One Thing at a Time

I am capable of multi-tasking.  I just prefer not to.  So the exterminator finally called me back.  And naturally I wasn't home.  We will play phone tag.  My work day is right in the middle of the day and December is almost here which means I won't have many extra days off.  Oy.  So hard to schedule this.
My understanding is it can take up to a few hours depending on what needs done.  And we won't know that until he is here. 
So one thing at a time.  Phone tag.  And then we can go from there. 

Six

And the little man is six years-old today.  His party was a big success.  He had three guests show up.  Discovered he likes wings.  He ate a good number off the adult platter.  So we brought the rest home for him.  His cake was delicious.
For his party I did the smallest package and it more than worked out well.  We were there on a weekday so it wasn't nearly as busy as a Saturday.  The pizza still isn't that great, but it is edible for kids.
The little man's day started with a call from Daddy and ended with a call from Mommy.  He got nice presents from his parents, guests at his party and the little woman and I.  He celebrated with his class at school with cupcakes.
It was a great day. The funniest thing was when we got home and were working on getting a present out of the packaging, we looked up just in time to see Phoebe, the dog, carrying one of the presents off to stash.  The little man and I looked at each other in disbelief and then he went and retrieved his present. 
We still have the family party coming up.

Home

The little man claimed to still not feel well and the little woman claimed to have a headache.  He had a headache yesterday, so I was thinking oh no......both of them.  So we all stayed home.  We watched movies and played games and did homework.  It was a rather mundane day. 
I'm sure tomorrow we are all going back to our places.  Oh and I can hear the critter now.  Great. 

Sickiepoo

Just as it was time to call it done for the day at work, my phone rang.  It was the school.  The little man was in the health room not feeling well.  He had a small fever.  So I headed to school.  And naturally my red light magnet was working perfectly.  So much so that I had to sit through the fourth plain light three times. 
As I got there they were checking his temperature again.  It was coming down.  We went and got sissy and then home.  He immediately laid down on the couch and went to sleep.  He dozed off and on.  Methinks he may not be going to school tomorrow. 

Still Not Attached

I went for a long long time not having a cell phone.  Never felt the need for it nor wanted to spend the money on it.  Then as life would have it Dave had given me his work one and I fell in love with texting.  I would much rather text than talk.  That was late 2012 I believe.  And since then I have had many phones.  All kinds of scenarios on those. 
In all that time the phone is still not attached to my hip.  I have had people get mad because I don't answer the phone.  I have had people annoyed because I didn't text right back.  I have had phones that don't let me know when a call or text came in.  I find them later, but not at the time. 
Sometimes the phone is in the bedroom as I used it to play my game before sleep.  Sometimes it is in my purse. Sometimes it is in the car. I'm lucky to have never lost it due to being in the car.  Sometimes I  have children on me and I just can't get to it. Sometimes a child has the phone. 
So really if someone calls me on it and I answer, they are really lucky.  I don't even like talking on the phone and prefer not to. I certainly am not going to keep it on my person all the time on the chance that someone is going to call.  Anything important should get a voicemail.  Anything else could just be noise. 

Black Friday

No shopping.  We took rocks and peas to the duck ponds.  Hid the rocks and fed the ducks.  The ducks were so happy.  Even saw a wood duck this time and that was cool.  Before we moved the little man had wanted to try this little girls electric car.  I declined since we were moving on. Moved on down to the section of the park with the playground.  But the girl and her dad followed us so I relented at the playground.  The little woman is just a bit too big for this car.
We decided we would attend the tree lighting at Esther Short Park.  We went and had hot chocolate.  The little man said he did not get enough whipped cream and I tended to agree with him.  But we got them for free since we only had a big bill with us and I was not donating that much.  ;p  We stood in line to see Santa and was about eight groups out when they said Santa was leaving to feed his reindeer.  We could join him later at the Hilton if we still wanted to see him.  Played on the playground and wore off some energy.  Then we went and stood in line for corn dogs and fries.  We were about three groups back when they ran out.  Dang we had a string of bad luck there.  But we sang Christmas carols and we watched Santa light up the tree.
After that we were still hungry so we hit Arby's on the way home.  And it was probably cheaper than those corn dogs and fries would have been.  It was a great day with lots of outside time.

