I am happy to report Middle child is coming home tomorrow. Though he had a rough start to his trip, he turned a corner earlier in the week and has been having a great time. We all miss him like crazy but I am relieved he is having a good time. But I want him home.
I have noticed a couple things in his absence:
*Today was the first day I had to do laundry since he has been away. That leads me to believe either me and Youngest have had the same clothes on for 6 days, or Middle generates a lot of laundry.
*I still have snacks in the house.
*The front door does not open and close 150 times a day.
*We have not had frozen pizza for dinner at all this week. Or for lunch. Or for breakfast.
*Daughter senses my sadness and has been extra silly this week. I am grateful she is a dork.
*I am not up to date with all things sports related. NBA finals, what??? Stanley Cup, who??
*Youngest can actually do the same things Middle can do when asked. With a lot less lip.
*Dogs can be sad. Teddy has been moping around all week, which makes me rub his tummy a little more. Maybe he is playing me...
*It's just so quiet. Apparently I thrive on noise. Who knew?
*I have realized what a great kid and friend he is. Things have not been the same in the court since he left. I am too hard on him and an working to be softer with him. I expect a lot out of him and always have, maybe it is time to back off a little.
All things will be right in my world when he gets home tomorrow. I am so grateful to the family that took him on vacation. This was truly a trip of a lifetime for a ten year old. Buck up neighbors: Middle child will be home to organize neighborhood chaos in 24 hours!! Please don't send your sad faced kids over here looking for him before then, I can't take it!
Be well.
Cat
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Having an only child (of sorts)
It has been a bit of a tough couple days as Middle child is on vacation with friends from Friday till Friday. What makes it more difficult was that he was having a tough time missing us and his friends and it was hard and sad to hear him so down on the phone. This is a great opportunity for him and I am relieved to say that when we talked to him yesterday, he was much more himself and sounded like he was finally having fun.
I am glad he is not our only child.
I had a tough time getting pregnant with Middle child but had a decent pregnancy, a surprising 10lb baby, and a wonderful infant. He was so good, that we decided to try for another one right away. I had a couple moments of "Do we want to really have another one? That would make three kids, though Daughter is only with us part time, I have one of each and that should be enough, right? And when Daughter isn't around, there would only be 3 of us and that is a weird number for amusement park rides and dinner reservations, right?" I clearly didn't do the math and realize if we had another baby, total we would be 5, an odd number.
I got pregnant 10 months after Middle was born.
It was clear early on that Youngest would be a challenge. He wasn't fussy or evil, just quiet and distant. We all know how this story goes, so I won't relieve any of it. I do want to point out: some times when I wish Middle was an only child (but with Daughter in tow, too. Confused yet?)
1)At the grocery store: Daughter walking along the Car Cart, Middle in the seat of the Car Cart, Youngest in his bucket seat in the cart, making it impossible to actually put groceries INTO the cart. Not to mention having to switch everyone at checkout to the normal carts. UGH.
2)Two boys in diapers at the same time.
3)Having to lug an active Middle child to Youngest's therapy appointments. It was ME who needed therapy after months of that.
4)Riding rides at State Fairs: someone is always with a weird stranger.
There were a lot of dark times with Youngest when I really pondered what life would be like without one of the boys. This week I got a dose of it. I don't like it.
Though they don't play together all the time, Middle child is embarrassed by Youngest child's ability to appeal to the "ladies", and they could not be more different, I am so glad we have them both. I cannot imagine one without the other or us without either of them. It took me awhile to get over my "only child" envy of friends and family, but after this week, I am there.
I am delighted with our "odd" family.
Cat
I am glad he is not our only child.
I had a tough time getting pregnant with Middle child but had a decent pregnancy, a surprising 10lb baby, and a wonderful infant. He was so good, that we decided to try for another one right away. I had a couple moments of "Do we want to really have another one? That would make three kids, though Daughter is only with us part time, I have one of each and that should be enough, right? And when Daughter isn't around, there would only be 3 of us and that is a weird number for amusement park rides and dinner reservations, right?" I clearly didn't do the math and realize if we had another baby, total we would be 5, an odd number.
I got pregnant 10 months after Middle was born.
It was clear early on that Youngest would be a challenge. He wasn't fussy or evil, just quiet and distant. We all know how this story goes, so I won't relieve any of it. I do want to point out: some times when I wish Middle was an only child (but with Daughter in tow, too. Confused yet?)
1)At the grocery store: Daughter walking along the Car Cart, Middle in the seat of the Car Cart, Youngest in his bucket seat in the cart, making it impossible to actually put groceries INTO the cart. Not to mention having to switch everyone at checkout to the normal carts. UGH.
