2005-08-11

7:58 a.m.

i need to start going to bed earlier. i have to get up at 3:45am for work, but haven't been going to bed until 10:30 or 11-ish, and it's really catching up with me. yesterday, i just could not keep my eyes open after i got home at 9am. the kids kept saying "mommy, are you sleeping?" and i actually answered that annoying adult phrase "no, i'm just resting my eyes."

the problem is the kids have been going to bed later during the summer, usually around 9. the last thing i want to do after i put them down is go right to bed, so i usually watch crappy tv (redundant) and wind down for a while. hopefully, when we get back on a school bedtime schedule, i can go to bed a little earlier.

i find that i'm really enjoying this blogging thing. it's a good outlet, and i like writing more than i thought i did. in fact, i'm seriously considering taking a writing class at the community center this fall. we'll see.

2005-08-10

7:33 a.m.

had a ton of fun last night at Married Babe's Night Out. talking, laughing, and chocolate-- it doesn't get any better than that. the best part, though, was that in addition to the usual cast of characters, someone thought to invite 4 other women who i haven't seen in forever. it's crazy how you lose touch with people when your kids go off to different elementary schools or choose to participate in different activities. anyway, it was great to see these women, and we just spent 3 and a half hours laughing our heads off. i'm sure we totally irritated everyone else in the restaurant.

registered the kids for school yesterday. there's good news and some irritating news. the good news is KidOne got the new, male first-grade teacher. i think it will be a really good experience for him to have a man for a teacher. the principal (who everyone loves)said "you are so lucky" when i told him whose class KidOne is in. that made me feel good.

BUT.........there is not one kid from his kindergarten class in his first grade class. how is that possible? not one boy or girl from last year is in his class this year! (i know, i'm repeating myself) i know i have more of a problem with this than KidOne will. i'm sure he will have a new best buddy by the end of the first day.

the other annoying thing is that there is another KidOne in his class. mind you, there are only 2 KidOne's in the entire first grade (4 classes) and they put them in the same class. i find that extremely irritating. but despite these minor annoyances, i am really excited about the teacher he got.

the other thing that got me going yesterday was soccer. i'm already not looking forward to the season, because both kids decided to play, and that means two different teams, two to four different practices per week, and at least two games per week. i'm exhausted just thinking about it! but on top of that, KidTwo didn't get on the team we requested. we asked that she be put on a team with a pal from pre-school. abby is going to a different public school, so her mom (who is coaching the team) and i thought it would be a good way for them to continue to see each other. long story short, KidTwo was placed on a different team. the level of tantrum that is likely to result when i share this piece of news with KidTwo is likely to be legendary. again....ANNOYED!

really, i'm a lot like a toddler. i don't like it when things happen in a way i didn't envision them happening.

2005-08-09

6:30 a.m.

today i register both of my babies for school. i am way more stressed about it than they are. i can't believe that KidOne is headed for first grade, and KidTwo will be starting kindergarten. i'm actually more nervous about KidOne beginning first grade. i don't want him to be gone from 8:30-3:30! i think he's a little nervous about being gone all day, too. although he is psyched about his buzz lightyear lunchbox and the prospect of eating in the cafeteria. i just want him to like school. i remember not liking school from a fairly young age, and i hope my kids have a different experience. KidTwo is ready to take kindergarten by storm.

i have received my instructions from both children regarding my behavior at school. KidOne says i am not allowed to kiss or hug him in front of his friends....i have to do it before we get in the car at home. KidTwo says i am allowed to hug and kiss her at school, but only in the hallway, not in her classroom. she also informed me that i am allowed to cry on the first day of kindergarten, but not in front of her teacher. i told her i couldn't make any promises.

mom's night out was fun last night....a lot of laughing and a little chocolate. a delightful combination!

tonight it's Married Babe's Night Out with another group of moms. more laughing and more chocolate. life is good!

2005-08-08

5:53 a.m.

It's a very social week for me.

