My Real Life

February 13, 2012

Why French Parents Are Superior

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:00 am
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I was up at 6:30 on Sunday morning, with the monkeys standing by my side of the bed, talk-whispering one request after another.

“Mom, I need you to put the batteries in my new remote control car!”

“Mom, I need you to get the milk from the top shelf!”

“Mom, I need you to find my church shirt!”

“Mom, I need you to help me open this pack of markers!”

“Mom, I need you to…” do half a million other things as I stumbled down the stairs.

Much of this I was able to remind them that they are perfectly capable of doing for themselves.

As, for the other things, I had one request…

…let me have a little breakfast first.

Some mornings I can get up and get going and it’s no problem.

Some mornings, though, my diabetes reminds me that it is ever present and I really need something to balance out my blood sugar before I can even think coherently.

So, on Sunday morning, I just needed them to have something that we try, try, try to teach our children.

Patience.

And, so I ate my breakfast, but I did so with 3 little bodies hovering, ever near, daring to say things like “Are you done yet?  Can you do it now?  You could probably do it while you eat!” and Tiny looking at me from the high chair, eyeing up my eggs, thinking, “I should probably eat those, Mama.  You look a little busy.”

The entire time I ate my breakfast, I was thinking about an article that my friend from high school, Meredith, posted on Facebook last Monday.  It was about why French parents are superior, and while I don’t think we, as parents, need anything else to make us feel like we are doing a bad job, since we are our own worst critics, the article was really thought-provoking for me.

(You can read the article here.)

So, this week is going to be an effort in practicing being a French mere, and hopefully, helping my kids train to be a little more like French enfants.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

February 11, 2012

When We Were Six

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:00 am
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Baby Monkey is 6 today.

I could wax poetic, but I’ve already done that, here and here.

So, instead, I think I’m going to sum up my little guy by quoting Real Man.

About a month or two ago, we were at dinner and Baby Monkey said something that was typical of his usual dinner chatter.

I don’t remember what it was, but I do remember Real Man’s comment.

He said, “Baby Monkey…how is it that everything you do is tinged with awesomeness?”

And that is the perfect way to describe Baby Monkey.

There’s a little awesome in every single thing that kid says and does.

Everything.

I love him.

And that’s all there is to it.

February 10, 2012

Five Question Friday

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:00 am

So, we’re going to alternate our Frugal Fridays with Five Question Fridays and anything else I decide to throw in on a Friday!

Why?

Because I can.

1. How often do you shave your legs in the winter?

Um, not often.

There.

I said it.

2. Valentine’s Day cards for your spouse: funny or romantic?
One of each.
Can’t resist.
3. What are you most looking forward to about spring?
Going to the park with the kids.
I think I love parks more than they do.
This spring, however, there will be much more activity for me than there has been in the past few years, as I will have to chase around Tiny, but that’s okay.
We’ll be outside!
4. What’s your favorite way to pamper yourself?
I think we’ve discussed this in another Five Question Friday.
I love when it’s time to get my hair done.
I sit in the chair, let them wash my hair, foil me up, sit under the dryer, all the while reading a book and not speaking and not having anyone speak to me.
My hair stylist knows this is my quiet time and respects it.
I leave looking better, feeling better, and completely rested.
5. Does your tax return go into savings or do you spend it instantly?
Ahahahahaha….
I’d love a tax return to do anything with!
If we ever got one, we’d save it.

February 9, 2012

Ka-Ra-Tay

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:00 am
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So, Monkey in the Middle and Baby Monkey are taking Karate this winter.

It is through the town rec program, so it’s not like they are at a dojo, or anything, but it’s still a full karate program.

As with all things, Monkey in the Middle is into it and working to learn his moves and is ready to kick some butt.

Baby Monkey is just along for the ride.

It’s fun to take them (although I am very grateful when Real Man offers to take them, as well) because you never quite know what you are going to see.

