Yesterday I spent the whole day cleaning. It had to get done. 1)The house was starting to look like a hoarder's house. 2)Thanksgiving is at my house. 3)The house was starting to smell like hoarder's house. It is embarrassing to admit that I am a slob but there you have it. I hate house work. Although I like cooking for guests, I dislike the mess it causes and so even avoid much cooking. Every break from school that I have, I usually spend almost half of it cleaning to get caught up.
I had extreme doubts about whether or not I was going to get the amount of cleaning done that needed to get done with a four year old and almost-two year old underfoot. To my surprise....they were the easy part (until I got to the playroom). The girls decided that they would play dress up and castle in their bedroom (and by they...I mean Jordan). Jordy put Emily's pink princess dress on and she was dressed as Tiana (the New Orleans wedding dress). They created a castle in the bedroom by taking down the bedrail and slanting the mattress of Jord's bed. It look more like a lean-to...but who am I to dash the imaginatings of a four year old?
They played for almost an hour in there which allowed me to get the whole kitchen and dining room cleaned up. By then, it was lunch time. Tyson popcorn chicken and grapes were to follow. Emily then, was out for the count. That girls takes a serious naps still...from 1-4! I napped on the couch while Jordan watched a movie. After naptime I tacked the playroom. I wish I had taken a before picture. I do not enter the playroom often because it's a warzone and trip hazzard for an very clumsy mommy. Jordan had "defeathered" a boa all over the room. I had picked up almost all the feathers when Jord wandered in and realized what I had done. She ran to the trash can and grabbed handfulls out, threw them into the air, and danced while they fall.
People, I try to live in the moment. I try to think that she has such a great imagination and I am thankful that she is such a create person...but FEATHERS EVERYWHERE ARE NOT FUN!
The toughest part of the day was explaining to Jordan that it was time to get rid of the toys she doesn't play with anymore. I like to get rid of a lot of toys this time of year since she will undoubtedly get a lot of Christmas. Why add more mess to our mess? I will be sorting and donating some toys while she sleeps tonight.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
First Day of Thanksgiving Break
Being a teacher has some huge advantages as far as time off goes. I get the next week off to be with my girls. Today was day one. My smallest daughter decided that 6 am would be a GREAT time for me to get up on my first day of vacation. Luckily, her sister stayed in bed until 7:30. After a light breakfast, they settled for show.
They decided to play for a while in their playroom together. I stayed in the living room listening in. They played in the Little Tykes house for a while rocking their baby dolls and pretend cooking for each other. I heard them dump the legos and begin to build a tower together. Then I heard a slap and before I could get up to run damage control and institute a time out I heard this exchange:
"I'm sorry Emmy. I shouldn't have hit you." Jordan says remorsefully.
"I'm soo-rry, Sissy." Emily replies.
I then hear some slippy kisses and a couple I love yous. I let it go.
I know it wont always be this way. They sometimes fight and I know they will continue to get annoyed with each other. What are sisters for? But these glimmers of hope. These queit moments of forgiveness and acceptace...well, they are priceless.
I later told Jordan how proud I was that she realized she had made a bad choice and immediately apologized for it. She shouldn't hit in the first place, but she is four and she's learning. I forget sometimes that she is only four and somewhat a slave to her sence of self.
They decided to play for a while in their playroom together. I stayed in the living room listening in. They played in the Little Tykes house for a while rocking their baby dolls and pretend cooking for each other. I heard them dump the legos and begin to build a tower together. Then I heard a slap and before I could get up to run damage control and institute a time out I heard this exchange:
"I'm sorry Emmy. I shouldn't have hit you." Jordan says remorsefully.
"I'm soo-rry, Sissy." Emily replies.
I then hear some slippy kisses and a couple I love yous. I let it go.
I know it wont always be this way. They sometimes fight and I know they will continue to get annoyed with each other. What are sisters for? But these glimmers of hope. These queit moments of forgiveness and acceptace...well, they are priceless.
I later told Jordan how proud I was that she realized she had made a bad choice and immediately apologized for it. She shouldn't hit in the first place, but she is four and she's learning. I forget sometimes that she is only four and somewhat a slave to her sence of self.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Messes
This has been a very long morning. Emily called out for me at 5am. Here I was all excited about getting an hour back. I blissfully remember being all cuddled up with Josh in bed in the years before kids. Sleeping till noon (or later) on Sundays. I don't know if there are any studies about the physical and psychological affects of day light savings but I personally feel a huge psychological affect! Something in my brain just gets all gooey at the thought of gaining an hour!
