Front Porch

Unconscious

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:27:00 +0000

We had Connor's party on Sunday. We do a Superbowl/ birthday party every year. And every year it gets less Superbowl and more birthday. This time no one even stayed for the Superbowl. Which was totally fine. The party was fun. And as always we had way too much food.

Before the party I fainted in the kitchen. I just passed out. I didn't feel dizzy or anything. I had gotten up and went straight downstairs still in jammies. I put the meatballs in the crockpot and then went and sat down on the couch with kids for about 15 minutes. I did feel a bit foggy. Kinda like I couldn't really wake up. Then I walked over to the kitchen island and there was a glass of tea sitting there. I wanted it. I kept thinking about how I wanted it but I didn't reach out and grab it or anything. Like I couldn't really figure out how to get it.

Then I was lying in bed coming out of a dream. Then I heard Larry's voice coming through a thick fog "What happened?" I opened my eyes and I'm on the kitchen floor with Larry and the kids all hovered around. "I have no idea." I say and start to cry. I get up and Larry helps me over to the couch.

Larry said right before I passed out I asked him if there was anything he wanted me to do and that he said we needed to sweep the kitchen floor... but I have no memory of this. He said he looked down at the floor as he answered and when he looked back he saw my arm disappear behind the island... and then he heard me hit the floor.

I didn't hurt myself when I fell. I fell to the side, which is weird. So my hip hit first, which is sore, then my shoulder, and finally my head. But nothing hurts except my hip. My head just feels like Connor whacked it with a toy or something... and believe me I know how that feels.

I went to the doctor and they did an EKG and said everything was fine there. She thinks I had low blood sugar and told me to make sure I get at least 60 grams of protein a day. So I'll do that. Hopefully I can stay conscious from now on.

Happy Birthday Connor!

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:08:00 +0000

Yesterday was Connor's birthday. He's 4! I can't believe it. I cried. Actually I didn't cry yesterday. I cried on Wednesday because it was the last day I would ever own a 3 year old. boo hoo. I dropped him off at preschool and had to hold back the tears at how cute he was. Never to be 3 again.

His birthday was a big day. We made cupcakes together after we put Maddy on the bus. I really tried to let him do everything himself. He even cracked the eggs AND used the ice cream scoop to put the batter into the cupcake pan. Yes, I was very brave.

After lunch Connor had a field trip with his preschool class. They are doing a dinosaur theme in his class and they went on a dinosaur dig. It was so cute. There is a place not to far where they have a lake, nature walks, ect. It's nice. Apparently they also have a big sand pit where dinosaur bones are hidden. You can dig them up. The kids loved it. Connor yelled "I found a dinosaur bone! Keep digging guys!"

After the dino dig they played with a parachute. You know, the big round sheet and all the kids stand around it holding an edge. Then they put their arms up, and down, and up and then run under it. I loved those as a kid. I was kinda hoping they would let the moms play too... but it was just for kids. Too bad.

Then we went on a nature walk around the lake. Saw all the flowers and cactus. Some birds, some fish. And plenty of ducks. Pretty cute.

I put him down for a nap when we got home. I didn't think he would sleep since it was past the time he normally wakes up but I didn't hear a peep out of him. After he woke up we opened presents. He got a camera (sweet!), a light saber, and an Imagination Movers CD.

Larry made pancakes for dinner as requested by the birthday boy. Then we sang Happy Birthday and ate the cupcakes. I couldn't find the birthday candles so I improvised with tea lights. 4 little tea lights. He didn't seem to care.

I took him to the doctor today. He weighs 50 pounds and is 42.5 inches tall. Which is 90th percentile for height and off the charts for weight. I knew he was big.

Minor successes at 4:30 am

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:50:00 +0000

So couple of months ago I talked about how getting Connor to go pee by himself during the night. And how I think it may be the last hurdle to me sleeping through the night on a permanent basis. We still haven't been having much luck with that until last night.

We had been making such a big deal about him going potty by himself that I think he was feeling like he couldn't call us. Which wasn't true. We still went each time he called but it was always accompanied with a lecture about how big boys go potty alone. This finally came to a head the past few mornings with him wetting the bed because he won't go potty alone and he won't call me.

I asked him why he didn't call me or go potty. He said that it was 6:00 and he was too scared to go potty by himself. Which I don't understand because every morning at 7:00 he comes bouncing into my room. So it's too scary at 6:59, but not at 7:00? I guess my "Don't wake Mommy til 7:00" training took hold a little too well.

So I told him he can go potty in my bathroom during the night if he wants. He liked that. I'm not sure how that is less scary since it's much farther from his room, and he has to walk right past the hall bathroom to get there, but he seemed to go for it. Maybe he just wants us close in case there are technical difficulties. Maybe a wardrobe malfunction.

Well, apparently that is what he wanted to hear because when I came home from school last night Larry said that between bedtime and 9:30 Connor went potty alone about 27 times. That's fine, I figured that would happen once he embraced this new found freedom.

The real test came this morning at about 4:30. I woke up to Connor in our room saying "Um... Guys?" Larry was the first one conscious.

"Do you need to go potty, bub?"
"Yeah."
"Ok, go ahead."

And he did! I even got a kiss on the way back to his bed. Love it.

