Said indignantly:
I don't like Kindergarten because there isn't as much outside time as preschool. Outside time in kindergarten is 99 minutes long and the game I like to play is 100 minutes, and so I never get to finish my game.
~StinkyMan, age 5
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Baby No More
Tonight I put my last baby to bed for her last night as a baby. When she wakes up in the morning, she will be a two year old.
I feel weird. Not sad, necessarily, because I'm one of those freaks who thinks the age of two is a whole lot of fun, but more...I don't know...wistful, maybe.
When Curly turned 2 I was 7 months pregnant with StinkyMan. When StinkyMan turned 2, Peanut was a 1 month old. When Peanut turned 2, BabyGirl was 6 months old. I have had a baby in the house for 7.5 years running, more or less.
But not anymore.
2 years ago I was in the hospital, being induced for high blood pressure. Husband just kept saying "Didn't we just do this? I can't believe we are doing this again!"
She was gorgeous and definitively my last. I knew, even as I pushed to bring her into this world, that I would never do that again. I remember thinking to myself that I needed to savor it, all of it, because I wouldn't be back to labor and delivery.
And then they took her from me and moved her to the NICU in another hospital 40 minutes away and I had to stay where I was. I will forever be grateful to the nurse who came on duty the night BabyGirl and I were separated. She walked into my room, flipped open my chart, read it, looked at me and said "Oh, Honey. You want a big ol' strong sleeping pill?" With thankful tears I nodded. I didn't see getting through the long night any other way. Even now I get watery eyed just thinking about her kindness on that miserable night.
I was discharged the next day and went to see my baby.
She was in good hands and in better condition than many of the other babies there. In fact, she looked like a beast compared to some. Even with all the wires and machines she was breath taking.
She came home with us about a week later. It seemed endlessly long that she was in that NICU.
Now it seems like I blinked once and 2 years went by.
And I have no more babies in the house.
Happy Birthday to my 2 year old; my beautiful, sunshiney, stubborn, sweet, happy, smart, funny BabyGirl. You may not be a baby, but you will always be MY baby. I love you.
I feel weird. Not sad, necessarily, because I'm one of those freaks who thinks the age of two is a whole lot of fun, but more...I don't know...wistful, maybe.
When Curly turned 2 I was 7 months pregnant with StinkyMan. When StinkyMan turned 2, Peanut was a 1 month old. When Peanut turned 2, BabyGirl was 6 months old. I have had a baby in the house for 7.5 years running, more or less.
But not anymore.
2 years ago I was in the hospital, being induced for high blood pressure. Husband just kept saying "Didn't we just do this? I can't believe we are doing this again!"
She was gorgeous and definitively my last. I knew, even as I pushed to bring her into this world, that I would never do that again. I remember thinking to myself that I needed to savor it, all of it, because I wouldn't be back to labor and delivery.
And then they took her from me and moved her to the NICU in another hospital 40 minutes away and I had to stay where I was. I will forever be grateful to the nurse who came on duty the night BabyGirl and I were separated. She walked into my room, flipped open my chart, read it, looked at me and said "Oh, Honey. You want a big ol' strong sleeping pill?" With thankful tears I nodded. I didn't see getting through the long night any other way. Even now I get watery eyed just thinking about her kindness on that miserable night.
I was discharged the next day and went to see my baby.
She was in good hands and in better condition than many of the other babies there. In fact, she looked like a beast compared to some. Even with all the wires and machines she was breath taking.
She came home with us about a week later. It seemed endlessly long that she was in that NICU.
Now it seems like I blinked once and 2 years went by.
And I have no more babies in the house.
Happy Birthday to my 2 year old; my beautiful, sunshiney, stubborn, sweet, happy, smart, funny BabyGirl. You may not be a baby, but you will always be MY baby. I love you.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Highs and Lows
We like to sit around the dinner table as a family and talk about our day. We ask for one high, one low and anything in between that anyone wants to talk about. Curly, in particular, loves this part of dinner and likes to go last, I'm guessing in an effort to have her high top all other daily highs.
"My turn!" She crows.
"OK, what was your high?"
"M has a crush on me."
"He does? How do you know?"
"Well, R told me. She said that he said that I'm hot."
"Oh really?" I'm a bit flustered. "You're hot?"
"Mmm hmmm." She smiles "And that was my high."
Here I was thinking she was 7. Apparently, she's 17.
"My turn!" She crows.
"OK, what was your high?"
"M has a crush on me."
"He does? How do you know?"
"Well, R told me. She said that he said that I'm hot."
"Oh really?" I'm a bit flustered. "You're hot?"
"Mmm hmmm." She smiles "And that was my high."
Here I was thinking she was 7. Apparently, she's 17.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Baby Blackmail
BabyGirl has a new trick. It's baby blackmail. If I don't get her out of bed fast enough when she wakes up, she takes her diaper off for amusement and then pees all over her bed.
I'm being bullied by an almost two year old.
I'm being bullied by an almost two year old.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Bully
I've noticed up around the big kids' school they have "Bully Free Zone" posters. Bullies are something I worry about. It seems you hear an awful lot about them these days.
Yesterday Curly told me that they talked about bullies in class, did some role playing and had some discussion about how to handle bullies. She seemed to know all about how to handle a bully, but I wondered if she knew what a bully actually was.
"What does a bully do? Can you give me an example of what a bully would say?"
She thought for a moment. "Well," she said slowly "I'm not exactly sure, because I am not a bully. I think it's mean words, though and mean actions. Like, they make people feel bad with stuff they say and stuff they do, like calling people 'stupid' or making fun of somebody."
"That's good, Baby" I said. "You don't have to put up with that. If anyone is trying to make you feel bad or is being mean to you, no matter what they say, that is NOT okay and you need to tell a teacher right away."
