I'm not sure if I've had writer's block lately or if there is just nothing interesting going on in my life. Its probably the latter…
Caitlin's newest interest is running around the house with underwear on her head. I'm not sure where she learned this. Or why she finds it so fascinating… but she does. She just stretches them on, with her face peering out of a leg hole and giggles and giggles. I really can't be serious when she does this because her laugh is so infectious.
Gracie had her surgeries – spay and declaw – last week and has been recuperating. She's doing great. A day after we brought her home, she was jumping on top of the refrigerator. She didn't want to come down, of course. She was pretty gimpy for several days. Just now, at a week out of surgery, she is starting to walk without a noticeable limp. I am happy to see that because the limp was giving me major guilt. I keep telling myself that we had to do it because she was ripping everything – including me and the kids – to shreads. She is also getting her spunk and attitude back.
Our high temp today was 70… in January. So, of course, we have a tornado warning because 70 degrees in January is never a good thing. I'm hoping that I can make it home tonight without being swept off to munchkin land. Wish me luck.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
She lives!!!!
OK, I know, I know... its been a long time. 2012 came and went. And it FLEW. Here's what's been going on with my little brood...
Kiera started the third grade. I know! THIRD grade. Wow. She is doing great and loves school. She is a second year brownie girl scout and will become a junior scout this spring.
Caitlin is 4 1/2. I know! Almost 5! She still goes to preschool full-time. She is still quite ornery. She started speech therapy through our public school district in December 2012 (after a long process to get her accepted).
We bought a house in August 2012! We now live in the same neighborhood as my parents, which makes life much more convenient. The girls love the new house and having their own space. I love it too, though I had forgotten how being a home owner basically just sucks money right out of your wallet.
We added a new family member in September 2012... a kitten named Gracie. The girls LOVE this cat. Hubby got her from the humane society and he picked her because she was chilling out in the back of the cage and he thought that meant she was mellow. He could not have been more wrong. This cat is like the tasmanian devil on crack.
I probably fell off the blogosphere because I got really busy. My work hours suck and my kids are demanding when it comes to my "free time." I miss it here. I would like to promise that I will be back on a regular basis but I'm not that stupid. And neither are you :) I am going to try, though. I miss writing and this is my way of getting back to it.
So, happy new year! Let's hope 2013 is a great one!
Kiera started the third grade. I know! THIRD grade. Wow. She is doing great and loves school. She is a second year brownie girl scout and will become a junior scout this spring.
Caitlin is 4 1/2. I know! Almost 5! She still goes to preschool full-time. She is still quite ornery. She started speech therapy through our public school district in December 2012 (after a long process to get her accepted).
We bought a house in August 2012! We now live in the same neighborhood as my parents, which makes life much more convenient. The girls love the new house and having their own space. I love it too, though I had forgotten how being a home owner basically just sucks money right out of your wallet.
We added a new family member in September 2012... a kitten named Gracie. The girls LOVE this cat. Hubby got her from the humane society and he picked her because she was chilling out in the back of the cage and he thought that meant she was mellow. He could not have been more wrong. This cat is like the tasmanian devil on crack.
I probably fell off the blogosphere because I got really busy. My work hours suck and my kids are demanding when it comes to my "free time." I miss it here. I would like to promise that I will be back on a regular basis but I'm not that stupid. And neither are you :) I am going to try, though. I miss writing and this is my way of getting back to it.
So, happy new year! Let's hope 2013 is a great one!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Make up your mind!
Both girls are sitting on the couch with coloring books in their laps. Caitlin begins to color a picture of a monkey (and proceeds to color it pink like the pink stuffed monkey that she adores).
Kiera: Caitlin, that's a perfect picture for you because you ARE a monkey!
Caitlin (enthusiastic and a little annoyed): I'm not a monkey! I'm a big girl!
Me: Oh, you ARE a big girl?! Well, then we need to think about giving up those binkies because big girls don't use them. They're for little babies.
Caitlin: NO! I'm a baby! I'm a little baby. But I'm not a monkey!
Kiera: Caitlin, that's a perfect picture for you because you ARE a monkey!
Caitlin (enthusiastic and a little annoyed): I'm not a monkey! I'm a big girl!
Me: Oh, you ARE a big girl?! Well, then we need to think about giving up those binkies because big girls don't use them. They're for little babies.
