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Oh my, Bridget! Super good thoughts coming your way!!! I hope it all went more smoothly than you pictured, and that both Savana and Kai have a great time.
Chrissy, you did make some very good choices. It's so tough when one person just won't step up. I hope it improves -- maybe he just needs more time to get his sh!t together. The learning curve sounds like it's pretty steep for him with this kind of thing.
I hope the drop-off went well, and having Kai with her helped a lot. She'll likely have a lot of fun once she gets over the initial anxiety.
I enrolled Mira for 'Little Ninjas' and Pee Wee Paddler. Little Ninjas should be fine, but I don't know how she'll do with the swim class, since this one is sans mommy. I'll be there of course, just not in the water, and since this class is at the end of the 'class period', and we'll go play in the shallow pool after. I'm kind of hoping to build her up to it, let her know that after her class, she can go play in the water, whereas with the mommy and me class, she couldn't, so we'll see. It's not until May, so maybe that will help too. Her foot seems a lot better too; not 100%, but she's started skipping and hopping and even attempting to run/walk really fast.
The toilet thing really weirded me out, and I'm fairly certain that AF is late, so I did POAS today. No news (is good news). It's weird how mind plays games with you. I was convinced that I was, because I've been having heartburn the past few days, and the only other time I've ever had it was when I was pregnant with Mira (but in the third tri). I'm just kind of hoping that with work being so stressed, my body is being weird, or maybe that I thought the last one started on the 2nd of Jan, but it really started on the 9th, or something like that.
When I couldn't remember my dates, I asked DH if he remembered by any chance. He said that it was a Monday. Or a Wednesday. Or something like that. :eyeroll:
:fingerscrossed: B!
Very true. I had to show him how to fill out a check so he could make his first ever mortgage payment himself. He was 38 years old.Quote:
Originally Posted by pepperlru
I don't miss those days at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Suja
and :laugh: at dh. Thanks for being so helpful...not!
Suja, your husband is funny! So...your test came back negative? My DH had a vasectomy done, but I still have paranoid days when AF is a day or two late. I used to have a perfect 28 day cycle before having kids, but now it's anywhere from 25 to 30 days. I have an app on my smartphone that tracks AF for me, so I generally know when to expect it.
Chrissy, I can't believe that Rich has been such an airhead about keeping food in the house. You really are being very gracious to him to be providing him with so much. I bet he doesn't even realize how grateful he should be to you.
Bridget, I'm sending vibes your way. I hope it all goes well. It sounds like an exciting activity that both the kids should enjoy.
Janet, you asked upthread about how I like it here (I'm too lazy to go and quote it from the previous page.) I really do love it here, and I don't think we'll ever move to the US. The weather is blah a lot of times; the stereotypical grey English days are so very true. I wouldn't mind if we got a decent summer every now and then but it's been about 5 years since we last had a good chunk of weeks with nice warm, sunny weather. Usually, a quick trip to Spain does the trick for us, but we've been living on a budget the last year because I was on maternity leave. Now, I am back at work, but all of my paycheck goes to childcare for both boys. I am training this year to be an elementary teacher, so my salary will triple next year, so I can see a light at the end of the tunnel for this part of our lives.
Bridget, I think I've said before but I have to say thanks for mentioning vitamin D in another thread on APA. I have started taking a daily dose and I can't believe how much it's had an effect on my energy level and mood! I recommended it to my sister as well and she e-mailed me to say that she feels like she could run laps around her office building whereas before she was struggling. Right now, my sis is single-parenting her kids as her husband has moved state for his job, and she and the kids aren't moving until June when school is out. She didn't want to take her daughter of school mid-year. Her husband drives up from Texas to Iowa every other weekend, but I can imagine the energy it must take to look after 2 kids alone must be very draining. Especially when you don't have another adult to unwind with at the end of the day.
DH got more good news about his job. He had his appraisal and got the highest marks that they give at his company. I told him he needs to take the bulls by the horn now and get his career moving on up. He's always been one to doubt himself and wanted to just get on with his work, but he's never had the right bosses or been in the job that has suited him. Now he has a great boss and his role really suits his personality, so I think he should try to expand it as much as he can.
