Raising Kids

Lauri recently had a post about how much praise is too much for our kids.

The question also arose about whether parents can be their kids friends.

I have some pretty strong feelings about this. Granted Belle is only 5 so time will tell how things work out but these are the things we do in our house.

I do reinforce positive behaviour to a point. I acknowledge if she is doing something well or something that I like. For example, I love walking and holding her hand. I always tell her how much I love that. Sometimes she has no choice but to hold some one's hand (such as crossing the street or walking through a busy parking lot) but other times it is up to her if she wants to.

I have always encouraged her to have her own opinion. There are days that I wish she didn't and would just be a little obedient child but I try to remind myself that this quality will serve her well when she is older. An example is how I hate worms. I don't want to touch them at all. She thinks I am crazy and always tells me that they just tickle. We tease each other about it. And she knows it is OK for her to like them and me not to. That concept has been discussed so she doesn't have to guess if it will be OK for her to disagree.

I have often told Belle that when she is not listening or behaving that it is my job to be the "meanie" as she puts it. My job as her mom is to teach her and keep her safe. That her choices will determine how her day goes. She can choose to be in a good mood and not get into trouble and just have fun or she can choose to have a bad day. But it is her choice. She knows what the consequences are (pretty much).

And most of all I do feel that we can be friends. That I can be her best friend since I will always be behind her no matter what. I have told her and continue to tell her that she can tell me anything. That she never has to be embarrassed in front of me. And there are times when I can tell she doesn't want to tell me something or does feel embarrassed. In those moments I push the issue and kind of make her tell me or do whatever so that I can show her that she truly can be who she is and tell me anything and it will be OK. This is going to be the toughest part I think.

I know all kids don't tell their parents every single thing. I know all kids get into some degree of trouble. That is part of growing up and learning. But I try very hard to make sure Belle knows that at home with me she is safe and free to be whoever she wants to be. There are so many social pressures outside of the home. The home needs to be the safe haven. And we all have bad days and home is where you can let it all out.

I do expect her to respect others and especially her family even while being mad about something and for the most part I allow her to let out her frustrations. I just tell her about it when she is not talking very nicely. She needs to work on her patience and is learning that practice pays off. She is trying the stomping feet thing now and finding it doesn't work to well.

One thing I can be known to waiver on is if I don't really have a good reason for my answer. I don't mind her questioning me for why on something as long as she respects the answer. But if I just didn't feel like it and I don't have a really good answer I may or may not change it. But I also stand by an answer more often than not so she doesn't really argue to get her way.

I find it difficult sometimes when my in laws encourage the different kids to go behind their parents back. This will happen more and more with Belle as she gets older. Right now it happens a lot with my nieces. It is very frustrating to hear about. I don't always agree with the rules they have but I respect their parents having the right to raise their kids as they choose. Thankfully Belle tells me when someone tells her not to tell me something so at least I know about it.

I know all of this is coming out somewhat confusing.

I guess in the end I want my daughter to be a strong, smart, somewhat independent girl who is also my friend. I really hope we can pull this off. I think as long as she knows "who's the boss" and we can still confide in each other we will be able to make this work.

Do you feel that you can be your child's friend and parent? How do you parent your kids?

Tuesday

Tuesday of this week was one of those near perfect days that you just don't want to end.

I got up at my usual 5am and got ready for work. I took Belle to my SIL's house and went to work. (This part is why it was only near perfect)

I left work at 1pm and went and picked up Belle. She was sad because she thought she was going to go to my other SIL's house to swim in her pool but couldn't now. She was happy that I picked her up though.

As we started driving I pulled down the sleeve of my shirt to show her that I had my bathing suit on. Her whole face lit up. I then turned into this public pool of a neighboring city that we pass by every single day and it tortures us because it really is one of the best pools. Slides and a play area for younger kids, big slide for older kids and adults, deep end, basketball area, lap area, and a little kiddie area with fun stuff for them.

She was so happy and excited that we were getting to go because it only happens about once a year that the weather is nice when I don't have to work etc.

We spent 2 hours at the pool in the 94 degree heat just playing. We would have stayed longer but we needed to get to our local pool for her swimming lessons.

Ahhh. If only all days would be so much fun....

My Hair Is A Wreck

Check this out.

It was styled pretty good before I left the house.

I stepped outside. Drove to work. Walked in with my umbrella since it was actually raining.

I just looked in the mirror and this is the curly mess I saw.

Those bangs were pin straight when I left the house.

Sadly this picture isn't as bad as some of my "good" pictures. Maybe I will use it on my profile.

Is it just me or doesn't the title work?

One fish died. I flushed it this morning. I hope the other one is ok when we get home.

Also just wondering if this would seem weird to anyone. As we got to our local pool yesterday evening for Belle's swimming lessons there was an older than me man who was getting ready to leave.

He clearly had been there for the afternoon. He didn't have a shirt on and it wasn't like he was all muscular. But he walked as if to say check me out. He didn't appear to have grey hair but I didn't really look hard.

What struck me as weird is that he was alone and carrying a bottle of tanning oil. You know the kind in the dark brown bottle that can't be mistaken for sunscreen.

Anyway he kind of creeped me out. I am not sure if I automatically assume the worst or if I was simply over reacting. But I swear in this day and age of abuse cases I can't help but to think the negative first to be prepared in the event I am right.

I guess we are not allowed to use the title bar right now. Hmph.

Let me set the scene for you -

I am laying in Belle's bed with her as I usually do as part of her bedtime routine.

She has one arm up above her as she is laying there. The other hand is scratching her raised hand's arm pit.

I say to her, "Whatcha got in there?"

Her reply, "money"

I laughed so hard. Sometimes she just makes me laugh with the things she comes up with.

There's a New Fish In Town

Or two.

Tonight we went and got Belle new goldfish. She picked out an orange one and a black and orange one.

They are small so they both fit in the fish bowl we have.

We also bought a new net to fit the bowl better.

Price of 2 goldfish: 24 cents
Price of net including tax: 1.73

Belle's happiness with her new goldfish: Priceless

Circle of Life

A couple of weeks ago Belle won a goldfish at a local festival. The man who was running the game was actually very generous to her since she technically didn't win it but he gave her one anyway.

My husband was less than thrilled but played along with the whole idea. We went home and put the fish in an actual fish bowl that my mother in law happened to have.

We ran up to the store and bought fish food and tablets to remove the chlorine from our tap water.

We told Belle that it may not live but that we would try our best. After all this fish was sitting in a baggie of water in the hot sun for who knows how long.

Surprisingly the fish made it through the night. And then another.

Before we knew it we had the fish for a couple of weeks.

Sadly the fish lost his fight for life yesterday. While Belle was home with my mother in law. I was at work and she didn't want to have Belle see it so she put the bowl in our spare room until I got home from work.

The fish was swimming and eating in the morning before I left. But my MIL said she put some new water in the bowl since it looked a little cloudy. Not sure if this contributed to the death or not but she kept calling herself a fish murderer yesterday which made me laugh.

When I got home I brought the bowl back out and Belle was excited to be able to feed it. But I was standing in front of it blocking the bowl so she wouldn't see the floating fish. I told her that her goldfish died and that we had to flush him down the toilet. I told her that it was a good fish and that we will miss it. She was sad and crying. I asked her if she just wanted us to take care of it or if she wanted to see it. (I explained that it was just floating in the bowl) She wanted to look and she did. At this point my husband came home and I was asking Belle if she just wanted Daddy to flush it or if she wanted to be a part of it.

We just let Daddy clean it out.

She was fine and only made little comments about how she misses her fish. But she did say that he lived a long time so it is OK.

Kids are funny and sad all at once.

Happy 4th of July

I find myself very grateful on the 4th each year.

I am very grateful to live in a country that allows us to say what we think and give us the freedoms to do what we want within the law.

I am grateful to be able to allow my daughter to grow up believing she can be what she wants if she just tries hard enough.

I am grateful to have great medical care just a stone's throw away should we ever need it.