Caitlin: NO! I'm a baby! I'm a little baby. But I'm not a monkey!
This made me so sad
I was driving in the car the other day with the girls in the back seat. A test of the emergency broadcast system came on the radio - you know, that annoying noise alarm thing. Kiera immediately got panicky because she is terrified of storms. I calmed her down as best I could explaining that it was just a test, just a drill.
She asked a ton of questions (as usual), including "why do they do those tests?"
I told her so that we know the system works when there is an actual emergency. I said, "Just like you do practice drills at school for earthquakes and tornados and stuff, right?"
Then she started chatting away about the different drills and how they work: they go outside for fire drills, under their desks for earthquakes and line up in the hallway in the fetal position for tornadoes. She asked me if I did those when I was in school and I told her that I, in fact, did.
Then she said, "OH, and there's the drill for a bad person at the school where we have to hide in the back of the room so no one knows we're in there. I don't like that one."
I froze for a second. It made me so sad to think that kids have to think about things like that.
She asked me if we did THAT drill when I was in school and I told her that I, in fact, did not.
She asked hard questions (as usual) including "why do people do bad things like that?"
It really breaks my heart to answer questions like that.
But we talked about how some people do bad things because they are... well, bad... or because they are sick. And this lead to talking about how we must always be aware of our surroundings and how we must never talk to strangers or take anything from them or get in a car with them, etc. etc.
THEN, later in this same trip... she says that she heard about the school bus that crashed on its way to a field trip and a 6 year-old boy died (this had just happened in our area a day or two prior to this conversation). I asked her where she even heard about this. We don't watch the news at home. She said her teacher talked to the class about it (thanks, teacher).
Kiera said that lots of people must be sad about the boy dying but "I bet the saddest person is his mom." She went on: "she probably got there and looked around like "where is my kid?" and then found out that he was dead and cried and cried. Because she loved him so much."
Seriously, these conversations make my heart HURT.
She asked a ton of questions (as usual), including "why do they do those tests?"
I told her so that we know the system works when there is an actual emergency. I said, "Just like you do practice drills at school for earthquakes and tornados and stuff, right?"
Then she started chatting away about the different drills and how they work: they go outside for fire drills, under their desks for earthquakes and line up in the hallway in the fetal position for tornadoes. She asked me if I did those when I was in school and I told her that I, in fact, did.
Then she said, "OH, and there's the drill for a bad person at the school where we have to hide in the back of the room so no one knows we're in there. I don't like that one."
I froze for a second. It made me so sad to think that kids have to think about things like that.
She asked me if we did THAT drill when I was in school and I told her that I, in fact, did not.
She asked hard questions (as usual) including "why do people do bad things like that?"
It really breaks my heart to answer questions like that.
But we talked about how some people do bad things because they are... well, bad... or because they are sick. And this lead to talking about how we must always be aware of our surroundings and how we must never talk to strangers or take anything from them or get in a car with them, etc. etc.
THEN, later in this same trip... she says that she heard about the school bus that crashed on its way to a field trip and a 6 year-old boy died (this had just happened in our area a day or two prior to this conversation). I asked her where she even heard about this. We don't watch the news at home. She said her teacher talked to the class about it (thanks, teacher).
Kiera said that lots of people must be sad about the boy dying but "I bet the saddest person is his mom." She went on: "she probably got there and looked around like "where is my kid?" and then found out that he was dead and cried and cried. Because she loved him so much."
Seriously, these conversations make my heart HURT.
CDC and the zombie apocalypse
OK, so I couldn't resist: The CDC's guide to surviving the zombie apocalypse
Its nice to see a government agency with a sense of humor.
This just made me think of "The Walking Dead," that zombie show on AMC. I LOVE that show, its awesome. But in the season 1 finale, the survivors make it to the CDC headquarters in Atlanta to find one lone survivor science guy, who chooses to stay there and die when the building explodes. Hmmmmm....
Remember, when fighting the zombies, aim for their head and don't miss ;)
Its nice to see a government agency with a sense of humor.
This just made me think of "The Walking Dead," that zombie show on AMC. I LOVE that show, its awesome. But in the season 1 finale, the survivors make it to the CDC headquarters in Atlanta to find one lone survivor science guy, who chooses to stay there and die when the building explodes. Hmmmmm....
Remember, when fighting the zombies, aim for their head and don't miss ;)
Saturday, April 23, 2011
How big?
