Have you ever seen the show "24"? Cliff is watching it during lulls at work right now. He tried to get me interested as well, but I can't get over the president being the All State Insurance guy. I keep waiting for him to be in some tense meeting and ask everyone at the table if they are in good hands. Not the best thing to be thinking during a prison breakout that includes the man who you tried to kill before he plunged his country into anarchy. Anyway, the show is about a guy named Jack and all the crazy things that happen to him during a 24 hour period as a member of some CIA/FBI/security thingy. The other reason I can't watch it is because even though Jack may have a bad day now and then with a possible nuke attack on LA during the Oscars, my days are much more challenging in general. Take yesterday, for example.
0600-0700 Sleeping and then waking up. Okay, so maybe this hour wasn't the most hectic, but while waking up and going over my to do list, I realized it was going to be a busy day. On the other hand, since I am NOT a morning person, this is probably the most panic-filled hour for the rest of my family.
0700-0800 Get kids and myself ready for the day and out the door for school. Get the boy I babysit every day. Plan a trip to the library, and do the dishes sooner rather than later because there is a smell in the kitchen. I bet Jack never has stinky dishes.
0800-0900 Realize that Caleb may not be cooperative to any plans I have set for the day. We are on the 3rd feeding of the morning, and have had pears with oatmeal. Hope the boys don't mind watching Backyardigans while I take care of the baby. Wonder what is upsetting my allergies so much.
0900-1000 Discover that the boys are puppies named Bolt and Mcgowski. Don't ask. Become a puppy trainer and feed them fruit snacks for properly performed tricks. Is that weird? Get the library books and a few of ours ready to return to the library.
1000-1100 Get custody of my parents' dog, Sampson, who is part Basset Hound and part drooling vulture. Put dogs in back yard, buckle kids up, and head to library and park. Go to story time, where we hear stories about owls and make owl faces. Find books not related to owls in any way and wonder if Jack has tried hooting repeatedly like an owl to get info from terrorists. It could be a great way to do a "safe" interrogation.
1100-1200 Finish up at the library, retrieve the books from home (thank you, observant library lady!), and come home to start lunch. Wonder why the kitchen still smells funny after dishes are washed and floor was mopped just yesterday.
1200-1300 Eat lunch with boys, some of whom are more patient than others. Yes, Caleb, I am calling you out. Wipe down counters and cook top to see if that gets rid of smell. Read new library books and get ready for quiet time.
1300-1400 Quiet time. Not that it is, really. Ben refuses to lay down. Boy's mother comes to get him and my youngest two so I can take the dog to the vet. Try to think of ways to pay for vet visit if over $200, and is dog really worth it if it costs $2,000? Hear pres/All State guy say that she's not in good hands.
1400-1600 Take dog to vet. Feel like a terrible person for not loving my dog enough, but let's face it, we have a LOT of other expenses and the dog is way at the bottom of the list. Fill out forms, wonder if I am bad because I don't know if she's allergic to anything, and try to get her to step on the scale. Visit goes down hill really fast after that.
1600-1700 Get back from vet. Had no idea the dog could shed that much. On me. She just has a cyst, probably nothing serious, we just need to keep an eye on it. Pick up kids, get them started on homework and chores, am amazed they ask for a snack after seeing them eat popcorn at friends' house.
1700-1800 Benjamin is not potty trained. Wonder if Karma is blog-stalking me, or if Ben is just trying to get even after I fed him peas last night. Caleb soldier crawls to the lamp and knocks it onto himself. Take care of Caleb first because he has a possible head injury and is crying louder. Ben falls asleep on the couch.
1800-1900 My hero arrives. It's not Jack. He takes care of dinner, asks why the kitchen smells funny, and moves the fridge to see if there's anything behind it. I clean up Ben and the bathroom. After eating, I start to get a fruit plate ready for Book Club. One of the dogs vomits. Cliff cleans it up.
1900-2030 Book Club. My darling husband takes the kids downstairs and distracts them for me. Except for Ben, who decides that the ladies upstairs must be pretty bored without him. Wonder if Jack plays Halo or other violent games after wrestling with mass murderers and other crazies at work.
2030-2100 Get kids in bed and try to keep them there. Watch a show on Hulu.
2100-2200 Wonder why on earth I am still awake. And why don't I have a Cherry Coke and some chips? Watch another show.
2200-2100 Finally go to bed, but not to sleep. Already starting on tomorrow's list.
2100-0600 Try to breathe, try to sleep, realize the two will not work together. Oh well. Now understand why Jack never looks rested. He has allergies, too.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Pros and Cons
Clifford is on a diet.
