Jen 的个人资料Baby Steps照片日志列表更多 工具 帮助
1月31日

On a Wesley roll

A few more cute things that the Little Man is doing:
 
Word-For-Word
He got a battery-powered Lightning McQueen Power Wheels Car for Christmas.  It is one of his most prized possessions.  Today he told me that Mamaw (my mom) and Papaw (my dad) live far, far away.  I agreed.  He said that he was going to get in his new red car and drive big huge far away to Mamaw and Papaw's house.
 
It was so cute I had to call my mom and tell her, and when I did, I retold the last part wrong.  I said "far, far away" at the end and he immediately corrected me: "No, Mom" (exasperated voice), "I said BIG HUGE Far away".  (eye roll)
 
Terms of Endearment
I must call people "honey" more than I realize.  Wesley has taken to calling his big sister "Coco Honey"
She used to get very upset and yell at him "I'm not Coco Honey.  I'm Co-Ween Medicine!"  (Colleen Madison). She's used to it now and hardly ever yells at him for it any more.  Once in a while I even catch her calling him "Yes-Wee Honey"
 
There's gifted, and there's Wesley
I don't know how it got here so fast, but it's time to register Colleen for Kindergarten.  Shawn's boss' children go to a charter school (not public, not private, sort of a stop gap measure to help with our area's school overcrowding issue) and she recommended it highly.  In order to apply, the child must score at 145 or higher on an IQ test.  So off we go, to a psychologist for Colleen to be tested.  She fell slightly short of 145, but she is still in the gifted range of intelligence.  (That's my girl!).  She is going to go to our neighborhood public school for Kindergarten and we will reassess this time next year.  In short, we are very proud of Colleen.  We try hard not to compare our two wonderfully individual children, but I catch myself thinking, "If Colleen is gifted, Wesley is off the charts!"  It's hard to sit here and think of one specific example to demonstrate his advanced knowledge and dizzying intellect, I can say that he knows nearly everything that Colleen knows.  He can not write letters or numbers, but that is because he gets too bored when I try to teach him.  He is two and a half and he knows his ABCs, can count to 20, knows his colors (well, he for sure knows all the colors that cars are typically painted in!).  He carries on conversations as a 4 or 5 year old would.  He talks non-stop, actually.  And the things he comes up with are often funny, sometimes scary, and usually make me think "how on earth does he know that?"
 
Manipulative, or just afraid of the dark
I used to brag about how easily my children went to bed at night.  I (amusingly) thought that it was due to my awesome parenting skills.  HA!  Ever since we moved into this new house, we've played hell trying to get the kids to go to sleep and to stay in their rooms all night.  It typically takes a couple of hours to get them to bed in their own rooms, and by 5am or so, both of them have some how migrated into our room.  Usually one will sleep on the bed and one will sleep on this child sized Spiderman pull-out foam couch thingy that my Mom gave us.  Sometimes they both end up in our bed, which makes for a pretty tight squeeze.  It is blantantly obvious that the kids just prefer to sleep cuddled up with their parents (who can blame them?) but it seriously keeps me from getting a decent night's sleep.  In desperation I've been trying all kinds of things to get them to stay in their own beds overnight.  Whew... to make a short story long... LOL
Shawn's worked it out that Wes is likley afraid of the dark.  The next day I got him a really cute Lightning McQueen table lamp.  I'd like to report that it has solved the sleeping issue (believe me, there's nothing I'd like to type more!) and it has helped him fall asleep faster.  But it doesn't keep him in his room when we wakes up during the night and when I talked with him about how important it was for him to sleep in his bed he actually told me he is afraid of the dark.  Is he telling the truth?  Or does he have my number and know that if he plays the "afraid of the dark" card I will continue to be lenient on him and his nocturnal visits?
 