He is still going to wake me up but I don't have to get out of bed. We are one mini step closer to no more midnight potty breaks.

Homework. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:08:00 +0000

The Good:
Having Connor in preschool two hours a day, three days a week is awesome. Unfortunately, I could easily putter around the house for two hours and never actually DO anything. So I made some ground rules about the things I'm allowed to do while he is at school. Those things are limited to cleaning, homework, and exercise. No TV. No internet. It makes me very productive.

I am currently caught up on homework for the whole week. That means 4 whole days of no homework hanging over my head. 4 WHOLE DAYS!

My goal is to get through this semester without having a nervous breakdown. So far so good. :)

The Bad:
I found out today that Maddy has been lying about getting her homework done. Quite a bit of her homework is to do certain things for a specified amount of time. Such as read for 20 minutes. Not really a way to verify actual reading was done, other than to sit and watch her read. And who wants to do that? I've been trusting her that she was doing it. My mistake.

In her defense she really does have a lot of homework. It's not hard, but it is time consuming. Easily over an hour a day. (None on Friday's or the weekend) Add in Girl Scouts and Gymnastics and she has a busy schedule.

Anyways, lately I've been thinking that she might be cutting corners on the amount of time she spends on things. Maybe reading for 10 minutes instead of 20. For example, I sent her upstairs to do her math flash cards for 30 minutes and then take a shower. She was back down stairs in less than 45 minutes. It's possible that she did what she was supposed to do, but not likely. I've known Maddy for over 8 years now and she hasn't ever been quite that efficient.

Today when she came home from school I asked her about it. If she has been skimping on minutes of homework. She said no. I asked again. She said no. I asked again ("Is that your final answer?"). She buried her face in her hands and started to cry. That's what I thought.

The Ugly:
I've taken TV away for today and then all of next week. And I'm sitting on her bed monitoring the homework as I type. No fun for anyone.

Loud Noises!

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:54:00 +0000

I wanted to tell you about the bad weather we have been having. The rain and wind. I wanted to tell you about how the tree next to our house fell on the neighbor's truck. Maybe even show you this picture of the truck covered by tree. I wanted to tell you how they propped the tree up with a ladder so that he could drive the truck out from under the tree. And how Connor loved watching them cut the tree up in little pieces and take it away.

I wanted to tell you all that. But I'm too lazy.

Connor had a fire drill at school today. This was very disturbing. It was the first thing he said to me when I picked him and the only thing he talked about until lunch.

"We had a loud noise in our school."
"Oh, yeah? Did you have to go outside?"
"Yeah. We went outside and then it stopped."
"Was it a fire drill?"
"Yeah."

We get into the car.

"It was such a loud noise."... "I had to put my hands over my ears."... "It's nothing to be afraid of"... "It was so loud."

I order into the speaker.

"It went HONK! HONK! HONK!"... "It's nothing to be afraid of"... "It was so loud."

I apologize at the first window because I don't have my wallet.

"We had to go outside and then it stopped.".... "It was such a loud noise."... "I had to put my hands over my ears."... "It was nothing to be afraid of."

I get home and put together a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

"I want my sandwich cut into 4 triangles."
"Yes dear."

He picked it up again when he woke up from his nap. He had to tell Larry all about it. Only in the second running of it did I find out there was also a fire truck involved. You would think that a 3 year old boy might mention a fire truck being at his school. But that is how unsettling the whole loud noise thing was.

Off to preschool

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:31:00 +0000

I signed Connor up for preschool. I've been kinda thinking about it since the end of last semester since he loved the preschool at MCC so much. He even told Larry that he likes it better when he goes to school too. He just loves to do stuff. He loves to be active, and learn, and be around other kids. I felt bad that he was going to be stuck home with me for another year and half.

They have a preschool at Maddy's school. My friend is an aide in one of the classes there and she is always talking about the fun stuff they do. I knew Connor would LOVE it. So on Thursday I called over there to see how much it cost and if they had an opening. I figured they would be full and it would be expensive.

Nope.

It's $190 a month for 3 days a week. Which isn't too bad. It's a little more than they charged at MCC and it's for fewer hours per week. But still, it's not terrible and it's actually at the school that he will be going to Kindergarten. They had one opening in the AM class so I went right down there and signed him up. Like RIGHT down there. I was racing an imaginary mom who knew also knew about the very last opening. But she isn't as put together as I am. Her son isn't as well behaved as mine. So while she was trying to find her keys and struggling with her out of control toddler, I was already on my way.

First I had to go the district headquarters to submit my application and pay my money. Then I had to go the school and fill out a stack of paperwork. This is a public school after all. I might be paying with my own after tax money, but it's still a government agency. And with the government comes plenty of paperwork. I would think they would know my name, Connor's name, Connor's age, his birthday, our address, and every contact number I have after the first 10 pages. But I guess not since I had to fill everything out on every single page. And then they just put it in a folder and file it. No one even looked at it. Whatever.

Once I had killed a tree and paid my money I asked if we could meet the teacher and see the room. No. That's it.. just "No". Not that I could make an appointment. Not that I could come back at 3:00. Just "No." It was after Connor's nap and I didn't feel like pushing the issue right then. I just left it at that.

