Various stuff, with a KT fashion moment

The kids are away again, this time at DH's parents' house. I know they're having fun - visiting their baby cousin, going to Game Stop where their Gam will indulge them, eating lots of bacon (she, to her credit, always has bacon). ;)

Before they left, KT put together a somewhat noteworthy outfit:

C'mon, who doesn't take pictures outside the daycare?

That's a pink Atlanta Falcons jersey (slightly too small), white bike shorts with little sunglasses all over them, and Crocs-tennies with no socks. I am pretty sure she had blue and green underwear under the white shorts, just to make a statement. I shake my head sometimes. But I let her do it -- we're on the 8-day countdown until Catholic School Uniforms for 9 years, so this is her last chance for daily personality through her clothing.

Speaking of that: I thought I would be more sad that we're nearing the very last days at our daycare. I mean, we have been driving there every weekday morning since October of 2004. I have shed not one tear, which is unusual. Maybe next Tuesday I'll feel something? It's looking doubtful, though. OH WELL. Thank you for not deducting all the money from my bank account once a week anymore! Bye!

Perhaps I'm just excited about her joining her brother in big-kid school! YES, yes I am.


With the kids gone, we went out to dinner last night with another couple who are also kid-less this week. Had such a great time. We are a lot alike and I'm so grateful to call them friends. Of course, all we could talk about was our kids the entire evening -- what they're reading (or not reading, in AJ's case -- he forgets HOW during the summers), what they're doing for extra-curriculars this fall, how they manage, funny things they say -- but it's part of the joy of being parents to get to share it with people.

It's lucky we had that dinner planned, because my workday was crappy yesterday. Besides feeling foggy with a head-cold most of the morning, I had a 2.5-hour meeting that turned sour at the end. In one fascinating incident, I was told we were hiring someone to "help" our department (yay), and asked to review  the job description.... which included about 50% of my job tasks (boo). I mean, yay, really, but it was a bit of a shock to have the rug pulled right out from under me, in front of other people, with no advance warning. I was visibly flustered and scooted out of the room before some stupid tears completely ruined my composure. Guess I'll have to rectify all that today. The good news is I get to write my own job description, and this new person's, and define what I WANT to do and what I want to pawn off. Work is such a distraction sometimes. 

Fashion by KT

I said I was going to post a series' worth of KT's outfits. But of course this weekend, she dressed responsibly for once, and I didn't get any really great examples of the essence of her "style." Hmph.

I do have one from last weekend. It's not one of her best, but it hints at the concept.

That dress is a 3T, I found out later (she's in 5Ts), and she wore dark green bike shorts underneath. With blue sandals. And her blue and green beads, naturally. :)

We'll see what else she comes up with to entertain us.

At the mall; and lack of time

Screw it, I'm doing a blog post.

I've been trying to be really good at work, and not spend an hour (or more) doodling around on blogger.com, because that is not what they pay me for. But I'm feeling write-y and the only thing for it is to write. And no, not marketing copy. Blergh.

I went to the mall yesterday on my lunch hour. When I first walked in, it was nice and cool, and that mall-smell got into my head, and I was reminded why it's FUN to go to the mall. I walked in at a department store entrance and it happened to be the purses and jewelry area! Whee! My favorite. I have a department-store gift card still burning a hole in my pocket from my birthday, and I have a need of some new work clothes because I think, every morning, "I hate my clothes."

ANYWAY, I was happily browsing through Belk, and then I got to the mall mall and I remembered why I HATE going there: The kiosk assault. Or in this case, it was the sales team standing in front of their non-kiosk storefront -- 3 of them -- trying to foist some sample on me. Look, I know it's their job, but I do not want their stuff (I think it was lotion or some such). I do not want to say hello or make eye contact. I do not appreciate them saying, "Ma'am? MA'AM?" as I try to swiftly walk past.

The worst part was, they assaulted me on my way forward, and then on my way out they acted as if they'd never seen me before and did it AGAIN! I had to refuse their crap TWICE! Talk to the hand, no thank you!

I was reminded how awful it was to WORK at the mall. (I worked at a couple of retail stores in my teenage years.) Sometimes I think it would be nice, you know? A part-time thing, a change of pace from a seated, office job.... but no. It would be awful, awful. Lunch in the Food Court every day. I wonder how mall stores are even doing, with the crappy economy these past 5 years? I was there on a lunch hour, in the summer, and it was still pretty quiet.

