This week we are painting the inside of our condo. The living room, hallway, and kitchen, to be exact, although they all blend in together and are kind of the same big room. It took me weeks to pick out the paint colors, and when I finally decided on paint colors I didn't even bother to paint some test squares on the walls, I am that confident in those colors. Also lazy. I am so lazy. Charlie and I together are so lazy that we just spent 15 minutes talking about the merits of just keeping the kitchen the same color it is now, just so we could put a fresh coat of paint over the same color without priming it first.
In the end though, we decided to go with the new color. It's hard to be lazy when my parents are driving 6 hours to help us paint. It's also hard to imagine the four of us getting this all done in three 5 hour days.
I'm nervous about the cutting in. Charlie just looked at the kitchen ceiling and commented on what a crappy job he did cutting it in 8 years ago. Uh-oh. That was me - I did the cutting in last time and I have to do it again this time and painters tape is nothing against me and a paint brush.
This week we'll be painting brown (coconut grove 1029 Benjamin Moore) over red, white (bone white) over brown, and gold (chestertown buff) over amazon blue, heaven help us.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
It was an ALL CAPS day
It's been a long time since I last posted. Now that the boys are in school all day I have ridiculously high expectations of what I'll accomplish all day while they are gone, and I run around like a crazy woman trying to get things done. It is no fun at all and part of me wants to yank Kai out of all-day montessori preschool just so my to-do list can go back to being what it used to be:
1. Play with boys.
2. Laundry.
3. Feed boys.
Instead, my to-do list looks something like this: Doalllaundry,cleankitchenbathroom,vacume,lookforjob,raisefundsforboys'schools,returnphonecalls,makelunches,
makedinners,buygroceries,findjob,updateresumeandallsocialnetworkstofindjob,cleanroom,dust,cleancloset
pickupboysfromschoolpacktheirsnackshelpwithhomeworkchangethesheetsreadbookswithboys....you get the idea. But today my to-do list turned in to this:
1. Pick up boys from school.
2. Try not to freak out.
3. Vent on phone to sister, mom, and friend while kids play 90 minutes of wii.
Yes, yes. First there was the full-day kindergarten issue. Then there was the toilet paper issue. Now there's this.
Today was a miserable school day. I picked the little one up from school and was told by his teacher that he just wasn't himself all day and he was scratching his back end all day. ALL DAY. She told me it was ALL DAY at least 4 times. She told me they kept having him wash his hands. She said she thinks he's getting sick. She told me I should look at his bottom when I get home because maybe he has that thing that her niece had and her face made it look like it wasn't that disgusting but you know she's just being polite because whatever her niece had totally grossed her out.
You know what took me two seconds to figure out? He had a bathroom accident that morning AND HE NEEDED TO CHANGE HIS CLOTHES. It took me another two seconds to realize that he was uncomfortable, embarrassed, and scared of punishment ALL DAY because the 3 adults in the classroom had never figured it out.
I thought this stuff didn't happen in Montessori.
I am royally pissed and trying to figure out how my conversation with her is going to go tomorrow after school (straight up, I asked her for a meeting). I think it might go something like this:
THERE ARE THREE ADULTS IN THIS CLASSROOM AND FOR 5.5 HOURS NONE OF YOU REALIZED THAT MY CHILD WAS UNCOMFORTABLE, EMBARRASSED AND SMELLY AND NEEDED A CHANGE OF CLOTHES?! HE IS ONLY THREE. HE SUFFERED ALL DAY. YOU SHOULD HAVE CALLED ME.
I am going to try not to talk in all caps BUT I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO HELP IT.
Then as I'm dealing with that fiasco I get a call from a mom from the older one's school and she says she is watching my son on the playground. Jett and her son have had two play dates together over the past 5 months and I talk to this mom on the playground sometimes. So she calls to tell me that she has Jett on the playground and imagine my surprise because Jett is supposed to be in art club.
WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE OR PERMISSION HIS TEACHER RELEASED HIM TO THIS PARENT WHO DOES NOT NORMALLY PICK HIM UP FROM SCHOOL AND WHO IS NOT ON MY "OK TO PICK-UP" LIST. THEN THE TEACHER LET THIS PARENT CALL ME TO TELL ME ABOUT IT.
