For the past three years, upon meeting me and learning the ages and genders of my children, I have always been able to depend upon someone to comment on how it's such a good thing I had my boys first because boys are SO much trouble in the early years and so much easier in the teen years. While I don't pretend to understand WHY it is preferable to have trouble children in the early years vs the teen years, I guess I have sort of started to buy into the idea that young girls are easy while young boys are difficult.
And if you believe that I have some ocean front property I want to sell you!
My dear sweet darling Anna has embarked on a mission to drive me absolutely insane. By 11 am this morning she ripped up our favorite book, "What's Wrong Little Pookie?", soiled the carpet in her room because she has decided that she is a baby and NOT a big girl, and locked me out of my bedroom. In answer to my questions about why on earth she would DO such things, she stated firmly, "Because I'm Anna!"
By 1 pm she thrice looked me straight in the eye whilst defiantly doing exactly what I was telling her not to do which included tracking mud all over the hardwood floors and letting the cat outside.
At 2 pm I informed her that it was rest time and barricaded her in her room with a sippy cup, an apple, some music and her toys, in an effort to give myself a chance clean up all of the messes she had made and accomplish SOMETHING other than Anna patrol. She has decided that she no longer takes naps and has stuck to her policy quite impressively. I have been insisting on some rest time each day, but lately she has done more wondering than resting. The barricade proved effective. While she did absolutely trash her room, she played quietly for about an hour and a half.
And then I let her out of her room. Around 4 pm she cut a favorite Scooby Doo book to ribbons with a pair scissors I thought were well out of her reach.
The late afternoon consisted of a repetitive pattern of Anna breaking rules and receiving consequences for her actions. She capped off her evening by locking us out of our room AGAIN, and spreading lotion all over our bedroom carpet. At that point I just started laughing because it was either that or cry.
So what's the deal here people??? What happened to girls being easier in the early years??? The boys NEVER gave me this much trouble!
I feel like I have lived 3 full weeks since I got up this morning. Dear Lord, what will tomorrow bring?
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Thanks Alicia!
Alicia suggested that I set my Facebook account to automatically post blog updates as notes. I pushed buttons for a while, which is how I usually figure out how to do things, and believe that I have the settings correct. Thanks for the suggestion! I did not know I could do that.
Now I have NO good excuse not to update my blog, which means that any future scoldings will be thoroughly deserved.
Wait...maybe I need to rethink this plan.
Now I have NO good excuse not to update my blog, which means that any future scoldings will be thoroughly deserved.
Wait...maybe I need to rethink this plan.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
I am Ashamed
Facebook has ruined me for blogging. Certain people nagged me to join Facebook and now I find myself corrupted by the ease with which I can upload photos and post pithy one liners about my life.
I am deeply ashamed.
I have been soundly scolded, shown the error of my ways and therefor will recommit myself to regular blog updates.
To that end, here are some of the best pictures from the past few weeks. The S clan has been on spring break and made very good use of the down time.
Love to all! I promise to actually write something sometime soon!
I am deeply ashamed.
I have been soundly scolded, shown the error of my ways and therefor will recommit myself to regular blog updates.
To that end, here are some of the best pictures from the past few weeks. The S clan has been on spring break and made very good use of the down time.
Love to all! I promise to actually write something sometime soon!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Taekwondo Tournament
The kids competed in their first Taekwondo tournament today.
On a scale of parental nail-biting, this activity ranks about a 10.9.
Swimming is pretty low on the scale, maybe a 4.
T-ball's also fairly low, a 4 or 5 max.
It was tough watching Isaac play football; knowing how competitive all the dads were and watching the coaches encourage the kind of rough housing that I have spent 7 years discouraging. I'd give football a 9.
To this point, I have loved Taekwondo because it is an individual sport and there is really nothing the boys are asked to do that they are afraid of. Swimming became more stressful when they finished all of the beginner lessons and had to start jumping into the deep end. But thus far TKD has yielded no such stressor.
Until today.
The boys competed like absolute champs. Isaac had the usual Isaac-butterflies prior to the start of competition, but he came through in fine form. Nathan loved every second of it from start to finish.
Anna refused to be put down at all, which was pretty funny. Two might be just a tad young for tournament competition, I daresay. She did end up with a participation ribbon and could not be happier.
I, however, will probably require 13 or 14 hours of sleep to recover from the post adrenaline crash after watching my boys compete as individuals, knowing that they might not both win and knowing how they might react if one won and the other did not.
I absolutely realize that lessons of winning and loosing are necessary, a part of growing up and build character in the end. But you have to cut me just a little slack this first time around. I think this was one of those mom moments you just don't anticipate for what it is actually going to be.