But they are crazy if they think I'm going to send my 3 year old off with someone that I've never even had eye contact with. Sorry, ain't gunna happen. So first thing Friday morning I went back down there and said I was there to visit Maddy's class. Which I did.. technically. I went down there and gave her a hug. Then, as I was leaving, I just happened upon the preschool class and just by coincidence came across Connor's new teacher. So weird!

She is very sweet and wasn't at all offended by my appearance. She introduced Connor to the class and gave me a big stack of papers that explained everything about her class. AND it also happens to be the same class that my friend works in. We are all excited about that.

Connor in school means that I will be home alone. ALONE. Which is truly strange. I have mixed feelings about it. I'm excited to have this bit of freedom, but I also feel like I'm losing a part of myself. Who am I if I don't have Connor following me everywhere? Two whole hours, three days a week to do anything I want. It will be nice when school starts. I can get homework done, or work stuff, or clean. Maybe I can even get through this semester without having a breakdown. Wouldn't that be nice?

Party Crashers

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:19:00 +0000

The dish guy moved out! We have new neighbors already and they seem nice. An olderish couple. Not old, middle aged. Adults. I'm so happy.

But their last night in the house the idiots threw what I think MIGHT have been a going away party for them. Or maybe it was just a coincidence. Don't know... don't care. We were annoyed but tolerating the cars, and people, and underlying knowledge that laws were being broken. We were getting ready for bed and I was picking up some of the kids stuff. I went to put some things at Maddy's door and I heard what sounded like a TV on in another room. I did a little investigating and there were about 5 or 6 people standing right under Maddy's window being drunkenly loud. I watched them for a few minutes and someone threw a can into the bushes across the street. I went to go find Larry to tell him to call the cops and find him already on the phone with them.

We kept watch for about another hour or so but no one ever came so we went to bed. We were leaving for Disney in the morning and I didn't want to start the vacation all tired. I figured they wouldn't come.

In the morning I went around and picked up all the beer cans, soda cans, and gum wrappers (drunk driving much?) and put them on the idiots lawn. Then I emailed my neighbor and told her what happened and asked her to keep an eye on the house for us.

While we were at Disneyland my neighbor sent me an email that said the cops DID show up and blocked off the cul-de-sac and sat there all night. She said people would pull up and just turn around and leave. :) Yay! Well at least we ruined their party.

Then after we got home from Disney another neighbor flagged us down and asked us what we knew about the cops being here. (And sadly I had to ask "Which time?") She told us that the night of the party they arrested some people for underage drinking. Wohoo!

I tried to watch the security camera videos from that night but they had already been taped over. Bummer.

Disneyland.... again

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:20:00 +0000

We went to Disneyland last week. Which was a blast as always. We went on Splash Mountain and they put Connor in the last seat with Larry. Larry said as the ride started to go over the big drop Connor said "Oh No!" and then a huge splash came over the side and just drenched him. I turned around after the drop and he was just about to cry. And through tears he said "I think I need to be a little bigger to ride Splash Mountain". Aww. He was absolutely soaked. Dripping wet. Poor guy. He was a TROOPER about it though. We left his wet clothes on until sundown but then it started to get chilly. His shirt was basically dry by then but his jeans were still soaked through. So we bought him a pair of sweatpants to wear. He liked that.

On the first day I lost the camera at lunch. I left it hanging around the back of my chair. Maddy and I went on Indiana Jones after lunch and Connor and Larry went to do something else and then we met up at Pirates. We are standing in line and Larry says "Wheres the camera?" I about had a heart attack. I went running the restaurant but it was gone. I asked one guy who worked there if anyone had turned it in. He left for a minute and then said "no". I was crushed. But I couldn't accept that I couldn't believe that in Disneyland of all places our camera would get stolen. Then I saw a guy who I had seen cleaning the dining area while we were eating so I went and asked him if he knew anything. He left, but this time I followed, and he went and asked someone else. The guy he asked said "Oh a CAMERA! I thought he said Cameron. Yeah it's at City Hall." Yay!!! We went to City Hall and they had it. Phew. I knew no one would steal our camera at Disneyland.

So later in the day we left our stroller in the stroller parking while we rode the red train. When we got back someone had taken my drink off the stroller but left me a half eaten bag of mixed nuts. So they might not steal your camera, but they will trade your iced tea for some cashews.

Christmas 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 00:34:00 +0000

Merry Christmas!!!

Before I start telling you about our Christmas I have to tell you about our Christmas eve. It was typical, for the most part. We just hung around the house. After dinner we baked cookies for Santa and then snuggled in to watch a Christmas show we had DVR'd. (DVRd? DVRed? Recorded on our Digital Recording Device?) Anyways, we were sitting on the couch in the living room when we hear someone yelling out front. I figured it was the idiots next door or something. Larry got up and looked out the window. When he comes back he says "There are cops outside with assault rifles."

What!?! So of course I have to take a look. And sure enough, there are cops EVERYWHERE around our house. Like 10 cop cars and cops all over the place. Two cops were taking cover behind our van, one had an assault rifle drawn and he was the one who was yelling directions at someone I couldn't see. So I went upstairs to get a better look. By the time I got up there they had cuffed the guy and had him sitting on the electrical box in our side yard. His shirt was all torn off, it was a Tshirt and all that remained of it was the collar. Maybe one sleeve was left, I can't remember exactly.

