School started in our county today, but not for Jonathan or Anna. Kindergarten starts on Thursday. Anna's school starts a week from today. Today was Jonathan's meeting (evaluation) with his teacher. I gave him a bath, and he sat very still so I could trim his fingernails. He told me he wanted his nails to look clean and not dirty because he likes meeting new teachers. Then he asked me if he could wear a Polo shirt and also asked if I could put some product in his hair. We dropped Anna off at my Mom's and drove to his school. When we pulled into the parking lot, he asked, Are you leaving me here today? I said, No, not until Thursday. Oh, okay, he said, dejectedly, looking a little bummed. He put on his backpack, packed with various school supplies, on his back and jumped out of the car. I reached for his hand as we walked towards the front doors, and he took it at first and then got all embarassed and dropped it! He said, I don't want to hold hands, Mama.
Well, okay then!
We got to his classroom, he shook his teacher's hand (Poppa Ed is up in heaven smiling and proud right now!), and went right in the classroom with her. Oh, I guess I will just wait out here in the hall then! He finished his evaluation, and as he was walking out to meet me, I heard him explaining to his teacher that his scissors were not the right brand. He said it apologetically, like, I try my best, but I really can't help what my parents do... She reassured him that it was okay they were Target and not Fiskars brand. (I really tried! They were sold out! It's not like I sent a pair of kitchen shears in there!) He shook his teacher's hand again, and then she gave me some information. She said on the first day it is all right if I want to walk him to the classroom door, but to say goodbye quickly and not to dilly-dally. As we walked out to the car, I said, well, Mama will walk you in on the first day, but then you can start taking the car loop. He said, Can't you just use the car loop on the first day? Cause I would really rather just take the bus.
Well, okay then!
I guess I should be grateful that Jonathan is making this so easy for me!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
What Not to Do...
When your firstborn is starting kindergarten...
Do NOT do the following:
a.) Clean out closets and drawers to get rid of old clothing that he has outgrown.
b.) Do not continue to the boxes stored in closet of baby clothes and other baby items, which he has outgrown 5 years ago.
c.) If you are foolish enough to have completed a.) and b.):
Absolutely, DO NOT proceed to look at all the old files of baby pictures on your computer!
If you choose to do any combination of the above, expect tears and mild hysteria! Have chocolate, tissues, and possibly a nice glass of wine on hand!
Do NOT do the following:
a.) Clean out closets and drawers to get rid of old clothing that he has outgrown.
b.) Do not continue to the boxes stored in closet of baby clothes and other baby items, which he has outgrown 5 years ago.
c.) If you are foolish enough to have completed a.) and b.):
Absolutely, DO NOT proceed to look at all the old files of baby pictures on your computer!
If you choose to do any combination of the above, expect tears and mild hysteria! Have chocolate, tissues, and possibly a nice glass of wine on hand!
Baby Pictures of Jonathan
Jonathan's First Peas.
Jonathan with Papa Larry on Easter Sunday. This was my Dad's first time meeting Jonathan.
This is how we took Jonathan to the beach. Notice the hat, the bib, the Pack n Play, and the beach towels that we completely draped over the top. I peeled back the protective covering so we could get a picture. He was also drinking some ice water and had SPF 50 on. This just makes me laugh now! We were so overprotective in some ways, but then SO clueless in other ways.
I'm feeling sentimental and looking through old pictures. I found some cute ones of Jonathan's babyhood! I can't believe he is starting Kindergarten... Where has the time gone?
Jonathan laughing at Mutton with Uncle Jason.
This was the first time he ever wore shoes!
Jonathan loved his Exersaucer! He was out working on the garden with us. March 2004, about 5 months old. The hat he was wearing was my absolute favorite of all of his hats!
Jonathan loved giving us kisses! They were very slobbery, and really, he was just trying to eat our noses! But we loved it so much.
All snuggled up at our first ever annual garage sale. We have them in November, and he was only weeks old. It was an unusually cold day. I remember we were giving people free citrus off of our trees. We had only lived in our house 6 months then.
Jonathan and Dave in the backyard before Christmas Eve service. Jonathan was NOT feeling happy!
Sweet boy taking a cat nap with Sabrina in the guest room. Which is now Anna's room!
Jonathan's first dip in the Atlantic. Meredith was with us, visiting from Kentucky. She's the only reason we ever go to the beach!
Jonathan sitting up with the help of his Boppy pillow.
Jonathan out by the pool. He was always so cooperative with wearing hats!
First Christmas! He was about 8 weeks old in this photo. He was a big little guy!
Newborn Jonathan, taking a nap with Daddy. We were all SO tired.
Jonathan meeting his Uncle Cory for the first time.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
A Visit to Jon's New School, Dinner at Friendly's, Shopping for Backpacks
Mama loves her baby...
Daddy loves his baby...When Dave got home from work today, we all jumped in the car and went to Jonathan's new elementary school. We were very impressed! Jonathan was very pleased to meet the science lab teacher, and VERY happy to know he was going to be playing with earthworms at some point in the future. Everything was very efficient and well-organized, and the adults were all very positive and cheerful. The principal and vice-principal were both very friendly and welcoming, and when there was a slight snag in the registration process, the principal gave us her personal attention until it was resolved. Jonathan was placed in the teacher's class that I have wanting him to have for Kindergarten for YEARS! Even before he was born, I heard about Dr. Rose and how wonderful she was. So I am VERY happy about that! He keeps calling her Dr. Suess (he's a little mixed up!). We met her and signed up for an individual appointment this Monday. He does not officially start until Thursday. We got to see inside the K classrooms, and I was very impressed at how spacious and clean, and well-equipped for learning they were! I am very, very pleased with his school so far. I am excited about the art, music, computer, and science programs they have in place. And to top it all off, one of his best buddies from First Friends will be in his class! Very good news!
