The cat is out of the bag...and more notes from a 7 yo

This week has proved to include a plethora of bloggable tidbits about my kids. Well, at least I think they are bloggable!

First off, my kids love to play games where they fill bags/baskets/toy shopping carts with STUFF. Tons of stuff. And, even though I tell them they MUST empty the bag/basket/cart and put all the stuff away when they are done, I have the worst time enforcing it. Usually the stuff is tucked away and we all forget until I do some cleaning up and find said "stuff". Ugh.

So, yesterday, Christina and Kallie were trudging upstairs carrying a HUGE bag filled with (what I thought was) "stuff". I stopped them mid-stairs and said "no no no no", take the bag downstairs and put the "stuff" away.

They sheepishly started back down the steps when I looked closer at the bag and exclaimed:

"WHAT IS IN THAT BAG!!??"

Oh, that? Ummmmm....Nugget?

Yup, my kids were carrying our cat in the bag. UGH.

So we ended last night giving our Christina a serious talk about leaving the cat alone! UGH. And she went to bed remorseful, and woke up and immediately went to Nugget to apologize.

Today was a better day. I took Kallie out for a walk by the lake. It was cold, she liked running around, but wasn't too keen on more pictures. But I snapped a few anyway.

Later in the day, I got out for a run. It was MUCH needed. I have been neglecting my run lately out of pure laziness, but I feel so much worse at night if I don't get out for a bit of fresh air and quiet time. So today, I forced myself outside (in the wind and rain I might add), and it felt incredible.

When I got home, Kallie was in Daddy's lap, obviously getting over a crying jag. I asked what happened, and Christina handed me this:

If you can't understand it, it is a play-by-play of what exactly happened while I was gone. I couldn't help but laugh hysterically. And Christina seriously explained to me:

"But Mom, I am just doing what a nurse does!"

Kids! Gotta love 'em!

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7 year old musings...

Christina and I were reading her American Girl book last night (which we both absolutely are loving). At the end of the chapter, the girl (Kit) was crying. I closed the book for the night and Christina said:

"Third graders don't cry!" (Kit is a 3rd grader.)

"Yes they do!" I replied. "Look at me, I still cry (too often I must add) and I am WAY past third grade."

"Yeah!", she agreed, nodding her head knowingly. "You are past 3rd grade, you are past college, you are even past your job!! (Yes, I am well into retirement according to my kid.) What was your job anyway?"

Well, how do you explain "product manager" to a 7 year old? So I just said:

"I worked for a company that made electrical equipment and I helped them sell it."

"Oh," she said.

I was expecting another question on how I sold the stuff, when I got this question:

"Did you get shocked a lot?"

At that point, laughing hysterically, I decided it was bedtime and kissed my crazy kid goodnight.

And then I thought - I so need to write this down. THESE are the days I will FONDLY remember!!!!!

Have a good one!

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I will miss these days..I will miss these days...I will miss these days...

Sorry, I just feel the need for a serious reminder that I WILL miss these days of having a house of young children. I will. I KNOW I will. But somedays it really seems like such a stretch!

Yesterday, Sunday morning, my girls were up, as usual, bright and early. For some God-unknown reason - they refuse to sleep in at all on the weekends, but I have to wake them when Monday rolls around. Anyway, Sunday morning, 7:30 a.m. and both girls are already crying and fighting over absolutely minute things:

- Christina has the soft pillow.

- Christina's hair is in the way.

- Christina started playing with the Nintendo and I want it now!

Aren't Sundays supposed to consist of sleeping in, big breakfasts, happy, well-rested families spending happy time together???? Well, not in my world. At least not yesterday.

So today, Monday morning, we were all a bit hurried and, as I am running around getting Caroline dressed, getting her meds, getting breakfast, combing hair....all of a sudden, Kallie is in serious tears. Frustrated, I ask WHAT IS GOING ON???? Well, apparently she wanted to whisper something to Christina and Christina didn't want her to so she elbowed her away. UGH!!!!! I was SO mad. Just what I needed, a fight and tears when I don't have even one second to remedy the situation. So, as Kallie cried hysterically (due to hurt feelings, not actual physical pain), I kept plugging away and got Christina off to school.

Then Caroline's bus shows up and, now that she has a new wheelchair, I try to remember how all the straps work so I can get her onto the bus. Kallie has stopped crying, but now I am on the verge of tears. I finally got Caroline together and off to school. Phew, a bit of downtime.

