The Wait is Over

I am not the most patient person in the world, so having to wait 7 weeks for something I need was rather painful.  To be honest, the wait was much longer, but 7 weeks ago we got the word we were getting what we want.

Back in the Fall, the husband and I realized we would need a new couch soon.  The wear and tear from 2 little kids was starting to show in the cushions.  And a board was sticking out of the back.  With GG's birthday and Christmas, we decided to hold off until after the holidays.  Knowing our kids are still young, we didn't want to spend a fortune, but we also didn't want to go too cheap.  Hopefully we would catch a break with a post-Christmas sale.

As I do every year, I was browsing the ads while waiting for the turkey to cook Thanksgiving afternoon.  During my browsing I happened to mention I was keeping an eye out for furniture sales, as we would need a new couch soon.  This is when my mother-in-law informed me her and my father-in-law were purchasing new furniture for their own living room come Spring.  We were more than welcome to have their old couch.  Their couch was obviously used, but not having any children at their house, except the few hours we visit each week, it was in close to perfect condition.  She was also offering it to us at a great price... free!  SOLD!!!

Seven weeks ago is when she finally found what she liked and last Friday is when she got the call her new furniture could be delivered after Monday.  I feverishly texted my mom trying to set up a time for her significant other and his truck could transfer our new-to-us couch to our house.  If you follow me on Facebook you already know that Friday night was our set delivery time and I had to do a quick cleaning job of the living room.  I did get it done.  Or at least the part of the room closest to the front door.


Finally, after months of waiting, we had a new piece of furniture to add to our humble abode...

My mother-in-law so graciously gave us her slip cover.

Once in the house, I fell in love with the matching cushions...

I think the pattern really pops against the slip cover.  I really want to get a fitted slip cover, but because they are more than I care to spend at the moment, this one will do.  And I think that a slip cover is an absolute must with this new-to-us couch.  Not only because of the kids, but because the whole couch is the same pattern as the pillows.  That's just a few too many flowers for me!

Until next time...

No diggers

For 5 of his 6 years of life, Little Dude has been infatuated with diggers.  Just in case you don't know,  "Diggers" are any type of construction vehicle.  This obsession seemed to fall to the wayside about a month ago.  Thank god!  I was growing tired of my flowers always getting dug up and stepping on teeny orange construction cones (think Legos).  Although the digger obsession did come in handy when snow needed cleared from the walkways.

But anyway, Little Dude began to move from a digger obsession to a dinosaur obsession.  Dinosaurs car be just as loud as diggers, but somehow, when he plays with dinosaurs, all is quiet. It's a change I welcome.  Hell, I embrace it!

However, I think I inadvertently sent my boy back to the land of noisy toys.  How did I do this?  By taking him out to do things.

Things such as Nuclear Cowboyz, a very loud motocross show...

And other things, such as not quiet as loud Monster Truck Jam...

Little Dude's motorcycles can now be found any and everywhere throughout the house.  Steeping on those hurts!  Think teeny construction cones, therefor Legos.  And Monster Trucks?  They're like tiny skateboards.  So much fun when left on the steps!


I guess having kids and expecting things to be quiet is a little too much to ask.  As long as Little Dude, and his sister, had fun, I guess I can't ask for much more.

Although a little peace and quiet wouldn't hurt!




Until next time...

Spelling problem fixed - I hope

I understand there's a push to do more, to do better in school these days.  But sometimes I have to wonder if more is really better.

A few weeks ago I blogged about GG's spelling words. In case you missed it, a few of here words were

• ribonucleic acid
• transversive
• rhetorician
• subversive

For a fourth grader, again I repeat, what the hell?!  Part of her assignment with those words that week was to categorize the words.  Are they a noun, adjective, verb, or other.  The fact that I had to sit there, dictionary in hand, and help her did not make me happy.  I did my time in school, thankyouverymuch.


I asked a friend what she thought of those words because her daughter is in my daughter's class.  The reaction was not what I expected.  She did not seem as frazzled as I was.  I didn't want to say anything out loud, but I wondered if not all the students in the class got the same list of words.  For the most part, GG does well in school so it never really occurs to me to ask the teachers what is going on.  If we just needed to study more because the curriculum had been upped, so be it.


Fast forward to last week.  I found out exactly why GG had the spelling words she did.  Yes I realize I could have asked and found out much sooner.  Sue me.  I'm not always the best mom out there!


Anyspell, here's the deal.  If a student aces the pre-test on Monday, they are free to choose their own spelling words from the classroom dictionary.  Awesome.  Challenge them.  Let them push their own boundaries.  I'm all for this.  But at what point should the teacher step in and ask if those are really words a fourth grader should try to spell?  Again I say, challenge those kids, but really, what fourth grader needs to know "ribonucleic acid"?