I didn't spend my gift card because I remembered I'd received a mailer with even! more! savings! coupons. Plus, I didn't have enough time to browse and try on. What a luxury that would be. I know all you moms are with me -- time to browse? By myself? Unlimited? (Unheard of.)

"Not enough time" seems to be a theme. Summer's nearly over here. We have 2 and a half weeks, basically. That's crazy. One thing AJ and I tussle over is related to time: I'll pick him up after work sometimes, and he'll ask (very nicely, mind you) if we can please go to Barnes & Noble, or Target, or somewhere. Right now. And I'll have to say, "No, honey, I'm sorry, but we have X, Y, or Z to do, but we can go tomorrow." And he loses it. He can't grasp the concept -- although I have explained it to him gently many times -- that our free time is limited, and I need to have a couple of days' notice if he wants to do things like this, so that I can plan out my other errands/tasks for other times. You know? Because at 5:15 pm on a Wednesday, I'm thinking about dinner. I have about 45 minutes to get home and get it ready, because if we don't start dinner at around 6:00, we won't finish in time for them to have baths and get started going to bed (and you know I need extra time for that). And even though it's summer, we don't have the luxury of, if  we go to bed late, we'll sleep in the next morning. It's up and at 'em, 6:00 am. If I've planned a trip to B&N, however, then I'll already have dinner squared away, so it's in the crock-pot or we'll pick it up on the way. But I'm not good at being re-routed by a kid's whim to want to go spend money, right this second. (On days when I can take him, I try to -- but those days are few and far between.)

That's what's rolling around in my head on this fine Friday morning.

That, and I'm going to do a series of photo posts of KT's daily outfits. They really need to be documented.

7QT: Might as well finish out the week!

--- 1 ---

HEAVY SIGH. Love & Logic Night 4: It doesn't work if you switch up the routine. As in, on Thursdays we like to watch a TV show all together from 8 - 9pm. So there's no time for the wind-down, the happy-dappy choices game, and the talking about the "agreement." Maybe there IS time, but I ...It was another epic fail last night and then I FORGOT about the Hail Marys. Convinced it won't work without the Hail Marys.

--- 2 ---

Little rant about new people at work: The new guy on my team consistently jumps ahead and does whatever he thinks, before consulting others. I don't know that I'd put his ranking above mine -- if he were a superior, I'd give him a pass -- but he's more on an equal level. Last week he and I were copied on an email with 2 "next steps," the first of which I was responsible for. (sorry Grammerrrr?) I completed my Step 1 yesterday, and he has already replied this morning with news that he'd gone ahead and done Step 2. SO WHY AM I EVEN HERE? GGRrrrrrrr. New people need to settle down and absorb the team vibe before coming in and stepping all over it. Good thing he has a kind-sounding accent and used a 'wink' emoticon in an email already, or I would dislike him completely. #workstuff

--- 3 ---

First dose of AJ's medication: Doc said it would start working within 3 days. AJ had placebo effect, in that case, because this morning he was all proud for eating his mini-pancakes (4) AND two Pop-Tarts. (See, I'm feeding him all the right things to put on weight!) But hey, good for him, whatever works!

--- 4 ---

Reading! Books are fun! I read Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, at the beach. It was super, super good. I've said before, any book that elicits a strong emotional reaction whether it's love or anger toward a character or a plot, ranks as good. If it engages me enough that I get mad, good! If I cry and cry because I don't want it to end, good! This one made me walk out of the bedroom, after I'd read the last chapter, with a "O_O" look on my face. WHAT JUST HAPPENED?? I loved it. I loved that that tiger was called Richard Parker.

Next, I read a book called Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It, by Gary Taubes. Don't recommend it. For a week and a half, it had my brain all skewed about what foods are good and what foods are "bad" -- it claims carbs are bad enough to be the CAUSE of cancer, and while maybe that's true, I have finally come back out of his brainwash, determined it's about 75% bunk. I mean, NO, we shouldn't eat all the white carbs. Obviously. Doughnuts and soft white bread are not real food. But his "diet plan" has you eating no sugar, not even fruit (red flag), no dairy except cream, plenty of fat, and he says you shouldn't exercise in the first couple of weeks because you won't have enough energy to do so. It was all very interesting, but confusing, and it's going into the archives of my Kindle so I don't have to look at it and be tempted again. It's one of those, "too good to be true" plans. Eat steak and butter and you'll lose weight!

