The death of Senator Byrd on Monday morning has resulted in a very busy week for us in the Senate Historical Office. Even though he was 92 and has been in frail health in recent years, his death still came as a shock to me. There are just some people that you think will always be around.
One of my jobs in our office is to update the statistical lists that we maintain on all aspects of Senate history--senators, elections, sessions of Congress, party leadership, committees, Senate officers, and powers of the Senate. I've been updating lots of lists, including the list of funerals held in the Senate Chamber. Senator Byrd is the longest-serving senator in Senate history, and also the longest-serving member of Congress in U.S. history. It's very appropriate that this man, who put the institution of the Senate above all else, would want some kind of service on the floor of the Senate Chamber. But since this has not been done since 1959, we were flooded with calls on Monday and Tuesday about Senate Chamber funerals, and all the myriad details involved. It looks like most details have been ironed out, but we are working on making our Funerals subject file more complete, including precedents for all of the questions that planners and reporters have been asking this week.
In the meantime, I haven't had much time to post, or to even think about posting. Yesterday was my birthday and Ed's sister babysat the boys so Ed could take me out to dinner. We ate at Outback and while the food was okay (my steak was tough), the company was fantastic. It was a nice evening. Before we left, the boys gave me my birthday presents--a point-and-shoot digital camera, with camera case, memory card, and mini tripod. While I still plan on learning how to use the manual settings of my full-size camera, it is too big to carry around conveniently. And since I mostly use the auto settings anyway, I'm happy to have a tiny camera that I can fit into my pocket.
In other news, Seth now likes scrambled eggs. So yay for that! And I'm taking a road trip with the boys to North Carolina on Friday morning. We're spending July 4th weekend with my mom and brother and Ed's sister and BIL and their three boys. Unfortunately, Ed is not coming because he can't take the time off work, but probably more so because he doesn't want to suffer through the drive (he has serious road-trip phobias). But his parents are driving down with us, so that should make things easier. (Or harder, depending. LOL) I'm looking forward to the trip, and I think it will be a lot of fun, but what I'm REALLY looking forward to is visiting the Case family on the way back. We're going there on Monday and will spend Monday night there and head home on Tuesday morning. (My in-laws are staying with friends in Chapel Hill. Laura loves us, but not THAT much! LOL) I can't wait to see them and I hope we'll take some better pictures this time! ;-)
So the next two nights will involve some major running around, trying to get things ready for the trip. I need to do laundry, make a trip to the grocery store for snacks and drinks, make a trip to Target for anything else I'm forgetting, and pack. Should be fun. At least I know the trip will be!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
A Weekend of Highs and Lows
We had kind of a crazy weekend, filled with highs and lows.
- High: One of my best and oldest friends (our friendship is old, she's not old) came to visit this weekend with her 6-year-old son and 1.5-year-old daughter. We've known each other for 27 years and I feel so fortunate to have her as a friend. You could not find a more supportive and passionate and loving person, and I really enjoyed her visit!
- Low: Just as we had gotten all the kids in bed on Friday night, and the adults finally sat down to enjoy the Thai food that Ed picked up for us to eat, William came downstairs saying he didn't feel well and then proceeded to throw up all over me. After I got us both cleaned up and put William to bed in our bedroom (since friend Jack was also sleeping in William's room), he threw up again in the bed. (Despite the bucket I had placed right beside him.)
- High: William seemed okay on Saturday, so we all went swimming. The boys did great and spent most of the time in the big pool. Jack is a fish and William wanted to venture to the deep end after watching Jack go back and forth.
- Low: When William first woke up on Saturday morning, he said he still didn't feel well, and his temperature was slightly elevated. So he missed his first Taekwondo class. I was heartbroken, although he didn't really mind. In hindsight, he probably would have been fine. But at the time, I thought for sure he probably had a virus. I think he got sick because we made homemade pizza for the boys for dinner on Friday night, and I gave the boys some dough for them to play with. While I wasn't looking, my friend said that William ate a LOT of the dough. So that might have been it.
- High: We saw Toy Story on Saturday afternoon. It was so good! We took all four of the kids with us, but Ed went to a coffee shop nearby and hung out, just in case I needed him to take one of the boys out. Sure enough, before the movie had even started, Seth was done. Fortunately, I had claimed that Seth was under two, so he could get in free. (I don't feel so bad about lying now.) William, meanwhile, did awesome in the movie. He never got up once (that boy is a camel!) and he never got scared.
- Low: William was pretty whiny and did not get along great with Jack. Typical kid stuff, I guess. The boys would start playing with something, but if William got hurt by accident, he would claim that Jack did it on purpose. They are boys and they like to be destructive and to throw things and get physical. Such is life, I guess.
- High: We all went to Johnny Rockets for dinner after the movie and even though William didn't really eat anything, (I didn't expect him to because he had fruit snacks and popcorn during the movie) he was pretty well behaved, and so was Seth. Seth ate a mini-hot dog (bun and all) and some fries.
- Low: Our friends had to leave and William was very grumpy in the morning.
- High: After our friends left, William and I went to a birthday party. It was a play, which William enjoyed.
- Low: After the party, the enthusiastic birthday girl grabbed William's hand and pulled him down a small flight of marble stairs. Although he lost his balance and started stumbling, the birthday girl didn't notice as she continued to hold onto his hand. Fortunately, William wasn't hurt, but he was pretty shaken up. And the birthday girl was pretty upset, too, probably because I may have
screamedshouted at her to stop. - High: Watching William, Seth, and Ed play "Shoot 'em," where they run around the house shooting pretend guns at each other. I'm not crazy about shooting games, and we don't own any toy guns, but watching the glee on their faces and seeing Seth pretend to get shot is so very much worth it.
- Low: I let Seth sit in a poopy diaper for too long yesterday and he got the WORST diaper rash. He was screaming and nothing I did helped. I felt like I was torturing him and we both ended up sobbing. I've never felt so horrible in my life. It was bad. I finally managed to get diaper cream and a clean diaper on him and he was so worn out that he fell asleep in my arms.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Taekwondo
Yesterday after work, we went to the Taekwondo studio where William is enrolled in his "Kneehigh Ninjas" class. (I had been incorrectly stating that William was taking Karate, but it turns out that it's Taekwondo.) The class starts tomorrow (Saturday), but they encourage prospective students to come watch a class ahead of time and get their uniform. William watched the class intently, and when he got his uniform, the instructor showed him the "9 seconds of discipline" bow. If he does the bow every day for a week, he can earn his white belt. We've been practicing and I'm pleased with how quickly he's learned it. He's very excited about the class. He took his uniform to school this morning so he could show his teacher. It's super cute.
I'm happy that he's so excited about the class. I hope it's something that he will enjoy over the long haul, and not get tired of after the second class. Time will tell. He's enrolled for 10 weeks through a county program, and then if he's still interested, we can join the academy. Seth feels a little left out, though. But all in good time. He's learning the bow, too, and it's super cute to see him try it. He also insisted on trying on William's uniform. While William takes his class on Saturday mornings, I signed Seth up for a class at our local community center called "Zoom Around the Room." It's in the soft playroom and it looks like fun. He hates it when William goes somewhere without him, so I thought it would be good for him to have something to do.
So it looks like busy Saturdays for us. I envision July and August Saturdays to consist of classes in the a.m., then pool time, then nap time. Maybe more pool time in the late afternoon. Who knows. Regardless, I'm looking forward to fun!