When I get back downstairs Larry is on the phone with someone. I assume it to be his mom and I'm wondering if we are on the news. Is this the end of a high speed chase or something? But it turns out to be our neighbor from across the street calling to see if we are ok and if we know anything. We don't.

So, who in our neighborhood could have caused such a ruckus? Was it the idiots? Nope. Was it the dish guy? Nope. It was a perfectly nice family who has several perfectly nice boys, two of which come to our bus stop and never give me a lick of trouble. Weird. I can't wait to find out the story. I do know the cops have been over to their house several times before but I didn't think anything of it. I mean, I've had the cops at my house plenty recently and we aren't suspicious.

But anyways... with drama over we moved on with the business of Christmas. Last year I made a list of everything I got and I was surprised how long it was once it was all laid out. So I said I was going to do that every year from then on... so here we go, in no particular order.

The Body Bugg (Google it)
4 necklaces
Pajamas
Dexter seasons 2 and 3
The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck
Would You Rather board game
Calendar
Kitchen Radio
Homemade Ice Cream Maker
Desperate Housewives season 5
A little organizer set with to do lists and post it's and what-not
Big post its and pens
CD with Christmas songs
Earrings
Costco Gift Card
Blue Ray Player (shared with Larry)

Pretty cool. What did you get?

Polar Express

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:38:00 +0000

Yesterday, we got home from our trip to the North Pole. It was so fun. The train leaves from Williams, up near the Grand Canyon. I was hoping it would snow big fat flakes that stick to everything and make good snowballs. I got my wish.

It's a three hour drive from our house to the hotel. We had driven for 2 hours and 50 minutes when we hit a wall of blizzard. It took almost 2 hours to drive the last 9.5 miles. That's 5 miles an hour for those of you who are doing the math. It was total white out. Couldn't even see the trees on the sides of the road. It was crazy. We had left early so even with the two hour delay we had plenty of time to settle in before our train ride.

The hotel had a big fire and cozy couches set up. Big windows looked out over what is probably the lawn in the summer time... but it had been transformed into a winter wonderland. Christmas lights everywhere and all the trees were weighted down under the fresh snow. Someone had just finished a snowman that had a carrot nose and tomatoes for eyes. It was awesome.

They closed all the roads not long after we arrived so we felt pretty lucky to have gotten in. We were snowed in! I was loving it. The train left right from the hotel so we didn't have to drive anywhere. We just played in the snow and warmed up by the fire.

The train ride itself was really cool. They served hot chocolate and cookies made by Mrs. Clause herself. When we got to the North Pole Santa came on board and gave all the kids a bell. Then on the way back to the hotel we sang Christmas songs. It was so fun. The kids loved it.

It just kept right on snowing the whole time we were there. The news was saying that Williams got 15 inches while we were there. But the roads were open when we got up and by the time we were getting on the road the sun was out and the roads were fine.

Perfect.

4

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:49:00 +0000

4 days til Christmas!!!

Our tree looks awesome. We actually did it this year and didn't go CRAZY with the gifts. We always say we will get the kids fewer, but more expensive, gifts. You know... one $50 dollar gift rather than 5 $10 gifts. But I always start to get the thought that they won't have enough presents to open. That Christmas is more fun when you have more gifts. Is that true? I don't know, but every year I'm a little stunned at the sheer number of presents under the tree. And then when I add the Santa gifts and it's just plain ridiculous.

This year we did much better. Two things helped me keep it under control. First I kept a written list of what we were planning on getting each kid. Seeing it all laid out in one place helped see what they really have. And secondly I wrapped everything right away. That helped keep a visual of how many presents were really under the tree. No back of the closet surprises this year.

Worms

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:30:00 +0000

Today I dug a bag of worms out of the trash and kept it in my kitchen for several hours. On purpose. Why?

It started last night. We went out to get pizza last night and as we were waiting for the food to arrive Maddy mentioned that she has worms in her backpack.

Apparently they "grew" worms in dirt at school. She assured us that it's ok because they are in a zip lock bag.

"But you can't leave live animals in a plastic bag, they will die."
"I poked holes in it."
"But the worms could crawl out through the holes."
"No, the holes are at the top."
"But I'm sure your backpack is laying any ole' which way right now. And probably went in every direction on the way home from school."

So worms in her backpack in an unknown state.

When I got up this morning there was a brown paper bag with "Madison's worms" written on it with black marker. A peek inside revealed a ziplock bag (with holes poked in it at the top) filled with dirt and, I assumed, a worm or two. I told her that if she wants to set the worms free she better do it.

But after I came in from putting her on the bus I found the bag still sitting on the counter. So I just took the whole thing and put it in the trash.

But by lunch I was actually feeling bad. She is sentimental and if she thinks I killed her worms she will probably be upset. I took the bag out of the trash and put it back on the counter so she could "set them free" when she got home for school.

Cause that's the kind of mom I am.

Take a drink everytime I say "resolution"

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:20:00 +0000

It's getting to that time of year again. New Year's Resolution time!

First lets take a look back at last year's resolutions and see we did.