I call Shenanigans. SHENANIGANS.

Right now I'm totally into Here Be Dragons (but only 40% through it, yay! don't want it to end)! Knew I'd love it, and I do.

--- 5 ---

Sandwich Artists: I just ate a delicious Black Forest Ham sandwich from Subway, with no chips whatsoever. The second half of that statement is, sadly, significant. But the keys to a good Subway, IMHO, are 1) Toast it; 2) Add avocado; 3) GET the onions. I know, you don't want to taste them the rest of the day, but MAN, can onions spruce up a boring ol' sandwich, or what? When I was in the 7th grade, my aunt made us ham and onion sandwiches sometimes for lunch (with mayo). I'd never had that simple combo before, but I liked it.

--- 6 ---

Stalling: Just now in the restroom stall, I heard the company Pres a few doors down, clicking on her phone. Settings > Keyboard Sounds, is my friendly advice to her.

--- 7 ---

No more Happiness Lists: I kind-of love this post from Britt Reints. SO many people, in so many "industries" like Health and Wellness and Stress and Productivity, are trying to distill the whole beauty of life down into "10 or 12 Easy Tips." And it's very tempting to think that could work -- could equal Happiness, capital H. Totally guilty here of wishing it were so. But guess what?

SEO tricks probably shouldn't dictate or measure your emotional status.

And with that, I'm done for the week. Happy Friday!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Love & Logic bedtime, Night 3... Or: Overtired.

Not necessarily from staying up late.

Night #3 was not as lovely as I was hoping things would be. We took the kids to an indoor trampoline park at dinnertime, to celebrate AJ's birthday. A great time was had by all, and the kids, of course, were totally panting from all the running around and bouncing off surfaces that those places allow kids to do. (I am SO going to look into "Sky Zone Fitness" for adults! Superfun!) Then we fed them (pizza and) cookie cake, and I misjudged and handed out chocolate bars in place of the loathesome "goodie bags," and KT ate half of hers.

So by the time we got to "bedroom time" at 9:00 (past time), we had all the makings for a fine Sugar Crash layed out in front of us.

And that is what happened, IMHO. Another way you could look at it is that she found a loophole in the fabric of the Love & Logic plan: "I'm SCARED of being alone in my room." The whole L&L deal is predicated on the fact that she's in there, and I'm not. Well, Miss Overtired was having none of that. She was all of a sudden scared of being by herself.

I remained calm. I did not raise my voice. But I did eventually leave her mostly fake-wailing in the dark (9:30). DH had to clean up my mess, I guess, because she switched to crying for him, after that. He managed to quiet her and of course she fell asleep.

We were ALL extra-tired this morning, even though I went to "bed" (couch) at 10:30.

Reporting live. Tune in next time for another riveting installment of My Kid Is In Charge, Against My Will.

Endo (growth) update

I have another post for you. It's a festival week of posts! This time, it's about 9-year-old AJ, whose birthday blog post I totally skipped this year, 2 days ago. Oops. I love you more than honey, honey, you're growing so fast and if I had a sweet DSLR I'd post a very sappy soft-focus of you. Mwah! (Quit kissing me, Mom.)

There.

Today's report is from the Pediatric Endocrinology Department, and it is a nice one. In four months, our small darling boy grew 1 full inch (average kids grow 1 inch per 6-8 months), and gained .9 pounds. His weight was measured first, in kilograms. He saw "20.2" on the scale and I swear his eyes nearly welled up. Poor kid. He thought he'd LOST half his body weight overnight. Thankfully, the PA could tell and said, "That's kilos, buddy, not to worry!" 44.5 pounds, I furiously converted on my iPhone. My stomach kind-of flopped, because that didn't seem very significant.

