Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Screening Bleach

I have a spray bottle (an old Shout bottle, reused) that I filled with half bleach and half water. I used that to wipe down my floors. When I was done I realized I got a splash of bleach on my black blouse-tee, and a few drops on my DKNY pants. Dang it!

The Boy and The Baby emptied out their entire tote of toys in the living room. We all helped clean up, and I tried to get The Boy started early. He adimently refused. I told him that if he didn't help, or work hard, he was going to miss his shows (tv time). And he did! He refused to clean, and he sat there, crying (I have him a few hugs) and fussing, and not cleaning. So he went to bed a little early, with no shows. I was pretty proud of myself for hanging in there with my threats and punishments. Poor little guy!

I voted! And now I have a lot of anxiety about whether or not I voted 'correctly', as in, for the candidate representing the party I usually go for. I can't remember names.

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Build and Grow

The kids and Hubs and I went to Lowe's for the Build and Grow workshop. I saw the sign-up on a freebie website (freeflys.com). We meandered our way to the lumber department, and stood in line. A pretty short line, luckily, and I got a waiver form. Signed and addressed, I got back in line, got two aprons, two monster truck kits, and two little hammers. The Boy and Hubs started building theirs and The Baby and I built ours. Turns out the nails were different lengths, and were to be used for different pieces. I did not know that, and spent some time pulling out one of the short nails because the top of the truck wasn't adhered to the bottom. The Baby and I also took a walk/break into the lighting section. When we got back to the workshop (which really was more of a supervised gathering), The Baby was ready to put the nails in and do some hammering. I felt a swell of pride when I saw his face puckered in concentration and his little fingers manipulating the nail into the pre-made nail-hole. He got it in! I let him hold the hammer while I was holding it, so we hammered together. He briefly got to hammer on his own, but quickly tired of focusing just on the nail (moving on to the table and trying to go for various other areas), so I took the hammer from him. He worked well for another few minutes, then wanted to wander, so The Hubs took him for a walk and I finished up his car. With The Boy's help. 
The Boy spotted a lost nail between the boards of our make-shift table (which was a pallet made of several loose boards from the lumber department, tied together). He's got eagle eyes, that one. Anyway, he was able to help me pound the nails in, although when I was holding the nail and he was hammering, my confidence in The Boy waivered. On account of the fact that he was looking around and not at the nail while hammering. I tried to correct his behavior, by way of explanation, but he just looked at me with his big green eyes. I let it go. He put the stickers on, all 'wrong' but he seemed proud of himself, so I didn't mind or correct. Besides, my skills needed work too; I put the sticker on crooked and needed to undo my nailing because I used the wrong size.  
Another mom and I were joking around after she asked no one in particular if they were building the car correctly. I told her about the nail-length issue, and then said that I heard her talk about being able to follow the directions better this week. I made a few jokes about our kid's happiness being on the line, and about how I thought I was good at stuff like this, but it appears not. She laughed a lot, luckily.
There was another mom and son, but she was doing the whole project! Every time he picked up the truck, she snatched it back from him. He was restless and bored, because she was doing his work. I couldn't help but wonder what else she did for him. And if she does everything, how will he know what to do when she isn't there? I felt she was robbing him of a chance to feel proud of himself for accomplishing something. Me, judge? Never.
Our kids seemed pretty proud of themselves after building those cars, and I was pretty proud of us too.
The Hubs says Home Depot has a similar activity, so I might sign us up for one of those.
Happy building!

 
 

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Biking

I was able to bike to my meeting tonight! 2.5 miles there, 2.5 miles back; I was so proud of myself! Biking saves money, is good for my health, and I got there pretty fast. I think I'll try that again. But I'll make sure my pop is secure so it doesn't fall out and get run over again.

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Swim Lessons

Today was the first day of The Boy's swim lessons! It was actually a make-up class because he was sick on his actual first day. It was so much easier than I anticipated. And I think he really enjoyed it! I saw him from the 'observation deck'; the teacher was pulling him around and he looked really intent and serious. I hope he actually enjoyed it; we have about seven more sessions left.
I went to the Y as a child, and I am happy to say that it looks different. I also feel the weight of what they are doing in that space. There is a woman's center, for classes and advocacy and immediate assistance. There is playground out back for the kids. And there are places for clothes donation and a book exchange.
The Baby really wanted to get in the water too.
I'm really looking forward to Thursday swimming! And I'm looking forward to scheduling a swim trip at my grandmother's.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Coupon Mishap

The Baby and I saved 90% on Valentine's Day stuff at CVS. I forgot to hand the cashier my stack of coupons during my first transaction! I was so surprised and alarmed at this idiotic move. But I maintained my cool and didn't get difficult. And the cashier was pretty chill (sort of) and gave me cash for my coupons. The first transaction we saved 50%, and that was before the coupons. When I told The Hubs he said,
"That's what I'm talkin' about."
 
I'm gathering shoes, canned goods, and rummage sale stuff for my church. I'm a little overwhelmed. And I am trying not to buy new things, I am trying to repurpose my old stuff. This mindset means a lot of impulse control and craft projects. I hope I'm up to the challenge!

The Cough

The Boy has been coughing something terrible recently. The last three nights he coughed hard enough to wake himself and start crying. He doesn't drink warm tea, sometimes he won't take medicine, and at night he has a really hard time being reasonable (don't we all). But these past couple of nights have really freaked me out, because he is half-awake, he is unresponsive to my questions. It makes me feel that it isn't really him, that he is in some sort of fit or dream and he has one foot in one reality and another foot in this one. But of course, at the doctor's office today at 3 pm, he seemed pretty well. And luckily the doctor has a son about the same age, so she understands the difference of symptoms and experience of a 1 am bedroom visit to a 3 pm doctor's office visit. The Boy did not showcase his talking capabilities or his direction-following skills with this doctor, enough so that she had to ask if he talks and understands. My goodness, if she only knew how much and at what depth we talk about