My 2009 resolutions were:
1. To be more stylish (not measurable, but I would say met.)
2. To make $5,000 through diversifying my income (met)
3. Paint a room (met)

I did a mid year review of my resolutions back in June. I'm pretty much is the same boat as I was then except that I painted Connor's room over Thanksgiving weekend. In June I had only painted the office, and I really didn't feel like that counted. But now I have an actual room in the house painted. So met. I'm very proud to have met all of last year's resolutions.

So looking ahead to the end of 2010. Connor will be almost 5. Maddy will be 9 and in 3rd grade. Wow and wow.

My 2010 resolutions are:
1. Get my associates degree: I'm on track for this. 4 more classes at two classes per semester = one year.
2. Pay off non mortgage debt and not take on any new debt: This should happen if everything goes to plan. I think the not taking on new debt will be the hardest part.
3. Get my hair done at least 3 times: Yes, 3 times a YEAR. What can I say? I'm not a typical girl.
4. Do something together as a family at least once a month: I know this is kinda sad to have to plan this. But it's actually hard since Maddy is gone for half the weekends. And by something I mean like, go to the movies, or play a game. Something where we are all having the same experience at the same time. Ha, easier said than done! Our excuse in the past has always been that Connor is too little. But we can't really use that one anymore since he's going to be 4 in like 6 weeks.

I tried to make them more measurable than last years. #4 is the first time I've made a resolution that requires a monthly action. So we'll see how that goes. I want to keep up my winning streak, so I'll do my best.

Done!

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:24:00 +0000

The semester is officially over!! Wohoo. I took my final today and with that the semester came to a close. This semester was the craziest so far and there were times I really didn't think I was going to make it though. But here we are... across the finish line. Phew!

So I haven't posted in a while and I'm sorry. But I'm excited to get back to it cause I've missed regular posting. I think of things I want to tell you about and then by the time I actually get to sit down for a second 10 other things have happened and yet I can't think of one thing to say other than complain about the speed of life.

But here are a few things that I wanted to say... real quick and then we will be up to speed.

On Thanksgiving I painted Connor's room. It was a little sad at first, but I LOVE it now. It was the right choice. I spend a few minutes mourning the loss of the nursery paint, but now it looks like a real, put together, little boys room. I realize now that his room looked kinda like Uncle Jesse's room from Full House. The rocker guy in the room with pink bunnies. Everything about Connor's room was little boy except this babyish paint. You can't really tell from the pic but it's Patriots colors. (I feel like I've already mentioned this... see I'm totally going crazy... but either way, I know I didn't post pics.)

The other thing I wanted to tell you is that we went to see the Imagination Movers a few weeks ago. So fun. I was actually surprised at how good the show was. If you dont' know who they are... and unless you have a Disney obsessed preschooler you probably don't... the Imagination Movers are a kid's band that has a show on Disney. They live in the Idea Warehouse and solve "idea emergencies". Its a cute show, but it's a kids show and while I knew Connor would love to see them live, I wasn't personally looking forward to it. (Other than getting to be outside at night, which is a whole other post.) I described them to a friend as "the new Wiggles". But I was wrong... oh so wrong. To call them the new Wiggles is an insult. Because unlike the Wiggles, the Imagination Movers actually have musical talent. It was a good time.

Ok, that's it.

Lost

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:40:00 +0000

The other day Larry stayed home from work. I asked him to take Connor to go get his hair cut while I went and ran some other errands.

I went to Walmart. It felt very strange to be out without kids. Larry off with Connor and me all by myself. I was surprised how quickly I was able to get stuff done. Crazy. So I walk out of Walmart in record time and I realize I don't know where I parked. I went down an aisle that seemed like where I parked but I didn't see the van. I try to think back to when I pulled in. I remembered that I didn't come in my regular entrance to the parking lot. I remembered that I parked pretty close because I was surprised how not busy Walmart was.

I saw a van that kinda looked like mine parked a few rows over. I go over there and it's not it. The spaces are slanted and I remember parking in a space facing the store and on the right of the row.

Ok, so that narrows it down. Only half the rows slant towards the store, and I know I parked on the right, and only 3 or 4 spaces in. That leaves maybe 10 total spaces in the whole parking lot that I could have parked in. So I decided to just walk the whole lenght of the parking lot and I HAVE to find it, right. So I start walking. After about 3 rows I get to where I really think I parked. I'm just sure I parked right THERE! But the van is not there. Instead there is a car that, actually... now that I'm looking at it... looks just like Larry's car.

Duh... Larry's car.

I'm an idiot.

What boy?

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:30:00 +0000

I'm painting Connor's room. We decided to do it in the Patriots colors. I think it's going to come out really cute. I'll post pics when I'm done with it. I started it yesterday before we went to Steve's for Thanksgiving. (Happy Thanksgiving, by the way!) I figured it was as good a day as any since Larry was home and Connor wasn't going to get a nap anyways.

The plan was to air out the house while we were gone to Thanksgiving dinner and he could sleep in there last night. But when we got home it was still really stinky in his room and I felt bad that he had to sleep in there. Plus I didn't want to put his room back together only to have to take everything out again in the morning. So since Maddy was at Shaun's I got the grand idea to have Connor sleep in Maddy's bed. I didn't think it would go over, but it did. He did really great. I was surprised.

I've told you before how he can weird me out when we are in his room. (click here for that)
He came in this morning and climbed in bed with us.

