My Real Life

November 14, 2011

Reconciliation

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 10:07 pm
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Real Man and the Monkeys are Catholic, and in the Catholic church, in second grade, children perform two sacred rites…First Holy Communion and Reconciliation, AKA First Confession.

I think seven is a bit young to be confessing…I mean, let the kids actually accumulate a couple of hearty sins before asking them to confess.

But, I digress.

Anyway, for whatever reason, my kids seem to share extremely guilty consciences. You may remember the story of Monkey Girl in tears, sure that she was going to wind up in Juvie?

Par for the course around here.

So, now it is Monkey in the Middle preparing for his Reconcilliation and he’s completely burdened with anxiety over it.

Now, to be frank, he has more to fess up to than Monkey Girl ever did, but I’ve got some pretty damn good babies over here. Yet, they were completely petrified at the thought of having to confess their “sins.”

I find it interesting that the more “moral” people are, the harder it seems to be for them to discuss their failings, yet, people whose moral compass usually points in its own direction seem to have no problem with talking about their deeds.

Do people become more comfortable with their bad behavior the more they engage in it, and therefore become less embarrassed by it?

If I started doing one “bad” thing a week, would I find myself more and more willing to talk about the ways I was “sinning” as it became a behavioral habit?

Just some questions that popped into my head as we talked about Reconciliation with Monkey in the Middle tonight.

And, as for me, I’ll be watching that ceremony with great interest.

And, believe me, it won’t be the kids who are trembling on the way to the confessional that I’m worrying about.

November 13, 2011

Writing

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 10:22 am

Onviously, I’ve had a lag in my writing on the blog, lately.

However, it’s not that I’m having a hard time knowing what to write.

It’s that I seem to have too much.

My brain is awash in thoughts and stories and creative things, and I’m a little stuck on where to begin.

Part of the problem is that there hasn’t been a spare minute in my day to sit down and write.

Parent conferences have kept me late at work and a sick baby has had me with Tiny in my arms, every second I am home.

So, hopefully, soon, I’ll not only have an update for this blog, but also one for my writing blog, as well.

In the meantime, I’m thinking about writing…I am.

And, I’ll be back…soon!

November 1, 2011

Powerless

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 9:40 am
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Another few days without power, and it’s beginning to feel almost normal.

I have a feeling that, next time, we all lose power for a few days, there will be less panic and concern, because we are all learning how to do without.

I’m not sure this is a bad thing.

I have a feeling, throughout the state, there were more books being read, more board games being played, more toys getting dusted off as the electronics started to collect the dust for once.

We’re back up and running now and enjoying a second day of from school together.

We’re negotiating the kids trading in their Halloween candy for a game and we’re doing the laundry that didn’t get done this weekend.

So, is it inconvenient to lose power?

You betcha!

Is it the worst thing in the world?

Not so much.

October 27, 2011

That Age

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 9:25 am
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I was in ShopRite on Sunday with Tiny Monkey and a woman stopped me and said, “Oh!  You are so lucky!  I just love that age!  Don’t you?  They aren’t running around and are just sitting, happily in the cart.  It’s my favorite age!”

I smiled and said, “It’s a good age!”

Because, it is a good age.

Everything she said is right.

Later that afternoon, we had been out shopping with all the monkeys who took to being dragged all over creation for boring things that didn’t interest them quite well.

We decided to take them to McDonald’s for dinner as a special treat, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I didn’t feel like cooking dinner that night.

Nothing.

Anyway, as Real Man and Tiny and I sat at one table and the other three monkeys sat at another table, and I thought to myself, “You know, this is a good age, too.  Independent enough to want to sit alone, but not so independent that they want to be out of our line of vision.  A good age, indeed.”

Because I happen to be so prolific in the creation of monkeys, I hear a lot of comments from people about the ages and stages they are in.

I get comments, like the one in ShopRite, on a fairly regular basis about all of the monkeys.

Most people seem to have a favorite age.

Or a least favorite age.

And, I get it.  I do.  I can see where certain aspects of an age might be exhausting or frustrating, but there are always balancing aspects that are exhilarating and phenomenal.

Right now I’ve got someone who is growing teeth and trying to crawl and getting frustrated by the things he is trying to communicate, but that same little guy is also so sweet and snuggly when I’m feeding him and lights up with a smile when we walk into a room and it is magical to watch him discover all the new things that life has to offer.  8 months is my favorite age.