I'm happy that he's so excited about the class. I hope it's something that he will enjoy over the long haul, and not get tired of after the second class. Time will tell. He's enrolled for 10 weeks through a county program, and then if he's still interested, we can join the academy. Seth feels a little left out, though. But all in good time. He's learning the bow, too, and it's super cute to see him try it. He also insisted on trying on William's uniform. While William takes his class on Saturday mornings, I signed Seth up for a class at our local community center called "Zoom Around the Room." It's in the soft playroom and it looks like fun. He hates it when William goes somewhere without him, so I thought it would be good for him to have something to do.
So it looks like busy Saturdays for us. I envision July and August Saturdays to consist of classes in the a.m., then pool time, then nap time. Maybe more pool time in the late afternoon. Who knows. Regardless, I'm looking forward to fun!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Super Beth
I was telling my co-workers this story about how I chased down a pick-pocketer in the Paris metro one summer many, many years ago. I couldn't remember if I had ever shared that story on my blog, and since my blog is, in many respects, a chronicle of my life, I thought it would be worth sharing. (If I have shared it already, sorry for the repeat. That's what happens when you NEVER get a full night's sleep.)
I had gone to Paris with a friend in August of 1999. (I think it was 1999. It could have been 1998. Or 2000 for that matter. Anyway, I digress.) It was my first visit to Paris and I was pretty excited. My friend was a guy who was interested in me, although I did not share that interest at all. (Much to his dismay.) And I wasn't aware of his feelings for me when I decided to go on the trip. But that's a whole 'nuther story. Back to the pick-pocketer. My friend and I had just gotten onto a subway train when a small, shady-looking man got on next to my friend and "accidentally" dropped money on the floor. He bent down to pick up the change, and then I heard my friend say, "Hey! My wallet!" The man took off running from the subway train. Without giving it a second thought, I took off after him.
I chased the man through the subway station shouting, "Help! Police!" I finally caught up to him and grabbed him by the back of the shirt. He turned around and held his hands up and yelled something at me in French. Then I heard my friend behind me saying, "It's okay. I have my wallet." So I let go of the guy and he ran off. He was probably muttering something like, "Crazy f-ing American."
I have no idea what made me chase that guy down. It was a pretty stupid thing to do. If we had been in the U.S., I probably would have gotten the crap kicked out of me at the very least. Maybe knifed or shot. Of course, pick-pocketers aren't really prevalent in the U.S. But if I had been in the States, would I have tried to chase someone down? It was such a gut reaction. Who knows. At any rate, my "heroics" did nothing to dampen my friend's feelings for me. Yet another reason that it was a stupid move! But it sure makes for a good story. And I did manage to enjoy my trip to Paris. So all's well that ends well.
I had gone to Paris with a friend in August of 1999. (I think it was 1999. It could have been 1998. Or 2000 for that matter. Anyway, I digress.) It was my first visit to Paris and I was pretty excited. My friend was a guy who was interested in me, although I did not share that interest at all. (Much to his dismay.) And I wasn't aware of his feelings for me when I decided to go on the trip. But that's a whole 'nuther story. Back to the pick-pocketer. My friend and I had just gotten onto a subway train when a small, shady-looking man got on next to my friend and "accidentally" dropped money on the floor. He bent down to pick up the change, and then I heard my friend say, "Hey! My wallet!" The man took off running from the subway train. Without giving it a second thought, I took off after him.
I chased the man through the subway station shouting, "Help! Police!" I finally caught up to him and grabbed him by the back of the shirt. He turned around and held his hands up and yelled something at me in French. Then I heard my friend behind me saying, "It's okay. I have my wallet." So I let go of the guy and he ran off. He was probably muttering something like, "Crazy f-ing American."
I have no idea what made me chase that guy down. It was a pretty stupid thing to do. If we had been in the U.S., I probably would have gotten the crap kicked out of me at the very least. Maybe knifed or shot. Of course, pick-pocketers aren't really prevalent in the U.S. But if I had been in the States, would I have tried to chase someone down? It was such a gut reaction. Who knows. At any rate, my "heroics" did nothing to dampen my friend's feelings for me. Yet another reason that it was a stupid move! But it sure makes for a good story. And I did manage to enjoy my trip to Paris. So all's well that ends well.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Pseudo-sick Day
I stayed home with the boys today. Ed stayed home with them yesterday because William had a fever when he woke up. It was hovering around 100, but in the afternoon, it was over 100. This morning, it was just under 100, so I stayed home, not sure how the day would progress. Fortunately, his temp went back to normal by late morning, so we had a somewhat pleasant day at home.
The best part of the day was the afternoon, when we went swimming. The boys had a blast, and I feel like they're definitely getting more and more comfortable in the water. They took turns playing with someone's abandoned float ring and they both loved it. They floated around in the water on their backs and their fronts. After using the float ring, William finally figured out how the noodle could support him. So that opened a whole world of fun for him. In the past, he always kept his feet planted firmly on the ground, but today was a big breakthrough! We played in the big pool for a long time and Seth loved it. He can walk around in the shallow end, and the pool allows the float toys in the big pool, so they played for a long time. I felt relieved that they were enjoying themselves so much. As we were getting ready to leave, Seth shouted, "That was fun Mommy!"
Being a Florida girl, and having been a swimmer my whole life, it almost broke my heart to see William so hesitant and timid in the water. And I feel bad that I can't get the boys to the pool more often. It seems like I LIVED at the pool and the beach all summer when I was growing up. And summer in Florida starts in April and ends in late September. Although in the past, I've been reluctant to use floating devices with the boys, (I want them to learn how to really swim) just seeing how much more they enjoyed the pool with them has made me change my mind. Successful swim lessons come from enjoying the pool and wanting to swim. So if floaties give them confidence and make the experience fun, then I'm all for it.
Now that both boys are well, it's back to work tomorrow. I have no idea what virus they caught. The only symptom was a fever, but I guess I should be grateful for that. In 3 days, one of my best friends is coming to visit with her 6-year-old son and 19-month-old daughter. I can't wait to see them! In the meantime, I'll be busy trying to clean the house a bit. Nothing like company to inspire housekeeping!
The best part of the day was the afternoon, when we went swimming. The boys had a blast, and I feel like they're definitely getting more and more comfortable in the water. They took turns playing with someone's abandoned float ring and they both loved it. They floated around in the water on their backs and their fronts. After using the float ring, William finally figured out how the noodle could support him. So that opened a whole world of fun for him. In the past, he always kept his feet planted firmly on the ground, but today was a big breakthrough! We played in the big pool for a long time and Seth loved it. He can walk around in the shallow end, and the pool allows the float toys in the big pool, so they played for a long time. I felt relieved that they were enjoying themselves so much. As we were getting ready to leave, Seth shouted, "That was fun Mommy!"
Being a Florida girl, and having been a swimmer my whole life, it almost broke my heart to see William so hesitant and timid in the water. And I feel bad that I can't get the boys to the pool more often. It seems like I LIVED at the pool and the beach all summer when I was growing up. And summer in Florida starts in April and ends in late September. Although in the past, I've been reluctant to use floating devices with the boys, (I want them to learn how to really swim) just seeing how much more they enjoyed the pool with them has made me change my mind. Successful swim lessons come from enjoying the pool and wanting to swim. So if floaties give them confidence and make the experience fun, then I'm all for it.