"Did you have a good sleep in Maddy's room?"
"Yep. But the people were bleeding."
"Huh?"
"The boy was bleeding."
"The boy was bleeding?"
"Yeah, the boy in Maddy's closet has boo boos."

Gulp!

Seriously, what the heck? He didn't seem freaked out so we didn't ask any further. But my goodness, how creepy!

So close!

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:17:00 +0000

If you and I have ever talked about children sleeping then you know that Connor was a terrible sleeper as a baby. I didn't have this blog back then, which is just as well since every entry would have been titled "I'm exhausted!", so I can't go back and link to a very long post detailing all the intricacies of getting Connor to lay in his bed asleep. It was a feat, let me tell you. I would spend 45 minutes of the most precise movements to get him to lay down for a nap. And when that was done, I would sit in the chair in his room and wait. I knew that he would be up in about 15 minutes. There wasn't even a chance to go downstairs.

The only thing that got me through that time was knowing it would just be a little while longer. Just a few more months and he will start sleeping through the night. Don't lose it now! You can do it. This won't last forever. Thankfully, I didn't know the truth!

Don't get me wrong, there have been periods of time when he has slept through the night. I just didn't think I would still be having this conversation with myself. We've been through teething, we've made it through leaky diapers, we've found every lost pacifier, and we even survived the perfectly smooth blanket obsession. However, I really do think we are currently working on the last hurdle. Going to the bathroom alone!

I've been talking up the "big boy-ness" of going potty all by himself. I finally got him to agree, at least in theory. So then we worked out the lighting, hall light on. He knows what to do, we've been over it a couple of dozen times. Tonight was the first real trial. He called me up there at about 9:30. "Mommy!! I have to go paaaaaaaaaay!"

Now I don't think we are the only parents in the world who break out the good snacks AFTER the kids go to bed. They get a couple of pieces of Halloween candy, and we get to take huge spoonfuls of raw cookie dough into the living room. You know the drill. Anyways, so there I was cookie dough in mouth as I went up stairs to encourage my 3.5 year old son to go to the bathroom by himself. I told him I would wait in his room and he can go potty alone. He told me he knows how.

"You get out of bed." Hops out of bed.
"You walk to the bathroom." Walks like a robot out of the room.
He probably had commentary in the bathroom but I couldn't hear.
"And then you go back to sleep!" Hops back into bed and lays down.

I told him what a good job he did and leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"What's that smell?!"
"huh?" I swear that boy just smelled cookie on my breath!
"It smells like...." Please don't say cookies. Please don't say cookies. "muffins."
"mmm"

So the good news is that our secret midnight desserts are still safe. The bad news is that I have just a little while longer until I can sleep through the night. Right?

Planet 51

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:47:00 +0000

Larry had to work Friday night. I was planning on bringing Maddy over to Shaun's but he called at about 2:00 and ruined all my plans with news that his son might have Swine Flu. And since I don't feel like spending Thanksgiving in the hospital with my asthmatic daughter and her Swine Flu I decided to keep her home.

Which left me with visions of serious cabin fever and two stir crazy kids. So I decided to take them to the movies. As luck would have it, Planet 51 was showing at the most perfect time. 4:45.

I got Maddy off the bus at 3:40 and by the time we were unpacked and settled in it was time to go. I'm so out of touch, I was surprised that the movies were busy on a Friday night. Dur. Hey, what do you want? When was the last time I was at the movies at night(ish)? Sometime in 2005 I bet. Anyways, I walk up to the ticket window:

Me: "Hi, 2 kids and 1 adult for Planet 51, please."
Ticket Guy: "For 3:35?"
Me: looking at my watch in a confused fashion "No, 4:45"
Ticket Guy: "$xx.xx" (I don't remember the price.)
Ticket Guy: being confused and pressing buttons "What did you want again?"
Me: "2 kids and 1 adult" Thinking this was obvious since here I stand, one adult, with my two kids.
Ticket Guy: "Oh I gave you 2 adults and 1 kid, you can get a refund inside.... if you want."
Me: "I want."

Which wasn't a big deal, I went inside and they gave me back my $1.50. But as I will find out later the new kid's ticket was for the 3:45 movie.

We got our dinner... er, popcorn. And headed down to theater 10 as I was told to by ticket taker man.

Pause:
There has to be a better design to movie theaters than the one they currently have. First you talk to a person with a microphone through bullet proof glass. Then you go inside and have your ticket ripped in half and be told what theater your movie is in. This seems kinda ridiculous. I have an issue having to talk to people on microphones. I don't think that is the best way to treat your customer. And the bullet proof glass? Not necessary. I mean, banks don't even use that anymore. And just because they are outside is no excuse. There are lots of places that take your money outside and don't feel the need to protect themselves behind 2 inches of plexi-glass. I would think some kind of set up like they have at the zoo would be better. Little booths where you talk to a real person, face to face, pay and then you go inside.

Play:
So I'm carrying my 115 oz drink, purse, sweater, 2 gallons of popcorn, two cardboard trays so the kids can have their own popcorn, AND trying to hold Connor's hand. I make our way to theater 10. We start to go in and the movie is already playing. Now, I KNOW we are not late. So I loudly and disruptively back everyone out of the theater and find a bench to put down all my stuff. I dig my ticket stubs out of my pocket and see that one ticket says theater 10, but the other two say theater 7. Ah. Ok, load back up and drag the kids over to theater 7. Phew!