And if I really want to nit-pick?  Some of those words weren't in my own dictionary at home.  Granted my dictionary is from my high school days, but also?  Blogger's spell check doesn't even recognize those words!!!  Those words aren't real and if they are, please assign each child their own said classroom dictionary for home use.


Yes I'm throwing a fit.  And I will surely throw another one if my daughter brings home ridiculous words like that again while still in elementary school.  Yes, she's been warned.





Until next time...

Sick at just the right time

Yes, there actually is a right time to be sick.  Little Dude has proved that to me this past few weeks.

Two Fridays ago he began complaining that his ear hurt.  Of course it was after the pediatrician had closed for the day.  Isn't that how it always is?  I suspected an ear infection, but for all I knew he bumped his ear at school and forgot until that moment.  Little Dude is known for forgetting his injuries.

The following morning, Saturday, he woke up just fine.  He didn't complain about his ear until later that night. Again, after the pediatrician had closed for the day.  By then, I knew he had an ear infection, but I hoped he could hold out until Monday morning when I could actually call the doctor and get an appointment.  Sure enough, he didn't complain once on Sunday.  Until dinner time.  The pediatrician isn't open at all on Sundays. I could have taken him to Med Express, but by this point, pharmacies were also closed for the day.

First thing Monday morning, I was on the phone with the pediatrician setting up an appointment.  Immediately after we headed to the pharmacy for his antibiotic.  Within 24 hours his ear began to feel better and the rest of the week was smooth sailing.  Until Friday night.

We were getting ready to go to Monster Jam and he asked me to spike his hair.  Thanks to a tube of Axe Spiking Glue I have, this is an easy and quick process.

As I was rubbing the glue into his hair and spiking it up I saw it.  A 1-inch line of dried blood by his hair line, with a bump on one end.  What the hell was this?!  Little Dude had no idea what had happened to his head (didn't I tell you he forgets his injuries?).  Looking back I hadn't noticed any signs of a concussion.  And being on an antibiotic, I knew we were safe from infection.  Example #1 of how he was sick at the right time.

Fast forward to yesterday.  GG woke up looking like she was punched int he face.  Her left eye was bright, bright red.  Chalking it up to still being tired after a crazy busy weekend, the husband and I told her to get dressed and ready for school.  We drove the husband to work and after I parked the car once returning to the kids' school, I took a look at GG.  Her eye?  Still flaming red.  And now it was swollen and all kinds of goopy.  Shit!  Pink eye.  We walked Little Dude into school and turned around and headed to Med Express.

Other than charging me the higher of our two copay amounts, they were extremely nice.  GG was, in fact diagnosed with pink eye.  We were handed a prescription for some drops and off to the pharmacy we went. I'm thinking this is example #2 of Little Dude being sick at the right time.  Hopefully still being on an antibiotic will protect him from catching what his sister has.

I have to give GG one drop in her eye every 2 hours for 2 days, then every 4 hours for five days.  It's a crazy prescription that I really don't want to do with a second child.  I have a feeling Little Dude will be even less cooperative when it comes to putting something into his eyes.


Until next time...

Shared birthday

Last Saturday was my birthday. I had as much of a birthday as one with kids involved in activities can have. My birthday started off entirely too early. Little Dude had the Pinewood Derby finals that morning. I was not happy about getting up at 7am on my birthday to have to drive through the snow to the race sight. But my boy was so excited to place 2nd within his pack and make it to the finals that I just couldn't say no.

I spent the evening of my birthday with Little Dude, working on his Valentine's Day box for school. GG was off at her Father/daughter Sweetheart dance for Girl Scouts. GG has fallen out of wanting to wear dresses every day, but she was so excited to dress up for the night. She was even more excited when I showed her a picture of how I wanted to fix her hair. She would have left it in forever if I let her!

During the time in between those events, I was able to spend some time at home. The kids and I watched a hockey game. They also colored me birthday pictures. I also had time to tweak my new present to my specifications.

The day before my birthday the husband informed me one of the laptops he had his eye on as a gift for me was finally available at one of our Best Buy stores. He promptly made the purchase and after work, we drove out to pick it up.

I was devastated when my netbook died right before Christmas, but I was lucky enough to be able to use the kids' desktop. Facebooking, blogging, and tweeting are all fun, but I really needed a computer. As a publisher for a Macaroni Kid newsletter, a computer is kind of a requirement. What I hated was being stuck at the table. I couldn't watch my shows and work. I couldn't watch hockey games and work. If I needed a pattern for a crochet project, I had to sit at the table and work or print the pattern out.

Now I can sit on my couch and work. Or play. My couch may not be that comfortable, but it's better than a wood chair with a crappy cushion.

Happy kids. Happy me. Happy birthday.


Until next time...