But....NO! Kallie decided to warm up by the woodstove by attempting to put her feet ON the stove!! YIKES!! I said "NONONONONO sweetie!" which, again, resulted in unconsolable tears.

After about 10 minutes, crisis again over and back to work. I got myself ready, started cleaning up from the weekend, and started working on my massive laundry pile. Kallie was bopping around watching me and playing. She started talking to me as I was folding laundry and I couldn't hear her due to the washer noise. And what do YOU think happened next?

If you guessed more tears, you are right!!! Whoo hooo!!! Well, this time I refused to come to her rescue as this tear thing is crazy. She wasn't hurt, she was just mad that I couldn't hear her. And, obviously, that is no reason for unconsolable tears.

So I told her to stop crying and went on my way. And, here I sit, ONE HOUR LATER, and she is still crying. And, honestly, give me just a second and I will crying too.

I know that I will miss my little ones so much, I know I will want these days back, but honestly today I feel like I can't even imagine that. Kallie is SO much more sensitive than Christina and I am SO tired of the never-ending (and I mean NEVER ending) tears when something doesn't go her way.

Now I know I tend to blog my bad times more than my good, but, honestly, I think I have a pretty good family. My kids, while occasionally fighting, more often than not, are happily playing together. They are good kids, they behave extremely well in social situations, they aren't spoiled, rotten, unhappy kids.

It is just hard to sometimes appreciate that fact, when your 3 year old is having a really bad day. I am hoping that she will take a nap today, and awake a refreshed, happy little girl. And I will try as hard as I can to keep reminding myself that even though it seems that some of these days are so hard to take, these ARE the days I will remember!!!!!

Have a good one!

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Will our dreams come true??

Today I took my Caroline on a day trip to get her new wheelchair. Believe it or not, it has been 3 years since we got her last one. She is fast approaching 6 years old, she has grown a lot, she is getting stronger, and she was ready for the next new thing.

Her new chair has a big wheel in the front so we can give her the opportunity to try to learn to move it all by herself. We don't know if she ever will, but she definitely knows what she is doing with her hands, so why can't she, someday, figure out how to move the wheels a bit?

But here it is! Huge, heavy, monogrammed, probably costs as much as a small car, but it is all hers! (Please ignore the messy room and the bad pic, it is late, I don't feel like prettying it up.)

While we were picking up the wheelchair, the supplier showed us a brand new walker that may be a great tool to try to teach Caroline to eventually, yes, WALK. Hmmmm.. it is a scary thought if you really think about it. A child, with no apparent cognitive ability to recognize and avoid danger moving freely around the house on her own accord. Scary.

However, it has been a dream of mine to see Caroline walk one day. And I mean, literally, a dream. I occasionally have extremely vivid dreams where Caroline is walking. Not very well, not without help, but walking on her own. These are the dreams that, when you awake, are hard to believe are just dreams. And my Christina often tells me she has the same dreams. She honestly wishes her little sister could join her and her other little sister and run around outdoors, all three of them. And everytime she tells me of these dreams, it just brings tears to my eyes. Yes, I would also love all 3 of my girls to run and play together.

I don't know if walking is in Caroline's future, but I obviously want to help her do anything and everything she is capable of. This particular walker is a brand new technology that may be a great tool to start getting Caroline stronger and start teaching her how moving her legs can allow her to get around and explore this big world.

We got a picture of Caroline in the new walker so we can show her therapist and start the process of ordering her own. She looked so cute in it and so big to me (although she was in serious tears about 1.2 minutes after this picture was taken). And it gives me just the tiniest glimmer of hope that maybe, someday, Christina and my dreams may someday come true.

Good night!

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My little OCD girl

Sometimes I wonder if my Kallie is on her way to a case of serious OCD. It is funny, yet almost scary. There are many things we HAVE to do every single day or she will NOT be happy.

1. After I help her in the bathroom, she runs away and yells "I'm going to hide from you!". When I leave the bathroom I have to say "Where's Kallie?" and she pops out from some corner and says "Right here!".

We also have this same exact scenario every single time I get her something to eat during the day. She asks for whatever it is she wants, and then runs to hide. And I have to ask "Where's Kallie?" Every. Single. Time.

2. She will not let me put my "little" pillow on my bed after making the bed. It is just a small decorative pillow, but it is HER job to put it on the bed. Every. Single. Time.