On another random note while I have time to post a long post, I spoke to Travis' teacher today about his writing he did last week. His class did what they call a "Big Write" where they write a few sentences in their books which then get levelled (graded) by the teachers. She said he made a great story that made sense and he spelled a lot of his high frequency words correctly. His target is to not use random capital letters in the middle of his words. :) I am very proud of him!
Any how, I suppose I've rambled on a bit now, so I'll go for now!
Bridget, how did Savana do?
Suja, LOL @ your hubby's comment. He had a 2 in 7 chance of being right, I suppose. Who's crazy now, world?
Ash, that's great news about your hubby's write-up. I hope it does translate into upward mobility for him and the rest of the family.
Ooh, and on hubbies...Gretchen, congrats to your husband for winning the Annie. Did he get to bring home an actual trophy to display on the fireplace? Will your guests come over, ask about it, and will R say, "Oh that? Oh, that's just my Annie... you know, only a the highest level of recognition in my industry. No big deal."?
You guys, I'm getting crazy excited about Nicaragua. Can I just show you a picture of one place we're staying at on a beach? It's totally wild-looking:
http://nicaragua365.com/ImageHandler...33&Size=Medium
Myles, take me with you?
WTG Travis!!!! :hooray:Quote:
Originally Posted by AmeriBrit
Woot for dh at work too!! :hooray: Things sound like they're going so well for you all :wub:
I really needed to see that about Vitamin D. I slept well last night and have been for a few weeks, but today I was just fatigued beyond all reason. It was a real struggle for me to get through the day. I've had a number of days like that, and Vit D might just be what I need.
That looks utterly amazing!!!! I hope you have a grand time!Quote:
Originally Posted by demigraf
Nicaragua sounds fantastic. I'm so excited for you. And that place is crazy! You're going to have so much fun.
Ashley, congrats to your dh on the good stuff happening at his job. That is great news -- it's so nice when people are actually rewarded for doing quality work, and it sounds like he deserves it. And WTG to Travis on the writing. He is only 4.8? That's pretty amazing! What a smart little guy!
[QUOTE=demigraf;1058758861]
Ooh, and on hubbies...Gretchen, congrats to your husband for winning the Annie. Did he get to bring home an actual trophy to display on the fireplace? Will your guests come over, ask about it, and will R say, "Oh that? Oh, that's just my Annie... you know, only a the highest level of recognition in my industry. No big deal."?
/QUOTE]
Ha ha. Yeah, he'll get a trophy thing, but he'll probably keep it at work. He has some other ones there too, mostly in-company awards and that kind of stuff. He will also get a photograph, I think, of them posed with the awards and their presenters (Sean Astin, Jason Biggs, and a couple other people). He did say he wanted to frame that one and hang it in the family room just on the off chance that someone might notice it and ask him about it. :laugh:
Speaking of pictures, did I ever share any from the ceremony? Here's one of I on the "red carpet" when they arrived. She looks a little different than when you met her, huh? She cleans up pretty well. And one of him at the podium, thanking his wife and kids. :D
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h5...annies2013.jpg http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h5...nnies_2013.jpg
That's wicked cool!
Gretchen, I is beautiful! I hope she had a really fabulous time. And congrats to R!
Wish I could take you all with me. I think that's what we need to do. We all rack our brains thinking about where in the middle of the country we could all meet up (Kansas?) and make Ashley hop the Atlantic to get to. Instead, what we should do is find a house in the jungles of Mexico or Central America, somewhere we can let our kids climb the trees to bring us mangoes and we can sun and swim and tell each other stupid stories all day, and husbands are optional. Wouldn't that be grand?Quote:
Originally Posted by AmeriBrit
Oh, and you SHOULD feel proud of Travis. Maybe one day, he'll be correcting your grammar. ;)
Gretchen, I love the photos from the Annies. And I love it that R was presented the award by the "cool Hobbit" and "that guy who took liberties with an apple pie". LOL!
