Today is one of those days where I actually have a sore throat from yelling. I know I'm not the only one who has experienced this, but I have to say when you're in the moment it sure feels like it. I'm not saying my kids are horrible, but just tiring.
My biggest headache of the day is my almost 6 year old expressing his independence. Cade seems to think that since he's 'big' he can do way more than a 6 year old should. In the last couple of weeks he has tried my patience with his wandering to get ahead of the pack. Today was no different when he told me he wanted to go check out a tunnel that runs under the street at Old Orchard Park. I told him no, because DUH he can't go walking into a tunnel by a street unsupervised and the other boys were busy so I couldn't go with him. He of course did not listen and I had to leave the three younger boys to go after him. A part of me would like to leave him and show him what I mean, but if something were to happen I would never forgive myself. After screaming at him about what 'monsters' can do to him and how irresponsible it is to run away and have mommy run after him and leave the little boys unsupervised we went back to the park. Now I am stuck with a quandary...how do I let my little independent boy have his independence with out risking his life or his siblings? I try not to be a "helicopter mom", constantly hovering, but I don't want to be neglectful either letting him have too much freedom. Needless to say today was a long day. Thank goodness Cade can be helpful and actually helped Kellen get dressed after his bath tonight. Sometimes my frustrations feel so large and other times the ease and happiness I find with my boys is the best reward.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Time for Exercise??
Before you have kids you go to the gym or do some kind of exercise because you have the time, you care about your looks way more and you want to be fit. After you have kids you care about your looks, but they take second fiddle to everything else; you want to be healthy but you don't have the time to exercise.
I recently went to the doctor and he told me that I needed to start exercising. Since I'm now 31 I figured that's the 'your getting old' speech. I told him that I have no time to exercise, but I think my 4 kids keep me pretty active. The doctor did not agree and instead went on about me staying alive for my kids. Sigh, he just didn't get it. I do not have the time. I am up at 6 every morning, sometimes after my kids, and I go with at least 1 kid until 8 o'clock every night. At 8 I am tired and just want to relax. I know that I am not alone with my lack of time for exercise and this is probably a large part of the obesity that is running rampant across America.
Last night was the first time I have actively exercised in at least 4 years. I don't exercise for a multitude of reasons besides the lack of time, the biggest being that I am so out of shape that to get to a mildly comfortable work out routine would take weeks/months of dedication. I also have really bad knees, so I am limited on what I can physically do. Last night I bit the bullet. My friend Gina had her second child 9 months ago, and though she has lost the weight she is flabby for lack of exercise and wants to get in shape. She works full time, so she is in the same boat at me with lack of time. I met her at 8:15 at COC (our local community college) and ran two laps and walked one before they turned off the stadium lights. Since we were already out and not totally winded we decided to walk the campus a couple of times. All in all we probably completed close to a mile and a half. Yay for me. I do stairs every day, all day long carrying my 32 pound baby, so I'm apparently not as out of shape as I thought. It's not my legs that hurt, but my lungs. Did I smoke a pack yesterday, cause that's what it feels like! I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up the constant working out, especially with Chad's basketball schedule becoming more demanding in the next two weeks, but for now we are going to try to do this twice a week. If nothing else my ass will be firmer, though maybe I should start lifting weights to get rid of my Oprah arms? Hmm, of course when would I have time?
I recently went to the doctor and he told me that I needed to start exercising. Since I'm now 31 I figured that's the 'your getting old' speech. I told him that I have no time to exercise, but I think my 4 kids keep me pretty active. The doctor did not agree and instead went on about me staying alive for my kids. Sigh, he just didn't get it. I do not have the time. I am up at 6 every morning, sometimes after my kids, and I go with at least 1 kid until 8 o'clock every night. At 8 I am tired and just want to relax. I know that I am not alone with my lack of time for exercise and this is probably a large part of the obesity that is running rampant across America.