Tonight is my monthly Mom's Night Out. Tomorrow night, it's Married Babe's Night Out. Should be a good time. They don't usually fall in the same week. P probably won't be thrilled about that, but he'll be gone quite a bit over the next month or so with the start of school, so I figure I better take my time while I have the chance.

took the kids miniature golfing for the first time yesterday. despite being uncomfortably hot and humid, the kids had a great time. KidOne said it was "awesome." he actually got a hole-in-one on the 18th hole.

then we went bowling. both kids got a spare. they love it when all the pins go down.

all in all, a fun weekend, and some fun stuff ahead this week. life is good.

2005-08-08

5:50 a.m.

i'm listening to "Morning Edition" and watching tv and am totally bummed about peter jennings. he was a great newscaster, one i've studied to try to improve my on-air skills. lung cancer sucks. i mean, jennings was just diagnosed in april. it was the same way with my father-in-law. pete was diagnosed one january, and he was gone in june (on my husband's 40th birthday). and it wasn't a pleasant way to go. pete was in excruciating pain much of the time. life really isn't fair sometimes.

2005-08-07

10:45 a.m.

i don't usually have the opportunity to "add an entry" on the weekend, so even though i don't really have anything to say, i'm going to go for it.

spent the day yesterday in Indy...first the children's museum, then dinner, then the disny store. we had a good day.

today, we're going miniature golfing and bowling. more fun than a family of four should be allowed to have.

just realized this is the most boring entry to date.

maybe there's a reason i don't normally "add an entry" on the weekend.

2005-08-05

7:25 a.m.

the worst part of my job is announcing the weather. i feel like i would do better to just throw a dart at a weather-board or spin a weather wheel. it drives me nuts when i announce all morning mostly cloudy with a chance of rain, and then by the afternoon, the national weather service has decided that, in fact, it's going to be mostly sunny and beautiful. how does that happen? is meteorology such an inexact science, or are all of the weather people just sitting in a room somehwere laughing at us?

it's funny what is important to kids. last night it was about 9:30 and we were trying to get the munchkins to bed. zoe pretty much went upstairs right away, but max insisted he had something really important to do (there was much brow-furrowing and foot-stamping involved, as well as the exclamation "daddy, just let me do my work!"). P told him that if he didn't go upstairs right then, he wouldn't be able to read any Harry Potter. max said that was o.k. wih him, which is a big deal, because he's been obssessed with HP recently. so i left max downstairs to do his "important thing" while i put zoe to bed. turns out, what he wanted to do was write down on a piece of paper the day that the loonatics was premiering on TV. (the loonatics are very strange looking, kind of super-hero-ish looney tunes) he spent about 5 minutes making this sign, then he took a rubber band, made a "scroll," and put it on the table next to his bed. he said "thanks for letting me do that. it was very important. you're the best mommy ever." let me tell you, in the past i've done a lot more for him for a lot less enthusiastic response. very strange, but very sweet.

2005-08-04

8:25 a.m.

not much going on.....

happy to report that the kids were MUCH better yesterday when they played with A. maybe there is hope they won't become little hooligans. zoe said "I'm being your sweet girl today."

let's see how long it lasts.....

2005-08-03

6:32 a.m.

ok, so i owe a big apology to A (the 12-year-old babysitter mentioned in the previous entry). apparently, my children ARE little monsters. all along, i was thinking it was her lack of experience babysiting and the fact that she was an only child that was contributing to her difficulties babysitting my children. in reality, it's the fact that my kids are complete loons that's causing the stress.

yesterday, max and zoe were in the backyard swimming in the ol' inflatable pool. A came over to join them. i then spent the next 2 hours opening and closing the sliding glass door to scold max and zoe. they were jumping on A, spitting water in her face, Zoe hit her a couple of times and kicked her in the butt at least once. on top of this, they were screaming bloody murder most of the time. not happy fun kid yelling, but nerve-racking high volume screaming. not fun.

so the whole thing came to an end after i said "if either of you jump on A again, you're going inside for the day." less than 2 minutes later, they were BOTH on her back at the same time. but, despite my clear warning, they were both completely shocked when i pulled the plug on the pool and sent them inside. i sent them to their rooms, and to make them even more miserable insisted they clean their rooms before they could come back downstairs. i then proceeded to go downstairs, do some deep breathing, and count to about one thousand.

i tried to think of a way to express my dismay about their behavior in terms they could understand. so i said "what if i told you that you were going to have a playdate tomorrow and that the kid was going to come over and hit you and kick you and spit water in your face and jump on your back and scream bloody murder? does that sound like fun?" they both insisted that it did not sound like fun. then i pointed out that those were all things they had done to A that afternoon.

did it have any effect? i hope so, but i didn't see any lightbulbs going off over their heads.

sorry, A.

