Both kids went to bed on time last night. Aiden actually went to sleep before 9. He was well rested, and when he got up this morning, was behaving like my sweet boy, not the grouch that had taken over his body for the last several weeks.
Once Kaya and I got him off to school, she and I went to McDonalds (Eww, I know) and got fruit and yogurt parfaits (well, I had a fruit and walnut salad- for which the lady behind the counter gave me a package of caramel apple dip. Why?) and coffee. She played on the play structure while I continued to attempt to read ahead in my environmental science book. After about 45 minutes, we wrapped it up and went to the library. We found the books we wanted and were on our way out the door when the nice man up in Children's Services told us that story time started in about 1/2 hour. We had been planning a hike, but instead decided to go for a walk around Muskegon, play at Hackley Park (no swings or anything, but a few cool statues and a walk way of hexagonal paver bricks that we played "don't step on the cracks" on), and just generally hanging out. When we returned to the library, we gathered in the story time room where Mr. Jim read a couple of stories, taught the children a fun song, then the children did an activity where they made a nest with a bird (a peep) and some eggs (jelly beans). It was so fun.
After that, Kaya and I came home and I made home made chicken nuggets and frozen tater tots and peas for lunch. While we ate, she watched a Care Bears movie and then I cleaned the kitchen and we went to get Aiden from school.
After school, we went straight to Clear Springs for a hike, but decided we were all in the mood for a trail run. We had such a great time!
It's been a wonderful day. Now I'm going to put chicken in the oven for some pasta alfredo and I'm going to work on getting the last of the leaves out of my front yard.
I LOVE Spring!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Whine, Whine, Cry, Cry
What is WITH my children this week? My formerly sweet and extremely (for the last year or so) well behaved daughter and my always mellow and laid back son are no longer their normal mellow and well behaved selves! Maybe mean mommy is more effective? As soon as I resolved to be more understanding of their quirks, their quirks seem to have gone THROUGH THE ROOF!!
I swear, Kaya has not stopped talking in a week. I don't even know if she's taken a breath or chewed any food. It has literally been non-stop "blah blah blah" since last weekend.
And Aiden! EVERY LITTLE THING sends him into a crying jag. Oh, you were fighting with your sister and I said no stories tonight? BWAAAAHHHH!!! Aiden, you need to finish your dinner before you can go play- BWAAAAHHH! Aiden, brush your hair before school- BWAHHHHH! I'd blame it on exhaustion, but I've tried to send him to bed at 8 (his bedtime!) every night this week (he was in bed past 8 only once!) and he just can't get to sleep- claims he's not tired!
Kaya, though- she might be tired. She, unlike most NORMAL human beings, seems to get MORE energy when she's tired. Today, her sleepies were showing though- she had dark circles (that she, luckily for her, didn't inherit from me- Aiden got those), and was just kind of dragging. That meant no climbing on the coffee table (I caught her doing that twice this week, by the way- she's NEVER done that, and both kids know they don't mess with the furniture!) but it didn't stop her or even slow her down in the talking department.
Let's hope next week is a little easier. I don't want to be that awful screaming, threatening mom, but I also don't want heathens for children- I'll be mean mom before I'll have rotten brats.
Balance, young grasshopper, balance.
I swear, Kaya has not stopped talking in a week. I don't even know if she's taken a breath or chewed any food. It has literally been non-stop "blah blah blah" since last weekend.
And Aiden! EVERY LITTLE THING sends him into a crying jag. Oh, you were fighting with your sister and I said no stories tonight? BWAAAAHHHH!!! Aiden, you need to finish your dinner before you can go play- BWAAAAHHH! Aiden, brush your hair before school- BWAHHHHH! I'd blame it on exhaustion, but I've tried to send him to bed at 8 (his bedtime!) every night this week (he was in bed past 8 only once!) and he just can't get to sleep- claims he's not tired!
Kaya, though- she might be tired. She, unlike most NORMAL human beings, seems to get MORE energy when she's tired. Today, her sleepies were showing though- she had dark circles (that she, luckily for her, didn't inherit from me- Aiden got those), and was just kind of dragging. That meant no climbing on the coffee table (I caught her doing that twice this week, by the way- she's NEVER done that, and both kids know they don't mess with the furniture!) but it didn't stop her or even slow her down in the talking department.
Let's hope next week is a little easier. I don't want to be that awful screaming, threatening mom, but I also don't want heathens for children- I'll be mean mom before I'll have rotten brats.