"I will." She said cheerfully "But mostly I will just be their friend. Maybe they are grumpy and like a bully because they really just need a friend and then I will be their friend and then they will stop."
I just smiled and gave her a hug.
If only the world were so simple.
Yesterday Curly told me that they talked about bullies in class, did some role playing and had some discussion about how to handle bullies. She seemed to know all about how to handle a bully, but I wondered if she knew what a bully actually was.
"What does a bully do? Can you give me an example of what a bully would say?"
She thought for a moment. "Well," she said slowly "I'm not exactly sure, because I am not a bully. I think it's mean words, though and mean actions. Like, they make people feel bad with stuff they say and stuff they do, like calling people 'stupid' or making fun of somebody."
"That's good, Baby" I said. "You don't have to put up with that. If anyone is trying to make you feel bad or is being mean to you, no matter what they say, that is NOT okay and you need to tell a teacher right away."
"I will." She said cheerfully "But mostly I will just be their friend. Maybe they are grumpy and like a bully because they really just need a friend and then I will be their friend and then they will stop."
I just smiled and gave her a hug.
If only the world were so simple.
Friday, August 20, 2010
And so it begins
I dropped Curly off for her first day of second grade yesterday. Despite her nerves, she kept her composure. Her teacher is very sweet and soft spoken and I think she is just the perfect teacher for my oldest child. At the end of the day, the teacher said she had had a great day and was a wonderful student. That's my girl!
StinkyMan was my wild card for the day. I just didn't know how he would do. Husband and I took him in. The first thing the teacher had them do was a scavenger hunt. They had to find their cubby, find the rug, find the bathrooms, etc. It was a great way to familiarize them with the room and he was totally into it. Then they read a story and encouraged the kids to say goodbye to their parents. He could barely be bothered to see us off. There wasn't a tear in sight. All right, maybe one, from me, but even I did pretty well. He seems eager to go back.
3 kids in school. Next year it will be 4. I managed to hold it together this year. When my baby goes, though, all bets are off. If you live in my town, you may want to take out some flood insurance now to prepare.
StinkyMan was my wild card for the day. I just didn't know how he would do. Husband and I took him in. The first thing the teacher had them do was a scavenger hunt. They had to find their cubby, find the rug, find the bathrooms, etc. It was a great way to familiarize them with the room and he was totally into it. Then they read a story and encouraged the kids to say goodbye to their parents. He could barely be bothered to see us off. There wasn't a tear in sight. All right, maybe one, from me, but even I did pretty well. He seems eager to go back.
3 kids in school. Next year it will be 4. I managed to hold it together this year. When my baby goes, though, all bets are off. If you live in my town, you may want to take out some flood insurance now to prepare.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
My Peanut is a Preschooler
At 6:20 this Tuesday morning a tiny little girl stood next to my bed and said brightly "Mommy, it's time for school!" I stumbled downstairs with her, fed her breakfast and tried to wake up.
At 6:40 she said "Don't forget my backpack, Mommy. Let's go!"
She was very upset to discover that Mommy thinks that 6:40 is a bit on the early side for school.
By 7:30 she was fully fed, fully dressed, piggy tailed, packed up and beyond impatient to leave.
By 7:50 she had received a goodbye hug from StinkyMan, though we were nowhere near ready to go.
At 8:05 Grammy arrived to stay with the other kids so that Mommy could give her full first day of school attention to Peanut.
On the 10 minute drive to school Peanut talked about how fun school was going to be. She talked about friends and playing outside and teachers. She said it was StinkyMan's school and I reminded her that now it was her school. That piece of information was processed with a BIG smile.
She entered the school with confidence, stopping to hug a familiar teacher and sauntered into her room. The only blip was when she whispered to me "Mommy, I want to play outside!"
"In a little while" I promised. "Can I have a kiss?"
And she kissed me and found a place to play. With a wave over her shoulder, I was dismissed.
I held myself together pretty well. It probably helps that I have one more baby at home. But what nearly reduced me to tears was not watching her leave me with ease, or leaving my tiny girl for 3 hours.
No, it was a note I found in her backpack from her big sister.
"Hi Peanut! Have a fun day at school! Love, Curly"
Just like the notes I slip into Curly's lunchbox, so had big sister done for little sister.
It's days like these and things like that that let me know that somehow I'm doing this Mommy thing right.
At 6:40 she said "Don't forget my backpack, Mommy. Let's go!"
She was very upset to discover that Mommy thinks that 6:40 is a bit on the early side for school.
By 7:30 she was fully fed, fully dressed, piggy tailed, packed up and beyond impatient to leave.
By 7:50 she had received a goodbye hug from StinkyMan, though we were nowhere near ready to go.
At 8:05 Grammy arrived to stay with the other kids so that Mommy could give her full first day of school attention to Peanut.
On the 10 minute drive to school Peanut talked about how fun school was going to be. She talked about friends and playing outside and teachers. She said it was StinkyMan's school and I reminded her that now it was her school. That piece of information was processed with a BIG smile.
She entered the school with confidence, stopping to hug a familiar teacher and sauntered into her room. The only blip was when she whispered to me "Mommy, I want to play outside!"
"In a little while" I promised. "Can I have a kiss?"
And she kissed me and found a place to play. With a wave over her shoulder, I was dismissed.
I held myself together pretty well. It probably helps that I have one more baby at home. But what nearly reduced me to tears was not watching her leave me with ease, or leaving my tiny girl for 3 hours.
No, it was a note I found in her backpack from her big sister.
"Hi Peanut! Have a fun day at school! Love, Curly"
Just like the notes I slip into Curly's lunchbox, so had big sister done for little sister.
It's days like these and things like that that let me know that somehow I'm doing this Mommy thing right.
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