"Coco"

After Thanksgiving dinner and taking Mom home, we decided to go to the movies.  We have been wanting to see "Coco" ever since we saw the first trailer.  I had a ticket for Cinetopia which got me in free.  I only then needed to pay for the littles.  Anywhere else would have cost more. 
That was one really big screen and the movie was divine.  The little woman and I decided we really liked the spirit animals.  The story of Coco is a boy travels to the land of the dead and then must get a blessing from his ancestor to return to the living.  He wasn't happy with the blessing from a great great grandmother and so he was in search of the great great grandfather.  It was about what he learned and what they learned. 
I loved how they brought the final death to light.  I had studied death in a sociology class and one of the things we talked about was the final death in the Mexican culture and it is so beautiful.  How they celebrate the day of the dead.  It was done so beautifully in the movie. 
And the movie was funny and sad and all things inbetween.  After it was over the little woman told me there were a couple of spots that almost made her cry.  She has great empathy already.  It was great for all ages. 

Thanksgiving

I am so blessed. 
We had a lovely Thanksgiving meal.  Mom only complained about the gravy being bland.  And then she kept wondering where the stuffing was and where the fruit salad was.  She had already finished those on her plate.  She wanted to know how long I cooked that bird and how I knew it was done.  It had a timer. 
The little man decided to try the neck meat that I had cut up for the gravy.  And he liked it.  No seasoning, no nothing....just the meat.  The little woman had told me she was going to eat turkey and she did.  I took a picture as proof. 
It was a lovely afternoon.  And then it was done.  Pat rushed off to black Friday at Walmart.  He wanted the 55 inch television they had and he was sixth in line.  Made him happy.  We took Mom home and amazingly enough the front door wasn't locked.  Guess they didn't lock it so early because a lot of folks would be returning. 

Oy! He Did What?

Cleaned and then was ready to start the pies.  It is a small pie year this year.  Only making a pumpkin and a mini chocolate for Pat.  So we get out what we need.  We put the mini crust in the oven and finish up the pumpkin for baking. 
Just as the timer is going off, I go to open the oven to take the crust out and put the pumpkin in, and the little man grabs the self-cleaning lock and locks it.  The self-cleaning lock has a safety mechanism which means the lock doesn't open until the oven has cooled down. 
So with great frustration I turn off the oven and begin the wait.  We managed to have enough dough to make another crust for a mini pie.  After an hour and a half the lock unlocked and we removed a very well cooked pie crust. 
Baked our new shell and the pumpkin and they both came out fine.  Then I could not find the box of chocolate pudding mix.  I don't know if it didn't get home or if it got lost somewhere in transit.  Guess my brother is going to have to eat pumpkin this year. 

Blue Hair

So we tried to koolaid trick to give the little woman blue hair on the ends.  What we learned is that it takes a lot longer than I have patience for.  Blue koolaid really gives you blue fingers.  When it says wear gloves...it is a great idea.  Took me two days to get back to normal colored fingers and nails.  What she ended up with was streaks of very light green hair.  I liked it, but it wasn't what we were going for.  Maybe we will try again one of these days.  I will say it looked really cool when I would pull her hair out of the blue water.  Combined with her hair color it looked like reddish blue oil and just smooth. 

Sweetness

We had a bit of a rough morning.  The afternoon and evening were divine though.  The little man needed a bath to get the purple hair gel out of his hair.  I should have taken a picture....oh that's right...I couldn't find my phone.  He thought it was cool how it made the water pink.  I think he played in the tub for almost an hour. 
When it was snuggle time he asked if he had been a good boy and I told him he had.  He had been so good and so sweet it was like a whole different kid most of today.  Tomorrow could be a whole different story, but for tonight I am grateful for the love and softness that is my little man. 

Vegan?

