So I know it's hard to believe, but I have begun Christmas shopping!
"WHAT???"
I can hear you screaming it now. But with two kids born in early December, I need to get as much finished as early as possible so I can divide up the goods to spread throughout the month without tail spinning into a panic at Thanksgiving that I have nothing for gifts!!
As some of you know, we went to Santa's Village this summer where my kids met Santa and put in their early requests.
My son told me he was going to ask Santa for a real excavator. You know, the kind that dig up the earth at construction sites. We managed to get him down to a toy fire truck by the time he sat in Santa's lap. My daughter wouldn't share her request, which panicked me.
Santa: "Can you think of anything you'd like for Christmas?"
Abby: "Yup. I'd like Bambi's Dad and Bambi's Mom. But not the soft kind. The toy kind. You know which ones I mean?"
Santa: "OK. Bambi's Mom and Dad, huh?"
Abby: "Yup" (huge grin)
WTF??? I had forgotten that odd request and stupidly asked her this morning if she remembered what she asked Santa for - and as if she was sitting on his lap at that moment she whipped out the same request and it all came flooding back to me.
What is she talking about? And searching "Bambi toys" on eBay and other places is not turning up anything remotely similar to Bambi's dead mother and distant father (for those that have seen the movie!).
At least I can blame it on Santa when he doesn't deliver...I'll be the bad guy when she's 16 and asks for a car and I don't deliver on that one, either!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Have chips; Will eat
My secret to healthier eating is not buying foods that I like, thereby eating less (ok, at least less junk food). Since I do the grocery shopping, I get to decide what goes in the cart. Genius, isn't it? On top of that, I've been blessed with a distaste for chocolate so that has never been a downfall for me.
Potato Chips? Well, that's another story!!
I hosted 3 different BBQ's over the course of the last week and out of courtesy to my guests I picked up 2 of those big BJ-sized bags of reduced fat Cape Cod chips. Oh yea, baby. The crunchy kind. All curled up so you can pop them one after the other in your mouth - for hours - in front of the TV - and suddenly the whole bag is gone. And reduced fat means jack...it's just a justification to make it into the shopping cart!
On top of that, my girlfriend brought a bag of Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper Cape Cod chips - crunchier than the reduced fat and loaded with yummy salt - AND SHE LEFT THEM BEHIND WHEN SHE LEFT!!!
Add some dip to mix - any kind of dip - and I have just blown 8 months of careful, calculated eating in just 7 days. I guess I'll just have to finish off the bags this weekend so they aren't sitting in my pantry screaming my name around 8:15 every night. Amazing what some carbs, grease and salt can do to my stamina.
Potato Chips? Well, that's another story!!
I hosted 3 different BBQ's over the course of the last week and out of courtesy to my guests I picked up 2 of those big BJ-sized bags of reduced fat Cape Cod chips. Oh yea, baby. The crunchy kind. All curled up so you can pop them one after the other in your mouth - for hours - in front of the TV - and suddenly the whole bag is gone. And reduced fat means jack...it's just a justification to make it into the shopping cart!
On top of that, my girlfriend brought a bag of Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper Cape Cod chips - crunchier than the reduced fat and loaded with yummy salt - AND SHE LEFT THEM BEHIND WHEN SHE LEFT!!!
Add some dip to mix - any kind of dip - and I have just blown 8 months of careful, calculated eating in just 7 days. I guess I'll just have to finish off the bags this weekend so they aren't sitting in my pantry screaming my name around 8:15 every night. Amazing what some carbs, grease and salt can do to my stamina.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Feel the pain
A few weeks ago, literally out of the blue, my daughter curled up in my arms sobbing because she realized that when she starts her new school in Sept she won't see her best friend from her current school - she lives in a different town and is headed to a different school. She said she didn't want to cry and wanted the sad things to leave her head. I could see her mentally pushing the thoughts away as she frantically wiped her tears.