I also met the president of the PTO (like PTA, but with an O on the end instead....) and she was very nice. I am, of course, going to be going to get fingerprinted and start volunteering at the school, so I can get some of my "teacher energy" out and also so I can spy and make sure my precious one is in a good environment. (I am probably joining the PTO also! I just need to get the kids in soccer, lose my sense of humor, and whine about every little thing, and I will have officially become a stereotype!!!) No, I think being involved in your kid's school is very important. My Mom was always very involved with our education and our school when we were in elementary and I think it made a big difference in our lives. I am so excited for Jonathan. I can't imagine everything he is going to learn this year.
To celebrate, we suprised him with a trip to his favorite: Friendly's beachside. Right now, if you go between 4-6 PM, adults can get a drink, meal, and a two-scoop sundae with one topping and whipped cream and a cherry on top! All for only $7.99! MMMMMMMM!!!!! The kids cleaned their plates, and Jonathan ate his entire double-ice cream cone. Our dinner was delicious! I chose cookies and cream ice-cream and marshmellow topping, and it was yum-o! Dave got chocolate chip cookie dough with kit kat bars on top. The kids both got double cones: Anna, strawberry and cookie dough and Jonathan, strawberry and cookies and cream. I thought we all made very wise choices!!!
Next we went to pick out backpacks for school! We did our favorite kind of shopping. What we do is this: Dave stays in the car with the kids, and I run into various stores to check out what they have. Then I run and get in the car and we move on to the next place. If I think it is worthwhile, then we will all go in. This way the kids have to go to minimal stores, and there are fewer transitions in and out of the car, less buckling and unbuckling carseats.... We finally went into Ross, and Anna picked out a Dora backpack with a matching lunchbox. Jonathan skipped over the Star Wars, Cars, Spiderman, etc, and selected a red and black Ekco brand (that cool brand with the rhino on it? It is too cool for me to even know much about it!) backpack. He then picked out a plain red and black lunchbox because it "matched." Very funny choices. Interesting. Anna set out to get a Hanna Montana backpack, and I was a little relieved to have her switch to the Dora. I just don't think she is old enough for Hanna yet! Or maybe I am just not ready for that yet. And they both have last year's backpacks to fall back on if they change their mind or just want to switch now and then.
A pleasant evening spent together, maybe even more so since I have been somewhat housebound lately because of my surgery. It was very sweet to go out and have a nice time together. And the ice cream, was really, really good.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Some Special Spaghetti Sauce
I make this recipe quite often. I almost always make it before I head out on a trip if I am leaving Dave behind. It makes a ton, and sometimes I even double it. We divide it up into 2 cup portions, freeze it, and then I use it to make lasagna, spaghetti, manicotti, baked ziti, you get the idea... It is also great for homemade pizza. I freeze a small container of it separate and you can add a little squirt of tomato paste to thicken it up, and it's great. I love it because it is cheap and easy and you can always have it on hand in the freezer if you run out of groceries. Dave uses it to make his Pepperoni Pizza Pasta, with mozzerella and pepperonis broiled and melted on top... Mmmm. Sometimes I leave the sausage out of it, because we aren't crazy about meat, and it makes it a little more kid friendly (less spicy). I also love it because it really has a lot of veggies in it. I bought the ingredients last week so that I could make it the night before I went in for my surgery, but it just didn't work out. So a big pot of it is simmering on the stove right now.
Chop and saute in olive oil:
1-2 bell peppers
4 stalks celery
6 cloves garlic
2 large sweet onions
Meanwhile, remove from casings, crumble and brown in olive oil coated skillet, 4 sweet Italian sausauge links (I usually use turkey because they are lower in fat). Cook until done, drain, and add to recipe with the following:
Add 2 cups water, 4 Tablespoons sugar, 29 ounces of tomato sauce (canned), 29 ounces of diced tomatoes (undrained), and about 18 ounces of tomato paste (3 small cans of it). Add Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, etc., to taste... Stir all together, bring to boil, reduce to simmer for an hour or plus.
Then you can serve it over your choice of pasta with bread and salad or vegetables. Tonight we will have it over penne, with garlic bread and steamed brocoli. Yummy! Jonathan puts an interesting spin on his: He makes pasta sandwiches from the bread and pasta. Anna drowns her pasta in parmesan cheese and butter. I like to put the brocoli in with my pasta and sauce. We are all weirdos, I guess.
Chop and saute in olive oil:
1-2 bell peppers
4 stalks celery
6 cloves garlic
2 large sweet onions
Meanwhile, remove from casings, crumble and brown in olive oil coated skillet, 4 sweet Italian sausauge links (I usually use turkey because they are lower in fat). Cook until done, drain, and add to recipe with the following:
Add 2 cups water, 4 Tablespoons sugar, 29 ounces of tomato sauce (canned), 29 ounces of diced tomatoes (undrained), and about 18 ounces of tomato paste (3 small cans of it). Add Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, etc., to taste... Stir all together, bring to boil, reduce to simmer for an hour or plus.
Then you can serve it over your choice of pasta with bread and salad or vegetables. Tonight we will have it over penne, with garlic bread and steamed brocoli. Yummy! Jonathan puts an interesting spin on his: He makes pasta sandwiches from the bread and pasta. Anna drowns her pasta in parmesan cheese and butter. I like to put the brocoli in with my pasta and sauce. We are all weirdos, I guess.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Jonathan's (Almost) a Kindergartner!