Nathan almost immediately took first place in the forms competition. WAY TO GO NATE! We are SO proud of you!
Watching the judges place that medal around Nathan's neck lit a fire under Isaac, who instantly forgot his butterflies and started practicing his moves. He took third in the forms competition. GREAT JOB IKE! We are so proud of you!
Nate held his own during the sparring competition and came away with second.
Sparring got a little dicey for Isaac as he competed against a kid who, while equal in age and weight, clearly had significantly more experience than Isaac did. Isaac took a kick to the head, ended up on the floor and well...that was the end of that fight. He did regroup, bow out of the fight and come away with second place. We are VERY proud of him for holding it together and ending his tournament with his head held high.
I am extremely proud of both of them for overcoming their nerves and trying something new. I am proud of Isaac for not flipping out over the fact that Nathan now boasts a trophy that is almost taller than he is. And I am particularly proud of Nathan for stating almost immediately that he wanted to share his trophy with Isaac.
SIGH They are amazing kids. It was a nail-biter all right, but it was also an incredibly positive experience for all of us.
Love to all!
PS I am REALLY peeved with my camera as nearly half of the pictures we took are mysteriously absent from my memory card. It wasn't the best picture taking opportunity in the first place, but I was hoping to piece together some good shots by the sheer volume of pictures I took. The pics below will have to do. I am bummed that all my shots of Isaac being awarded his medals are gone.
On a scale of parental nail-biting, this activity ranks about a 10.9.
Swimming is pretty low on the scale, maybe a 4.
T-ball's also fairly low, a 4 or 5 max.
It was tough watching Isaac play football; knowing how competitive all the dads were and watching the coaches encourage the kind of rough housing that I have spent 7 years discouraging. I'd give football a 9.
To this point, I have loved Taekwondo because it is an individual sport and there is really nothing the boys are asked to do that they are afraid of. Swimming became more stressful when they finished all of the beginner lessons and had to start jumping into the deep end. But thus far TKD has yielded no such stressor.
Until today.
The boys competed like absolute champs. Isaac had the usual Isaac-butterflies prior to the start of competition, but he came through in fine form. Nathan loved every second of it from start to finish.
Anna refused to be put down at all, which was pretty funny. Two might be just a tad young for tournament competition, I daresay. She did end up with a participation ribbon and could not be happier.
I, however, will probably require 13 or 14 hours of sleep to recover from the post adrenaline crash after watching my boys compete as individuals, knowing that they might not both win and knowing how they might react if one won and the other did not.
I absolutely realize that lessons of winning and loosing are necessary, a part of growing up and build character in the end. But you have to cut me just a little slack this first time around. I think this was one of those mom moments you just don't anticipate for what it is actually going to be.
Nathan almost immediately took first place in the forms competition. WAY TO GO NATE! We are SO proud of you!
Watching the judges place that medal around Nathan's neck lit a fire under Isaac, who instantly forgot his butterflies and started practicing his moves. He took third in the forms competition. GREAT JOB IKE! We are so proud of you!
Nate held his own during the sparring competition and came away with second.
Sparring got a little dicey for Isaac as he competed against a kid who, while equal in age and weight, clearly had significantly more experience than Isaac did. Isaac took a kick to the head, ended up on the floor and well...that was the end of that fight. He did regroup, bow out of the fight and come away with second place. We are VERY proud of him for holding it together and ending his tournament with his head held high.
I am extremely proud of both of them for overcoming their nerves and trying something new. I am proud of Isaac for not flipping out over the fact that Nathan now boasts a trophy that is almost taller than he is. And I am particularly proud of Nathan for stating almost immediately that he wanted to share his trophy with Isaac.
SIGH They are amazing kids. It was a nail-biter all right, but it was also an incredibly positive experience for all of us.
Love to all!
PS I am REALLY peeved with my camera as nearly half of the pictures we took are mysteriously absent from my memory card. It wasn't the best picture taking opportunity in the first place, but I was hoping to piece together some good shots by the sheer volume of pictures I took. The pics below will have to do. I am bummed that all my shots of Isaac being awarded his medals are gone.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Um...
I received a rather firm scolding for not updating the blog recently. Uh...sorry.
I missed an update on Jesse's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY!
BUT, I will now post an EARLY B-Day wish to Esther. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ESTHER!
So that pretty much evens out to being on time with both, right?
We have been toying with a Spring Break trip to Legoland in San Diego. Isaac LOVES legos. I mean LOVES them. His rather indulgent parents have even gone so far as to purchase him some hard to find sets off of e-bay. He builds with his legos, he plays with his legos, he talks about his legos, he draws pictures of his legs...the list goes on and on. We visited Legoland many years ago when he was 2 or 3, but we really want to take him now, while legos are his favorite thing.
