It's been a tradition in our house that on the night of your birthday, you get to pick the restaurant and celebrate. Two years ago Ian picked Glory Days. This past May 31st, Ian picked Red Robin. Both are big favorites of his.
This morning on the drive to camp, Ian is telling me where he will pick next year for us to go. "When I turn five, I'll pick Glory Days. Then when I'm six, I'll pick Red Robin. That will be the pattern, Glory Days, Red Robin, Glory Days, Red Robin and then Wendy's".
I quickly responded, "Ian, Wendy's isn't really appropriate to go celebrate your birthday."
Without missing a beat, Ian says, "Why not? I like getting my food fast."
Can't really argue with that logic!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Tea for three
Ian received some very cool birthday presents 3 weeks ago when we had his party. He very much enjoys playing with the new toys, leapster, puzzles, moon sand and play-doh, but the surprise hit that keeps him coming back for more, is this tea set that Samantha received for turning 1 the week before. It has a tea pot, two tea cups and a little tray of treats. The whole thing is in shades of pink and purple and the tea pot makes some adorable pouring noises and plays other tunes.
Each morning before camp, the three of us have a tea party and Ian fills up our tea cups over and over again. He offers Sam and I treats to eat while enjoying our cups of tea. It is very cute and makes me happy that Ian has a little sister and can explore this more sensitive, feminine side to him.
I am not sure where Ian learned how to have a tea party, but I'm thinking it has to be at the same place he learned to be a princess, cook in the kitchen, wear jewelry and take care of baby dolls. Preschool has done wonderful things to expand his horizons. I know before too long he'll only want to play 'cops and bad guys', fire fighting rescue and race cars 24/7. It's nice to know that for the time being he can be a great role model to his little sister and show her the proper way to host a tea party.
Each morning before camp, the three of us have a tea party and Ian fills up our tea cups over and over again. He offers Sam and I treats to eat while enjoying our cups of tea. It is very cute and makes me happy that Ian has a little sister and can explore this more sensitive, feminine side to him.
I am not sure where Ian learned how to have a tea party, but I'm thinking it has to be at the same place he learned to be a princess, cook in the kitchen, wear jewelry and take care of baby dolls. Preschool has done wonderful things to expand his horizons. I know before too long he'll only want to play 'cops and bad guys', fire fighting rescue and race cars 24/7. It's nice to know that for the time being he can be a great role model to his little sister and show her the proper way to host a tea party.
Monday, June 8, 2009
A big sigh of relief
It is over. I had every intention of giving a month's notice on quitting the sausage job. In fact I wrote a nice email last week and felt like I was doing the right thing in seeing my schedule through to the end of June. However, after working this past Saturday, something clicked in me and I can't continue. I feel horrible about moving my resignation date from 30 days notice to no notice, but I realize I need to do what's in my best interest.
Everything about Saturday's shift was a disaster. From the head of Theft and Loss coming over to introduce himself and letting me know this could be a rough crowd. If I needed any help, he'd be nearby. WHAT?!?!?!?!? Then, I had two tasters mess with me, not to the point I was in danger, but more like, can I taste 5 samples and make you think I am going to purchase 2 packs of sausage and then come back a minute later and throw the packs back on the table and loudly say, "I don't need to buy this, someone is cooking me dinner tonight." Normally, this would've never even registered on my nuisance scale, but on Saturday it threw me.
The icing on the cake was not even coming close to making my goal. Store goal was 36, and I barely eeked out 32 packages in sales. Jeff took the kids bowling while I was working and all I could think of was how much nicer it would be to be with them.
Jeff made a good point, had I had a great day selling sausage, maybe I wouldn't be feeling like this. But we will never know. I am done. I had a long conversation with my supervisor last night and she completely understands.
What a relief. I feel like I am getting my life back and I am looking forward to my weekends now more than ever. And big hugs to my husband for sticking by me and being incredibly supportive on my decision to not go back.