I am most grateful and appreciative of the sacrifices of our military and their families to allow us our freedoms and to protect us from those who would take them away. They are all truly heroes to each and every one of us.

Friday Funny

OMG

Either I am in a weird mood or these are just way way too funny...

I couldn't figure out how to link them here since they were .wmv files but they were under trunkmonkey.

I will have to see if I can find a way to link it because they are just so funny.

click.click bwah ha ha ha ha ha

Anyway that doesn't make any sense if you don't see trunkmonkeychaperone.

Where Did My Baby Go

My girl is growing up so very fast. She can amaze me every single day.

What is making me a bit sad today is the fact that for the past 4 nights she didn't ask for her story and song when she was going to bed.

Every night since she was an infant I would read her this story and sing her this song and if I didn't she would ask me to. Sometimes I would just try to say goodnight after laying with her in her bed for a few minutes and get up to go. She would always catch me.

This past week she wanted to fall asleep in my bed on Sunday and Monday. When she does that she really doesn't look for her story and song. Sometimes she does but mostly not.

So I thought for sure she would want it on Tuesday when I told her she had to go in her bed. But she was also getting into a wee bit of trouble so I didn't lay down with her. She still didn't ask for it.

OK. Last night she would definitely want her story and song. I lied down next to her. We talked like we usually do. She was holding onto my head so I couldn't get up but no requests other than she didn't want me to go.

I left her to fall asleep and said, "Goodnight, I love you!" which is what I make sure is the last thing she hears before she falls asleep but still no story or song.

So I will read you the little story that I know by heart. It comes from one of the thick and small square board books.

Story: Belle lives in a small village. She loves to read.
Belle finds an old castle in the forest.
Belle makes new friends at the castle.
The Beast lives at the castle too. He thinks Belle is beautiful.
Belle falls in love with the Beast and he becomes a handsome prince.
The End

This story is always immediately followed by the song.

Song: I love you, bushel and a peck. Bushel and a peck.
And a hug around the neck. A hug around the neck.
And a barrel and a heap. A barrel and a heap
And I'm singing in my sleep, I love you.
I love you!

Yes we changed the words a tiny bit but it sounds the same.

Are you all sleepy now? I know I am. I just should have stayed in bed....

Pleated Tote

Thanks to Beki at artsycraftybabe I got to make a cool pleated tote bag. Mine is in no way as cute at hers.

I picked the fabric and cut it out according to her pattern.

It went pretty smoothly. The only mishaps were my own fault for not fully thinking about what I was doing.

It came out pretty good. I wasn't happy with the thread I used because it looked a bit wonky on the underside but other than that I was pretty happy with it. I used one of my grandmothers vintage buttons also.

Belle gave it to her dance teacher on Sunday. She seemed to like it. I hope she did and that she will actually use it.

The Roof

It is finally all said and done.

We had some major drama with the roofing company last week.

They came out to the house on Monday and spent 13 hours there. When they left they had only put the roof on our house. They still had to put up the gutters and put the shingles on our garage. Keep in mind my house is not very big. There was a lot of standing around. But whatever, I wasn't paying them by the hour.

Monday evening before they left one of the guys talked to us and said how they would be back in the morning to finish up. We pointed out some wires that were pulled from the house and the clip used to hold them to the house was broken. He said he would fix the wires after they put up the gutters. OK.

We go to work as usual on Tuesday. I started to get really worried because we were expecting some heavy thunderstorms Tuesday afternoon and evening and if our gutters were not put on then we would be facing some issues with water in our basement. We had also told this to the guy Monday night that we really needed those gutters up before it rained. We didn't hear anything from them during the day on Tuesday at all. My mother in law drove past around 2pm and said that there was nobody there and it looked like our gutters were up in the front but she didn't see the back or the garage.

Next thing I know we get a phone call message around 4:30 Tuesday evening from the roofing company saying that it should all be done and if we could call the office to set up for final payment. Their office is only open until 5pm and I didn't get to call them back before then. They proceeded to call my cell phone a total 10 times (only the first call left a message) and once on my home phone up until 8pm. They also came to our house to collect.

Wednesday morning I called their office and of course got their voice mail and left a somewhat nasty message stating that I did not appreciate them harassing me and they are not to keep calling my phone. The wire isn't even fixed. Plus I will be mailing the payment to them. That I do not want them coming to my house. In the mean time I thought about the inspector from our city. So I call the city and they say they haven't even been called by the roofing company to come and inspect the final work. They can't take it from me-that the call has to come from the company. Now I get a mean voice message from the roofers and they sound pissed at me and just tell me to call them back.

Keep in mind that I take phone calls at work and can't always answer an incoming phone call. I end up getting another message from the roofers stating that the contract states final payment due day of completion and they talked to their attorney and if we do not pay them that night I can expect a call from their attorney the next day.

Now I am so pissed my whole face is red. I go home at lunch and get the contract in front of me so that I can see the actual language. I finally get a chance at work to call them back around 3:30pm and I end up in a shouting match with the owner who happens to be the same guy who talked to us at the house on Monday night. What the hell. He basically just keeps telling me that he wants his money and he doesn't work like this and we didn't deserve to have him as our roofer, etc. I try to point out that all we asked for was to be able to make sure all of the work was done as it was supposed to be done because we don't have a high level of confidence in them due to the issues just trying to get them out to do the work. I told him it was against a federal law to call someone like they were doing and to make false accusations and threats. He didn't want to believe me. He ended up hanging up on me but not before he threatened to come to our house to collect his money with the sheriff.

I called the city back again after about 20 minutes since he claimed he could call right away and get the inspector there that same day. The lady in our city building office was so nice and said that they still hadn't called it in and it doesn't work that way. There was no way the inspector would be able to get to our house that evening.

I go home fully expecting him to show up at our house or do something. He was acting a bit scary.

Nothing happened that night at all.

I had decided the ball was in their court and I wasn't going to call them. But my husband wanted me to big the better person. Whatever. But I did call around 11:30am on Thursday. The lady that was arguing with me and calling me had a different sound to her voice. She still didn't believe their guys broke the wire clip but said if they get the inspector their and all is signed off on and they fix the clip by the next day (Friday) could they pick up their check Friday evening. I told her I actually have a picture of the house before the work and can prove the clip was broken if she needs it but she ignored that fact. I also told her that if they get it signed off on by the city inspector and fix the wire that yes we could make arrangements.

The inspector came Thursday evening while we were at Belle's swimming lessons. My husband said he was told they did a good job. So Friday morning came around and around noon I received a phone message stating the wire was fixed. I had to leave early that day so when I got home we looked it over and it looks fine.

I called and left a message stating we would not be home and the check would be on our back door if they wanted to pick it up but that I wanted something stating they received it and that it was paid in full. They left us another message stating that they will copy the contract and mark the info on their and thank you.

Wow a thank you at the end of it all. All we wanted was to make sure it was all completed as it should have been. Once we got that we paid the balance. I hope we don't have any issues that we need to call them out for in the future under the warranty.

But the roof is done. Thank goodness....

before (note the wires)

after (again note wire lines)

now everyone can sigh thanking the powers that be that you don't have to hear about it anymore.

Yay Me and So Sorry

Last week I won a prize. Me. I never win anything.

A very talented, Greta, was giving away some scrap booking supplies just for de-lurking. Technically I was no longer a lurker on her site but I won anyway.

How cool is that.

The package arrived on Monday. And all I have to say is she has totally outdone herself. This box was chock full of all sorts of goodies.

I promptly laid it all out and took a picture (with my cell phone since that was the only camera around). The picture totally does not show just how beautiful it all was.

Look what she sent.

I can't wait to use everything. Now if I would just finish getting all of my pictures edited and printed I would be in good shape.

Sorry it took me this long to post my gratuitous post, Greta. Sadly I have been having big issues with our roofing contractor.

Too Soon

I spoke too soon yesterday.

I should have known better.

I got home a little after 4pm and the roof wasn't even half way done.

It was all torn off but not too much was put back on.

They were there since 6:50am.

