We spent a LOT of time in Princess's room this morning sorting through things, throwing away junk papers and just making her room look nice in general. Princess really enjoys doing this - I am lucky - this dreaded task went very quickly! We sorted through most of her things and we have a nice pile of toys for the garage sale. I am thinking that we can have it one week from tomorrow or the following weekend if the weather is not going to be nice the first weekend.
Princess has done her reading already today. We spend the first hour of the boys' naptime reading Monday thru Friday. We have kept track of all of her reading and we will turn it in to her teacher at the beginning of the school year. I can tell we lost some ground in the two weeks we took off while traveling. We are back at it with a vengence now, however. Princess had a tough teacher last year but I think it has prepared her for second grade. At least I have heard that the homework Princess had for first grade is very similar to that of second grade. I know I have whined about this before, but isn't this an excessive amount of homework for a first grader??
Monday: Read 3 books outloud (45 minutes), Study for a 21 word spelling test (30 minutes), complete a double-sided math worksheet (15-30 minutes).
Tuesday: Read 3 books outloud (45 minutes), Study for a 21 word spelling test (30 minutes)
Wednesday: Read 3 books outloud (45 minutes), Study for a 21 word spelling test (30 minutes)
Thursday: Study for spelling test and complete spelling homework: 1) Write each word neatly, 2) Draw a picture and create a caption using at least 3 spelling words, 3) Separate words into nouns, verbs, and other categories.
Anyway, I hope second grade is about the same because we made it through 1st grade! I think it will be better because Princess will be more self-sufficient this year. I will also have homework for my little Prince this year: reading every night. Kindergarten is a breeze compared to 1st grade...
Showing posts with label Whining. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Whining. Show all posts
Friday, July 25, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
We are back!
We had a good trip to Iowa, and now we are back. Reality is setting in, as it always does. I am always caught in the "in between" for a few days after a trip like this. I miss everyone so much. I don't really want to be back here in the land of mostly acquaintances.
Today we need to get the house back in order, the laundry done, and groceries bought. The boys are being pretty good and Princess is still sleeping at 9:15! That usually means she will wake up happy. That helps on a busy day like today.
Hi ho, hi ho, it's back to life we go.....
- I want to be with people who know me and love me anyway.
- I want to belly laugh with my sister over lunch more than twice a year.
- I want to have long conversations with my mother about the world we live in, the politicians who are messing it up and what we can do about it.
- I want to see the kids giggle with Grandpa J.
- I want to talk to my future sister in law (B and B got engaged on the 4th of July!!) and help her plan her wedding. I want watch DadOf3 tease his little brother about getting hitched!
- I want to play make-believe with my little nephew who has the best imagination in the world!
- I want to talk to my brilliant little niece, O, who at almost 9 years old has a lot to say. I want to hear it.
- I want to play with my niece, E, and get to know her better so I am not a stranger to her.
- I want to play cards with my mother and father in law while trash talking and laughing.
- I want to talk with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law about the world we live in.
- I want to go to the shed and watch the kids drive the old jeep, ride the 4-wheeler and smile so big that it seems it will stay forever.
- I want to go to Adventureland and feed the kids cotten candy and watch them go into a sugar frenzy.
- In short, I want to go home.
This feeling numbs over time. The tears do not come as easily.
We have a life here, and it is a good life. I think it is human nature to want what we do not have, and truly, if we lived in Iowa, it would not always be like the week and a half we have just spent there.
Soon it will be time to get the kids ready to go back to school (shudder). Life will get get busy again. There will be sports to practice and play, spelling tests to study for, reading and writing to practice. I will need to decide if I am going to be a room parent again.
I have learned from past mistakes that it is better to keep myself busy. Having too much time on my hands encourages me to think too much and focus too much on myself and what I am missing. But then again we have a big change coming to our family soon (more on that later) and I do not want to overbook myself.
All of these things will work themselves out in time.Today we need to get the house back in order, the laundry done, and groceries bought. The boys are being pretty good and Princess is still sleeping at 9:15! That usually means she will wake up happy. That helps on a busy day like today.