I want this job http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_2446636.html
Testing water slides!
Fun! And I would like to be a roller coaster tester.
We can be a team, do both roller coasters and water slides, and be to amusement parks what Sisco and Ebert were to movies!Quote:
Originally Posted by demigraf
And I was just talking with my coworker today about how every job has its ups and downs.
Okay, I started to make a much more serious point about all jobs having a not-so-enjoyable side, but yeah - that's such a perfect Mylesism I'm keeping it. You get my point!
Oh, and Autocorrect changed Mylesism to ample sims. :)
I took Josh back to the dr. because he's continuing to complain that he doesn't feel well. You might remember he's been sick since the end of November. We tried various cough meds and then they gave us amoxicillin and his dr. seemed confident it would clear up in a couple days. Two weeks went by and he still had a nasty cough and nasal congestion and just general complaining that he didn't feel right.
So I took him back in today and they checked him out, it seems to have cleared up a little bit but they were concerned that it wasn't completely gone. They said we could either try stronger abx or take him to the hospital first for chest and sinus x rays, so I took him in to the hospital.
The tech was very nice and good with Josh and he did well. Now I should hear back sometime tomorrow about the results.
I know everyone is sick these days but this isn't the flu or that stomach virus and it isn't really just a cold either.
Oh, hope you get some answers for Josh soon. Poor guy, that sounds rough for you all.
How cool about Ryan and the Annie's. Love both those pics!
Ashley, bummer about the weather, but the rest sounds great.
Oh, yes, I want to stay at the melting ice cream house in Nicaragua, too!
Well, I'm obviously just popping in real quick, but I'm really tired today, so going to try to get to bed a bit early (as it's already 11:00...). Just wanted to say hello!
Our exciting news... Maiya has peed in the toilet twice today! She ONLY peed twice all day... Which still worries me... But oh well. I think I'm going to run with this and see if I can PT her, then maybe encourage her to go more often. We shall see!
What are they testing Josh for? Do they have any ideas? Hope it's an easy fix. Please keep us posted.
Yay Maiya!
Gah, I read everything last night and now I can't remember...Oh, Gretchen your daughter and your dh both look spectacular! How very exciting.
Well, the drop off was awful. Worse than awful. She.freaked. I was trying to be as patient as possible but I have to admit that inside I felt ready to explode. She was so loud and she crumpled up her name tag and said some ridiculous things. She finally went in, I don't even know what it was that made her go in. I did tell her that it's ok to be scared and nervous and wish she weren't there but she cannot be disruptive to the other children or next time I'm getting a babysitter for her and so I can take Kai. That may have been what did it. I don't know. I HATE pulling out threats but I so wanted her to just DO it. I know these things are genuinely hard for her and that her anxiety is real but in order for her to be a productive adult she is going to have to be courageous enough to work through it. Right? And sure enough, once she got settled in, she was FINE. Great, actually. Made a new friend. And told me that when we go back next week she is going to try to remember how it was really ok once she did it. Oh, I hope so. It was so stressful.
It was a fun day all in all though. I had my little daycare charge with me so Sawyer and her and I enjoyed the nature center while waiting for Savana and Kai (who did awesome, and totally helped Savana settle in) and they are just a riot together. Super cute. No matters were helped at all when I came home and found that while I had asked dbf to please clean kitchen, he just loaded all the dishes into the sink and filled it with water so I had to reach into the depths of cold,dirty water and do the dishes. How effing inconsiderate. And he has no idea the damage he does when he says things like, "You were just out playing all day" and when I try to counter his excuse of working all day and not having time to do things I asked him to do with the fact that I WORK TOO. Full time. Round the clock. With no breaks and no help. Schooling and caring for OUR children he says, "You made that choice. You could just put them in school and daycare like normal people." Hmmm. So I case to him it really doesn't matter one way or another. Nice to know I'm valued.
Deep breath. New day.