So, school starts in less than 2 weeks. Both kids have orientations and other school stuff like that coming up over the next week or so. In some ways, it seems right that Jon goes to K this year. I mean he is almost six years old, he is 46 inches tall (which means he is gaining on me fast!), he is spending his summer seeking out knowledge about bugs and builiding some seriously engineered blanket forts and tunnels, he knows everything he needs to know, and I think he is well-prepared to go. But... am I ready? This is nothing new, nothing I have not heard before. I have to admit, I have scoffed, inwardly rolled my eyes when hearing other mothers agonize about this. Even my own Mom recounts my oldest brother Cory, slipping away from her and joining his class easily, while she sat out in the car and cried and lingered, just in case he needed her. I am sure I will skip happily off for some alone time, go for a walk, go get some Starbucks, but I also expect that after about an hour, I will be checking my watch constantly, wondering when it will be time to pick him up again. And, I keep telling myself, over and over, speaking in a slow, calm voice (to try and calm the crazy down inside of me), It's only Kin-der-gar-ten. He's not being sent away. You've got to get it together! If he even senses that you are freaking out, he is going to freak out too! But I am scared for him, scared at somethings tangible that could happen: what if someone bullies him? what if he wonders away from his class, and even just for few minutes, he is lost? Or somethings intangible scare me, like what if a kid makes fun of him every couple of days, and chips away at that special quality that Jonathan has, and makes him more like the rest of the kids? And the thing that really scares me is this: I won't be there. After almost 6 years of being there, of trying to smooth things over, put something back together, etc, I won't be there. Whatever I will be doing, I can guarantee you it won't be as important or as noble or worthy a cause as Jonathan is. He has been worth every minute spent at home. Every little bit of good I have poured into him as his Mama the past 5 plus years, has been well worth the effort spent, because I have to say, whatever small amount of myself I have been allowed to give to him, to mold him with, he has taken it and a little person 20 times more amazing and funny and bright has been given back to me in return. He is already his own little man, making good choices, and doing things that he wants to do because he is simply good. Not because I am telling him to do it, but because he is following his own will, and so far, he has proven to be made of some very good stuff. Like when I came home from the hospital, he brought his *FAKE* pet hamster in, and said, Here, Mama, you can sleep with this. He also told me that if I needed anyone to get videos for me, he would do that too. Like if one is far away and you aren't supposed to reach it, you can tell me, Mama, and I will get it for you, ok?
Okay.
So I will continue about the path we have taken, getting him all set to go, packing him up with all the required stuff and wishing him well, hoping he knows how much we love him and that we are always his home. And just like when he was a baby, and he would accidentally bop himself on the forehead with his favorite toy, and he would search around the room for me, waiting to see my face before he decided to be upset or not, I will be there smiling brightly, even though inside, I am wincing and thinking,Ouch! That has to hurt! But hopefully he will see my bright and shiny (Shiny with tears!) smile and be reassured, that if Mama thinks it's OK, then it must be OK.
Two things I have learned from this summer of waiting, of counting down the big day till the big K comes: 1.) I now understand why moms choose to homeschool. Maybe that initial transition into Kindergarten is just too hard. How do you let go? 2.) I now understand those weepy, "overdramatic" moms who cried over the first day of school. Because in a sad way, but also a very happy way, parenthood is all just one milestone after another, where you are saying Goodbye, I wish you the best, go, and make me proud, and come back and tell me all about your adventures. Even though your fiercest instinct is to hold on with all your might, to protect, to keep the world from happening to your babies, the most important thing you can do is to let go of your kids, because eventually, if you do everything right, their paths will lead them away from you, and it is best you start preparing for it now. Besides, if I kept him home from now until his senior year of high school, I literally may never be able to let him go! I don't know how homeschooled kids ever get to leave home. Or maybe, maybe, that's the key, maybe after that many years with no alone time, you are packing their dorm room up in May for a September school start. And it has to be easier to let go of hairy, sturdy adult beings right? Than to let your little boy go off to school with that enormous pack on his back that is designed to make him look extra lanky and small? Sob!
PS I was thinking about what I wrote here, and a few hours later, I have come up with something that is comforting to me. I thought about how it was not just me, his primary caretaker, or just his Daddy, that shaped Jonathan into who he already is... it was his Nona, his Grandma Jane, his Poppa Ed, his Papa Larry, his Uncles: Cory, Jason, Chris, and his Aunts, Meredith, Janenne, Erin and Jen, his cousin Jo-Jo, his Nana Jo, the teachers at Lil K, his preschool teachers, our pediatrician... even his little sister, Anna (I think she has taught him a lot in the area of patience and resillience) I could name a lot of people who have been very important in Jonathan's life so far. So it has to follow that there will be a lot more people in the future, like his teachers at Kindergarten, the friends he makes, the principal at his school, etc, etc, that will also have a good influence on him. The key is that I have to let him go enough to let him learn from others, but hold onto him enough to protect what I believe to be his best interests... I mean, Thank GOD it's not all me that will influence Jonathan. Because he would grow up to have a lot of good qualities, but he would also be a little crazy, or maybe a little insecure. It is good that we have a lot of backup people to love and shape our kids. I am grateful that it does not all fall back on me. If he does not turn out well, I can always blame public school, right?
Okay.
So I will continue about the path we have taken, getting him all set to go, packing him up with all the required stuff and wishing him well, hoping he knows how much we love him and that we are always his home. And just like when he was a baby, and he would accidentally bop himself on the forehead with his favorite toy, and he would search around the room for me, waiting to see my face before he decided to be upset or not, I will be there smiling brightly, even though inside, I am wincing and thinking,Ouch! That has to hurt! But hopefully he will see my bright and shiny (Shiny with tears!) smile and be reassured, that if Mama thinks it's OK, then it must be OK.
Two things I have learned from this summer of waiting, of counting down the big day till the big K comes: 1.) I now understand why moms choose to homeschool. Maybe that initial transition into Kindergarten is just too hard. How do you let go? 2.) I now understand those weepy, "overdramatic" moms who cried over the first day of school. Because in a sad way, but also a very happy way, parenthood is all just one milestone after another, where you are saying Goodbye, I wish you the best, go, and make me proud, and come back and tell me all about your adventures. Even though your fiercest instinct is to hold on with all your might, to protect, to keep the world from happening to your babies, the most important thing you can do is to let go of your kids, because eventually, if you do everything right, their paths will lead them away from you, and it is best you start preparing for it now. Besides, if I kept him home from now until his senior year of high school, I literally may never be able to let him go! I don't know how homeschooled kids ever get to leave home. Or maybe, maybe, that's the key, maybe after that many years with no alone time, you are packing their dorm room up in May for a September school start. And it has to be easier to let go of hairy, sturdy adult beings right? Than to let your little boy go off to school with that enormous pack on his back that is designed to make him look extra lanky and small? Sob!
