My two teenage brothers have been here for the past month helping with our exterior house renovation. Is it still considered “helping” if we pay them? Regardless, it’s been great having them here despite the fact that they eat everything in sight. That’s worthy of a post all by itself.
My stepmom (their mom) came up with my sister to spend a couple of days visiting and then take them home. They just left. While they were here, she told us to leave the kids with her and get out. She didn’t have to ask us twice. We left after lunch yesterday and got home at 10 last night.
It was a good day of shopping, eating, and spending time with my Honey. Dinner was great. Read: no Golden Arches or a Happy Meal to be seen anywhere. We even stopped for ice cream and walked along the water. Well, I was still full from dinner, but Honey had a huge cone, and I had a few bites.
We were going to go to a movie, but the one we wanted to see was 3 hours long. We’ve been up late many nights with the house, etc., so we decided we should rent a movie instead. The problem with this is that we wouldn’t be able to watch it at home until the kids were in bed. Then I had a brainstorm – we watched it at his parents’ house. They were driving back from the Coast and wouldn’t arrive until long after our movie was done. We had a great time watching Walk The Line (finally!), and got home at a decent time to boot.
As we were driving from K-Dot back to town to rent a movie, I was telling Matthew my “work” schedule for the next 2 weeks. My usual contract job constitutes being an online facilitator for courses that are 10-weeks in duration. I’m going to have this baby in about week 10 of the current course being offered, so I didn’t sign up. I don’t think students would appreciate a facilitator who goes incognito the week before their exam.
What I did sign up for was in relation to a prep course that students take before they write the 3-day exam in order to become a CA. It was a FOUR-day exam when I wrote it. Kids get it so easy these days.
As part of this course, they write three different questions that get reviewed by yours truly and a CA friend of mine. There’s a shorter question that I will mark all day tomorrow, a longer question that I will mark Friday & Saturday, and another shorter question on Monday. Then, on Monday through Thursday night of next week, we have one-hour counselling sessions with the students to go over their longer question and give them tips on how to write a better paper.
So, a few busy days, but it gives me a chance to get out of that daily go-to-the-beach-and-work-on-my-tan rut that I’m in. That, and it pays well. Honey was all up to speed, we felt the workload was doable, and we continued on our drive.
Then my cell phone rang.
Could I cover just Week 1 of a 10-week course that I have facilitated before? Another facilitator has to go out of town on a family emergency.
Sure, was my reply. I’d love to help. Sign me up – I can do just ONE week. I got the rest of the deets and hung up the phone.
That one-week starts today. I have 28 students. Each student’s assignment takes approximately one hour to review. By “approximately” I mean “at a bare minimum”. But that’s OK, I consoled myself. Assignments are due on Friday, but some students hand them in on Thursday. And I have until Monday at 6PM to return them. No sweat.
Except…I’m marking papers Friday, Saturday, and Monday. That leaves me Saturday night and Sunday.
Who needs sleep right? And again, the pay is fantastic. Like they say – what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Hopefully I’m alive after Monday so that I can see that money well-spent. Probably on Stampin’ stuff. Pray that I make it – that’s what I’ll be doing. I sure won’t be sleeping. Maybe I’ll think of it as my own “prep course” for when Baby D arrives.
Yesterday afternoon, the boys were outside “helping” Daddy work on the house. I decided to take the opportunity to actually lay on the couch. You know, “put my feet up.” It’s a rare event but I did it . It lasted 10 minutes, until I had to go and rescue Honey’s power tools from our children.
While having my moment of respite, I did what I always do. I placed the remote on my belly. Why? Well, it’s easy to reach. It’s also fun to watch it move as Baby D does its hourly gymnastics routine. This kid is a MOVER. The other two were active, but I think this one tops them both. My hopes for a placid third child may very well be dashed.
Check out the video I took to show y’all what I mean. The first few seconds start out slowly, but then the baby kicks it up a notch. Literally.
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My boys are what you would normally consider “good” sleepers. They sleep through the night, in their beds, unless sick/teething, etc.
Usually.
Lately, Graham has been crawling into bed with us in the middle of the night. It started with that nasty cold we had last week. You wouldn’t think this would bother us (we have a King-sized bed) except for the fact that the kid is a MOVER. So then one of us (Matthew or I) will go and crawl into his bed so that there’s enough room for everyone. That happened a couple of times, and wore old fast.