Pro: a diet change will help his medication help him to lose weight and get healthier.
Con: a low-carb diet does not fit well with my lactose-free diet and new idea of adding more vegetarian meals like the Word of Wisdom suggests. Any suggestions for a week of meals consisting of only spinach, lettuce, and cauliflower, anyone?
Sarah has a broken filling.
Pro: being a former dental assistant, I automatically knew what it was. Okay, so just about anyone could have seen the huge hole in my tooth and known there was some sort of issue.
Con: being a former dental assistant, I have a rough idea of what it will cost to fix it. Sigh. And we just finished paying off the kids' dental work.
Nadia wants to be home-schooled.
Pro: homeschooling would be a great way to keep her ahead academically.
Con: she is still a little nervous about the changes with a new school year, and would hate to be home every day for school. So would I, to be honest.
Brandon got a haircut at home.
Pro: he didn't cry this time or tell me that Lance does a MUCH better job.
Con: he has a bald spot in front where he had been twirling, then pulling his hair. Very noticeable now.
Benjamin is potty trained.
Pro: no more diapers or expensive pull-ups to buy.
Con: he has to take a trip at least twice during Sacrament meeting. Usually when Caleb is about to fall asleep and Cliff is up front because he needs to direct the music. And one of these trips will be a false alarm.
Caleb is still nursing and refuses a bottle.
Pro: we don't have to buy any formula. And I'm hoping he sucks all the fat right out of me.
Con: he is back on a 2 hour feed schedule even with the cereal and baby food. The boy better have a serious growth spurt soon. He probably isn't sucking out any of my fat, either. The little turkey.
Pro: a diet change will help his medication help him to lose weight and get healthier.
Con: a low-carb diet does not fit well with my lactose-free diet and new idea of adding more vegetarian meals like the Word of Wisdom suggests. Any suggestions for a week of meals consisting of only spinach, lettuce, and cauliflower, anyone?
Sarah has a broken filling.
Pro: being a former dental assistant, I automatically knew what it was. Okay, so just about anyone could have seen the huge hole in my tooth and known there was some sort of issue.
Con: being a former dental assistant, I have a rough idea of what it will cost to fix it. Sigh. And we just finished paying off the kids' dental work.
Nadia wants to be home-schooled.
Pro: homeschooling would be a great way to keep her ahead academically.
Con: she is still a little nervous about the changes with a new school year, and would hate to be home every day for school. So would I, to be honest.
Brandon got a haircut at home.
Pro: he didn't cry this time or tell me that Lance does a MUCH better job.
Con: he has a bald spot in front where he had been twirling, then pulling his hair. Very noticeable now.
Benjamin is potty trained.
Pro: no more diapers or expensive pull-ups to buy.
Con: he has to take a trip at least twice during Sacrament meeting. Usually when Caleb is about to fall asleep and Cliff is up front because he needs to direct the music. And one of these trips will be a false alarm.
Caleb is still nursing and refuses a bottle.
Pro: we don't have to buy any formula. And I'm hoping he sucks all the fat right out of me.
Con: he is back on a 2 hour feed schedule even with the cereal and baby food. The boy better have a serious growth spurt soon. He probably isn't sucking out any of my fat, either. The little turkey.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Twisted Correction
I take it back. Benjamin is not potty trained. Entirely. He gets the idea, and usually does what he is supposed to, but tonight, he decided to let Daddy see what it is like in the life of Mommy.
While I was running to the store to get some food for dinner, since the kids really weren't in the mood for twigs and bark or my jokes, Benjamin had an accident. I tell you this with a a sort of half smile and lots of compassion for my husband, while at the same time, my heart is doing a happy dance and singing, "It's not just me, it's not just me..."
My sister and I were just having this discussion, you see. Why is it that it seems so easy for Daddies to put kids down for naps, help them eat their veggies, or go potty? Why do children give Daddies so many breaks?
Then something like today happens, and while I am very sorry that it did, it makes me feel better. Unless you are Cliff and reading this, in which case it just makes me very very sad. :(
While I was running to the store to get some food for dinner, since the kids really weren't in the mood for twigs and bark or my jokes, Benjamin had an accident. I tell you this with a a sort of half smile and lots of compassion for my husband, while at the same time, my heart is doing a happy dance and singing, "It's not just me, it's not just me..."
My sister and I were just having this discussion, you see. Why is it that it seems so easy for Daddies to put kids down for naps, help them eat their veggies, or go potty? Why do children give Daddies so many breaks?