Like a sparring match up between Baby Monkey (one of the smallest guys in the class) and the sensei, one of the tallest people I’ve ever seen.

But don’t you worry…

Baby Monkey showed him a thing or two.

Of course, the real reason either of these boys ever want to go to karate is because the sensei ends each class with a game of dodge ball.

With karate helmets.

They’ve each got the strategy down.

Stay in the back and be invisible.

Monkey in the Middle does get aggressive and starts playing a mean game of dodge ball with helmets.

Baby Monkey needs to be prompted to play, and yet, he almost always winds up as the last one out there.

It’s always a good time, watching them get down with their karate selves.

Last week, the boys came home after being at karate with Real Man and wanted to show me their new moves.

“Bully me, Daddy!  Bully me, Daddy!” they were yelling.

“Huh?” was my response.

So, Real Man showed me how they learned two different ways to break away from an attacker, and they were adorable doing it, and it made me feel really good to know that they knew how to defend themselves or how to get away in a dangerous situation.

So, karate…

…adorable AND potentially life-saving!

February 6, 2012

If You Give a Mom an Hour

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:00 am
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So, as I wrote my post about my brain not shutting off while I was trying to sleep, the other night, I was reminded of the “If You Give a  Mouse a Cookie” books.  Several people commented that that post reminded them of the books, as well.

I decided to go ahead and give a stab at actually writing a post along the lines of the books.

So, here’s what might happen…

If You Give a Mom an Hour

If Dad takes the kids to the park and you give a Mom an hour…

She’s going to want a cup of tea.

She’ll turn on the tea kettle and reach for a mug in the cabinet.

Except, there won’t be any mugs.

So she’ll open the dishwasher that is full of clean dishes, because her daughter (whose chore it is to unload) hasn’t gotten around to emptying it yet.

She’ll pull out the mug, and then spot the dirty dishes in the sink, and decide to empty and reload the dishwasher.

When she’s done, she’ll go to sit down to wait for the kettle, and as she walks to the table, her foot will crunch on a Cheerio.

She’ll grab the broom from the laundry room and sweep the kitchen floor.

As she empties the dustpan into the garbage, she’ll notice that it’s pretty full, and she’ll take it out to the trash bins.

As she walks back into the house, she’ll notice a tricycle, left in a corner of the driveway.

When she wheels it back to it’s spot in the garage, she’ll find her 5 year old’s baseball cap.

She’ll pick it up and take it inside, and up to his room, tripping on a toy on the stairs.

After dropping off the hat, she’ll pick up the toy and take it to the basement, discovering the empty popcorn bowl from the night before.

As she brings the bowl to the kitchen, she’ll turn off the kettle, knowing it’s about to whistle, will grab a tea bag, and will pour the hot water into her mug.

She’ll know it’s too hot to drink, so she’ll turn to the pantry to find something to nibble on with her tea and will find an empty box of 100 Calorie snack packs.

She’ll break down the cardboard and will notice two empty cereal boxes on the counter, so she’ll break those down, too.

As she carries them to the laundry room, where the cardboard is kept, the dryer will buzz, and she’ll pull out the clothes and hang them, quickly, before they wrinkle.

Then, she’ll move the clothes from the washer into the dryer and realize she forgot to get the basket of dirty clothes from her room.

So, she’ll trudge back upstairs and head to her bedroom.

As she grabs the laundry basket, she’ll notice that someone probably crawled into her bed to watch television and she needs to remake the bed.

While she’s making the bed, she’ll step on an empty inhaler that she probably dropped there, in the night, after using it.

She’ll look in her nightstand to see if she has another, and when she realizes she doesn’t, she’ll quickly call the pharmacy to renew the prescription.

When she hangs up the phone, she’ll see her iPad and remember that she was in the middle of a good part in her book (on the Nook) when she fell asleep last night, so she’ll put the iPad on top of the laundry in the basket and bring it downstairs with her.

