I'm a mean old lady.
At least, that's what I tell my kids every time that they start to whine. Really, my theory is start out mean and strict and tough, and eventually you'll be able to loosen up and have fun. But the meaner you are on a regular basis, the more fun the fun times are. I mean, I don't run a boot camp here, but I do expect and demand good behavior from my children and I'm a pretty firm disciplinarian when disrespect, direct disobedience, or violence (towards me, each other, or an animal) comes into play. Other things can be dealt with through natural consequences, but those things warrant immediate action. I also am not afraid to tell my kids no. I know many moms that will go out of their way to find a way of nicely saying no, and there are things that I don't outright say no about (like buying something the kids want ... my answer is always "maybe later"), BUT I also try to be realistic and sometimes the answer is simply no.
All that being said, there can be some whining and crying whenever discipline occurs or the word no is uttered in my house. My response is usually "I know, I know. I'm a mean old lady. And I don't care. The answer is still no." To which a sobbing child usually mutters something about me not being mean (although you can tell that they don't mean it) (and I notice that they never contradict the old part). I chuckle, say it's ok, I know I'm mean, and then find something else to do while they calm down. They also adamantly deny that I'm mean when I'm relating a story of their adventures and when I said that I was a mean mommy and made them stop. I have suspected for a while that this is simply a way of buttering me up.... Perhaps it's a little psychology with the idea that if they tell me I'm not mean often enough maybe I'll start to act like I'm not mean.
Two days ago I was putting Kairi in bed. I don't remember what all our nighttime conversation entailed but I do know that by the end of it she was very happy. She jumped up and gave me a huge hug and a kiss and then while squeezing me tight a second time she exclaimed:
"You're so nice Mommy! I love you! And I thought you were MEAN!"
Friday, August 20, 2010
Picture this
Boxes piled behind the couch that separates my living room from my dining room.
Camping gear piled next to the door to take to the storage unit.
Laundry couch full of clean clothes.
Bedroom floor full of dirty ones.
A floor coated with toys.
Last night's dishes stacker precariously high in the sink.
A daughter in nothing but panties.
A son in nothing but a diaper.
Both kids are curled up on the couch watching Mulan way too loud.
A dog whining on the floor that she's not allowed to chase the cat that is perched on the back of the chair I type from.
Bathrooms that need to be scrubbed.
Bedrooms that need to be straightened. And my bedroom needs an overhaul.
Trash that needs to be carried out is sacked but still piled by the trashcan.
And finally, a kitchen floor needs to be scrubbed -- spot mopping won't do it this time.
Now that you have that picture firmly planted in your head, can you explain to me why I'm not doing anything about it? I really have no good excuse.... lol
But it is the reason I'm not blogging today. Hopefully by this evening I'll have at least a picture or two to share and will be triumphant in my quest to rid my house of the mess. :D
Oh, before I go I will share pictures. I finally have a camera again and while these aren't top notch they do make me happy. :)
She wrote her name all by herself! I had to help her remember how to spell it, but she did all the pencil (er, crayon) work herself!
A face I've missed very very much.
And finally, Alex has become a major cheeser recently. :) Just look at those eyebrows!
Camping gear piled next to the door to take to the storage unit.
Laundry couch full of clean clothes.
Bedroom floor full of dirty ones.
A floor coated with toys.
Last night's dishes stacker precariously high in the sink.
A daughter in nothing but panties.
A son in nothing but a diaper.
Both kids are curled up on the couch watching Mulan way too loud.
A dog whining on the floor that she's not allowed to chase the cat that is perched on the back of the chair I type from.
Bathrooms that need to be scrubbed.
Bedrooms that need to be straightened. And my bedroom needs an overhaul.
Trash that needs to be carried out is sacked but still piled by the trashcan.
And finally, a kitchen floor needs to be scrubbed -- spot mopping won't do it this time.
