Today Noah asked how old I am. When I told him I'm 32, he replied: "32? Why don't you wear glasses and have a cane?" Geesh... I would have answered him, but, in all of my senility, I forgot the question.
I'm still trying to recover from the chaos of last week. I had jury duty for a day and a half on Monday and Tuesday for a first degree murder trial. The jury selection took that long, and I ended up being cut at noon on Tuesday. I followed the case in the paper, because after spending so much time at the courthouse, I was pretty invested in the trial and the outcome, and I saw that the case was declared a mistrial on Wednesday afternoon because a witness changed his testimony.
Tuesday and Thursday night we had parent- teacher conferences at school, which always makes for very long days, especially with a 50 minute drive home at the end of the day. Someone told me how many days are left of school- around 35 or so, which just about gives me a panic attack. I have A LOT to do between now and the middle of May. Yikes!
Ella has decided that she's the next American Idol. She sings and sings and it's so stinking cute. She sings Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Rock-A-Bye Baby, and the Elmo song (la la la la, la la la la, Elmo's World). I'd try to get a video of it, but she only sings when she thinks no one is looking or listening. Okay, so maybe she's not the next American Idol.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
They Say It's Your Birthday...
Birthdays are a big deal at our house. Noah turned 5 on Friday and it was a whirlwind week-end of parties and treats! We celebrated with family on Friday and Saturday, and Sunday was his first party with friends (20 of them- yikes!) at P.E. 101. He had sooooo much fun! It was a pirate party and I made a pirate ship cake that I found online. It was really cute, but it had paper sails, so we couldn't use the cute pirate candles that Noah had found at Nobbies because the sails could have caught on fire (fire and 20 children is not a good combo), so I also made an "island" cake so we could use the candles. Noah loved his cakes and his friends thought that they were cool, so it was a hit.
One of Noah's favorite gifts was a Spiderman scooter he got from his Grandma Jolene and Grandpa Donnie. He is really good at riding it because he's ridden one at Lisa's, and he rode that thing for hours on Saturday. I rode it for 20 seconds and wiped out hard in our driveway, which both my kids thought was utterly hilarious.
I passed my 30th birthday (and every other birthday I've ever had) with no problems, concerns, or otherwise negative feelings, but this 5th birthday is making me a wreck! Noah is no longer a "preschooler", he's going to Kindergarten, and it's just too much to take! I think of how fast the past 5 years have gone, and I just can't believe that the next 5 could go just as fast and before I know it he'll be 10. TEN!!! I guess I just have to be glad that Noah's growing up happy and healthy and keep doing the best I can do. It's hard not to be a little sad for all the milestones the kids are passing, knowing that with each new adventure another is left behind, but I am trying to be okay with change, because as we all know, there's no way to stop it.
Anyway, it was a fun week-end and it was fun to watch Noah have fun and be so excited. Happy Birthday, Buddy!!! I love you.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Man, I'm getting old!!
Last night Seth and I went to the Nickelback/ Saving Abel/ Seether concert. It was good, but I felt so OLD! The crowd was made up mostly of people MUCH younger than myself. I thought it was very loud, and 1/2 the time I kept looking around seeing 7-8-9 year olds and thinking "it's 11:30, they should be in bed" and concerned for them that every other word spoken was a swear word. The other 1/2 of the time was spent watching a sign language interpreter who was near us- it was entertaining watching her sign all those swear words.
Tonight Seth and I took Noah to see Dora Live at the Orpheum. The crowd was just as rowdy, much more sober, and all dressed up in pink dresses. I was worried for a second that Noah would be the only boy, but we saw more as we got closer to the Orpheum. He wouldn't have cared if he was the only boy there- he LOVED it and was excited to see Diego (his alterego). It was cute and he had fun, which is all that matters.
He's getting so excited for his birthday he can hardly stand it. He is having 4 straight days of parties at various places, so it is pretty exciting. I am making a pretty elaborate pirate cake for his party on Sunday with his friends. I'm crossing my fingers that it turns out!!
The other night Ella woke up around midnight and was doing that phony baloney scream/cry thing that kids do so well in the middle of the night, and I went in and turned on the light and asked "what are you doing?" Her reply...... "I cwying"
Tonight Seth and I took Noah to see Dora Live at the Orpheum. The crowd was just as rowdy, much more sober, and all dressed up in pink dresses. I was worried for a second that Noah would be the only boy, but we saw more as we got closer to the Orpheum. He wouldn't have cared if he was the only boy there- he LOVED it and was excited to see Diego (his alterego). It was cute and he had fun, which is all that matters.