2005-08-02

5:43 a.m.

12-year-old babysitters: God's gift to moms or more trouble than they're worth?

i tend to lean toward the gift side of this conundrum, but sometimes i wonder. our next-door neighbor, A, has just started babysitting this summer. and right now, she's only allowed to babysit for my 2 munchkins. which for the most part has been wonderful and convenient. she is very eager to babysit, even with 30 minutes notice. she is very nice to the kids (too nice, maybe) and plays games and watches the shows they like etc.

here's the problem......first, she's 12. second, she's an only child, so she's never had to negotiate or control a younger sibling.

when she first started babysitting, she would call 3 or 4 times during the few hours she was with the kids. most of the calls centered around things like "KidTwo wants candy. how many pieces can she have?" so we had a heart to heart about handling small decisions, and only calling when it was really needed. slowly, the "KidTwo wants candy" calls stopped. but then, last week she was with the kids, and apparently they were acting like little hooligans. she was so fed up, she actually told them to go to their rooms.....but they refused to go! this went on for some time before i came home. but even though she had lost complete control of the situation, she didn't call. thereafter followed another talk about appropriate times to call.

fast forward to yesterday.....both kids were "hurt" (one stepped on a lego, the other bonked her cheek on something). after which followed 3 or 4 frantic calls to my cell phone (so many, that initially i couldn't get through to her because she was so busy calling me). by the time we talked, maybe five minutes later, the kids were all better, but A was crying.

i think we'll give her a break for a few days.

2005-08-01

8:26 a.m.

let's see.what's new?

i've been so busy with work (both radio and quiz writing) that i have not had a spare moment to write. we had a pretty good weekend. KidTwo wasn't feeling well, so P declared saturday "KidTwo day," which basically meant she laid on the couch all day watching "saved by the bell" on DVD. KidOne had a birthday party to go to, so P took him to the movie theater for that while KidTwo and i hung out together at home. one good thing about sick kids is that they usually enjoy two activities, cuddling and napping, both of which i am a great fan of as well.

P and i went to a wedding yesterday. can't express just how much i dislike weddings. you're basically trapped at a table for 3 hours. and we were seated with people we had never met before. they were very nice people, but it's somewhat of a chore to keep up the small talk for that long.

but the kids were good for the babysitter, so that's a plus. she watched them on friday, and they were little terrors. so bad, that when she decided they needed to go to their rooms, they refused. poor 12-year-old only child. she has no experience negotiating such situations. so basically, before we left for the wedding on sunday, i let the little wackos know that if they didn't behave they would be banished to their rooms for an undetermined amount of time with nary a stuffed animal to cuddle with.

sometimes threats work.

2005-07-27

9:13 p.m.

didn't have a chance to update this morning. we had some major storms in the area last night, and that meant lots of work at the station this morning. on the up-side, we did not lose power, and, after some initial fussing, KidTwo did not freak out because of the thunder and lightning. and it was a pretty fierce storm.

we lost the softball championship game yesterday...in a really crappy way, too. after leading the entire game, we lost it in the bottom of the 7th. you gotta hate that. oh well.....

today, the kids had their yearly check-ups. poor KidTwo, she had to get three shots in her legs (for kindergarten). it made her very sad. but a trip to the mall for some dippin' dots, candy from the candy store, and a new hello kitty backpack for kindergarten did the trick. that sounds really bad.