Now that both boys are well, it's back to work tomorrow. I have no idea what virus they caught. The only symptom was a fever, but I guess I should be grateful for that. In 3 days, one of my best friends is coming to visit with her 6-year-old son and 19-month-old daughter. I can't wait to see them! In the meantime, I'll be busy trying to clean the house a bit. Nothing like company to inspire housekeeping!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Menu Plan Monday -- June 21
I never ended up making the shrimp scampi last week, so that's on tap for this week. The boys have not been eating dinner well at all lately. Not sure what's up, but I guess like everything, it's just a phase. William woke up this morning with a fever, so not sure if either one of the boys will have an appetite tonight. I might save the asparagus for later in the week since it's one of William's favorites.
Monday: Red snapper (not sure how to prepare it yet), asparagus, dinner rolls
Tuesday: Cheeseburger pasta (I made this a long time ago and William liked it. I may end up eating a lot of cheeseburger pasta for lunch this week!)
Wednesday: Parmesan chicken nuggets, broccoli, corn on the cob
Thursday: Shrimp scampi
Friday: Pizza (Friends are coming to visit, so we'll either make homemade or order in)
Saturday: TBD (maybe out to eat)
Sunday: Steak or ribs, sides TBD
Not too exciting, but it will do.
Monday: Red snapper (not sure how to prepare it yet), asparagus, dinner rolls
Tuesday: Cheeseburger pasta (I made this a long time ago and William liked it. I may end up eating a lot of cheeseburger pasta for lunch this week!)
Wednesday: Parmesan chicken nuggets, broccoli, corn on the cob
Thursday: Shrimp scampi
Friday: Pizza (Friends are coming to visit, so we'll either make homemade or order in)
Saturday: TBD (maybe out to eat)
Sunday: Steak or ribs, sides TBD
Not too exciting, but it will do.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Holding Pattern
I've started to write a post three different times since last Wednesday, but halfway through, I abandoned them. Either I didn't have time to finish my thoughts, or my thoughts were too incoherent to follow through on. They all said basically the same thing--we've been in a holding pattern lately. This is neither good nor bad. It's simply life. Wake up, get chocolate milk for the boys, snuggle in bed for a few minutes, shower, dress, get the boys dressed, go downstairs, get breakfast for the boys, two sippy cups of orange juice, two sippy cups of apple juice for the car ride home, my lunch, anything I need to remember to bring to daycare, drive to daycare, drop off the boys, drive to work, work, leave work, pick up the boys, get home, make dinner while interacting with the boys, eat dinner, go upstairs for bath, put on jammies, brush teeth, read stories, turn out lights, go downstairs, clean up, come upstairs, sleep. That's pretty much my day. During the week anyway. Weekends are better, and sometimes worse. Trying to do way too much with way too little time. But we get to play more and see friends and family and go to birthday parties and go to the pool and play more. It's not a bad life at all. I'm certainly not complaining. But sometimes, life just doesn't give me a whole lot to blog about.
But now we've had a weekend, and Seth has been sick, so that's always fodder for the blog! On Thursday afternoon, Seth's teacher called to say he had a slight temperature (99.1) and was saying his tummy hurt. I left work a little early to pick up the boys, but by the time I got to school, Seth seemed fine. He was playing and said he felt better. No problems at home that night, so school as usual on Friday. Then Friday afternoon I got the same call, but they said his temp was 101.7. So I left early again and picked up the boys. Seth felt warm, but he seemed to be in a pretty good mood. So of course we stopped at Best Buy to buy Ed's Father's Day gifts. When we got home, Seth's temp. was 103.7. Yikes! I gave him Motrin (Target ibuprofen) and made dinner and held him. He was acting pretty normal, though, surprisingly. He slept pretty well, only waking up once, around 2 a.m. I gave him more Motrin and in the morning, his temp was normal.
On Saturday afternoon, we were supposed to go to a Nationals baseball game. So we kept a close eye on Seth. He was okay all morning, and he ate pretty well at lunch. He was a little warm, but his temp never went above 100. We put him down for a nap and then woke him up a little after 2:00 so we could go to the game. In hindsight, that was not a great idea. You could tell on the car ride that he wasn't feeling well. And the 95-degree temperature at the game didn't help things any. Nor did it help that our seats were in the outfield section, under the blazing sun. He was miserable. I gave him more Motrin right when we got to the game, but it didn't do much good. Ed and I spent most of the game either walking laps around the stadium with Seth in our arms or staying with William at the playground. We got lemonade and ice cream and tried to keep Seth hydrated and William happy. It was kind of a long game.
On the way home, Seth fell asleep, and it was not problem getting him down to bed once we got home. He had a bit of a rough night, but around 3:00 a.m., his fever broke, and he slept well after that. Today he seemed a lot better. He took a long nap and we went to Ed's parents' for Father's Day. He was pretty good there. By the time we got home, though, and I put him down to bed, he was feeling hot again. I just took his temp (at 10:30) and it was 101.7. Bummer. So Ed will stay home with him tomorrow. And we'll keep an eye on William. It's kind of strange how the fever seems to come and go. But what can you do? I did, however take pictures this weekend. Here's Seth at the game, miserable.
And William, having fun (terrible picture, but cute kid):
And this was today, playing with the garden hose:
Oh yeah--I almost forgot the most exciting part of our day. Seth pooped on the potty today, twice! It wasn't really a full-on poop, but he sat on the john and poop came out and that's enough for me! We're nowhere near actually being potty trained, but I'm encouraged by Seth's willingness to use the potty. Definitely a good sign. And on that lovely note, I'm going to bed. :-)
But now we've had a weekend, and Seth has been sick, so that's always fodder for the blog! On Thursday afternoon, Seth's teacher called to say he had a slight temperature (99.1) and was saying his tummy hurt. I left work a little early to pick up the boys, but by the time I got to school, Seth seemed fine. He was playing and said he felt better. No problems at home that night, so school as usual on Friday. Then Friday afternoon I got the same call, but they said his temp was 101.7. So I left early again and picked up the boys. Seth felt warm, but he seemed to be in a pretty good mood. So of course we stopped at Best Buy to buy Ed's Father's Day gifts. When we got home, Seth's temp. was 103.7. Yikes! I gave him Motrin (Target ibuprofen) and made dinner and held him. He was acting pretty normal, though, surprisingly. He slept pretty well, only waking up once, around 2 a.m. I gave him more Motrin and in the morning, his temp was normal.
On Saturday afternoon, we were supposed to go to a Nationals baseball game. So we kept a close eye on Seth. He was okay all morning, and he ate pretty well at lunch. He was a little warm, but his temp never went above 100. We put him down for a nap and then woke him up a little after 2:00 so we could go to the game. In hindsight, that was not a great idea. You could tell on the car ride that he wasn't feeling well. And the 95-degree temperature at the game didn't help things any. Nor did it help that our seats were in the outfield section, under the blazing sun. He was miserable. I gave him more Motrin right when we got to the game, but it didn't do much good. Ed and I spent most of the game either walking laps around the stadium with Seth in our arms or staying with William at the playground. We got lemonade and ice cream and tried to keep Seth hydrated and William happy. It was kind of a long game.
On the way home, Seth fell asleep, and it was not problem getting him down to bed once we got home. He had a bit of a rough night, but around 3:00 a.m., his fever broke, and he slept well after that. Today he seemed a lot better. He took a long nap and we went to Ed's parents' for Father's Day. He was pretty good there. By the time we got home, though, and I put him down to bed, he was feeling hot again. I just took his temp (at 10:30) and it was 101.7. Bummer. So Ed will stay home with him tomorrow. And we'll keep an eye on William. It's kind of strange how the fever seems to come and go. But what can you do? I did, however take pictures this weekend. Here's Seth at the game, miserable.
