This morning the Farmer has the kids. It is a rare day that he actually has them for an extended time period, as it is usually just an hour or two during one of my photo sessions or 15 minutes while I run to the store in peace...And then it is usually only after I wrestle myself out of their clinging arms and listen to the whaling reasons why I should not leave...
But today the Farmer has the kids. He took them to Iowa to look at some new-fangled tractor thingy that I will never fully understand the purpose for - but that is not my job, to know the purpose of all this random equipment around the farm. I do manage to put on a good front when asked though. The scecret it to always sound like you know what you are talking about - even if you are making it up on the spot...My Dad taught me that.
So this morning the Farmer asked me "What are you going to do with all your free time this morning?" Huh. I wonder...
So please allow me to vent...
In my "free time" this morning, I:
Drove to and executed a fabulous family shoot for a cute little family from town.
Went to the grocery and bought way too much food for the simple fact that I could actually LOOK at the products on the shelf and not run blindly through the store with two children hoping they did not see the stuffed animals by the register, the bubble gum machines, the Hog Wash display or the candy isle.
Came home - downloaded the family session and put groceries away (in that order.)
Cleaned up kitchen from husband's "I will handle breakfast" proclamation.
Vacuumed up the lovely mess in our bedroom that the plumbers left behind when they ripped out the radiant heat yesterday.
Washed said floor.
Vacuumed living room, dining room, hall and bedrooms.
Steamed kitchen floor
Made a sandwich
Cleaned the bathroom from children's morning toothbrushing (HOW do they get toothpaste on the door handles and the shower faucet???)
Gathered children's P.J.s from random places throughout the house and put in laundry
Started laundry
Loaded and started dishwasher
Remembered sandwich which is now covered in flies from having new windows installed all week
Swished flies from sandwich - will come back to that
Texted my friend Lynn
Laughed
Thought of my infinitely wise friend, Shannon, who takes her housework in stride and seems a much happier person for it....with 4 kids!
Blogged - just cause.
Now I am going to eat my sandwich - with Doritos (that I usually have to hide and sneak one chip at a time because I am a big hypocrite that does not let her children eat junk food - but partakes herself, in hiding of course....) out in the open, without interruption, alone. While editing this morning's shoot...
And that is my "free time".
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Confessions of a Dance Class Drop Out
Ok, well technically I did not drop out, but rather allowed my daughter to drop out. For months now we had been dragging ourselves to a 4:30 dance class every Tuesday afternoon. Logstically speaking - this was never a small feat. Sarah did not get home on the bus until sometimes close to 4:15 and we had to change her clothes, shove a food item in her mouth and hit the door. Of course, we did all this with a reluctant toddler in tow as well. I won't get into the struggle it was to get his gear on, smash his feet into shoes as he was striving to get away from me, and somehow corral him near the garage door long enough to open the car door and plop him inside. The tantrums could be heard for miles.
Never mind the fit he had to throw once again when we got to the studio and only she was allowed into the dace room....uhg.
From Dance we immediately shot home, ate some weak representation of a meal (during which Aiden would make it his only goal to coat himself and everyone in his vicinity with whatever it was he was served) and were off the Girl Scouts by 5:45 every other week.
So why did we do this, you ask? Well, Sarah wanted to dance. I wanted her to dance. I had (have) angelic visions of her gracing the stage with such elegance and beauty that any audience would be beside themselves. This was not the case. Sarah has my grand lack of rhythm and talent and the was Hip Hop. It was painful. But alas, she still wanted to participate, so we went. Every Tuesday.
A coule of weeks ago Sarah had a confession of her own. "I don't want to go to dance, Mama." I wanted to scream, "Thank Heavens! Either do I!!!", but I didn't. I contained myself. I had to figure out if this was just a ploy to stay home on this particular 70 degree day, or if she really meant it.
You see, we had a recital coming up in less then four weeks and, of course, had already purchased a very expensive dance costume. If she was not serious there was no going back. Well, needless to say, she was serious. And it is fabulous.
This evening I stand here cooking supper on a Friday night a new woman. I am not exhausted from shuttling my child feverishly around all week. I can breathe. I fully give this credit to the fact that we no longer have dance. It is one less night that I have to fight the battle against time and toddler will. It is one less night that life is rushed by us in a whirlwind of activity.
This does not mean that in a few short weeks we will not be signed up for every program the park district offers, or that this fall Sarah might pursue five of her latest passions while Aiden is enrolled in tumbling (don't tell his Dad) and mini football camp - but that is ok and we will deal with it when it comes. They should have every opportunity. But, for now, I will bask in the glow of this new relaxed week and not think about the days ahead.