Last night was the first time I have actively exercised in at least 4 years. I don't exercise for a multitude of reasons besides the lack of time, the biggest being that I am so out of shape that to get to a mildly comfortable work out routine would take weeks/months of dedication. I also have really bad knees, so I am limited on what I can physically do. Last night I bit the bullet. My friend Gina had her second child 9 months ago, and though she has lost the weight she is flabby for lack of exercise and wants to get in shape. She works full time, so she is in the same boat at me with lack of time. I met her at 8:15 at COC (our local community college) and ran two laps and walked one before they turned off the stadium lights. Since we were already out and not totally winded we decided to walk the campus a couple of times. All in all we probably completed close to a mile and a half. Yay for me. I do stairs every day, all day long carrying my 32 pound baby, so I'm apparently not as out of shape as I thought. It's not my legs that hurt, but my lungs. Did I smoke a pack yesterday, cause that's what it feels like! I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up the constant working out, especially with Chad's basketball schedule becoming more demanding in the next two weeks, but for now we are going to try to do this twice a week. If nothing else my ass will be firmer, though maybe I should start lifting weights to get rid of my Oprah arms? Hmm, of course when would I have time?
Monday, November 15, 2010
To eat or not to eat...
One of the toughest parts of being a parent is feeding your children. No one ever said how hard it was going to be. It wasn't until Cayden was on solids that I realized I had no idea what to feed him. Since my college days I've always been an easy quesadilla for dinner girl, but now I have to come up with balanced healthy meals and I suck! My kids would rather have chicken nuggets and mac and cheese, but because I know those things are bad for you, at least on a daily basis, I make dinner almost every night. Did I mention that I suck at cooking. If I were to win the lotto having a cook is pretty much at the top of my list of must haves. The only meal that I can do pretty well is breakfast, which incidentally is the one meal I think it gross and usually have a sandwich instead.
I'm one of those freaky moms who likes to make a big breakfast and will make just about anything you want for breakfast because I firmly believe it's the most important meal of the day. This is of course why my boys would rather have cereal. I am convinced that if I never cooked pancakes or homemade waffles they would want them. I try to get them to eat better than cereal at least 2 times a week and even on cereal days we add bananas to have a heavier impact. After lunch I am a waste. Since I'm not a great cook and my husband is not far behind me I struggle everyday to come up with meals that my kids won't totally gag on.
On a daily basis I can hear this from my pickiest eater, Cam, "Mommy! This is not what I ordered!" Yes, that's right apparently I have become a drive thru window for my children. One thing I have learned is that I will not make a couple of different meals for my kids. It's hard enough coming up with something to make them that will result in the least amount of groans and without making multiple meals. I try to always include a vegetable, protein and starch, but I don't always stick to that because it's damn hard. The rule in our house is if you don't eat it the only thing you can have for the rest of the night is an apple. I know a lot of parents (mine included) say no food if you don't eat your dinner. I remember going to bed hungry and all it did was make me feel awful, and I didn't change my attitude to that particular food, so instead we let them have an apple.
There is one good thing about my kids and their picky habits. They LOVE LOVE LOVE fruit and vegetables. On a weekly basis we go through 3 to 4 bunches of bananas, 2 bags of apples, 1 bag of grapes and 1/2 a bag of pears. My boys also love broccoli, carrots (cooked or raw), cauliflower and peas. I think their love of the healthy is my reward for the constant asking for snack foods.
My oldest, Cayden, will eat anything and that old adage about boys eating you out of house and home applies to him. I'm hoping he's just going through a growth spurt, because the amount of food he eats is crazy. The best part about Cade is that he will literally eat anything, so if he complains about being hungry I tell him to eat an apple and he will. Kellen is a lot like Cade, but he doesn't like veggies so getting him to eat them is hard. Luckily he's a big fruit lover. Camden is the exact opposite of Cade.
Cam is super picky. He likes to snack and if it's remotely healthy he doesn't want it. The only stuff he really likes is bananas and broccoli, so we tend to have that a lot. He's also really into yogurt and cheese, so I'm lucky that he can get his vitamins in with the chips, granola bars and cheese and crackers that he's always asking to eat.
I certainly miss the days when it was just myself I had to look out for food wise. A quick quesadilla would make life so much easier. I am told that kids grow out of this stage of pickyness and I can't wait for that to happen. In the meantime when Cade turns 6 in January we are going to have him start making a meal once a week. Obviously I will be helping, but I think it will be good for him to start cooking and getting creative, plus one night easier on me.