I’ve got someone who is learning how to “do” school and is figuring out peer relationships and is dying to be just like his brother in so many ways, and yet he is making leaps and bounds with his independence and amazes me every day with the new things he has learned, because, in my mind, he is still just a baby.  5.  My favorite age.

I have a boy who is anxious about almost anything that comes his way and can wring the last ounce of patience out of me on a regular basis as he fails to see that the little brother who is always wanting to do what he does isn’t trying to be annoying, but is participating in little brother/big brother hero worship, however, when that same boy sneaks into my room in the middle of the night and snuggles in and whispers, “I love you, Mommy” there is nothing…nothing that soothes my soul more.  7 is definitely my favorite age.

And, there’s the girl.  The girl who is becoming a pre-teen and is full of more drama than you’ll see on Broadway or in Hollywood combined.  Everything is fair game for becoming the next reason for foot stomping and tears, and yet, as I watch her develop into this lovely young woman who is bright and funny and articulate and sweet, I couldn’t be prouder of who she is becoming.  10 is SO my favorite age.

And people tell me, “Oh, you are so naive…wait until they become teenagers.”

But, you know something, I became a middle school teacher because, quite frankly, I love that age, too.

And when they go on to high school and come back to visit with big hugs and stories of their almost adult lives, I realize that, wow, I love THAT age!

You gotta take the bad with the good, because while it may not be all good, let’s face it folks, it definitely ain’t all bad, either.

October 22, 2011

In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 7:03 am
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Last night was a rough one.

Tiny seemed to have quite a bit of trouble sleeping, and then when he finally was logging in a few hours, around 3 am, Baby Monkey started talking in his sleep, which woke up Monkey in the Middle and Monkey Girl, which resulted in loud voices and crying from Monkey Girl’s room, where they were all sleeping.

So, I went in and pulled Baby Monkey out and brought him into our bed, where he continued to do little whimpery cries until he finally fell back to sleep, around 4 am, at which point Tiny woke up again.

I brought him into our bed to feed him, and when he fell back to sleep, I tried to creep back to his room to put him in his crib, but my foot hit a laundry basket on the floor which made a loud sound and startled him awake.

So, I took him into his room and just rocked with him in the glider until he started to fall asleep.

Yet, right before he fell into a true sleep, he decided to poop.

So, as he lay in my arms with his eyes closed, he started the pushing noises that only a baby can make so unashamedly.

Then, happy with his full diaper, he opened his eyes and smiled.

At this point, I realized it was time throw in the towel, so I went back to my room and got my glasses.

Once my glasses are on, I’m up for the day, so I don’t put my glasses on until I am absolutely sure I’m not going to be able to go back to sleep.

Glasses on, I took him into his room, turned on the light, changed his diaper and brought him downstairs.

It was 5 am.

I got a blanket, turned on the tv to catch up on some dvr’ed shows, and started to feed him.

At which point he fell fast asleep.

So, now it is 6:55 am and everyone else in my house is fast asleep and I’m wide awake on a Saturday morning.

It’s quiet and the sun is just starting to rise.

There’s nothing like New Jersey in the fall (except for New England in the fall, so I hear) and the way the sun is hitting the orange leaves as it slowly lights the sky gives the neighborhood a bit of magic.

So, I think I’ll just hang here on the couch, under the blanket, with a book and just take in the morning, as it’s rare to be able to actually experience a morning without running around and noise.

Later there’s time for tennis lessons, football, grocery shopping, laundry, and dishes.

For now, it’s just me.

October 17, 2011

How it’s Going

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 5:44 pm
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So, I think a great example for how it’s been going around here lately would be the fact that, this morning, as I dropped Tiny Monkey off at his babysitter’s house, I realized that I forgot to put on my shoes before leaving the house and was still wearing my slippers.

I was already running late because it was a Monday, and thus, I taught all day long in my slippers.

You see where I’m going with this?

I can barely keep a coherent thought in my head, lately, so putting together a blog post that is meaningful or entertaining is a bit beyond my purview.

However, I feel like I’m missing something when I’m not updating the blog, so although I don’t like to use the blog to complain, here’s the way it’s been going around here the past week or so.

I got hit with the stomach bug last week.

I got hit hard.

I actually had to leave work early on Wednesday and then was out sick on Thursday.

I muddled through on Friday, but I didn’t actually start to feel better until Friday night.

Saturday morning, Real Man and Monkey Girl woke up not feeling well.  By Sunday, the two of them sounded like they had been hit by a truck.  I checked out both of their throats with a flashlight and my unprofessional opinion was possibly strep.