Then something like today happens, and while I am very sorry that it did, it makes me feel better. Unless you are Cliff and reading this, in which case it just makes me very very sad. :(
Disgusted and Amazed
Benjamin is potty trained. I am not disgusted by this in the least, but the story of how it happened is way up there.
You see, I have been working with him for a long time. I mean a LONG long longlonglong time. And the boy has the knack. It is not a good thing. I would sit him down, wait with him for something to happen, and within 5 minutes, something would indeed occur. Unfortunately, it wasn't anything to do with the toilet. It was always some one else who needed my attention, and so I had to go help. Or answer the door or let the dog out or you get my point.
Those three minutes when I had to grab Nadia a towel because she forgot one, or Brandon couldn't find any pants, or I was telling some one I really wasn't interested in weed prevention for my lawn unless it included a potty training program, were the three minutes he would jump off the porcelain (or, in this case, plastic Froggy) throne and make a run for it to do his business somewhere else.
On Saturday, Cliff was home. He saw that there was a need to go and sit with his son in the bathroom. So, he did. And something miraculous and absolutely mind blowing happened. In the toilet.
I asked him later what he had promised the Smiling Terror in return for keeping his pants clean. World Peace? A million dollars? Pie?
He shrugged and replied, "I saw that he wanted to get off, and just told him it would be fun if he stayed on the toilet and finished." Benjamin stayed on and has now joined the potty trained club. Absolutely disgusting. And amazing.
You see, I have been working with him for a long time. I mean a LONG long longlonglong time. And the boy has the knack. It is not a good thing. I would sit him down, wait with him for something to happen, and within 5 minutes, something would indeed occur. Unfortunately, it wasn't anything to do with the toilet. It was always some one else who needed my attention, and so I had to go help. Or answer the door or let the dog out or you get my point.
Those three minutes when I had to grab Nadia a towel because she forgot one, or Brandon couldn't find any pants, or I was telling some one I really wasn't interested in weed prevention for my lawn unless it included a potty training program, were the three minutes he would jump off the porcelain (or, in this case, plastic Froggy) throne and make a run for it to do his business somewhere else.
On Saturday, Cliff was home. He saw that there was a need to go and sit with his son in the bathroom. So, he did. And something miraculous and absolutely mind blowing happened. In the toilet.
I asked him later what he had promised the Smiling Terror in return for keeping his pants clean. World Peace? A million dollars? Pie?
He shrugged and replied, "I saw that he wanted to get off, and just told him it would be fun if he stayed on the toilet and finished." Benjamin stayed on and has now joined the potty trained club. Absolutely disgusting. And amazing.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Not So Happy Camper
 |
| Caleb just got a new tooth. You can barely see it in this pic. He hasn't been my Happy Camper because of it. Too bad #2 won't give him a break in between. It's starting to erupt right now. |
 |
| Poor little boy. |
Friday, September 3, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Saturday Is a Messy Day
Saturday was the day of mess. Not just one, but many, and ALL DAY. And, of course, it was the day I had put all of my procrastinating hopes and desperate errands into.
It even started out fairly well. The kids and Cliff went camping for the night with my dad, and we all met up for breakfast the next morning at my parents' house. It was wonderful, and I was glad that everyone was coming back home. It was just too quiet without them, and it didn't help that I decided to watch Veronica Mars find the body of a girl in the ratty hotel ice machine. Just the thing to help me go to sleep. All by myself. In my big creaky house. At least Cliff talked me out of buying that huge body sized ice machine and putting it in the basement.
Anyway, after every one was home, I went downstairs to start some laundry and found the first mess. Water was dripping from the ceiling in the laundry room. I told Cliff, who was trying to sleep because he and a stick decided to fight all night over who had the right to sleep on a certain piece of ground, and he came down to stare at the huge ceiling paint water balloon that was forming and still dripping ominously.
I ran outside to where Nadia was both drowning and washing our dog, and told her to turn the water off. Back inside, Cliff found a bucket and poked a hole into the first big water balloon before I could take a picture of it. Yeah, I told him next time we have a house catastrophe he needs to take a picture of it first so I can blog. And maybe show the insurance people later. The man really needs to look at his priorities in a crisis.
The ceiling was still leaking, so Cliff turned off the water to the house and went online to check to see what we needed to do insurance-wise. Good to see that we would be covered, but we still weren't quite sure what was causing the leak. No laundry happened.
While this was going on, I went on to vacuuming. Hey, chores still needed to get done, right? I started on that and also started to wonder what would happen on Sunday and Monday if the water was still off. We had stinky camp people, piles of school clothes to wash, and small bladders. More small bladders would be joining us on Monday, as I have agreed to some babysitting during this new school year, and if the water was off in order to fix a pipe, what was I going to do?