Balance, young grasshopper, balance.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Apparently I'm not the only one
Unfortunately I'm not the only person in my family with a temper. Somehow it seems that I married a man who gets as annoyed with the kids as I do- and he can be just as nasty to them as me. Yesterday Aiden dropped his pizza in the living room. Andy and the kids were having a picnic night- watching a movie and eating pizza- while I was at school. Aiden wasn't paying attention- he was watching the movie, not what was going on with his food- and he dropped his slice of pizza, face down, on the carpet. Now, this isn't as big a deal as it probably sounds like- my carpet is not nice. It's never been nice, as long as we've lived in this house. However, Andy was irritated and he blew up at Aiden- he yelled at him so badly that he had to appologize because he just took it too far.
This is something I will say about our parenting style. Occasionally we get too angry and we yell past what is acceptable for the offense. However, when that happens, we do admit we were wrong and appologize. I think it's more important for our children to see us as failable creatures who can accept when they've made a mistake and appologize for it, rather than having them think that we think we're infallable.
Anyhow, Andy and I had a discussion last night about how we both really need to light up on Aiden. He's such an amazing child- he really is- and our expectations of him are too high sometimes. We both need to work on this.
This is something I will say about our parenting style. Occasionally we get too angry and we yell past what is acceptable for the offense. However, when that happens, we do admit we were wrong and appologize. I think it's more important for our children to see us as failable creatures who can accept when they've made a mistake and appologize for it, rather than having them think that we think we're infallable.
Anyhow, Andy and I had a discussion last night about how we both really need to light up on Aiden. He's such an amazing child- he really is- and our expectations of him are too high sometimes. We both need to work on this.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
There are things I need to work on...
I know, I really pull off the "super mom" thing pretty well in public. I mostly manage my life- school, work, kids, housework, cooking... I really try to do it all. However, it's stressful and I'm not always the kindest, most understanding mother. As a matter of fact, this is probably the thing that bothers me most about "me". So, these are things I want to work on:
Lighten up on Aiden. He's an almost 8 year old boy- he is a child who has energy that needs to be used.
My children need more positive reinforcement from me. Less yelling.
Aiden and Kaya are wonderful children- they deserve to be talked to with respect and love.
Be kind when they make mistakes- they're just children.
Use time more efficiently for less stress. Don't take stress and exhaustion out on them.
Spend less time playing on the computer- it wastes time you could spend playing with your children.
This blog is going to be rededicated to working on these goals. I know that seems counter-productive since one of my goals is to spend less time playing on the computer, but this won't take the hours I literally waste every day messing around on the computer.
I need to get these things together. It bothers me that I have these faults, and I want to work through them. It's not ok for me to juggle a super busy life at the expense of my children. It's time to get the balance back.
Lighten up on Aiden. He's an almost 8 year old boy- he is a child who has energy that needs to be used.
My children need more positive reinforcement from me. Less yelling.
Aiden and Kaya are wonderful children- they deserve to be talked to with respect and love.
Be kind when they make mistakes- they're just children.
Use time more efficiently for less stress. Don't take stress and exhaustion out on them.
Spend less time playing on the computer- it wastes time you could spend playing with your children.
This blog is going to be rededicated to working on these goals. I know that seems counter-productive since one of my goals is to spend less time playing on the computer, but this won't take the hours I literally waste every day messing around on the computer.
I need to get these things together. It bothers me that I have these faults, and I want to work through them. It's not ok for me to juggle a super busy life at the expense of my children. It's time to get the balance back.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
uh huh- it's been 7 months...
I know. I KNOW! It's been 7 MONTHS since I updated this blog. I have a good excuse, really I do. I have ANOTHER blog- a newer, fresher, more updated blog. So, follow me over there, if you want. This one just seemed a little too... I don't know... apathetic? I'm a little old for the teenage angst thing, maybe.
Anyhow, you can find my new blog at
http://boucslike.blogspot.com/
And the best part is THAT blog isn't just about me (also trying for a smaller ego- see, I'm ALL about self improvement!).
Hope you like it!
Anyhow, you can find my new blog at
http://boucslike.blogspot.com/
And the best part is THAT blog isn't just about me (also trying for a smaller ego- see, I'm ALL about self improvement!).
Hope you like it!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Yeah, yeah... I've been slacking
So, I don't really know why I started this blog anymore. I'm TERRIBLE at keeping up with these things- I think this is the third or fourth blog I've started, then gotten bored with a month or two in. Story of my life, really- I have a very short attention span for certain things- like cars, work... Men... LOL. Just kidding, sort of.
I've been doing really well lately on most fronts. The one thing that's not going so well is sleeping. I simply can not get to sleep anymore. I've NEVER had trouble sleeping- it's a really new thing- and I HATE it! I lay in bed awake every night till 1, 2, 3 in the morning. Of course, I still have to be up at 7 (really should be up by 6, but you know how it is when you don't get to sleep till 3...), so then I'm dragging the next day, thinking I'll be in bed by 10. Go to bed at ten, just to lay there awake again. Very frustrating.