Without a professional diagnosis, however, and based on the fact that they both felt well enough to go to school and work today, they did.

In the midst of this, on Thursday, Monkey Girl got braces, and while she is absolutely adorable with those things, the bill caused my heart to skip more than a beat or two.

Man oh man…have you seen how expensive those things are???

Tiny Monkey started coughing and sneezing on Friday.

The coughing is adorable, and at first I thought he was imitating everyone else, but turns out, he wasn’t.

The cough is all his own.

When he sneezes?

All the colors of the rainbow emerge from that tiny nose.

And, by Sunday morning, my throat was hurting again, as well.

So, we all did a lot of resting this weekend and laying low and watching ridiculous things on television.

(I watched the Justin Bieber movie and cried a little.)

We also waited for our new dishwasher to be delivered on Saturday.

Didn’t come.

Called them up, turns out they had to change the delivery date, but didn’t bother to tell us.

Baby Monkey and Monkey in the Middle seemed to be untouched by all of this and went about their merry way, “raking” the leaves in the yard, playing football inside and outside the house, basketball on the deck, doing puzzles, board games, etc.

Tonight, Monkey Girl, Tiny Monkey and I all are headed to the doctor to get checked out.  At this point, it’s probably moot, but I think it’s important we get checked anyway.

So, it’s not been great around here, lately, and I haven’t felt like blogging about the blah.

But, you know me…there’s gotta be a bright side, so here it is.

I hit the church bazaar on Saturday and got 29 books, 4 jigsaw puzzles, 1 board game, 1 electronic game, 3 coloring books, 10 comic books all for $13.00.  Played with a bunch right away and have some saved for Christmas.  Excellent deals.

My blood sugar numbers have been really good lately.  Now, that could be because I haven’t really eaten much of anything for five days, but I choose to believe that my diabetes is finally getting under some type of control.

Monkey Girl is being super-responsible with her braces.  She brushes and flosses and does everything she is supposed to without anyone having to remind her.  That’s good to see.

We hit the library on Saturday, also, and brought home a truckload of Halloween books that the boys have been having me read over and over as we all snuggled up this weekend.  We also found our own Berenstain Bears collection that got stashed when we moved them up from the basement and we recently uncovered.  So, we’ve been wading our way through all of those, as well and loving every minute of it.

I downloaded the new Rick Riordan book “The Son of Neptune” to the Nook for Monkey Girl and she read it in a day and I’m in the middle of it now and absolutely love it.  This guy is a freaking genius, I tell you.  Makes me embarrassed to say that I’ve written a novel, because my mind and my writing is nowhere near what this guy has in his brain.  So creative and interesting.  Talk about character development and back story and…well, needless to say, I’m enjoying it immensely.

So, forgive the doom and gloom and I promise to get back to the usual lovefest sometime soon.

In the mean time, cover yourself if you see us coming and we’ll try our best not to infect you.

October 4, 2011

Giggles

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 6:38 am
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Hoping this will brighten your day, because it always brightens mine!

October 3, 2011

Anniversary

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 5:45 pm
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In case you’ve forgotten…

…here’s our fairy tale.

October 2, 2011

Maternal Adrenaline

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 8:26 am
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I recently read an article about a woman whose body was found in the rubble of the hurricane destruction (maybe it was an earthquake or tsunami or some other natural disaster, but I think it was hurricane).  When they uncovered her, they saw something moving and they found her baby, sleeping peacefully in her mothers arms.  The mother had used her body to shield the baby and while the mother had perished, the baby had survived.

I remember reading that and thinking “Wow, I hope I would do something like that.  I hope I would have the presence of mind to protect my monkeys, should we ever been in a situation like this.”

I have also read other stories about mother’s adrenaline kicking in during times of extreme danger for children and women lifting entire cars off of their children.  I’ve read these stories with a bit of skepticism, because, seriously?  A car?  But, I know how I feel about my babies and how I feel when they are in small amounts of danger.  Perhaps I, too, could lift a car off of them.

So, I was able to test myself a bit, this morning, without meaning to, on where exactly I’d fall on the chart of utilizing my mother’s adrenaline, quick thinking and motherly reflex.

I didn’t sleep well last night, and so was pretty tired when everyone started moving around this morning.  Tiny was calling, and so I got him, fed him, and then came downstairs to be with the rest of the monkeys.

Except I missed a few stairs on my way down and fell the rest of the way, hurtling toward the stone foyer floor, baby in my arms.