I don't care that this is a nice, trustworthy parent who had all the best intentions in her offer to watch Jett. That is not the point. The point is in all caps BECAUSE IT IS THE POINT.
No one I have talked to seems as upset about this as I am, although my mom, my sister, and my friend all put in very good efforts. I am so mad about this breach of trust and safety that I can't sleep.
Still, I really like Jett's teacher so instead of confronting her face to face I sent her an email. I tried to make the tone friendly but direct. I'm not very good at direct but I'm very good at friendly so I made sure to send it while I was still angry so my writing didn't dissolve into phrases like, "I'm sure you meant well, but....." and "It's not that big of a deal..........".
Because no matter what anyone says it is a huge deal and meaning well doesn't matter and I am the mom and I get to decide.
Welcome back, Blog.
-----------------------
1. Play with boys.
2. Laundry.
3. Feed boys.
Instead, my to-do list looks something like this: Doalllaundry,cleankitchenbathroom,vacume,lookforjob,raisefundsforboys'schools,returnphonecalls,makelunches,
makedinners,buygroceries,findjob,updateresumeandallsocialnetworkstofindjob,cleanroom,dust,cleancloset
pickupboysfromschoolpacktheirsnackshelpwithhomeworkchangethesheetsreadbookswithboys....you get the idea. But today my to-do list turned in to this:
1. Pick up boys from school.
2. Try not to freak out.
3. Vent on phone to sister, mom, and friend while kids play 90 minutes of wii.
Yes, yes. First there was the full-day kindergarten issue. Then there was the toilet paper issue. Now there's this.
Today was a miserable school day. I picked the little one up from school and was told by his teacher that he just wasn't himself all day and he was scratching his back end all day. ALL DAY. She told me it was ALL DAY at least 4 times. She told me they kept having him wash his hands. She said she thinks he's getting sick. She told me I should look at his bottom when I get home because maybe he has that thing that her niece had and her face made it look like it wasn't that disgusting but you know she's just being polite because whatever her niece had totally grossed her out.
You know what took me two seconds to figure out? He had a bathroom accident that morning AND HE NEEDED TO CHANGE HIS CLOTHES. It took me another two seconds to realize that he was uncomfortable, embarrassed, and scared of punishment ALL DAY because the 3 adults in the classroom had never figured it out.
I thought this stuff didn't happen in Montessori.
I am royally pissed and trying to figure out how my conversation with her is going to go tomorrow after school (straight up, I asked her for a meeting). I think it might go something like this:
THERE ARE THREE ADULTS IN THIS CLASSROOM AND FOR 5.5 HOURS NONE OF YOU REALIZED THAT MY CHILD WAS UNCOMFORTABLE, EMBARRASSED AND SMELLY AND NEEDED A CHANGE OF CLOTHES?! HE IS ONLY THREE. HE SUFFERED ALL DAY. YOU SHOULD HAVE CALLED ME.
I am going to try not to talk in all caps BUT I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO HELP IT.
Then as I'm dealing with that fiasco I get a call from a mom from the older one's school and she says she is watching my son on the playground. Jett and her son have had two play dates together over the past 5 months and I talk to this mom on the playground sometimes. So she calls to tell me that she has Jett on the playground and imagine my surprise because Jett is supposed to be in art club.
WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE OR PERMISSION HIS TEACHER RELEASED HIM TO THIS PARENT WHO DOES NOT NORMALLY PICK HIM UP FROM SCHOOL AND WHO IS NOT ON MY "OK TO PICK-UP" LIST. THEN THE TEACHER LET THIS PARENT CALL ME TO TELL ME ABOUT IT.
I don't care that this is a nice, trustworthy parent who had all the best intentions in her offer to watch Jett. That is not the point. The point is in all caps BECAUSE IT IS THE POINT.
No one I have talked to seems as upset about this as I am, although my mom, my sister, and my friend all put in very good efforts. I am so mad about this breach of trust and safety that I can't sleep.
Still, I really like Jett's teacher so instead of confronting her face to face I sent her an email. I tried to make the tone friendly but direct. I'm not very good at direct but I'm very good at friendly so I made sure to send it while I was still angry so my writing didn't dissolve into phrases like, "I'm sure you meant well, but....." and "It's not that big of a deal..........".
Because no matter what anyone says it is a huge deal and meaning well doesn't matter and I am the mom and I get to decide.