2)Two boys in diapers at the same time.
3)Having to lug an active Middle child to Youngest's therapy appointments. It was ME who needed therapy after months of that.
4)Riding rides at State Fairs: someone is always with a weird stranger.
There were a lot of dark times with Youngest when I really pondered what life would be like without one of the boys. This week I got a dose of it. I don't like it.
Though they don't play together all the time, Middle child is embarrassed by Youngest child's ability to appeal to the "ladies", and they could not be more different, I am so glad we have them both. I cannot imagine one without the other or us without either of them. It took me awhile to get over my "only child" envy of friends and family, but after this week, I am there.
I am delighted with our "odd" family.
Cat
Monday, June 4, 2012
What's been going on??
Hi friends! I hope this post finds you all doing well and ready for summer. My kids are all done and if we can get the temp up about 10 degrees, we will be living at the pool the rest of the summer. Here's what has been happening here lately:
Husband and I made it thru over two hours of Daughter's 8th grade Award Ceremony. She received several academic awards and was more emotional than I thought she would be. Last she told me, "I am ready to get the heck out of here!" But I think it hit her that she will be entering the big league in a couple months. I know it will hit me the first time I have to go to the High School for Back to School meetings. Now she is on a bus with a bunch of her classmates and her dad on a 22 hour trip to Disney. You could not PAY me to go on a 22 hour bus trip with a bunch of teenagers. Yuck.
I survived being End of Year party planner for Middle child's 4th grade class. It went off without a hitch and I have to say that he had a really great class this year. He has some really great friends. One of which he will spend a week of vacation with, leaving this Friday. It will be weird to not have him around but I think this is a really good experience for him. I am grateful that he is a good enough kid for someone to want to take him on a road trip.
Youngest was voted "Best Personality" in his class. Though I am not at all surprised by that, it makes me weepy with gratefulness that they include him so much in his class. I am sad that his Intervention Teacher is moving to another school and I pray that his new one is as wonderful as she was. You have to have a long fuse when dealing with these kids.
We have been to the pool a couple times all ready and I am a little shocked by the teens that are groping each other so openly. In years past, they at least kept their groping to one part of the grassy area. Not this year, they are all over each other everywhere!! Husband and I have to keep our mouths shut as we pass them because we both have the overwhelming desire to say "You know, you can get pregnant that way" or "Huh, that dude was kissing another girl just a few minutes ago", or my favorite "Eww...that's soo gross!!". Parents, please have the "talk" with your teens before you drop them off for the day. And maybe pop in on them every now and then to see if they are behaving.
I plan on reading a lot this summer, working on house/yard projects and trying to unplug more. I am going to do at least two miles of walking every day and trying to find new lunch ideas for the kids. I know this time will go fast and I want to enjoy every minute. I am trying to be softer with Middle Child and urging Youngest to be more independent. With Daughter, it is just fun to hang out with her and her friends. What a lovely group of young girls she hangs out with. I guess looking at it, all of my kids have really great friends. So do Husband and I.
Life is good.
Cat
Husband and I made it thru over two hours of Daughter's 8th grade Award Ceremony. She received several academic awards and was more emotional than I thought she would be. Last she told me, "I am ready to get the heck out of here!" But I think it hit her that she will be entering the big league in a couple months. I know it will hit me the first time I have to go to the High School for Back to School meetings. Now she is on a bus with a bunch of her classmates and her dad on a 22 hour trip to Disney. You could not PAY me to go on a 22 hour bus trip with a bunch of teenagers. Yuck.
I survived being End of Year party planner for Middle child's 4th grade class. It went off without a hitch and I have to say that he had a really great class this year. He has some really great friends. One of which he will spend a week of vacation with, leaving this Friday. It will be weird to not have him around but I think this is a really good experience for him. I am grateful that he is a good enough kid for someone to want to take him on a road trip.
Youngest was voted "Best Personality" in his class. Though I am not at all surprised by that, it makes me weepy with gratefulness that they include him so much in his class. I am sad that his Intervention Teacher is moving to another school and I pray that his new one is as wonderful as she was. You have to have a long fuse when dealing with these kids.
We have been to the pool a couple times all ready and I am a little shocked by the teens that are groping each other so openly. In years past, they at least kept their groping to one part of the grassy area. Not this year, they are all over each other everywhere!! Husband and I have to keep our mouths shut as we pass them because we both have the overwhelming desire to say "You know, you can get pregnant that way" or "Huh, that dude was kissing another girl just a few minutes ago", or my favorite "Eww...that's soo gross!!". Parents, please have the "talk" with your teens before you drop them off for the day. And maybe pop in on them every now and then to see if they are behaving.