We are not sure this trip will work out this year so we began searching for alternatives. We discovered a lego outlet store in a nearby outlet mall. What could be better??? Legos? Outlet mall? We are SO there!They currently have a life size lego built Spongebob on display! SCORE! We are also going to have lunch at this GOD AWFUL pseudo-Mexican restaurant that every person in this city LOVED as a a kid but as an adult quickly realized is disgusting and overpriced. The kids love it, we hate it, what are ya gonna do?
This evening, in an effort to inspire angelic behavior for the remainder of the week, we decided to tease the boys with their upcoming weekend activity but not actually reveal any details. Of course they became terribly excited and began listing places we might be visiting.
Nathan: A move?
No.
Isaac: The zoo?
No.
Nathan: The museum?
No.
Isaac: Monkey Business?
No.
Nathan: Funtastic Fun?
No.
Isaac: The bug zoo?
No.
Nathan: A wine tasting?
Um.........
Does anyone out there have ANY idea WHERE this child might have learned about such a thing? Jesse occasionally drinks wine in restaurants, but the boys never accompany us to restaurants where we would order wine. I don't like wine AT ALL. (Give me a good fruity martini any day.) We have several bottles of wine on display in our dining room, but that is about the extent of his exposure to wine.
Anyone? That boy never fails to evoke side splitting laughter from everyone in the room.
Anna gave him a run for his money later in the evening while we were introducing the boys to their cups for their new Taekwondo class. No not the drinking kind, the other kind. With me?
We helped the boys strip down and figure out the apparatus whilst calming the VERY anxious Isaac who was not at ALL pleased with this turn of events.
Neither of us paid much attention to Anna until she walked up to us, stark naked from the waste down, and demanded HER cup. Using all the appropriate terminology I calmly and rationally explained that little girls don't need to wear a cup.
She was not impressed.
She gave me that Anna look and firmly stated that, "I have a very little pee so I need a little girl cup too!"
What else could I do? I folded up some paper towels and allowed her to stuff them in her undies. Problem solved.
What sort of mothering award does this earn me?
Love to all!
I missed an update on Jesse's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY!
BUT, I will now post an EARLY B-Day wish to Esther. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ESTHER!
So that pretty much evens out to being on time with both, right?
We have been toying with a Spring Break trip to Legoland in San Diego. Isaac LOVES legos. I mean LOVES them. His rather indulgent parents have even gone so far as to purchase him some hard to find sets off of e-bay. He builds with his legos, he plays with his legos, he talks about his legos, he draws pictures of his legs...the list goes on and on. We visited Legoland many years ago when he was 2 or 3, but we really want to take him now, while legos are his favorite thing.
We are not sure this trip will work out this year so we began searching for alternatives. We discovered a lego outlet store in a nearby outlet mall. What could be better??? Legos? Outlet mall? We are SO there!They currently have a life size lego built Spongebob on display! SCORE! We are also going to have lunch at this GOD AWFUL pseudo-Mexican restaurant that every person in this city LOVED as a a kid but as an adult quickly realized is disgusting and overpriced. The kids love it, we hate it, what are ya gonna do?
This evening, in an effort to inspire angelic behavior for the remainder of the week, we decided to tease the boys with their upcoming weekend activity but not actually reveal any details. Of course they became terribly excited and began listing places we might be visiting.
Nathan: A move?
No.
Isaac: The zoo?
No.
Nathan: The museum?
No.
Isaac: Monkey Business?
No.
Nathan: Funtastic Fun?
No.
Isaac: The bug zoo?
No.
Nathan: A wine tasting?
Um.........
Does anyone out there have ANY idea WHERE this child might have learned about such a thing? Jesse occasionally drinks wine in restaurants, but the boys never accompany us to restaurants where we would order wine. I don't like wine AT ALL. (Give me a good fruity martini any day.) We have several bottles of wine on display in our dining room, but that is about the extent of his exposure to wine.
Anyone? That boy never fails to evoke side splitting laughter from everyone in the room.
Anna gave him a run for his money later in the evening while we were introducing the boys to their cups for their new Taekwondo class. No not the drinking kind, the other kind. With me?
We helped the boys strip down and figure out the apparatus whilst calming the VERY anxious Isaac who was not at ALL pleased with this turn of events.
Neither of us paid much attention to Anna until she walked up to us, stark naked from the waste down, and demanded HER cup. Using all the appropriate terminology I calmly and rationally explained that little girls don't need to wear a cup.
She was not impressed.
She gave me that Anna look and firmly stated that, "I have a very little pee so I need a little girl cup too!"
What else could I do? I folded up some paper towels and allowed her to stuff them in her undies. Problem solved.
What sort of mothering award does this earn me?
Love to all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)