I'm one of those freaky moms who likes to make a big breakfast and will make just about anything you want for breakfast because I firmly believe it's the most important meal of the day. This is of course why my boys would rather have cereal. I am convinced that if I never cooked pancakes or homemade waffles they would want them. I try to get them to eat better than cereal at least 2 times a week and even on cereal days we add bananas to have a heavier impact. After lunch I am a waste. Since I'm not a great cook and my husband is not far behind me I struggle everyday to come up with meals that my kids won't totally gag on.
On a daily basis I can hear this from my pickiest eater, Cam, "Mommy! This is not what I ordered!" Yes, that's right apparently I have become a drive thru window for my children. One thing I have learned is that I will not make a couple of different meals for my kids. It's hard enough coming up with something to make them that will result in the least amount of groans and without making multiple meals. I try to always include a vegetable, protein and starch, but I don't always stick to that because it's damn hard. The rule in our house is if you don't eat it the only thing you can have for the rest of the night is an apple. I know a lot of parents (mine included) say no food if you don't eat your dinner. I remember going to bed hungry and all it did was make me feel awful, and I didn't change my attitude to that particular food, so instead we let them have an apple.
There is one good thing about my kids and their picky habits. They LOVE LOVE LOVE fruit and vegetables. On a weekly basis we go through 3 to 4 bunches of bananas, 2 bags of apples, 1 bag of grapes and 1/2 a bag of pears. My boys also love broccoli, carrots (cooked or raw), cauliflower and peas. I think their love of the healthy is my reward for the constant asking for snack foods.
My oldest, Cayden, will eat anything and that old adage about boys eating you out of house and home applies to him. I'm hoping he's just going through a growth spurt, because the amount of food he eats is crazy. The best part about Cade is that he will literally eat anything, so if he complains about being hungry I tell him to eat an apple and he will. Kellen is a lot like Cade, but he doesn't like veggies so getting him to eat them is hard. Luckily he's a big fruit lover. Camden is the exact opposite of Cade.
Cam is super picky. He likes to snack and if it's remotely healthy he doesn't want it. The only stuff he really likes is bananas and broccoli, so we tend to have that a lot. He's also really into yogurt and cheese, so I'm lucky that he can get his vitamins in with the chips, granola bars and cheese and crackers that he's always asking to eat.
I certainly miss the days when it was just myself I had to look out for food wise. A quick quesadilla would make life so much easier. I am told that kids grow out of this stage of pickyness and I can't wait for that to happen. In the meantime when Cade turns 6 in January we are going to have him start making a meal once a week. Obviously I will be helping, but I think it will be good for him to start cooking and getting creative, plus one night easier on me.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Zoo days
Today was a good day. I took the boys to the zoo, our favorite quick play date, and it was perfect. Nothing like living in California in November. A light breeze in the air, temps in the mid 70's and almost no one at the zoo. Today was the first day of the basketball season for Chad. It means late nights, Saturday practices and soon lots and lots of games. We went to the zoo to enjoy a fun time where we weren't on time constraints because of school. The boys had a great time with the exception of Cade's new habit of walking far ahead of us, I had to rein him in and at one point grab his ear to make my point, and Cam had a fit because his shoe just wasn't tight enough, but other than that it was great. It was so nice to see real progress on the new elephant exhibit that's been being built long before I started going to the zoo five years ago and we got a view of Billy the elephant, Kellen's favorite animal, even if it was the rear view. We got to see the hippo up close and personal and the sleeping bear.
The zoo was one of those lazy times with my kids that I enjoy. Everyone mellow, happy and entertained. Even Kolin had fun trying to figure out what the animals were. It's days like today that make being a mom worth all the crappy days when my patience is done and I just want a day off.
The zoo was one of those lazy times with my kids that I enjoy. Everyone mellow, happy and entertained. Even Kolin had fun trying to figure out what the animals were. It's days like today that make being a mom worth all the crappy days when my patience is done and I just want a day off.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Crying...
There are some days when it seems like there is a megaphone of crying going on in my house. If it's not all of the boys it's at least 2 of them and because there is crying by at least one it always escalates into a screaming, crying, bad mood, hitting, biting day. Today is one of those days.