Now that you have that picture firmly planted in your head, can you explain to me why I'm not doing anything about it? I really have no good excuse.... lol
But it is the reason I'm not blogging today. Hopefully by this evening I'll have at least a picture or two to share and will be triumphant in my quest to rid my house of the mess. :D
Oh, before I go I will share pictures. I finally have a camera again and while these aren't top notch they do make me happy. :)
She wrote her name all by herself! I had to help her remember how to spell it, but she did all the pencil (er, crayon) work herself!
A face I've missed very very much.
And finally, Alex has become a major cheeser recently. :) Just look at those eyebrows!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
School Blues
Kairi has been ready for school much longer than I have been ready for her to be ready for school. She astonishes both me and my family on a nearly regular basis with the things she has taught herself. Do you remember my grand plans for homeschooling this spring? Well, they fell through thanks to a certain young lady NEVER believing a word I said. Every single lesson or thought or game became a challenge of did I really know what I was talking about? Even just reading books for the last few months has been interesting. I read a sentence ... "Mommy, does it really say that? Are you sure? Maybe you need to read it again to make sure." (Sure being pronounced shore.) And if you accidentally stumble over a word ... may heaven have mercy on your soul because Kairi will NOT. To say that this deployment was trying would be a drastic understatement.
But despite my not spending as much time "teaching", Kairi still has managed to teach herself a thing or two. She can almost write her own name. She knows most of her letters and their sounds. She can draw very well. Her reasoning powers are amazing. And she believes that every story should have the following parts: 1) Once upon a time, 2) And then there was a PROBLEM! What are we going to do?!?, 3) The end. And she can quote facts about the ocean, dinosaurs, bugs, Texas, and other random tidbits she's picked up, at the drop of a hat.
I hadn't realized how far she had come until our second day at my il's house in Texas. It was our stop on the way to Midland. Becky (my mil) had brought the kids some highlighters and paper from her office. Kairi had been drawing and "writing" stories for a while when she jumped up and ran over to me with blank paper and highlighter in hand. "Mommy! Pretend this is red!" Ok baby, it's red. "Now, take de color and draw an octagon." An octagon? Ok... "Good job Mommy! Now put in the middle s." An s ... alrighty, there you go. "Perfect Mommy. Just perfect." Then she walks over to the coffee table and starts working intently on the same paper. Finally, she stands up and walks over to me and goes "Member we're pretending it's red! Now look! It's a stop sign! See?!? S-T-O-P! That spells stop!" And right next to the s I had written for her, she had followed it with a t, o, and p ... formed almost perfectly. Since that day she has told every one that she thinks might be interested how to spell stop and that a stop sign is an octagon and is red. She also tries to spell her name, but frequently forgets the last r and i.
This spring I also knew that starting in August Kairi would be able to start pre-school for half days for free. It's a nice program that Florida has for our children. I worked hard to pick out a school for her that used curriculum that I wanted her to use and had the same philosophies and ideals I used when teaching myself. I did find what I wanted in a school. They use a fun curriculum that is also much more advanced than the traditional pre-school stuff. It's also Christian based which is pleasing to me. My aunt uses the home-school version of it for her son and through them I have come to really appreciate it and what it teaches. It should push Kairi to learn (which she needs) but will give her a teacher besides Mommy so that maybe she'll believe her. They do require uniforms at the cost of the parents, and I had to pay a curriculum fee since it's not the state-provided curriculum, but beyond that I couldn't ask for a better situation for Kairi. I'm really excited about the coming school year.
So why the title you ask? If I'm not sad that Kairi's going to school, and Kairi's definitely not sad that she's going, who is blue? His name would be Alexander James. Alex frequently cries because he doesn't want his sister to leave him. He cries that he doesn't get to go to school. He cries and claims that no one needs to go to school. But mostly, it's just that Kairi is leaving him. The poor kid has never had to spend more than a few short periods without his sister. His life pretty much revolves around her and what she wants to do. This fall will be interesting for both of us as we get to experience what life without Kairi is like. I'm thankful it's only for a few hours each morning for this first year, but I also am hoping that just as it's good for Kairi to go to school, that it will be good for Alex to be home with me. And maybe he'll let me teach him if she's not there throwing things off with her constant questioning. :)
But despite my not spending as much time "teaching", Kairi still has managed to teach herself a thing or two. She can almost write her own name. She knows most of her letters and their sounds. She can draw very well. Her reasoning powers are amazing. And she believes that every story should have the following parts: 1) Once upon a time, 2) And then there was a PROBLEM! What are we going to do?!?, 3) The end. And she can quote facts about the ocean, dinosaurs, bugs, Texas, and other random tidbits she's picked up, at the drop of a hat.