We thought we’d put a mattress on our floor, and tell him that he could sleep there. That worked for two nights, and then last night he crawled back in with us. Right after that Nathan woke up, so Honey went in to cuddle with him, and ended up sleeping with him on a single mattress on his floor. Matthew is 6′2″, and not a small man. He doesn’t fit on the mattress when by himself, never mind when sharing it with a not-so-little almost-two-year-old.
Back in our room, I’m trying to sleep, while Graham is asking twenty questions. “Mommy! Where’s Daddy? Where’s Nathan? Where’s the blanket?”
I finally woke myself up enough to order him back to his room. Amazing thing was, he went with only a small whimper.
Matthew and I had a “Heads of State” conference this morning, and know that desperate times call for desperate measures. I need to stop and get some more earplugs this morning. They work like a charm every time, at least for dealing with Nathan’s yelling in the middle of the night. He’s still in a crib, praise God. For Graham, we’re not sure. Maybe an electric shock collar that goes off when he leaves his room? Kidding. Maybe.
We actually discussed bumping up their move into the same room together. We have three bedrooms upstairs, with a fourth in the basement. Graham’s too small to be placed in the dungeon, I mean, guest room. We were planning on moving Graham into Nathan’s room in September so that the baby can have Graham’s room when he/she arrives in October. Since we’re going to have a bit of a battle on our hands now anyway, we think we may move them tonight.
Any suggestions on making this work? If not, do you want to volunteer to train them to share a room? Any Supernannies out there? Or maybe someone who feels bad for these two parents who are tired…and maybe a little bit grumpy?
I know, in a couple of months I’ll be really tired. Newborn tired. I’d like to get sleep while I can.
Sigh. One day they’ll be teenagers and we won’t be able to wake them up if we tried. Can’t wait.
Everyone together now.
How hot is it?!?
It’s heat wave hot. It’s record-breaking hot. It’s SWACK (sweaty crack) hot. It’s we don’t have central air conditioning hot.
People have been sweet to me when I see them and they tell me that it must be even worse carrying a baby in this heat. My usual reply is that when it’s 40 degrees, everyone is hot. Upon further reflection about the fact that my uterus is holding another human being’s body heat close to me, I may have a little bit more cause to complain about the heat. At least a little bit.
That, and the fact that my very gross (varicose) veins have taken it up a notch. I will spare you the gory details because, well, only a select few are privy to that kind of personal information. Just know that they are causing me discomfort, and in the heat it’s even worse.
I’ve read up on what I can do to help the situation:
“Go for long walks”
Right. It’s 40 degrees. It’s not going to happen.
“Wear support stockings”
Again, it’s 40 degrees. I think they would make me explode.
“Keep your feet elevated”
Sure. Totally feasible for a Mom with two small children. I’ll get right on that. Besides, I thought I was supposed to be walking?
“Stay cool”
That’s been my game plan. When I’m not at the beach with Christy & Jen (amongst others) and in the lake (or having frappaccinos with Karen, Lisa & her sister Lana like I did this afternoon), I’m having cold showers, going in the pool, or laying on my bed under the big fan while my kids watch a movie.
I’m doing what I can to stay cool, and the temperature is supposed to get lower by the end of the week. I sure hope so. All of my cooling off attempts are cutting into my blogging time. And we can’t have much more of that, now can we?
I have come to realize that Nathan has not had as much Internet time as his big brother. This is mostly due to the fact that Graham has an unlimited vocabulary, and he knows how to use it. Frequently, and without ceasing.
Nathan is getting quite the vocabulary of his own. Some words are crystal clear, some are only deciphered by Honey and I, and some he has yet to clue us into their actual meaning. He surprises me daily with the words that he knows, and throws them at me without any prodding. The other day, he brought a toy barn over to me and told me it was a barn. I didn’t teach him that word, so we’ll chalk that one up to Baby Einstein. I mean, let’s give credit where credit is due. My mom fully credits Sesame Street for my ability to read at the age of 3. If T.V. was a good enough teacher for me, it’s good enough for my kids.