I should have known when I had to deal with Time Warner this morning and they couldn't fix my cable box from India that it was going to go downhill, but I try to be an optimist sometimes. We tried to convince Cam not to go to school today because Cade didn't have to and it would have been a whole lot easier, but alas my little 'smart boy' had to go. After going and getting a new cable box and dropping into the market for weekly supplies of milk, cheese and fruit it was back home. Chad went out for a much needed guys day out and I was home with the 3 boys. Luckily Cade and Kellen tend to play very well together, but Kolin is at that age where he wants to be in every ones business and by in I mean literally sitting in the middle of any game/toy/book. After repeated wrestling matches featuring Cade and Kolin and Kellen and Kolin it was time to pick up Cam. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again but picking up at the preschool is a special kind of torture. The boys run wild while we wait for the teachers to open their doors and let the kids out. Normally I have a stroller to corral Kolin, but I switched cars, so no such luck today. Luckily Kolin fell asleep on the way home and we got a blessed 2 1/2 hours of time without a busy body baby, but there is some kind of radar for kids knowing that nap time is over and it's time to start fighting.
Even before I had gotten Kolin out of his crib Kellen and Camden were fighting over seats on the toy helicopter we have in the back yard, which quickly turned to screams and crying when Cam pinched Kel and Kel retaliated by biting back. Cause biting always fixes the problem, right? In the resulting chaos of crying boys Cade knocked his side into a corner and started crying too and I could hear the hysterical crying from upstairs where the baby wanted to get out. Trying to calm everyone took precious minutes and band aids, but was finally accomplished. Cam walking with a limp, even though the bite was on his scapula, sat and played while I rescued Kolin from his crib. I have heard tell that one of the torture practices used by the military is a baby crying and I have to say that I would divulge military secrets in a second if I had to hear a baby crying. It literally drives me batty and I start to lose it. Everyone was in a yucky mood at this point, so I decided to torture us all by going to get Kel a hair cut. What can I say I'm a masochist.
The good part was the change of scenery really helped. The boys were great at the hair cut place and we walked to Block Buster so everyone could pick out a movie. We even rented Santa Clause, even though we have it somewhere in our house, so that we could start getting into the Christmas spirit. The middle of my day was a tense standoff with mommy and the boys against each other. Luckily I have been doing this long enough to know that you have to get out, even if it's just a drive it helps.
I should have known when I had to deal with Time Warner this morning and they couldn't fix my cable box from India that it was going to go downhill, but I try to be an optimist sometimes. We tried to convince Cam not to go to school today because Cade didn't have to and it would have been a whole lot easier, but alas my little 'smart boy' had to go. After going and getting a new cable box and dropping into the market for weekly supplies of milk, cheese and fruit it was back home. Chad went out for a much needed guys day out and I was home with the 3 boys. Luckily Cade and Kellen tend to play very well together, but Kolin is at that age where he wants to be in every ones business and by in I mean literally sitting in the middle of any game/toy/book. After repeated wrestling matches featuring Cade and Kolin and Kellen and Kolin it was time to pick up Cam. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again but picking up at the preschool is a special kind of torture. The boys run wild while we wait for the teachers to open their doors and let the kids out. Normally I have a stroller to corral Kolin, but I switched cars, so no such luck today. Luckily Kolin fell asleep on the way home and we got a blessed 2 1/2 hours of time without a busy body baby, but there is some kind of radar for kids knowing that nap time is over and it's time to start fighting.
Even before I had gotten Kolin out of his crib Kellen and Camden were fighting over seats on the toy helicopter we have in the back yard, which quickly turned to screams and crying when Cam pinched Kel and Kel retaliated by biting back. Cause biting always fixes the problem, right? In the resulting chaos of crying boys Cade knocked his side into a corner and started crying too and I could hear the hysterical crying from upstairs where the baby wanted to get out. Trying to calm everyone took precious minutes and band aids, but was finally accomplished. Cam walking with a limp, even though the bite was on his scapula, sat and played while I rescued Kolin from his crib. I have heard tell that one of the torture practices used by the military is a baby crying and I have to say that I would divulge military secrets in a second if I had to hear a baby crying. It literally drives me batty and I start to lose it. Everyone was in a yucky mood at this point, so I decided to torture us all by going to get Kel a hair cut. What can I say I'm a masochist.
