I put Connor to bed on Friday nights. We have taken to telling stories instead of reading them. This Friday I told him the story of how he got all the stuffed animals on his bed, which is plenty. "Me and Daddy got Rocky for you when we went to Colorado. You were in my belly." and "Papa Craig gave Cowboy to Maddy and she gave him to you."
Then I told him the story of when he was born. I told him how at 2:00 in the morning I woke up and told Daddy that the baby was on it's way! I told him that we got to the hospital at 4:30 and they said "Yup! The baby is coming!" I told him how they gave me some medicine and he came out of my belly. (Just that easy!) I mentioned how we didn't know if he was going to be a girl or boy so when he came out Daddy said "It's a boy!"
"Did you know I was boy because of my short hair?"
"No. We knew you were a boy because you have a peanut."
That was so hilarious that he actually choked himself laughing.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Murderer on the Loose
There was a murder by my house. One subdivision over a lady was shot in her home at point blank range. Murdered.
I didn't know her but I have a friend whose kids knew her kids. She had 4 kids. She was killed at about 3:00 in the afternoon, right when her Jr. High student was coming home. I just think about how this past summer was the last summer she will spend with her kids. How she went school clothes shopping for the last time. How she got up in the morning, made lunches, sent her kids off to school like a normal day. Not knowing it would be the last time they would see each other. She was probably waiting for them to come home not knowing she would be dead by the time they got there. My heart is breaking for them.
The killer was her daughters boyfriend. Or ex-boyfriend maybe. I don't know the details but she had probably told the daughter to break up with him because he was bad news. Probably violent. And does it make it better that it wasn't just a random crime? Not for them it doesn't, but for me it does. At least I'm safe from this particular horror... for now.
The kid was on the loose for about 2 hours. They thought he might be hiding in our subdivision. There were cops EVERYWERE. They had so much trouble finding him because all the schools were letting out right then and there were kids all over the place. Even the sniffer dogs were having trouble keeping his scent because of all the people walking every direction. Of course this is all happening right when my kids are getting off the bus at 3:45.
Which only makes me think back to just last week when the bus driver let my kids off at the wrong bus stop. I felt like I was being crazy for getting so upset about it. I felt like everyone was snickering behind my back for how mad I was. What did I think, that a murderer was hiding around the corner? Well... yeah, maybe. And then 5 days later there really is a murderer hiding in our subdivision. So there! I told you so!
I didn't know her but I have a friend whose kids knew her kids. She had 4 kids. She was killed at about 3:00 in the afternoon, right when her Jr. High student was coming home. I just think about how this past summer was the last summer she will spend with her kids. How she went school clothes shopping for the last time. How she got up in the morning, made lunches, sent her kids off to school like a normal day. Not knowing it would be the last time they would see each other. She was probably waiting for them to come home not knowing she would be dead by the time they got there. My heart is breaking for them.
The killer was her daughters boyfriend. Or ex-boyfriend maybe. I don't know the details but she had probably told the daughter to break up with him because he was bad news. Probably violent. And does it make it better that it wasn't just a random crime? Not for them it doesn't, but for me it does. At least I'm safe from this particular horror... for now.
The kid was on the loose for about 2 hours. They thought he might be hiding in our subdivision. There were cops EVERYWERE. They had so much trouble finding him because all the schools were letting out right then and there were kids all over the place. Even the sniffer dogs were having trouble keeping his scent because of all the people walking every direction. Of course this is all happening right when my kids are getting off the bus at 3:45.
Which only makes me think back to just last week when the bus driver let my kids off at the wrong bus stop. I felt like I was being crazy for getting so upset about it. I felt like everyone was snickering behind my back for how mad I was. What did I think, that a murderer was hiding around the corner? Well... yeah, maybe. And then 5 days later there really is a murderer hiding in our subdivision. So there! I told you so!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
First Day of Kindergarten!