The movie was ok. Only two bathroom breaks, which is fine. The story line wasn't all that. I could have written it myself. In fact it very much reminded me of the movie Space Chimps, if you've had the benefit of that fine film. I did have a full fledged panic attack half way through where I checked the time every 15 seconds for about 10 minutes. But other than that, it went really well.

By the time we got home it was practically time for bed. So that was perfect. I gave the kids a sandwhich because I think they were suffering from "popcorn tummy" (and you know what I'm talking about if you've ever had popcorn for dinner). Then off to bed!

The movies: a perfect way to kill an evening without actually having to spend time together.

quick update

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:47:00 +0000

Nothing really going on over here. Same ole'. Same ole'. Maddy went to the zoo today with the Girl Scouts. So cute. She's getting so big. Her troop leader is a trip. She's just enough scatter brained to be fun, and just enough organized to get it all done. I don't know how she does it. My head would explode. Just going to pick Maddy up at the end of her meeting is enough to give me a panic attack.

I only have another month of school. I'm really hoping things calm down after this semester is over. I'm still taking two classes next semester but I won't be going 4 days a week. Just two. So I think that schedule will be less chaotic. Hey, positive thinking is what motivates me to sign up for this torture every six months.

We got our new sleep number bed this weekend. Aw yeah. I've only slept on it once so far, but I think it's going to be good. I was way to excited. I know no one else cares that I got a new bed. But I couldn't contain myself. I love to sleep. It was almost more exciting than getting a new car. I think I was more excited than when I got the van. lol.. that's just wrong.

The corn jungle

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:44:00 +0000

We had a very Halloweenish weekend. On Friday after lunch Connor and I went to the a little roadside pumpkin patch. We picked out some pumpkins but when we got up to the front to pay I found out they only took cash. So Boo. We had to leave without our pumpkins. I never carry cash. Then later that night Larry and Maddy went to a costume Father-daughter dance. Totally cute. I didn't have a costume for Maddy so I improvised and she went as Dorthy from the Wizard of Oz. She wore the same dress she wore to my brother in law's wedding, which means I have now gotten 3 uses out of that dress. It's a blue and white plaid and we got her little basket that she carried a stuffed little dog in. It was pretty cute. They had a good time. Larry was a pirate.

Then on Saturday we went to the farmer's market down the street. They have a cornmaze, or a corn jungle as Connor calls it. That was fun. Connor really liked it. They also had a barrel train and a bounce house. They had animals too but not a petting zoo. Which I was happy about. You could reach through the fence and pet them if you really had to do that. Connor pet a pig. We ended our day at the farmers market and got some pumpkins and desert honey. Mmmmm.

Hot dogs

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:46:00 +0000

Today I skipped my first class so that I could go to the library and work on my Math homework. I worked for about a half hour and realized I had some major questions. So I decided to sit in on the class before mine. I knew we were going over the homework and I figured two sessions in a row would probably do the trick.

Pause that story, while I talk about the hot dog guy....

There's a guy at my school who sells hot dogs from a little cart. That's a killer gig, I would assume. I've only seen him a couple of times because he parks near the library and I don't usually go that way. The first time I saw him was a couple of weeks ago and as I walked by I overheard a conversation he was having with a student. I don't remember the whole thing but I left with the distinct impression that the guy was the owner of the cart. Expected.

Today I walked by on the way into the library and overheard that hot dogs cost $3 and he only takes cash. Then, on the way out I was wondering how much he makes from his little cart. Even if he has a whole dollar in costs per hot dog (which I highly doubt) he is making $2 per dog. I have no idea how many he sells each day, but I did think... if he was making good money he would have hired someone to run his cart for him. So it must not be that good.

Ok, so I went to the first round of Math. I've never sat in on this class before. It was kinda weird. It was my class... same teacher, same material... but it was filled with strange faces and inside jokes I didn't get. Anyways, so the girl sitting next to me turns around and asks the girl behind her "So, how did it go?"

The other girl starts talking about an interview she had with the hot dog guy! Seriously! I couldn't believe it. Turns out the hot dog guy makes $600 a day with his little stand. I don't know if that is sales, or profit, but either way... a killer gig. Just as I suspected.

Sherlock

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:07:00 +0000

Our across the street neighbor and their neighbor had their cars broken into the night before last. My across the street neighbor had her gym bag stolen and her neighbor had the window broken of her car and her purse was stolen. Sucks. The cameras on our house do actually have a view of their houses so I said I would see what I could see. Which isn't much since it was still dark out when the break-ins occurred. We can see them happen but the quality of the tapes is so bad that it's not really helpful.

First off, I don't know if I have ever really explained my neighborhood but I live on a cul-de-sac that has a grassy area in the middle. Starting from the left is a big area with landscaping rocks and some utility boxes, this is also the bus stop. Then my across the street neighbor who had their car broken into, then their neighbor, then 4 houses, then the idiots, then two houses, then us on the edge of the cul-de-sac.