He's getting so excited for his birthday he can hardly stand it. He is having 4 straight days of parties at various places, so it is pretty exciting. I am making a pretty elaborate pirate cake for his party on Sunday with his friends. I'm crossing my fingers that it turns out!!
The other night Ella woke up around midnight and was doing that phony baloney scream/cry thing that kids do so well in the middle of the night, and I went in and turned on the light and asked "what are you doing?" Her reply...... "I cwying"
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Zoo Trip/ Take Two
I attempted to take the kids to the zoo on Saturday because it was such a nice day, but the results were disasterous. Everyone else in the state of Nebraska and portions of southwest Iowa had the same idea as us, and the zoo was PACKED! Ella fell face first in a big puddle of mud in the jungle exhibit and was filthy, so we had to go in the bathroom and attempt (unsuccessfully) to clean her up. Then, I took the kids' coats off in the Desert Dome and put them in the back of the stroller. We went through the entire upstairs, and then through the Kingdoms of the Night downstairs. We were at the end and I went to get Ella's coat, and it was gone! We then traipsed backwards through the Kingdom's of the Night, did I mention it was packed? And, for those of you who have not been there, it is very dark- needless to say, NOT FUN! We didn't find it, so then we went back through the upstairs. Poor Noah was a trooper, but was so tired and kept stopping to "rest" while Ella was doing her Houdini thing and trying to get out of the stroller and I was yelling "Noah! Stay by Mommy! Hurry, Buddy!" It was a nightmare. It took us 40 minutes to get through because of the ridiculous crowds, I mean, really, WHAT are people stopping and looking at for crying out loud? Oh yeah, the animals.... but didn't they know we were on a mission? Anyway, long story short, we ended up finding the coat on a bench outside the Desert Dome. Someone must have picked it up and set it there. And, we would have seen it when we walked by it three times on our way in and out, but an old man was sitting on it!! By the time we were done with that whole fiasco it was lunch time and the kids were starving, so we went home.
Today was another beautiful day, and Seth was able to be home by 2:30, so we tried the zoo again. It was much more pleasant. Noah got to look at things he wanted, and I was able to take some pictures. Plus, things are always easier when there are two of us to divide and conquer. I can't wait for tax season to be over!!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
When it Rains It Pours
We have had a serious string of unfortunate incidents at our house in the past couple days.... Seth was very sick with the stomach flu, the DVD player broke in my car (horrifying!!), so I had to take it right away to get fixed and was at the dealership for two days, the kids are getting colds so have been very fussy and crabby lately, our dishwasher is about to go kaput, work has been very stressful this week, and, last but not least, the straw that broke the camel's back, the thing that pushed me over the edge (just seeing how many cliches I can use) Noah lost his toothbrush. He likes to walk around the house as he brushes his teeth, and must have set it somewhere and now we can't find it anywhere. Normally, this would not at all be a huge deal, but, for some reason I just could not handle this fact and managed to get into a huge fight with Seth about it and the "fact" that I am the only person in the house who cares if Noah's teeth fall out or not and why is everything my responsibility and if I wasn't around to manage everything our children would have no teeth and probably head lice and ringworm and shingles and would eat pork rinds for breakfast and..... sigh. It's crazy looking back at the last couple days more rationally, how ridiculously irrational I can get when things are a little stressful. I'm normally a fairly sane person, but sometimes I just lose it when I feel like I don't have much control over things. Luckily, my wrath is usually directed to Seth and not the kids, and (fortunately for me, unfortunately for him) he is stuck with me and loves me enough to not run away with the kids or have me committed to a psychiatric institution.
In happier news, Noah had Kindergarten Round Up on Tuesday morning at Picotte and loved it. I was surprised that he was a little shy and nervous at first. I have never seen the kid be shy a day in his life. I think he saw some other kids being a little clingy and emotional, and he thought maybe he should be, too. Once they had the kids go into the kindergarten rooms with the current kindergarten students he was fine, and he had a very fun time. I kind of thought of this as a warm-up for the next round up at Grace Abbott. We are option enrolling him there, but won't find out if he gets in until April 10th, so we are going to both round ups just in case. Wherever he goes, I know he will LOVE school- he is so ready and so excited and I am excited for him. I was talking to the TAG consultant for the AEA today at a training we were both at and she was asking about some of the things he can do and she got me a little freaked out about how I need to make sure and advocate for him and make sure he is intellectually stimulated and so on. I hope that I will, but there's such a fine line between "advocating" and just being pushy and demanding. I hope I will be able to tell the difference.