Hi ho, hi ho, it's back to life we go.....
Friday, March 7, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Caucus Time for the Whole Fam!
If you are looking for Wordless Wednesday, please click here!
If you recall from my previous post, my adopted state of Texas had its primary and caucus last night.
My oh my! what an experience that was! Yesterday we had decided that I would go to the caucus alone, but, as we were talking at supper, we thought, "why can't we bring the kids?" You may want to add "why would we want to bring the kids to a caucus?", but that is another story. So we loaded up the whole family in Otis the van and we were off to the polling place we had visited earlier that morning.
Let's just say they were not prepared for the huge number of people who showed up to caucus....
It was a madhouse! People kept shouting out different (wrong) directions for us to follow. The manager of the retirement home where we met basically kicked us out of the building because of fire codes. The kids were really good though. DadOf3 and I took turns carrying our little Knight. Princess and Prince were really good and stood quietly with us for the most part. (Of course we did encourage (bribe) them with the promise of a treat when we got home if they were good.)
The caucus itself was not even scheduled to start until 7:15. By the time they conquered the the crowd management issues, it was 8:15! An entire hour wasted! They kept saying that they didn't expect as big of a crowd that showed up. But how could they not have expected it? It is not like this was the first caucus of the season. Caucus numbers have been huge ever since IOWA all the way back in January for goodness sake!
Luckily as they herded us outside, we lucked out and got a spot close to the tables where we had to sign our name and choose our candidate. We left around 8:30 but there were still literally hundreds of people waiting to sign.
In my humble opinion, it was absolutely ridiculous to hold a caucus this late in the game. Texas is unique. Its delegates are distributed 2/3 at the primary and 1/3 at the caucus. To vote at the caucus you have to prove that you had already voted at the primary.
If I understand the caucus format correctly, it basically goes like this: a group of people meet; after a set amount of time, the people are counted; if candidates do not have enough people supporting them, the other people try to convince them to come over to their side; in the end, the candidate with the most supporters wins that precinct.
Last night, it was a very poor facsimile of this process. There were only 2 candidates. They were both viable. We all just basically voted and left, not unlike the primary we had ALL attended that morning. I don't understand the point of making us all show up twice.
It was still interesting to see. I wish I would have brought my camera with me. The sheer number of people there was invigorating! It is nice to see people come out to support their candidate.
Maybe that's the point.
If you recall from my previous post, my adopted state of Texas had its primary and caucus last night.
My oh my! what an experience that was! Yesterday we had decided that I would go to the caucus alone, but, as we were talking at supper, we thought, "why can't we bring the kids?" You may want to add "why would we want to bring the kids to a caucus?", but that is another story. So we loaded up the whole family in Otis the van and we were off to the polling place we had visited earlier that morning.
Let's just say they were not prepared for the huge number of people who showed up to caucus....
It was a madhouse! People kept shouting out different (wrong) directions for us to follow. The manager of the retirement home where we met basically kicked us out of the building because of fire codes. The kids were really good though. DadOf3 and I took turns carrying our little Knight. Princess and Prince were really good and stood quietly with us for the most part. (Of course we did encourage (bribe) them with the promise of a treat when we got home if they were good.)
The caucus itself was not even scheduled to start until 7:15. By the time they conquered the the crowd management issues, it was 8:15! An entire hour wasted! They kept saying that they didn't expect as big of a crowd that showed up. But how could they not have expected it? It is not like this was the first caucus of the season. Caucus numbers have been huge ever since IOWA all the way back in January for goodness sake!
Luckily as they herded us outside, we lucked out and got a spot close to the tables where we had to sign our name and choose our candidate. We left around 8:30 but there were still literally hundreds of people waiting to sign.
In my humble opinion, it was absolutely ridiculous to hold a caucus this late in the game. Texas is unique. Its delegates are distributed 2/3 at the primary and 1/3 at the caucus. To vote at the caucus you have to prove that you had already voted at the primary.