I hadn't realized how far she had come until our second day at my il's house in Texas. It was our stop on the way to Midland. Becky (my mil) had brought the kids some highlighters and paper from her office. Kairi had been drawing and "writing" stories for a while when she jumped up and ran over to me with blank paper and highlighter in hand. "Mommy! Pretend this is red!" Ok baby, it's red. "Now, take de color and draw an octagon." An octagon? Ok... "Good job Mommy! Now put in the middle s." An s ... alrighty, there you go. "Perfect Mommy. Just perfect." Then she walks over to the coffee table and starts working intently on the same paper. Finally, she stands up and walks over to me and goes "Member we're pretending it's red! Now look! It's a stop sign! See?!? S-T-O-P! That spells stop!" And right next to the s I had written for her, she had followed it with a t, o, and p ... formed almost perfectly. Since that day she has told every one that she thinks might be interested how to spell stop and that a stop sign is an octagon and is red. She also tries to spell her name, but frequently forgets the last r and i.
This spring I also knew that starting in August Kairi would be able to start pre-school for half days for free. It's a nice program that Florida has for our children. I worked hard to pick out a school for her that used curriculum that I wanted her to use and had the same philosophies and ideals I used when teaching myself. I did find what I wanted in a school. They use a fun curriculum that is also much more advanced than the traditional pre-school stuff. It's also Christian based which is pleasing to me. My aunt uses the home-school version of it for her son and through them I have come to really appreciate it and what it teaches. It should push Kairi to learn (which she needs) but will give her a teacher besides Mommy so that maybe she'll believe her. They do require uniforms at the cost of the parents, and I had to pay a curriculum fee since it's not the state-provided curriculum, but beyond that I couldn't ask for a better situation for Kairi. I'm really excited about the coming school year.
So why the title you ask? If I'm not sad that Kairi's going to school, and Kairi's definitely not sad that she's going, who is blue? His name would be Alexander James. Alex frequently cries because he doesn't want his sister to leave him. He cries that he doesn't get to go to school. He cries and claims that no one needs to go to school. But mostly, it's just that Kairi is leaving him. The poor kid has never had to spend more than a few short periods without his sister. His life pretty much revolves around her and what she wants to do. This fall will be interesting for both of us as we get to experience what life without Kairi is like. I'm thankful it's only for a few hours each morning for this first year, but I also am hoping that just as it's good for Kairi to go to school, that it will be good for Alex to be home with me. And maybe he'll let me teach him if she's not there throwing things off with her constant questioning. :)
Friday, August 13, 2010
How in the world did so much time pass?