I plan on reading a lot this summer, working on house/yard projects and trying to unplug more. I am going to do at least two miles of walking every day and trying to find new lunch ideas for the kids. I know this time will go fast and I want to enjoy every minute. I am trying to be softer with Middle Child and urging Youngest to be more independent. With Daughter, it is just fun to hang out with her and her friends. What a lovely group of young girls she hangs out with. I guess looking at it, all of my kids have really great friends. So do Husband and I.
Life is good.
Cat
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Adonis and Too Much Information
Hi everyone! I hope you all are doing well. My absence means that nothing weird or funny to write about is going on over here, and that is A OK in my book. We are winding down the school year, happy the pool is open, and are tired of Big Dog hunting birds in our backyard. I have just a couple things worthy of mention:
This is Adonis
Greek God of love, youth, and lots of sex partners. Kind of a big deal in Greek Myth.
So....when I got my Iphone a couple weeks ago, the guy that helped me was named Adonis. But he didn't look quite like a Greek God, he looked more like
He was tiny! No kidding, my 10 year old was his size. Nice enough guy and very helpful, just ironic that a man so little was named after some one so grand. Would like to meet his folks, I bet they are funny.
Secondly, you know how I like to read. So I finished Hunger Games and it was good. Trying to get into Catching Fire but it is so depressing that I am having a tough time, but I will get thru it.
HOWEVER, I made the mistake of checking out a book called Skinny Bitch. I have heard it mentioned before, it was written in 2005, and is about a vegetarian life style. Uhhhh...do NOT read this book if you ever want to eat meat/poultry again. I won't go into details because I don't want anyone else scarred like I was and I am afraid to read the section about dairy!! The only thing keeping me reading this book is that the two women that wrote it are funny (though they use a LOT of foul language. And you know me, I like to swear like a sailor, so if I think they swear a lot, you know they do). I will keep you posted. Needless to say, I took hot dogs off our Memorial Day menu.
Speaking of, I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend and takes a moment or more to think of those that have lost their lives for our Country and/or just have lost their lives. This is a good weekend to think about friends and family we have lost over the years.
Hope to see you at the pool! If you want my cell number to call or text to see where we are at the pool, just shoot me an email or ask me on Facebook.
Thanks!
Cat
This is Adonis
So....when I got my Iphone a couple weeks ago, the guy that helped me was named Adonis. But he didn't look quite like a Greek God, he looked more like
Secondly, you know how I like to read. So I finished Hunger Games and it was good. Trying to get into Catching Fire but it is so depressing that I am having a tough time, but I will get thru it.
HOWEVER, I made the mistake of checking out a book called Skinny Bitch. I have heard it mentioned before, it was written in 2005, and is about a vegetarian life style. Uhhhh...do NOT read this book if you ever want to eat meat/poultry again. I won't go into details because I don't want anyone else scarred like I was and I am afraid to read the section about dairy!! The only thing keeping me reading this book is that the two women that wrote it are funny (though they use a LOT of foul language. And you know me, I like to swear like a sailor, so if I think they swear a lot, you know they do). I will keep you posted. Needless to say, I took hot dogs off our Memorial Day menu.
Speaking of, I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend and takes a moment or more to think of those that have lost their lives for our Country and/or just have lost their lives. This is a good weekend to think about friends and family we have lost over the years.
Hope to see you at the pool! If you want my cell number to call or text to see where we are at the pool, just shoot me an email or ask me on Facebook.
Thanks!
Cat
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Happy Mother's Day!!
Hi gang! I hope you all are having a great Mother's Day, whether you are the Mom or are celebrating it with your mom.
Being a Mom is tough. It is the most difficult thing I have ever done. It makes no matter if you have a child with challenges, all kids have some kind of challenge. I am mostly happy (sounds like one of those survey's you take online "are you less likely, kind of likely, or most likely..) with my relationship with my kids. I remember being maybe 13 or 14 and my Mom telling me "I am your Mother, NOT your friend." I remember the two things I thought at that very second: Uhh...I don't know that I considered you my "friend" and "what a crappy thing to say". Mom made it clear she was there to get me thru life's obstacles but that's where it ended. We spent a lot of time with our parent's but it seems like it was mostly stuff they wanted to do. As a Mom looking back, there is nothing wrong with that and we MANY great family vacations and times together.
I took the same tact, initially, when I became a Mom. I am here to guide you, feed you, do your laundry and an occasional diorama, but that's where it ends. But as my kids grew, I realized it is okay to be their friend. It doesn't mean they are going to get away with anything, to me it means that I am there to celebrate good times, be sad with them in bad, and to go for the laugh as much as I can. I can put the hammer down as fast as anyone but I prefer to laugh and share the things that make us who we are.