Caitlin went to the doctor on Wednesday because of her terrible runny nose and cough. I was right and she has allergies. Zyrtec is a godsend, by the way.
At the appointment, she was 39" tall and 37 lbs! She plots at the 95th percentile for both. I thought she was on the bigger side, but I didn't know she was at the top of the curve!
Kiera only weighs about 44 lbs at age 7. She's always been my peanut. My clumsy little peanut :) All arms and legs.
Caitlin is my solid little tank with the mad physical skills. She is strong.
Just one more way my two girls are so different!
At the appointment, she was 39" tall and 37 lbs! She plots at the 95th percentile for both. I thought she was on the bigger side, but I didn't know she was at the top of the curve!
Kiera only weighs about 44 lbs at age 7. She's always been my peanut. My clumsy little peanut :) All arms and legs.
Caitlin is my solid little tank with the mad physical skills. She is strong.
Just one more way my two girls are so different!
Already?
Kiera's been pretty chatty this week.
On Wednesday, she was talking about Billy and Bobby (not their real names). On the playground, they did something they weren't supposed to do and got the whole class in trouble... no kickball for the whole class. She got this gossipy 12-year-old girl tone to her voice and told me all about how it was so unfair and that everyone was so mad and the other boys were telling Billy and Bobby that they weren't their friends anymore. And it was SO UNFAIR. Billy and Bobby are always getting in trouble. Why do they always have to do bad stuff? Why can't they just be nice?
(I want to tell her that this has to do with their Y chromosome and that she will spend the rest of her life trying to figure men out... but I refrain. LOL)
Then she proceeds to tell me about Susie and Mary (again, not their real names). Earlier in the year, she sat next to Susie. They got along fairly well. Mary... well, not so much. But Kiera starts dishing on these two (again in the gossipy pre-teen voice)... I don't understand why they won't talk to anyone else. They only want to talk to each other. They are neighbors and they ignore everyone else. Just because they live by each other, they can't talk to anyone else? I don't even care. Susie isn't my friend anymore. And Mary is bossy. She is SO bossy. I don't know why she is so bossy. But why won't they talk to anyone else? They are so mean sometimes....
Seriously, this went on for like 10 minutes.
And don't get me wrong: Kiera's a good kid and she is nice to everyone at school. She's also sensitive.
But these kids are 7 years old. It amazes me how early this starts! They seem so young to be wading into the muddy social waters.
At least she is still young enough that she is talking to me about these things. I know the day will come when she won't. I'm not looking forward to those days.
So we chatted about all of these things... the unfairness and others' feelings and why its so important to treat others respectfully. Be nice to everyone. Include everyone.
Why do they have to grow up so fast??
On Wednesday, she was talking about Billy and Bobby (not their real names). On the playground, they did something they weren't supposed to do and got the whole class in trouble... no kickball for the whole class. She got this gossipy 12-year-old girl tone to her voice and told me all about how it was so unfair and that everyone was so mad and the other boys were telling Billy and Bobby that they weren't their friends anymore. And it was SO UNFAIR. Billy and Bobby are always getting in trouble. Why do they always have to do bad stuff? Why can't they just be nice?
(I want to tell her that this has to do with their Y chromosome and that she will spend the rest of her life trying to figure men out... but I refrain. LOL)
Then she proceeds to tell me about Susie and Mary (again, not their real names). Earlier in the year, she sat next to Susie. They got along fairly well. Mary... well, not so much. But Kiera starts dishing on these two (again in the gossipy pre-teen voice)... I don't understand why they won't talk to anyone else. They only want to talk to each other. They are neighbors and they ignore everyone else. Just because they live by each other, they can't talk to anyone else? I don't even care. Susie isn't my friend anymore. And Mary is bossy. She is SO bossy. I don't know why she is so bossy. But why won't they talk to anyone else? They are so mean sometimes....
Seriously, this went on for like 10 minutes.
And don't get me wrong: Kiera's a good kid and she is nice to everyone at school. She's also sensitive.
But these kids are 7 years old. It amazes me how early this starts! They seem so young to be wading into the muddy social waters.
At least she is still young enough that she is talking to me about these things. I know the day will come when she won't. I'm not looking forward to those days.
So we chatted about all of these things... the unfairness and others' feelings and why its so important to treat others respectfully. Be nice to everyone. Include everyone.
Why do they have to grow up so fast??
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