Posts
First of all, I must profess my total and undying love for Norah Jones. Second, I could not pass up the opportunity to share this song.
Instructions:
Take a deep breath.
Clear you mind.
Turn up your speakers.
Listen.
Think.
Happy Halloween!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Guilt Trip: A one way ticket
A brief synopsis of my morning:
ME: Kate, come on, we need to hurry up. Mommy is going to be late to work.
KATE: You are always at work mom?
ME: No, Kate, I am not always at work. Sometimes I am at work and then other times I am home with you.
KATE: Me and Daddy live here. You live at work Mom. You don’t live here with me and Daddy.
This is just unfair on so many different levels. Of course she picks a hot button item on my list right now to taunt me with. You know, I left an insane job, working 60+ hours per week so that I could work for peanuts in a “normal” job and have more time at home. I don’t get any respect around this place. This was my initial thought, but I decided it wouldn’t be productive to go there with a two year old.
Second, and most freaking important of all … this child seems to have FORGOTTEN that it’s her father that is gone for work, oh, let’s see, a good third of the year. Yes, and during that time, it’s only her and her mom. Why? Because Dad is ALWAYS at work. I’m not bitter about this whole situation at all, am I? However, being the restrained person I am, I also didn’t go there with a two year old.
Thankfully I have you to share these frustrations with and didn’t quite respond in either of the above ways to my darling daughter this morning. Instead, I smiled sweetly and said, “Geez honey, I sure wish I could spend more time at home with you too.” If only she could understand how much I really meant that …
Now, please excuse me while I return to my home, errr, I mean work.
ME: Kate, come on, we need to hurry up. Mommy is going to be late to work.
KATE: You are always at work mom?
ME: No, Kate, I am not always at work. Sometimes I am at work and then other times I am home with you.
KATE: Me and Daddy live here. You live at work Mom. You don’t live here with me and Daddy.
This is just unfair on so many different levels. Of course she picks a hot button item on my list right now to taunt me with. You know, I left an insane job, working 60+ hours per week so that I could work for peanuts in a “normal” job and have more time at home. I don’t get any respect around this place. This was my initial thought, but I decided it wouldn’t be productive to go there with a two year old.
Second, and most freaking important of all … this child seems to have FORGOTTEN that it’s her father that is gone for work, oh, let’s see, a good third of the year. Yes, and during that time, it’s only her and her mom. Why? Because Dad is ALWAYS at work. I’m not bitter about this whole situation at all, am I? However, being the restrained person I am, I also didn’t go there with a two year old.
Thankfully I have you to share these frustrations with and didn’t quite respond in either of the above ways to my darling daughter this morning. Instead, I smiled sweetly and said, “Geez honey, I sure wish I could spend more time at home with you too.” If only she could understand how much I really meant that …
Now, please excuse me while I return to my home, errr, I mean work.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Kate: Month Thirty Three
Kate,
It’s hard to believe that you are thirty-three months old already. I will go ahead and address the obvious – I know I am seven days late in writing this. Instead of groveling and admitting that I am a negligent mother, I will tell you that I chose to use the free time (free time *snort* now that’s funny!) I had over this past week spending time WITH you and not writing about you. So, when you are seventeen and you read this, you can’t blame all of your teenage angst on the fact that I was seven days late on writing about your thirty-third month. I’m glad we have that straight.
This month you got to spend some time with your buddy Caden. Since Tammi, Jason, and Caden moved to the other side of the state, our visits with them are not as often as we’d like. It had been awhile since we'd gotten together and you two were so excited to see each other. We had a fun weekend, including a trip to the largest and most obnoxious pumpkin patch ever. Now that you two are a little older, you have this fun little game that you play when you are together. It’s called let’s see who can prove that they have the most delinquent parents. You took the gold medal on this visit Miss Kate. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am all about competition, but you have to draw the line somewhere. With you two, it’s all about who can be the worst sharer, the biggest fit thrower, or just the most TWO-ISH two year old. By Sunday, poor Caden was knocked right out of consideration for the title. We determined that when he forlornly kept following you around, hoping to play. Instead of engaging in any type of activity with him, it was your mission to make sure you were playing in a different room as.far.away.from.him.as.possible. Oh joy!
You have a continued obsession with two things: getting bigger and going to school. Your favorite words are “I am too big enough” and “I AM getting bigger”. You will actually stick your neck out and do something I know you don’t want to do just because it’s something BIG KIDS do. It makes me sad that you are already in such a hurry to grow up. I thought about giving you the lecture that it is not all that it’s cracked up to be, but I guess that would sort of ruin the moment. Your other obsession is school. I don’t know where it came from, but everything is about school. You met my boss for the first time this month and instead of saying hello, you yelled, “I get to go to school when I am five!” We count school busses in the morning and you are always compelled to tell me that it will be picking you up when you are bigger. Often, you go on a tangent about all of the things you will do at school: color, read, play, and sing your ABC’s. It’s possible you got this love for school from me, since I appear to be a professional student, still in school at the ripe old age of 28. On that thought, there are plenty worse character traits you could have inherited, so I guess an affinity for nerdiness isn’t too bad.