And William, having fun (terrible picture, but cute kid):
And this was today, playing with the garden hose:
Oh yeah--I almost forgot the most exciting part of our day. Seth pooped on the potty today, twice! It wasn't really a full-on poop, but he sat on the john and poop came out and that's enough for me! We're nowhere near actually being potty trained, but I'm encouraged by Seth's willingness to use the potty. Definitely a good sign. And on that lovely note, I'm going to bed. :-)
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Word Girl
In other news, I resumed my evening walk with William tonight. Last Friday we all went for a walk after dinner and got ice cream. But I didn't walk Saturday, Sunday, or last night (since I went to the grocery store). So I'm hoping to get back into a groove this week. We got back from our walk tonight at around 8:40, and after I read William two books and tucked him in, he fell asleep pretty quickly. He's visiting the Pre-K class this week in preparation for his transition on Monday, and he loves it. I think it's wearing him out a little. But that's a good thing!
Seth, meanwhile, seems none the worse for wear from his round with the toy box. His eye has not turned black and blue, so that's good. And the injury doesn't seem to bother him one bit. Hopefully it won't take too long to heal.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Shiner
Seth got a little over-excited about the bubble machine at school today. He lost his balance and fell, hitting his eye on the corner of a toy box. Poor guy has quite a shiner! The toy box is upholstered with carpet, so he has a bad case of rug burn, on top of the swelling. We'll see if ends up turning black and blue. His teachers said he didn't cry for very long, so I was glad to hear that.
I doubt this will be the last time I post one of Seth's injuries!
Menu Plan Monday -- June 14
Our weekend was kind of a bust, so I'm winging it here. I haven't been to the grocery store, but I plan to go tonight. I was so tired yesterday that I went to bed at 8:30 p.m. It was still light outside! I think I fell asleep before William. Unfortunately, I didn't wake up feeling rested, so it's never good when you start your Monday off feeling exhausted. Such is life! Nothing too exciting happened over the weekend. We got a flat tire and ended up replacing 3 tires yesterday. Fortunately, Ed's parents' watched the boys while Ed and I took care of the tires. But it took up most of the day, so we didn't get to strawberry picking or go to the pool. I hope to plan things a little better for next weekend. In the meantime, here's what we'll eat this week:
Sunday: Leftover mac-n-cheese, broccoli, grapes
Monday: Waffles, scrambled eggs, grapes and blueberries
Tuesday: Pork schnitzel (or I may make piccata), green beans, Stove Top stuffing
Wednesday: Skillet chicken with broccoli, ziti, and asiago cheese
Thursday: Shrimp scampi, salad
Friday: Steak, asparagus, dinner rolls
Saturday: We're going to the Nats (Nationals) baseball game, so dinner will probably be hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy and snow cones.
Sunday: Leftover mac-n-cheese, broccoli, grapes
Monday: Waffles, scrambled eggs, grapes and blueberries
Tuesday: Pork schnitzel (or I may make piccata), green beans, Stove Top stuffing
Wednesday: Skillet chicken with broccoli, ziti, and asiago cheese
Thursday: Shrimp scampi, salad
Friday: Steak, asparagus, dinner rolls
Saturday: We're going to the Nats (Nationals) baseball game, so dinner will probably be hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy and snow cones.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Updates
Walking: Yesterday after school, William asked me if we were going to take a walk before bed. I told him that it might be raining, so I didn't think so. He didn't mention it again, and he said several times that he was tired. So after bath, he got into bed and Ed read him three books while I read to Seth and put Seth down. Then I read one book to William and tucked him in. He never mentioned the walk, and after I left his room at 8:15 p.m., I quietly snuck out of the house to take a walk on my own. When I returned, it was quiet, so I asked Ed how long it took William to fall asleep. He said he never heard a peep from William once I left. Clearly the boy was tired! I'll probably walk with him tonight, though, and continue with the experiment.
Spicy enchiladas: They turned out pretty good, although the sauce thickened quite a bit, so I didn't like it as much as I like canned enchilada sauce. I'll have to tinker with it.
Sleeping: Seth has been sleeping pretty well lately, but here's my dirty little secret. Before I go to sleep, I put a sippy cup of milk in his crib. He wakes up at some point in the night and sucks it down, not bothering me. I KNOW you're not supposed to let them have milk/juice in bed because it pools around their teeth, but dude--he's not bothering me. If I switch to water (which I plan to do, eventually), he will throw a bit of a fit. I know it will be short-lived and it will probably only take a night or two or three for him to adjust. But that's one or two or three nights of fit-throwing in the wee hours of the morning, which will likely wake up William who will either want me to sleep in bed with him or who will want to sleep in our bed. So the dread of that situation compels me to keep putting that sippy cup of milk in Seth's crib.
Food waste: I'm on a roll this week, eating leftovers and finishing off fruit that I thought would go bad. I brought the green grapes to work and my co-workers ate them up! I ate the ripe cantaloupe at work with cottage cheese. I had forgotten how yummy that combo is (if you're a cottage cheese fan). We even ate up the watermelon. We ate dinner on the deck on Monday or Tuesday and I brought the watermelon out for dessert. Both boys had two slices each. I also made blueberry lemon muffins (that Ed and I devoured in two days) to use up the blueberries I bought on sale. (William didn't like them, and Seth hardly had a chance to eat them!) I did throw out two slices of deli ham that looked a little questionable. And I have three cans of leftover frosting in the fridge that I can't think of any use for. I might chuck those tonight.
Food prep: I think my nightly walks have given me some energy because I've managed to follow through with the prep for this week's meal plan. Last night I made the marinade for tonight's steak, and I also made pumpkin chocolate-chip muffins. (They're not that great, and the recipe was a bit whacked, so I won't bother to post it.) I'm kind of impressed with myself! Tonight I need to make the pizza dough for tomorrow night's pizza calzones. But all I have to do is dump the ingredients in the bread machine. The plan for tonight's dinner is to cook on the grill, so hopefully the boys will enjoy playing outside. I'm so glad that my meal planning has finally started working for me. It took a while to make the effort seem worthwhile. And I'm still struggling a little with meals that we will all eat and working in variety. But I stress so much less about dinner now. Yay!
Finally, I've been thinking about a situation William and I encountered on our Tuesday-night walk. We came upon a mom who was walking her newborn along with her 2.5 year old and her 5-year-old twins. This mom lives just a few doors down from me, so we've chatted before are familiar with each other. She was clearly a little stressed, what with a newborn and 3 kids 5 and under. I asked about her baby and how things were going. She said her older kids were driving her crazy, which I can totally understand. She kept snapping at her kids while we were talking. The 2.5 year old was lagging behind and we were behind him, so she told him to hurry up or else I would run him over. I said to the little boy, "Oh no, I won't run you over!" And she said in a very snarky voice, "I would." Then one of the twins stopped because his shoe was coming off. The mom kept walking, so he whined a little about not being able to get his shoe on, and he wanted her to stop and wait. But then she responded with a very mocking, whiny tone, "Well why don't you whine about it. Whine about your shoe coming off." It was so belittling and just plain mean.
I know I have no room to judge. She's just had a baby, she clearly has her hands full. She's tired and stressed out. I can understand a short temper, I can understand losing it over small stuff. But I can't understand being deliberately mean to your child. I can't understand wanting to make your child feel bad. Have I ever done that? Maybe I have and I'm being way too judgmental. Maybe I just have a bad feeling about this family because I've been around the husband, too, and the whole time we chatted, he was yelling at his kids and basically calling them brats. It made me very uncomfortable, just as the exchange with the mom on our walk did. Of course, I have only interacted with them a few times, so maybe there are lots of kind words and encouragement and love exchanged in their house and all the times I haven't been around. But the fact that they would freely talk to their kids like that in front of other people--just not cool. When I said, "Dammit, Seth" in the grocery store, I was MORTIFIED and felt like a horrible mother.