Mylah, I've taken my measurements and am quite sure I can fit into your suitcase. Mmkay?
:( Poor Josh. Let us know what they say. I'd have taken him too at this point. Whatever it is, it's dragging on too long.Quote:
Originally Posted by daylilies
Oh Bridget. Your dbf sometimes makes me downright angry. I really don't know how you resist the urge to smack him upside the head with a marble rolling pin. You could have countered back that he also made a choice to work, AND have kids. And guess what, just because you have a job it doesn't exempt you from having to take care of household chores. Or your kids for that matter. :pokey: You asked him to do one thing for crying out loud.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bridget
Conner had diarrhea really bad again. He's had loose stools since he had the accident at school. I am beginning to get concerned. I was talking to Rich last night and neither of us can think of anything he could have eaten. We haven't introduced any new foods. If it's viral, there isn't much they can do anyway but I'm not sure how long we should wait. If he's not better by Friday, I might try to take him to urgent care after work and see what the dr says. It'll be a full week by then.
Could it possibly be stress? That's what they always ask me about Kai's tummy troubles. Poor Conner. Upset tummies are so hard to diagnose.
I know, Chrissy. I was so angry last night when he said that. I what if I did work full time and put the kids in school, Sawyer in daycare? I promise when i picked them up at the end of the day and took them home, I'd STILL be doing everything. Crazy how the mom who drops her kids off here every day and PAYS me to take care of them, thanks me almost every single day for loving them and making it so she can go to work and not have to worry at all. You'd think the father of my children would feel the same.
You'd think. Have you mentioned that to him? :P I have no doubt you'd still be doing it all. There are many guys that are just like that. Some women even, actually. They're just incredibly selfish and lazy people. That kind grates on my nerves.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bridget
I suppose it could be stress with Conner but he isn't acting in any other way like he's stressed. I know that doesn't mean anything...it's entirely possible. I accidentally slipped last night and mentioned to him I was hoping to move to a better apartment soon. If I had thought about it for 10 seconds, it wouldn't have come out like that. I would have worded it differently. He did react with fear and anxiousness and said, "Stay close to us, okay?" I quickly assured him that I would, I simply wanted a nicer apartment that didn't have squirrels coming through the ceiling. I promised I'd always live close to him, for sure. But I worry now that he'll worry about that in the back of his mind. :/
I don't think it would be stress unless something was really different at home but the living situation has been that way for a while now. Maybe stress about something at school? After this long though, I would probably get a sample brought in and tested.
I feel for him because I had the worst stomach ache last night. Really bad pain. Don't know if it is something I ate but DH is fine and I am super picky about food safety. Thinking maybe norovirus had caught to me but no throwing up. Took an immodium and was able to come to work. Do they make something like immodium for kids?
B, I agree with you. I would push to work though doing stuff that is scary. We all have to do scary stuff as adults. Have you ever tried working on deep breathing techniques with her? That was what I was taught to do when I got help in college for panic attacks....it was getting so bad for a while that it was a production for DH to take me to the grocery store 10 minutes away (I had IBS and being in a car was so stressful). It helps so much. I still use it if I feel one starting to want to come on...doesn't happen too much now. And I have since traveled by car to FL and NJ and regularly across state....and we are planning a road trip in the spring.
It sounds like she might be a person who would benefit from things like deep breathing and mediation.
I have to admit that I'm one that doesn't notice a difference with vit. D. I take 2000 iui. I do know at one point I was tested and was low. And I am prone to having issues with that because vit D is mostly absorbed in the small intestine and the first 5 or 6 feet of mine is bypassed.
Um yeah you should have told M that if you did what normal people do and put the kids in school and daycare, he would have to do MORE work because you would have less time to do stuff. I mean everyone has to still clean the house, do laundry, cook, do the dishes. You should tell him that when both people have full-time outside jobs, household chores still need to be done and both parties have to do them.