Some kids may be willing to snuggle in the wee hours of the morning until the sun peeks up over the horizon. Emily is not one of those children. When she gets up, she's up. She immediately asks for a juice and a Callou (PBS Sprout show about a four year old boy) or Ho-Ho (a character from Ni Hoa Kai Lan on Noggin).
Jordan joined Emily at 6:20am. They both crawled into the recliner for a not so cuddly cuddle. Elbows, knees, chins, and bonked heads ensued. I got them both a snack and water. I transferred my blanket and pillow to the couch and proceeded to konk out. They, being the diabolical harbingers of sleep debrivation, transferred to the couch.
Later in the morning, I was slurping my coffee and working on some assignments I had not realized I skipped until this morning (that's another story). The girls had been gleefully playing in their playroom. I could hear them talk to one another, singing, playing house, and with legos. It was quiet for a long time but I heard whispering so I figured they were forming their sisterly bond. Who was I to interrupt such a special time between them? Jordan came out to the living room to ask me if she could have a drink. There, on her face, the evidence of mischief making.
"Jordan, what's that on you face?" I ask suspiciously.
"Noth-fing." she replies innocently.
"It's looks a lot like marshmellows," I respond. I watch as her eyes open wide. I can almost here her internal monolgue...how does she know? I race out to the playroom. And there, inside her canvas pink Disney Princesses castle with tunnel...spread all over the floor are the remains of a bag of Lucky Charms cereal. A quick scan confirms what I thought, all the marshmellows have been eaten, leaving all the cereal peices. SIGH!
"Jordan!!!!!" I hear her run. She hides underneath Emily's crib. I tell her she has a 10 minute timeout and she's not to leave her room. I have never dolled out a "grounding" like this before and I hear her whimper as I stomp back out to the playroom. I immediately vacuum up the mess in anger (I do like to clean when I'm angery). In retrospect, I should have made her clean it.
After 10 minutes I was calmer and went in to talk to her. I informed her that because of her poor choices, I was taking away all her dress up dresses for two days. She could earn them back by helping me to clean up the playroom. Talk about messes!
Some kids may be willing to snuggle in the wee hours of the morning until the sun peeks up over the horizon. Emily is not one of those children. When she gets up, she's up. She immediately asks for a juice and a Callou (PBS Sprout show about a four year old boy) or Ho-Ho (a character from Ni Hoa Kai Lan on Noggin).
Jordan joined Emily at 6:20am. They both crawled into the recliner for a not so cuddly cuddle. Elbows, knees, chins, and bonked heads ensued. I got them both a snack and water. I transferred my blanket and pillow to the couch and proceeded to konk out. They, being the diabolical harbingers of sleep debrivation, transferred to the couch.
Later in the morning, I was slurping my coffee and working on some assignments I had not realized I skipped until this morning (that's another story). The girls had been gleefully playing in their playroom. I could hear them talk to one another, singing, playing house, and with legos. It was quiet for a long time but I heard whispering so I figured they were forming their sisterly bond. Who was I to interrupt such a special time between them? Jordan came out to the living room to ask me if she could have a drink. There, on her face, the evidence of mischief making.
"Jordan, what's that on you face?" I ask suspiciously.
"Noth-fing." she replies innocently.
"It's looks a lot like marshmellows," I respond. I watch as her eyes open wide. I can almost here her internal monolgue...how does she know? I race out to the playroom. And there, inside her canvas pink Disney Princesses castle with tunnel...spread all over the floor are the remains of a bag of Lucky Charms cereal. A quick scan confirms what I thought, all the marshmellows have been eaten, leaving all the cereal peices. SIGH!
"Jordan!!!!!" I hear her run. She hides underneath Emily's crib. I tell her she has a 10 minute timeout and she's not to leave her room. I have never dolled out a "grounding" like this before and I hear her whimper as I stomp back out to the playroom. I immediately vacuum up the mess in anger (I do like to clean when I'm angery). In retrospect, I should have made her clean it.