Never mind the fit he had to throw once again when we got to the studio and only she was allowed into the dace room....uhg.
From Dance we immediately shot home, ate some weak representation of a meal (during which Aiden would make it his only goal to coat himself and everyone in his vicinity with whatever it was he was served) and were off the Girl Scouts by 5:45 every other week.
So why did we do this, you ask? Well, Sarah wanted to dance. I wanted her to dance. I had (have) angelic visions of her gracing the stage with such elegance and beauty that any audience would be beside themselves. This was not the case. Sarah has my grand lack of rhythm and talent and the was Hip Hop. It was painful. But alas, she still wanted to participate, so we went. Every Tuesday.
A coule of weeks ago Sarah had a confession of her own. "I don't want to go to dance, Mama." I wanted to scream, "Thank Heavens! Either do I!!!", but I didn't. I contained myself. I had to figure out if this was just a ploy to stay home on this particular 70 degree day, or if she really meant it.
You see, we had a recital coming up in less then four weeks and, of course, had already purchased a very expensive dance costume. If she was not serious there was no going back. Well, needless to say, she was serious. And it is fabulous.
This evening I stand here cooking supper on a Friday night a new woman. I am not exhausted from shuttling my child feverishly around all week. I can breathe. I fully give this credit to the fact that we no longer have dance. It is one less night that I have to fight the battle against time and toddler will. It is one less night that life is rushed by us in a whirlwind of activity.
This does not mean that in a few short weeks we will not be signed up for every program the park district offers, or that this fall Sarah might pursue five of her latest passions while Aiden is enrolled in tumbling (don't tell his Dad) and mini football camp - but that is ok and we will deal with it when it comes. They should have every opportunity. But, for now, I will bask in the glow of this new relaxed week and not think about the days ahead.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Entry # 4
Today we had to visit our accountant...The little man came with...The actual plan was that we would ship him off with his grandparents after they finished their appointment and we would then partake in our fleecing...Oh - I mean tax preparation. Well, we had a little bit of a wait in the waiting room - apparently we got there a bit too early.
Now for the most part, Aiden did very well. He sat, stood, kneeled and crouched, in a chair and did not venture off. He shook a very nice man's hand and said his, well rehearsed, "Nice to meet you.", and he even minded his manners when he was asked if he would like to look at the man's tractors on his desk.
Really, it all went very smoothly. That is until a few people from a neighboring office came bearing gifts for our accountant. They stood directly in front of Aiden while exchanging well wishes and discussing the weather. This is where it went wrong. Aiden proceeded to poke a very tall man in the behind and announce to the room (containing about 6 adults) that this man had "Stinky Thunder Toots!".
Oh my.
Now for the most part, Aiden did very well. He sat, stood, kneeled and crouched, in a chair and did not venture off. He shook a very nice man's hand and said his, well rehearsed, "Nice to meet you.", and he even minded his manners when he was asked if he would like to look at the man's tractors on his desk.
Oh my.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Entry #3
My day with Aiden.
The day began simple enough - he had breakfast with his sister and father as I sipped coffee at the kitchen table....He watched cartoons while I cleaned up and got ready to shower...Then suddenly something changed...
While in the shower (mind you, I do not dilly dally in the shower - 10 min tops!) Aiden decided to begin a mission. He started by traveling down the hallway to his sister's room and proceeded to empty not one, not two, but all five of her toy totes onto her floor. That must not have satisfied, so he continued to strip all her bedding off her bed as well. It is my estimation that this project must have only lasted minutes, because very shortly after I heard him go by the bathroom door the first time, I heard his little footsteps traverse in the opposite direction back to the living room.
While in the living room, Aiden managed to get the lid off of his sippy cup and empty the entire contents onto the couch (number one reason Aiden is only allowed water during the day). Apparently this seemed to lay the ground work for a fun experiment of how fast goldfish crackers turn to mush when applied to a pool of water in a sofa cushion....
I emerged from the shower, wrapped in towels and discovered all the aforementioned disasters. Upon cleaning the couch fiasco, Aiden then proceeded to throw all the sofa pillows, blankets and coffee table books onto the ground - but, hey, at least he was busy doing this and let me vaccume up the mushy goldfish!
I decided this was a day that we should NOT stay home - for fear that the house, or the child, may not surrvive.
Story hour at the library - perfect solution!
