Out of the Mouths of Babes...or 3 Year Olds

One thing that I can say with 100% certainty, is that I am NOT a good housekeeper.  I am an excellent teacher, a great wife, a good mom, and a great friend to have.  I will come to your house and clean it so well that it shines. . .but please do not come to my house unannounced!  You will walk into a mess 9 times out of 10.

And it's not always my kids' things that are all over the place either.  Jason and I are just as guilty of leaving our things around.  At any given time you could walk into a living room with a pile of unfolded laundry...including our unmentionables....just hanging out on my chair.  Like now, for instance.  You would also find dirty dishes in the sink, most likely because the dishes in the dishwasher are clean and neither Jason nor I have won the battle over who is going to unload them yet.  And I can guarantee you that my bed will not be made...that is what they make bedroom doors for!

However, there are times when I get a wild hair, you know where, and I decide to clean.  And I mean clean.  Not just your weekly disinfecting of the bathrooms, oh no, I mean the kind where you drag everything out into the middle of the room, throw stuff away, and only put back what you really, really, really need.  This is a rarity at our house, but it does happen.  Usually when I'm in one of my cleaning moods, the kids will ask: "Who's coming to visit?"  You might think that's funny, but there is a lot of truth to that statement.  Usually my house only looks really nice when someone is coming to stay with us for a few days.

Well, with yesterday being a snow day, I had it in my head that I was going to get some long-needed cleaning done.  I took down all of the Christmas decorations and got them put away.  I did all of the "weekly" stuff that hadn't been done in, well, awhile.  And then I took after the kitchen.  I organized my pantry, and as I was passing by the fridge I decided to clean it as well.

I am a lot like my mom when it comes to my refrigerator.  You can figure out my whole life just by perusing the photos on the front and sides of my fridge.  I don't ever take anything down, I just add new stuff.  So, you really can't even tell what color the fridge is!  Well, yesterday I removed all of the photos and other memorabilia and scrubbed the fridge until it shone.  I thought it looked quite nice, and had decided not to put everything back on it.  When I called the kids up for supper, Braden took one look at the fridge and said, "Wow Mom!  I LOVE your new fridge!" LOL!  He didn't believe me that it was the same one until he opened it up and realized that the inside was still as frightful as it always is. :)

Remember...call before you come. :)

Melodrama

One of my fondest memories of Lauren's toddler-hood was one summer day when she was about 18 months old.  We were living in a crappy little apartment that I hated and Jason loved.  He said it was like being on vacation...no yard work, no home maintenance projects, etc.  We were there for 6 months while our home was being built.  It was very hard to go from living in a nice house, back to living in a cramped apartment.  The part I hated was being newly pregnant for the 2nd time, hauling groceries up 3 flights of stairs with a toddler in tow, and then having to go back down the stairs to take the big dog outside.  Ugh, never again.  But that is not the point of my story.

One day Lauren wasn't feeling the greatest, so I was trying to give her some medicine.  She was not taking it well and it got all over her face.  While I was trying to wipe it off, she turned away from me and smushed her face down into our very nice, suede recliner.  Jason freaked out.  "Oh great, it's ruined!  Is this what it means to have kids?  That we can't have anything nice?!  Great, just great....no, you can't clean it...it's ruined!"

The reason why this is such a fond memory for me is that it was then that I realized how much my wonderful husband exaggerates.  So now whenever Jason is telling a story, hunting or otherwise, we tell the listener to divide by two and add one.  And that's the truth.

Which brings me to today.  It's Christmas Eve and we are spending it with Jason's family and extended family this year.  It's a ton of excitement because there are more kids for our kids to play with.  That being the case, we decided that our kids should take a nap this afternoon because we know that it will be a late night.  We had gotten them situated and given all the usual warnings about staying in bed and not bothering each other.  Thinking they were settled, I headed to take a shower and make myself presentable for our evening out.  When I was just about ready, Jason came storming down the stairs spewing the following rhetoric:

"That's it, I'm done.  I've had it.  They don't listen!  All our kids are good at is watching TV and eating junk food!  That's all they're good at.  I'm done!"