PS I was thinking about what I wrote here, and a few hours later, I have come up with something that is comforting to me. I thought about how it was not just me, his primary caretaker, or just his Daddy, that shaped Jonathan into who he already is... it was his Nona, his Grandma Jane, his Poppa Ed, his Papa Larry, his Uncles: Cory, Jason, Chris, and his Aunts, Meredith, Janenne, Erin and Jen, his cousin Jo-Jo, his Nana Jo, the teachers at Lil K, his preschool teachers, our pediatrician... even his little sister, Anna (I think she has taught him a lot in the area of patience and resillience) I could name a lot of people who have been very important in Jonathan's life so far. So it has to follow that there will be a lot more people in the future, like his teachers at Kindergarten, the friends he makes, the principal at his school, etc, etc, that will also have a good influence on him. The key is that I have to let him go enough to let him learn from others, but hold onto him enough to protect what I believe to be his best interests... I mean, Thank GOD it's not all me that will influence Jonathan. Because he would grow up to have a lot of good qualities, but he would also be a little crazy, or maybe a little insecure. It is good that we have a lot of backup people to love and shape our kids. I am grateful that it does not all fall back on me. If he does not turn out well, I can always blame public school, right?
Saturday, July 25, 2009
My Darlings
Anna and Jonathan after Anna's dance class last week. Aren't they so cute??? I love my little darlings!
I'm getting surgery on Wednesday...
And THIS is what I am worrying about:
1.) Did I get my son the correct pencils when we went school shopping this morning? It said regular, # 2 pencils, which I understood to be the skinny ones, but other people have to get their upcoming kindergartners the fat ones. Fat pencils, skinny pencils? Did I read the list right? What if I got the wrong ones? I can't stop thinking about this. School starts in 3 weeks.
2.) I forgot to cover a plate while reheating some pasta for Jon, and now the top of my microwave is all splattered and nasty. I am concerned about this, in case someone who is 4 feet tall comes into my home to judge my cleanliness. Because the only way I can even see the offending tomato sauce is if I bend way down and crane my neck up.
3.) Am I going to need to remove my nail polish when I go in for surgery? Because that is really going to irritate me, because I really love the shade I have on, and I don't own the shade. I put it on at someone's house, and it will be hard to bend over and polish my toenails after my surgery. Although, this might be justification for a pedicure next week? I can't go around with naked toenails, not in the summer time, especially not since my feet probably won't even FIT into real shoes right now. I have practically worn my Rainbow flip flops every day since March. Even though they are green and don't match most of what I wear.
4.) My bathtub is dirty. I really, really, want to clean it. I keep thinking that I should clean it before I get my surgery, because I won't want to clean it afterwards. But then doing anything like that aggravates my pain.
5.) My chin seems fatter than usual. I am wondering if my face is swelling from not feeling well, or if I am gaining weight? Which would not seem fair, since I have not been eating very much, and the scale says I have actually lost a little weight since last week. But if so, then why does my chin look fatter?
6.) I have a mole on my arm that I am really worried about. I think it might need to be removed. I am convinced that the 12 minutes total in my entire life that I have spent in a tanning bed has given me immediate skin cancer. I am really, really worried about this mole.
Not the cyst that is being taken out, along with my left ovary and left Fallopian tube, that will be biopsied. I am irrationally concerned that this mole is the real concern, and here I am worrying about my ovary, while this mole is being allowed to develop out of control! AAAHHH!
7.) I am reading a novel called Bed Rest and I am not sure I want to keep reading it. I am pretty sure the pregnant lady and her husband are going to split up. I want to tell the girl in the book, Stop! You aren't really mad at your husband! At some point in most pregnancies, you just stop liking your husband. It has nothing to do with your husband, it is simply that you don't like ANYBODY. Especially if you are on bed rest. Because everyone who has the freedom to come and go as they please just irritates the crap out of you! Especially your husband, even though he is just coming and going to work, not really as he pleases, because he is the only one you can pin any blame on for your situation! He is the only other one beside yourself that had any part in getting you in this situation in the first place. Therefore, he stinks. So I am worrying, because I think the book is going in a direction I don't like, but then I really want to know what happens with the baby... I just wanted a relaxing chick-lit book to read. I didn't expect it to get all serious and tense.
So I am having surgery on Wednesday, and these are the sort of things that are occupying my mind. I have never had surgery, never been put under, but I am really not concerned. I am worrying about getting my house cleaned, finishing my final for my class today or tomorrow, the nursery at church next week does not have enough volunteers, placing my AVON order on time, how busy August is going to be, MY BABY BOY IS GOING TO START KINDERGARTEN AND HE MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE THE RIGHT PENCILS!!!, and other miscellaneous items...
1.) Did I get my son the correct pencils when we went school shopping this morning? It said regular, # 2 pencils, which I understood to be the skinny ones, but other people have to get their upcoming kindergartners the fat ones. Fat pencils, skinny pencils? Did I read the list right? What if I got the wrong ones? I can't stop thinking about this. School starts in 3 weeks.
2.) I forgot to cover a plate while reheating some pasta for Jon, and now the top of my microwave is all splattered and nasty. I am concerned about this, in case someone who is 4 feet tall comes into my home to judge my cleanliness. Because the only way I can even see the offending tomato sauce is if I bend way down and crane my neck up.
3.) Am I going to need to remove my nail polish when I go in for surgery? Because that is really going to irritate me, because I really love the shade I have on, and I don't own the shade. I put it on at someone's house, and it will be hard to bend over and polish my toenails after my surgery. Although, this might be justification for a pedicure next week? I can't go around with naked toenails, not in the summer time, especially not since my feet probably won't even FIT into real shoes right now. I have practically worn my Rainbow flip flops every day since March. Even though they are green and don't match most of what I wear.