Today was grocery shopping for the Thanksgiving dinner.  We managed to forget a few things, but we got the main ingredients. 
We hit the turkeys, and as I started to peruse for the perfect size, the little woman pops off with "They kill turkeys?".  Um, yes.  Wait...what?  "You mean animals can be food?"  Um, yes.  I thought for sure I had just created a vegan person.  She is almost a vegetarian as it is. 
Two aisles over she tells me she likes turkey and wants it on her plate at Thanksgiving.  Wait....what?  She hasn't ate turkey since she was maybe three years-old.  I just simply told her I would be happy to put turkey on her plate on Thursday. She's not a vegan.  Whew. 

Constructive Down Day

It just felt like a down day.  And then my phone reminded me I needed to go to the bank.  And I wasn't the only one having a down day.  So it took some persuading but the littles got dressed and ready to go.  We quickly did the bank and then back home.
They decided that since they were dressed they would go visit a friend in the neighborhood.  I contemplated a nap. And then I'm looking outside and thinking, two days and no rain.  Maybe I should take the opportunity to mow.  And so I did.  I think this is the last season for this mower.  It is starting to fall apart.  The handle is zip tied on it.  The gas cap has been ran over and leaks gas while mowing.  The yard does look much better.  It just feels weird to be doing a final mowing half way through November. 
But not as weird as seeing the honeysuckle blooming.  Very odd year. 
We also baked some chocolate chip cookies.  We had save half the dough the last time we made cookies. 

Dishes are Washing

We had family dinner tonight.  Mom was back to telling me that I cooked it wrong.  Pat thought it was fine. Other than that I don't know what to say.
So Pat helped me get the new dishwasher installed.  I didn't tell him that he did it opposite of what I saw on YouTube.  I guess any way works as long as in the end the dishwasher works and there are no leaks. The little man was a big helper in picking things up and fetching tools.  He seemed very interested in how it all worked.
We ran it for quite awhile and every thing was good.  Now an actual load is running.  I'm so happy.  After two months I am so done with hand washing.  And now I don't have to worry about handwashing Thanksgiving dinner dishes. Yay!
And we patched the hole the critter was coming in.  Hope it stays patched.

"It's Bigfoot"

The littles and I attended a play at their school tonight.  The older grades put it on.  It was called "It's Bigfoot".  It was really very cute and funny.  The cast did a wonderful job.  So much better than you might expect from the grade level.  These will be the kids to go on and do high school drama.
The little man did  not want to sit with us, so he sat in front.  He had a better seat.  The little woman insisted sitting on my lap and squirming.  Hopefully we didn't bother the people behind us too much.  At least we were quiet.  And I noticed that the little man sat very still and quiet the whole play.
They had already seen the play earlier in the week during school.  So they knew all the secrets to the story.  And they like to share.  They are funny and I am glad they enjoyed it.  Another great experience for them.

So the new dishwasher was delivered today.  And I got to the hardware store for my supplies.  I kept thinking "If only I knew an appliance man."  Kind of like "If only I knew a plumber," or "If only I knew a fence guy."  This especially went through my mind when I pulled the old dishwasher out and it was hardwired. The sales associate made it sound like I could not really do this job myself and I should pay the $150 to have it installed.  Ha.
So I youtubed how to do it.  YouTube is a wonderful resource.  Even hardwired, that would be $150 to install two hoses and hook up three wires.  Anyway I did get the old dishwasher detached from the hard wire line, but undoing those three wires. Yes, I made sure there was no power going to the lines. And then when they delivered the new dishwasher today, they hauled the old one away.
After all my youtubing and reading online I decided I did not want to hard wire the new one.  So I bought the pigtail to make it work with the electric receptacle under the sink.  My only problem at this point is what to do with the hard wire line coming in that is just laying there on the floor.
Then I'm thinking "If Only I knew an electrician."  Well maybe I do and maybe I don't, but Tom was able to tell me some good advice.  So I capped off the wires and taped them up well with electrical tape.  Pushed the wire back in the hole and then went out and taped up the fuse box where it connects so no one turns it back on.  And I'm good.
Tomorrow my brother said he would help me install.  And tonight the littles think that big box with the dishwasher in it makes a great table. Tomorrow it will be a great fort or something else.
So thanks delivery guys for being on time and quick.  And I love not having to worry about disposing of an old dishwasher.  Thanks Pat for being willing to help me tomorrow and thanks Tom for all the good advice.