But the doctor came in all smiles telling us enthusiastically about the inch height increase, and everything was fine after that. She asked if we'd be willing to try an oral medication that should stimulate his appetite. We've been trying really hard to push him to eat more, and he HAS, but still isn't gaining quite as fast as she'd like. I feel a little less sure of myself in the summer, because I don't make/see his lunchbox every day, but I know he eats a decent (if not that huge) breakfast and a good dinner. I always rely on big dinner. She said she doesn't want him to put on 10-12 pounds or anything, but 6 pounds in a year would be a good step. (I guess since last October he's added 2 pounds, maybe 3?) So, it's a very low-dose medication and I told her I'd definitely be willing. Better that, than shots, I say.

The overall tone was hopeful, and everything else, she said, is normally developing, if slightly late-bloomer. So we're going to try this easy medicine, 1/2 tablet a night, the only side effect of which might be drowsiness, and see what happens next.

What I'm really glad about was that she focused on his height gain, and didn't make him feel bad about "not eating enough." Sometimes she's made it seem like she blames him. Which is, of course, unfair and ridiculous. But today she was very kind and encouraging.

We high-fived about the height, though, we really did. (As if he worked really hard, hee. BUT MY PRAYERS DID. :))

Love & Logic bedtime, Night 2

Oh, perfect, yesterday they posted this. ;)


So the 5 o'clock hour was nothing out of the ordinary. Mostly pleasant, even. And I am here to report that Night 2 went as well as Night 1, but in a different way. Surprisingly, we didn't even have to employ the "stay up as long as you want tactics," because KT after we read two stories, she insisted was tired enough, and just wanted to go to sleep in her bed. HA! Hahahaha!

I had borrowed one other tactic I read at the L&L website (or maybe in the book), and that was: Yawning is contagious. Try it, and see if you can convince anyone that she's actually sleepy. It worked! Worked on me, too -- I couldn't STOP yawning after that first one.

I don't know if KT was sleepy because she'd stayed up late-ish the night before, or because she'd had a busy day, but either way: NO FIGHTS. SHE GOT 9 HOURS. IT'S A WIN.

One thing I meant to note is that I'm trying this little experiment during the summer on purpose. Once we get back into school, we'll have to tweak accordingly or scrap it altogether. But I'm hopeful that she'll have time to learn that, hey, if I don't sleep, I'm tired and uncomfortable the next day. To be determined.

Love & Logic bedtime, prequel and Morning 1

Last night's post was done from my Kindle Fire, which I discovered is a terrible way to do a blog post! Very difficult to type and edit. Here's the short version backstory: KT is a terrible go-to-sleeper. I suspect she has her Daddy's and Gammy's night owl genes, which is fine for adulthood, but not so great for childhood, particularly when you have two parents who need to be out of the house by 7:00 am. Not to mention she has school to attend -- real-live, actual Kindergarten school -- starting in 5 weeks. For years I've done the typical bath, brush teeth, book with her, then stayed in her room while she falls asleep. Typically our goal is to have her in bed by 8:30. And typically I don't leave her room -- "But Mommy, I don't know HOW to fall asleep! Whine, whine, help me, I CAN'T..." -- until 9:30. Occasionally, we've Had It Out. That happened on Sunday night, after she'd been away from me for a full week. Nice welcome home, Mom -- fighting at bedtime. She refused to DO WHAT I SAID, and I KEPT STUBBORNLY TRYING TO CONTROL HER... then it escalated and I cried, and she cried. I apologized. She saw I was crying and apologized, too, and we had a hard, tearful hug. I promised I would try to be better and she did too, nodding and sniffling. Oh, we had a moment there. I decided to be honest with her, since with any relationship, honesty is the best policy. I told her I didn't know what to do about bedtime. Poor us. She was finally sleepy so I retreated to my room and got busy saying Hail Marys, because prayer's all I had left. I said a lot of Hail Marys. In the stress of that episode I became convinced that I just don't know how to parent this particular child. And then, in el-e-e fashion, I went back to a book. Drs. Fay and Cline of the Love & Logic Institute suggest a sure-fire way to fix kids' bedtime: GIVE UP CONTROL. Make the natural consequences the kid's consequences. Like so: Let the child know that after 8:30 (or whatever time you decide) is "Mommy and Daddy's free time," and that the only rule is the kid must stay in her room. The parent should give the kid a lot of choices about whether she wants the light on or off -- the fan on or off -- soft music on or off? -- want to read in your bed or play on the floor? -- and no other rules, other than "stay in your room." As I honestly told KT that we were going to try it, she got very excited. Could she stay up all night? Sure, I said, but just know that we wake up at 6:00 am, and we leave the house at 7:00. If you're tired tomorrow, I told her, that's going to be your problem. She reasoned out that she does have naptime at daycare, so she could catch up then (pretty smart), and I reiterated that the doctors who wrote this book say kids need about 9 or 10 hours of sleep. (I had told her I read a book and found a great solution to our bedtime problem. Why not? Honesty again -- I figure it's worth a shot.) So, we agreed to give it a try. She asked if she could have her sleeping bag and I said sure. She told me she loved to comb her doll's hair and that's what she was going to do. I gave her a hug and told her, "Okay, it's up to you. Good night!" And I left. (Hail, Mary, please let this work.) She came out a couple of times but went straight back in when I gently reminded her of the rule. It's a work in progress. I assume if there is a lot more coming-out-of-the-room, I will say, "Oh, it's too bad you forgot the rule. We'll have to turn the lights off and try this again tomorrow night." I found her snoring away on the floor, lamp still on, when I went to bed at 10:30. * * * * This morning she wasn't exactly EASY to wake, but she never is. Like I said, she went to sleep around the same time she normally does. We'll see if she's tired in the awful 5:00-6:00 pm hour today. That'll likely be the true test. But I'm hopeful. (DH is skeptical, which I fully understand. I was skeptical too and really hesitant to try this, but also: at my bedtime wits' end.)