I just ran out of my anti-depressants and I don't think I'm going to refill them. For some reason I think they have something to do with my lack of sleep- like maybe my depression magically went away (I've been on the pills a year now, after all) and they're making me manic? I don't know. I do know that St. Johns Wart has been working well for my husband for the last several months, so I'm going to try that for a while. I used St. Johns Wart for a bit before I went the chemical route, and it didn't work, but that was in the depths of my depression. I've been feeling so good lately, I just don't know if the term "depressed" even applies to me anymore. Which is a good thing!
Well, I'm going to try to better about keeping this thing up, but no promises (not even to myself, since I'm really the only one who reads this thing).
I've been doing really well lately on most fronts. The one thing that's not going so well is sleeping. I simply can not get to sleep anymore. I've NEVER had trouble sleeping- it's a really new thing- and I HATE it! I lay in bed awake every night till 1, 2, 3 in the morning. Of course, I still have to be up at 7 (really should be up by 6, but you know how it is when you don't get to sleep till 3...), so then I'm dragging the next day, thinking I'll be in bed by 10. Go to bed at ten, just to lay there awake again. Very frustrating.
I just ran out of my anti-depressants and I don't think I'm going to refill them. For some reason I think they have something to do with my lack of sleep- like maybe my depression magically went away (I've been on the pills a year now, after all) and they're making me manic? I don't know. I do know that St. Johns Wart has been working well for my husband for the last several months, so I'm going to try that for a while. I used St. Johns Wart for a bit before I went the chemical route, and it didn't work, but that was in the depths of my depression. I've been feeling so good lately, I just don't know if the term "depressed" even applies to me anymore. Which is a good thing!
Well, I'm going to try to better about keeping this thing up, but no promises (not even to myself, since I'm really the only one who reads this thing).
Thursday, February 5, 2009
My Thursdays
This has become my typical Thursday- my day off work while the kids are at school-
I got up this morning and took the boy to school. After that, the girl and I hit the grocery store to pick up a couple things so I could make a lasagna for our friend Tim's birthday dinner (I volunteered to cook him dinner for his birthday) and cat food.
After that, I took the girl to school. When we got there, they were doing "morning movement" (i.e. dancing). I left at morning snack time and went home to work on cleaning my kitchen- it was TERRIBLE. I did 2 1/2 loads of dishes. Then I cleaned both bathrooms, did 5 loads of laundry, and cleaned both fish tanks.
The husband ran out to get pellets for the stove while I was cleaning, so when he came home, we unloaded 1/2 ton of pellets- 9 loads with 1 40 lb bag (down the stairs to the basement). Then I cleaned the litter box, and took a 20 minute bath while reading my book.
I was pretty much out of time by then, so I ran out to pick up the kids from school, and came back home. When we got home, I put on the ingredients for marinara sauce, home made apple sauce, and the pasta with sausage I was making for dinner. After we ate, I cooked meat and assembled 2 lasagnas. Then I swept and mopped the kitchen and folded all of the kids' laundry.
It is now 11:30, and I've just sat down for really just about the first time today. I am beat. Of course, I have another sink full of dishes from cooking so much today, but I just can't do another thing today. Ugh.
I got up this morning and took the boy to school. After that, the girl and I hit the grocery store to pick up a couple things so I could make a lasagna for our friend Tim's birthday dinner (I volunteered to cook him dinner for his birthday) and cat food.
After that, I took the girl to school. When we got there, they were doing "morning movement" (i.e. dancing). I left at morning snack time and went home to work on cleaning my kitchen- it was TERRIBLE. I did 2 1/2 loads of dishes. Then I cleaned both bathrooms, did 5 loads of laundry, and cleaned both fish tanks.
The husband ran out to get pellets for the stove while I was cleaning, so when he came home, we unloaded 1/2 ton of pellets- 9 loads with 1 40 lb bag (down the stairs to the basement). Then I cleaned the litter box, and took a 20 minute bath while reading my book.
I was pretty much out of time by then, so I ran out to pick up the kids from school, and came back home. When we got home, I put on the ingredients for marinara sauce, home made apple sauce, and the pasta with sausage I was making for dinner. After we ate, I cooked meat and assembled 2 lasagnas. Then I swept and mopped the kitchen and folded all of the kids' laundry.
It is now 11:30, and I've just sat down for really just about the first time today. I am beat. Of course, I have another sink full of dishes from cooking so much today, but I just can't do another thing today. Ugh.
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