I explained to her (as my own tears were running down my face out of empathy) that it's okay to cry and in fact it's good to cry. I just read Fairly Odd Mother's post about shedding a tear or two and realized that in my busy schedule I tend to take my emotions and push them aside to control other matters that need my attention. But when I held my little girl in my arms and realized she thought this sadness was insurmountable, I wanted to let her know she could and should cry and to never, ever hold it inside. I wanted her to feel all the emotions stored in her little heart and I believe she will be a better person if she can feel the pain inside herself to understand the pain in others.
I've always cried - and at times cried long and hard - and I am grateful that I don't have an indifference towards life and it's ever-changing moments between joy and pain. I will remind myself that some day soon I may just need a moment to have a good cry - and I'm going to be sure I do it in front of my little girl. Kids learn by example, for this I am sure!
I explained to her (as my own tears were running down my face out of empathy) that it's okay to cry and in fact it's good to cry. I just read Fairly Odd Mother's post about shedding a tear or two and realized that in my busy schedule I tend to take my emotions and push them aside to control other matters that need my attention. But when I held my little girl in my arms and realized she thought this sadness was insurmountable, I wanted to let her know she could and should cry and to never, ever hold it inside. I wanted her to feel all the emotions stored in her little heart and I believe she will be a better person if she can feel the pain inside herself to understand the pain in others.
I've always cried - and at times cried long and hard - and I am grateful that I don't have an indifference towards life and it's ever-changing moments between joy and pain. I will remind myself that some day soon I may just need a moment to have a good cry - and I'm going to be sure I do it in front of my little girl. Kids learn by example, for this I am sure!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Sleepover #2
5:45 p.m
Me: "OK. Have fun and I'll be back to pick up Alex in a little while."
The neighbors hosting the big sleepover last night graciously allowed my son to stay for dinner and play for a little while so I could have some time to myself - my daughter was going to attempt to sleepover at their house.
7:15 p.m.
Me: "Hello. I'm here. How was dinner?"
Abby: "Alex has to go now. Take him. He's going home."
Me: "Yes. I will take him home. You be good tonight and have fun. I'll see you in the morning...Abby...Abby...(she continues to play in the other room)...Abby can I have a hug good-bye?"
I think she came in, dress head to toe in princess gear, leaned in towards me and ALMOST made contact before she was running back into the play room. Wow. That was embarrassing. Last week K was full of love for her family when she was at our house. Ouch.
So I left. Alex and I hung out together and then I set up his room with a sleeping bag like he was having a sleepover and we stayed up together until almost 9:00 reading books and just hanging.
I finally got to the couch around 9:15 to watch the Olympics and within 30 seconds I was asleep. SOUND ASLEEP.
RRRRRiiinnnnnggggggg (how do you describe a phone ringing these days?)
10:00 p.m.
K's Mom: "She's coming home."
Me: "No way!!...I mean, okay."
10:04 p.m.
Truck pulls up in the driveway in the rain - out hops my exhausted little girl.
Me: "How come you wanted to come home?"
Abby, hesitantly: "Because I missed you?"
I think she was asking if that was a good excuse, but I think deep down she's very much like me and NOTHING compares to sleeping in your own bed...not even a princess sleeping bag at your best friend's house.
We've decided this little experiment will be known as "movie night", since neither of the girl's actually fell asleep at the others house and basically they just wanted to have dinner and watch a movie before returning home. Works for me...
Me: "OK. Have fun and I'll be back to pick up Alex in a little while."
The neighbors hosting the big sleepover last night graciously allowed my son to stay for dinner and play for a little while so I could have some time to myself - my daughter was going to attempt to sleepover at their house.
7:15 p.m.
Me: "Hello. I'm here. How was dinner?"
Abby: "Alex has to go now. Take him. He's going home."
Me: "Yes. I will take him home. You be good tonight and have fun. I'll see you in the morning...Abby...Abby...(she continues to play in the other room)...Abby can I have a hug good-bye?"
I think she came in, dress head to toe in princess gear, leaned in towards me and ALMOST made contact before she was running back into the play room. Wow. That was embarrassing. Last week K was full of love for her family when she was at our house. Ouch.