In happier news, Noah had Kindergarten Round Up on Tuesday morning at Picotte and loved it. I was surprised that he was a little shy and nervous at first. I have never seen the kid be shy a day in his life. I think he saw some other kids being a little clingy and emotional, and he thought maybe he should be, too. Once they had the kids go into the kindergarten rooms with the current kindergarten students he was fine, and he had a very fun time. I kind of thought of this as a warm-up for the next round up at Grace Abbott. We are option enrolling him there, but won't find out if he gets in until April 10th, so we are going to both round ups just in case. Wherever he goes, I know he will LOVE school- he is so ready and so excited and I am excited for him. I was talking to the TAG consultant for the AEA today at a training we were both at and she was asking about some of the things he can do and she got me a little freaked out about how I need to make sure and advocate for him and make sure he is intellectually stimulated and so on. I hope that I will, but there's such a fine line between "advocating" and just being pushy and demanding. I hope I will be able to tell the difference.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
mine
I remember writing an earlier post about how I couldn't wait for Ella to talk, and knowing that someday soon she would be talking and I would wonder what the heck I was so worried about- well, March 3, 2009 is the day. Beyond just not being worried, I am in mourning for the peace and quiet that used to be our house. The little thing NEVER STOPS TALKING!!
Anyone who's seen Finding Nemo remembers the part with the birds saying "mine, mine, mine....etc." That's our house. I counted Ella saying "mine" 62 time in ten minutes this morning- all before 7:00. It's a little too much to take. She also calls anything and everything "Ella's", but she sticks her tongue out when she says it and it sounds like "Elllllllllaaaath" With her increase in vocabulary and articulation skills has come a huge increase in independence and sassiness. If she's this much of a handful now, I don't even want to imagine what will happen when she's two.
But, orneriness notwithstanding, she's sweet and cute and I'll keep her ☺
Anyone who's seen Finding Nemo remembers the part with the birds saying "mine, mine, mine....etc." That's our house. I counted Ella saying "mine" 62 time in ten minutes this morning- all before 7:00. It's a little too much to take. She also calls anything and everything "Ella's", but she sticks her tongue out when she says it and it sounds like "Elllllllllaaaath" With her increase in vocabulary and articulation skills has come a huge increase in independence and sassiness. If she's this much of a handful now, I don't even want to imagine what will happen when she's two.
But, orneriness notwithstanding, she's sweet and cute and I'll keep her ☺
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Lucky
Lucky I'm in love with my best friend....... because he got me Jason Mraz tickets! I'm so excited- I LOVE Jason Mraz!!! Yippee!
In other news, um..... there really isn't any other news. Busy, daddyless week-end again. (but I'm not complaining!!) I do think it's sad, though, that I look forward to Mondays the way most people look forward to the week-end because I feel like I get a little "break" at work. At least I get to use the restroom by myself and eat lunch sitting vertically, rather than bent over picking up food from the floor.
The food issue has gotten better, however. Seth was able to have a rare dinner with us last night and he noticed that when Ella was done eating she said "all done" and put her plate on the table instead of throwing it off her tray. He asked if we had been working on that. mmmmm-hmmmmmm- 50 million times a day. She's getting it, though- and her vocabulary just keeps growing and growing. At this moment she is sitting by me coloring and she just said "see Mommy? Ella coloring" That was not even close to something she would have uttered a few weeks ago, so that's exciting.
In other news, um..... there really isn't any other news. Busy, daddyless week-end again. (but I'm not complaining!!) I do think it's sad, though, that I look forward to Mondays the way most people look forward to the week-end because I feel like I get a little "break" at work. At least I get to use the restroom by myself and eat lunch sitting vertically, rather than bent over picking up food from the floor.
The food issue has gotten better, however. Seth was able to have a rare dinner with us last night and he noticed that when Ella was done eating she said "all done" and put her plate on the table instead of throwing it off her tray. He asked if we had been working on that. mmmmm-hmmmmmm- 50 million times a day. She's getting it, though- and her vocabulary just keeps growing and growing. At this moment she is sitting by me coloring and she just said "see Mommy? Ella coloring" That was not even close to something she would have uttered a few weeks ago, so that's exciting.
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