Everything about Saturday's shift was a disaster. From the head of Theft and Loss coming over to introduce himself and letting me know this could be a rough crowd. If I needed any help, he'd be nearby. WHAT?!?!?!?!? Then, I had two tasters mess with me, not to the point I was in danger, but more like, can I taste 5 samples and make you think I am going to purchase 2 packs of sausage and then come back a minute later and throw the packs back on the table and loudly say, "I don't need to buy this, someone is cooking me dinner tonight." Normally, this would've never even registered on my nuisance scale, but on Saturday it threw me.
The icing on the cake was not even coming close to making my goal. Store goal was 36, and I barely eeked out 32 packages in sales. Jeff took the kids bowling while I was working and all I could think of was how much nicer it would be to be with them.
Jeff made a good point, had I had a great day selling sausage, maybe I wouldn't be feeling like this. But we will never know. I am done. I had a long conversation with my supervisor last night and she completely understands.
What a relief. I feel like I am getting my life back and I am looking forward to my weekends now more than ever. And big hugs to my husband for sticking by me and being incredibly supportive on my decision to not go back.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Only now can I Iook back and laugh
We are now embarking on the one year anniversary of Ian being potty trained. I've got to say that potty training was one of the scariest undertakings ever! You just never know how it is going to turn out or what you are in store for.
I knew Ian was on his way to being ready when we met at the playground behind our house one afternoon with friends. After we were done playing, we walked back towards our house where some of my mommy friends had their cars parked. Jeanne asked if Jacob could use our bathroom before loading her kids in the car. Sure, no problem! All the kids ran downstairs to either get a quick play in with one of Ian's toys or to use the bathroom. Jeanne and I stood upstairs and continued our chat. Jeanne felt it was taking Jacob (who was about to turn 4) a little too long to go to the bathroom and come right back to her, so she went down and investigated. OH MY GAWD!! She had a huge smile on her face and said I'd want to come see this.
Apparently, Jacob was long done with the bathroom and had moved on to Ian's train table. Ian, however, had decided to take over and had his POOPY DIAPER hanging half in and half out of the toilet. Poop was everywhere! His shorts were down by his ankles. His legs, socks and brand new sneakers (first time wearing them that day) were covered in poop -- because he used his legs as leverage to pull everything down or off. The floor was covered in random poop that flew out of his diaper and the bathroom rugs had a new tint of brown grounded all over it. Then, there's Ian who is standing at the toilet holding his 'wee-wee' over the poop smeared bowl trying to pee like a big boy. He does manage to pee something and then looks at me and says, "m&m now please." WHAT A MESS!! However, I couldn't be more proud of my little guy for trying to go on his own. He had never shown interest in trying to pee standing up before. He must've seen Jacob doing it and tried to imitate him.
A few days later I woke up one morning and decided to go cold turkey on Ian wearing diapers. I am not sure what got in me, but somehow I knew that day was the day to begin. Below is a snapshot view of what we went through with Ian before he got "it".
Typical conversation:
Me: Do you need to go poopy?
Ian: No
Me: Ian, it looks like you are pooping right now.
Ian: Yes, I am. All done.
Me: Why didn't you tell me you had to go?
Ian: I don't know. Can I have 5 m&ms now?
Me (while cleaning up Ian): Ian, this is such a mess. If you could just tell me that you need to poop, it would be so much easier for mommy.
Ian: Will you make my underwear as good as new again?
Me: (as I am putting his dirty underwear in one of Bailey's poop bags, tying it with it knot and throwing it in the trash); Yes.
Yes, only now I can look back and laugh. And, thank God for us all having survived. They say girls are easier to train and I look actually look forward to finding out.
I knew Ian was on his way to being ready when we met at the playground behind our house one afternoon with friends. After we were done playing, we walked back towards our house where some of my mommy friends had their cars parked. Jeanne asked if Jacob could use our bathroom before loading her kids in the car. Sure, no problem! All the kids ran downstairs to either get a quick play in with one of Ian's toys or to use the bathroom. Jeanne and I stood upstairs and continued our chat. Jeanne felt it was taking Jacob (who was about to turn 4) a little too long to go to the bathroom and come right back to her, so she went down and investigated. OH MY GAWD!! She had a huge smile on her face and said I'd want to come see this.
