Friday, October 16, 2009

candy

kiki: i love this peanut butter candy so much, momma.
me: glad you like it, sweetie.
kiki: it's chewy, but not like tootsie rolls. tootsie rolls give me a headache *taps her head several times with her finger* i don't know why. the world is just crazy like that sometimes.

Monday, October 12, 2009

the reader

muss has asked me three times in the past 24 hours if it is ok for her to just hang out in her room and read. i love that girl.

in other news. kiki is hacking up a lung and has a temp of 100.4. no school for her tomorrow.

new shoes

scene ~ kiki heads to show muss some shoes she is trying on.

muss: where'd you find those shoes, the ugly closet?
kiki: momma said they were yours.
muss: wow, i had bad taste when i was 4.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

giving it another try

so it's been awhile. giving this thing another whirl, but not making any promises.

since i was last here, they have repealed that safe haven law i spoke of and thus i have been forced to keep all 3 children.

the muss is now in 3rd grade, boo in 1st and kiki has finally started preschool. all is well.

i also turned 40. don't tell anyone i actually admitted that.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

deep breath

tonight was a rough night in parenting.

i don't really want to go into details and point blame at any one child, but let's just say that i almost utilized that crazy safe haven law we have on the books (temporarily, as it were) and free myself of 2 kids. i would then only have one. which one? he's a boy if that narrows it down. i can't believe of the 3 of them the 5-year-old boy was the best one. he knew momma was about to blow a gasket and to steer clear. the girls, being too much like their mother, did not know when to give up and almost put me over the edge. of a cliff.

i calmed down. they are all fine. i need to go over the events of the evening in my mind and find a better way to handle things next time. yes, we all know there will be a next time.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

piano lessons

The Muss started taking piano lessons the beginning of October. Today was only her 6th lesson, but she is almost completely through her first book. Her teacher showers her with praise and tells me how quickly she is picking up the music. She really seems to love it and when she sits down to practice at home will go on for quite a long time. She doesn't practice as much as she should, but I don't make her so it is more my fault.

Sometimes, being the oldest, I think she feels like she doesn't get as much attention as the others. She isn't the boy. She isn't the tiny pixie-like toddler flitting about the room. She is the oldest and because she is the oldest she is expected to do more. I was the oldest so I get it. I understand how she is feeling and also understand that later in life she will enjoy being the oldest. More experiences to share, first to go to college, first to leave home, and many other firsts but it still all seems unfair now. We do our best to divide and conquer with the kids giving them each one-on-one time when we can. It is difficult though. We both work outside the home, J. is in school full-time (for not much longer, woohoo!) and there is always so much to do around the house. It is hard to find the time.

But for this 1/2 hour a week my dad comes over to babysit Boo & Kiki and I take the Muss to her piano lesson. I sit and listen to her learn the notes, play and sing. She plays sweet duets singing along with her teacher. It is really lovely. She knows I am proud of her and think she is amazing. I really need to tell her that more.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

veterans' day

Also my mother's birthday. We had my mother and step-father over for dinner tonight. One of the moments I want to remember is the kids trying to surprise my mother as she came into the house. They hid on the stairs and shushed eachother so loudly that I'm sure my mother heard them as she was coming across the street. As she walked in the door, they jumped down and yelled "SURPRISE!!!" Then the Muss strummed the guitar as the 3 of them sang "Happy Birthday" to her. I got a tear in my eye it was so sweet. They had crafted her some lovely birthday cards and we ate, talked, had cake and played. Good times.