3. I am NOT allowed to put on make-up without her by my side. If I tell her I am going upstairs to get ready in the morning, she will ALWAYS yell " don't put on make-up , don't make the bed!". Every. Single. Time.

4. She will not lie on the couch happily unless I cover her with a blanket. She can't do it herself. She wants ME to cover her up. It doesn't matter how warm it is. She NEEDS a blanket. Every. Single. Time.

5. My "smart" attempt at getting the girls to quickly get their pj's on at night has recently backfired. My idea was to tell them we would race to see who could get done first. But it has backfired.

If, at any time, Christina happens to start getting ready before Kallie is ready, Kallie will start to hysterically cry that "SHE WILL WIN!!!". It has gotten to the point where I am telling Christina not to put on her pj's until Kallie does just so we can avoid the scene. Yes, I am probably doing everything wrong, but it is bedtime, everyone is tired, and I just want to get my kids in bed without too many tears or tragedies.

So Christina will often just stop getting ready, let Kallie get her pj's on, after which she goes and finds Christina to announce "We win!". Every. Single Time.

I don't know if this is a 3 year old thing, or the start of a lifetime of OCD....but whatever it is...I just see trouble...

In other news...I haven't been writing much on this blog because I really spending SO much time with my little photography "business". I finished up some senior pictures over the weekend that, I thought, turned out pretty nice. You can see some of them on my photo site. I LOVE taking senior pictures. And, as senior picture time is fast approaching, I am hopeful that I will get more opportunities to try my hand in this area. It is SO fun!!!

Have a good one!

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The resolution of the Nintendo issue....and a bit of a life lesson

I blogged a few weeks ago about how my Kallie has discovered the Nintendo DS. A game that Christina has had for over a year but only played with in bits and spurts. She has never been a big video game person (which is absolutely FINE by me!).

But we had a few easy games and, once Kallie figured them out, she fell in love with them. And then the problems started. Suddenly, Christina is in LOVE with the Nintendo...and the fighting ensued.

Thanks to a few suggestions from you all, I decided that if they both want to play, I will set a timer. Amazingly, once the timer goes off, they easily give up the game. I can't believe that works SO well. Wow.

Since, prior to now, no one really played the game, we didn't own a lot of games. But now that Kallie has been playing her Princess and Dora game to death, she is starting to get a bit bored. She plays every day, but is getting tired of only switching between the two (and she really never liked the Dora game anyway).

So, yes, I bought some new games (games, NOT a DS). One new one for Christina and one new one for Kallie. And they are so thrilled. I got two semi-educational games. So when they do play, they are at least learning a thing or two.

Then I started, again, debating whether we should just eventually get a second DS, maybe at the Kallie's birthday.

And then I was hit with a huge realization (one I already knew, but definitely need daily reminders of). Part of the allure of this game is that neither girl can use the game as much as they want. And you know that when you want something, and can't have it, it is OH-SO-MUCH MORE ENTICING!!!

Sadly, I truly believe that kids today have way too much. They honestly want for nothing, but still feel they need more and more and more. Because you think if you finally get everything you want - materially, that is - your life is going to be blissful.

And that NEVER EVER happens.

Before you know it, there is something else, something better, something bigger that you HAVE to have. Something that you know will finally complete your life. It is foolish, but it is so often true. My Christina is definitely evidence of that!

So I decided my kiddos are going to share the DS for now. And they will have so much more fun playing their games and appreciate their time with the game WAY more this way.

And you know what? Even with the timer and the occasional fighting, they are also just so much happier this way.

BEEP!

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And I didn't even have my camera!!!

Today, I really wanted to get a run in. So, when hubby got home, I took off for a few laps around the block. He also had a bunch of things to do in and around the house, so he was going to be a bit busy too. I asked Christina to be a "babysitter". What that actually means is to play extra nicely with Kallie just like a babysitter would. Help her, be kind to her, and if there are any problems, just let me or Daddy know.

She often is excited for this "responsibility" because I often give her a little tip if she does a good job. A few weeks ago she not only played VERY nicely with Kallie, she also cleaned up the family room by organizing ALL the toys. Geez, it looked almost better than after I clean! And since she did such a great job, she got a $2 tip. She was thrilled.

Today, I hoped the same scenario would result. I would get done running and walk into a neat, calm, happy home. But that didn't happen.