Not so much.
Aiden was not about to sit through one, let alone three books. He ventured near and far from the story hour area, pulled books off the shelf, and howled when returned to his seating area. Crafts are always part of this particular library's program. The children were to paint small ants on paper, stick sparkles onto an ice cream cone - and...humm....There was one other thing they were to do, but we never got past the sparkles....Aiden emptied the entire glue bottle onto his page, used his entire hand to finger paint and threw sparkles on the ground.
Time for lunch.
He was excellent during our meal. Quite the little gentleman using all his manners as he proceeded to eat his chicken nuggets, apples, my cheeseburger, my fries and down a full container of milk. I decided that maybe he could go play for a bit and burn off all those extra calories. Normally Aiden sticks to the main floor of the play area - a little too nervous to venture into the actual tunnels themselves. I guess today he felt braver then most days.
In about four minutes he had found his way to the most remote area of the hamster tunnels that are the Mc Donalds Playland. I must have looked pretty desperate in all my miming attempts to get him to come back down, because a lovely woman who was there with four girls ranging from 4 to 7 offered to have one of her children try to coax him back down. She only emerged with his shoe.
I was going up. This is NOT something I do lightly. I have never been, nor do I wish to ever be again in the Mc Donalds Playland tunnel. Nevertheless - I went in, holding my breath. I was about 3/4 of the way to Aiden when I happened to look out a small window to my right only to see a man I knew and his son in the dining area laughing hysterically at me in the the tube. Nice.
I did manage to get a hold of Aiden and he was very compliant in his decent. Although he did think he would be able to go back up, therefor when he noticed we were putting on his coat and shoes, this spurred a great amount of tears and yelling. Oh, I think Aiden cried too.
I did, very politely, go and say hello to the laughing man and remind him that "What happeneds at Mc Donalds, stays at Mc Donalds." During this 5 minute conversation, Aiden climbed up a windowsill and was laying spread-eagle across the table next to theirs.
It is time to go home.
And this is where we are now. Home - ahhhh. Aiden is sleeping (How could he not be!? The kid ran a marathon today!) and I am cleaning, or at least will be shortly. This will help me center and I will be more able to attack the afternoon when he wakes...Wish me luck.
The day began simple enough - he had breakfast with his sister and father as I sipped coffee at the kitchen table....He watched cartoons while I cleaned up and got ready to shower...Then suddenly something changed...
While in the shower (mind you, I do not dilly dally in the shower - 10 min tops!) Aiden decided to begin a mission. He started by traveling down the hallway to his sister's room and proceeded to empty not one, not two, but all five of her toy totes onto her floor. That must not have satisfied, so he continued to strip all her bedding off her bed as well. It is my estimation that this project must have only lasted minutes, because very shortly after I heard him go by the bathroom door the first time, I heard his little footsteps traverse in the opposite direction back to the living room.
While in the living room, Aiden managed to get the lid off of his sippy cup and empty the entire contents onto the couch (number one reason Aiden is only allowed water during the day). Apparently this seemed to lay the ground work for a fun experiment of how fast goldfish crackers turn to mush when applied to a pool of water in a sofa cushion....
I emerged from the shower, wrapped in towels and discovered all the aforementioned disasters. Upon cleaning the couch fiasco, Aiden then proceeded to throw all the sofa pillows, blankets and coffee table books onto the ground - but, hey, at least he was busy doing this and let me vaccume up the mushy goldfish!
I decided this was a day that we should NOT stay home - for fear that the house, or the child, may not surrvive.
Story hour at the library - perfect solution!
Not so much.
Aiden was not about to sit through one, let alone three books. He ventured near and far from the story hour area, pulled books off the shelf, and howled when returned to his seating area. Crafts are always part of this particular library's program. The children were to paint small ants on paper, stick sparkles onto an ice cream cone - and...humm....There was one other thing they were to do, but we never got past the sparkles....Aiden emptied the entire glue bottle onto his page, used his entire hand to finger paint and threw sparkles on the ground.
Time for lunch.
He was excellent during our meal. Quite the little gentleman using all his manners as he proceeded to eat his chicken nuggets, apples, my cheeseburger, my fries and down a full container of milk. I decided that maybe he could go play for a bit and burn off all those extra calories. Normally Aiden sticks to the main floor of the play area - a little too nervous to venture into the actual tunnels themselves. I guess today he felt braver then most days.
