was right by the plate and no one took one. Lots of people ate the brownies next to our plate. No one liked your cookies mom.
Mama: (still trying not to laugh): that's okay Amelia. Not everyone likes the same thing. I think our pink cookies on the pink plate were so pretty -
It's okay if no one ate them though!
Amelia: no one ate them mom because they didn't like them.
Mama: thanks, I got the point Amelia. Finish your milk now.
*these were a new cookie this year chosen because one of the main ingredients was peppermint. I like to make things with peppermint because I dislike peppermint. Especially in cookies. It is easy for me to stay out of the cookies when they are peppermint!
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William
Note: I can turn the light on when he is sleeping because he is an awesome sleeper.
This girl
Answer: pull open the lower drawer and climb up onto the drawer. Then you have full access to wonderful, exciting BUTTONS!
Swiffering
Earlier this week, we were getting ready to paint the bathroom and I needed to wipe down the walls. The bathroom is humid sometimes and the dust sometimes sticks to the humid wall surfaces and there was a spider web in one corner. The corners are really high up.
So I swiffered it. I wrapped a damp microfiber cloth around the swiffer and cleaned those walls. I swiffered it so we would have a nice, clean surface to paint. John walked in just as I was finishing up. Apparently, he saw me walk down the hall with the swiffer and assumed I would be cleaning the floors, not the walls.
Silly John. Then he took a picture because he found it so unbelievable.
Also, this is apparently how we celebrate the New Year holiday as this was taken a few hours before midnight.
New Year's Eve
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Dinner
It's been a crazy day. We've been tag teaming off and on trying to finish up the tile in our bathroom project. It just isn't going to happen tonight. Unfortunately, this really isn't the best time of year to do a tiling project because the clean up is a little more difficult when it is so cold outside. It would be preferable to take the tiling mess outside and hose it down. That won't really work right now. It would be easier to cut tiles and mix mortar for the project also if it were just a little warmer. Ah well- I guess we usually don't do things the easy way! (note: John is out in the garage right now cutting a pile of tile for tomorrow in the hopes of putting our car back into the garage before the BIG snow that is supposed to be coming tonight.)
So, this morning while John was prepping for tiling, (okay: we couldn't find the trowel for putting down the mortar. I suspect we let someone borrow it and they didn't give it back. John was prepping by going to the store to buy us another trowel) I threw a pot roast into the crock pot with some carrots (a TON of carrots if we're being honest here because I read the directions wrong) and potatoes. I figured when we finished tiling we were going to be dirty and tired. That winning combination isn't going to put the dinner on the table.
Fast forward to dinner time. The tiling isn't done, but we are out of time. John is outside cleaning up, somehow. I am trying to put together plates for dinner.
We have some lovely bread to go with the pot roast. The pot roast is looking good, but the carrots and potatoes are just barely in the "done" category. I'm making it work. I'm making it work because I'm hungry and also because Gemma has climbed her way up onto the countertop and is now turning the water off and on. ( Of course I took her off the counter. What kind of mother do you think I am? I took her off the counter twice and then I decided to just hurry up with the dinner stuff. Because it would take until breakfast to get anything done while also keeping Gemma off the counter).
As I was prepping plates, I nibbled on a piece of the bread. It was....not as good as I thought it would be. Disappointing and I made a note to not buy that kind again. A note I'm sure I won't remember because GEMMA COUNTERTOP.
Finally everyone is sitting down. John is impressed as he slides into his chair. He loves pot roast with carrots.
"How long did you have to bake the bread?"
John asks as he takes a big bite.
"I was supposed to bake it?"
So, I guess it was a partially baked loaf of bread and I was supposed to finish baking it at home. Oops. No wonder it didn't taste good.
So, this morning while John was prepping for tiling, (okay: we couldn't find the trowel for putting down the mortar. I suspect we let someone borrow it and they didn't give it back. John was prepping by going to the store to buy us another trowel) I threw a pot roast into the crock pot with some carrots (a TON of carrots if we're being honest here because I read the directions wrong) and potatoes. I figured when we finished tiling we were going to be dirty and tired. That winning combination isn't going to put the dinner on the table.
Fast forward to dinner time. The tiling isn't done, but we are out of time. John is outside cleaning up, somehow. I am trying to put together plates for dinner.