Anyway, the whole incident made me more aware of how I talk to William and Seth and how I respond to them when they're being whiny or they're misbehaving. The words we choose are so important in the development of their impressionable little minds and self-esteem. My kids are very good at using words to tell us how they feel about stuff. Which is good. This morning, Ed took William's blanket away because he was swinging it around trying to hit Seth. We told him to stop and he didn't so Ed took it away. William cried and then he said (more like shouted,) "Daddy--that's not nice when you took my blanket. I don't like it when you take stuff from me!" Well, at least he's expressing his feelings. Even Seth will now scream at William, "My no like it, Wee-yum!" Makes me laugh every time. But I've also heard William to say to Seth, "It's okay Sef. I still love you, even when you make me really mad." We always try to emphasize the behavior that we are not happy with, as opposed to the child. Hopefully it's working. I want to do everything I can to build positive self esteem in my kids. Life is a minefield, and with low self esteem, people hardly stand a chance. So, a bad parenting example definitely makes me want to try harder!
Spicy enchiladas: They turned out pretty good, although the sauce thickened quite a bit, so I didn't like it as much as I like canned enchilada sauce. I'll have to tinker with it.
Sleeping: Seth has been sleeping pretty well lately, but here's my dirty little secret. Before I go to sleep, I put a sippy cup of milk in his crib. He wakes up at some point in the night and sucks it down, not bothering me. I KNOW you're not supposed to let them have milk/juice in bed because it pools around their teeth, but dude--he's not bothering me. If I switch to water (which I plan to do, eventually), he will throw a bit of a fit. I know it will be short-lived and it will probably only take a night or two or three for him to adjust. But that's one or two or three nights of fit-throwing in the wee hours of the morning, which will likely wake up William who will either want me to sleep in bed with him or who will want to sleep in our bed. So the dread of that situation compels me to keep putting that sippy cup of milk in Seth's crib.
Food waste: I'm on a roll this week, eating leftovers and finishing off fruit that I thought would go bad. I brought the green grapes to work and my co-workers ate them up! I ate the ripe cantaloupe at work with cottage cheese. I had forgotten how yummy that combo is (if you're a cottage cheese fan). We even ate up the watermelon. We ate dinner on the deck on Monday or Tuesday and I brought the watermelon out for dessert. Both boys had two slices each. I also made blueberry lemon muffins (that Ed and I devoured in two days) to use up the blueberries I bought on sale. (William didn't like them, and Seth hardly had a chance to eat them!) I did throw out two slices of deli ham that looked a little questionable. And I have three cans of leftover frosting in the fridge that I can't think of any use for. I might chuck those tonight.
Food prep: I think my nightly walks have given me some energy because I've managed to follow through with the prep for this week's meal plan. Last night I made the marinade for tonight's steak, and I also made pumpkin chocolate-chip muffins. (They're not that great, and the recipe was a bit whacked, so I won't bother to post it.) I'm kind of impressed with myself! Tonight I need to make the pizza dough for tomorrow night's pizza calzones. But all I have to do is dump the ingredients in the bread machine. The plan for tonight's dinner is to cook on the grill, so hopefully the boys will enjoy playing outside. I'm so glad that my meal planning has finally started working for me. It took a while to make the effort seem worthwhile. And I'm still struggling a little with meals that we will all eat and working in variety. But I stress so much less about dinner now. Yay!
Finally, I've been thinking about a situation William and I encountered on our Tuesday-night walk. We came upon a mom who was walking her newborn along with her 2.5 year old and her 5-year-old twins. This mom lives just a few doors down from me, so we've chatted before are familiar with each other. She was clearly a little stressed, what with a newborn and 3 kids 5 and under. I asked about her baby and how things were going. She said her older kids were driving her crazy, which I can totally understand. She kept snapping at her kids while we were talking. The 2.5 year old was lagging behind and we were behind him, so she told him to hurry up or else I would run him over. I said to the little boy, "Oh no, I won't run you over!" And she said in a very snarky voice, "I would." Then one of the twins stopped because his shoe was coming off. The mom kept walking, so he whined a little about not being able to get his shoe on, and he wanted her to stop and wait. But then she responded with a very mocking, whiny tone, "Well why don't you whine about it. Whine about your shoe coming off." It was so belittling and just plain mean.
I know I have no room to judge. She's just had a baby, she clearly has her hands full. She's tired and stressed out. I can understand a short temper, I can understand losing it over small stuff. But I can't understand being deliberately mean to your child. I can't understand wanting to make your child feel bad. Have I ever done that? Maybe I have and I'm being way too judgmental. Maybe I just have a bad feeling about this family because I've been around the husband, too, and the whole time we chatted, he was yelling at his kids and basically calling them brats. It made me very uncomfortable, just as the exchange with the mom on our walk did. Of course, I have only interacted with them a few times, so maybe there are lots of kind words and encouragement and love exchanged in their house and all the times I haven't been around. But the fact that they would freely talk to their kids like that in front of other people--just not cool. When I said, "Dammit, Seth" in the grocery store, I was MORTIFIED and felt like a horrible mother.
Anyway, the whole incident made me more aware of how I talk to William and Seth and how I respond to them when they're being whiny or they're misbehaving. The words we choose are so important in the development of their impressionable little minds and self-esteem. My kids are very good at using words to tell us how they feel about stuff. Which is good. This morning, Ed took William's blanket away because he was swinging it around trying to hit Seth. We told him to stop and he didn't so Ed took it away. William cried and then he said (more like shouted,) "Daddy--that's not nice when you took my blanket. I don't like it when you take stuff from me!" Well, at least he's expressing his feelings. Even Seth will now scream at William, "My no like it, Wee-yum!" Makes me laugh every time. But I've also heard William to say to Seth, "It's okay Sef. I still love you, even when you make me really mad." We always try to emphasize the behavior that we are not happy with, as opposed to the child. Hopefully it's working. I want to do everything I can to build positive self esteem in my kids. Life is a minefield, and with low self esteem, people hardly stand a chance. So, a bad parenting example definitely makes me want to try harder!
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Maybe My Plan is Not So Great
William and I took a walk again last night, after bath and before bed. We were back by 8:30 again, but this time, William didn't fall asleep until 10:00 p.m. And he woke up at 5:30 a.m.. That's 7 and 1/2 hours of sleep people. Not nearly enough for a four year old. He wasn't overly cranky this morning, though. Drop-off was fine. We'll see how his day goes. Maybe the walk before bed winds him up rather than settles him down. It's supposed to rain all day today, so we'll probably end up not walking tonight. So we'll see how long it takes him to fall asleep.
Of course, I can walk without him. Now that's I've taken him twice, though, he's going to throw a FIT the first time I walk without him. But that's okay. We'll just finish out the week with the original plan and see what happens. I'd love to keep doing this all summer but like everything with kids, you just have to wait and see how something plays out. There's no use having high expectations and fixing plans in stone.