What in the hell were they doing all day.

Yes it was hot. Yes they needed to take breaks. But it looked like they were mostly standing around.

They got more shingles up after we were home than before. It was so hot yesterday that you would think they would have wanted to get it done so that they could get out of the heat.

There was one guy you reminded me of Jar Jar Binks.

He just kept walking around doing nothing but driving me crazy.

We now have no gutters on our house but the shingles are done on the house itself. They need to come back today to put on the gutters and put the shingles on the garage.

All I have to say is that they damn well better get those gutters on my house so that my basement doesn't flood from water coming through the walls since we are supposed to get major storms later today. They better be on first thing this morning. They better be doing it right now.

They better.....

Shhhh

I am almost afraid to post this.

But as we speak my roof should be at least 3/4 of the way done.

Don't say it too loud since they may want to leave my house since it is a toasty and humid 90 degrees today.

But they did take it upon themselves to take water from our hose during the day. My MIL caught them hooking it up when she went to pick up my dog. That really ticks me off though.

It would have been one thing if they would have said that the guys may good water from the hose if that is ok but the fact that it was like they were sneaking it really bugs me. It could be because of all of the grief we have had trying to get them there but still.

Add that to the fact that I am not quite sure where my girl is and who she is with today puts me on edge. My SIL normally watches her but calls me Saturday night to say that she wants to go to a funeral on Monday and that she has one of my niece's friends watching her kids and what did I want to do with Belle. WTF! Well let's see. I just took Friday off. My roof is getting done on Monday so I can't be in the house and my MIL is taking my dog to her house and can't come to our house to watch Belle. Gee I think I will be bringing her over for Morgan to watch her. And to top that off SIL says I need to pay Morgan. Hmmmm-don't I pay you? Shouldn't you pay her? Anyway I put $10 in Belle's bag but I wasn't going to pay top dollar. Morgan isn't looking for a certain amount and I have no idea what the going rate is but she isn't solely watching my child. She is watching Belle plus 2 of my SIL's kids (one of which old enough to babysit on her own so she will probably really be helping) and then the bratty nephew on the other side of the family. I hate to say that about any child but this one is beyond anything I have ever seen first hand. He will be 4 in November and will still smack his mom so hard across the face that you gasp. To that I say hell no. Not.in.my.house.you.don't.

Anyway, once again a kind of crappy but good Monday. Swimming lessons begin tonight so the crazy busy summer begins.

What a Rush

I just won an item on Ebbay.

I was ready with my bid in one browser window and I was watching it in another.

refresh

refresh

refresh like crazy.

Ok. Only a few seconds left. Place bid.

High bidder.

Yippee I won.

**how fun was that**
Ahhhhhhh

This Week

For some reason this week has been getting to me. I am worried about so many things that probably don't need to be worried about.

My allergies have been going crazy and well I just want to get past this.....

Monday Morning Blues

The weather this past weekend was so nice. Perfect even. It was sunny. Warm. and Breezy. Just how I like it. No humidity and not really hot.

Sadly Saturday I didn't get to spend too much time outside, though. But I made up for it on Sunday. I even pulled some weeds.

Me-gardening. That is just unheard of. I hate to weed. I will tolerate planting but then I just want everything to grow beautifully. I think the reason I hate it so much is that is seems to be a never ending project in the summer heat with dirty nasty bugs around.

Anyway, we played with the plants a bit. We had lunch on the patio. Belle played on her swing set after we removed the extremely large spider webs covering it. Why can't the spiders just stick to the stuff made in nature and leave our outside toys alone. Is that too much to ask!

But the big news is that Belle rode her bike almost the whole length of our driveway (which is a decent size) with NO training wheels and NO help. She only stopped because I grabbed the handle bars and pulled her to stop(fall) before she headed straight into the street. She got one small wound on her knee which was pretty good considering she was trying to do this with legs exposed.

She did have a melt down of I can't do this and so on. In my head I was thinking I need to make sure I boost her up because this is one of those lasting moments that can shape her future. She was very frustrated and just was sitting on the ground with her head in her lap half pouting and half crying as her bike lay on the ground next to her. She just kept saying she couldn't do and that she quits. I had her get up and come onto the patio chairs with me. She sat in my lap and I hugged her and asked her if she really wanted to quit. She said no but that she couldn't do it. I reminded her of how she has been trying for a long time to snap her fingers and how if she had quit a long time ago she wouldn't be able to do it today. I told her that to learn something new is hard and can be very frustrating but if she keeps practicing she will get it very soon. I reminded her how well she did riding down the driveway. She seemed to be OK by the time we were done talking but I could also tell she was tired which I know contributed to the melt down. Shortly after a little more on the swing set we went inside for some down time.

Of course I had to take her picture pouting which only made her hide a bit more but that was only before our talk.

Stuff

Man-they lost! But they will win game 2. They have to.

My sister-in-law watches Belle during the day. This has been a good arrangement for us since she was 9 months old and my mom decided she wasn't going to watch her anymore. We pay my SIL (I think pretty well) the same amount every pay check whether she actually watches her or not so that they don't get stuck financially. My SIL really makes out on this deal.

Now I know my girl can be challenging sometimes but really I think she is a pretty good kid. But put her with my SIL's nephew from her side of the family (who is 3) and it is a different story. I think part of it is that Belle likes things to be just so and they should be fair. She likes to get first pick of the toys and so on. Belle doesn't back down when pushed (figuratively or literally) so that creates arguments.

But this little boy is something else. He is unlike any child I have ever heard of or seen. He is truly bad. He knows he is being bad. He is very hyperactive and is just plain crazy. I don't like to say stuff like that about a child. Especially someone else's but this kid......

For example, a very mild example, is while I was just on the phone with SIL I hear him say in the background "I'm gonna kill you". He said this to Belle. SIL makes him apologize and 5 minutes later while I am still on the phone he says it to her again. In my mind I am thinking go get him Belle. Don't take that. But I can't teach her that because I don't want her fighting. But he has been known to hit her across the head with a toy among other physical abuses. He gets in trouble but he really doesn't care. Take something away from him and he truly doesn't care.

I am grateful she is a strong girl who sticks up for herself. But I fear the fights I am going to hear about from school. Maybe not physical fights but verbal.

Add to all of this my husband calls to say he is getting off of work early and he has an attitude. Let's just say a bad attitude. Greeeaaatttt. By the time I get home from work both him and Belle should be good and crabby since he doesn't know how to effectively deal with her sometimes and she is opinionated. I just want to go home to get them separated before they can fight.

Maybe I better stop at the store first and get myself a bell to ring to signal the end of each round.

Tired

I am so tired lately. It is a combination of late night basketball game viewing. Go Team!! (how do you like my super secret team I am rooting for-if you tried really hard you could figure it out but in the interest of safety I won't say it here but I am crazy excited since they are my favorite sport) Plus, just plain old tired.

I need to clean my house.

I need to do things outside.

I need to do my crafty things.

I need to edit my pictures so I can get them off of my camera and actually order prints for my scrapbooks.

I need to edit my videos so my video camera doesn't fill up.

I need to organize better.

I need to eat and exercise better.

I need to get rid of junk lying around the house.

And the list goes on and on. And all I feel like doing is exactly nothing. It has been making me a bad mommy. I don't feel like playing. I don't feel like dancing. I don't feel like going anywhere. I hate that.

Plus I have been just feeling plain old Old. I am sure it has to do with the fact that my niece graduated from high school this past week and just remembering those days of mine. Thinking back to the person I used to be and wondering what happened to her. I used to be fun. I try to be fun now but I don't think I really know how to have fun. Especially with other grown ups. I am fun to Belle but that is about it. And.I.don't.know.why.

Technology

How I wish I understood all that is computer and programming.

I have a hard drive camcorder. I love it except for a few small things.

Mainly, though, it is hard for me to create the dvd's I want to burn. I don't know how to fade in and out from one scene to the next. Let alone add titles and music.

