Bah-humbug

I don't think that I will ever understand why the holiday "season" must be such a rush. All I feel like I do is run around and prepare and attend and get and plan. I think the only one who can enjoy this season is the kids. They are the true beneficiaries of this preparation. This past weekend for Thanksgiving I washed and cleaned and cooked, then shopped and hid toys and made lists. Whew! Now I am hiding at the library because the house is too distracting and I am supposed to be studying. But what is my problem? All I can think of is the many things that I have to do for my kids/house/husband. Do this, be there, get ready for that... it never seems to end. NOW I understand why people go away for the ENTIRE 2 weeks of Christmas break vacation instead of staying at home. There is no work on vacation. You pay someone to do it all for you. WHAT A FABULOUS IDEA!!! Maybe next year, now that the kids are old enough, we could do that. Just the 5 of us somewhere awesome and all inclusive. Ahhh, it's good to have a goal.

Do they still make Calgon?

Let me preface this by writing, most days are not like this one. That being said, today was a day where I feel physically drained and totally hoarse from all the yelling. NO ONE wanted to listen. A threat was not enough to keep the kids in line. Grounding was not enough, impending hot sauce in the mouth was not enough, a threat of the spoon was not enough. It is as if they KNEW I was physically too tired to take them on. *sigh* I hope tomorrow will be better. The only thing that has kept me sane through this busy day, is the knowledge that as my kids were being a handful, no matter where we were, there was always another mom who would catch my looks of frustration, and nod her head in understanding. Thank God. There are others out there. Other moms who have been where I was today and didn't judge my threats issued through clenched teeth and furrowed brow. I think we should have a secret handshake and meetings where we could compare horror stories and brainstorm ideas to keep them in line.

transferring it all over...

I have finally figured out how to get from one site to the other.. forgive the confusion, but I could leave the posts over on that other site unattended. I like this one much better...

I have a boy turning 7 on Friday. I am astonished by this for several reasons.
1. That 8 years ago I started thinking about trying to get pregnant.
2. That 8 years ago I thought I knew what I was doing.
3. That I have a 7 year old son, when there are days I don't even feel capable of child rearing.
4. That he has made it this far and is reasonably normal and healthy.

These seem like strange opinions but they couldn't be more true. He is a wonderful, loving, ENERGETIC, curious, inquisitive kid, who will go far in life if only on shear perseverance alone.
We lovingly call him the "litigator" because no "no" is too final. I watch him with other kids,playing and am proud of the way he is. He is not into sports like the other kids, he may be a little geeky, but I am okay with this I hope he looks back and is okay with it too. Ahh Tanner, you are the best first kid ever.
Love you!




I have finally got to a place in my life where I can do a (small)something just for me. I have made the leap from mom to student. I am going back to get my Masters after 8 years out of the loop. I alternate between feeling really happy I am doing this, to feeling so out of my element that everyone is just shaking their heads and wondering what happened to me. I have only one class right now and after 4 assignments,2 tests and one paper, I also am beginning to question my sanity. Who is going to do all the things around here while I need to study? Will the house collapse around me? Will the children need therapy to help them cope with all the changes? I hope not. There are days when I feel like I have shouldered myself with an impossible task. When I feel like breaking down and just twitching. "My plate is TOO full!", I want to cry out. But then I have days when the well oiled machine that is my house, has no hiccups and it all starts to make sense. I am doing this for me. Because I can. Now where can I buy a bigger plate to fit it all on?

It's Friday, and at our house that means it's movie night. Tonight we are watching Transformers 2. This is not a kids movie. In fact G.I. Joe was more acceptable than this movie. It had way less bad language. We loved Transformers and when this one came out I took both boys. Both boys ages 7 and 4. They were so excited to see it in the theater. Then it began and in the first 5 minutes there was so much cussing. By no means have my kids never heard it before, but still. The ambiance of the theater negates a lot of what they heard but here in our basement, its a little different. If you have met my kids you know they tend to focus on things...like bad words. They are fascinated lately by any word deemed unacceptable. What do I do with this? What do I do when they are screaming "poopy head" at each other? Nothing. I am tired of yelling at them to behave. I am to the point of least resistance with them so I am hoping and praying that they just don't do it around their teachers, old people, family, and church. Everyone else can just think we are raising them from under a dumpster. For now they are enjoying watching movies, and I am enjoying hanging out with them. I know that like the shock value of blurting out bad words, the hanging together won't last much longer either. And everything else I can overlook.