In other news, William is starting a karate class at the end of the month. He's excited about it, even though he doesn't really know what karate is. We hope he'll enjoy it. I always have this nagging feeling that I'm not providing William enough opportunities to take part in group activities. We spend most weekends running errands, seeing family, and playing at home. I certainly don't want us to become over-scheduled and stressed out running from one activity to the next. But I also don't want William to be behind his peers and feel left out. I have to remember that school provides him with just about all of the stimulation he needs. He does arts and crafts, has music, takes walks and goes on field trips, and he plays and plays and plays--inside and outside. I guess it's just hard because I don't regularly see him do those things. I know I shouldn't worry about it, though. We have plenty of time to figure out what he likes to do. I have a feeling that sports won't really be his thing, but you never know. (And I have a feeling sports will definitely be Seth's thing!) Depending on how karate goes, we'd like to sign him up for ice skating lessons in the fall or winter. And I'd also like for him to take piano lessons at some point in his childhood, but I have no idea when to start those. So many options! So little time. I have no idea what we'll do when elementary school starts and activities are held after school. What do working parents do? Figure out flexible work schedules? Rely on other parents to help carpool and watch your kids? Ugh. I guess we'll work it out, just like we always do!
Of course, I can walk without him. Now that's I've taken him twice, though, he's going to throw a FIT the first time I walk without him. But that's okay. We'll just finish out the week with the original plan and see what happens. I'd love to keep doing this all summer but like everything with kids, you just have to wait and see how something plays out. There's no use having high expectations and fixing plans in stone.
In other news, William is starting a karate class at the end of the month. He's excited about it, even though he doesn't really know what karate is. We hope he'll enjoy it. I always have this nagging feeling that I'm not providing William enough opportunities to take part in group activities. We spend most weekends running errands, seeing family, and playing at home. I certainly don't want us to become over-scheduled and stressed out running from one activity to the next. But I also don't want William to be behind his peers and feel left out. I have to remember that school provides him with just about all of the stimulation he needs. He does arts and crafts, has music, takes walks and goes on field trips, and he plays and plays and plays--inside and outside. I guess it's just hard because I don't regularly see him do those things. I know I shouldn't worry about it, though. We have plenty of time to figure out what he likes to do. I have a feeling that sports won't really be his thing, but you never know. (And I have a feeling sports will definitely be Seth's thing!) Depending on how karate goes, we'd like to sign him up for ice skating lessons in the fall or winter. And I'd also like for him to take piano lessons at some point in his childhood, but I have no idea when to start those. So many options! So little time. I have no idea what we'll do when elementary school starts and activities are held after school. What do working parents do? Figure out flexible work schedules? Rely on other parents to help carpool and watch your kids? Ugh. I guess we'll work it out, just like we always do!
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Jalapenos and Green Chilis Are Not the Same
Last night I made the spinach enchiladas that we will be eating for dinner tonight, including the homemade enchilada sauce. The sauce calls for tomato sauce, onions, chili powder, cumin, garlic, and green chili peppers. As I started dumping the can of green chilies into the blender, I realized that I had gotten a can of chopped jalapeno peppers. Yikes! Luckily I had only dumped about a third of the can in the sauce, but oh my goodness--it made the sauce sooooo hot. I added another 8 oz. of tomato sauce and some more onions spices, and it helped a little. But I think Seth will be eating quesadillas tonight as Ed and I enjoy the spicy enchiladas. William probably wouldn't have eaten them anyway, so I'll just make him a sandwich or leftover mac-n-cheese. Don't get me wrong--I enjoy spicy food. But not burn-my-mouth-off hot. Hopefully the tortillas and cheese will take away some of the heat and they'll turn out great.
In other news, I changed things up a bit last night and took William on a walk after dinner and bath. Ed put Seth to sleep and William and I snuck out of the house. I put him in the stroller and walked for about 45 minutes. The weather was GORGEOUS and it was so nice to be out exercising. William enjoyed it, too, as evidenced by his non-stop chatter the entire ride. We got back to the house around 8:30, I read him two books, and he was asleep no later than 9:00. Since it has been taking him until 9:00 to fall asleep anyway for the past several weeks (during the week, when he takes a nap at a school), taking him on a walk before bed seems like a great way for me to get the exercise I desperately need and for him to unwind before bed and for both of us to spend a little more time together. Of course, this will only work for the summer, but maybe that's all I need to get myself into "exercise" mode. I've never consistently exercised, so we'll see how it goes.
In other news, I changed things up a bit last night and took William on a walk after dinner and bath. Ed put Seth to sleep and William and I snuck out of the house. I put him in the stroller and walked for about 45 minutes. The weather was GORGEOUS and it was so nice to be out exercising. William enjoyed it, too, as evidenced by his non-stop chatter the entire ride. We got back to the house around 8:30, I read him two books, and he was asleep no later than 9:00. Since it has been taking him until 9:00 to fall asleep anyway for the past several weeks (during the week, when he takes a nap at a school), taking him on a walk before bed seems like a great way for me to get the exercise I desperately need and for him to unwind before bed and for both of us to spend a little more time together. Of course, this will only work for the summer, but maybe that's all I need to get myself into "exercise" mode. I've never consistently exercised, so we'll see how it goes.
Monday, June 07, 2010
Menu Plan Monday -- June 7
Sunday: Buffalo burgers, corn on the cob, strawberries and blueberries (We got the buffalo burgers at the farmer's market. They were tasty, but not juicy, probably because they were a bit thin and maybe a bit overcooked.)
Monday: Pork chops with Carolina rub, asparagus, dinner rolls
Tuesday: Spinach enchilada (I doubt William will eat this, and I'm sure he'll request a waffle with whipped cream and syrup instead.
Wednesday: Leftovers, free-for-all
Thursday: Top sirloin steak with this marinade (grilled), broccoli, dinner rolls
Friday: Pepperoni calzones
Saturday: Dinner out with Ed, kids with Grandma and Grandpa
I'm planning on preparing the spinach enchiladas tonight so I can just put them in the oven tomorrow when we get home. On Wednesday night, I'll have to make the marinade. And on Thursday night, I'll make the pizza dough in the bread machine. If I'm very motivated, I'll make the calzones and stick them in the fridge. If not, it will be our "activity" when we get home on Friday. A little ambitious this week, but I finished Catching Fire, so I have nothing else compelling to do.
Monday: Pork chops with Carolina rub, asparagus, dinner rolls
Tuesday: Spinach enchilada (I doubt William will eat this, and I'm sure he'll request a waffle with whipped cream and syrup instead.
Wednesday: Leftovers, free-for-all
Thursday: Top sirloin steak with this marinade (grilled), broccoli, dinner rolls
Friday: Pepperoni calzones
Saturday: Dinner out with Ed, kids with Grandma and Grandpa
I'm planning on preparing the spinach enchiladas tonight so I can just put them in the oven tomorrow when we get home. On Wednesday night, I'll have to make the marinade. And on Thursday night, I'll make the pizza dough in the bread machine. If I'm very motivated, I'll make the calzones and stick them in the fridge. If not, it will be our "activity" when we get home on Friday. A little ambitious this week, but I finished Catching Fire, so I have nothing else compelling to do.
Weekend Report
We had a really nice weekend--a good combination of getting stuff done and spending time together. On Friday night, we had "movie night" with William. This has almost become a routine. On Friday nights, after dinner and bath, I put Seth to sleep at his usual time, and then William gets to stay up late and watch a movie with us and eat popcorn. Last week (or was it the week before), we watched an episode of When We Left Earth--a documentary about the U.S. space program. William has watched several of the episodes and he really enjoys them. But on Friday night, he wanted to watch G-Force--the movie with the guinea pigs that work as special agents. It's pretty bad, but William enjoyed it. He didn't get to eat popcorn because he didn't eat his dinner. But he didn't seem to mind.
