Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Parent Teacher Conference

I attended my very first parent teacher conference (as the parent instead of the student) last night, and am so proud of Jaelynn for doing so well in her kindergarten class. However, I am completely embarrassed that the only negative mark on her progress report is because of me. She has been tardy for class 16 times. The majority have only been by a minute or two but there have been a couple times she's been pretty late.

I can't believe what a slacker mom I am. I have no organizational skills at all. I used to think I was a pretty good multi-tasker, but I've come to realize I'm completely off my rocker! Maybe I should get the girls dressed and ready the night before and just worry about hair and breakfast the next morning. Hey, it could work. :)

I am determined to get my act together and not let my bad habits become hers.

Great Job Jae!!!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

My Favorite (5 year old ) Quotes

Thanks to everybody for the nice comments from my previous post. I decided we're all in the same boat at one time or another, so as long as we all know that we can vent and cry and get advice from each other, we can feel better just knowing we have some support out there!

On a more positive note, I was reading my friend Tyler's blog a while back, and he had made some really fun comments on how his son was asking some legitimate 6 yr old questions. You don't realize how a child views the world until they ask you their curious little questions. It made me smile and think of that show "Kids say the darndest things." I decided to post some of the fun things that Jaelynn has asked me that I promised I would write down but haven't yet.

1. We were driving down the road fall of last year. We made comments about how there were so many leaves on the ground and how fun it would be to rake them up and jump into them. She asked me "Mom how do the leaves get back onto the trees?" I smiled and told her that they grow new ones in the spring. Her reply "Wait, wait, wait...I thought they just floated back up."

2. Jae and I were talking about a doctor's appt. I had to go to. I told her I had to go see the same doctor that delivered Lexie. She said "Delivered?" "Like put her in a box in the back of a truck and deliver her to our house?" (She was there when Lexie was born, so she understands how babies are born, the word "deliver" just threw her off a little." :)

3. We had gone to Red Lobster for Rory's birthday a couple of years ago. Her nose was glued to the glass of the giant lobster tank in the front. A couple days later we were at my parents house and she was explaining to grandpa what she saw in the "crab tank" He wasn't quite sure what she was saying so he asked "What? Crab cakes?" Her reply "No, crab tank." My Dad: "What about crab cakes?" Jaleynn a little frustrated at this point said "LOOK AT MY MOUTH... CRAB TANK!" (When Jaelynn was learning to speak. I told her to look at my mouth to see how I was saying the words.)

4. Just a couple of days ago. I was having a rough day (As most of you could tell by my previous post). We were driving along when Jaleynn says "Mom, I love you". I said "Jae you are such a sweetheart. I love you too." Jae then replied "Am I making your day any better?" I told her "Of course you made my day better. Thank you for being so thoughtful and making me smile." She said "That's what I'm here for. That's what I was made for."...."Is that what kids are made for?"...."I actually don't know what kids are made for, but I like 'em."

5. Jaelynn and I were talking about her old daycare. There was a little boy named Aidan that she had grown very fond of. She told me she and Aidan were going to get married when they grew up. They would play together at every recess even though he was in the kindergarten class and she was only a pre-schooler. She was missing him the other day and said to me. "I miss my friend Aidan. Do you think he misses me?" I said "I'm sure he misses you too. You guys were really good friends." She said "Do you know how we decided to get married?" I said "No. Tell me." She said "Well, we were at recess one day playing in the sand box and I told him that I liked him. He told me he liked me too, so when we grow up we'll get married."....."So, when we both grow up we'll find each other and get married...Okay?" I just smiled and said "Okay."

There are so many fun things she's said, but I didn't write them down, so unfortunately I've forgotten some of them. I've decided that starting today, I'm going to keep a notebook handy and when I hear her say some of those little comments that make me smile, I'll write them down before I forget.

If anybody else has some fun "kidisms" I'd love to hear them.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Am I the only one?

Okay, I'm going to treat this as a bit of an experiment. I just want to find out if it's just me or of other's go through the same thing.
Everybody has situations that come up in their lives that tend to throw them a curve ball and they find themselves making the best of a bad situation. In my mind, the majority tends to keep a good attitude and their lives aren't affected too deeply.
My first dilemma is that there have been a couple financial disappointments in my life (as well as the majority of the U.S., I'm sure) and I know we'll get through it, and I know we'll just have to cut a few corners and go without a few things, but I'm still bothered by it.
Secondly, I have also been dealing with a hard to handle 1 yr old. I love her to pieces, but she is also one of the biggest challenges in my life. She is adorable yet she pushes my buttons on a daily basis. She seems to set the tone for the whole house. If she's happy, we all seem to be happy, but if she's mean and ornery, so are the rest of us!
Third, we have a couple live-in's with us at the moment. Rory's mom and brother are living with us for the time being. Cassie has been with us for about 2 and a half years and Derek has been with us for a few months now. I know they are Rory's family, but they are also taking their toll on my patience.
Work has added it's share of stress as well. I know it's not as busy as it used to be, but that in itself is stressful. If there isn't as much business, there is no reason to keep the doors open. It might not be long before I'm cruising the classifieds....
There are also all those little things in life that we all have to deal with, far too many to list one by one.
So anyway, here's the research part of it........Does anybody else out there feel like they're going to burst at any given moment? Like the pressure of everything around them is just going to push them right over the edge and send them to a padded cell? Because, I'm telling you, I feel like I 'm about to call up the funny farm and make myself a reservation. Do you think that everyday life and dramas can actually make someone crazy? Some days I feel like that stupid bird on the Cocoa Puffs box. Just plain Coo-Coo. Does anybody else out there feel the same way I do?

For my sanity sake please leave a comment with suggestions or advice.

Love you all....That Crazy Lady Lisa. :)