Apparently, Jacob was long done with the bathroom and had moved on to Ian's train table. Ian, however, had decided to take over and had his POOPY DIAPER hanging half in and half out of the toilet. Poop was everywhere! His shorts were down by his ankles. His legs, socks and brand new sneakers (first time wearing them that day) were covered in poop -- because he used his legs as leverage to pull everything down or off. The floor was covered in random poop that flew out of his diaper and the bathroom rugs had a new tint of brown grounded all over it. Then, there's Ian who is standing at the toilet holding his 'wee-wee' over the poop smeared bowl trying to pee like a big boy. He does manage to pee something and then looks at me and says, "m&m now please." WHAT A MESS!! However, I couldn't be more proud of my little guy for trying to go on his own. He had never shown interest in trying to pee standing up before. He must've seen Jacob doing it and tried to imitate him.
A few days later I woke up one morning and decided to go cold turkey on Ian wearing diapers. I am not sure what got in me, but somehow I knew that day was the day to begin. Below is a snapshot view of what we went through with Ian before he got "it".
Typical conversation:
Me: Do you need to go poopy?
Ian: No
Me: Ian, it looks like you are pooping right now.
Ian: Yes, I am. All done.
Me: Why didn't you tell me you had to go?
Ian: I don't know. Can I have 5 m&ms now?
Me (while cleaning up Ian): Ian, this is such a mess. If you could just tell me that you need to poop, it would be so much easier for mommy.
Ian: Will you make my underwear as good as new again?
Me: (as I am putting his dirty underwear in one of Bailey's poop bags, tying it with it knot and throwing it in the trash); Yes.
Yes, only now I can look back and laugh. And, thank God for us all having survived. They say girls are easier to train and I look actually look forward to finding out.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Here's your change for the day
My most favorite child-rearing book hands down has got to be "Raising Your Spirited Child" by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. It is like the author deconstructed Ian piece by piece and explains in great detail what makes him tick and the best way to relate to him. It really changed the dynamics of our relationship. Not only did it do wonders for the parent-child relationship, but it was an eye opener on being married to Jeff. I could so easily picture what he must've been like as a little boy. Jeff and Ian are cut from the same cloth and tactics on being a good mommy to Ian, also enabled me to be a good wife and partner to my husband.
Hindsight is 20/20. I knew that Jeff doesn't deal well with change and long ago learned the best way to get him to do something, wear something, or change something about him is you've got to start slowly. Plant a seed and then subtly bring it up a few times and gauge his reaction. Before you know it, Jeff will verbalize this new thing like it was his idea all along. It takes time on my part but it is more than worth it and we've found this works for us.
Looking back, I should've done the same ground work in quitting my part-time job. Instead, stupid me just sprung it on him Saturday morning on my way out the door. You don't need a crystal ball to know this was a huge mistake. It's been a few days and the dust has settled. Jeff has gotten used to the idea and never ceases to amaze me how fabulous he is. I even joked the other day when I caught him smiling at me that he must love me again. He said, "I've always loved you and will always love you. But sometimes I don't like you very much." A few hours later he said he was liking me again.
Believe it or not, I pushed the envelope a little further and went into territory most people wouldn't dare to go. I do a Kodakgallery photo album for each of the kids as they turn a year older. The photo album is a compilation of them throughout the year from the day after their previous birthday to the very next birthday. I had an online coupon offering 25% on all kodakgallery orders and was prepared to place the order on the photobooks. The total was $190.00. I figured it would be a good idea to run this purchase past Jeff to make sure he was comfortable with me spending this amount of money on something not necessary for our survival. These books could be ordered 2 years from now and it wouldn't make a difference. Jeff asked when the coupon expires. I told him on June 23rd. To my delight and amazement he said let's see how well we are doing with our budget on June 22nd and if we are pacing to be under, you can order the books before the coupon expires.
I was blown away by how awesome his answer was and felt like he met me more than half way. I was sort of expecting him to say, "work another weekend and you'll have the money for the photobooks." But fortunately this was not his response.