I think I need to get a good burning/dvd creation software. One that will let me easily copy other dvd's and create a new one with all of the cool editing in between.

Anyone have any programs you can recommend?

TV

We need a new TV. We have had our current one for about 8 years.

It blinks a million and one times when you turn it on. Eventually it evens itself out but it takes awhile.

Now once it is turned on it stays on until we go to bed at least on the weekends. During the week we turn it on in the mornings and then again when we get home from work unless someone is there during the day.

What happened to the days when you would have the same TV for 20 years. Or any appliance.

So we have to start researching what is out there. And they are soooooo expensive. It is kind of pointless to get a regular TV at about $600 when you can spend a couple hundred more for a flat panel HD.

But do you get LCD or plasma. And what brand do you get. Are the no name brands just as good? And so on and so on go my questions.

Anyone have any advice? Sadly fixing it is out of the question.

So Very Sleepy

I can't begin to tell you how very sleepy I am.

And my reason.

Basketball.

Watching basketball games until late. Very late. Very much past my bedtime.

Twice this week I went to bed around 12:30am and I get up at 5:00am for work.

What have I been thinking.

But I can't.stop.watching.

All I can say today is (well besides the fact that my roof isn't being done today but I at least know that going in which is a change)

T.G.I.F.

So Discouraged

I haven't felt much like writing anything because frankly my roof has been on my last nerve. After Friday I was promised they would be there Tuesday or Wednesday if the weather was nice. The weather was great yesterday so I figured they would be there. There was no reason for them not to be there.

I made arrangements for my dog once again so he wouldn't be in the house. I call the roofing company around 10am just to check in and had to leave a message. I call back around noon and don't leave a message. Now I am getting suspicious. I call around 1 pm and leave another message. Now I am getting pissed. They changed their voice mail message to say Tuesday May 29th our office hours are 8-5. Still no phone call back.

My sister in law drives past our house around 2:30 and said there is nobody there working on it. WHAT!!

I call the company again and leave a nasty message. I call our sales guy's cell phone and he said he didn't get a phone call back from the office either but he will leave another message on my behalf.

At about 3:56 I got a message on my work phone apologizing but they thought they were coming on Friday and thought I was told that last Friday. That the girl who works in the office is out sick and she is home watching her sick niece.

Now I say if you are going to change your voice mail to that same day but you know there is no one in the office actually taking those calls then why on earth wouldn't you check the messages throughout the day.

I called back again and left another message reiterating the fact that they are about to lose our business.

She called me back at 8:30 last night. I was in the middle of getting Belle to bed so I did not answer it. Now we have to talk about it today.

And unless the weather report changes there is a 50% chance of rain on Friday. So there is a good chance this won't happen on Friday either.

New or Not So Much

I am so frustrated today.

At the end of March we had a price given to us by a roofing company to tear off the existing shingles and put up new. As well as replace our gutters.

We told them that we would be paying with our income tax returns and we would give them our deposit when we received it.

We also told them that we wanted to work to be done the first week of May.

No problem. We can do that. Just let us know when you get your refund money. Etc.

The sales guy gave us "friendly" calls once or twice a week for the three weeks until we got our refund. He then drove to our house the same day we told him and picked up our deposit check.

I have called countless times to get the addresses of houses they have done in certain colors so we could pick a color. That has been like pulling teeth.

The first week of May comes and then goes and we still haven't been given the color references. I keep calling.

We finally get what we are looking for and I call and tell them what color. I ask again about the schedule. I had been told before that they have been really busy because of the rain and winds and people having leaky roofs. I had told them that since ours thankfully wasn't leaking that we are ok with them helping those people but I want to be put on the schedule for the 19th (since originally we were told we had to be there by the sales guy).

I am told they can't do the 19th but they can the week after during the week. I say we won't be home but I am then told we don't need to be. That they do this all the time when people aren't home because of the noise. So I agree a bit reluctantly to be put on the schedule for today May 25th.

I call on Monday of this week to see what time they will be there and how this all works.

I make arrangements to get my dog out of the house for the day so that he doesn't go completely crazy.

Fast forward to this morning at about 9am and I call the roofing company and of course had to leave a message. I say I just want to confirm they are there and wonder if they will still be there when I get off of work, blah blah blah.

I get a phone call back around 9:30 stating they can't do our house today since their job from yesterday ran over and they won't have time today to get to ours. But they promise next Tuesday or Wednesday. UGH>>>>>>

I again voice my frustrations at their scheduling and say that fine put us down but I will have to see if I can make arrangements for my dog again. Keep in mind I was assured on Monday that the only way they wouldn't be at our house is if it rained. It isn't raining! It is quite sunny, in fact.

So the moral of the story is to not be nice and accommodating but to get on the schedule before you hand over any money. I think I am going to ask them to give us some more money off for the hassle. What do you think?

They better be there next week.

Pre-School "Graduation"

Ok. So it wasn't officially a graduation but it may as well have been.

Yesterday I went to work until 9:30 and then drove to her school for her last day of school celebration. And then back to work by 12:00.

It was so cute and I had to choke back the tears more than once.

The teachers had the kids make almost life size pictures of themselves from cut out pieces of construction paper. They painted the pants and shirts to decorate them. They could add stickers if they chose. They had to draw in their faces and glue on yarn hair. They were just adorable. Of course Belle started off the girls with putting nail polish on her picture's finger nails. A couple of others also did it too but Belle was the first girl ever to say she wanted nail polish according to her teacher who was laughing about it.

The kids walked in when their names were called and they shook their teachers hand and they got a certificate.

Then they did a "play" to the book The Seals On The Bus (can't remember who wrote it). There were chairs set up behind a big cutout of a bus that is looked liked the kids decorated with faces in the bus windows. The kids also had masks for each of the animals that were in the story and they would switch out who was sitting in the bus according to the story. Belle was a lamb and did a great job. Then at the end all of the kids were standing behind the bus pretending to be the people on the bus screaming. It was really cute.

They also sang a couple of songs, brought us pieces of cake that they frosted and decorated.

We took pictures with her friends and her teachers and I just wanted to cry. She is growing up so fast......

Yay Me

Ok. Now that I have done it and found that it is really quite easy I am ashamed to say this but....



I figured out how to put a personal type picture on my header. It is way big and needs some tweaking but there is something there that isn't so plain...


Yay.

And who doesn't love a pretty sparkly tiara?????

Finished

Here is the picture of the finished felted bag. It isn't a great picture but hopefully you can get the idea.

Other than this I have got nothing at the moment. Too sleepy from watching basketball and 24 until late last night. Too bad I don't like coffee.....

Where Has The Time Gone

I can't believe it is Monday again so soon. I feel like I am drowning under an ever growing to-d0 list.

My knitted bag is done, felted, and put together. I had taken pictures of it but forgot to get them off of my camera. I will post a picture soon.

I have been trying to teach Belle how to ride her bike without her training wheels. That has been interesting. I can run along side her well enough but my back can't take being bent over that far for that long. And to ask daddy to help was a big mistake. He wanted her to do things his way and when they didn't happen for on half of our driveway he walked away. She was bummed so her and I picked up where we left off. I will just continue to work with her. After her fall and her badly scraped knee she is leery of hurting herself right now.

This is Belle's last week of school. Bye bye pre-school. You have been good to us. We made some presents for her teachers which she will give them on Wednesday, her last day. So far we made pipe cleaner and pom pom flowers in a pot. Of course the directions said that hot glue was the best to use so I pulled out my hot glue gun and we proceeded. Friday night I burned my thumb. Man did that hurt. Then on Saturday Belle burned the tip of her little finger. She was dropping pom poms into the pot and decided for whatever reason she wanted to push one down and ended up getting the glue on her finger. This of course was excuse for whining all day long. Some justifiably and some just fluff whining. On Sunday we put her hand prints on a canvas bag in the shape of a heart. She took fabric markers and wrote I love you on top of the heart and the teacher's name at the bottom. On the other side I had scanned a copy of her self portrait she drew in school and printed it on transfer paper. I then ironed that on. Tonight she needs to writer her name and the year on the back as well as spray the whole thing with glitter spray so that it can dry for 24 hours before we give it to them. I think I will also have her make them bracelets, too.