4.) My bathtub is dirty. I really, really, want to clean it. I keep thinking that I should clean it before I get my surgery, because I won't want to clean it afterwards. But then doing anything like that aggravates my pain.
5.) My chin seems fatter than usual. I am wondering if my face is swelling from not feeling well, or if I am gaining weight? Which would not seem fair, since I have not been eating very much, and the scale says I have actually lost a little weight since last week. But if so, then why does my chin look fatter?
6.) I have a mole on my arm that I am really worried about. I think it might need to be removed. I am convinced that the 12 minutes total in my entire life that I have spent in a tanning bed has given me immediate skin cancer. I am really, really worried about this mole.
Not the cyst that is being taken out, along with my left ovary and left Fallopian tube, that will be biopsied. I am irrationally concerned that this mole is the real concern, and here I am worrying about my ovary, while this mole is being allowed to develop out of control! AAAHHH!
7.) I am reading a novel called Bed Rest and I am not sure I want to keep reading it. I am pretty sure the pregnant lady and her husband are going to split up. I want to tell the girl in the book, Stop! You aren't really mad at your husband! At some point in most pregnancies, you just stop liking your husband. It has nothing to do with your husband, it is simply that you don't like ANYBODY. Especially if you are on bed rest. Because everyone who has the freedom to come and go as they please just irritates the crap out of you! Especially your husband, even though he is just coming and going to work, not really as he pleases, because he is the only one you can pin any blame on for your situation! He is the only other one beside yourself that had any part in getting you in this situation in the first place. Therefore, he stinks. So I am worrying, because I think the book is going in a direction I don't like, but then I really want to know what happens with the baby... I just wanted a relaxing chick-lit book to read. I didn't expect it to get all serious and tense.
So I am having surgery on Wednesday, and these are the sort of things that are occupying my mind. I have never had surgery, never been put under, but I am really not concerned. I am worrying about getting my house cleaned, finishing my final for my class today or tomorrow, the nursery at church next week does not have enough volunteers, placing my AVON order on time, how busy August is going to be, MY BABY BOY IS GOING TO START KINDERGARTEN AND HE MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE THE RIGHT PENCILS!!!, and other miscellaneous items...
Friday, July 24, 2009
Another Running Record from my class
This time I had to observe and write down everything my subject child (Anna) did while engaged in sociodramatic play. (She was playing house with her cousin, T.) I wish I could fit the video on here, but it was too long. Their facial expressions are hysterical to watch. I did a dramatic reading of this to Dave. He was cracking up and saying, You can't make this stuff up!
July 23, 2009 Recorder: Jamie Dooley
Child: ANNA DOB: 12/22/05
Setting: Anna & her 4 year old cousin T. playing house together.
A: Let’s play baby dolls, T! T: I wanna play Vampire House! A: NO! T! I wanna play regular house! I want to play baby dolls together! T: NO! VAMPIRE HOUSE! A: IT’ WHAT I SAY! Not a vampire house! T: Anna, it’s just called a vampire house, we just like to scare people! A: Oh, okay. We’ll just call it that.
A sits in rocking chair, holding baby in lap. T. stands at nearby play kitchen, cooking with pots and pans. A taps the top of the toy counter and says: Pretend this is the oven. T takes play food and sits it on top of the counter. A: DON’T TOUCH THE OVEN! T stops and looks at her. A: It’s hot! T shrugs his shoulders. T: I don’t care if it’s hot! T touches the “oven” again. A: This is a real oven, I not kidding you!!! T: It doesn’t look like it! A: It doesn’t look like it, but it’s really, really real! T: I don’t care! T. walks away. A: standing up from the rocker, It’s really really real! It’ll KILL you! T: I don’t care if it kills me!
A: Hey! We can put our babies in that! T. has walked over and selected a toy stroller to push. T: I don’t want to push our babies! I have to mow the lawn! Anna and T get in a struggle over the stroller, her pulling the front, and him pulling the handle from the back. A: I don’t want it to be a lawnmower! T: I had it first! A: It’s not a lawnmower! T, it’s for our baby walking! T: I had it first Anna! A: No! Gimme it! T: I HAD IT FIRST! T: How about we share it? A: I don’t want to make it a lawnmower! A takes it forcefully, puts her baby doll inside, and runs away. T: Maybe I can ask Jonathan for help. T
then finds a shopping cart. To himself, he says, Oh! He picks up a baby doll carrier, and runs after A. T: Anna, here you go, it’s for you to take care of the babies. A: Thank you, T. But you can’t have the stroller! T: No! I don’t need it! I’m going to use the shopping cart for lawnmowing! A: OK! T comes back into room, jumping up and down, pushing the shopping cart. T: I’m a jumping bunny rabbit! A: We can be a jumping bunny rabbit family! T: Ok! A: You be the daddy bunny, and I’ll be the mommy bunny. T and A sit down together and play with an Ernie doll. T: I didn’t know this can zip up! A: We can take off the coat! A: Can we take off the coat, T? T: Yeah. A: How??? I’m the Mommy, and you are the Daddy, T, and we have a baby. Her name is still Ballerina. A: Hey, I have a new baby! T: Where? A: Here, I’ll show you! T leaves room. A follows him: Let’s play house! T: I have to go potty. A: Oh, I do too! T uses potty. A: T, you shouldn’t touch the sides, ‘cause it has germs on it. T: I know! A: Are you done, cause I have to go potty too! T: Well, go use the other one! A: No, that one pinches me. T: Yeah, it pinches me too. A: Do you have 2 bathrooms at your house? T: Yeah, One doesn’t pinches my butt, and one does. T gets up. A: Here, can you hold this please? T: Sure, I’ll hold the baby, you go potty. T holds the baby while A takes a turn at the potty. Then they swap the baby back and forth while they take turns washing hands. T: I am an alien. A: That baby is not an alien! WE ARE PLAYING HOUSE! T. throws the baby down, takes his shirt off, and says, I’m done! I’m going to have a fightdown! A. sighs and stomps her foot, picks baby back up, and goes to sit down by herself.