Shot thru the heart, and you're to blame
Next week I'm taking Wesley to the portrait studio to have a novelty picture taken of him.  I'm dressing him up as Cupid.  He has this perfect chubby little cherub body, the most pinchable rosey cheeks, and I've even let his hair grow out so that it resembles the unkempt locks that Cupid is known for.
I've got him an adorable diaper cover, a big heart shaped lollipop, two pretend boxes of chocolates and a felt bouquet of roses from Build-A-Bear, and the costume supply store has a tiny set of white feather wings and a bow and arrow set straight from Cupid's personal stash, just waiting to be picked up. 
I'm crossing my fingers that it goes well.  He is very predictable: anything I want him to do, he does the opposite.  I'll arm myself with lots of dum-dum suckers and do my best to make it fun for him.  If they turn out cute, I'll create an album for them here.  Cross your fingers!
cupid
 
Hugs, Jen
 

'Cause that makes PERFECT sense

I noticed Wes had a "pee pee diaper".  I got a new pull up for him and proceeded with the farce that is changing a two-year-old that doesn't want to be bothered at the moment.
 
All of a sudden, right before I take the old diaper off, Wes says, "Hurry up Mom, Hurry!  Poop is coming! Poop is coming! Change diaper NOW!"
 
Naturally, he refused to use the "pee pee diaper" for his BM.  Ditto his cool training potty.  Ditto the regular toilet with the cool potty training ring.
 
So on goes the fresh new pull up.  And halfway through his BM he will demand to be changed, so he can finish in a clean one.
 
*sigh*
1月28日

Job Description

POSITION :
Mom, Mommy, Mama, Mum, Ma
Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION :

Long term, team players needed, for challenging, permanent work in an often chaotic environment.
Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.
Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities!
Travel expenses not reimbursed.
Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES :

For the rest of your life you:
Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5.
Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.
Must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.
Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair,mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers.
Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects.
Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.
Must be a willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next.
Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.
Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.

Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION :

None.
Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE :

None required unfortunately.
On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION :

Get this! You pay them!
Offering frequent raises and bonuses.
A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent.
When you die, you give them whatever is left.
The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS :

While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love,and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.


PARENTS in appreciation for everything you do on a daily basis, please know that you are appreciated for the fabulous job you do.
** THERE IS NO RETIREMENT -- EVER!!!



Please visit our website at www.thebratfactor.com.
1月14日

Goodbye, kitties

Shawn's coworker came this afternoon and took the kitties home with him.  Both of the cats were quite unsettled, they knew something was up because I was messing with all of their stuff, cleaning it, packing it up in bags.
 
Shadow just hung out on our bed like always, and Tiger "hid" in his "secret" spot in our closet.
 
We didn't really say good bye to them, at least not in a formal way where we each pet them, hug & kiss them and say the actual words.
 
I already miss them a little, it is weird to see empty spaces where their food dishes and litter boxes used to be, and it is weird not to see them in their usual spots.
 
But I am happy that they have a new home, with someone I feel we can trust.  The guy's ex-wife is a vet.  So that's nice.  :)
 
Colleen is so funny, a couple hours after they were gone she looked over at me and said "Mommy, my ezcemas feel a little better already"  and in the most understanding, gentle voice I replied "That's wonderful, honey.  It's all in your head."
 
The humor was lost on her, but hey, she is only four-and-a-half years old.  More on that tomorrow... if I remember to post.
 
Hugs, everyone!
1月8日

Cat update

This has got to be short, it is time to get the kids to bed.
 
It looks like we may have FINALLY found a new home for the cats.  We'll see.  It is a coworker of Shawn's and he is going to come and meet them early next week.  The catch: he has a sheltie dog.  I *think* the cats will be fine with it once they get used to it, but it is hard to say for sure.  They tolerated my parents' dog, Tilly, when they came to visit, and even got used to her enough to be on the same floor as her after about 4 days.  So, we'll see. 
 
Keep your fingers crossed for us, they've got to go soon, before Coco doesn't have any more skin to scratch!  :P
 
I'm going to miss them though...  :(
 
Hugs, Jen