She’ll load up the washer, pick up the iPad, and walk back to the counter.

Her tea will be just the right temperature for drinking, so she’ll take the iPad and the tea to the living room, and as she sinks into the comfy couch, the front door will open.

“Mom!  We’re home!”

February 4, 2012

No Rest for the Weary

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:00 am
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As I write this, I am in the middle of Night #3 of no sleep for me.

Night #1 was due to a 3 am rendezvous with Tiny.

Night #2 and Night #3…it’s all me.

Can’t blame Tiny.

In fact,  I can hear him sawing a whole forest of logs in there, right now.

I’ve tried…I really have.

But, I can’t turn my mind off.

I start thinking about something funny that happened at work.

Which reminds me of the papers I need to grade at work.

Which reminds me that my grades need to be entered into the system at work, so I really need to finish grading those papers so I can get the grades done in my grading program and then transfer them to the report card system.

Which makes me think that maybe I should just get out the computer and start working on it.

Which reminds me of the Social Studies project that Monkey Girl was borrowing my laptop to complete tonight.

Which makes me smile because I remember how much fun I had cleaning the kitchen while she was working on the project, just chatting away.

Which reminds me that we really need to sweep the kitchen more often, because Tiny is now a crawler and will put absolutely anything that he can pinch between those impossibly small fingers into his mouth.

Which makes me envision the laundry room, off of the kitchen, where the broom is kept.

Which makes me a little nauseous because, aside from the broom, I am also envisioning the sickening loads of laundry that are in there, just waiting to be dealt with.

Which makes me remember that all 3 big kids have “Sports Day” tomorrow, and they all want to wear Giant jerseys.

Which makes me a little upset, because I wanted to wear my Giants jersey to school tomorrow, but Monkey Girl is going to borrow it, so I have to think of a Plan B.

Which makes me nauseous, again, because now I’m mentally going through my closet, and in that closet is a laundry basket full of laundry that needs to be done.

Which reminds me that tomorrow is Friday, which starts the weekend, and I’m hoping to get the laundry squared away this weekend.

Which makes my neck tense, because it makes me think about the fact that the Christmas tree is still up.

Which makes me smile because it reminds me of Christmas and how much fun the monkeys had.

Which makes me get a little tic because, in thinking about Christmas presents, I realize that we are now in February, and all 4 monkeys have birthdays this month, which means lots of parties to plan and presents to buy.

Which reminds me I have to transfer some money from savings into checking to pay some bills tomorrow.

Which makes me wonder if Real Man is getting paid this week or next week.

Which makes me remember that Monkey in the Middle wants to buy a snack a lunch tomorrow, with his own money, instead of having me pack one.

Which makes me worry that I don’t remember where I moved his wallet last time he left it out on the counter.

Which makes me think of the kitchen and the mess on the counter.

Which reminds me of the mess on the floor.

Which makes me think of Tiny and makes me listen to him sawing wood in his crib, over the monitor.

Which finally makes me sleepy.

Okay, I think I’m good now.

February 2, 2012

Sick

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:00 am

I’m sick.

I’m tired.

There is nothing, nothing that could make me smile today.

Except for the fact that when I was putting away Tiny’s laundry, he was crawling around on his bedroom floor, crawled over to his crib, reached out, touched it, turned to me, shook his head and said very, very seriously, “No-no, Ni-ni.  No-no, Ni-ni.”

That made me smile.

I picked him up, assured him that it was not, in fact, time for “night-night,” and was rewarded with a kiss.

A Tiny kiss, which is an open-mouthed, drooly, boogery, slop-fest on your cheek.

And that made me laugh.

Kids.

Good stuff.

January 29, 2012

All the Little Pieces

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:00 am
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So, the other day, Baby Monkey came home from school and wanted to make snowflakes.

Apparently, they were making snowflakes at the Kindergarten craft table, and he wanted to make some at home.

No surprise.

