Saturday, June 28, 2008
The small ways being a parent changes you
The blog is back (with a tiny bang). Here's a short story about how being a parent changes how you think. It's about 6 am and I'm at the office gym in the locker room putting away my stuff. I open the locker and a small screw falls on the ground. My first thought (and I'm not kidding) was... "I need to find that screw before somebody puts that in their mouth and accidently swallows it."
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Childproof Schmiledproof
I'm going back to a previous post about the breaching of security by the twins.
The door knobs were our only saving grace as they weren't tall enough/strong enough to open the doors. Well of course, this soon changed. So, the child door knob covers went on. These are 2 halves of plastic that fit very snugly together. They are larger than the doorknob so there are two rubberized finger grip things that you have to squeeze together as you turn the knob. Ask some adults...this is not an easy task always!
I went to get the babies up from their nap. As I was leaving the room, I noticed something. Or rather, I noticed something was missing. The doorknob cover was NOT on the back of the door anymore! Where was it? How did it come off? This was only the second day of having them on. Surely this was just a fluke. I found one half under Payton's bed and one half under Jackson's bed. I don't know how they did it. I don't know which one did it or if they worked together for that matter. But by darned, these little Houdini's managed to breach yet another level of security! I put it back on. The next day, off again!
The door knobs were our only saving grace as they weren't tall enough/strong enough to open the doors. Well of course, this soon changed. So, the child door knob covers went on. These are 2 halves of plastic that fit very snugly together. They are larger than the doorknob so there are two rubberized finger grip things that you have to squeeze together as you turn the knob. Ask some adults...this is not an easy task always!
I went to get the babies up from their nap. As I was leaving the room, I noticed something. Or rather, I noticed something was missing. The doorknob cover was NOT on the back of the door anymore! Where was it? How did it come off? This was only the second day of having them on. Surely this was just a fluke. I found one half under Payton's bed and one half under Jackson's bed. I don't know how they did it. I don't know which one did it or if they worked together for that matter. But by darned, these little Houdini's managed to breach yet another level of security! I put it back on. The next day, off again!
Friday, February 8, 2008
Intercom
Mikayla was stricken with a yucky stomach bug. In an effort to not pass any more germs on to her younger siblings, she decided to hang out in her room for most of yesterday. We recently purchased a phone with 4 handsets with the intention of keeping one on each floor (3) plus one in Jordan & Mikayla's room. This way I'm not sprinting up/down stairs when the phone rings and also to decrease the amount of yelling by using them as an intercom system. Yes, we yell to communicate sometimes.
So, I decided to implement the system yesterday. Mikayla couldn't yell very well since she was feeling icky and she had little energy to be running downstairs to get me when she needed something. So...I showed her the steps she needed to follow to call me on the intercom. The next set of instructions were, "Mikayla, don't abuse this system. Use it when you really need me or really need something or I won't respond as quickly."
"I know mom! I'll only use it when I need you."
I gave her a drink, a puck basin, a paper towel, her favorite blanket, and an entire season of Full House on DVD. She should be set for awhile.
5 Minutes later, Mikayla made her first call. It went something like this:
"Mom?"
"Yes, Mikayla."
"I just wanted to make sure I knew what to do."
"Ok. You did it right. Is everything ok?"
"Yep. Bye, Mom"
"Bye"
Trial run went great.
5 minutes later:
"Mom?"
"Yes, Mikayla."
"I don't want to come down there and get the babies sick. I spit up a little. Can you come clean my bowl for me."
"Sure, I'll be up in a minute."
I went up. She did spit - a little =) I cleaned her bowl, made sure she was comfortable, and went back downstairs to tend to the little ones.
10 minutes later:
"Mom, I love you."
"I love you too Mikayla."
"OK. Bye."
10 minutes later:
"Mom?"
"Yes Mikayla."
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to take a nap now. So could you please not interrupt me?"
"Sure Mikayla. Enjoy your nap."
At this point I'm laughing inside. She's liking this intercom thing. And she's asking me not to interrupt her. Now that's funny.
About 45 minutes had passed and I was preparing lunch for the little ones. The intercom beeps.
"Yes Mikayla"
"I just wanted to let you know I'm up from my nap."
"Ok. Do you think you can eat lunch?"
"No. My belly still doesn't feel well. Bye, Mom."
2 minutes later
"I need more to drink, please, Mom."
"Ok, I'll be right up."
I took a refill up to her right away.
2 minutes later
"Mom? I spit a little again, can you come up here and clean it."
"Yes Mikayla, but it will be a minute. I'm setting the babies up for lunch."
"Ok."
1 minute later
"Mom, when are you coming?"