Here we are almost a week after my last post and I have no idea how I haven't blogged yet. lol I promise I have lots to talk about.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think I mentioned in the last post that Chris reenlisted for another 5 years. His reenlistment ceremony was July 26th, and while I missed it because it was on the ship the day before he was home, his parents did get to see it. I'll try to include a few pictures from that. Even if it's not my most favorite thing ever, it's good for our family and I'm extremely proud. :)
Part of the goodness of reenlisting when you're an ET in the Navy is the nice reenlistment bonus that comes along with it. I'm not going to say exactly how much, but let me describe to you what this means to us: we're paying off the car, we've bought new kitchen stuff, Chris built a new computer, a couple of new gun/gun supplies, new furniture, NEW CAMERA STUFF!, spending money, etc. Needless to say, it's been nice to be able to put money in savings and still treat each other with things things we've been wanting for a while. My favorite things at this moment are tied between the dining room chair covers and my new camera lens. The chair covers makes everything just look RIGHT again. They're now black and eliminate the harsh contrast of patterns and colors. And actually, I bought two lenses. One has come in so far and I'm really excited. :) It's a 70-300mm lens and it should be very nice for what I need it for. The bonus also helped to pay for our trip to the mountains. Another nice part of the bonus is that we'll get some money from it every October for the next 5 years, starting this October. And with that bonus check .... Chris is buying me a new wedding ring!!! I'm currently wearing his mom's ring (who is wearing an anniversary ring). It's pretty, but tiny and not something that I would ever pick for myself. This time we're picking out my new ring together and I'm so very excited about it. :D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two days ago I did something I've been wanting to do for a while. I re-pierced my (left) ear cartilage, and I pierced my nose! I have a little stud on the right nostril now and I love it. Of course, I'd love it all more if they were all through hurting, but that might be a little while. In the meantime, I'd settle for the kids just not bumping them anymore.
Once they aren't bright red, I'll post pictures. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After all we've dealt with food issues with the kids, I've now got a new food issue to deal with. But not with any PERSON in my house. Instead, it's with Zoe -- my DOG!!! She's always been an itchy dog, and recently has been sneezing non-stop, so I finally took her to the vet for it. They think she has food allergies! So we're trying her on a prescription food diet for a while and seeing if that fixes it. Part of me hopes it's that simple because it would be an easy fix -- in a way. But part of me is praying it's not the issue because convincing the kids to not feed her, and keeping her out of the cat's food is becoming a problem. Very very very hard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm sure there's more to share, but at the moment I'm having a hard time thinking of them so I think I'm just going to go to bed with a book. Have a good night! ♥
ETA: Pictures aren't cooperating. I'll try again for those tomorrow. G'night!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think I mentioned in the last post that Chris reenlisted for another 5 years. His reenlistment ceremony was July 26th, and while I missed it because it was on the ship the day before he was home, his parents did get to see it. I'll try to include a few pictures from that. Even if it's not my most favorite thing ever, it's good for our family and I'm extremely proud. :)
Part of the goodness of reenlisting when you're an ET in the Navy is the nice reenlistment bonus that comes along with it. I'm not going to say exactly how much, but let me describe to you what this means to us: we're paying off the car, we've bought new kitchen stuff, Chris built a new computer, a couple of new gun/gun supplies, new furniture, NEW CAMERA STUFF!, spending money, etc. Needless to say, it's been nice to be able to put money in savings and still treat each other with things things we've been wanting for a while. My favorite things at this moment are tied between the dining room chair covers and my new camera lens. The chair covers makes everything just look RIGHT again. They're now black and eliminate the harsh contrast of patterns and colors. And actually, I bought two lenses. One has come in so far and I'm really excited. :) It's a 70-300mm lens and it should be very nice for what I need it for. The bonus also helped to pay for our trip to the mountains. Another nice part of the bonus is that we'll get some money from it every October for the next 5 years, starting this October. And with that bonus check .... Chris is buying me a new wedding ring!!! I'm currently wearing his mom's ring (who is wearing an anniversary ring). It's pretty, but tiny and not something that I would ever pick for myself. This time we're picking out my new ring together and I'm so very excited about it. :D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two days ago I did something I've been wanting to do for a while. I re-pierced my (left) ear cartilage, and I pierced my nose! I have a little stud on the right nostril now and I love it. Of course, I'd love it all more if they were all through hurting, but that might be a little while. In the meantime, I'd settle for the kids just not bumping them anymore.