So, I started folding up the paper and he started saying, “No…no…that’s not how we did it at school!”

Because I never do it quite right.

Then, I remembered that I had recently read a post at Kristen, The Frugal Girl’s blog about Easy, Frugal Crafts for Kids.

In the post, she gave a little tutorial on making snowflakes.

I always just folded up the paper a bunch of times and started cutting.

Apparently, there is a method to making good snowflakes, and my friends, Kristen has found it.

So, I pulled out the laptop and showed Baby Monkey the tutorial.  We started folding and cutting and the result was great!  The best snowflakes I’d ever made, for sure!

Monkey Girl and Monkey in the Middle were impressed with our creations and decided that they, too, wanted to make snowflakes.

So, they got some paper, folded according to the tutorial, cut and made their own beautiful creations.

It was fun.  It was great.

It is now all Baby Monkey wants to do.

Which is not a bad thing.

He hasn’t turned on the computer in days, hasn’t watched a tv show, hasn’t thought about the Wii or the Xbox.

Still at the kitchen table at 8:00 Friday night.

Fold and cut.  Fold and cut.  Fold and cut.

His creations are beautiful.

Here are some of my favorites.

The only downside is that my home is now littered with little, tiny pieces of white paper.

They are everywhere.

I’ve even found a few floating in the toilet.

Don’t ask.

So, while I’m frustrated at the mess this new hobby has brought into my life, I think this is one of those things I’m just going to let go.  He cleans up after himself when he’s done, and if he misses a few, so be it.

The product, and by product I mean the smiles on my Baby’s face and the pride in his eyes, definitely is worth the mess.

 

***Remember!  I’m still taking questions for February’s Truthful Tuesday feature!***

January 28, 2012

CrowdSourcing Love

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:00 am
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Valentine’s Day approaches, and with it begins the onslaught of commercial ways to say “I love you.”

Because, as you know, nothing says “I love you” better than flowers, which you have to take care of until they (always) die, and chocolates, which you regret eating as soon as they pass your lips.

A colleague of mine, MaryAnn Reilly, has invited fellow bloggers to envision Valentine’s Day in a new way, and to create ways to say “I love you” without purchasing anything.  She calls it CrowdSourcingLove.  She has posted two of her own, and other bloggers are beginning to share their ideas on her blog, as well.

Today, I’d like to share my contribution (hopefully the first of a few) to her project.

Your Story

No one can tell your story like you. 

The first moment you saw him/her.  The first conversation.  The first moment you knew this was something special.

You don’t have to be a beautiful writer.  Just write from the heart.

You’d be surprised how many people have never shared with their partner what they thought in those first moments, or what moment it was when they knew.

Write it down, on paper, in your own handwriting.

There is no story as captivating as the story of your love.

January 26, 2012

Listening to Play

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:00 am
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I was reading Rachel’s blog yesterday, and was really struck by the amount of kid-chatter she was able to write about.

And I realized, as I wrote in her comments, that one of my favorite things about the winter is being able to listen to the kids play.

The monkeys keep up an endless stream of chatter as they play with each other, and as they play alone.

It’s always struck me, because even though I was an only child, I was constantly talking, as well.

To myself, of course, but talking through play, nonetheless.

Although by the time summer rolls around, I am practically tearful with glee as I say “It’s beautiful!  Go outside to play!” I miss the chatter that goes along with their playing. I know they are still having these strange conversations that outsiders would never understand, but that they seem to understand instinctively.  They have that sibling language, where one word or sound sets off a chorus of giggles because they all remember the context from which it was drawn and it is meaningful…just to them.

When they are outside, I miss it.

I started to wonder how often I stop listening to the play and just let it become the background noise that is the soundtrack to my time at home.  I started to wonder how much I am missing when I’m not listening to the talk of play.

This winter, I want to be sure to really listen to the play that goes on in my home.  Try to decipher their language, and see what’s going on in those little psyche’s that only comes out when they play.

 

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