I am in one where we both work full-time jobs...and I absolutely expect and demand that the man does his share of housework. I generally grocery shop, cook, do the dishes (he often empties the dishwasher and will do dishes once in a while), and laundry. I clean the kitchen. DH does most of the dusting and vacuuming and cleans the bathrooms.
I hope that Josh feels better soon!
I knew I forgot something...my heart goes out to Savana. I remember being little and scared to death of new things like that, except I wasn't "allowed" to show it. I'm sure I've mentioned the school called my mom in to discuss possibly waiting a year for me to start kindergarten because the first two weeks I would not talk to anyone. I was absolutely terrified! I actually remember that period vividly, and it was truly an awful experience for me.
I'm not sure where I got the idea that I couldn't cry or scream...I don't ever remember doing it and being punished or anything. But that was my personality. I kept my feelings to myself, but felt them nonetheless.
So my whole point is just that I feel empathy for her, but it can be something she outgrows and overcomes. :hugs:
I was just working on some collection development this morning and am ordering this for my library. Looks really good.
http://www.amazon.com/Building-Resil...rds=resilience
Bridget, I'm sorry that you had such a stressful time at drop off; I'm glad that S and K both enjoyed it, though. It is hard to see the kids upset, but I think you're doing the right thing by encouraging her to try new things. Travis can be so very shy at times, but I always encourage him to try to come out of his shell in group settings. I can remember being an awkward kid in social groups, and I am hyper aware of how I don't want Travis to be.
Gretchen, yep, he's 4.8. He'll be 5 in May. Kids start school here at 3.5 for 15 hours a week and when they turn 4.5, they start full time. Oh, and I meant to say those are lovely photos of your dd and dh!
Myles, the day Travis corrects my grammar, I will be the proudest mother in the world! :D
Chrissy, I'm sorry that Conner is still suffering with diarrhea. Cash still has his long bouts of loose stools that we've never been able to figure out. I try to limit his fruit; I know that probably sounds bad, but the boy could eat his body weight of oranges/apples/bananas/grapes.
I've just eaten half a bag of Doritos while lounging on the couch and watching E! I have dishes to do, so I am going to get up and do that....better go burn some k-cals!
Mmmm...for all that I'm not a junk food eater, Doritos is the one thing I CAN eat too much of. And enjoy.
Was Cash always like that though? I wouldn't be worried if Conner had always been like that. But this is definitely new. I'm wondering how long those kinds of viruses can linger.
Chuckled, then LOL'd, then spit out my tea. In that order. And I thought I told you guys my sims weren't all that ample. I'm just broad in the chest & back. :PQuote:
Originally Posted by Gwenn
Bridget, I think Mark has officially crossed the line over from being a piece of work to a piece of s#i+. Could you have put your foot down and said, "Git yer lazy a$$ down here and deal with these dishes before the sinkload of this ends up on your head while you're sleeping tonight!" ? And with the thank-you cards, what would have happened if you'd refused to do them and told him he had to do them himself? I think you once told us something about how he starts to whine that you're picking on him all the time, and it wouldn't surprise me if he'd try that tact with you in these situations. But I wonder what would happen if you just let the things not get done and point out that he should be the one doing them?
I'm sorry to hear about all the sick little guys in the group. I don't like to hear about any little ones being sick. I hope Conner & Josh feel better soon and their mamas can stop worrying about them.
Janet, congrats on Maiya peeing like a big girl 2x today. That's a big deal!!
Oh, and Bridget, you did great with Savana. I know what you mean about bringing out the threats. I feel like I'm being a bully, even if I'm just trying to coerce Bodhi into doing something that's good for him in the long run. I can totally see him turning around and finding a way to leverage himself with another kid at school, which is not what I want him to learn to do. But anyway, you helped Savana work through her fear and come out the other side of it, and that is awesome, so well done, mama! I'm glad the day went well overall.
Love doritios....but rarely have them. I think that they are the only thing we eat that has msg in it.
Chrissy, I would probably think about taking him into the doctor since it's a definite change in his normal. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...cle/002466.htm
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/diarrhea.html
Gotta fit your kids too! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Bridget