Update

Well, the meeting with BB, his mom, Bubba and I went well. We laid down the law and told them that they need to work on good behavior or they will have to be in different classes at school. We also reminded them that ALL the parents agree and that Miss C at school will know what we agreed to so there is some accountability there too.

I know that sounds harsh but they needed it. And yes, we would put them in different classes - it is not an empty threat. We also told them we will make an effort to get them together outside of school to play, also not an empty promise, we will get them together.

It is fortunate that I worked with BB's dad for the past few years, (although we never got the boys together until they were in school) because this situation was easy to talk about and work through. He and I knew some of eachothers philosophy about kid-raising and it just really made it a lot easier to talk to his wife without feeling like I didn't know anything about them. We didn't have to start with "So how do you handle this kind of thing?" It was more like "I think this will work, what do you think?" We shall see.

Woe is me

I have been trying to sleep for the past 2 hours. I had a little success then Punkin Head woke up and now my mind is reeling and won't shut down.

Its been a long week. My Honey went out of town on business last week from Sunday through Wednesday. I adjusted my schedule so that I could be home earlier with the kids. Usually I work until 11 pm, I made a change to 7 pm for last week. It worked out nice but I have not had any time to myself. I know, how selfish of me, but sheesh, I need it.

So he gets back to town and I end up working Friday night (one of my days off). Not a HUGE deal except that we just have not seen eachother pretty much since Mothers Day. (So here I am at the computer instead of in bed). In addition to that there is laundry (from his trip) dishes, grocery shopping and other miscellaneous stuff (except the house cleaning which I hire out - I know, how selfish) that only I seem to be able to do. Pretty much by Saturday, my only day off this week I am cranky. I am especially cranky when he goes golfing. I don't even remember Saturday anymore. Must have been the Red Wine.

Sunday I am scheduled overtime (OT) at work that may keep me there until 3am - Its Memorial Day weekend and one of our dispatch areas is a resort town ... So I make arrangements to sleep at the in-laws because they are out of town and I figure it will be quiet. At 2 my sister in law shows up to take care of the kids because of golf and I head to work. Fortunately it wasnt too busy so I was released at 11pm. On the way home I am having this internal debate - Do I go home and sleep knowing I will not get a good nights sleep or should I just go to the in-laws even though I got off way earlier than I thought I would?? I debate until the very last place I could turn that wouldn't make it (too) out of the way to go there and decide to go home instead.

Good thing.

My Honey ended up in the ER. Heart problems. Or thats what we thought it was. He woke when I got home and was very nauseus and had numbness in his left hand/fingers. One wouldn't get too concerned about this except that he had a real heart attack last year so every twinge seems like a big deal. He took a nitro and tried to relax. I called his sister to have her come over to stay with the kids. Called work to have them send an ambulance and got prepared for a long night. And it was a long night. I didn't leave the hospital until after 4am. My Honey stayed the night so they could observe him.

They don't think he had a heart event. He checked out fine. But the stress. On top of that, Bubba didn't sleep very good while we were gone - go figure. So when I got home BOTH the kids were up, Punkin head had just eaten so she went right down, and Bubba crashed. Thankfully they both slept pretty good. I didn't. I had to be up early enough to call and cancel the golf game that had been planned - that ended up being 7:30. And then the kids woke up. So I had about 2 1/2 hours of sleep. Finally at 2:00 the hospital released My Honey. I had another short nap from 3-5 so I am running on 4 hours of sleep essentially and you would think that I would have crashed out?? But no. Can't sleep.

Too much stuff on my mind. Work, kids, My Honey, not sleeping. UGH.

06/13/06 I wasnt sure if I wanted to post this, but I decided to go ahead today.

More trouble

More trouble at preschool yesterday. I won't go into details, suffice it to say that it had to do with naked butts, Bubba and BB. Thankfully we are (still) on good terms with BB's parents so we are all working together to get through this. By "through this" I mean to help the boys act appropriately together (from playing quietly at school to keeping their clothes on) and to get to the root of the problem.

So what is the root of the problem? Do they not get to see eachother enough so when they do see eachother its such a rush they can't control themselves? Do they need to see eachother more outside of school? Do they bring out the worst in eachother? Can we help them bring out the best in each other? I don't know. At least we are getting this challenge in preschool where there isn't a lot of other stuff to have to worry about too - homework and such. Thankfully BB's family is great to work with. And fortunately its the end of the school year too. Although if they go all summer without much interaction how much chaos could that cause for the fall??

Well, BB and BB's mom are coming over for lunchand a talk (but no playdate because of yesterday's incident) so hopefully they will see how serious this is. Wish us luck.

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city girl with a small town heart Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand And gorgeous Italian men - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong In?

Wow that almost fits me!! Small town heart, cappuccino, romance, I am quite satisfied with my Honey although he is not Italian! Click to check what city you belong in.

Thanks Thrusher for the link!

Shots and hurricanes

Yesterday (although its 3am so it still feels like today) was Punkin Head's 6 month check up. She checks out fine except for that exceptionally large head of hers. It is off the charts - but so was Bubba's at 6 months. She weighed in at 18.5 pounds - and yes that is GIANT size for a 6 month old (also following in Bubba's footsteps) and I believe she was 26". She just keeps growing and growing. She also had to get shots. 2 in each leg. She was so brave. She just cried a tiny bit and then actually SMILED at the nurse. What a nice girl. This does not follow in the footsteps of her brother who used to pass out from crying. We used to call them "blue faced fits" and had to warn the babysitters so they wouldn't call 911 - true story!