He knows I need to quit to be happy. I saw something on the news this morning that cemented my decision for me. Included in the passenger list on the missing Air France flight was a flight attendant flying for the first time since her maternity leave ended. She is leaving behind a 4 month old. I tear up thinking about this and her family. My heart goes out to them. I will cherish my time with the family and enjoy it to the fullest.
And just when I think I can't love my husband any more than I already do, he accepts my decisions despite him not agreeing with them and supports me in what I want. I know it isn't easy for him and I went about telling him in the absolute worst way. Jeff is my soul mate and we balance each other out. There is no one else I'd want to be with having to warm up to my ideas.
Hindsight is 20/20. I knew that Jeff doesn't deal well with change and long ago learned the best way to get him to do something, wear something, or change something about him is you've got to start slowly. Plant a seed and then subtly bring it up a few times and gauge his reaction. Before you know it, Jeff will verbalize this new thing like it was his idea all along. It takes time on my part but it is more than worth it and we've found this works for us.
Looking back, I should've done the same ground work in quitting my part-time job. Instead, stupid me just sprung it on him Saturday morning on my way out the door. You don't need a crystal ball to know this was a huge mistake. It's been a few days and the dust has settled. Jeff has gotten used to the idea and never ceases to amaze me how fabulous he is. I even joked the other day when I caught him smiling at me that he must love me again. He said, "I've always loved you and will always love you. But sometimes I don't like you very much." A few hours later he said he was liking me again.
Believe it or not, I pushed the envelope a little further and went into territory most people wouldn't dare to go. I do a Kodakgallery photo album for each of the kids as they turn a year older. The photo album is a compilation of them throughout the year from the day after their previous birthday to the very next birthday. I had an online coupon offering 25% on all kodakgallery orders and was prepared to place the order on the photobooks. The total was $190.00. I figured it would be a good idea to run this purchase past Jeff to make sure he was comfortable with me spending this amount of money on something not necessary for our survival. These books could be ordered 2 years from now and it wouldn't make a difference. Jeff asked when the coupon expires. I told him on June 23rd. To my delight and amazement he said let's see how well we are doing with our budget on June 22nd and if we are pacing to be under, you can order the books before the coupon expires.
I was blown away by how awesome his answer was and felt like he met me more than half way. I was sort of expecting him to say, "work another weekend and you'll have the money for the photobooks." But fortunately this was not his response.
He knows I need to quit to be happy. I saw something on the news this morning that cemented my decision for me. Included in the passenger list on the missing Air France flight was a flight attendant flying for the first time since her maternity leave ended. She is leaving behind a 4 month old. I tear up thinking about this and her family. My heart goes out to them. I will cherish my time with the family and enjoy it to the fullest.
And just when I think I can't love my husband any more than I already do, he accepts my decisions despite him not agreeing with them and supports me in what I want. I know it isn't easy for him and I went about telling him in the absolute worst way. Jeff is my soul mate and we balance each other out. There is no one else I'd want to be with having to warm up to my ideas.
The downside of turning 4
Ian & the dentist. Ian & trimming his finger and toe nails. Ian & getting his head wet while swimming. Combos you don't mess with or willingly go near with a 10 foot poll. And now, we can add Ian & 4 shots at the doctor to the list. It wasn't pretty and a day I can't wait to block out of my mind.
We did everything right in preparing "The loud one". We brought Gymbo (his lovey) and a bag filled with m&m's, chocolate chip cookies and lollipops. In addition, the doctor's office is strategically located right above a Ben & Jerry's. For days prior I prepped him what was going to happen and each time we discussed it, his outburst got less and less. By the time the appointment was going to occur, he was more than ready and even had places picked out on his arm for the needles to go through. The only stipulation he had was, whatever you do, do not give him a flu shot. He still reminisces about how much that hurt from back in November.
We went in to the doctor's with smiles on our faces and left with every parent in the waiting room happy they don't belong to this newly 4 year old.
It went pretty much as I expected. Ian is D-O-N-E with going to the doctor ever again. NO MORE SHOTS FOR HIM EVER!!!!! Ice cream at Ben & Jerrys and a big chocolate chip cookie did very little to the soothe the pain of 3 shots and a major finger prick filling up a little straw tube of blood.