The good part was the change of scenery really helped. The boys were great at the hair cut place and we walked to Block Buster so everyone could pick out a movie. We even rented Santa Clause, even though we have it somewhere in our house, so that we could start getting into the Christmas spirit. The middle of my day was a tense standoff with mommy and the boys against each other. Luckily I have been doing this long enough to know that you have to get out, even if it's just a drive it helps.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Too Smart?
I have one little boy that we refer to as the smart one. All of my boys are smart, but Camden seems to be beyond. Since he could talk he wanted to be a veterinarian and now that he is older has narrowed down his specialty to discovering new species of animals around the world. He's not the cuddle the cat or dog kid, but the how does the cat/dog walk with it's legs this way. He's smart. I didn't understand the 'Why kid' until I got one, you know the one who asks continuous questions all the time and you just want to shout "give me 5 minutes of silence". That's Cam. Unfortunately smart doesn't mean perfect.
When I say too smart Cam is my trouble kid. Normally you would think a smart kid would be buried in a book, which he does do a lot, but he's also the kid that stole from Walmart and Block Buster because he wanted it and no one caught him. He's the one who makes fun of his little brothers grey tooth, even though he's the one who hit him in the mouth and gave him the grey tooth. This weekend Cam decided that he didn't want to walk the 5 feet to the bathroom, which is right next to his room, to go, but instead just peed on his carpet! He weighs the consequences for his actions and then calculates the risk. He is the hardest child I have. Sometimes I refer to Cam as "devil child", but what I really mean is the little boy that pushes all my buttons and constantly questions and tests me. Cam used to lie, but after one too many bouts with soap in his mouth he learned it wasn't worth it. I worry about what the future will bring for my smart boy. I try to keep him occupied, but preschool is not enough for him and unfortunately he's not old enough for Kindergarten. For me it's a constant struggle to teach him the social taboos, mores and morals of our society and I am beginning to realize that of all my boys he needs them the most, because I think that smart kids forget the boundaries to get to their goals and it's up to the parents to keep reminding them that their actions have reactions.
When I say too smart Cam is my trouble kid. Normally you would think a smart kid would be buried in a book, which he does do a lot, but he's also the kid that stole from Walmart and Block Buster because he wanted it and no one caught him. He's the one who makes fun of his little brothers grey tooth, even though he's the one who hit him in the mouth and gave him the grey tooth. This weekend Cam decided that he didn't want to walk the 5 feet to the bathroom, which is right next to his room, to go, but instead just peed on his carpet! He weighs the consequences for his actions and then calculates the risk. He is the hardest child I have. Sometimes I refer to Cam as "devil child", but what I really mean is the little boy that pushes all my buttons and constantly questions and tests me. Cam used to lie, but after one too many bouts with soap in his mouth he learned it wasn't worth it. I worry about what the future will bring for my smart boy. I try to keep him occupied, but preschool is not enough for him and unfortunately he's not old enough for Kindergarten. For me it's a constant struggle to teach him the social taboos, mores and morals of our society and I am beginning to realize that of all my boys he needs them the most, because I think that smart kids forget the boundaries to get to their goals and it's up to the parents to keep reminding them that their actions have reactions.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
My partner, my rock.
Today I got to meet up with my good friend Jamie, whom I get to see once a year. She's one of those friends that you don't get to talk to enough, but when you do it's like you were never apart. She just gets it and always will and it's so nice to be with her. We caught up on our lives and she asked me how Chad and I were doing. I didn't have to think about it because I know how we are, strong. Though our life is chaos, we're struggling financially and there are days I think I'm going insane he is my rock They say that 7 years is the year you get an itch. Now I'm not denying an itch, but it isn't for a new partner. A new job, a new house maybe, but definitely not a new partner. Why? Because my partner has been there through every bad thing and good thing that has happened in my life and every time there is a bad, tough, hard, sad moment we grow stronger together. I guess that's how you know when you've met your perfect partner because they aren't there just for the good times, but for the bad. They make you think and try harder and strive for excellence. They know your boundaries and they want you to test them and to achieve all that you can.
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