Speaking of Bubba, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday he kept asking about hurricanes. What are they, why? Do they kill people, why? Could they happen "in our world", why? ("In our world" means where we live in 4 1/2 year old speak). So finally Sunday afternoon I asked him if he wanted to look hurricanes up on the computer and see what it had to say. Okay he tells me. So we did. We used Encarta and had a great time checking out a few video clips, looking at the map of the world to see where they happen and where we live and does it look like there are any hurricane patterns around us? No he realized there aren't. Whew! Hurricane season at my house is finally done. But I had to wonder where the sudden obsession came from. So when my Honey called I mentioned it to him. Turns out we had a dust storm then a heavy rain here on Thursday night that must have started him thinking about hurricanes from what he had seen on TV. (Yes we let our kids see destruction on TV) and he must have worried that we were having a hurricane and that it would destroy "our world". Such a sensitive kid. Not sensitive like he cried with worry but sensitive more like obsessive. Do those two work together?? Anyway that was that. After we looked it up, no more questions about hurricanes! Amazing kid.

Preschool trouble

Can you believe that Bubba is getting in trouble at preschool?? He is. He and his Best Buddy (BB) are disruptive. Bubba is often sent to the "table for one" (Montessori "time out") to get ahold of himself because he is being too loud. Not bad, just loud in the classroom.

So yesterday my Honey drove BB and Bubba to preschool in the jeep with the top off. Thats a huge treat!! Needless to say they were both wound tight. To the point of the teacher Miss C asking me if I would consider putting Bubba in the afternoon class next year so that they wouldn't be together because they cause such a disruption in the classroom. YIKES!! Actually, I think it is hilarious!! I understand the seriousness of it too, we are going to work with Bubba and BB to help them help eachother get control because they really like eachother and neither of them have any other friends. Thats one of the trials of having grandma watch the kids, no social circle. But the joy of it is never having to worry about who is with my kids so the pay-off has been worth it.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was nice. We left town for the weekend. My Honey and I got to spend some time together alone in Seattle - gotta love Pike Street. The weather was nice and I got a new phone. A "shaver phone" according to Bubba. (You figure it out). I am still figuring out all the cool stuff it does.

We spent the weekend with my Dad. He and his wife manage the stables in their community so Bubba gets to go help feed the horses, their 14 year old daughter (my sister "Little D") loves Bubba and they were willing to watch the kids all day so we could spend the aforementioned time alone in Seattle. They do my heart good. All weekend Bubba kept saying "Happy Mothers Day" it was really cute.

Punkin Head did really well sleeping in her playpen, the only thing was she woke up during the night. So much for that good nights sleep I had mentioned. She finally got back into it last night which was just in time. Yesterday it was hard to be nice but today it might have been impossible to be nice.

She is getting so big! She will be 6 months tomorrow and I am sure she weighs at least 20 pounds, and she is almost too long for her car seat. She is starting to get strong enough to sit up and she loves her daddy! He can walk into a room where she is, go right to her and when she sees him her whole face lights up. Its just amazing. Did I have that effect on Bubba? I don't think I did.

Sleep, glorious sleep

Punkin Head is almost 6 months old. She doesn't always sleep through the night. Last night tho - bless her everloving soul she slept.

It is my habit to come home from work at 11pm and (bottle) feed her how ever much she will eat, usually around 6-1/2 ounces. Pretty much she crashes while she is eating - so sweet to watch her sleep, then I put her down for the night. Most nights she will sleep until around 5:30 or 6 - on a really bad night she wakes at 3 or 4. But last night, I fed her the usual and put her down and she crashed out until after 7 this morning. Sleep, glorious sleep!! Ahhh, I feel so refreshed today. Thanks Punkin Head.

Tree House

Did you ever want a tree house when you were a kid? I know this looks a lot more like a tree condo, but we are calling it a tree house.

It was built from a plan in my Honey's head, with help from his dad and, of course, Bubba.

They started two weeks ago, and finished early this week, Monday or Tuesday night. Isn't it great?? I just love it!

So far Bubba hasn't played in it at all. Not suprising, since he doesn't like to be alone, plus we have been very busy and the weather wasn't the best either. Hopefully all the work will be worth it and he will get a ton of play out of it this summer! And even if he doesn't, the pride he feels for "building" it and how proud I am of my Honey are worth it.

Stats on the tree house:
Its just shy of 8'x10'. 6' high inside. 2x4 construction on 4-4x4 posts, kind of like how you would build a deck. Then my Honey added walls and fencing boards for the siding and roof. The tree in the far corner is actually IN the tree house, because my Honey built the tree house around the tree. I think it is the coolest thing ever and so does Bubba!

Parade Day

As I sat on the float Parade Day, I realized that I have lived in the "Apple Capitol of the World" for 35 years and never been in a parade. NEVER.

What an amazing choreography of people, bands and floats. Those festival folks know their stuff.

Here is a picture of Bubba (green shirt) and his best buddy.

Bubba's favorite thing was riding on the float, his worst thing was not getting a water-balloon-ball-thing on a rubber band. Poor kid, maybe next weekend.