Ian had a band-aid covering a scrape on his elbow. When he realized he was getting 4 more band-aids covering all the new needle pricks, he very loudly said, "I don't want any more boo-boos. I only want the one I have. I don't need any more."
He is not a happy camper and I suspect I will now be hearing about it for months and months to come.
We did everything right in preparing "The loud one". We brought Gymbo (his lovey) and a bag filled with m&m's, chocolate chip cookies and lollipops. In addition, the doctor's office is strategically located right above a Ben & Jerry's. For days prior I prepped him what was going to happen and each time we discussed it, his outburst got less and less. By the time the appointment was going to occur, he was more than ready and even had places picked out on his arm for the needles to go through. The only stipulation he had was, whatever you do, do not give him a flu shot. He still reminisces about how much that hurt from back in November.
We went in to the doctor's with smiles on our faces and left with every parent in the waiting room happy they don't belong to this newly 4 year old.
It went pretty much as I expected. Ian is D-O-N-E with going to the doctor ever again. NO MORE SHOTS FOR HIM EVER!!!!! Ice cream at Ben & Jerrys and a big chocolate chip cookie did very little to the soothe the pain of 3 shots and a major finger prick filling up a little straw tube of blood.
Ian had a band-aid covering a scrape on his elbow. When he realized he was getting 4 more band-aids covering all the new needle pricks, he very loudly said, "I don't want any more boo-boos. I only want the one I have. I don't need any more."
He is not a happy camper and I suspect I will now be hearing about it for months and months to come.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Stick a fork in me, I am done.
It's pretty cold at our house. Over the weekend I dropped a big bomb on my darling husband and told him I wanted to quit the sausage selling job. I am no longer enjoying it or find it fulfilling. I want my weekends back to spend with the family. I knew it was mentally over for me when I was getting dressed to leave on Saturday morning and desperately wanted to stay and hang out with the kids and Jeff. The weather was beautiful and it would've been a great day to go the pool or a local park.
My heart is no longer in it and I feel like I've done my duty by getting the job in the first place when it was most needed to step up. I was willing to do whatever it took to bring in some money and contribute the best way I could. However, now that Jeff has a great job and is making a nice, steady income, I want my old life back. I want to go back to the way things were. I want us to be a family again on the weekends.
Jeff feels very different than I do about this. For the first time in 4 years, he saw us being able to do all the things that were not easily possible; getting new carpet/hardwood floors installed, taking a vacation, covering the costs associated with attending my sister's wedding, paying for Ian's preschool, etc. While the money I am making is not nearly enough to cover all these wish list items, it is plenty to give us the opportunity to pay for some of it and not stress where the money will come from or do without it.
Jeff feels a lot of pressure being the sole breadwinner. I know its been tough for him and each year our expenses only go up. In my mind, I feel like we made it work for the majority of the past 4 years and Jeff wasn't making close to the salary he is now. In fact, when I first started being a SAHM, it was a considerable amount less. Looking back, it wasn't easy and the sacrifices/compromises we made were plenty, but we have some great memories of things we did together as a family.
The air in our house is cold. Very cold. Jeff is not happy with my decision to quit the weekend job. Over the last 48 hours we've had quite a few discussions about this and I am not sure what a happy compromise will be. Last night we reviewed our budget to see where we can cut back and give ourselves some extra cushioning each month. Of course, dining out and buying gifts for people are the easiest things to take a hit on. Also, we are going to try to go back to living solely on cash for the month of June. We did this about two years ago for a couple of months and found we thought about each purchase that was made. Was it worth it spending the cash we had in our wallets to buy it? Funny enough, 9 times out of 10, it was not necessary. We don't have any credit card debt, so the savings should be instantaneous.
I told my supervisor I will give them the month of June of continuing to work each weekend before handing in my demo kit and saying good-bye to my sausage selling career. I am hoping that we have an excellent month of making our revised budget work and Jeff can breathe a little easier about this 2nd source of income ending. Plus, the extra income still coming in over the course of the month of June should help cover at least one item on our ever growing list of things we'd like to do.