As I made a loop past our house, I heard crying and saw Christina sitting on the front porch (Eric was in the front yard). I stopped and asked what was going on. Christina yapped about how Kallie hit her heart blah blah blah....(never really understood what she was saying)..

I then saw Kallie standing in the doorway looking outside. She had on her Cinderella dress (she wears it daily), but I noticed a big dark spot in the center. From a distance, I thought maybe something spilled down the front of the dress.

So I asked Christina what was on Kallie's dress. The answer? The little motorized car they were playing with got caught up in the layers of Cinderella's dress and was now just hanging from the front of the dress.

Christina was in tears, Kallie was just looking confused, and I just started howling. And, man, do I wish I would have had my camera to capture that scene. Hilarious!!!

I ran a few more laps and when I was done, I asked Eric what was really going on. He told me about the fighting, and the car being stuck on the dress.

But then he said "You know Kallie is a smart one. She just stood there looking at the car and then decided to get the scissors and cut the car off!" I laughed even more and did have to admit that at least she was working on solving the problem instead of crying. Of course, Christina was horrified by this prospect so another huge fight broke out as she tried to wrestle the scissors away from her sister.

So instead of returning to a clean, quiet, happy house. I returned to two crying girls and a big ole mess.

Oh well. It was time change weekend, everyone is tired and out of sorts, it was 35 degrees and rainy. It was just not a good day all around. Maybe we'll have more luck tomorrow!

Have a good one!

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Good stuff for a change!

It has been a crazy week. We finally hired a guy to finish a little drywall job my hubby started, oh, say, 3 years ago and never finished. It was on the stairway leading upstairs and you really didn't notice the uncompleted work unless you were walking downstairs.

However, recently my parents had a contractor do some work for them who is, amazingly, a great guy who does great work at a great price. There aren't many (if any) contractors like him out there!

So, after seeing their work, it gave me the idea to hire him to finally finish the drywall job. And, while he was here, I asked if could build me a built-in bench for our kitchen. This contractor specializes in carpentry, and he does an incredible job. His attention to detail and creativity is unbelievable. He is truly gifted. Anyway, 3 days of drywall dust, hammering and sawing, and he is finally done (and my house is such a mess, ugh).

But here it is! Isn't it just beautiful??!!!!

Now it really isn't completely done yet because I want to paint it white and get a nice cushion for a splash of color. And I am also getting a new light for over the table because our current one is ugly. I probably need a new rug, and should eventually get new chairs because ours are old and incredibly cheap. But I don't need to do it all right now, over time, I hope.

BTW, if anyone who lives in my area needs a good contractor who will very happily work on big jobs AND small jobs, let me know. This guy is definitely worth talking to.

But today? The sun is shining, the temps are on the way up, and my Christina has been a bit better over the last couple days. I hope, as many of you said, it is just a phase, and maybe a change of weather will create a change of behavior. I get pretty cooped up and miserable myself sometimes.

Have a good one!!!!

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Disppointment

OK, I admitted a while ago that I am a Bachelor addict. As dumb as this show is, I have seen every episode of every season (I think). But last night? They took dumb to a whole new level.

I am sorry, I did like Jason, I did think he was a fairly "normal", but all the crying? all the switcheroo? Sorry, I hate to admit this but I have to agree with my husband (who reluctantly saw the ending). Jason is a "skirt". Oh well, I, like many others, am interested to see how long the Molly thing lasts before the next switch.

Another recent disappointment - or maybe I should say frustration and sadness - is with my daughter Christina. She has been going through a phase where she is just, shall we say, bad.

She has been hitting her sister (we never hit her!). She has been bothering the cat and, literally, throwing her around. She has been lying again about her actions. She has been backtalking. She has just been so not herself.

And the frustrating thing is that we punish her by either sending her to her room or taking away a privilege. And that is not working at all! She will be in tears, she will promise to never do it again, and she will do it, again, in about 20 minutes. UGH!

I really hate yelling at her. I keep wondering what has changed that is causing such behavior, but I am at a loss. I often think maybe I am yelling too much, but what in the heck do you do when she swats her sister over the head because she won't cooperate? Where does she learn this???

Oh well, I know my problems at 7 are minor, but my fear is that if I have this much trouble at 7, what in the hell will I be facing when the "teen years" are upon us??? YIKES!

But, it is March, and although it was 10 degrees this morning, I do think that spring should be on its way. Right? Maybe a change in the season will result in a change of our moods around here! I can only hope.

Have a good one!

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