If I understand the caucus format correctly, it basically goes like this: a group of people meet; after a set amount of time, the people are counted; if candidates do not have enough people supporting them, the other people try to convince them to come over to their side; in the end, the candidate with the most supporters wins that precinct.
Last night, it was a very poor facsimile of this process. There were only 2 candidates. They were both viable. We all just basically voted and left, not unlike the primary we had ALL attended that morning. I don't understand the point of making us all show up twice.
It was still interesting to see. I wish I would have brought my camera with me. The sheer number of people there was invigorating! It is nice to see people come out to support their candidate.
Maybe that's the point.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Avoid the Grocery Stores at ALL COST!
The boys and I got groceries this morning because I needed a few, specific food items for Christmas dinner. Princess requested the "Brown and Serve" rolls that we had for Thanksgiving. DadOf3 and I decided on a modest Christmas dinner because the kids do not eat very much and we are taking off for Iowa two days after Christmas (!!!) - no need for leftovers. I picked up a nice roast. So we will have roast, potatoes and gravy, corn, and chocolate pie. This pie is one of my very favorites. My mother would make it as a special treat every once and a while. It is so good and so easy:
Get a pre-made graham cracker crust or go all out and make a homemade one.
Melt one of the huge (5 ounce) Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar.
When the melted chocolate is no longer hot to the touch, fold into a tub of Cool Whip.
Scoop chocolate/cool whip into the graham cracker pie crust.
Man oh man! Even at 8:30 in the morning the grocery store was a mad house! Take heed and do not go if you do not have to! I am used to shopping when no one else is there. I plan it that way because shopping with two boys (4 and 2) is risky even on the best of days.
This was not the best of days.
I won't go into the gory details , but our little trip involved pulling hair, kicking, and pinching by both boys. Sigh. I absolutely abhor shopping trips like that.
To top it all off, there were lots of stressed out people shopping today. Yippee! Extra glares at MomOf3 with the implied meaning of "Can't you control your children?" Days like this used to make me want to crawl under a rock, but not any more. I have developed a thick skin over the years. My philosophy is this: "If you have not shopped with toddlers/pre-schoolers in the last 5 years, then don't judge me." Simple as that.
On a happier note, I should not have to go venture to the grocery store again until after we get back from Iowa in January! And by that time, the Prince will be in pre-school and I will only have to take one child shopping...at least until school is out in May. Hey! I will take what I can get!
Here's to hoping that is a little easier on this mom of three!
Get a pre-made graham cracker crust or go all out and make a homemade one.
Melt one of the huge (5 ounce) Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar.
When the melted chocolate is no longer hot to the touch, fold into a tub of Cool Whip.
Scoop chocolate/cool whip into the graham cracker pie crust.
Man oh man! Even at 8:30 in the morning the grocery store was a mad house! Take heed and do not go if you do not have to! I am used to shopping when no one else is there. I plan it that way because shopping with two boys (4 and 2) is risky even on the best of days.
This was not the best of days.
I won't go into the gory details , but our little trip involved pulling hair, kicking, and pinching by both boys. Sigh. I absolutely abhor shopping trips like that.
To top it all off, there were lots of stressed out people shopping today. Yippee! Extra glares at MomOf3 with the implied meaning of "Can't you control your children?" Days like this used to make me want to crawl under a rock, but not any more. I have developed a thick skin over the years. My philosophy is this: "If you have not shopped with toddlers/pre-schoolers in the last 5 years, then don't judge me." Simple as that.
On a happier note, I should not have to go venture to the grocery store again until after we get back from Iowa in January! And by that time, the Prince will be in pre-school and I will only have to take one child shopping...at least until school is out in May. Hey! I will take what I can get!
Here's to hoping that is a little easier on this mom of three!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Swimming fun and potential work out time!
Man! Did we have fun tonight!
AB's mom invited all of the kids and me to meet them at their gym and go swimming. Let me tell you, this place was way fancier than the YMCA we have been flirting with joining.