It all happened so quickly, I have no idea exactly what happened.  I do know that I wasn’t making any conscious decisions and that instinct just took over.

Somehow, I managed to avoid the stone floor by twisting my body as my ankle hit the stone.  I twisted toward the living room, smashing my elbow into the door frame of the living room.  My arms were up, around the baby, as we fell, and Tiny’s head was nestled in the crook of my elbow.

I’m not sure exactly what else happened or what part of my body hit what, but I landed, somehow, not on the stone tile floor, but instead on the wooden living room floor, right on top of Tiny Monkey.

I lay there, pretty sure my leg was broken, although I had no idea what I hit it on, and looked down at the baby in my arms.

He smiled.

Somehow, I had created a cage with my body and kept him safe inside.

He thought it was a great adventure.

The other monkeys had come running and I had Monkey Girl get Real Man who came down and extricated Tiny from my arms and checked him out.  Absolutely perfect.

Turns out nothing is broken, and I have a few bruises in places you can and can’t see, but I’m just so grateful that all that mother’s adrenaline I had read about was real and that instinct does, in fact, take over when you can’t possibly make decisions quickly enough.

Here’s the video. (Not sure why it’s sideways…can’t seem to fix that)

September 30, 2011

The Dentist

Filed under: Uncategorized — Amy @ 4:46 pm
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The monkeys had their dentist appointments yesterday.

I dread the dentist.

Not for myself.  I actually find it to be quite a relaxing experience.

But, for the monkeys.

Monkey Girl does just fine at the dentist, but Monkey in the Middle suffers from an overproduction of saliva, (inherited from me…sorry, buddy) and the result is that plaque and tartar build up on the back of his bottom front teeth faster than he can possibly brush it away.

No one can see it, but it’s there, and at the dentist, you know what that means…

The Scraper.

So, you’ll have to forgive me for keeping visits to the dentist a secret until we are pulling into the parking lot.

Otherwise, the anxiety is through the roof leading up to the appointment and he cannot control his behavior.

Baby Monkey also has a fear of the dentist.

He’s only been once.

They weren’t able to pry his mouth open to even count his teeth.

Why?

He’s afraid of loud noises, and despite the fact that I told them NOT to turn on the tooth polisher to polish their finger before putting it in his mouth, they did it anyway.

He heard the noise and lost his mind.

And, please know that the phrase “lost his mind” is in no way, shape or form an exaggeration.

So, as you can imagine, my anxiety starts to rise when I know we have to head to the dentist.

However, you gotta take your kids to the dentist.

It’s, like, a rule or something.

So, I made their latest appointment for Thursday at 3:30.

I had forgotten we didn’t have school due to Rosh Hashana, and if I had remembered, I would have done it first thing in the morning.

But, I didn’t.

Monkey in the Middle has been a bit less anxious these days, about life in general, so I decided that I would give it a try, letting him know ahead of time that we were headed to the dentist.

Appointment at 3:30, I told him at 12.

There were no tears, but there were a lot of questions and I tried to keep it low key by whispering, “Please don’t scare your brother,” which was instantly thwarted with a loud, “But it’s gonna hurt!!!”

I was able to distract with a trip to the library and we came home with a bag laden with 13 books and 7 movies.

We spent an hour watching the Arthur DVD’s, cuddling together, and I was feeling pretty good about the fact that the anxiety seemed to be dying down.

However, as soon as I sent them up to brush their teeth (I know, I know…dentists aren’t fooled by that pre-visit brush, but we do it anyway) the frowns began to appear, once again.

Now, the plan was that Baby Monkey would go first.  That way, he wouldn’t hear the polisher and Mr. Thirsty being used on his siblings and we could, hopefully, use the element of surprise to get, at least, a few teeth clean.

So, I leave the other two big kids in the waiting room and head back with Baby Monkey.

When I’m wrong, I admit it, and let me tell you, I was wrong about this trip to the dentist.

One after the other, they all went back and had their teeth cleaned and treated with fluoride.

They smiled, they chatted, they talked about school.

Monkey in the Middle was anxious…

…but even the scraper didn’t scare him and by the time Mr. Thirsty came out, he was all smiles.

Monkey Girl got the news that we need to head over to the orthodontist and get some braces, and she handled it beautifully.

I can’t tell you how proud I was of those kids and so very glad to have been wrong.  There were lots of smushy hugs and kisses and I’ve never been so happy to be wrong in my life.  Should have given those babies more credit.

They are pretty darn awesome.

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