So I left. Alex and I hung out together and then I set up his room with a sleeping bag like he was having a sleepover and we stayed up together until almost 9:00 reading books and just hanging.
I finally got to the couch around 9:15 to watch the Olympics and within 30 seconds I was asleep. SOUND ASLEEP.
RRRRRiiinnnnnggggggg (how do you describe a phone ringing these days?)
10:00 p.m.
K's Mom: "She's coming home."
Me: "No way!!...I mean, okay."
10:04 p.m.
Truck pulls up in the driveway in the rain - out hops my exhausted little girl.
Me: "How come you wanted to come home?"
Abby, hesitantly: "Because I missed you?"
I think she was asking if that was a good excuse, but I think deep down she's very much like me and NOTHING compares to sleeping in your own bed...not even a princess sleeping bag at your best friend's house.
We've decided this little experiment will be known as "movie night", since neither of the girl's actually fell asleep at the others house and basically they just wanted to have dinner and watch a movie before returning home. Works for me...
Monday, August 11, 2008
Sitting in the hallway
As a kid I can remember sneaking in and out of my brother's bedroom after we'd been put to bed, as if I was on a secret mission to stay up just a little bit longer. Our rooms were in the attic of a Cape so it wasn't far to get from room to room. Sometimes we'd hide under the sheet on his bed like it was a tent and pretend we were camping. Or, we'd just whisper about what we did that day, or planned to do the next day...but I also remember that shout up from the bottom of the stairs "Get back to your room" and if I pushed it too far on any given night, Dad would be sitting at the top of the stairs waiting for me to cross over from my brother's room back into mine...and getting caught was never good!
Payback is a bitch. My son is incapable of staying in his room after our nightly routine of pajamas, teeth brushing, glass of water, pee and hugs and kisses. He insists on sneaking out to the bathroom to lather himself in lotion, or cover himself in baby powder. He'll move swiftly into his sister's room to open her purple nail polish on her rug or steal her toys or her jewelry. He scared the crap out of me last night as I was plucking my eyebrows in the bathroom to declare, "I had a bad dream", when I know for a fact he wasn't asleep long enough to have even a good dream.
So, there I sit. At the top of the stairs. Listening to him cluck like a chicken, run his feet up and down the wall, flip from one end of the bed to other, mumble a word or two, before finally drifting off to sleep. It's true what comes around goes around - sorry Dad. I should have stayed in my room. Sitting in the hallway in the dark is boring!
Payback is a bitch. My son is incapable of staying in his room after our nightly routine of pajamas, teeth brushing, glass of water, pee and hugs and kisses. He insists on sneaking out to the bathroom to lather himself in lotion, or cover himself in baby powder. He'll move swiftly into his sister's room to open her purple nail polish on her rug or steal her toys or her jewelry. He scared the crap out of me last night as I was plucking my eyebrows in the bathroom to declare, "I had a bad dream", when I know for a fact he wasn't asleep long enough to have even a good dream.
So, there I sit. At the top of the stairs. Listening to him cluck like a chicken, run his feet up and down the wall, flip from one end of the bed to other, mumble a word or two, before finally drifting off to sleep. It's true what comes around goes around - sorry Dad. I should have stayed in my room. Sitting in the hallway in the dark is boring!
Friday, August 8, 2008
It's not about whether you win or lose...
It's how many gold medals you bring home!!! According to ABC News,
President George W. Bush took a break from diplomacy to rally the American team.
"We want you to win as many golds as you possibly can. Go forth, give it all you got," the pumped-up president told the athletes before having his picture taken with them.
Good job Mr. President. Instill those competitive values about good sportsmanship and counting up the bling.
Blahk!
President George W. Bush took a break from diplomacy to rally the American team.
"We want you to win as many golds as you possibly can. Go forth, give it all you got," the pumped-up president told the athletes before having his picture taken with them.
Good job Mr. President. Instill those competitive values about good sportsmanship and counting up the bling.
Blahk!
Sleepover #1
"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"EEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK"
(Giggles, Laughs and Screeches as they run through the house)
9:00 p.m.