We’ve been working with you on feeling words quite a bit and identifying feelings. You love to talk about being happy and being sad, which I think is a good thing. However, your new thing is “ … and I made you happy momma?” While sweet in intent, makes me sound quite desperate and dependent on a two year old. That was NOT the intent of the feeling conversation people! On top of the feeling words, you love making your feeling faces. Your favorites are happy, sad, and surprised. Surprised is my favorite, look at this picture and I am sure you’ll agree:
(click to enlarge)
Life’s been crazy over the past month for many reasons, but we’ve had so much fun. I am so blessed to be able to continue to share this journey with you and watch you grow and learn. You never cease to amaze me. You are such a compassionate, funny, smart, and well adjusted kid. I am lucky to be your mom.
Love,
Mama
It’s hard to believe that you are thirty-three months old already. I will go ahead and address the obvious – I know I am seven days late in writing this. Instead of groveling and admitting that I am a negligent mother, I will tell you that I chose to use the free time (free time *snort* now that’s funny!) I had over this past week spending time WITH you and not writing about you. So, when you are seventeen and you read this, you can’t blame all of your teenage angst on the fact that I was seven days late on writing about your thirty-third month. I’m glad we have that straight.
This month you got to spend some time with your buddy Caden. Since Tammi, Jason, and Caden moved to the other side of the state, our visits with them are not as often as we’d like. It had been awhile since we'd gotten together and you two were so excited to see each other. We had a fun weekend, including a trip to the largest and most obnoxious pumpkin patch ever. Now that you two are a little older, you have this fun little game that you play when you are together. It’s called let’s see who can prove that they have the most delinquent parents. You took the gold medal on this visit Miss Kate. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am all about competition, but you have to draw the line somewhere. With you two, it’s all about who can be the worst sharer, the biggest fit thrower, or just the most TWO-ISH two year old. By Sunday, poor Caden was knocked right out of consideration for the title. We determined that when he forlornly kept following you around, hoping to play. Instead of engaging in any type of activity with him, it was your mission to make sure you were playing in a different room as.far.away.from.him.as.possible. Oh joy!
You have a continued obsession with two things: getting bigger and going to school. Your favorite words are “I am too big enough” and “I AM getting bigger”. You will actually stick your neck out and do something I know you don’t want to do just because it’s something BIG KIDS do. It makes me sad that you are already in such a hurry to grow up. I thought about giving you the lecture that it is not all that it’s cracked up to be, but I guess that would sort of ruin the moment. Your other obsession is school. I don’t know where it came from, but everything is about school. You met my boss for the first time this month and instead of saying hello, you yelled, “I get to go to school when I am five!” We count school busses in the morning and you are always compelled to tell me that it will be picking you up when you are bigger. Often, you go on a tangent about all of the things you will do at school: color, read, play, and sing your ABC’s. It’s possible you got this love for school from me, since I appear to be a professional student, still in school at the ripe old age of 28. On that thought, there are plenty worse character traits you could have inherited, so I guess an affinity for nerdiness isn’t too bad.
We’ve been working with you on feeling words quite a bit and identifying feelings. You love to talk about being happy and being sad, which I think is a good thing. However, your new thing is “ … and I made you happy momma?” While sweet in intent, makes me sound quite desperate and dependent on a two year old. That was NOT the intent of the feeling conversation people! On top of the feeling words, you love making your feeling faces. Your favorites are happy, sad, and surprised. Surprised is my favorite, look at this picture and I am sure you’ll agree:
(click to enlarge)
Life’s been crazy over the past month for many reasons, but we’ve had so much fun. I am so blessed to be able to continue to share this journey with you and watch you grow and learn. You never cease to amaze me. You are such a compassionate, funny, smart, and well adjusted kid. I am lucky to be your mom.
Love,
Mama
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Did we over teach empathy?
Last night, Kate was being rambunctious on the couch with Craig and me. She kept hiding behind the big cushions and jumping out and scaring us. She was doing some jumping maneuver and went over me, heading toward the ground. I grabbed her arm, trying to catch her. That didn't work, but it did make her contort into an abnormal position as she landed on the ground. It was the perfect makings for Mother of the Year: How she dislocated my elbow. On top of the unnatural position of her body, when she hit the hardwood floor, she hit hard.
Craig and I looked at each other, waiting for the scream that would certainly wake the neighbors. She looked up at me, took a deep breath, and said, "I'm sorry floor."
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The Way I See It #27
Do not kiss your children
so they will kiss you back
but so they will kiss their children
and their children's children.
-Noah benShea
Starbucks provides me not only with my daily caffeine fix, but inspiration and thought provoking quotes. What more could you ask for? Totally worth the four-bucks.
so they will kiss you back
but so they will kiss their children
and their children's children.
-Noah benShea
Starbucks provides me not only with my daily caffeine fix, but inspiration and thought provoking quotes. What more could you ask for? Totally worth the four-bucks.
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