"Mikayla, I told you that I was getting the babies set up for lunch. Please be patient."
1 minute later
"Mom, I thought you said you were coming"
I didn't even bother responding. The cuteness of her infatuation waswearing worn off. I got the babies in their seats with lunch placed in front of them. (I know...they aren't babies anymore...I need to come up with a new collective name for the youngest three children! But for now they will remain "the babies") Then I headed upstairs.
I took care of the one teaspoon of clear spit in Mikayla's bowl. Then sternly explained to her that she needs to call me for important things. She listened for a little bit.
The babies finished lunch, played for 30 minutes, then were ready for nap. I took them up to bed. After tucking them in and pressing play on their CD player, I peeked in on Mikayla and asked how she was. She was fine, smiling, playing, and watching Full House. I told her I was going to be all the way downstairs doing laundry. She asked me to be sure to take my phone. I told her I would and explained that I was going to be on a different number phone. She got it.
I no sooner got downstairs and the phone rang. It was Darin. About 2 minutes into our conversation, I hear Mikayla trying to call me on the intercom. I sigh and tell Darin to hang on. We can't use the intercom and phone at the same time. So I run upstairs to check on Mikayla. She is sitting on the bed, holding the phone, laughing. She said, "I was trying to call you".
I told her I was on the phone and that we couldn't use the intercom while I was talking to Daddy. She said she understood. I asked what she needed. She couldn't remember!!! I gave her a stern look.
I then explained to Darin that I created a monster by teaching Mikayla the intercom system and how she called me very frequently. Darin of course thought this was funny. As he was laughing, he was interrupted by another attempted call from Mikayla. That got an even heartier laugh out of Darin.
"Oh, I didn't know you were still on the phone" she said when I walked in her room.
I had to give the crying wolf speech to her, once again. She hears this one frequently as she is an overly dramatic little girl.
Of course, once Jordan got home from school, Mikayla couldn't contain herself. She knew how to do something that JT didn't know how to do. Right away she called for me and showed big brother how to do it. She was so proud.
I just hope the newness and novelty will wear off sooner than later!
So, I decided to implement the system yesterday. Mikayla couldn't yell very well since she was feeling icky and she had little energy to be running downstairs to get me when she needed something. So...I showed her the steps she needed to follow to call me on the intercom. The next set of instructions were, "Mikayla, don't abuse this system. Use it when you really need me or really need something or I won't respond as quickly."
"I know mom! I'll only use it when I need you."
I gave her a drink, a puck basin, a paper towel, her favorite blanket, and an entire season of Full House on DVD. She should be set for awhile.
5 Minutes later, Mikayla made her first call. It went something like this:
"Mom?"
"Yes, Mikayla."
"I just wanted to make sure I knew what to do."
"Ok. You did it right. Is everything ok?"
"Yep. Bye, Mom"
"Bye"
Trial run went great.
5 minutes later:
"Mom?"
"Yes, Mikayla."
"I don't want to come down there and get the babies sick. I spit up a little. Can you come clean my bowl for me."
"Sure, I'll be up in a minute."
I went up. She did spit - a little =) I cleaned her bowl, made sure she was comfortable, and went back downstairs to tend to the little ones.
10 minutes later:
"Mom, I love you."
"I love you too Mikayla."
"OK. Bye."
10 minutes later:
"Mom?"
"Yes Mikayla."
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to take a nap now. So could you please not interrupt me?"
"Sure Mikayla. Enjoy your nap."
At this point I'm laughing inside. She's liking this intercom thing. And she's asking me not to interrupt her. Now that's funny.
About 45 minutes had passed and I was preparing lunch for the little ones. The intercom beeps.
"Yes Mikayla"
"I just wanted to let you know I'm up from my nap."
"Ok. Do you think you can eat lunch?"
"No. My belly still doesn't feel well. Bye, Mom."
2 minutes later
"I need more to drink, please, Mom."
"Ok, I'll be right up."
I took a refill up to her right away.
2 minutes later
"Mom? I spit a little again, can you come up here and clean it."
"Yes Mikayla, but it will be a minute. I'm setting the babies up for lunch."
"Ok."
1 minute later
"Mom, when are you coming?"
"Mikayla, I told you that I was getting the babies set up for lunch. Please be patient."
1 minute later
"Mom, I thought you said you were coming"
I didn't even bother responding. The cuteness of her infatuation was
I took care of the one teaspoon of clear spit in Mikayla's bowl. Then sternly explained to her that she needs to call me for important things. She listened for a little bit.