We have her second to last soccer game tonight and our usual Monday type clean up. There is a little girl on her soccer team that we exchanged phone numbers with so that they can get together to play some time. I have never done a formal play date so this is all new to me. I just wish I had tons of free time so that it wouldn't matter when they called. I also wish my house were always clean and organized so that we could host the play date at a drop of the hat. Since I want to be the house where the kids all go instead of her going to other kids houses as she grows up I had better get my act together.

Anyway, busy at work as well so I had better get a move on.

Happy Monday-yeah right. Is it Friday yet?

Making Progress

I have made a lot of progress on my knitted bag.

As you can see I have knitted the whole bag. I have knitted the i-cord (strap).

Now all I have to do is felt it and put it all together which I will do while doing my laundry this week. It will need to be dried for a couple of days also. So maybe by this weekend the whole thing will be put together. Yeah!

Don't Run With Scissors

We have all heard the warnings. They have been imbedded into our brains.

Don't Run With Scissors. Hold them blade down.

But did you hear you also shouldn't run with flip flops on?

See it is the totally cool and hip thing to do there are countless pairs of flip flops in the house for just the 2 of us girls. (Boys & flip flops or even sandles is a major no no in our house)

Picture the fact that I am trying to run out of the house so that we have a few minutes before Belle's soccer game Saturday morning to make it to the shoe store to find her some proper sandles for the summer.

We go out our side door and she of course runs towards the garage.

I realize it is much cooler out than I thought and tell her to come back in while I grab my jacket. I didn't have time to change my flip flops into warm tennis shoes.

Belle proceeds to run back towards the house with me trying to yell, "don't run. don't run...."

Bam. Down she goes. Inches from me.

I gasp.

She cries while I pick her up to survey the damage.

She managed to scrape her knee on the cement step outside our door as well as bang her ear into the screen door I was holding open for her to get back in.

Pictures taken this morning 2 days after injury. Look closely at the corner of her ear and you can see red/black and blue.

I dropped everything in my hands (her soccer bag, my purse, keys, cell phone, water bottle and who knows what else) and run to the kitchen sink and get a cool wet paper towel so she can hold it on her knee since it is now starting to bleed. I didn't mess with her ear too much since I saw that was not bleeding - thank goodness.

I come back to her and she is freaking out at the amount of blood on the paper towel (not really a lot but just the shape of her wound).

Now I am running back and forth to the bathroom to get a proper size bandaid. I can't find one big enough. UGH>

I finally find one that will work well enough for us to stop at the store to purchase larger ones.

Somehow I get her into the car and we still stop quickly at the shoe store. We find her a pair of cute white and pink straberry shortcake sandals as well as a watch I didn't have the heart to tell her no about and we head to the drugstore. We find our 2 packages of band aids just to be safe and head to her soccer game.

We get there with about a minute to spare and my MIL and SIL are waiting. My MIL is trying to yell to Belle to hurry up and get out there because they will be starting soon. In my head I am thinking shut up-do you know what we just went through-we are not just simply running late!!!! But I smile and we get closer and then they see she is hurt.

I get her chair ready because now I am carrying everything I dropped earlier plus 2 chairs, extra band aids and the arm of my wounded child as she is limping across the field.

So she sits and I re-bandage her up which of course involves a bit of drama since she hates to take off the band aids.

She is all wrapped up, soccer socks on, shin guards on, soccer cleats on and the off she goes into the field.

Don't you know she ran as if there was nothing wrong. She even fell twice. And she scored 4 goals.

What a trooper.

Happy Mothers Day

I had the privilege of going to a Mother's Day Tea at Belle's preschool on Wednesday.

They did such a nice job. She served me punch and Strawberry shortcake. Her class performed a little song.

My mom is special. My mom is special.
Look and see. Look and see.
A very special person. A very special person.
That's Mom-my! That's Mom-my!

It was so cute and brought tears to my eyes. But then again I am a sap like that.

She made the place mat, folded the napkin, made a card, flowers in a jar, and even grew marigold flowers from seeds.

She got up this morning and sang her little song for me again. She is making me another card as we speak and gave me 3 more cards already as well as a wind chime.

Friday WIP

On this fine and beautiful Friday I am sadly stuck inside.

But I wanted to share what I am currently working on.

The picture is a little blurry as I took it with my cell phone at work.

But it will hopefully turn out to look like a bag. A Booga Bag to be exact. (that is the name of the pattern)

I will continue knitting it. Then I will felt it. I can't wait.

I am hoping to finish this over the weekend. We will see...

Oh so Crafty

There are so many people who go to work, go home, maybe read a book, and piddle a bit around their house.

I do a lot of those things as well but I also have a need to be crafty.

I have dabbled in so many different types of crafts that I have lost count.

My current obsessions are my scrapbooks, knitting, sewing, and jewelry making.

I have a spare bedroom in our house that I keep slowing taking over. I love that I can keep a project out on the table that is in there. Even Belle has a small kids table set up next to mine. She loves to paint, draw, make jewelry, play with play do, and so many other things.

I have a hard time understanding how someone can have no desire to have a hobby that lets your creative juices flow. These type of people seem to be out there everywhere but I think they can't possibly be happy. Even if they are super busy they need to have something that is their own that they love to fill in the spare moments.

I may only get a few minutes at a time to work on a project but those moments can be so fulfilling. You get great satisfaction looking at something you made yourself.

You belong in ????

I should have known....

You Belong in 1981

Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day.

What Year Do You Belong In?

Me? A product of the 80's? I never would have guessed it.

These are so fun!

Hot

I am stumbling bumbling for the words to express my feelings in this post.

I am not sure how to say this.

I am not sure where to begin.

I guess I should set the stage.

We are driving. J is the actual driver. I am in the passenger seat. And Belle is in the backseat behind J.

We are all just talking to each other and J says something about being hot.

Belle then tries to tell us a story about what happened at preschool.

I finally figured out that Nicky (boy) whispered in Timmy's ear and Timmy then said out loud what Nicky whispered.

He said, "Belle, you're hot!"

WHAT!!!! THESE KIDS ARE 4 AND 5. THIS IS PRESCHOOL FOR GOODNESS SAKE!

I was at a loss of words. I just couldn't believe it. I chuckled a little and then had to talk to Belle about this.

I told her that is really a grown up thing to say. But what it means is that he thinks she is cute but little kids really shouldn't say it that way.

I knew I had to worry about her when she got older because she is really cute if I must say so myself. And she has the "it" factor. People are always drawn to her. Even her teacher (female) said that say is one of the coolest kids she has taught. And the way she was saying it you could tell she was being sincere.

Heaven help me. Not only am I afraid of the bad attitude she may have as a teenager but now I know for a fact to worry about the boys.

She's hot..... Oh brother......

Surprise

You Have Low Self Esteem 40% of the Time

Generally, you feel pretty darn great about who you are, even when you mess up or fail. Occasionally, a huge setback will make you question yourself, but you pick yourself up quickly.

How is Your Self Esteem?

I took this test from Stepping's post. It is a bit interesting. I was surprised by the answer too.

I always find these things amusing. If you want try it.

WW

I believe I have said it before about joining weight watchers. I just started this session and had my first weigh in yesterday. I kept getting on my scale at home all last week and was feeling pretty good about it.

My weigh in time isn't until lunch time so I had eaten my breakfast and drank some water but all in all it was still good.

I was so excited to see the scale go down by 2.2 pounds for last week. This brings my running total loss to 7.6 lbs.

How exciting! I realize it isn't all that much yet but I hope to keep having that number go up and up.

How To Generate More Traffic

In the spirit of Jennifer's Blog Carnival I am going to post a little something something about how to get more people to see your blog.

Ha. As if I really know anything about that.

All I really know is that it helped me tremendously to comment on other people's blogs. Once I found some that I liked to read myself I just started to post comments. It brought those people back to my site as well as some others.