2005-07-26

7:44 a.m.

busy morning at work....lots of stories to write up (mostly because the new afternoon guy totally missed 3 or 4 stories yesterday--oh well).

had the most nerve-racking playdate ever yesterday afternoon. my friend's son was completely wacky and out of control. at one point, he was standing over KidTwo screaming at her. usually she wouldn't take that, but i think she was so caught off guard that she didn't know what to say, so i intervened (you know, the whole mother lion thing). I was never happier to see a parent arrive to claim their kid. i'm dropping KidOne and KidTwo off at a friend's house this afternoon, and rest-assured I will implore (threaten) them to be on their best behavior.

2005-07-25

6:32 a.m.

saw the new charlie and the chocolate factory movie this weekend. enjoyable, but i have to say my loyalty is still with the original. i was surprised, though, because i thought johnny depp would really get on my nerves, but he was actually one of the best parts of the movie. i thought charlie was adorable, too. the idea for the oompa-loompas was cool, but the original orange-faced little people are way better!

are girls born indecisive? KidOne and KidTwo both had some birthday money, so we headed to the toy store to make a purchase or two. KidOne (my 7-year-old boy) knew exactly what things he wanted to look at, and quickly made a decision. KidTwo (my 5-year-old girl) wandered aimlessly around the store, looked at and touched about 5 billion things, said over and over again "i'll keep that in mind," until i thought my head was about to explode. she finally settled (to my dismay) on a barbie mommy and child. it's not just the toy thing, though. decisions most times seem almost painful for her.

Me: "Do you want a bologna sandwich or fish sticks for lunch?"

KidOne: "Bologna sandwich with cheese and mayo, please"

KidTwo: "What else can i have?"

Me: "I'm offering a bologna sandwich or fish sticks."

KidTwo: "Why can't i have pizza rolls?"

Me: "We don't have pizza rolls. Choose between a bologna sandwich or fish sticks."

KidTwo: "I don't want either!" (picture lip quivering and face turning increasingly red)

Me: "KidTwo, if you have a fit, you're going in time out. just make a decision."

KidTwo: (now crying and yelling) "I don't like either of those things! I want something else!"

Me: (a little red-faced myself by now, probably not crying, but you never know) "Go to the stairs and when you calm down, come back and tell me what you want for lunch."

KidTwo: "NO!"

Me: "1.......2..............3"

KidTwo: (as she heads to time-out) "NO!"

approximately 5 minutes later.........

KidTwo: (very sweetly) "Mommy, can i come out now?"

Me: "Are you done with your fit?"

KidTwo: "Yes"

Me: "Ok, you can come back. What do you want for lunch?"

Z: "A bologna sandwich, but cut it into 2 big triangles and not 4 small ones... and put it on my sparkly princess plate....and i want strawberry milk in my princess cup....and i want to eat it on the special tray in the family room....and i need some potato chips with it."

Me: (giant sigh)

that's basically the template for a dozen conversations a day concerning choices KidTwo must make.....is it a girl thing? i am definitely more indecisive than my husband. am i passing it on to KidTwo? i try to make it easier for her by offering 2 equally acceptable options or, when it comes to things like her clothes, pretty much letting her choose what she wants to wear....but it seems to get more difficult....i can't decide what the problem is (ahhhhhhhh........)

2005-07-22

7:32 a.m.

i am wiped out again today. we lost power last night, for the second time this week. KidTwo was not happy. P and i are getting a little irritated. we'e lived in this house for over 5 years, and until recently we'd only lost power a couple of times. now, in the last 4 weeks, we've lost power 3 times. and the worst part is that all three times, the houses across the street had power. now that's just not fair! P is ready to bust some heads at the power company.

we did play our softball game last night. it was very HOT, but we won. now we play in the championship game. did i mention....it's going to be 100 degrees on tuesday?

not sure what we're up to this weekend. maybe a movie with the babies.

2005-07-21

2:56 p.m.