One RSVP

We handed out invitations today.  The little man took three to school and I took two to day care and one in the neighborhood.  Well turns out one of the two from daycare doesn't go to daycare anymore.  It is harder to keep track when they only go pretty much after school now. 
The little man delivered to his friend in the neighborhood and then he stayed to play.  When I went to pick him up Yen, his mom, RSVPed that they would be coming and also inviting the little man to their party in December.  He is my social butterfly.
The little woman has already pointed out that only one guest came to her party.  Oy.  Life is just not fair sometimes. 

And the Party is On

So we have a birthday coming up for the little man.  He is always much easier than the little woman.  He is more social and knows more of what he wants.  He doesn't have a need to try and make me wait till the last minute to have information. 
So Chuck E Cheese it is.  He has a guest list of six invitees.  We have a date and time and now I just need to reserve the space. 
His "want for his birthday" list is kind of small.  Trying to get him to add to it.  All he keeps saying right now is he wants the $60 nerf gun at Costco.  I'm pretty sure I'm not buying that.  He also wants an electric dirt bike that only starts at about $200.  I'm pretty sure I'm not buying that.  And a pinata.  Yeah, I'm going to buy that. 

Catch Up

Monday, the day of catching up.  Back to school, work and routine.  We needed to go to the grocery store, since we never made it over the weekend.  I'm not sure how we spent $90 and then I remember we had cat food in the mix.  The poor cats were complaining and wanted food. 
Never ending laundry.  I did some over the weekend, but I don't think I ever truly get caught up on it.  Lately we seem to be washing a lot more blankets than normal.  It is an almost obsession they have....the blankets have to be perfectly clean for them to use them.  ;p  I get it if you spill milk or food on it.  But why, oh why, do I have to wash a blanket that just got water on it.  I will never know.  And neither will they until they do their own laundry. 
I was reading an article about picky eaters.  I'm not in that boat alone with a child like that.  And while I say she comes by it naturally, as I am a picky eater, she is way beyond me.  There was a girl in the article who right at her level.  The article talked about therapy.  I may try a couple of the ideas they presented and see if we can make a small change. 

Better Down Weekend

After we got back from Dizzy Castle on Friday, we went nowhere else.  We spent the whole weekend at home.  The car never left the driveway.  I was going to say I never left the driveway, but the little man pointed out that we played in the street with his crossbow and shooters.  He loves when I go out and play with him.
We got some work done.  Did a super clean on their bathroom.  They have finally quit making such a water catastrophe when they play in the tub that my floor is not get "scrubbed" a few times a week.  So I did the hands and knees things.  I don't mind it when it is that small of a space.  Didn't like it when my hand slipped on the water and I fell.  I was just thankful I was already on the ground. 
Picked up the living room numerous times.  Hopefully I can get it vacuumed tomorrow before work. ;p
We only had a couple of meltdowns as we work our way back to normal routine living.  Thank goodness. 