I made it thru my 5k this morning, running all the way. I had been up since 3:30am because I was pondering the upcoming purchase I was about to make. I was perfectly happy with my cell phone until Hubby, more than deservengly, got his Blackberry. I became obsessed with the whole 3 or 4G thing. I am gone so much that the thought of being able to access anything, anytime, anywhere, literally kept me up at night. The race I did was to benefit a 3rd grader in Youngest's school who needs a kidney transplant. Can you imagine? I couldn't, hence why I signed up. Standing there this morning, waiting for the race to start and hear the little boy simply say "Thank You" to the over 500 people there for him, brought me to tears. I ran the whole thing and honestly don't know if it was my best time or not. I didn't care. I was doing this for the little boy and as long as I ran it all, I was satisfied.
During my run, I thought a lot about the phone thing and how ultimately stupid it is when I am running for a child that needs a kidney. How greedy can I be? I should be happy with what I have. So I set in, content to enjoy the view of the river, until I caught a wiff of it and almost threw up. But I did my best and I was happy with that. I was even more happy that Hubby and the boys were there to cheer me on. Nothing keeps my legs moving that my boys cheering me on.
Then I went and got an Iphone 4.
Screech...what??
For a long time, I never felt deserving of anything. I had divorce guilt, challenged child guilt and felt that I didn't deserve anything above and beyond poverty level things. Some time after my birthday last December, this changed. I do deserve to get what I want as long as all the needs and bills are met. I started slow with the waffle maker, then the griddle, then the laptop and now my new Iphone. The best part for me is: everyone in my household is for it. They are thrilled I have what I want and that I can relish in a little self indulgence. The kids see it is vital to keep yourself happy while making every one else happy.
This Mom-hood thing ain't so bad after all.
Have a great Sunday!!
Momma Cat
Being a Mom is tough. It is the most difficult thing I have ever done. It makes no matter if you have a child with challenges, all kids have some kind of challenge. I am mostly happy (sounds like one of those survey's you take online "are you less likely, kind of likely, or most likely..) with my relationship with my kids. I remember being maybe 13 or 14 and my Mom telling me "I am your Mother, NOT your friend." I remember the two things I thought at that very second: Uhh...I don't know that I considered you my "friend" and "what a crappy thing to say". Mom made it clear she was there to get me thru life's obstacles but that's where it ended. We spent a lot of time with our parent's but it seems like it was mostly stuff they wanted to do. As a Mom looking back, there is nothing wrong with that and we MANY great family vacations and times together.
I took the same tact, initially, when I became a Mom. I am here to guide you, feed you, do your laundry and an occasional diorama, but that's where it ends. But as my kids grew, I realized it is okay to be their friend. It doesn't mean they are going to get away with anything, to me it means that I am there to celebrate good times, be sad with them in bad, and to go for the laugh as much as I can. I can put the hammer down as fast as anyone but I prefer to laugh and share the things that make us who we are.
I made it thru my 5k this morning, running all the way. I had been up since 3:30am because I was pondering the upcoming purchase I was about to make. I was perfectly happy with my cell phone until Hubby, more than deservengly, got his Blackberry. I became obsessed with the whole 3 or 4G thing. I am gone so much that the thought of being able to access anything, anytime, anywhere, literally kept me up at night. The race I did was to benefit a 3rd grader in Youngest's school who needs a kidney transplant. Can you imagine? I couldn't, hence why I signed up. Standing there this morning, waiting for the race to start and hear the little boy simply say "Thank You" to the over 500 people there for him, brought me to tears. I ran the whole thing and honestly don't know if it was my best time or not. I didn't care. I was doing this for the little boy and as long as I ran it all, I was satisfied.
During my run, I thought a lot about the phone thing and how ultimately stupid it is when I am running for a child that needs a kidney. How greedy can I be? I should be happy with what I have. So I set in, content to enjoy the view of the river, until I caught a wiff of it and almost threw up. But I did my best and I was happy with that. I was even more happy that Hubby and the boys were there to cheer me on. Nothing keeps my legs moving that my boys cheering me on.
Then I went and got an Iphone 4.
Screech...what??
For a long time, I never felt deserving of anything. I had divorce guilt, challenged child guilt and felt that I didn't deserve anything above and beyond poverty level things. Some time after my birthday last December, this changed. I do deserve to get what I want as long as all the needs and bills are met. I started slow with the waffle maker, then the griddle, then the laptop and now my new Iphone. The best part for me is: everyone in my household is for it. They are thrilled I have what I want and that I can relish in a little self indulgence. The kids see it is vital to keep yourself happy while making every one else happy.