One of the funniest things about this was how carefully Anna and T swapped the baby back and forth while they were taking turns using the potty, and washing their hands (I know this wasn't sanitary!) but then T abruptly ended the game, and threw the baby down. He was over playing house! He rips his shirt off, all Incredible Hulk-like, and ran off to find Jonathan and have a "fightdown."
July 23, 2009 Recorder: Jamie Dooley
Child: ANNA DOB: 12/22/05
Setting: Anna & her 4 year old cousin T. playing house together.
A: Let’s play baby dolls, T! T: I wanna play Vampire House! A: NO! T! I wanna play regular house! I want to play baby dolls together! T: NO! VAMPIRE HOUSE! A: IT’ WHAT I SAY! Not a vampire house! T: Anna, it’s just called a vampire house, we just like to scare people! A: Oh, okay. We’ll just call it that.
A sits in rocking chair, holding baby in lap. T. stands at nearby play kitchen, cooking with pots and pans. A taps the top of the toy counter and says: Pretend this is the oven. T takes play food and sits it on top of the counter. A: DON’T TOUCH THE OVEN! T stops and looks at her. A: It’s hot! T shrugs his shoulders. T: I don’t care if it’s hot! T touches the “oven” again. A: This is a real oven, I not kidding you!!! T: It doesn’t look like it! A: It doesn’t look like it, but it’s really, really real! T: I don’t care! T. walks away. A: standing up from the rocker, It’s really really real! It’ll KILL you! T: I don’t care if it kills me!
A: Hey! We can put our babies in that! T. has walked over and selected a toy stroller to push. T: I don’t want to push our babies! I have to mow the lawn! Anna and T get in a struggle over the stroller, her pulling the front, and him pulling the handle from the back. A: I don’t want it to be a lawnmower! T: I had it first! A: It’s not a lawnmower! T, it’s for our baby walking! T: I had it first Anna! A: No! Gimme it! T: I HAD IT FIRST! T: How about we share it? A: I don’t want to make it a lawnmower! A takes it forcefully, puts her baby doll inside, and runs away. T: Maybe I can ask Jonathan for help. T
then finds a shopping cart. To himself, he says, Oh! He picks up a baby doll carrier, and runs after A. T: Anna, here you go, it’s for you to take care of the babies. A: Thank you, T. But you can’t have the stroller! T: No! I don’t need it! I’m going to use the shopping cart for lawnmowing! A: OK! T comes back into room, jumping up and down, pushing the shopping cart. T: I’m a jumping bunny rabbit! A: We can be a jumping bunny rabbit family! T: Ok! A: You be the daddy bunny, and I’ll be the mommy bunny. T and A sit down together and play with an Ernie doll. T: I didn’t know this can zip up! A: We can take off the coat! A: Can we take off the coat, T? T: Yeah. A: How??? I’m the Mommy, and you are the Daddy, T, and we have a baby. Her name is still Ballerina. A: Hey, I have a new baby! T: Where? A: Here, I’ll show you! T leaves room. A follows him: Let’s play house! T: I have to go potty. A: Oh, I do too! T uses potty. A: T, you shouldn’t touch the sides, ‘cause it has germs on it. T: I know! A: Are you done, cause I have to go potty too! T: Well, go use the other one! A: No, that one pinches me. T: Yeah, it pinches me too. A: Do you have 2 bathrooms at your house? T: Yeah, One doesn’t pinches my butt, and one does. T gets up. A: Here, can you hold this please? T: Sure, I’ll hold the baby, you go potty. T holds the baby while A takes a turn at the potty. Then they swap the baby back and forth while they take turns washing hands. T: I am an alien. A: That baby is not an alien! WE ARE PLAYING HOUSE! T. throws the baby down, takes his shirt off, and says, I’m done! I’m going to have a fightdown! A. sighs and stomps her foot, picks baby back up, and goes to sit down by herself.
One of the funniest things about this was how carefully Anna and T swapped the baby back and forth while they were taking turns using the potty, and washing their hands (I know this wasn't sanitary!) but then T abruptly ended the game, and threw the baby down. He was over playing house! He rips his shirt off, all Incredible Hulk-like, and ran off to find Jonathan and have a "fightdown."
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Summer Fun
The four cousins have spent a lot of time together this summer. I am so glad we live near each other! From left, Jonathan, 5, Justine, 11, Trystan, 4 and Anna, 3. They were at the zoo, being sea turtle researchers.
This box entertained them for a long time the other day, and then it turned into an all out war over who the box actually belonged to. Hearing them fight over the empty box that is one of many used to hold their too-many-toys irritated me, and they were put to bed early.
Jonathan wanted to eat his food inside the box.
Anna thinks our Fazoli's after Sunday church routine is the MOST FUN EVER! Love that enthusiasm for pasta! I mean, that look on her face? That's really how I feel about pasta, but as an adult, I have to control myself and act a little more nonchalant and restrained.Saturday, July 18, 2009
10 Things I Hate About Me
1.) My inability to remember which switch is the fan, which is the light. What switch does what. I have lived here for over six years now, and I still can't keep it straight. I still don't know which switch turns on my kitchen light or my dining room light. Do either of the switches on the wall between the kitchen and the dining room have anything to do with the kitchen? Or are they both designated for the dining room? If my life depended on it, I could not tell you. I am like a stranger here. I also don't really know where anything is in my own kitchen. And I do cook in it quite often.
2.) My inability to keep my house clean. I don't know how other women do it. I really can't figure out what I am doing wrong. What is the secret here? It's not just dust and dirt, it's the clutter. Maybe I can blame this on my children? I seem to have noticed that parents spend their children's childhood blaming everything on them, and children grow up to spend their adulthood blaming everything on their parents.