KidTwo's fear of storms just seems to be getting worse. last night we had a storm that knocked out the power for a while, beginning around midnight. she and KidTwo both freaked, so we brought them in our bed. KidOne proceeded to fall asleep immediately and stayed that way until morning. KidTwo, however, fussed and whined for an hour or so, then the power came back on, but she was still afraid of the rain and wouldn't go to sleep. so i took her in her room and climbed in bed with her. she still wouldn't calm down and wanted to go back to my bed. then i remembered something my dad used to do with me when i couldn't sleep. he would tell me to think about something nice, or something fun i had done. so KidTwo and i started talking about our trip to disneyworld about a year and a half ago. and guess what?? it worked!!! i don't remember falling asleep, but the next thing i knew, i woke up and she was sound asleep next to me. of course by then it was after 4am and i had to get up for work...so i am spent today.

it's like 95 degrees and 100% humidity again today. i'm supposed to have a softball game this afternoon, but am secretly hoping it pours and the game gets cancelled. (is that bad team spirit?)

thank goodness tomorrow is friday. not sure what we're doing this weekend. sleep sounds good.

2005-07-20

8:28 a.m.

went to the county fair last night for family night. rides were a ticket apiece. seems like 75% of the families in the county were at family night as well. and it was HOT. the stink in some of the animal barns was almost suffocating. but we had a fun time on the rides.

after the fair we stopped at steak and shake (or is it steak 'n' shake??) for dinner. i had never been there before, but KidOne and KidTwo went with my parents while P and i were on vacation, and they really wanted to go again. Let me just say that my original instinct of not wanting to eat there was right on the money. The place was a little grungy, and filled with chain-smokers and teenagers just hanging out. and the smoking and "non-smoking" sections were separated by a thin piece of plexiglass. between the dust from the fair and the smoke from the restaurant, I couldn't get to the shower fast enough when we got home.

kids are off to camp today..i'm off to coffee with a friend

life is good

2005-07-19

6:18 a.m.

KidOne does, in fact, have strep throat. the poor little guy just had it a few weeks ago, but obviously the amoxicilin didn't do the trick. so the doctor has changed his medicine (augmentin this time). KidOne says it tastes "even grosser" than the other kind.

had Mom's Night Out last night. Just M and myself. R wasn't feeling well, and L is still in Cincinnati. Her baby boy needs a heart transplant, and she has been living at the hospital there for something like 5 months. it's been just over one month since baby boy was placed on the transplant list, and L says the average wait is 2 months. scary stuff.

our mom's night out group has been meeting once a month for at least three years. we've been through a lot together, difficult things like miscarriage, post-partum depression, and the current heart difficulties with L's baby....and good things like the birth of babies, new jobs, and buying houses.

M and i had fun last night. decent food, interesting conversation, and no menus with crayons, or food in nugget form....sweet! she is really into writing, and she and i are talking about taking a writing class together at the local community center this fall. sounds a bit intimidating, but fun.

saw the new harry potter book at borders last night and read the first few pages. had to resist buying it-- i know it's a lot cheaper at another store in town. wonder who got to write the quiz for that one at work?

KidTwo is now afraid of storms...apparently, while P and i were on vacation, there was a big storm, and the power went out for about an hour in the middle of the night. KidOne and KidTwo ended up on the futon with grammy until the storm was over. now she cries whenever it starts to rain. not enjoyable.

2005-07-18

8:19 a.m.

KidOne's birthday party was on saturday. and, despite a downpour and 12 wet 4-7 year-olds running through my house, everything went well.

of course, later that day, he complained of a sore throat. he had a slight fever as well. then yesterday, he had a fever of 102 and a sore throat and a stiff neck. this morning, he has a fever, a sore throat, a stiff neck, and a sore leg. so, off to the doctor we go. he probably has strep throat. he had it a few weeks ago, before P and i went on vacation.

random thought: i enjoy corn-on-the-cob. there's this wagon that parks in a strip mall parking lot near our house that sells corn from a local farm. i could just eat that all summer. not sure why i felt that was important enough to include in this entry, but, there it is.

yesterday KidOne asked me if i knew that wooden back scratchers were made in china. he read the sticker on the back of a wooden back scratcher he won at a kiddie carnival in town. he thought it was pretty amazing that he was holding something that was made in China.