Welcome back, Blog.
-----------------------
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Halloween 2011
Since when did Halloween become the start of the busy season? Between friend's parties, school parties, work parties, and neighborhood parties, I hardly had time to finish up Kai's costume, let alone sleep. The boys loved wearing their costumes and I loved seeing so many friends. Here is our Halloween, in pictures.
The annual Halloween party with friends. We met through a play group at the neighborhood park three years ago and we're still together.
On Friday the boys didn't have school so we went down to Daley Plaza to watch the Midnight Circus. It was so awesome. Thirty-minutes of acrobatic stunts. Jett loved it so much that we waited an hour and a half to see the second show too. During the bicycling act Jett even covered his eyes because the stunts were so daring. It was already a great day, and then Jett saw kids sliding down the Picasso statue. Bonus! You slide really fast when you sit on your coat.
On Saturday Cultural Care Au Pair held a trick-or-treating event near the zoo for our host families. The boys helped me pass out candy. Here is the only picture of Kai in his Zurg costume. My mom sewed the purple skirt and I sewed the gray banner across his chest. It is supposed to look like armor, but at midnight one night I accidentally sewed the red trim to the wrong piece of his shirt. I spent over an hour stitching that thing by hand at midnight only to figure out days later, after puzzling over it for days, that I sewed the piece I meant to throw away, and threw away the right piece. Honestly, when his whole costume (except the part my mom sewed) starting falling apart at the zoo, I was relieved. His "armor" looked ridiculous. Next year I'll talk my mom into sewing the whole thing!
Sunday was the Roscoe Village parade and another awesome party
and then pumpkin carving at Zack's annual party.
Monday was the big night in Evanston with the cousins. Kai tired out and took to the stroller, but Jett ran the whole way. He ran away from every porch calling out to us what new candy he had. Then when Ellie caught up to him he went back up to the candy bowls with her to see what she selected, give her suggestions, and point out new candy they hadn't collected yet. He was so excited - and very helpful!
After trick-or-treating Charlie told the kids they could only eat one piece of candy.
He was serious.
I am not kidding. I complained so loudly about it that I almost ruined Halloween. But while the adults ate dinner, all four kids watched The Great Pumpkin in silence, eating their noodles and corn bread without complaint. They didn't even dump out their candy on the floor to bask in the glory of it all. I was incredibly disappointed.
However, the next morning the aliens returned my kids to their bodies so after Charlie left for work I let them eat chocolate for breakfast.
The annual Halloween party with friends. We met through a play group at the neighborhood park three years ago and we're still together.
On Friday the boys didn't have school so we went down to Daley Plaza to watch the Midnight Circus. It was so awesome. Thirty-minutes of acrobatic stunts. Jett loved it so much that we waited an hour and a half to see the second show too. During the bicycling act Jett even covered his eyes because the stunts were so daring. It was already a great day, and then Jett saw kids sliding down the Picasso statue. Bonus! You slide really fast when you sit on your coat.
On Saturday Cultural Care Au Pair held a trick-or-treating event near the zoo for our host families. The boys helped me pass out candy. Here is the only picture of Kai in his Zurg costume. My mom sewed the purple skirt and I sewed the gray banner across his chest. It is supposed to look like armor, but at midnight one night I accidentally sewed the red trim to the wrong piece of his shirt. I spent over an hour stitching that thing by hand at midnight only to figure out days later, after puzzling over it for days, that I sewed the piece I meant to throw away, and threw away the right piece. Honestly, when his whole costume (except the part my mom sewed) starting falling apart at the zoo, I was relieved. His "armor" looked ridiculous. Next year I'll talk my mom into sewing the whole thing!
Sunday was the Roscoe Village parade and another awesome party
and then pumpkin carving at Zack's annual party.
Monday was the big night in Evanston with the cousins. Kai tired out and took to the stroller, but Jett ran the whole way. He ran away from every porch calling out to us what new candy he had. Then when Ellie caught up to him he went back up to the candy bowls with her to see what she selected, give her suggestions, and point out new candy they hadn't collected yet. He was so excited - and very helpful!
After trick-or-treating Charlie told the kids they could only eat one piece of candy.
He was serious.