3.) My stupid conversational tics. Like my habit of trying to anticipate what another person is saying, to the point where I am cutting them off and trying to finish their sentences for them. I am really just trying to understand what others are saying, but I annoy myself and I must annoy others too. Also, saying "like" too much. I thought I would outgrow this. I thought it had something to do with being young. Now I am not so young anymore...How wrong will it be when I am 70 and saying "like" all the time? Or maybe all the old people will talk like this. Maybe the trend 40 years from now will be for people to speak concisely and meaningfully.
4.) My tendency to spend 3 hours worrying about everything I said and did in a group setting for every 1 hour that I actually spend in a group setting. For example, I was at a leadership meeting for church this morning, and it was 2 hours long, and it ended around 11, so it was not until about 6 PM that I stopped obsessing over my behavior. That was 7 hours spent worrying, but I had to allot myself an extra hour because I felt especially stupid and unable to shut up this morning. I feel sorry for my husband because everytime I leave a social gathering, we get in the car, smiling and waving goodbye, like normal people, and then as we drive away, I launch into my, Did I say anything stupid? What do you think so-and-so thought when I said that? Do you think they know that I actually meant THIS? And yes, I know there are drugs to help people like me. I've tried them and they make me fat.
5.) My terrible habit of procrastination. My class is over in a week. I have none of my assignments done. Not one. I have not read a single chapter since the midterm. I have not started on the final exam. I also have a test in Orlando (part of the coursework I am taking through the state) one week from today. I have not looked at any of the materials since I finished the class over a month ago. So now I have a crazy amount of stuff to do and will be stressed out this week. If I could just accept, OK, I'm a procrastinator, but I always get stuff done, and in general, tend to do well.... But no. I make lists all the time, I think about everything I have to do all the time, I worry over my lists all the time, all without actually doing any work towards accomplishing anything. If I could spend a quarter of my time and effort actually doing stuff rather than just agonizing over how it is not getting done, or feeling guilty because I am not doing it, then I would be able to do so much more with my life. What I do is just spin my wheels. I burn a lot of fuel without getting anywhere. I wish I could change. Either start pacing myself, or say, okay, I am not going to even think about that pile of stuff until July 19th. Either of these options would help me considerably, in the feeling-less-crazy department.
6.) The way I can't seem to savor anything. If I am reading a good book, I just keep reading it, as fast as I can, and then I get to the end so quickly, and I am so disappointed. Why didn't I slow down? Why didn't I put it down after each chapter and either let my thoughts settle, laugh a little more at the humor, or let my anticipation build if it is a suspenseful book? Now the book is done and I wish I had spent more time with it. Also, food. Last night, I went to dinner with a friend and we split a really decadent desert. Did I eat my half slowly, lingering over each delicious bite? No! I ate it like it was a chore, or a race. (We had separate plates so it was not like I was competing for my half or anything.) It was as if someone had asked me, stopwatch in hand, How fast can you clean that plate? Ok! GO! Or the way I check my watch 10 or 15 times during a movie... trying to calculate, factoring in the previews, and the listed movie length time, just how many minutes are left in the movie? Am I bored or displeased with the movie? No! I just feel a compulsion to know how much time I have left to enjoy it. When I used to attend yoga class, I would check my watch. Yep. Turn on the Indiglo on my Timex to sneak a peek to see how much time was left in the class. I wanted to laugh out loud when the instructor would say at the end, Feel yourself coming back into your body.... Umm, I never left! I've been here the whole time, and if you could hear what I was thinking, all the thoughts that have been racing through my head, you would probably declare me hopeless in the Yoga department.
7.) My inability to give up hope that beauty products can make me more beautiful or make my hair less frizzy, or make my eyelashes more voluminous, or whatever it is. I can't give up hope that you can buy improvement for your appearance at Target. I fall for new beauty products far too often. I see the commercial, and yes, I think some small irrational part of me thinks that I might actually look like Penelope Cruz if I can obtain this product she is endorsing. Or whoever it is... doesn't really matter, chances are, I'd rather look like her than me. Even more ridiculous is when I let advertisements convince me I have a problem that I really don't have. Like deep smile lines or crow's feet. I'm just not there yet, but I am worried, and I wonder if I should go ahead and start using this product, as a precautionary measure... Or maybe I do have this problem, but I've been waltzing through life, 29 years old, completely unaware and therefore still happy, not knowing that my pores are huge and congested. Now I go look in the mirror, and I think, Oh, goodness. How could I not have seen this before? I am even uglier than I thought!
I am too tired and feeling too insecure to figure out the other 3 things right now. I am sure you can pick out at least 3 more things I hate about me from the above list, like how I get tired at 8:45 PM, or how insecure I am about EVERYTHING. Or maybe you can just think of your own 3 things you hate about me. But please if you do, don't leave them as comments. I don't think my ego can withstand it right now. Good night.
2.) My inability to keep my house clean. I don't know how other women do it. I really can't figure out what I am doing wrong. What is the secret here? It's not just dust and dirt, it's the clutter. Maybe I can blame this on my children? I seem to have noticed that parents spend their children's childhood blaming everything on them, and children grow up to spend their adulthood blaming everything on their parents.
3.) My stupid conversational tics. Like my habit of trying to anticipate what another person is saying, to the point where I am cutting them off and trying to finish their sentences for them. I am really just trying to understand what others are saying, but I annoy myself and I must annoy others too. Also, saying "like" too much. I thought I would outgrow this. I thought it had something to do with being young. Now I am not so young anymore...How wrong will it be when I am 70 and saying "like" all the time? Or maybe all the old people will talk like this. Maybe the trend 40 years from now will be for people to speak concisely and meaningfully.