Well the first week of school is over. Everyone is very happy. Connor is so proud of himself. He feels like such a big kid now, especially since he has some experience at that school because he went to preschool there. So he knows the layout and sees his old teacher in the halls. I think that gives him a lot of confidence and security. It's not all brand new.
Maddy is moving up in the world too. In 4th grade they move upstairs in the school, which is big kid. They also move to the big kid playground. Very exciting. Her classroom is laid out much more big kid too. Rows of desks instead of tables. They are really starting to transition into jr. high. Jr. High! Ok, breathe, it's still 3 years away.
And you know it's not the official start of school until I get into a fight with the bus driver. Allow me to remind you of last year. I never finished the story last year but after much drama they moved the bus stop to the park, which is the best bus stop in the whole wide world.
So this year when the flyer came out saying where the bus stop is they put it back at the bad bus stop. The one that caused all the drama to begin with. I tell myself to say out of it. I tried to stay out of it last year but that didn't happen. I tell myself I don't care, just stay out of it. So my friend emailed the bus boss and asked what was going on. He said it was mistake and the bus stop will be at the park.
Fine.
On the first day of school the bus driver says no, the bus stop will be at the old spot until they can "officially" change it. My friend told her that her boss said this was the stop. She didn't like it.
So after school on the very first day Larry and I and other parents are waiting at the park, the good bus stop. The bus pulls up and I'm all excited to see Connor's face as he gets off the bus for the very first time. I got the camera ready and everything.
The bus driver says to me "Your kids are at the other stop."
"What?!"
"Your kids got off at the other stop."
Why on flipping earth did she let me kids off at another stop? So Larry and I go running over there. I was so mad. I wasn't there when Connor got off the bus!! Maddy was crying because she knew she had made a mistake. But I wasn't mad at her. I was mad at the bus driver. I was so so so mad.
So I called her boss. Convienently I have his number in my phone from last year. They wanted me to leave a message for him. That wasn't going to happen. I told them I would wait. They tried to explain that they didn't know how long it would be.
"I'm extermely upset. I'm not leaving a message, no one is going to call me back, I'm talking to someone right now. I'll wait."
I didn't have to wait long. He got right on the phone. I tried to hold it together, really, I did. He is already fully aware of all the back and forth that has occured. I tell him "She left my kindergartener standing on the side of the road by himself!" I started to cry. I tell him that I was waiting at the other bus stop and she let Connor off at the wrong stop!
He said he would talk to her and change the bus stop officially to the park. The next day everyone came home with a letter saying the bus stop was moved to the park. Jeeze! I don't know why I have to get involved before anything gets accomplished. I tried to stay out of it!
Maddy is moving up in the world too. In 4th grade they move upstairs in the school, which is big kid. They also move to the big kid playground. Very exciting. Her classroom is laid out much more big kid too. Rows of desks instead of tables. They are really starting to transition into jr. high. Jr. High! Ok, breathe, it's still 3 years away.
And you know it's not the official start of school until I get into a fight with the bus driver. Allow me to remind you of last year. I never finished the story last year but after much drama they moved the bus stop to the park, which is the best bus stop in the whole wide world.
So this year when the flyer came out saying where the bus stop is they put it back at the bad bus stop. The one that caused all the drama to begin with. I tell myself to say out of it. I tried to stay out of it last year but that didn't happen. I tell myself I don't care, just stay out of it. So my friend emailed the bus boss and asked what was going on. He said it was mistake and the bus stop will be at the park.
Fine.
On the first day of school the bus driver says no, the bus stop will be at the old spot until they can "officially" change it. My friend told her that her boss said this was the stop. She didn't like it.
So after school on the very first day Larry and I and other parents are waiting at the park, the good bus stop. The bus pulls up and I'm all excited to see Connor's face as he gets off the bus for the very first time. I got the camera ready and everything.
The bus driver says to me "Your kids are at the other stop."
"What?!"
"Your kids got off at the other stop."