I get a bit weirded out by the unknown weirdos who may be out there but thankfully I have only met really nice people. Knock on wood I haven't had any bad comments from anyone as well as nothing that has wanted me to password protect my blog.

So that is my great and wonderful advice that no one has been able to live without. hee hee

And I have one more trick
- participate in a blog carnival. ;-)

TGIF

I am so glad it is Friday.

The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend so that is a plus.

I just got 2 free tickets to see Seussical so Belle and I are going to do that tomorrow. I hope she likes it.

She has soccer pictures and a soccer game on Sunday.

J has a fishing tournament on Sunday also and I hope he does really well.

I hope to do some sewing and knitting and hopefully photo editing this weekend also.

My laundry is already just about done. Another plus.

I just can't wait to get this weekend started.

Now I just hope it doesn't go by too quickly...

TV

I realize as I type this that the argument can be made that I watch too much TV. I am not arguing back. I do watch too much.

Thankfully I don't sit in front of the TV all night long every night.

And more often than not I fall asleep while trying to watch. But once it is 8:00-9:00pm on Sunday through Thursday I have shows I like to see. If I miss them, though, I don't worry as my trusty tiv*o box will record them for me.

I try to catch up in the mornings while I am getting ready for work. I fast forward through a lot of the crafty or talk show shows and only watch the parts that interest me.

But what I hate more than anything is if a new show is on and you start to watch it. You get involved in the story line and then without notice it isn't on this week. Or next. Or the week after that. After awhile you start to wonder if you have just missed it. Did they switch days? Or the dreaded is it cancelled thoughts creep in.

There are several shows lately that this has happened to me on. So today I decided to search for the info to know the answer.

I already knew that The Vanishing was taken off but I don't have time to watch the episodes on the computer so that I can know once and for all what happened to the senators wife and was she really who she said she was.

But I found out that Veronica Mars has been cancelled. This was a culty type of show but it was good. Granted not as good as it had been in the past but still good.

I struggled with The Black Donnellys and The Wedding Bells but still got to know the characters.

I am glad that Jericho may have been saved from the cutting room floor as I really like this show.

Also that Friday Night Lights seems that it will be back next year for a second season.

Now granted I have many other shows that I watch such as The Apprentice, Extreme Home Makeover, Dancing with the Stars, American Idal, ER, Lost, Real World and Road Rules Challenges, Greys Anatomy, Ugly Betty, House, and I am sure there are others.

My TV is anything but quiet. There are many a time that I like to leave it turned off on a weekend morning but that only lasts until someone else in the house wakes up.

I just need closure with the shows they get you interested in and then throw out without so much as a goodbye.

Hmmmphf

So last Saturday was my birthday.

I usually don't get excited about my birthday because they tend to be crappy days.

But for the most part Saturday was a pretty good day. I got to spend the morning with Belle since my husband went fishing. She had soccer practice then I planned on taking her to our favorite local ice cream shop that just re-opened Saturday for the summer. So my first bummer part was the fact that my husband came home earlier than expected and was able to go with us. I wouldn't have minded that really but that meant his mom had to come with us. I usually don't care about that either but I was really looking forward to it being just Belle and I.

Then we went home and I still had to clean the bathroom and poop scoop from our little dog. There is just something wrong with dealing with poop on your birthday. But hey someone had to do it if we were going to let people see our bathroom and also play on the grass in the back yard. So that was my second bummer of the day. My husband told me if he had cleaned it that I just would have gone and done it again anyway. As this may be partially true I would have only had to do a double check.

Everyone came over and we all had a good time but again it was up to me to get out all of the food and then clean up. Nobody really helped. I couple people offered but at that point I was almost done. I even tried to leave some stuff in the sink but no one stepped up to take over. The only dishes I wanted to wash were my good serving pieces. But other than that it was free game. Sadly I don't have a dishwasher.

All in all I had a good birthday. Nearly perfect. It just is such a downer for me because I get such mixed emotions going. I don't like to be the center of attention but yet it would be so nice if I was just pampered and had something truly special done for me. Maybe someday that will happen.

My birthday has also lighted the fire under me to get a move on with my weight loss efforts. I am really trying to be a good little ww member and write down my foods. I would love to lose 25 pounds by the time Belle goes to kindergarten. I realize that is a lofty goal but a girl has to aim high. Yesterday I did pretty good and I am trying to do even better today. We will see how it goes.

Tragedy

My heart goes out to all students and parents today. Especially those involved in today's events.

I can't even imagine and I don't want to.

It is so very sad. And scary.

Flying Saucers

Belle and I were in a store shopping on Saturday.

She is being silly and loudly saying things like, "Mommy, watch out there is a bear behind you"
and "Mommy, watch out there is a lion over there that is going to get you. Watch out!"

And then, "Mommy, watch out there is a flying saucer over your head!"

I of course crack up.

I ask her if she knows what a flying saucer is.

She tells me, "It is something that flies spilling sauce"

I stop right there in the store and give her a great big hug and tell her how much she makes me laugh and that her description makes total sense but that is not what a flying saucer is.

I tell her it is like a spaceship that carries aliens. I also ask her if she knows what an alien is.

Oh boy because she doesn't know what an alien is. And without wanting to go into the whole what is life thing and how it may be possible we are the only planet with life but then again we may not be and aliens may just be something people have made up in their minds and in movies. But you definitely don't want to be abducted by them just in case they are real and they really do perform tests on us mere humans since we may or may not be smarter than aliens. blah blah blah.

I just asked her if she remembered the movie where "hitch" (will smith) was in a different movie that he had to get the bad monsters (aliens) and wore a black suit. Thankfully (or not) she remembered even though I didn't let her watch that whole movie (too many guns) and then it was smooth sailing from there.

Who knows what she really got out of that but I know I got a great memory. My girl definitely cracks me up (in a great way)!

Frustrated

I am so frustrated with my little craft project. It was a sewing project that I was quite excited about until I got into it.

You see I have never used fusible interfacing before and let me tell you I am not liking it so far.

I fused it to the proper side.

I then pinned my pieces together.

I tried to sew the front and the back together.

This is where the problems start. My thread keeps bunching up and breaking.

I have to rip it all out and I just had to step away.

UGH>>>>

Happy Easter

What a great weekend. I got most of my lists finished. Had time to enjoy things.

And most importantly my girl had so much fun as did the other kids.

We had some bad weather which forced the egg hunt inside which turned out to be fun. Except when someone broke the ceramic on my double crock pot. At least it wasn't something I use very often. I can probably do without it.

When I asked Belle what her favorite part of the day was she told me it was the egg hunt with a huge smile on her face and her shoulders pulled up in excitement. I guess it didn't hurt that she found the "golden" egg worth a prize of $10.

Cute Story

Yesterday morning Belle woke up too early. I was up already but she still had a little while to sleep.

So I went upstairs but left the lights turned off so I wouldn't wake her up more.

I go to sit on her bed and grab her because she was crying a bit since I didn't hear her right away (I was washing dishes and didn't hear much of anything else).

I am groping around trying to find her and I am saying, "Where are you? I can't see you." in a silly kind of voice.

She gets on my lap and puts both of her little hands on my face and says, "mommy, I'm right here."

It was just so cute I couldn't stand it.

Gratitude Friday

I wish I had a picture to go with this little story but I don't and that is ok.

As you know I have been sick all week. I am very grateful that I have not had a fever, though. A fever stops me in my tracks.

I am grateful that I have been able to accomplish the following from my spring cleaning list:

Main Bathroom:
-clean tub
-clean light fixture

Upstairs Bathroom:
-clean toilet
-clean sink
-clean mirror
-vacuum

Basement Bathroom:
-clean toilet
-clean sink
-clean mirror
-sweep floor
-mop floor

Basement
-sweep
-mop
-straighten up
-wash all clothes

Upstairs
-change sheets
-make beds
-vacuum

Living Room
-straighten up
-clean glass curio

Dining Room
-clean glass light fixture
-replace light bulbs

Craft/Guest Room
-clean ceiling fan
-clean light

Belle's Room/Play Room
-straighten up
-organize
-clean ceiling fan
-clean light

Kitchen
-put up key hooks
-wash counters
-wash top of microwave
-wash inside of microwave
-clean window
-clean fan
-clean light

So overall I think that is pretty good. Some things I am purposely saving for tonight and tomorrow so they are freshly done for Easter. Some things won't get done this week but that is ok.