Me: "OK girls. Bed time."
Them: "Let's brush our teeth."
"Can I sleep on the floor, too?"
"Abby, those are very nice Princess cups you have."
"Your nightgown is pretty."
(Tears, Whines and Tantrum)
Little Brother: "I WANT TO SLEEP IN ABBY'S ROOM, TOO"
Complete exhaustion takes over at 9:30 p.m. as little brother falls asleep on the floor in his own room. We tried to have all three of them in one room, but he's the entertainer and was on overdrive tonight. Mom had to make the hard decision to send him to his own room.
10:30 p.m.
Finally, it's quiet. I think the girls have settled down. I'm going to bed...I'll just peek in on them.
Abby: "K misses her Mom."
(Sobbing by K)
Me: "It's okay. You can stay here if you'd like or you can go home. What do you want to do, honey?"
K: "Go...sniff, sniff....home." (as she's already packing up her things)
10:35 p.m.
Hubby calls K's Mom: "She didn't make it, huh?"
Hubby: "Nope. I'll bring her home now."
Luckily, she's only 3 houses down. Abby heads to her house on Monday. Should we just rewind the tape now?
===========================================
Book update: Sat down the other night and read Chasing Harry Winston. It was light, funny and totally unrealistic and even left the details of the "adult" parts to your imagination. If you want to read something without thinking, I'd recommend it. Not sure what is next on the list. In-laws visit next week so I may not get a chance to pick up a book again before late August.
"EEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK"
(Giggles, Laughs and Screeches as they run through the house)
9:00 p.m.
Me: "OK girls. Bed time."
Them: "Let's brush our teeth."
"Can I sleep on the floor, too?"
"Abby, those are very nice Princess cups you have."
"Your nightgown is pretty."
(Tears, Whines and Tantrum)
Little Brother: "I WANT TO SLEEP IN ABBY'S ROOM, TOO"
Complete exhaustion takes over at 9:30 p.m. as little brother falls asleep on the floor in his own room. We tried to have all three of them in one room, but he's the entertainer and was on overdrive tonight. Mom had to make the hard decision to send him to his own room.
10:30 p.m.
Finally, it's quiet. I think the girls have settled down. I'm going to bed...I'll just peek in on them.
Abby: "K misses her Mom."
(Sobbing by K)
Me: "It's okay. You can stay here if you'd like or you can go home. What do you want to do, honey?"
K: "Go...sniff, sniff....home." (as she's already packing up her things)
10:35 p.m.
Hubby calls K's Mom: "She didn't make it, huh?"
Hubby: "Nope. I'll bring her home now."
Luckily, she's only 3 houses down. Abby heads to her house on Monday. Should we just rewind the tape now?
===========================================
Book update: Sat down the other night and read Chasing Harry Winston. It was light, funny and totally unrealistic and even left the details of the "adult" parts to your imagination. If you want to read something without thinking, I'd recommend it. Not sure what is next on the list. In-laws visit next week so I may not get a chance to pick up a book again before late August.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
How do I compete with that?
For months my daughter has wanted to do a sleepover with her friend down the street. It seems near impossible to get them together for weekly play dates for 2 hours each Wed, let alone coordinate a sleepover.
I was finally able to secure some dates with her friend's Mom and we are aiming for this Thursday for her friend to sleep here and then next Monday for Abby to sleep there.
I was hesitant to share the news because I thought I would hear about it every hour, but last night I let her in on the plan:
Me: "Hey Ab. Guess what? I talked to K's Mom and we planned for her to sleepover on Thursday night and you'll go to their house next week to sleepover."
Her: "Really? Did you just see what the kitty did? It was so cute. She rubbed her head against my leg."
Score
Kitty: 230 Mom: 0
I'm losing the excitement factor to a cat.
I was finally able to secure some dates with her friend's Mom and we are aiming for this Thursday for her friend to sleep here and then next Monday for Abby to sleep there.