In about four minutes he had found his way to the most remote area of the hamster tunnels that are the Mc Donalds Playland. I must have looked pretty desperate in all my miming attempts to get him to come back down, because a lovely woman who was there with four girls ranging from 4 to 7 offered to have one of her children try to coax him back down. She only emerged with his shoe.
I was going up. This is NOT something I do lightly. I have never been, nor do I wish to ever be again in the Mc Donalds Playland tunnel. Nevertheless - I went in, holding my breath. I was about 3/4 of the way to Aiden when I happened to look out a small window to my right only to see a man I knew and his son in the dining area laughing hysterically at me in the the tube. Nice.
I did manage to get a hold of Aiden and he was very compliant in his decent. Although he did think he would be able to go back up, therefor when he noticed we were putting on his coat and shoes, this spurred a great amount of tears and yelling. Oh, I think Aiden cried too.
I did, very politely, go and say hello to the laughing man and remind him that "What happeneds at Mc Donalds, stays at Mc Donalds." During this 5 minute conversation, Aiden climbed up a windowsill and was laying spread-eagle across the table next to theirs.
It is time to go home.
And this is where we are now. Home - ahhhh. Aiden is sleeping (How could he not be!? The kid ran a marathon today!) and I am cleaning, or at least will be shortly. This will help me center and I will be more able to attack the afternoon when he wakes...Wish me luck.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Entry #2
Today Aiden was sick. Actually, yesterday Aiden was sick too - we just did not know it yet. He has not slept in two nights now and he keeps spiking a fever. Enough of a fever that I had to take him to the Dr. today just to be sure this was the virus I was assuming it was and not something worse.
There are good points to having a sick two and a half year old boy. Normally the amount of time spent on kisses and hugs with this young man is limited to the bedtime hour alone, and that is only because he knows how to procrastinate and work the system so well. His mother is a sucker for cuddles. But when Aiden is sick - he is all about the cuddling. A warm wilted flower in my lap all day. We watched movies, played with playdoh, ate toast...Did absolutely nothing. It was heaven for a Mamma who just wanted to cuddle.
Tomorrow I am sure we will be back to the Aiden we all know and love.
There are good points to having a sick two and a half year old boy. Normally the amount of time spent on kisses and hugs with this young man is limited to the bedtime hour alone, and that is only because he knows how to procrastinate and work the system so well. His mother is a sucker for cuddles. But when Aiden is sick - he is all about the cuddling. A warm wilted flower in my lap all day. We watched movies, played with playdoh, ate toast...Did absolutely nothing. It was heaven for a Mamma who just wanted to cuddle.
Monday, December 27, 2010
The Articles of Aiden
So I have put some thought into chronicling the life I lead with the young Master Aiden at my side. It seems, at times, as if the adventures we encounter should be recorded, as I am sure that one day I will, with a glossy smile and warm fuzzy feeling, not remember all we have endured...
Entry #1
Christmas was good - The Farmer has been home since Thursday! Today I was thinking, it is like going through life with only one hand. You make do. You do not know any different - then someone attaches another hand to your other arm and whaddya know!? Life gets SO much easier!! The Farmer is my missing hand. Life is good when he is home.
Today Aiden managed to break a toy tractor. Not one of our toy tractors, mind you, our Banker's Tractor. The Farmer took Aiden with him today to go see the Banker.
Given that the Banker is a good friend of ours, I went to see him after the Farmer returned home with the declaration that Aiden broke his tractor.
Me: "I hear I owe you for the tractor?"
Banker: "Naw - it is ok."
Me: "$50?"
Banker: "No, it was a $100 tractor."
Me: "Can I replace it?"
Banker: "No - they don't make those any more."
Nice. Of course they don't.
No low interest money for us this year.
Entry #1
Christmas was good - The Farmer has been home since Thursday! Today I was thinking, it is like going through life with only one hand. You make do. You do not know any different - then someone attaches another hand to your other arm and whaddya know!? Life gets SO much easier!! The Farmer is my missing hand. Life is good when he is home.
Today Aiden managed to break a toy tractor. Not one of our toy tractors, mind you, our Banker's Tractor. The Farmer took Aiden with him today to go see the Banker.
Given that the Banker is a good friend of ours, I went to see him after the Farmer returned home with the declaration that Aiden broke his tractor.
Me: "I hear I owe you for the tractor?"
Banker: "Naw - it is ok."
Me: "$50?"
Banker: "No, it was a $100 tractor."
Me: "Can I replace it?"
Banker: "No - they don't make those any more."
Nice. Of course they don't.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)