On the tapes you can see see a white figure come from off screen on the left (the rocks) and walk towards my across-the-street-neighbor's house. He starts to walk by and then turns and goes up to her passenger side and looks in the windows. Then goes to the back and lifts her tailgate and steals her gym bag. Then he walks off camera on the right. He is gone for a few mintues and then comes walking through the grassy middle with the gym bag and walks just off camera on the left bottom. He immediately comes back into view on the left top without the bag. I assume that he put the bag down behind the utility box that is right there and then went to grab a big river rock to break the window. He then walks across and off camera on the right. He's gone for a few mintues and then walks back across and off camera again. Almost immediately on another camera we see a car coming down the street. It's a car that clearly doesn't live in this neighborhood. You can tell the driver is lost in our maze of cul-de-sacs. They drive in one cul-de-sac, drive around it, pull in to the next one and then back out, then drive into ours, drive around the whole thing, once having to back up because they drive in someone's driveway on accident, and then leave the cul-de-sac and drive off camera.

Strange. But it was fun playing detective for a couple of hours. The whole thing makes me want to invest in some better cameras and get some more of them. I wish I could see if that car picks up the theif.

Puzzled

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:33:00 +0000

Connor has found puzzles. We bought a 25 piece Mickey Mouse puzzle at the dollar store before we left for Disneyland. Thought it might keep the kids busy in the hotel room for a few minutes. Luckily we forgot about it because I see now that it would have caused a nuclear meltdown for everyone involved.

Puzzles are Maddy's thing. She has been whipping 25 piece puzzles together since she was 2. She was impressive with them, really. Connor has different interests. He has never shown any interest in any of the things Maddy liked to do as a toddler, puzzles included.

However, Larry got out the new Mickey puzzle for him yesterday morning and the two of them sat down and put it together. Connor was frustrated with it. Doing typical boyish things like forcing pieces together and then throwing them across the room. But he was also determined to get it. Him and Larry did the puzzle together several times, then him and I did it once. Then we were both tired of it and Connor worked for the rest of the day on it by himself. Seriously, he probably spent a good 5 hours working on this puzzle.

He did finally get it though! He isn't one to give up. He KNOWS he has the ability and he just can't let it go until he figures it out. He is obsessive about it. We went out while he was working on it and the second we walked back in the house he yelled "My Puzzle!" and went running over to the table. That determination pays off most of the time. But I can see that if Maddy had been around she would have wanted to do it for him... you know, to "help"... and Connor would have flipped out.

Disneyland

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:17:00 +0000

We are back from Disneyland. I know I didn't mention it on here. We really weren't sure if we were even going til like two weeks before we left. Which is totally unlike us. Normally we plan this stuff like a year in advance... but we are doing lots of things lately that aren't like us. I don't know what's going on. Too busy I think. We are too busy to be ourselves.

But it was fun. It was a different type of trip than we usually have. Normally I'm all amped up for the trip and while we are there I'm trying to get the kids (and me) to see everything. Go on every ride, see every character. Like our lives depend on it. But on this trip I just wasn't that way. I just wanted to sit down! The whole trip was more low key than normal. So we didn't do all the things we normally do. But we had fun. It was all decorated for Halloween, which was cool to see. We got to eat at the Blue Bayou which I've always wanted to do. It's the restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. That was cool. And I've finally admitted that I don't really like "It's a small world". Afterall.

We also went to the beach. I haven't been to the beach in like 7 years. Crazy! That was nice. We had an extra day in California and we just kinda hung around and rested. I needed a vacation from my vacation.

It was Maddy's birthday while we were there. 8! I can't believe it. We got her the Monsters vs. Aliens movie, Bendaroos, Pixos, and a big Costco size pack of Littlest Pet Shop toys. Big hits all around. It was also our 5 year wedding anniversary on Friday. We did spend the whole thing driving home from California, but hey... we were together. So it could be worse. We spent our anniversary last year driving home from the Grand Canyon. Seems to be a trend.

New hair

noreply@blogger.com (Mom) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:13:00 +0000

Hello. Larry brought up the fact that I haven't posted anything in like 10 days and my last post was me freaking out. I'm not still freaking out... if you were worried about me. I'm good.

I finished my Math project and that relived a huge amount of stress. I felt so light and airy after that. Like I had won some homework award.

I went to the very ritzy hair salon last night. I'm lookin' fine, let me tell you. I haven't been there in two years and my regular lady there had two babies since the last time I saw her! Two babies! How the heck? Anyways, I had to pinky swear that I would go more often. I plan to. I can't commit to every six weeks like they want because, well... that's insane. But I did promise to come back in 6 months. :) It fits in with my new years resolution to be more stylish. Yeah, I'm still on that.

Oh! I forgot to mention the whole reason I brought it up. Dixie Carter from Designing Women was at the salon too. I didn't know it til after she left, but still... I felt fancy. I told you it was a ritzy place. It has golden frames around the mirrors, strategically placed fake pillars, B-list celebrities... and me.

I come home with my new hair and Connor wouldn't leave it be. "Oh, I love your haircut, Mommy." "Such a nice haircut, Mommy." "You look so pretty, Mommy." Seriously, he must have told me 10 times that he liked my hair. Then Larry said he kept bringing it up while Larry was putting him to bed. I think he's afraid Connor is going to grow up to be a hairdresser. hehe. I wouldn't mind... I would be his first customer everyday. :)~