Apparently nap time did not go as planned.  But. . .if you know our kids....and if you know Jason...you'll know to "divide by two and add one" and that is really how it went.

Merry Christmas!

Why 6 Year Olds Make Lousy Criminals

Today was cold, windy, and wet.  The weather just couldn't make up its mind about what it wanted to do today, so it went with snowing sleet balls.  Strange.  But it was close enough to freezing rain that it iced over my windows.  I was on a search for the scraper that didn't seem to exist when I saw it.  The graffiti.

Written in blue pen were the initials "LJ."  "I can't believe that I was tagged by the LJ gang!", was my first thought.  My second thought was, "Huh...I wonder how they got into my LOCKED van and waaaay back into the back seat without me ever seeing them!  I'm sure glad that Lauren wasn't in there when it happened because she usually sits back there and colors on the way to.....uh....wait a minute."

Lauren (who we call LJ), the leader of the LJ graffiti gang, is now serving a two-day sentence for her artwork.

And that is why 6 year olds make lousy criminals...they aren't smart enough to write somebody else's name! :)

What to Get Your Spoiled Kids for Christmas!?

Ok, so I know it's customary to want your children to have more than you had, and be more successful than you were...blah blah blah.  But c'mon...really?!  Does this have to extend to the "things" department too?

We have been struggling with what to get our kids for Christmas.  Braden wants anything he lays eyes on, and my beautiful daughter wants a DSi.  Braden will be very easy to buy for this year.  Anything related to sports, cars, action heroes, Buzz Lightyear, or Lightening McQueen will do.  But I am afraid that my daughter will learn a new vocabulary word this year: disappointment. 

I refuse to buy my 6 year old a Nintendo DSi!!  Call me crazy, but I do not think that children her age need something of that caliber.  That ranks right up with my views on kids having TV's in their bedrooms, battery-operated cars to tool around in, cell phones before they are old enough to pay for them on their own, and meth labs in their playrooms.

Now...I know that some parents are just fine with most of these things (minus the make your own meth lab kit I hope), but Jason and I agree wholeheartedly on these items not being appropriate.  Of course, I also said that I would never own a mini van too....

So where does that leave me?  Basically stuck with NO ideas for a "big" gift for my 6 year old daughter that I deem as reasonable, and that she would love.  I am half-temped to go through the mountains of things they already own and wrap some of it up.  $10 says they have forgotten they even own some of it!

Your Husband Should Fit You Like Your Favorite Pair of Shoes

Now, think about that for a minute.  Do I mean that you should be so comfortable with each other that you don't mind how he smells?  No....I strongly encourage showering.  What I mean is....he should be your "go-to guy."  He should be the one that you feel so good around that you'll never want to throw him out for a newer model...no matter how cute they look on!

Jason and I knew we were meant to be even before we were dating.  And definitely by the end of our first date I knew he was the guy, and he knew he would end up marrying me....how scary is that!  We are NOTHING alike...well, we weren't at that point anyway.  But through the years we've developed very similar tastes in things.  I put up with his passion for hunting and all things shooting related, and he tolerates me filling our home with smelly candles and items from Craft Fairs.  We agree on how to raise our children, and we are both there to tell the other one when they need to chill out on things.

Women needs girl friends to gripe to about work, gripe to about their kids, gripe to about "women stuff."  But I think that women also need that man in their life to come home to, snuggle with on the couch, and when they ask you how your day was they don't say "Sorry I asked!" when you tell them how it really went! 

Your significant other should also be that guy who takes the kids off of your hands for an entire day "just because."  NOT because it's your birthday, or because you've guilt-ed him into it and he's tired of hearing you complain, but because he knows that you need it in order to be a better mom and wife.  And he should preferably NOT be the kind of guy who opens the trunk of your car and explodes in expletives because of all the stuff you bought at the craft fair. ;)

My pair of comfy shoes is downstairs, throwing a football around with our son, allowing our daughter to climb all over him even though it's annoying him, and who smiled and said "I'm glad honey" when I told him what a great day I had.  And he continued to smile when I told him about my purchases at the craft fair.  And that's why I will keep him around...funky smell and all. :)

An Update on the Preschool Saga

I called to talk to the director of the preschool today.  I explained who I was and she says, "What's up?"  Like we're going to have a nice little chat...yeah right.