I am not kidding. I complained so loudly about it that I almost ruined Halloween. But while the adults ate dinner, all four kids watched The Great Pumpkin in silence, eating their noodles and corn bread without complaint. They didn't even dump out their candy on the floor to bask in the glory of it all. I was incredibly disappointed.
However, the next morning the aliens returned my kids to their bodies so after Charlie left for work I let them eat chocolate for breakfast.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
I Need a Genie
I entered a very cool contest over at Making It Lovely. I hope I win.
I hope I find a stuffed parrot to sew on the shoulder of Jett's pirate costume.
I hope I figure out a way to create a headpiece for Kai's Halloween costume. Kai is dressing up as Emperor Zurg, Buzz Lightyear's enemy. (Kai is very excited about dressing up as a bad guy). I'm thinking a kid-sized viking hat that I can paint purple. Or a purple knit cap that I can glue styrofoam horns to. How would you do it?
I'll let you know how it turns out.
I hope I find a stuffed parrot to sew on the shoulder of Jett's pirate costume.
I hope I figure out a way to create a headpiece for Kai's Halloween costume. Kai is dressing up as Emperor Zurg, Buzz Lightyear's enemy. (Kai is very excited about dressing up as a bad guy). I'm thinking a kid-sized viking hat that I can paint purple. Or a purple knit cap that I can glue styrofoam horns to. How would you do it?
I'll let you know how it turns out.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Kai Making Friends
One unexpected consequence of sending Kai to a (public) montessori school is that most of his school friends are 4 and 5 years old. Montessori classes combine 3 years in to one class. Kai's class is 3, 4, and 5 year olds (preK and kindergarten). Elementary 1 is 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades. Elementary 2 is 4th, 5th, and 6th grades, and then 7th and 8th grades make up the last class. I have no idea if this grouping is more beneficial than traditional grades or not. So far the main consequence for us is that Kai (who I consider a "young" three) is making friends with a bunch of kids who are Jett's age.
He talks about four kids in particular - "his silly guy David" (the only 3 year old he mentions), Sean (4), Charlie (4), and Belicia (5). He wanted his buddy Charlie to come over after school one day, so Charlie's mom and I made it happen. But I knew that if Jett was home Charlie, who is 4, might end up playing with Jett instead of Kai, so I arranged for Jett to go to a friend's house during Kai's play date. Do I have to be this strategic with every play date from now on? Yikes!
Belicia is the classmate that Kai seems to really love. To be honest, I love her too. Those few weeks when Kai resisted walking in to school, Belicia took his hand (or tried to), encouraged him to walk in the door (although he didn't always listen), and played with him on the playground before school. She endeared herself to me the first time she took Kai's hand, weeks ago.
Today Kai's school held a fundraising walk-a-thon during the school day. I was there to help out so I got to see Kai and his friends in action. Oh it was so cute.
Kai's teacher had the kids walk (outside around the school) in pairs. I don't know if she assigned partners or if the kids picked their own, but Kai and Belicia were walking buddies. They walked for 30 minutes and held hands the entire time. At one point another girl joined them, so Kai held her hand for a while. But even during the last block, when I walked with Kai, he kept holding hands with Belicia, even while holding mine. Tonight at dinner when I asked Kai what he was thankful for he said he was thankful that he got to walk with Belicia at school. I think I have another play date to set up.
He talks about four kids in particular - "his silly guy David" (the only 3 year old he mentions), Sean (4), Charlie (4), and Belicia (5). He wanted his buddy Charlie to come over after school one day, so Charlie's mom and I made it happen. But I knew that if Jett was home Charlie, who is 4, might end up playing with Jett instead of Kai, so I arranged for Jett to go to a friend's house during Kai's play date. Do I have to be this strategic with every play date from now on? Yikes!
Belicia is the classmate that Kai seems to really love. To be honest, I love her too. Those few weeks when Kai resisted walking in to school, Belicia took his hand (or tried to), encouraged him to walk in the door (although he didn't always listen), and played with him on the playground before school. She endeared herself to me the first time she took Kai's hand, weeks ago.
Today Kai's school held a fundraising walk-a-thon during the school day. I was there to help out so I got to see Kai and his friends in action. Oh it was so cute.