I just read what I wrote and fully realize that I am coming off as a spoiled brat. I know there are families who have it so much harder and work 2 or 3 jobs in order to make ends meet. People who never get to see their kids awake and being home with them Monday thru Friday would be a dream come true. However, we ARE making ends meet and taking care of all our basics, plus usually being able to cover unexpected expenses that inevitably hit us each month. Jeff just wants more than that for our family and of course, I do too. But the bigger question is, do I want that more than spending time as a family? In my opinion life is too short to not enjoy it. It can all end tomorrow or next week. I want us to be able to savor every second we can have together. The rest of the stuff we want to do or buy will all figure itself out. Yes, it isn't easy. And, yes, more than likely we will have to do without. And, I've come to the conclusion I am okay with that. Before we know it, Ian and Samantha will be in school full-time and I'll be able to get a job during school hours. I feel like there is plenty of time for us to catch up and get the new car, start taking vacations other than visiting family in FL, re-do our floors, etc.
It's not easy being a grown up. And right now I think I need to go put on a sweater.
My heart is no longer in it and I feel like I've done my duty by getting the job in the first place when it was most needed to step up. I was willing to do whatever it took to bring in some money and contribute the best way I could. However, now that Jeff has a great job and is making a nice, steady income, I want my old life back. I want to go back to the way things were. I want us to be a family again on the weekends.
Jeff feels very different than I do about this. For the first time in 4 years, he saw us being able to do all the things that were not easily possible; getting new carpet/hardwood floors installed, taking a vacation, covering the costs associated with attending my sister's wedding, paying for Ian's preschool, etc. While the money I am making is not nearly enough to cover all these wish list items, it is plenty to give us the opportunity to pay for some of it and not stress where the money will come from or do without it.
Jeff feels a lot of pressure being the sole breadwinner. I know its been tough for him and each year our expenses only go up. In my mind, I feel like we made it work for the majority of the past 4 years and Jeff wasn't making close to the salary he is now. In fact, when I first started being a SAHM, it was a considerable amount less. Looking back, it wasn't easy and the sacrifices/compromises we made were plenty, but we have some great memories of things we did together as a family.
The air in our house is cold. Very cold. Jeff is not happy with my decision to quit the weekend job. Over the last 48 hours we've had quite a few discussions about this and I am not sure what a happy compromise will be. Last night we reviewed our budget to see where we can cut back and give ourselves some extra cushioning each month. Of course, dining out and buying gifts for people are the easiest things to take a hit on. Also, we are going to try to go back to living solely on cash for the month of June. We did this about two years ago for a couple of months and found we thought about each purchase that was made. Was it worth it spending the cash we had in our wallets to buy it? Funny enough, 9 times out of 10, it was not necessary. We don't have any credit card debt, so the savings should be instantaneous.
I told my supervisor I will give them the month of June of continuing to work each weekend before handing in my demo kit and saying good-bye to my sausage selling career. I am hoping that we have an excellent month of making our revised budget work and Jeff can breathe a little easier about this 2nd source of income ending. Plus, the extra income still coming in over the course of the month of June should help cover at least one item on our ever growing list of things we'd like to do.
I just read what I wrote and fully realize that I am coming off as a spoiled brat. I know there are families who have it so much harder and work 2 or 3 jobs in order to make ends meet. People who never get to see their kids awake and being home with them Monday thru Friday would be a dream come true. However, we ARE making ends meet and taking care of all our basics, plus usually being able to cover unexpected expenses that inevitably hit us each month. Jeff just wants more than that for our family and of course, I do too. But the bigger question is, do I want that more than spending time as a family? In my opinion life is too short to not enjoy it. It can all end tomorrow or next week. I want us to be able to savor every second we can have together. The rest of the stuff we want to do or buy will all figure itself out. Yes, it isn't easy. And, yes, more than likely we will have to do without. And, I've come to the conclusion I am okay with that. Before we know it, Ian and Samantha will be in school full-time and I'll be able to get a job during school hours. I feel like there is plenty of time for us to catch up and get the new car, start taking vacations other than visiting family in FL, re-do our floors, etc.
It's not easy being a grown up. And right now I think I need to go put on a sweater.
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