Ups and Downs

This life.  It is so full of ups and downs.  It is so full of blessings and not so blessed things.  It is full of strife and laughter.  Hugs and cuddles and kisses.  I try to share it all.  Try to be honest in my perceptions and realize that sometimes my truth is not others. 
I do not find it a blessing to still have our rat.  The rat is smart enough to leave the trap alone since it had its mishap with it.  And let me tell you as a side note....I don't know how it survived that trap.  The little man tripped it with a broom handle and it broke the broom handle.  I do not find it a blessing to still be washing dishes by hand.  I don't like washing dishes by hand....I'm lazy like that.  But in this scenario what are blessings are having dishes to wash, having the food to dirty the dishes, having running water and a roof over our heads. 
It is not blessed to have to deal with children meltdowns.  And I have heard all the advice about spank them more, punish them more and get them under control more.  I've heard the words, seen the faces and felt the annoyance.  I am blessed for all the resources I have been finding that tells me my way is better.  Not perfect.  Spankings don't work here.  I already know this from experience.  What works is lots and lots of patience and finding root causes.  And we have days where we don't go anywhere so we don't subject the rest of the world, with perfect parents and children, to our struggle.  Children who have suffered trauma like pregnancy drug use are different than children not in that situation.  The littles are blessings all by themselves.  But I am also blessed with a new day every day to practice patience and try and learn new things in regards to them. 
We are not blessed for the littles to have the nuclear family. A lot of people don't have that.  We are blessed to have each other.  We are blessed for the effort my son makes from incarceration.  All the phone calls and emails he sends them. I laugh when he feels all these emotions about the kids that he just doesn't feel when he is using drugs.  And while it is not funny, it kind of is. 
So we are blessed in all our basic needs being met.  We are blessed with me having a job that allows a lot of leeway in work hours.  We are blessed with a great daycare and schooling.  We are blessed with each other and our small family here.  We are blessed with the support of the Midwest family.  We are blessed with the friends we make along the way and the adventures we go on.  We may not have a lot of material possessions, but we have a lot of love and memories.  And we deal with the ups and downs as they come.  We roll with it.  Even the downs show us all the things we are blessed with. 
So we appreciate all the help we get.  We don't mind the person who comes to read the blog just to see our struggles.  We are grateful for all our experiences....well except for that last dog bite that got four stitches. 

Dizzy at Dizzy Castle

All week I had promised the little man a trip to Dizzy Castle. All week the little woman resisted.  I think simply because he wanted to go.  Today was the day and she finally relented mid afternoon.  Naturally it is a no school day and the place was packed.  I didn't think we could use our coupon since it was a holiday.  Annoying when the people ahead of us did.
Anyway they played for an hour and a half.  Then the little woman was hungry.  It was not planned to eat there.  I had told both of them to be sure and eat at home before we left.  You guessed it...one of them did not.  So we headed homeward and grabbed a hot and ready pizza and called it dinner.
While at Dizzy Castle I saw Trudy.  We last ran into each other at the Children's Museum a little over a year and a half ago.  Funny how we both live in Battle Ground but only run into each other other places.  Kind of like that post the other day about not running into people I know.

Maternity Blues

Cassie has been posting the blues on facebook.  Part of it is the natural feelings of being fat.  She is getting closer and closer all the time to having the baby.
Turns out she plans on being on maternity leave over the holidays.  And so that means no income from her.  That has all of it's own issues.  It is hard to plan for that when you live pretty much paycheck to paycheck.  So she is posting about the Xmas blues.  She and David only ask for help with their bills during this time.  Then she asks for anyone to please bless her three year-old with gifts for the holiday.  Okay.  I'm sure many of their friends will step up to the plate.  As well as Jazzlynn has grandparents there and aunts and uncles.  Even if there aren't as many presents for Jazzlynn as Mommy may want...the holiday will still be special for her. 
Jazzlynn already is blessed.  She has a big family there to love her.  She has an extended family in the friends of Cassie and David, And of course she has Tami, the babysitter, the happiest woman you could ever meet.  Lucky little girl. 

Girl Scouts

Sometimes you have to figure out what the littles are trying to say.  The phrasing will be off.  So I finally understood that I come back too soon to pick the little woman up from Girl Scouts.  She is really liking it.  But she is not liking her little brother coming in and interrupting.  So I think the solution is going to be us waiting in the car and her being more pro active.  She will have to walk herself in and out.  And it really shouldn't be a big deal since she does it at school every day.
I drove over to South Portland and found the Girl Scout store.  Got all her supplies she needs while she is a Brownie.  :)  The woman there told me how they are starting to really promote STEM things.  That is a great thing.  Hoping the little woman stays interested for a long time.