It was gorgeous! It had both indoor and outdoor pools. Both of them are open 24 hours a day. The workout equipment is amazing. And, best of all, in addition to the monthly fee, for a mere $5 per kid per month, the little buckeroos can play in their childcare area for up to 2 hours per day PER PARENT (4 hours per day, not that we woudl do that)!
The YMCA charges $2 per kid per hour. That would add up fast if you go all of the time.
And since the purpose of joining a gym is to go all of the time so you can get into shape, it should really add up.
I am intrigued. So intrigued in fact, that I am planning to drag DadOf3 down there tomorrow night to check it out.
How do the rest of you moms out there work out?
When Princess started school last year, I had grand ideas about putting both boys in my jogging stroller and, well, jogging with them.
That worked almost as well as going to the grocery store and putting them side by side in one of those fancy schmancy car carts.
They do not sit nicely.
They do not keep their hands to themselves.
They scream at each other, pummel each other, and then take turns getting out of said cart and running away from me.
It is not a pretty sight.
At least with the jogger stroller, they are buckled in.
They would last about a mile and then start whacking on each other.
Hmm....
If I could talk DadOf3 into joining this gym not only would workouts be re-introduced into my daily routine but I would get up to two hours of "time off" away from the kids ever day.
I have never, ever in all of my time of being a mommy had regularly scheduled times away from my kids.
My ability to do something (work out, get a haircut, go to the dentist, go see the doctor) has always depended on my husband's ability to come home and watch the kids.
I joined Curves about a year and a half ago but their hours sucked - the latest I could start working out was 7:30.
We don't have family in town. I tell ya, count yourself lucky if you do have family available to watch your children!
To be able to work out again! Without bothering (begging, pleading, bribing) my husband!
That would be quite the dream come true for me!
And did I mention that they have a hair salon right there at the gym!
Heaven!
AB's mom invited all of the kids and me to meet them at their gym and go swimming. Let me tell you, this place was way fancier than the YMCA we have been flirting with joining.
It was gorgeous! It had both indoor and outdoor pools. Both of them are open 24 hours a day. The workout equipment is amazing. And, best of all, in addition to the monthly fee, for a mere $5 per kid per month, the little buckeroos can play in their childcare area for up to 2 hours per day PER PARENT (4 hours per day, not that we woudl do that)!
The YMCA charges $2 per kid per hour. That would add up fast if you go all of the time.
And since the purpose of joining a gym is to go all of the time so you can get into shape, it should really add up.
I am intrigued. So intrigued in fact, that I am planning to drag DadOf3 down there tomorrow night to check it out.
How do the rest of you moms out there work out?
When Princess started school last year, I had grand ideas about putting both boys in my jogging stroller and, well, jogging with them.
That worked almost as well as going to the grocery store and putting them side by side in one of those fancy schmancy car carts.
They do not sit nicely.
They do not keep their hands to themselves.
They scream at each other, pummel each other, and then take turns getting out of said cart and running away from me.
It is not a pretty sight.
At least with the jogger stroller, they are buckled in.
They would last about a mile and then start whacking on each other.
Hmm....
If I could talk DadOf3 into joining this gym not only would workouts be re-introduced into my daily routine but I would get up to two hours of "time off" away from the kids ever day.
I have never, ever in all of my time of being a mommy had regularly scheduled times away from my kids.
My ability to do something (work out, get a haircut, go to the dentist, go see the doctor) has always depended on my husband's ability to come home and watch the kids.
I joined Curves about a year and a half ago but their hours sucked - the latest I could start working out was 7:30.
We don't have family in town. I tell ya, count yourself lucky if you do have family available to watch your children!
To be able to work out again! Without bothering (begging, pleading, bribing) my husband!
That would be quite the dream come true for me!
And did I mention that they have a hair salon right there at the gym!
Heaven!
Friday, August 10, 2007
It's a Mean Mommy kind of a day....
Wow, where to begin....
I love pictures. I have never missed an opportunity to capture my kids' milestone birthdays with a professional photograph. We live far away from family and my closest friends so getting pictures taken is a great opportunity to write a letter, reconnect, send pictures of the kids and to show our loved ones how much the kids have grown.