4.) My tendency to spend 3 hours worrying about everything I said and did in a group setting for every 1 hour that I actually spend in a group setting. For example, I was at a leadership meeting for church this morning, and it was 2 hours long, and it ended around 11, so it was not until about 6 PM that I stopped obsessing over my behavior. That was 7 hours spent worrying, but I had to allot myself an extra hour because I felt especially stupid and unable to shut up this morning. I feel sorry for my husband because everytime I leave a social gathering, we get in the car, smiling and waving goodbye, like normal people, and then as we drive away, I launch into my, Did I say anything stupid? What do you think so-and-so thought when I said that? Do you think they know that I actually meant THIS? And yes, I know there are drugs to help people like me. I've tried them and they make me fat.
5.) My terrible habit of procrastination. My class is over in a week. I have none of my assignments done. Not one. I have not read a single chapter since the midterm. I have not started on the final exam. I also have a test in Orlando (part of the coursework I am taking through the state) one week from today. I have not looked at any of the materials since I finished the class over a month ago. So now I have a crazy amount of stuff to do and will be stressed out this week. If I could just accept, OK, I'm a procrastinator, but I always get stuff done, and in general, tend to do well.... But no. I make lists all the time, I think about everything I have to do all the time, I worry over my lists all the time, all without actually doing any work towards accomplishing anything. If I could spend a quarter of my time and effort actually doing stuff rather than just agonizing over how it is not getting done, or feeling guilty because I am not doing it, then I would be able to do so much more with my life. What I do is just spin my wheels. I burn a lot of fuel without getting anywhere. I wish I could change. Either start pacing myself, or say, okay, I am not going to even think about that pile of stuff until July 19th. Either of these options would help me considerably, in the feeling-less-crazy department.
6.) The way I can't seem to savor anything. If I am reading a good book, I just keep reading it, as fast as I can, and then I get to the end so quickly, and I am so disappointed. Why didn't I slow down? Why didn't I put it down after each chapter and either let my thoughts settle, laugh a little more at the humor, or let my anticipation build if it is a suspenseful book? Now the book is done and I wish I had spent more time with it. Also, food. Last night, I went to dinner with a friend and we split a really decadent desert. Did I eat my half slowly, lingering over each delicious bite? No! I ate it like it was a chore, or a race. (We had separate plates so it was not like I was competing for my half or anything.) It was as if someone had asked me, stopwatch in hand, How fast can you clean that plate? Ok! GO! Or the way I check my watch 10 or 15 times during a movie... trying to calculate, factoring in the previews, and the listed movie length time, just how many minutes are left in the movie? Am I bored or displeased with the movie? No! I just feel a compulsion to know how much time I have left to enjoy it. When I used to attend yoga class, I would check my watch. Yep. Turn on the Indiglo on my Timex to sneak a peek to see how much time was left in the class. I wanted to laugh out loud when the instructor would say at the end, Feel yourself coming back into your body.... Umm, I never left! I've been here the whole time, and if you could hear what I was thinking, all the thoughts that have been racing through my head, you would probably declare me hopeless in the Yoga department.
7.) My inability to give up hope that beauty products can make me more beautiful or make my hair less frizzy, or make my eyelashes more voluminous, or whatever it is. I can't give up hope that you can buy improvement for your appearance at Target. I fall for new beauty products far too often. I see the commercial, and yes, I think some small irrational part of me thinks that I might actually look like Penelope Cruz if I can obtain this product she is endorsing. Or whoever it is... doesn't really matter, chances are, I'd rather look like her than me. Even more ridiculous is when I let advertisements convince me I have a problem that I really don't have. Like deep smile lines or crow's feet. I'm just not there yet, but I am worried, and I wonder if I should go ahead and start using this product, as a precautionary measure... Or maybe I do have this problem, but I've been waltzing through life, 29 years old, completely unaware and therefore still happy, not knowing that my pores are huge and congested. Now I go look in the mirror, and I think, Oh, goodness. How could I not have seen this before? I am even uglier than I thought!
I am too tired and feeling too insecure to figure out the other 3 things right now. I am sure you can pick out at least 3 more things I hate about me from the above list, like how I get tired at 8:45 PM, or how insecure I am about EVERYTHING. Or maybe you can just think of your own 3 things you hate about me. But please if you do, don't leave them as comments. I don't think my ego can withstand it right now. Good night.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Anna's New Teeth
AFTER THE CROWNS very fake smile. She's so silly. No more corn on the cob, apples (unless peeled), celery sticks or carrot sticks for her. She can still have corn, just cut off the cob, and apples, cut up, and celery and carrot, maybe, but just cut a lot smaller. We just have to be careful!
BEFORE THE CROWNS The front tooth with the big hole in it, the one right beside it, and then the other tooth beside the other front tooth... 3 teeth fixed with porcelain crowns. We had them crowned because they could not be filled, and the dentist would not just pull them. She broke them once when she was 2, then got some decay where they were broken from nighttime nursing (sort of like bottle rot, minus the bottles...) and then she fell again last May in a hotel room and further broke them. I am very happy with the work he did, and maybe now, I won't have to answer the WHAT HAPPENED TO HER TEETH??? question. And, yes, we had to get them fixed, our other option was to just let them get more and more decayed, and that could have led to abscesses eventually.
AFTER THE CROWNS (This picture is a little creepy, like we got beauty pageant work done on her teeth. They really look very natural, not like this picture... She is trying too hard to show her teeth!)
BEFORE THE CROWNS (She still looks like a princess, either way!)
Anna had her princess crowns put on this week! When they told her they were going to put crowns on her teeth back in June, she decided they must be princess crowns. Anna did a great job at the dentist, we were all very proud of her. She was pretty funny at first after she had the laughing gas when we took her home, but later, she developed a very frightening, angry edge to her personality. My mom's neighbor said, Oh, she's just coming down off those drugs. Great! But by the next morning, she was back to normal. I stayed up really late and then slept with her with her light on because I was feeling nervous that she had been under sedation. But all was well! And since she has not gotten any more cavities, hopefully this will be the last of it.
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