We have some lovely bread to go with the pot roast. The pot roast is looking good, but the carrots and potatoes are just barely in the "done" category. I'm making it work. I'm making it work because I'm hungry and also because Gemma has climbed her way up onto the countertop and is now turning the water off and on. ( Of course I took her off the counter. What kind of mother do you think I am? I took her off the counter twice and then I decided to just hurry up with the dinner stuff. Because it would take until breakfast to get anything done while also keeping Gemma off the counter).
As I was prepping plates, I nibbled on a piece of the bread. It was....not as good as I thought it would be. Disappointing and I made a note to not buy that kind again. A note I'm sure I won't remember because GEMMA COUNTERTOP.
Finally everyone is sitting down. John is impressed as he slides into his chair. He loves pot roast with carrots.
"How long did you have to bake the bread?"
John asks as he takes a big bite.
"I was supposed to bake it?"
So, I guess it was a partially baked loaf of bread and I was supposed to finish baking it at home. Oops. No wonder it didn't taste good.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Snow boots
We are at Menards looking at flooring. Music is playing in the background. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Amelia is dancing in the aisle.
When I ask Amelia if she is dancing, she replies "It is very hard to dance ballet in snow boots!"
Sent from my iPhone
When I ask Amelia if she is dancing, she replies "It is very hard to dance ballet in snow boots!"
Sent from my iPhone
Bathroom redo #3
When we were building our house, we had choices for flooring, lighting, paint, fixtures, cabinets and counters that were considered "standard". Those standard choices did not add to the cost of the house. However, most of the time, they weren't usually choices I would make. Sometimes there were only 2 ugly choices: would you like the single white bare bulb fixture or the cream colored single bulb bare fixture?Being on a budget, we upgraded very few things (taller cabinets, breakfast bar, bay windows, vaulted ceilings, atrium stairs). We opted to upgrade only the things that would be very expensive or impossible to upgrade ourselves later.
Anyway, this flooring was the least ugly of the ugly choices. I never loved it (it has PINK in it), but I knew I had to live with until we could afford to fix it AND I knew what I wanted to replace it with.
Last year at Thanksgiving, I found some replacement tile at a good price. We bought it immediately and then it has sat in our room in the corner. For over a year. Just waiting for is to have time/energy to installing it. Finally! The time is now!
The downside is John and I spent 2 hours ripping out the old linoleum by hand and then scraping up the chunks of backing paper stuck behind. Not my favorite job by far and I have the blisters to show for it.
Mess
Bathroom redo #2
Bathroom redo #1
Note: there was a miscommunication and the cabinets should have been emptied. Now they aren't and that will be a project for another day: project clean out the dust from the cabinets.
Another note: the cabinets were originally a medium wood grain that I never loved. The cabinets I did love were a 3step upgrade when we were building our house (which translates to about $3000). In hindsight, I don't think I would still love those cabinets either. We and sanding these down and paint the face boards, the lip and the doors a white color. Time consuming, but inexpensive.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Christmas craftiness
Next is a Pinterest project that I actually completed. It sat on our fireplace and I was happy every time I looked at it.
We dipped the kids' hands in green paint to make the tree. William has the bottom 3 rows, Amelia the next 3 rows and Gemma has the top 3 hand prints. Then we used fingerprints to make the bulbs in a variety of colors. It still needs a star at the top, but maybe next year that will happen.
12/29
I'm not sure how we got on the topic, but I suspect that at thanksgiving he overheard me telling someone that this year will be our 11th wedding anniversary.
John believes I am wrong. This is a dangerous position to be in.
Therefore, he has spent the last month or so trying to carefully and logically explain how LAST year was 11 years. This year is 12.
It cannot be. If it is true, I have been cheated out of a year somewhere.
Anyhow, we made arrangements to go out for dinner at the local pub to celebrate the big day. Without children. We had adult beverages and shared a salad with spicy dressing. I took a super dark picture to commemorate the event. Doesn't it look delicious?
So, here's to you John! Happy anniversary until we celebrate our 12 (me) / 13th (you) anniversary of marriage together.
The gift
And then he presented me with this.
Do you know what it is?
It is a diamond bracelet of course.
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