And I am most grateful for my daughter laying her hand on mine last night and telling me she will take good care of me always. So sweet!!

p.s. I am always glad it is Friday!!!

So Much To Do - So Little Time

Why oh why do I do this to myself. I host Easter at my house. Generally the weather is nice enough for our easter egg hunt outside and then we hide the kids baskets around my house. We eat dinner and just hang out.

But.....

I also use this as my excuse to do my spring cleaning. So I go beyond the normal cleaning my house would need to be more than presentable.

Warning: boring list you can totally skip if you want.

I have made the following list by room of items I need to complete by Saturday (preferably Friday). Did I mention I work full time also?!

Main Bathroom:
-clean tub
-clean sink
-clean toilet
-clean walls
-sweep floor
-scrup floor
-replace moulding around tub
-clean light fixture
-dust curtains
-clean mirrors
-clean window

Upstairs Bathroom:
-clean toilet
-clean sink
-clean mirror
-vacumm

Basement Bathroom:
-clean toilet
-clean sink
-clean mirror
-clean shower
-sweep floor
-mop floor

Basement
-sweep
-dust
-mop
-straighten up
-wash all clothes
-clean tables

Upstairs
-change sheets
-make beds
-clean windows
-straighten up
-dust
-vacumm
-clean ceiling fan

Living Room
-dust
-vacumm
-straighten up
-wash blankets
-clean windows
-clean glass curio

Dining Room
-clean glass patio doors
-dust
-sweep floor
-mop floor
-put up pictures
-touch up paint
-put away mail
-put away shoes
-change mat
-put away shelf stuff
-clean glass light fixture
-replace light bulbs

Craft/Guest Room
-straighten up
-dust
-put up shelves
-put up shelf curtains
-vacumm
-clean windows
-clean ceiling fan
-clean light

Belle's Room/Play Room
-straighten up
-organize
-get rid of small clothes/shoes
-get rid of toys
-dust
-vacumm
-clean windows
-clean ceiling fan
-clean light

Kitchen
-put up key hooks
-get and put up magazine type rack
-wash counters
-fix tiles behind sink
-wash top of microwave
-wash inside of microwave
-wash sink
-wash stove
-wash cabinets
-sweep floor
-mop floor
-clean steps
-put out Easter towels
-put out Easter rug
-change deep fryer oil
-empty recycle stuff
-clean out refrigerator
-clean out freezer
-clean window
-clean fan
-clean light


Then I need to do some set up work so that I am not crazy on Easter:
-put out plates
-put out cups
-put out silverware
-get out ice bucket
-get serving plates out and set up
-thaw bunny cakes
-decorate bunny cakes
-slice cucumbers
-make veggie dip
-put up spare table and table cloth
-put out candy
-peel & cut potatoes
-stuff baskets
-hide baskets
-stuff 500 plastic eggs
-scatter plastic eggs
-make deviled eggs
-color Easter eggs


So if anyone is still reading this I commend you. I am really just trying to get my game plan in order. What should I do on each day to accomplish this long list. I know it won't all get done and a lot of it is extra spring cleaning stuff but I would love to accomplish this list. Once this list is done I can relax for the summer. Plus my birthday is 2 weeks after Easter so everyone will be back at my house. If I can get this list done I won't have to do much at all for my birthday which is a bonus.

I am also trying my best to fight off a cold. UGH>

I shall overcome!! hee hee

High School Plays

My niece is in her high school's play which started last night. She is in 2 a year and I try to go to them all.

Since she is a senior this year, (I have no idea how that happened) I felt I had to go last night (since it is free for the immediate family on Wednesday.

It started at 7:00 but I got there at about 7:15. Oops.

It is just Belle and I since J wouldn't go. He is such a party pooper but god forbid someone doesn't go to something of Belle's. But that is another story.

Anyway, we get there and it already started so we try to sneak in quietly so as not to disturb others.

I find a door that is open and we go through. I am in front.

Wow it was soooooo dark that I couldn't see anything in front of me. Even with my new & improved eyesight. I take a few steps and ouch. I twist my ankle on steps that I had no idea were there. So now I take Belle's hand and we are gingerly stepping in front of us so we don't tumble down the stairs. There were probably 6 steps. Why wouldn't they have any little lights on them.

We make it to our seats that were a bit too close. And we watch and we wait.

Where is she?

This goes on until 8:45 and my niece was hardly in it. I knew she didn't have a huge role this time but come on.

We brought her a few really pretty pink roses so we saw her afterward long enough to give her the flowers and for her to see us.

And then we hightailed it out of there to get home. I was missing some good TV after all.

Belle fell asleep on the way home too.

She should be good and crabby today which will really stink since my SIL who is supposed to be watching her got called in to work at one of the schools today (something she does maybe once a week when she isn't supposed to be watching Belle). So my SIL dropped her off at another family friend's house. I am not liking this arrangement but I had to go to work and didn't have much choice in it (again another story for another time).

Is it time to go home yet? I want this day to be over. I am tired and just a tad freaked out (even though I know I shouldn't be).

Cows

I was wracking my brain yesterday to try to remember what it was that I wanted to blog about. I knew I had an idea. I even thought at the time I have to remember this because this is something that needs to be documented. But I couldn't remember to save my life.

Then last night at Belle's dance class another mom said something that turned on my light bulb.

We were driving the other day (Belle and I) and she says to me, "The cow's private parts feel funny. I don't like it."

Me giggling I try to say something but it comes out all mumbled.

She then proceeds to tell me that it is rough but the part above it is soft.

I am trying so hard not to out right laugh. I am after all trying to encourage her to tell me anything and everything.

I had to ask her which part was the cows private part and she told me it was the part where the milk comes out.

So I tried to explain that it wasn't really their private parts. That it is a little different because it was a milking cow and that is how we get our milk. But technically that isn't true.
Anyway, she said she is NOT milking a cow again.

Of course in my head I am saying, "You just remember that feeling until you are much, much, much older"

Dinosaurs

Belle has been learning about dinosaurs this week in school.

I asked her what they learned. She tells me that they are dead now because it got too cold and then too hot.

Okay.

And the rest of the conversation went like this:

Me-Were people there with the dinosaurs?

Belle-No.

Me-Do you think dinosaurs are interesting?

Belle-Yes.

Me-Do you know what interesting means?

Belle-No.

Me-Do you want to learn more about dinosaurs?

Belle-No.

Me-What do you like to learn about?

Belle-Animals.

Me-Do you know dinosaurs were animals?

Belle-Yes, but I want to learn about cows, pigs, horses, and sheep. Will you pretend to be a cow or a sheep or a pig and I can ride around on your back?

Me-How do you ride around on a pig?

Belle-We just pretend. Can we?

Me-Maybe on a day I stay home with you.

Belle-Ok....

Oh boy. I guess I will be oinking and mooing a lot this weekend.

It Shouldn't Be This Hard

It is getting worse before it is getting better.

I don't know what to do.

It is sad that I am crying in the shower this morning because of the stress.

I am praying for an uneventful day.

I wish I could go into details but I am afraid the wrong people may see it.

I just needed to let a little emotion out before the day really got started.

Who Knew She Would Get It

There have been things I have encountered as Belle has been growing up that I never thought kids had to learn.

I was so surprised that one day in her dance class that the girls did not know how to skip. They had to be taught.

But all kids skip. They just know how to do it.

When you think about it skipping is a little complex. It isn't like running that comes naturally from walking...

So imagine my surprise that kids need to learn to get a sense of humor.

But they are already funny.