I told her that we were removing Braden from her center and that this change was effective immediately (or really, last week).  I told her that I felt like I owed her an explanation as to why he wouldn't be returning so that she could take care of things herself.  I also mentioned the fact that I had considered going directly to her licensing rep from the state, but had decided to talk with her first.

I told her everything that I had witnessed during my visit last week.  She listened very politely to what I had to say, and when I gave her a chance to speak she sounded extremely upset (that any of this had taken place) and also very sorry that we had to deal with all of it.  She said that she would be taking care of the problems that I had brought to her attention immediately, and I have a feeling that her staff is in for a brow-beating for a few things. 

Overall, I am glad that we are sticking with our plan of taking him out of that environment and I am also very glad that I spoke up about all that I had witnessed instead of just fuming about it.  This way was more productive and I also get the satisfaction of knowing that I got these women "in trouble."  I know that sounds childish, but, well...you mess with my kid, you mess with me!

Even "Super-Mom" Makes Mistakes!

Last Thursday I had Parent-Teacher Conferences from 8:00AM to 8:00PM.  But I had to take time out of my 12 hour day to be a parent as well.  I wish that I had done this sooner. . .but hindsight is always 20/20 isn't it.

I went to observe at Braden's preschool today.  Not good.  I am sick to my stomach about what I witnessed.  I am kicking myself that I didn't observe there sooner. . .like maybe BEFORE I enrolled him!?  I am a teacher for goodness sake.  Why didn't I think to do that?  Why?  Well. . .because I'm human and I can't control everything that happens to my children no matter how hard I try.

What prompted the visit in the first place is that Jason took him to school on Tuesday and didn't like the chaos that he witnessed.  Once he said something about it all of the little comments that our babysitter Kim and her husband had been making about what they were seeing at his preschool started to make more sense.  Jason and I decided that I needed to go and see for myself, from the perspective of a teacher AND a parent, in order for us to make a more informed decision about whether or not to keep him there.

The very minute I walked through that door I knew that I wasn't going to allow him to return to that place.  Not one person stopped me and asked me who I was, what I needed. . .nada.  I sat there for 15 minutes before anyone even realized I was there!  During those 15 minutes I witnessed the 4/5 year old's teacher screeching at them about stupid things, my son's teacher manhandling a toddler, screeching at the other kids, not having ANY control over her group, and not doing anything academic with them during "circle time."  Then, my son got pulled aside to work with another teacher during a small group time, and she interrupted the other teacher to ask how to spell Braden's name!!!  He's been a student there for a whole 1/4 and they don't know how to spell his name??!!

About this time, Braden notices me.  He runs over and hugs me.  Then the young teacher with him asks me if I'm his mom.  When I say yes, she asks me how to spell his name!  Can you imagine the body language that I was portraying at this time!?  I walked over and sat down beside Braden while he worked on his "project."  All it really was, was drawing his face.  The "teacher" would ask the kids what colors they should use for their faces, and instead of having them find those colors in the crayon box, she handed them the colors!  She passed up what could have been a review of the colors just to make the project take a shorter amount of time.

Once he was done he returned to the whole group where they were singing songs.  It was very apparent to me that they were not used to doing many songs and that the teacher was just trying to impress me, because the kids HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO DO DURING THE SONGS!  Needless to say, she couldn't have done much to impress me by this point.

Finally I had to say goodbye to Braden and get back to my conferences.  It took all that I had to leave him there with those "teachers."  As I was leaving, not ONE of them said goodbye to me, or thanks for coming...nada.

Do NOT send your child to Storytime Preschool and Daycare in North Sioux City, Iowa.  The day that I observed was Braden's last day and I would rather NOT have him in ANY kind of preschool, rather than take him back there.

The director will be getting a visit from me today.