Why on flipping earth did she let me kids off at another stop? So Larry and I go running over there. I was so mad. I wasn't there when Connor got off the bus!! Maddy was crying because she knew she had made a mistake. But I wasn't mad at her. I was mad at the bus driver. I was so so so mad.
So I called her boss. Convienently I have his number in my phone from last year. They wanted me to leave a message for him. That wasn't going to happen. I told them I would wait. They tried to explain that they didn't know how long it would be.
"I'm extermely upset. I'm not leaving a message, no one is going to call me back, I'm talking to someone right now. I'll wait."
I didn't have to wait long. He got right on the phone. I tried to hold it together, really, I did. He is already fully aware of all the back and forth that has occured. I tell him "She left my kindergartener standing on the side of the road by himself!" I started to cry. I tell him that I was waiting at the other bus stop and she let Connor off at the wrong stop!
He said he would talk to her and change the bus stop officially to the park. The next day everyone came home with a letter saying the bus stop was moved to the park. Jeeze! I don't know why I have to get involved before anything gets accomplished. I tried to stay out of it!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Chinese Food
There is a show on Nickelodeon called Ni Hao, Kai-lan that Connor loves. I've never really watched it but it's about a Chinese girl. I don't know if it takes place in China or what, but it's Chinese themed.
A few weeks back we were in the pool and some older boys mentioned the show. Connor just lit up! He loves that show. But then before he could say anything to them one of the boys said "That show is for babies." Which just crushed Connor. I was interested to see how this would play out.
I kinda half forgot about it but I noticed recently that now when he watches the show he sings the theme song but adds the word "stupid" into it. And then the other day he was in the living room with me and it came on in the family room. He said "UH! Ni Hao, Kai-lan is on." kind of angry about it but then rushed in there to watch it. Like he was mad at himself for liking it.
So I followed him in there and said "Oh, this is such a good show." and watched the whole thing with him.
Well! Since then Connor has gotten interested in all things Chinese. He knows a couple Chinese words. He can count to three in Chinese. He knows the Chinese characters for a couple of numbers. "The symbol for the number 8 looks like a moustache." he says. I think he has been taking notes this whole time but keeping them to himself since he didn't want anyone to know that he's been watching this baby show.
He told me the other day that he wanted to go to a Chinese restaurant. Ok, well... that's new. We never eat Chinese. I thought we could go down to Panda Express or something. No. It had to be a real Chinese restaurant with Chinese lights hanging from the ceiling. This was going to take some research.
I found a place that I was hoping would fit the bill. It got good reviews and was reasonably priced. I just had to cross my fingers that it had Chinese lanterns on the ceiling. They didn't mention any authentic decor on their website.
We headed down there on Saturday afternoon. Much to our delight they DID have some Chinese lanterns. I was supposed to ask the waiter if he spoke Chinese so that Connor could practice his Chinese words but I didn't. I felt kinda weird about it and Connor didn't bring it up so I let it slide. Besides, I think he would have been too embarrassed anyways. Maybe next time.
The food was very good and Connor did a great job and tried everything. We got him sweet and sour chicken with fried rice. It came with Egg Drop soup and an egg roll. He liked the outer shell of the egg roll and said he liked the soup but didn't eat much of it. He ate all the fried rice and a bit of the chicken.
I was so proud of him! He really stepped out of his comfort zone on this one.
A few weeks back we were in the pool and some older boys mentioned the show. Connor just lit up! He loves that show. But then before he could say anything to them one of the boys said "That show is for babies." Which just crushed Connor. I was interested to see how this would play out.
I kinda half forgot about it but I noticed recently that now when he watches the show he sings the theme song but adds the word "stupid" into it. And then the other day he was in the living room with me and it came on in the family room. He said "UH! Ni Hao, Kai-lan is on." kind of angry about it but then rushed in there to watch it. Like he was mad at himself for liking it.
So I followed him in there and said "Oh, this is such a good show." and watched the whole thing with him.