Love & Logic bedtime experiment, Night 1

10:21 p.m. She's asleep. Went that way of her own accord, too. I finally had to try it tonihht. Not that I havent wanted to since I first read about it. I guess I was jusr being stubborn about being in control of her bedtime. (Ha, wonder where she gets it?!) Tonight we called it "bedroom time" instead.nShe was all for it-- said, "This is going to be a great nihht!" We'll see what tomorrow morning brings, but she was asleep by ten, which is normal for her, and i didnt have to lose my temper at any point in the process. How bout that. The funniest thing was when she peeked out of her room, wearing white gloves and a necklace, and said, "i dont really know what to do." I suggested maybe she lie down. ;)

Mid-summer, and kids' memories

We now have only 4 weeks left until school starts again (in the 5th week) and I'm having a hard time believing it. I'm very happy this summer that my kids have had a vacation, well and truly: We all went to the beach for a week, and then they stayed with my parents -- and effectively, with their gaggle of 2nd cousins who live across the street from my parents -- for another 7 days. They came home yesterday full of happy memories of fishing, a science museum, a Cajun pig roast and backyard fireworks on the Fourth of July, swimming lessons (AJ learned to go underwater! Hallelujah!!), swimming with cousins, lots of hide-n-seek variations on rainy days, movies, and, oh yes, dessert. every. night. (KT reported this item emphatically.)

These kids are so blessed. I mean, making memories and developing real, solid family relationships all while having fun away from Mom and Dad's everyday rules? Lucky ducks!

I was thinking about our week without them, and how it compares to my childhood. DH and I  did a lot of things that we can't do when they're here -- met to do some shopping after work one night, and had dinner, out, later than 6pm! Went to the movies on a weeknight. (Actually went to 2 movies during the week, to take full advantage of no babysitting fees.) SLEPT IN. Didn't even HAVE dinner one night, because we'd had a huge lunch. Skipped July 4th entirely. Spent a whole day off to do a house project to completion (trim/baseboards).

My parents, I guess, sent us to my Granny's house (or my aunt/uncle's house) on occasion to spend the night, and enjoyed these types of perks. We can't quite do it on a one-day basis, since we choose to live out of town, so we get it all in during this one week. I have fond memories of pallets on the floor at Granny's house, and waking up to a dewy morning on the farm, and my kids have memories of having their own room at Grandmommy's for a week, and swimmy mornings in her pool. So, see? It compares.

I know my Mom and Dad are feeling pretty empty right now with the kids back here. Their day will be reeeeally quiet in comparison to last Monday. But I bet they're worn out, too, and they certainly deserve a rest day. I was wondering if it's more fun, or more exhausting for them, remembering in a LIVE way what it's like to have small kids in the house. I know they'd say "fun," but I also know how tiring these kids can be! They wore me out just in the one afternoon of having them back!

But I am SO glad to have them back.