The babies finished lunch, played for 30 minutes, then were ready for nap. I took them up to bed. After tucking them in and pressing play on their CD player, I peeked in on Mikayla and asked how she was. She was fine, smiling, playing, and watching Full House. I told her I was going to be all the way downstairs doing laundry. She asked me to be sure to take my phone. I told her I would and explained that I was going to be on a different number phone. She got it.
I no sooner got downstairs and the phone rang. It was Darin. About 2 minutes into our conversation, I hear Mikayla trying to call me on the intercom. I sigh and tell Darin to hang on. We can't use the intercom and phone at the same time. So I run upstairs to check on Mikayla. She is sitting on the bed, holding the phone, laughing. She said, "I was trying to call you".
I told her I was on the phone and that we couldn't use the intercom while I was talking to Daddy. She said she understood. I asked what she needed. She couldn't remember!!! I gave her a stern look.
I then explained to Darin that I created a monster by teaching Mikayla the intercom system and how she called me very frequently. Darin of course thought this was funny. As he was laughing, he was interrupted by another attempted call from Mikayla. That got an even heartier laugh out of Darin.
"Oh, I didn't know you were still on the phone" she said when I walked in her room.
I had to give the crying wolf speech to her, once again. She hears this one frequently as she is an overly dramatic little girl.
Of course, once Jordan got home from school, Mikayla couldn't contain herself. She knew how to do something that JT didn't know how to do. Right away she called for me and showed big brother how to do it. She was so proud.
I just hope the newness and novelty will wear off sooner than later!
Routine
I need to make blogging part of my routine. Otherwise it will become what it is...sporadic entries with many daily funnies being undocumented. I enjoy writing it...and I know this will hold priceless memories in several years when all the kids are grown. So there...today's mantra...I will blog daily!
We have finished our birthday marathon- 4 birthdays in 25 days. Whew! So I already have tomorrow's mantra...I will catch up with all of the birthday posts!
We have finished our birthday marathon- 4 birthdays in 25 days. Whew! So I already have tomorrow's mantra...I will catch up with all of the birthday posts!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
No, really, we're back
For some unknown reason, my computer failed to operate for many days. After 4 days of trying to troubleshoot and ultimately wiping the entire computer clean and starting again from scratch, I'm finally back online. Could it have something to do with Jackson's obsession for clickity click clicking my mouse when I leave his sight for a minute? My thought is - perhaps!
I didn't realize just how much I relied on my computer everyday. I don't watch the news...but I read it online. I have a morning routine of reading cnn.com, msnbc.com, my hometown paper online, and my local news station. The only adult shows that we have on tv during non-prime time are sometimes ESPN in the morning before Darin goes to work and an occasional Clean House, Wasted Spaces or some other similar DIY or home show while I eat my lunch once the 3 little ones go to nap. So during my offline time I tried catching up with current events with tv. It was ridiculous. Cnn Headline news would give me 3 or 4 of the headlines before it went to commercial break, some of which I didn't really care about. It would have taken me having news channels on all day to catch up on the news I read in the morning that takes me maybe an hour. I just didn't have the time or the patience for that.
On another note, a fellow Southern Living at Home consultant, and just a wonderful, funny, kind-hearted woman, gave birth to her little boy at only 25 weeks gestation (38-40 is full term). He only weighed 1 lb. 13oz. at birth. He is a fighter and is still hanging in there. Their family could really use your positive thoughts. So please do whatever is comfortable - pray, meditate, send your positive energy, etc- to William Wallace and his family. You can see his story and read about his updates on his carepage if you'd like. Just click here. If you are a first time user, it will ask you to sign up. It's free and they don't share your info with anyone else. Thank you!
I will write a Brownie Blog when the little ones are down for their nap!
I didn't realize just how much I relied on my computer everyday. I don't watch the news...but I read it online. I have a morning routine of reading cnn.com, msnbc.com, my hometown paper online, and my local news station. The only adult shows that we have on tv during non-prime time are sometimes ESPN in the morning before Darin goes to work and an occasional Clean House, Wasted Spaces or some other similar DIY or home show while I eat my lunch once the 3 little ones go to nap. So during my offline time I tried catching up with current events with tv. It was ridiculous. Cnn Headline news would give me 3 or 4 of the headlines before it went to commercial break, some of which I didn't really care about. It would have taken me having news channels on all day to catch up on the news I read in the morning that takes me maybe an hour. I just didn't have the time or the patience for that.