His two most often used words are “Hi” (to anyone and everyone who even glances in his general direction), and “Yeah”. He will answer “yeah” to any question, unless it is one that he is sure to answer “no” to (such as, “Is it time to go to bed?”) I have lots of fun with this trick.
Nathan, are you a big stinky turkey?
Yeah!
Good times, good times.
He’s still a big cuddle bear. Hugs and kisses all day long. And he loves to nuzzle his head in your neck. These sweet moments occur in between him running at full tilt all over the yard/park/beach. He’ll stop for a few moments of lovin’, and then be on his active way.
He has a smile that lights up a room. No, it lights up the entire house. He loves life, he loves his big brother, and he loves Mommy & Daddy. Most days, Daddy is the favourite, but I’m OK with that. Daddy’s a pretty cool guy; I married him, after all.
I cannot believe that he will be 2 next month…and I can. Matthew & I were talking tonight about how the past two years have been so full, but we both remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. The ring of fire is hard to forget, but so was the entire day. We had a small spotting scare at the beginning of my pregnancy with him, but God obviously wanted him in our lives, and for that I am eternally grateful.
Tonight I put him to bed, and despite being tired, he stood in his crib and yelled for…Mommy. He does this some nights, but usually it’s Daddy he yells for. I went up, picked him up, and sat into the rocking chair, with him draped across my belly, and his head on my shoulder. I rubbed his back, kissed his head, and prayed fervently for this little boy who will one day be a man. I got tears in my eyes as I came to a realization…
He may not always be A baby…but he’ll always be MY baby. Always.
I ran into a friend today who has a “real” job, as in she works outside of her home. She asked me what my plans were for the weekend. My response? “Working on the house…same as every other day”.
I’ve made reference to our 5-year house renovation, and I’m really not kidding. We’ve been renovating each room as our income allowed for it. Right now, we’re in the midst of a big addition to our downstairs family room, as well as a complete overhaul of the exterior of our house. As much as we loved the 70’s look of dark brown with white trim (note the sarcasm), we’re finally redoing the siding.
My 2 teenage brothers have been working for us, as well as a girl from our church (also a neighbour). As it stands right now, all of the old siding is off, they’ve been staining the new siding, and soon the new siding will go up.
The upside to being self-employed is that Matthew has been able to work on the house during the day (with the cordless phone in his pocket). His Dad has been helping too, which is another bonus of having their office at our house.
The downside to being self-employed is that the “weekend” usually isn’t much different than a week day. He usually doesn’t have much going on the office on the weekend, but it’s been known to happen. My work is almost entirely on the weekends, but I just finished a contract last week, so I’m currently taking a break from work.
My current work days (all 7 of them) consist of breakfast, followed by a morning at the beach. We come home so that Nathan can have his nap (and I can blog), and afterwards we either play in the yard, or head back to the beach. We come home for supper, and then sometimes head back to the beach with Honey.
The weekends don’t differ much, due to the renovation, but Honey will usually take off mid-afternoon so we can have family time. At the beach. And this weekend, we plan on checking out the waterslides with Christy & Jen (and their families).
It’s a tough life, I know, but you just have to cope with the hand you’ve been dealt. I hope your weekend is as “rough” as mine will be.
A little while back, Karen suggested that I pick up a contraption for cooking Beer Chicken. She showed me the one she had, and I picked one up last week.
You place a half-full can of beer in the stand, and place the chicken on top. The instructions say to pour out half of the beer to get it to half-full, but where I come from, that’s called a Beer Crime. Matthew actually prefers bottled beer to the canned variety, so we just poured some into an empty Diet Coke can. We’re never short on those around here.
Want to see some before and after shots? I had to take them because as soon as I placed the chicken upright, I got the giggles. Made me think of that Friends episode when Monica wore a turkey on her head.
It was some pretty tasty chicken. Best $8.99 I’ve spent in awhile. You can get them at Wal-Mart, or any place that sells barbeque stuff.
Not only is it a great flavour, you cook it on the barbeque. Outside. I’m all about NOT turning on the oven in the summer, especially since we are going to be in the high 30’s/low 40’s (Celsius) this weekend. We don’t have air conditioning.
I’ll be in the water: lake, pool, waterslides, bathtub full of ice…