They think we are hilarious. (most of the time)

When I had her teacher conference for pre-school they mentioned that she is a great girl with a great personality and is really getting it when you tell her jokes.

I have been thinking about that. I hadn't really noticed a difference because I have always joked with her. Partially to be silly but also partially to get her to think for herself.

For example we would always joke about worms. I would say gross and I'm not touching those and things of that nature. She would just laugh at me and try to convince me that they just tickle in your hand.

While we were on our road trip we were looking at fish in an aquarium.

I said, "Look that one looks gold. Or silver. Maybe it is silver and gold"

She sings, "Silver and gold, Silver and gold"

And I start cracking up.

I ask her if she remembers what that was from.

Her response with a bit of please mom of course I know, "Rudolph"

I grab her and hug her and go on and on about how she got it.

We were both laughing so hard people were looking at us but I didn't care. I will never see those people again anyway.

Weather

The weather here yesterday was very warm. 74 degrees to be exact-ish.

Let's just say that is very unusual for us in March.

It was sunny and warm and wonderful.

Belle had a field trip to a farm that daddy and I went on.

So we spent the morning there which was a perfect day for it. Belle even tried to milk a cow which was surprising. She sometimes will shy away from things she is unsure of so I was very proud of her for being brave and touching it.

We then took her out to lunch. Her and I got pancakes while J got lunch type food. We had a great time all around.

When we were home we cleaned up the yard (from the dog frequenting it all winter-yuck) and she was able to play on her swing set for a while.

Belle and I went for a short walk as it was getting late but the child cannot walk next to you. Anywhere. She kept running in front of me or just generally walking in front of me. I told her that I didn't want to walk with her if she wasn't going to walk next to me. And her response was,
"But mom, I am the leader."

So there it is. Finally. The real reason she treats us like her peeps. She is the leader. And some days that is probably and sadly true.

We also tye-dyed some socks pink. She was so excited to have on rubber gloves and get to stir the socks in the plastic container in the sink.

All in all it was a great day (being away from work made it that much sweeter)!

Road Trip

We took a road trip over the weekend to a Bass Pro Shop store. Which for my husband meant many hours of shopping for fishing items which is what he loves.

For Belle and I it meant many hours of shopping in the mall.

This is the first year she got to walk on her own and I must say she did really well. She has a tendency to try to wander off to look at something or to walk in front of me as if I were her entourage.

Before we left she thought of bringing her small baby doll stroller so that she could push it in the mall. I had told her we would see but in my head I was thinking this is a great bargaining source as well as keeping her by me with something to do. My husband on the other hand was totally against it. He kept saying what a bad idea it was.

But we brought it and on Saturday she got to push it to her hearts delight. We only had a couple of instances where she got out of control with it. And once where she bumped into a man with it and didn't say anything to him. When I asked her why she didn't tell him she was sorry she said because he was a stranger. I can't argue with that theory.

I bought myself a pair of boring shoes but they are pink which made them cute in my book. I bought some clothes for Belle and she bought all sorts of stuff at the Sanri* (Hello Kit*y) store. I even snuck in a few things from there to put in her Easter basket. The funny thing is she bought a travel size toothbrush to use in the hotel. But we had left it in the car so she didn't get to use it. She also bought a cute pink lipstick. When we got home we were looking through all of her stuff and we opened the toothbrush and lipstick. As I was looking at the toothbrush with scrunched eyebrows trying to figure it out she tells me that the lipstick doesn't work too good. As I figure out the toothbrush I take a look at the lipstick. Perhaps if I had read the label I would have found out that they were both erasers. Needless to say we were cracking up.

Anyway I am supposed to be off of work all week but I am not going to waste all of the time if we are not doing anything. I am going in for about part of the time. The rest I am still taking off to try to keep my sanity and take a break from that grind.

The weekend was fun but of course too fast.

Harassment

What does it mean to be harassed?

I would really like to know.

I would like to know how someone else can't see that they are harrassing you.

But what do you do?

There isn't much to be done since there is no backup.

It isn't sexual.

It is just harrassing.

And.it.is.exhausting.

Oh Yeah - Cold Update

Thanks for my well wishes. I am still sick but not really feeling bad. But for the past few days I have laryngitis. It is fun trying to answer the phone with no voice.

Pre-School Parent Conferences

Dum Dum Dum (sounds ominous)

It was time to find out exactly how Belle was doing in school. I have had my concerns for her school performance.

She is very smart. But doesn't like to take the time to get things right. Gets easily frustrated and gives up.

Socially I think she does just fine. She likes other kids and likes to play. My concerns here is she will be one of the mean popular girls. But she tells me about her squabbles at school and I tried to guide her the best I can to be able to stand up for herself in a manner that will earn her respect and like ability. Something I am not sure I was able to pull off myself in school. And she will try what I suggest which is saying a lot.

First her teacher sent home a copy of the review format they used:

Social Skills: Good (She gets a check mark for all of the items listed here as she is able to do them and does them without direction)
-participates during circle time
-listens when others talk
-shares materials and takes turns
-cooperative in group activities
-plays with two or more children
-has good self confidence
-listens and follows multi-step directions

Reading Readiness: Good (again gets check marks for all items)
-can print own name
-enjoys stories
-uses sentences when speaking (on this she got a usually which means sometimes she opts to try to give a short answer instead of using a full sentence)
-contributes ideas
-recites alphabet
-recognizes letters
-can relate to own words and drawings

Math Readiness: (again gets check marks for all items)
-can count up to 28
-recognizes 1-10 (sometimes confuses 6 & 8 but can recite to 20)
-matches numerals with objects
-understands patterns (nice)

Others: (Nice Job!) (again gets check marks for all items)
-colors
-shapes
-body parts
-enjoys art projects
-holds scissors properly
-can cut on lines
-holds crayons and pencil properly
-small muscle coordination (painting, puzzles, drawing)
-large muscle coordination (hopping, skipping, jumping)
-My favorite thing to do in preschool is play with the babies. (this was her reply to the question)


Then her teacher wrote this about her:
Belle is a sweet young lady with a great personality. She has grown up quite a bit even since September. She seems more sure of herself and is more independent. Her listening skills, comprehension skills and language skills are all developing nicely.

Belle is friendly and helpful. She enjoys playing with a nice group of friends - especially with the kitchen area and the dolls. They enjoy pretending.

Continue working with her and reading to her. Ask questions-have her tell the story back to you or tell you what happened in a short TV show.

Expose her to groups of children with summer activities. Keep her busy-she'll continue to grow. I am sure she will have a great year next year.

Thanks for sharing her with us-we've enjoyed having her in class.

They also included a picture she drew of herself back in September which was basically a head with arms and legs coming out of it. Then another picture of herself done at the end of January. What a difference. She now has a body and all around a better head, hair, arms, legs, and all.
Plus she had to draw things she likes to see. She drew a princess which I personally think she did great on. As well as grapes, blueberries and a carrot. All of which looked like they were supposed to. Maybe I have a budding artist on my hands. When we went for her kindergarten assessment/registration she had to draw something she likes and she drew a lady bug. And they knew just what it was because you could tell.

My little girl is all I hoped she would be. I just knew she was brilliant. Plus her teacher said she does not get frustrated at school and they can tell that she sits herself down and really tries her hardest. Maybe she is hearing me say that is all that matters.

She is growing up so fast........

Damn

My Belle is a bit petite I guess you could say. She is just now getting big enough to fit into a booster seat at the ripe old age of 5.

We have had our eye on a particular model.

I liked it because it got great reviews for safety and comfort and she liked it because it had the princesses on it.

So I have been trying to find it so that I can purchase this seat.

I

can't

find

it

anywhere.

I decided I was going to call the manufacturor (Graco) and see what they can tell me.

It.Has.Been.Discontinued.And.Is.No.Longer.Available.UGH>

I asked if any stores may still have them and he said possibly but he doubts it since it was very popular. Since it was so popular I asked if they would be coming back out with it.

And his answer

That is up to Di&ney not us.

Double UGH>>

Back to the drawing board.