After 10 minutes I was calmer and went in to talk to her. I informed her that because of her poor choices, I was taking away all her dress up dresses for two days. She could earn them back by helping me to clean up the playroom. Talk about messes!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Cultural Excursion
The family and I headed out today since St. Petersburg Parks were having their centennial celebration, Party in the Parks. My mother-in-law sent me an email all about the functions going on this weekend. Josh and I decided to check out S.P.I.F.F. (St. Petersburg International Folk Festival). We both have very fond memories of attending this when we were kids. We ordered Jordan a world atlas for kids and are hoping to plant an interest in traveling since we plan to do a lot of it with the girls.
I think it's important to foster a curiosity and acceptance of cultures that are different from our own. We want to experience other cultures and we want that for our children. We told Jordan that SPIFFs was a festival celebrating all the countries all over the world. There were dances, traditional dress, singing, drumming, and FOOD!
Jordan really loved going into each booth and seeing all the artifacts from all the countries. In Poland, she fell in love with the dolls. In Korea, she enjoyed a fan display. In Thailand, the orchid and bamboo displays. We watched the tradition Ukranian dancing by kids only a little older than herself and Native American dances. She asked a lot of questions at the Native American teepee. Their jewelry was beautiful and Jordan was amazed that they were make from polished deer bones.
Emily enjoyed all the different foods since she was confined to the stroller. She ate Chinese donuts and dumplings. She sampled Jamaican Jerk Chicken and LOVED the Veitmenese Port Kabobs. She even like the Serbian cheese pie. We all enjoyed Germany's apple pancakes. Josh and I fell in love with Fiji's pork red curry with rice and chutney. Holy Cow! that was some tasty stuff.
I think we'll make SPIFFs a tradition. Admission was free and the food was extremely reasonable! We have a great few ours out for around $30. I highly recommend it to all families! I wish there was a way to take my students. I remember going when I was in middle school. We had passports to stamp at each country we visited. There was a scavenger hunt as well.
I think it's important to foster a curiosity and acceptance of cultures that are different from our own. We want to experience other cultures and we want that for our children. We told Jordan that SPIFFs was a festival celebrating all the countries all over the world. There were dances, traditional dress, singing, drumming, and FOOD!
Jordan really loved going into each booth and seeing all the artifacts from all the countries. In Poland, she fell in love with the dolls. In Korea, she enjoyed a fan display. In Thailand, the orchid and bamboo displays. We watched the tradition Ukranian dancing by kids only a little older than herself and Native American dances. She asked a lot of questions at the Native American teepee. Their jewelry was beautiful and Jordan was amazed that they were make from polished deer bones.
Emily enjoyed all the different foods since she was confined to the stroller. She ate Chinese donuts and dumplings. She sampled Jamaican Jerk Chicken and LOVED the Veitmenese Port Kabobs. She even like the Serbian cheese pie. We all enjoyed Germany's apple pancakes. Josh and I fell in love with Fiji's pork red curry with rice and chutney. Holy Cow! that was some tasty stuff.
I think we'll make SPIFFs a tradition. Admission was free and the food was extremely reasonable! We have a great few ours out for around $30. I highly recommend it to all families! I wish there was a way to take my students. I remember going when I was in middle school. We had passports to stamp at each country we visited. There was a scavenger hunt as well.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
I'm going to be an expert
I'm helping Jordan get ready for bed tonight. She says, "Mom, I think I'm going to be an expert when I grow up."
"What kind of expert Jord?" I reply.
"One about the ocean." Jordan tells me.
"Oh! Like a marine biologist. That's someone who studies all the things that live in the sea." You can imagine my excitment. I immediately begin thinking about all the way cool careers my 4 year could one day have studying all the amazing creatures and plants that make the ocean their home. I picture her discovering some kind of deep sea creature.
"Oh no Mom! I mean a mermaid!" She exclaims.
Hope dashed! LOL! She then proceeds to tell me she will need a tail and a top and beautiful red mermaid hair (mermaid = ariel). She's just the best.
"What kind of expert Jord?" I reply.
"One about the ocean." Jordan tells me.
"Oh! Like a marine biologist. That's someone who studies all the things that live in the sea." You can imagine my excitment. I immediately begin thinking about all the way cool careers my 4 year could one day have studying all the amazing creatures and plants that make the ocean their home. I picture her discovering some kind of deep sea creature.
"Oh no Mom! I mean a mermaid!" She exclaims.
Hope dashed! LOL! She then proceeds to tell me she will need a tail and a top and beautiful red mermaid hair (mermaid = ariel). She's just the best.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Power Struggles
I'm convinced that Jordan and I are destined to butt heads! We both are strong willed and hard headed. I want things done my way and she wants things done hers. It's hard to not get mad when your four year old tells you, "No, I make the rules!" or, "You have to listen to me!" or "I don't care what you say." or "I don't like you anymore Mommy!". It's hard not to lash out at that.