Today we all headed to JC Pennys to get Princess's 6 year picture, Prince's 4 year picture, and a group shot of all three kids.
The kids' behavior was horrible!
I don't know what triggered it.... The Cocoa Puffs at breakfast? Our new kind of orange juice? Or maybe they managed to sneak into my pantry, climb up to the top shelf, and help themselves to a cup or two of my sugar??
It was THAT bad!
My 6 year old laughed at me when I told her to stop hitting her baby brother.
My 4 year old ran away from me when I called out to him.
My 2 year old was, well, a two year old and took every opportunity that came his way to bolt from the studio.
And he had the best behavior of the bunch!
Arg! I am surprised that I have ANY hair left after today.
Of course we were called back late. We arrived at 10:10 for our 10:20 appointment, and they did not call us back until 10:35. That didn't help matters.
Before we went into the store, I told all three kids that if they had good behavior we would get a cookie afterwards as a reward.
This has worked many, many times in the past.
Not today.
They did manage to listen to the photographer once we were finally called back, so we did get some nice photos, but the process was excruciating.
At one point the Princess and the Prince were screaming at each other and pulling at each other's clothing.
I am sure that the people in the waiting room as well as the photographers thought I was a horribly inept mother.
And maybe I was, who knows?
This is where it would be so nice to have a grandma or a friend with me for back-up.
After the pictures were taken, JC Pennys had me wait a good 15 minutes before they showed me the pictures. Meanwhile, the Prince and the Princess picked up right where they had left off. They went back to the waiting room and continued to misbehave.
Finally, I was able to choose the pictures I wanted and get the hell out of Dodge.
The kids did not get cookies.
I am a mean, inept, cookie-depriving Mommy who cannot control her own kids.
Maybe next year we will just print out some digital pictures and call it good.
I love pictures. I have never missed an opportunity to capture my kids' milestone birthdays with a professional photograph. We live far away from family and my closest friends so getting pictures taken is a great opportunity to write a letter, reconnect, send pictures of the kids and to show our loved ones how much the kids have grown.
Today we all headed to JC Pennys to get Princess's 6 year picture, Prince's 4 year picture, and a group shot of all three kids.
The kids' behavior was horrible!
I don't know what triggered it.... The Cocoa Puffs at breakfast? Our new kind of orange juice? Or maybe they managed to sneak into my pantry, climb up to the top shelf, and help themselves to a cup or two of my sugar??
It was THAT bad!
My 6 year old laughed at me when I told her to stop hitting her baby brother.
My 4 year old ran away from me when I called out to him.
My 2 year old was, well, a two year old and took every opportunity that came his way to bolt from the studio.
And he had the best behavior of the bunch!
Arg! I am surprised that I have ANY hair left after today.
Of course we were called back late. We arrived at 10:10 for our 10:20 appointment, and they did not call us back until 10:35. That didn't help matters.
Before we went into the store, I told all three kids that if they had good behavior we would get a cookie afterwards as a reward.
This has worked many, many times in the past.
Not today.
They did manage to listen to the photographer once we were finally called back, so we did get some nice photos, but the process was excruciating.
At one point the Princess and the Prince were screaming at each other and pulling at each other's clothing.
I am sure that the people in the waiting room as well as the photographers thought I was a horribly inept mother.
And maybe I was, who knows?
This is where it would be so nice to have a grandma or a friend with me for back-up.
After the pictures were taken, JC Pennys had me wait a good 15 minutes before they showed me the pictures. Meanwhile, the Prince and the Princess picked up right where they had left off. They went back to the waiting room and continued to misbehave.
Finally, I was able to choose the pictures I wanted and get the hell out of Dodge.
The kids did not get cookies.
I am a mean, inept, cookie-depriving Mommy who cannot control her own kids.
Maybe next year we will just print out some digital pictures and call it good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Workout Countdown!
Countdown to the Prince"s Birthday!
Countdown to the Princess"s Birthday!
Countdown to the Knight"s Birthday!