Anyway, on Saturday, we took a trip to the Farmer's Market in the morning, and then I took the boys swimming. On Saturday afternoon, we went to the mall to get new shoes for the boys and then we played at Target for a little while. We decided to stop at a pizza restaurant for an early dinner which turned out to be a great call. The boys were asleep by 7:40 p.m. Woo-hoo for the extra time! Ed and I squandered it, however, by watching Jurassic Park III. Ugh--there's two hours I'm never getting back.
On Sunday I took the boys grocery shopping and then to the pool again. In the afternoon, Ed and William vacuumed out our cars while Seth napped and I cleaned bathrooms and did laundry. We decided on an early dinner again (buffalo burgers that we picked up at the farmer's market!) and had time after dinner to walk to Dairy Queen for ice cream. The early dinners made me wish that we could do that every night--that we could eat dinner and still have time to play outside and take walks and enjoy being together before hitting the bedtime routine. Maybe once the boys are in elementary school, I'll be able to get home earlier. If Ed can take them to school in the morning, I can get to my office earlier and leave earlier. And if my plan to get a babysitter to pick them up from school and then take them home and stay with them until I get home works, then I'd be in even better shape when I get home. Of course, we're talking years here, but it's something to look forward to!
Finally, I have not forgotten about Food Waste Friday. It just doesn't work out so well to post it on Friday, so I'm trying to figure out where to fit it in. Regardless, I have been showing some improvement on my food waste. I have been most successful in eating up any leftovers we have. I just make it a point to be sure it gets eaten--mostly for my lunch at work. Things I did not manage to save this week include a fourth of a loaf of bread (I had "saved" this loaf a few weeks ago by throwing it in the freezer, but once I pulled it out of the freezer, we didn't manage to finish it before it started turning moldy), an onion, about a handful of mixed greens salad, and some watermelon that got mushy (maybe half a cup). This week I have some green grapes that I'm not sure we'll eat up. They're kind of sour, so the boys don't really like them. Maybe I can finish them off if I bring them to work. I also bought a cantaloupe that turned out a little too ripe, so I better eat that today and tomorrow. And we have a LOT of watermelon that we don't seem to be gobbling up. It might be work to the rescue again.
So that's about it. I'll be posting this week's menu plan later today. The weather is supposed to be really nice this week--highs in the low 80s and low humidity--so I'm hoping we'll have time to grill. Tonight I'm planning on grilling pork chops and asparagus. Yum!
Anyway, on Saturday, we took a trip to the Farmer's Market in the morning, and then I took the boys swimming. On Saturday afternoon, we went to the mall to get new shoes for the boys and then we played at Target for a little while. We decided to stop at a pizza restaurant for an early dinner which turned out to be a great call. The boys were asleep by 7:40 p.m. Woo-hoo for the extra time! Ed and I squandered it, however, by watching Jurassic Park III. Ugh--there's two hours I'm never getting back.
On Sunday I took the boys grocery shopping and then to the pool again. In the afternoon, Ed and William vacuumed out our cars while Seth napped and I cleaned bathrooms and did laundry. We decided on an early dinner again (buffalo burgers that we picked up at the farmer's market!) and had time after dinner to walk to Dairy Queen for ice cream. The early dinners made me wish that we could do that every night--that we could eat dinner and still have time to play outside and take walks and enjoy being together before hitting the bedtime routine. Maybe once the boys are in elementary school, I'll be able to get home earlier. If Ed can take them to school in the morning, I can get to my office earlier and leave earlier. And if my plan to get a babysitter to pick them up from school and then take them home and stay with them until I get home works, then I'd be in even better shape when I get home. Of course, we're talking years here, but it's something to look forward to!
Finally, I have not forgotten about Food Waste Friday. It just doesn't work out so well to post it on Friday, so I'm trying to figure out where to fit it in. Regardless, I have been showing some improvement on my food waste. I have been most successful in eating up any leftovers we have. I just make it a point to be sure it gets eaten--mostly for my lunch at work. Things I did not manage to save this week include a fourth of a loaf of bread (I had "saved" this loaf a few weeks ago by throwing it in the freezer, but once I pulled it out of the freezer, we didn't manage to finish it before it started turning moldy), an onion, about a handful of mixed greens salad, and some watermelon that got mushy (maybe half a cup). This week I have some green grapes that I'm not sure we'll eat up. They're kind of sour, so the boys don't really like them. Maybe I can finish them off if I bring them to work. I also bought a cantaloupe that turned out a little too ripe, so I better eat that today and tomorrow. And we have a LOT of watermelon that we don't seem to be gobbling up. It might be work to the rescue again.
So that's about it. I'll be posting this week's menu plan later today. The weather is supposed to be really nice this week--highs in the low 80s and low humidity--so I'm hoping we'll have time to grill. Tonight I'm planning on grilling pork chops and asparagus. Yum!
Friday, June 04, 2010
Just When You Think Your Child Can't Possibly Catch One More Thing . . .
I got a call this morning at 9:30 from Seth's teacher. They said he has ringworm. He's had this small patch of red, scaly skin under his chin for a few days (or at least I just noticed it a few days ago) and I was wondering what it was but it just looks like a little rash so I didn't think much of it. I put some Aquaphor on it and figured it would go away. But nope--it's ringworm. In case you're wondering, ringworm isn't actually a worm. It's a fungus, kind of like athlete's foot. You treat it the same way, with Lotrimin. But because it's contagious, I had to take Seth out of school.
Normally, I would have just gotten William and we all would have gone home. But William's class had a little field trip today to the park to have a picnic lunch. So I didn't want him to miss it. And more importantly, I had promised to give a tour of the Capitol to two high school friends who have been living in D.C. for the past year (here on sabbatical--they live in NY). So I went and got Seth and brought him back to my office and when my friends arrived, we went on the tour with Seth in tow. Seth was soooo good. He alternated between sitting in the umbrella stroller, walking on his own (pushing the umbrella stroller), and riding in my arms. He fell asleep during part of the tour, and then sat at the table while we ate lunch. I wasn't sure how the tour would work out with him, but I was pleasantly surprised. Not sure what my friends would say (Seth was very insistent that he push the umbrella stroller by himself, which led to him almost taking out multiple tourists, who kindly got out his way) but it was the best I could do! It was really nice to spend time with them, though, so I'm glad it all worked out!
My friends left around 2:00 p.m., so Seth and I had some time to kill before we could pick up William and head to Seth's 5:00 p.m. doctor's appointment. We hung out at my office for a few minutes, then went to the grocery store and bought Lotrimin, and then played at my office some more. Finally it was time to get William and go to the doctor. The doctor said Seth has probably had ringworm for at least a week, maybe two. That made me feel like crap for not noticing. But what can you do? Anyway, it can take up to 4 weeks and sometimes longer for ringworm to clear up, but as long as he's receiving the treatment twice daily, he's okay to go school. Fingers crossed that it will clear up quickly!
In other news, I learned yesterday that William will begin transitioning to the Pre-K room in two weeks. Our center does just one transition a year, so usually, all the kids in a classroom move at the same time. But there are two vacancies in the Pre-K room now, so this helps the Center by filling the vacancies, and then they can offer spots to kids in the lower rooms where there are waiting lists. William and one other boy from his class will be the first to transition because, of course, they're the most mature kids in the class and they're ready to move on. But really, they're the ones moving because they are both pretty close to the Pre-K teacher. We are usually the first family at the center in the morning, and the other boy is usually the second. And the Pre-K teacher is the morning person. So they both love her, and they both also happen to be older than most kids in the room. So it makes sense. William is looking forward to being with the "big kids," but I'm not sure if he's fully aware of what the transition really means--that he won't be in his current class anymore. We'll just have to wait and see how it goes!