P decided to go swimming in the inflatable pool with the kids yesterday. when he came outside, KidTwo yelled "come on in, dad, the water"s fine!"....where does she get this stuff? she spent, literally, 7 hours in the pool yesterday. part of the time with her brother, the other part with a next-door-neighbor. when i gave her the 10 minute warning, she proceeded to spend the ten minutes crying hysterically (still in the pool) because she didn't want to stop swimming. later we discussed how she could have spent the ten minutes playing and having fun, but instead chose to cry, and wasn't that silly. she agreed. then i said "so next time when i say ten more minutes, what are you going to do?" and she replied "I can't promise anything, mommy." i love that kid!

2005-07-15

6:38 a.m.

the strangest thing happened yesterday...

i dropped the kids off at camp, got back in the car and drove the 4 or 5 miles home. parked in the garage, and when i got out of the car, i heard this frantic meow-ing. it sounded like it was coming from my car, so i got down on my hands and knees and looked under the car......

there, hanging from the bottom of my car was a tiny kitten. it had crawled up underneath the car and gotten its head stuck, and was just hanging there. apparently, i had been driving around town with it.

my neighbor, carl, came over and crawled under the car and freed the poor little thing. then it took us about 20 minutes to catch it, because it kept hiding in the wheel wells. finally caught it, put it in a box, and took it to the humane society. they said they had never heard a story quite like this.

carl thought i should keep it, but being as i'm allergic to cats, and my husband thinks they're evil, i quickly vetoed that idea.

on the reality tv front, everyone on big brother appears to be as dumb as a box of rocks....strangely, that makes it more enjoyable

2005-07-14

7:42 a.m.

KidOne turned 7 yesterday....how did that happen? he is a funny kid. on the order of "kids say the darndest things," the other day i was pitching to him. when he hit it, i kind of jumped because i thought it was coming straight at me. he says "did you jump because you thought i was going to hit you in the nuts?" i very calmly responded "first of all, girls don't have nuts. second of all, don't say that." he said "ok mommy." we continued to play and a couple of minutes later he said "what are nuts, anyway?"

ahhhh...so proud

2005-07-13

4:47 a.m.

went out with the gals last night. we had a great time. talked a LOT and laughed a LOT....and ate some chocolate (also a very important component of the mom's night out).

my mom once told me that men have a 5-minute time limit when discussing anything. she says after that, you can see their eyes glaze over, and that's it, they're done. that's why going out with the girls is so important.....it's just as enjoyable to discuss a topic the 400th time as it was the first time.

i feel lucky to have found such a funny, generous, smart group of women to hang out with. granted, when the alarm went off at 3:30am, it was torture to get up. but it was worth it.

max turns 7 today. i can't believe it. in a few weeks he will start first grade and be in school all day. i miss him already.

2005-07-12

7:41 a.m.

I am a HUGE procrastinator. I mean, why do today what you can put off until three weeks after it was originally supposed to be done? Not necessarily a motto that leads to a stress-free life.

that's why this npr job is perfect for me. i host "morning edition" from 5am-8am, and am responsible for announcing news, weather, underwriting, etc. there are all of these little deadlines throughout the shift. there's a little more pressure to get things done when there will be 4 minutes of dead air if you don't.

things don't really work that way for me in other areas of my life. for my quiz writing job, i currently have three quizzes that were due at least 3 weeks ago. now i'm so stressed out i can't bring myself to begin them.

and forget about things like housework! i remember listening to the Marlo Thomas "Free to Be You and Me" album as a kid where Carol Channing did a bit about Housework...."Your Mommy hates housework. Your Daddy hates housework. And I hate housework, too. And when you grow up, so will you."

Truer words were never spoken.

2005-07-11

6:40 a.m.

o.k......i have no idea why i've started this on-line diary. basically, i just finished reading "i'm not the new me" by wendy who does the poundy.com blog. i went to her website, which linked me to diaryland.com, and before i knew it, i had my very own on-line diary.

now what?

basically, i'm a married mom of two kids, ages 5 and almost 7. i work part-time on the air at an npr station. i also work part-time from home writing quizzes for children's books. i'm originally from the east coast, but am now living in the mid-west.....talk about culture shock.

i love to read, and have always wanted to write, but maybe this snoozer of a diary entry explains why i never have.

oh well,this could very well be my last entry ever.

we'll see........