So, we now have a water mess, a babysitting mess, and a floor mess because the vacuum was just moving the dog hair into neat little lines.
I was too angry to cry. We were just barely getting ahead of our medical/dental bills, and now this. I angrily tore the vacuum apart to find the problem. I checked all the filters (there are 3) for clogs, the belt, the canister, and then the entire length of the hose. Do you know what I found? A sock and a bouncy ball.
While reassembling the monster, Benjamin came up and asked me if I had seen a ball that he had "put away" in the vacuum. I think I need to have another talk about how we help with cleaning up and chores. It did give me a good laugh, though.
I came up to the kitchen to make lunch when I found the next mess. Brandon had decided to get some koolaid, and spilled. I am okay with that, but not with the whole leaving it on the floor until some one finds it with her foot. He had to clean it up.
We found out that the laundry room mess was caused by Nadia washing the dog and the house at the same time. There is no caulking or sealant underneath the sliding glass door that goes to the back yard. Hmmm. Maybe that explains the frozen laundry room water pipes every winter. Water was turned back on in the house.
I decided to rinse up any sticky residue in the kitchen before we left to go to the Chukars baseball game. This was the final mess. There was a pinhole leak in the water line to the fridge. Brandon had spilled very little, and the rest had been from this leak. We turned off the water to the fridge and will get a little coupling piece to fix it. In the mean time, our ice maker is off. Which is just fine with me.
It even started out fairly well. The kids and Cliff went camping for the night with my dad, and we all met up for breakfast the next morning at my parents' house. It was wonderful, and I was glad that everyone was coming back home. It was just too quiet without them, and it didn't help that I decided to watch Veronica Mars find the body of a girl in the ratty hotel ice machine. Just the thing to help me go to sleep. All by myself. In my big creaky house. At least Cliff talked me out of buying that huge body sized ice machine and putting it in the basement.
Anyway, after every one was home, I went downstairs to start some laundry and found the first mess. Water was dripping from the ceiling in the laundry room. I told Cliff, who was trying to sleep because he and a stick decided to fight all night over who had the right to sleep on a certain piece of ground, and he came down to stare at the huge ceiling paint water balloon that was forming and still dripping ominously.
I ran outside to where Nadia was both drowning and washing our dog, and told her to turn the water off. Back inside, Cliff found a bucket and poked a hole into the first big water balloon before I could take a picture of it. Yeah, I told him next time we have a house catastrophe he needs to take a picture of it first so I can blog. And maybe show the insurance people later. The man really needs to look at his priorities in a crisis.
The ceiling was still leaking, so Cliff turned off the water to the house and went online to check to see what we needed to do insurance-wise. Good to see that we would be covered, but we still weren't quite sure what was causing the leak. No laundry happened.
While this was going on, I went on to vacuuming. Hey, chores still needed to get done, right? I started on that and also started to wonder what would happen on Sunday and Monday if the water was still off. We had stinky camp people, piles of school clothes to wash, and small bladders. More small bladders would be joining us on Monday, as I have agreed to some babysitting during this new school year, and if the water was off in order to fix a pipe, what was I going to do?
So, we now have a water mess, a babysitting mess, and a floor mess because the vacuum was just moving the dog hair into neat little lines.
I was too angry to cry. We were just barely getting ahead of our medical/dental bills, and now this. I angrily tore the vacuum apart to find the problem. I checked all the filters (there are 3) for clogs, the belt, the canister, and then the entire length of the hose. Do you know what I found? A sock and a bouncy ball.
While reassembling the monster, Benjamin came up and asked me if I had seen a ball that he had "put away" in the vacuum. I think I need to have another talk about how we help with cleaning up and chores. It did give me a good laugh, though.
I came up to the kitchen to make lunch when I found the next mess. Brandon had decided to get some koolaid, and spilled. I am okay with that, but not with the whole leaving it on the floor until some one finds it with her foot. He had to clean it up.
We found out that the laundry room mess was caused by Nadia washing the dog and the house at the same time. There is no caulking or sealant underneath the sliding glass door that goes to the back yard. Hmmm. Maybe that explains the frozen laundry room water pipes every winter. Water was turned back on in the house.
I decided to rinse up any sticky residue in the kitchen before we left to go to the Chukars baseball game. This was the final mess. There was a pinhole leak in the water line to the fridge. Brandon had spilled very little, and the rest had been from this leak. We turned off the water to the fridge and will get a little coupling piece to fix it. In the mean time, our ice maker is off. Which is just fine with me.
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