Normally, I would have just gotten William and we all would have gone home. But William's class had a little field trip today to the park to have a picnic lunch. So I didn't want him to miss it. And more importantly, I had promised to give a tour of the Capitol to two high school friends who have been living in D.C. for the past year (here on sabbatical--they live in NY). So I went and got Seth and brought him back to my office and when my friends arrived, we went on the tour with Seth in tow. Seth was soooo good. He alternated between sitting in the umbrella stroller, walking on his own (pushing the umbrella stroller), and riding in my arms. He fell asleep during part of the tour, and then sat at the table while we ate lunch. I wasn't sure how the tour would work out with him, but I was pleasantly surprised. Not sure what my friends would say (Seth was very insistent that he push the umbrella stroller by himself, which led to him almost taking out multiple tourists, who kindly got out his way) but it was the best I could do! It was really nice to spend time with them, though, so I'm glad it all worked out!
My friends left around 2:00 p.m., so Seth and I had some time to kill before we could pick up William and head to Seth's 5:00 p.m. doctor's appointment. We hung out at my office for a few minutes, then went to the grocery store and bought Lotrimin, and then played at my office some more. Finally it was time to get William and go to the doctor. The doctor said Seth has probably had ringworm for at least a week, maybe two. That made me feel like crap for not noticing. But what can you do? Anyway, it can take up to 4 weeks and sometimes longer for ringworm to clear up, but as long as he's receiving the treatment twice daily, he's okay to go school. Fingers crossed that it will clear up quickly!
In other news, I learned yesterday that William will begin transitioning to the Pre-K room in two weeks. Our center does just one transition a year, so usually, all the kids in a classroom move at the same time. But there are two vacancies in the Pre-K room now, so this helps the Center by filling the vacancies, and then they can offer spots to kids in the lower rooms where there are waiting lists. William and one other boy from his class will be the first to transition because, of course, they're the most mature kids in the class and they're ready to move on. But really, they're the ones moving because they are both pretty close to the Pre-K teacher. We are usually the first family at the center in the morning, and the other boy is usually the second. And the Pre-K teacher is the morning person. So they both love her, and they both also happen to be older than most kids in the room. So it makes sense. William is looking forward to being with the "big kids," but I'm not sure if he's fully aware of what the transition really means--that he won't be in his current class anymore. We'll just have to wait and see how it goes!
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Randomness
I seem to be in a randomness funk again--lots of scattered thoughts but no major theme to write about. So I might as well get my thoughts written down.
- No menu plan this week. I started to make one, but it involved an extra run to the grocery store this week, and since I'm over-budget already, I decided to just make do with what we have in the freezer and pantry. On Tuesday night I broiled chicken breasts that I marinated in Italian salad dressing, but neither one of the boys ate them, which was unusual. Last night, I made tortellini pasta and again, neither one of the boys ate it. So I'm 0 for two now. For tonight I have a pork tenderloin thawing in the fridge. I think I'll cut it into medallions and saute them quickly on the stove. We'll see if the boys decide to eat it.
- William is in a taking-forever-to-fall-asleep phase. And he's also waking up at the butt-crack of dawn. I need black-out curtains or blinds for his windows. And Seth's too, since Seth woke up at 5:30 this morning. WTF???? Why don't my kids sleep? It is hands down the worst part of parenting--being woken up in the morning earlier than you need to wake up. And if your kids sleep all night for 10 hours or more, I DON'T want to hear about it!
- Seth has added some really funny expressions to his repertoire lately. Instead of saying "yes," he says, "yeah mon." He sounds Jamaican. I have no idea why he started doing this. He's not saying "yes, ma'am" because for starters, I don't enforce the "ma'am" consistently enough, and second, when he does say "yes, ma'am" it sounds different. But I don't know what else he could be trying to say. Regardless, it's really funny to hear it. He also does this chant where he says, "Weeee-yum, where arrrrrrrre you? I meeeeeeess you! Where arrrrrrre you?" And on the not-so-funny front, whenever I reprimand him, he'll say, "That funny Mommy." And I'll say, "No Seth. It's not funny." And he says, "Yes is. That funny." It's hard not to laugh at the way he says it.
- I really really really need to figure out how to fit exercise into my day. I think the most obvious choice is to get up at 5:00 a.m. and get back on my C25K program. I'm still paying for my gym membership here at the Senate, but because I only work a 8.5 hour day, taking an hour to exercise doesn't really work. Plus there are too many other things going on at work, including my involvement with the daycare board, which takes a lot of "free" time. Getting up at 5 a.m., however, sounds so awful and atrocious (even though I basically get up then anyway for the kids) that I'm afraid I'm doomed before I even begin.
- I'm hoping to get to the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning. I thought about joining a CSA, but in reality, we just don't eat enough vegetables to make that a worthwhile endeavor. And the vegetables that we do eat are pretty ordinary--broccoli, green beans, lettuce and spinach, corn. I don't have the time or energy to find ways to cook veggies like zucchini (not that that's exotic--it's just not a veggie we particularly like), kale, beets, chard, etc. There is a local service, though, that will deliver on demand, and it includes fruit and veggies--and you can sub items that you don't care for. You can request all organic, or mixed, and almost everything is local. (They include things like bananas and mangoes and pineapple, which obviously aren't local.) So that could be a good option for the times that I can't get to the Farmer's Market or to a grocery store that carries a wider variety of local and organic produce. But I will end up spending a lot more money on the box of produce (around $35 for a small box) than I would at the grocery store or the Farmer's market where I can pick exactly what I want and how much. Whew--that was long-winded! I guess it always comes down to time v. money. You pay for convenience, that's for sure.
- I lost my ATM card several weeks ago and have been putting off having to get it replaced. I don't want Ed to know I lost it (it's not a big deal but just one more thing he can hold over my head--not that he would or anything), but he has a card, too, that he uses when he stops at the store for me sometimes, and I'd have to tell him not to use it once they cancel the card and I have to wait for the new one to arrive. I could take a chance that he won't try to use it until I get the new card and then I could swap it in his wallet without him noticing. But that would be pretty deceitful. I need to just suck it up. In case you're wondering, I have been monitoring my account every day to make sure no strange charges are being made. And there aren't any. It's just lost. I'm pretty sure I left it in an ATM machine in a grocery store, and I called the store and the bank to see if anyone had turned it in. It's probably sitting in a drawer somewhere, forgotten. I hope the boys don't inherit my absent-minded gene.
- Speaking of, I can't find my iPhone. William had it yesterday when we walked into the house, and I picked it up after he put it down, but I don't know what happened to it after that.
- Stupid absentmindedness gene.
- [ETA:]Oh shoot--I forgot one more. William has been thinking a lot lately about Anakin Skywalker and how he became Darth Vader, or basically, how he became a bad guy. I said that Anakin felt angry all the time and he couldn't let go of the anger, and that the anger made him want to be a mean person. So then he asked me why Anakin was angry. What made him mad? So then I said how he was really impatient and he wanted to be a jedi knight without having to learn all about it. And then he fell in love with Padme, but she said they couldn't be together. And all of that made him mad. I didn't tell him that his mother was kidnapped and beaten to death, though. I thought that would be a little too much. And I didn't explain that his mentor turned out to be a bad guy. He has not seen the first 3 episodes of Star Wars. I told him he could watch those when he turns 8. But he will probably still be too young at that time, IMO. Such deep stuff for the car ride home!
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