Well! Since then Connor has gotten interested in all things Chinese. He knows a couple Chinese words. He can count to three in Chinese. He knows the Chinese characters for a couple of numbers. "The symbol for the number 8 looks like a moustache." he says. I think he has been taking notes this whole time but keeping them to himself since he didn't want anyone to know that he's been watching this baby show.
He told me the other day that he wanted to go to a Chinese restaurant. Ok, well... that's new. We never eat Chinese. I thought we could go down to Panda Express or something. No. It had to be a real Chinese restaurant with Chinese lights hanging from the ceiling. This was going to take some research.
I found a place that I was hoping would fit the bill. It got good reviews and was reasonably priced. I just had to cross my fingers that it had Chinese lanterns on the ceiling. They didn't mention any authentic decor on their website.
We headed down there on Saturday afternoon. Much to our delight they DID have some Chinese lanterns. I was supposed to ask the waiter if he spoke Chinese so that Connor could practice his Chinese words but I didn't. I felt kinda weird about it and Connor didn't bring it up so I let it slide. Besides, I think he would have been too embarrassed anyways. Maybe next time.
The food was very good and Connor did a great job and tried everything. We got him sweet and sour chicken with fried rice. It came with Egg Drop soup and an egg roll. He liked the outer shell of the egg roll and said he liked the soup but didn't eat much of it. He ate all the fried rice and a bit of the chicken.
I was so proud of him! He really stepped out of his comfort zone on this one.
Friday, July 29, 2011
12 Days!
School starts in less than two weeks! Can ya believe it? I'm trying to put it out of my mind. Not because I feel sad about it. Oh no. It's because when I let reality really sink in that I'm going to be home alone for 8 hours a day, free to do whatever I please, an excitement wells up in my chest that I feel pretty guilty about.
Plus some place deep inside me worries that if I get too excited it will be taken away. So I'm not focusing on it. I'm trying to be sad. I really am.
We went to "Kindergarten Roundup" last week. The teachers took the kids to "evaluate" them and the grown ups got a tour of the school. It was a big waste of time as far as I'm concerned but Connor had a blast. He came back ready to get started.
I made the HUGE mistake of telling him that he will get music classes. I thought that was a good thing considering his love and enthusiasm of all things musical. I, very casually, mentioned that he would do a Kindergarten musical. You know, sing on the stage.
oops.
Every 15 minutes for the next two days I had to assure him that it will be fine. "You know what sweetie, it's about one year away. You really don't have to worry about it right now." We seem to have no passed that trauma. I'll be sure not to mention it again.
12 days and counting!
Plus some place deep inside me worries that if I get too excited it will be taken away. So I'm not focusing on it. I'm trying to be sad. I really am.
We went to "Kindergarten Roundup" last week. The teachers took the kids to "evaluate" them and the grown ups got a tour of the school. It was a big waste of time as far as I'm concerned but Connor had a blast. He came back ready to get started.
I made the HUGE mistake of telling him that he will get music classes. I thought that was a good thing considering his love and enthusiasm of all things musical. I, very casually, mentioned that he would do a Kindergarten musical. You know, sing on the stage.
oops.
Every 15 minutes for the next two days I had to assure him that it will be fine. "You know what sweetie, it's about one year away. You really don't have to worry about it right now." We seem to have no passed that trauma. I'll be sure not to mention it again.
12 days and counting!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
New Year's Resolutions!
Guess what? We are half way through the year and you know what that means?! New Year's Resolution check in time!! We have to think of a catchier name for that. NYRCHIT ehh.
Ah yes, New Years Resolutions... remember those pesky things? Let's review...
My 3 Resolutions were:
1. Paint the living room: Done!! Aww yeah.
2. Read 25 books: Half done. So we are on track for this one. Sweet!
3. Pay off all non mortgage debt: Working on it. Should have this done by November.
Hitting this out of the park this year! Oh yeah.
Happy 4th of July!!
Ah yes, New Years Resolutions... remember those pesky things? Let's review...