I was hesitant to share the news because I thought I would hear about it every hour, but last night I let her in on the plan:
Me: "Hey Ab. Guess what? I talked to K's Mom and we planned for her to sleepover on Thursday night and you'll go to their house next week to sleepover."
Her: "Really? Did you just see what the kitty did? It was so cute. She rubbed her head against my leg."
Score
Kitty: 230 Mom: 0
I'm losing the excitement factor to a cat.
Monday, August 4, 2008
I want to chop their heads off
I know that seems like a harsh title, but I am ready to take every squirrel I see and either bill them for their free meals, or rid the world of them!
Aaaaarggghhhhhh!!!!!
We have taped the top of this feeder a million times (even though it's the No No feeder and is supposed to be squirrel-proof). We've lubed the hook up with grease so they slide as they try to reach the top. I even stopped filling it - but then guilt set in as my feathery friends would fly by looking for their seeds.
I'm ready to get violent and that is *so* not my nature!!!
Aaaaarggghhhhhh!!!!!
We have taped the top of this feeder a million times (even though it's the No No feeder and is supposed to be squirrel-proof). We've lubed the hook up with grease so they slide as they try to reach the top. I even stopped filling it - but then guilt set in as my feathery friends would fly by looking for their seeds.
I'm ready to get violent and that is *so* not my nature!!!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Worlds apart
Returned from my trip to London last night. For some reason, this visit was much more pleasurable than the trips I'd made in the past to London. But, then again, I was pregnant with my son the last time I jetted over the pond so nausea and not being able to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner could have contributed to my lack of enthusiasm for England.
Our company merged with a UK company and I had a chance to meet my new colleagues. They all seem very nice. The company is located in Guilford which is a quaint town south of London which emitted all the characteristics of a London town that you'd read about in a novel - cobblestone roads with small shops and restaurants, mixed in with windy roads and homes hidden behind beautiful gardens. It was very green and very pretty.
I'm not sure how often I'll have to visit but there were several times I realized I was a world away from the US - from the triangle sandwiches at lunch slathered with mayo, meat and cucumbers to the toilets where the handle is always located on the right (that threw me every time!!)
But more than the "things" were the conversation and lifestyle differences. There didn't seem to be a rush to get things done. I ran out with a colleague to get Charlie and Lola books for my children at the local bookstore and we spent 1/2 hour looking at books by British authors without a care for the time. When getting gas, you don't pay at the pump - you pay inside and stand in the "queue" for however long it takes. Lunches and dinners were enjoyed at leisure and every meal ended with an espresso (well, not for me since I don't enjoy the java). It was very obvious that there was less stress and more time spent listening and engaging people in conversations and discussions - and not always about work but about life and learning.
I know that will leave me quickly, but today I tried to worry less on how quickly I got things done and focused on stopping a few times to just savor a moment. How very English of me...
Our company merged with a UK company and I had a chance to meet my new colleagues. They all seem very nice. The company is located in Guilford which is a quaint town south of London which emitted all the characteristics of a London town that you'd read about in a novel - cobblestone roads with small shops and restaurants, mixed in with windy roads and homes hidden behind beautiful gardens. It was very green and very pretty.
I'm not sure how often I'll have to visit but there were several times I realized I was a world away from the US - from the triangle sandwiches at lunch slathered with mayo, meat and cucumbers to the toilets where the handle is always located on the right (that threw me every time!!)
But more than the "things" were the conversation and lifestyle differences. There didn't seem to be a rush to get things done. I ran out with a colleague to get Charlie and Lola books for my children at the local bookstore and we spent 1/2 hour looking at books by British authors without a care for the time. When getting gas, you don't pay at the pump - you pay inside and stand in the "queue" for however long it takes. Lunches and dinners were enjoyed at leisure and every meal ended with an espresso (well, not for me since I don't enjoy the java). It was very obvious that there was less stress and more time spent listening and engaging people in conversations and discussions - and not always about work but about life and learning.
I know that will leave me quickly, but today I tried to worry less on how quickly I got things done and focused on stopping a few times to just savor a moment. How very English of me...
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