Bound To Happen

I live in a small town.  And yet I am amazed at how many people I know that I never run into.  There are only so many stores to shop at, restaurants to eat in and place to go.  So I just find it amusing.
So today I ran  into Tanya and Adrianna at Walmart.  This would be the place I would expect it to happen if it was going to.  Especially after Walmart opened in our town.  And yet until today it never has.
So I voiced my opinion on the Grammy shopping scenario.  Pointed out that she used it as an excuse to cut ties and told her it was okay.  She apologized and naturally said she should have done a lot of things different.  Same story different day.  I accept the apology and expect nothing.  Actions are louder than words. 
But I also told her she should make up with Catie...explained how I told Catie to unfriend me on facebook if that was what it took.  Well you know when one person says something and then it is told and told.  The whole story changes.  She explained her side of that issue and it rang true.  I totally understand how Catie feels, but I can see both sides.  It's not part of my story in the first person where it is hard to see the other side. 
Tanya told me about her new job and I told her about my rat.  I was at Walmart looking for some poison.  Which I did not find.  Adrianna is getting tall, but I don't think she will be as tall as Elizabeth.  And that was that. 

Duh

Sometimes I am so dense.  When I got to work I had a text from Traci letting me know that she had decided again to not move down here.  She had went back and forth a couple of times over the weekend.  My first reaction was really relief.  And then it hit me.  The little man felt like I did with a little bit of anxiousness, fear, change.  And that explains all those meltdowns.  He has a meltdown when he can't express what his emotions are doing. 
The last time we had a roommate...Grammy...it didn't work out very well.  He was also worried about me leaving them with Traci.  He was upset about her getting his room because it has the lock on the door.  He was just feeling put out.  And I wasn't looking at it from his perspective. 
Hopefully we can get back to some sense of normalcy soon now that we know what the problem was.  I think it is time to clean his room and maybe do some more to it to make it "his". 

More

We had more meltdowns today.  But not as many as yesterday.  Trying to figure this out and not having a lot of luck.  The time change did him in tonight and he is asleep.  Hopefully that means an easy morning.  Oy.

Meltdowns Galore

Oh what a day.  The little man seemed to have a meltdown every time I turned around.  And he chose to stay inside all day.  It was a very long day and I am ready for bed.  He fell asleep early.  Guess he wore himself out.

A New Beginning

Aunt Traci asked if she could move in with us. So we had a chat about that.  The little woman was all for it right off the bat.  The little man was not.  He didn't understand.  He thought it meant she was going to live with them instead of me.  Once he understood that I wasn't going anywhere then he was fine with the idea.
So we told her yes she could.  But there are a few ground rules right up front.  I want no misunderstandings.  I'm not her parent or her keeper.  I do not need to know every thing she is doing and I'm not going to worry about her.  She is a grown up and I expect her to act like one.  I think maybe she appreciated that.
Then there is no marijuana here.  If she chooses to partake in that...it has to be somewhere else.  Now I know it is legal.  But this is our home and we don't like the smell of it.  We don't  like how it makes people unmotivated, not really there, etc.  I'm a caretaker of two littles.  I'm not looking out for grown ups also.
Her boyfriend is naturally welcome to visit.  He does not, nor will he ever live here.  We do.
She agreed and said she would be happy to babysit on occasion.  So there we go.  She is moving in next week.  We shall see how it goes.

The Lull is Over

Been working on my returns at work.  And really looking forward to my long weekend with a day on either end sans children.  Ha.  My work schedule changed and I work tomorrow and Monday.  At least the following weekend is a three day weekend for sure.  Holiday. 
I have one return left to do so I made great progress.  And now the winter books are starting to arrive.  We walked in today to find boxes on the counter and the cart was full.  Time to gear up.  It's all good.  The ebbs and tides of work. 

It Won't Always Work This Way

For Halloween I let Audrie lead.  She chose which houses she went to.  She choose the pace we moved at within reason....not faster than I can walk.  She took over the treats and told me she wanted to do it.  And she did. 
Even after the little man came back, there was no whining.  No crying.  No fighting.  Nothing.  Just a good time for both of them. 
In the past I would be encouraging of not skipping houses and making sure they did enough.  Don't quit after the first block.  This year I just went with her flow. 
It's one of the suggestion for highly sensitive.  Letting her lead.  She knows what she can and can't handle.  And obviously I do not always. 
Everything was just easier, even bedtime.  She can't always lead and it won't always work like this, but we sure enjoyed our night.