I often have to walk away. Its easy to forget, too, that she is just four years old because of her vocabulary and advanced conversation abilities. She is, emotionally, just barely four. She is focused on her autonomy right now, testing her boundaries, and feeling out where she fits in the world. I pray for patiences and often send up prayers like this: "Please, Lord, give me the right words to say to my little girl to help her see I am trying to help and guide her."
The bedtime routine and getting dressed are the hardest. Jordan wears ONLY pink clothes. Although she will wear pants and shorts, she will ONLY wear dresses. I just want to hand her an outfit in the mornings so we can get dressed and move on with our day. The bedtime routine has improved greatly since I now say at the start, "One show, one book, one prayer, off to bed." It's like a mantra and she seems to respond very well to the predicatable routine.
Emily has started to play and seek out structured games. She enjoys playing hide and seek with Josh and Jordan. Jordan will hide. Josh and Emily stay in another room. I can hear them count together and then yell out, "Here we come!" Emily's wide grin and hysterical giggle rings through the house and lightens the heart.
I watch the girls with Josh very closely. I have realized that my dad passed away shortly after I turned 3. Every moment that Jordan gets with Josh from here on out are moments I missed out on with my own father. It is fascinating to watch them enjoy each other; play, laugh, argue, cuddle, and discuss. So matter how she frustrates me...she is a miracle and she is one lucky duck.
I often have to walk away. Its easy to forget, too, that she is just four years old because of her vocabulary and advanced conversation abilities. She is, emotionally, just barely four. She is focused on her autonomy right now, testing her boundaries, and feeling out where she fits in the world. I pray for patiences and often send up prayers like this: "Please, Lord, give me the right words to say to my little girl to help her see I am trying to help and guide her."
The bedtime routine and getting dressed are the hardest. Jordan wears ONLY pink clothes. Although she will wear pants and shorts, she will ONLY wear dresses. I just want to hand her an outfit in the mornings so we can get dressed and move on with our day. The bedtime routine has improved greatly since I now say at the start, "One show, one book, one prayer, off to bed." It's like a mantra and she seems to respond very well to the predicatable routine.
Emily has started to play and seek out structured games. She enjoys playing hide and seek with Josh and Jordan. Jordan will hide. Josh and Emily stay in another room. I can hear them count together and then yell out, "Here we come!" Emily's wide grin and hysterical giggle rings through the house and lightens the heart.
I watch the girls with Josh very closely. I have realized that my dad passed away shortly after I turned 3. Every moment that Jordan gets with Josh from here on out are moments I missed out on with my own father. It is fascinating to watch them enjoy each other; play, laugh, argue, cuddle, and discuss. So matter how she frustrates me...she is a miracle and she is one lucky duck.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Saddness
A Poem by Heidi Parker 10/12/10
When you know there is no healing, what do you pray for?
Peace, strength, acceptance?
I pray for peace…
Peace for the hearts that deny there is anything wrong.
Peace for the hearts that deny a strangers help
Peace for the hearts that deny comfort to a loved one.
I pray for strength…
Strength for the caregivers of in the sick
Strength for the family members that have supported their efforts.
Strength for the one left behind
I pray for acceptance…
Acceptance for the stranger
Acceptance of the hurt
Acceptance of the final freedom
When distance keeps you from holding the ones who need it
When distance keeps you from your loved ones
When distance hardens your heart
Who will lend you the comfort you need?
This poem is not related to being a Mom but a hurt I have on my heart right now that I need to let go of.
When you know there is no healing, what do you pray for?
Peace, strength, acceptance?
I pray for peace…
Peace for the hearts that deny there is anything wrong.
Peace for the hearts that deny a strangers help
Peace for the hearts that deny comfort to a loved one.
I pray for strength…
Strength for the caregivers of in the sick
Strength for the family members that have supported their efforts.
Strength for the one left behind
I pray for acceptance…
Acceptance for the stranger
Acceptance of the hurt
Acceptance of the final freedom
When distance keeps you from holding the ones who need it
When distance keeps you from your loved ones
When distance hardens your heart
Who will lend you the comfort you need?
This poem is not related to being a Mom but a hurt I have on my heart right now that I need to let go of.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)