Once they aren't bright red, I'll post pictures. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After all we've dealt with food issues with the kids, I've now got a new food issue to deal with. But not with any PERSON in my house. Instead, it's with Zoe -- my DOG!!! She's always been an itchy dog, and recently has been sneezing non-stop, so I finally took her to the vet for it. They think she has food allergies! So we're trying her on a prescription food diet for a while and seeing if that fixes it. Part of me hopes it's that simple because it would be an easy fix -- in a way. But part of me is praying it's not the issue because convincing the kids to not feed her, and keeping her out of the cat's food is becoming a problem. Very very very hard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm sure there's more to share, but at the moment I'm having a hard time thinking of them so I think I'm just going to go to bed with a book. Have a good night! ♥
ETA: Pictures aren't cooperating. I'll try again for those tomorrow. G'night!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Let's Restart
It's been a while since I've truly blogged. I had every intention of keeping the private-ish blog updated on what has been going on, but it just felt weird blogging there. No real reason why, but it just didn't mesh. And I may still eventually make my blog more anonymous in order to talk about those things, but right now, it just doesn't feel quite right.
So let's do some quick updates, and then hopefully we'll get restarted on this whole blogging thing. :)
~The kids and I spent a month in Texas with my family. Zoe came along with us while I had a friend staying in my house and taking care of Aslan. We spent time with family, played in sprinklers, went to the Sandhills, and just in general had a good time. Zoe had fun too playing with all the different dogs we saw. Now that she's home she's super lonely and restless. I'm thinking that when we move next (into a house WITH a fenced yard) a new playmate is in order for the poor baby. :)
~I did really well with Weight Watchers for a while, lost a lot of weight. In the last month and a half I have gained back a little of it, but am now getting serious again. I don't want this weight on my body any longer.
~CHRIS IS HOME! His ship pulled into port on the 27th and we are all happy to have him back home. Alex is suddenly more happy to see him than he ever was before. And of course Kairi adores her daddy and is always seeking his attention.
The 27th was a Tuesday, we spent Wednesday with his parents who came into town to see him, and then Thursday morning before the kids got up we packed up and headed out of town. Chris' parents kept the kids Thursday and Friday, and then took them to a friend's house where they stayed until we came home. Chris and I went to the Smokey Mountains to camp for a week. If I remember to, I'll blog about that later this week. :)
~Now we're preparing for the next phase in our life -- shore duty! Chris officially leaves the ship in September and begins working at the other base in Jax in October. He has a few short trips out to sea between now and then, but thankfully he'll be home from there on out for the next 3 (or so) years. I'm hoping that that will good for all of us.
Ok, so onto trying to read a few blogs and catch up with people that I've missed. Here's to a more consistent future for this blog! :)
So let's do some quick updates, and then hopefully we'll get restarted on this whole blogging thing. :)
~The kids and I spent a month in Texas with my family. Zoe came along with us while I had a friend staying in my house and taking care of Aslan. We spent time with family, played in sprinklers, went to the Sandhills, and just in general had a good time. Zoe had fun too playing with all the different dogs we saw. Now that she's home she's super lonely and restless. I'm thinking that when we move next (into a house WITH a fenced yard) a new playmate is in order for the poor baby. :)
~I did really well with Weight Watchers for a while, lost a lot of weight. In the last month and a half I have gained back a little of it, but am now getting serious again. I don't want this weight on my body any longer.
~CHRIS IS HOME! His ship pulled into port on the 27th and we are all happy to have him back home. Alex is suddenly more happy to see him than he ever was before. And of course Kairi adores her daddy and is always seeking his attention.
The 27th was a Tuesday, we spent Wednesday with his parents who came into town to see him, and then Thursday morning before the kids got up we packed up and headed out of town. Chris' parents kept the kids Thursday and Friday, and then took them to a friend's house where they stayed until we came home. Chris and I went to the Smokey Mountains to camp for a week. If I remember to, I'll blog about that later this week. :)
~Now we're preparing for the next phase in our life -- shore duty! Chris officially leaves the ship in September and begins working at the other base in Jax in October. He has a few short trips out to sea between now and then, but thankfully he'll be home from there on out for the next 3 (or so) years. I'm hoping that that will good for all of us.
Ok, so onto trying to read a few blogs and catch up with people that I've missed. Here's to a more consistent future for this blog! :)
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