On another note, a fellow Southern Living at Home consultant, and just a wonderful, funny, kind-hearted woman, gave birth to her little boy at only 25 weeks gestation (38-40 is full term). He only weighed 1 lb. 13oz. at birth. He is a fighter and is still hanging in there. Their family could really use your positive thoughts. So please do whatever is comfortable - pray, meditate, send your positive energy, etc- to William Wallace and his family. You can see his story and read about his updates on his carepage if you'd like. Just click here. If you are a first time user, it will ask you to sign up. It's free and they don't share your info with anyone else. Thank you!
I will write a Brownie Blog when the little ones are down for their nap!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
And we're back
Has it really been almost a month since I last blogged? Wow! Where does the time go? While I got many nice gifts for Christmas, Santa failed to bring me the item at the top of my list - about 4 more hours in a day!
It seems so overwhelming to start to blog after so long. So much has happened. Where do I start?
Well, turns out I was "tagged" over my hiatus. Dorinda has so kindly tagged me. I think I will use it to my advantage and leave that as my blog for the day.
Share 5 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
or
Share the 5 top places on your “want to see or want to see again” list.
or
Share 5 things you never pictured being in your future when your were 25 years old.
Tag a minimum of 5, maximum of 10 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.The tagees have a choice of which they want to do.
I will share 5 random and/or weird facts about myself.
1. I went out in the Everglades in a small boat with a friend, at night, and used a light to spot alligators. When we spotted one, we jumped in the water to snag it and wrestled it into our boat. Then it was my job to sit on it's back and hold the mouth open while my friend pumped it's stomach to find out what it has been eating. Then we let them go. I think we captured about 15 alligators in total over several nights. All in the name of science =) The research professor, Dr. Brady Barr, now works for National Geographic and has his own show. What a cool job!
2. The one and only time I went to a strip club was actually for Brady Barr's wife-to-be's bachelorette party. It was, of all nights, on Good Friday. I was feeling embarrassed and guilty. Wouldn't you know it, we get to the club and I knew one of the strippers. He was a UM football player! He saw me, laughed, did everything he could to embarrass me some more, and then begged me not to tell his coach what he did for extra money =)
3. I have dissected a human cadaver, while eating dinner.
4. I have SCUBA dived with sharks (although not a great white or bull shark like I hope to someday swim with).
5. I took small gas engines, dairy judging, aquaculture and welding classes in high school. (I attended a small H.S. in central PA - cow country =) So I can fix your lawn mower-provided I have a Briggs & Stratton manual, tell if your cow has mastitis, build you a fish tank, raise some tilapia, and fry them up, and create an iron sculpture. LOL. What useful skills! If I knew I was going to have 5 kids, I would have taken Home Economics instead.
There you have it. Hmmm..who do I tag? Can I tag Dorinda again and have her answer another question?
I'll throw this one out to Amy.
It seems so overwhelming to start to blog after so long. So much has happened. Where do I start?
Well, turns out I was "tagged" over my hiatus. Dorinda has so kindly tagged me. I think I will use it to my advantage and leave that as my blog for the day.
Share 5 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
or
Share the 5 top places on your “want to see or want to see again” list.
or
Share 5 things you never pictured being in your future when your were 25 years old.
Tag a minimum of 5, maximum of 10 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.The tagees have a choice of which they want to do.
I will share 5 random and/or weird facts about myself.
1. I went out in the Everglades in a small boat with a friend, at night, and used a light to spot alligators. When we spotted one, we jumped in the water to snag it and wrestled it into our boat. Then it was my job to sit on it's back and hold the mouth open while my friend pumped it's stomach to find out what it has been eating. Then we let them go. I think we captured about 15 alligators in total over several nights. All in the name of science =) The research professor, Dr. Brady Barr, now works for National Geographic and has his own show. What a cool job!
2. The one and only time I went to a strip club was actually for Brady Barr's wife-to-be's bachelorette party. It was, of all nights, on Good Friday. I was feeling embarrassed and guilty. Wouldn't you know it, we get to the club and I knew one of the strippers. He was a UM football player! He saw me, laughed, did everything he could to embarrass me some more, and then begged me not to tell his coach what he did for extra money =)
3. I have dissected a human cadaver, while eating dinner.
4. I have SCUBA dived with sharks (although not a great white or bull shark like I hope to someday swim with).
5. I took small gas engines, dairy judging, aquaculture and welding classes in high school. (I attended a small H.S. in central PA - cow country =) So I can fix your lawn mower-provided I have a Briggs & Stratton manual, tell if your cow has mastitis, build you a fish tank, raise some tilapia, and fry them up, and create an iron sculpture. LOL. What useful skills! If I knew I was going to have 5 kids, I would have taken Home Economics instead.
There you have it. Hmmm..who do I tag? Can I tag Dorinda again and have her answer another question?
I'll throw this one out to Amy.
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