My 3 Resolutions were:
1. Paint the living room: Done!! Aww yeah.
2. Read 25 books: Half done. So we are on track for this one. Sweet!
3. Pay off all non mortgage debt: Working on it. Should have this done by November.
Hitting this out of the park this year! Oh yeah.
Happy 4th of July!!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Swimming
We have been living in the pool which is my Summertime dream. Sometimes Connor just randomly comes down stairs in his bathing suit. You know, in case the opportunity arises to swim. He wants to be ready. He has been teaching himself to swim and he's doing awesome!!
When we started the summer he would touch his face to the water and then spit and sputter for five minutes as he cleared every last drop from his face. Then he got more confident about putting his whole face in the water. He would also motor around the pool in the middle of a blow up ring. He could go anywhere in that thing.
Then one time we were up there and there were some older boys playing catch across the whole length of the pool. He wanted to play and they were letting him catch and throw the ball every few throws. But he couldn't really do it with his ring on. So he took it off.
He is tall enough to touch the bottom in the shallow end so he hopped around over there playing catch with the big boys. It was great. He got some confidence being in the pool without his tube on.
He practiced this new skill for a while and decided he liked being without his tube. Awesome. In fact, he doesn't even bring it to the pool anymore. He got more and more confident in the pool and was putting his face in the water (which he calls diving) a lot better but still wouldn't go under all the way.
Then my niece and nephew came over. My niece is one. She goes under... all the way. There was no way on Earth that Connor was going to let a one year baby girl show him up. So under he went.
Awww... yeah.
Now he does "cannonballs", which means sliding in from the side on his butt as slow as steady as possible and then while holding on to the side of the pool goes under the water. A Connor Cannonball.
He will also hold on to the side with both hands, put his face in the water, and kick. Gosh that is as close to swimming as a human can get!
In the kidde pool he will stand in the middle and glide himself the 3 feed over to the side. Which again, is almost actual swimming. He's so close I can taste it! I keep waiting for the moment he decides he's going for it.
One thing he will NOT do is let me touch him. He freaks if I even act like I'm going to touch him in the pool. "No Mommy NOO!!" Gosh, I mean seriously. What am I going to do?
But anyways, my goal was to have that boy swimming by the end of summer. I think we are in good shape!
When we started the summer he would touch his face to the water and then spit and sputter for five minutes as he cleared every last drop from his face. Then he got more confident about putting his whole face in the water. He would also motor around the pool in the middle of a blow up ring. He could go anywhere in that thing.
Then one time we were up there and there were some older boys playing catch across the whole length of the pool. He wanted to play and they were letting him catch and throw the ball every few throws. But he couldn't really do it with his ring on. So he took it off.
He is tall enough to touch the bottom in the shallow end so he hopped around over there playing catch with the big boys. It was great. He got some confidence being in the pool without his tube on.
He practiced this new skill for a while and decided he liked being without his tube. Awesome. In fact, he doesn't even bring it to the pool anymore. He got more and more confident in the pool and was putting his face in the water (which he calls diving) a lot better but still wouldn't go under all the way.
Then my niece and nephew came over. My niece is one. She goes under... all the way. There was no way on Earth that Connor was going to let a one year baby girl show him up. So under he went.
Awww... yeah.
Now he does "cannonballs", which means sliding in from the side on his butt as slow as steady as possible and then while holding on to the side of the pool goes under the water. A Connor Cannonball.
He will also hold on to the side with both hands, put his face in the water, and kick. Gosh that is as close to swimming as a human can get!
In the kidde pool he will stand in the middle and glide himself the 3 feed over to the side. Which again, is almost actual swimming. He's so close I can taste it! I keep waiting for the moment he decides he's going for it.
One thing he will NOT do is let me touch him. He freaks if I even act like I'm going to touch him in the pool. "No Mommy NOO!!" Gosh, I mean seriously. What am I going to do?
But anyways, my goal was to have that boy swimming by the end of summer. I think we are in good shape!
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