Kai's teacher had the kids walk (outside around the school) in pairs. I don't know if she assigned partners or if the kids picked their own, but Kai and Belicia were walking buddies. They walked for 30 minutes and held hands the entire time. At one point another girl joined them, so Kai held her hand for a while. But even during the last block, when I walked with Kai, he kept holding hands with Belicia, even while holding mine. Tonight at dinner when I asked Kai what he was thankful for he said he was thankful that he got to walk with Belicia at school. I think I have another play date to set up.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
A Letter to Charlie
Dear Charlie,
If you thought we could go to Michigan this week and not turn in to Lions fans, you were wrong!
You know the boys look awesome in blue. It is their color! And the name on the back of Jett's jersey is Johnson! It's perfect! Plus considering their record over the last number of years, the Lions are really an underdog team compared to the Packers, and I know you love rooting for the underdogs. So go Lions! Here us roar!
OK, ok, settle down. Jett said that even though Uncle Rich turned him in to a Lion's fan, when the Lions play the Packers, he will root for the Packers. Yes, yes, I'm sure this is true. Sit down, sit down. I am sure this is true. Here's why:
One our drive to and from Michigan we saw a lot of green-leafed trees turning yellow. Jett and Kai call these trees Green Bay trees.
As we drove down Western Avenue today I listened to the boys identify stores as we drove by them. The only stores they identified were ones that had signs or awnings with green and yellow on them. Those were the "Green Bay" stores. The boys kept shouting, "Green Bay! Green Bay!" block after block.
Even this evening, when you insulted Jett's intelligence and he rolled his eyes at you, he was just defending his Packer expertise. Yes, he rolled his eyes at you. I have never seen him roll his eyes before and he did it tonight, for the first time, at you, HIS DAD. I always thought it was the moms who inspired eye rolls, but tonight it was YOU. This is what happened:
The boys and I were at the dinner table and out of nowhere Kai calls out, "Go Green Bay Packers!" Jett replies with confidence, "Go Aaron Rodgers!" From the kitchen, in disbelief, you exclaim, "Nice one, Jett! I didn't know you knew Aaron Rodgers or that he plays for the Packers!" Well. Jett turned toward you, lowered his chin to his chest, and hid his eyeballs in his forehead. It was hilarious.
So no, I don't think you have to worry about Jett's allegiance. Maybe the eye-rolling though....
Love your tolerant wife,
Amy
If you thought we could go to Michigan this week and not turn in to Lions fans, you were wrong!
You know the boys look awesome in blue. It is their color! And the name on the back of Jett's jersey is Johnson! It's perfect! Plus considering their record over the last number of years, the Lions are really an underdog team compared to the Packers, and I know you love rooting for the underdogs. So go Lions! Here us roar!
OK, ok, settle down. Jett said that even though Uncle Rich turned him in to a Lion's fan, when the Lions play the Packers, he will root for the Packers. Yes, yes, I'm sure this is true. Sit down, sit down. I am sure this is true. Here's why:
One our drive to and from Michigan we saw a lot of green-leafed trees turning yellow. Jett and Kai call these trees Green Bay trees.
As we drove down Western Avenue today I listened to the boys identify stores as we drove by them. The only stores they identified were ones that had signs or awnings with green and yellow on them. Those were the "Green Bay" stores. The boys kept shouting, "Green Bay! Green Bay!" block after block.
Even this evening, when you insulted Jett's intelligence and he rolled his eyes at you, he was just defending his Packer expertise. Yes, he rolled his eyes at you. I have never seen him roll his eyes before and he did it tonight, for the first time, at you, HIS DAD. I always thought it was the moms who inspired eye rolls, but tonight it was YOU. This is what happened:
The boys and I were at the dinner table and out of nowhere Kai calls out, "Go Green Bay Packers!" Jett replies with confidence, "Go Aaron Rodgers!" From the kitchen, in disbelief, you exclaim, "Nice one, Jett! I didn't know you knew Aaron Rodgers or that he plays for the Packers!" Well. Jett turned toward you, lowered his chin to his chest, and hid his eyeballs in his forehead. It was hilarious.
So no, I don't think you have to worry about Jett's allegiance. Maybe the eye-rolling though....
Love your tolerant wife,
Amy
Monday, October 10, 2011
Cheering for Motown from the hometown
Go Tigers!
Even if I didn't grow up with Sparky Anderson's voice drifting into the house from my dad's radio in the garage, Jett and Kai would root for Detroit just because their cousins do. Wouldn't you?
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