This Mom-hood thing ain't so bad after all.
Have a great Sunday!!
Momma Cat
Monday, May 7, 2012
Being Silly
I have mentioned many times just how lucky I am to have the job I have and to work with the people I work with. But there are days when I just don't want to go in. I have a lot of other things I need to get done and those couple extra hours could really help. Today was one of those days.
I trudged into work not wanting to talk or do anything. But my 400lb cohort would have none of that. He doesn't know what to do when I am quiet as I am usually rambling about something. So we created a game called "Sing it like Cher". I hope you all saw the Will and Grace episode ion's ago with Jack singing like Cher and then her appearance at the end. One of the best in sitcom history.
Song after song would come on the radio and we had to try to sing it like Cher. Some were easy: "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol was a cinch: In the midnight hour-o. Heart's "What about Love" was also another easy one: "Don't you want some one to share it with you-o". But we had a really hard time with The Rolling Stone's "Honky Tonk Woman". You can't Cher-ize that song no matter how hard you try.
A little silliness can go a long way in lifting someone's spirits. I appreciate that the people I work with care enough to notice a bad mood and attempt to lighten me up. I hope I do the same for them.
Have a good night-oooooo,
Cat
I trudged into work not wanting to talk or do anything. But my 400lb cohort would have none of that. He doesn't know what to do when I am quiet as I am usually rambling about something. So we created a game called "Sing it like Cher". I hope you all saw the Will and Grace episode ion's ago with Jack singing like Cher and then her appearance at the end. One of the best in sitcom history.
Song after song would come on the radio and we had to try to sing it like Cher. Some were easy: "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol was a cinch: In the midnight hour-o. Heart's "What about Love" was also another easy one: "Don't you want some one to share it with you-o". But we had a really hard time with The Rolling Stone's "Honky Tonk Woman". You can't Cher-ize that song no matter how hard you try.
A little silliness can go a long way in lifting someone's spirits. I appreciate that the people I work with care enough to notice a bad mood and attempt to lighten me up. I hope I do the same for them.
Have a good night-oooooo,
Cat
Friday, May 4, 2012
Ramblings of a tired Cat
It has been a painfully long week. I am not going to get into details because frankly, I don't want to relive any of it. As bad as it was for me, I am constantly reminded that everyone has some struggles. Whether it is the loss of a parent, struggling to help an Autistic child, or the adorable toddler with Down Syndrome. We all have "stuff".
With that in mind, I move on.
Husband and I are going out tonight to celebrate our 13 year anniversary. He will be out of town tomorrow, our actual anniversary, so we will go out tonight, have some margarita's and laugh about all the crap we have been thru in the last 13 years.
I had a dentist appointment this week and I have to say that being a Dentist is the biggest scam on the planet. We all know the Hygienist does all the dirty work. The Dentist (I believe I have mentioned what a tool my Dentist is) just comes in, crams his fist in my mouth and says "Looks good". That is crap and we all know it. When the Hygienist told me " I will let the Doctor know you are ready", I laughed out loud and said "You know he's not a real Doctor, right?" I do believe she snickered. My work there was done.
I have a crazy busy week coming up and am hoping to have a relaxing weekend with the kids. We will dine on Hot Head Burrito's tomorrow for dinner as 1) It is Cinco De May, 2) It is my Anniversary, and 3) It's buy one get one free!! Then maybe we will hit the Zoo on Sunday. It will be hard to manage without Hubby here, but we will get it all done.
Have a great weekend, everyone!!
Cat
With that in mind, I move on.
Husband and I are going out tonight to celebrate our 13 year anniversary. He will be out of town tomorrow, our actual anniversary, so we will go out tonight, have some margarita's and laugh about all the crap we have been thru in the last 13 years.
I had a dentist appointment this week and I have to say that being a Dentist is the biggest scam on the planet. We all know the Hygienist does all the dirty work. The Dentist (I believe I have mentioned what a tool my Dentist is) just comes in, crams his fist in my mouth and says "Looks good". That is crap and we all know it. When the Hygienist told me " I will let the Doctor know you are ready", I laughed out loud and said "You know he's not a real Doctor, right?" I do believe she snickered. My work there was done.
I have a crazy busy week coming up and am hoping to have a relaxing weekend with the kids. We will dine on Hot Head Burrito's tomorrow for dinner as 1) It is Cinco De May, 2) It is my Anniversary, and 3) It's buy one get one free!! Then maybe we will hit the Zoo on Sunday. It will be hard to manage without Hubby here, but we will get it all done.
Have a great weekend, everyone!!
Cat
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