March 30, 2008
1-2-3 GO
Getting ready
Drawing the holes
Brace yourself!
Relaxed now that it's done
Happy!
Posted by Moogie at 5:19 PM | Comments (3)
Where does the time go?
Tomorrow, Meelie No will be 10 years old. Tomorrow. Double digits. Wasn't just yesterday that I held her on my chest for the first time? Wasn't it just yesterday when her dad and I rejoiced when she took her first steps? It just can't be. My baby? She is no longer a baby anymore.
10 years. Has it really been that long?
Posted by Moogie at 9:36 AM | Comments (2)
March 28, 2008
The Birthday Party
Meelie had her birthday party the weekend before last. Her real birthday isn't until March 31st which happens to be right around spring break time. This year, we decided to hold it earlier, because in years past, there have been a lot of children who couldn't come because they were not home. This year she had a combination birthday/slumber party. There were 10 girls invited, three of which included her sister, and two of her friends. All of the rest of the girls were 10. There was one no show. ONE. And they all spent the night. It was very loud. Fortunately, all of the girls are great kids so it was only the volume I had to deal with. Well, that and some pre-teen angst a couple of times but I've become an expert mediator during these times so it was no big deal.
She had the first part of her birthday party at a place called "The French Quarter." This is a little shop in town that actually has a "Webkinz Room" where the parties are held. Webkinz are a big deal here in this household, as well as with all of her friends. It couldn't have been better. What made it really nice was that the prices were reasonable as well. You can't beat that. There were quite a few games as well as prizes and the girls really seemed to enjoy themselves.
The first game that they played was "Guess the number of Gummy Worms." Oh, how they struggled Oh, how they tried to cheat by looking at their neighbor's paper. It was hysterical really. They put so much thought in it. You would have thought they were trying to decide between the Kit-Kat bars or Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. Either that or who to pick for President. Thankfully, they all seemed anti-Clinton so I didn't have to kill them.
Next up came a game of "Home After Dark." What you see in the picture (for those of you not exposed to Webkinz-bless you) are Lil' Kinz. The "Party Lady" had a duffel bag full of them. She would pull them out one by one, waiting for the kids to shout out the name. After they were all out, she reversed it, and put them back in the bag, one by one, asking for the name. She then carried the duffel bag to the corner of the room, and passed out slips of paper, and then asked the kids to name them all. What a blast they had with that.
The girls were really raring to go after that, and even the older girls seemed to be getting into the groove (am I dating myself using that word?) of things. What could follow that but a rousing game of "Tape the Tail on the Pig." The "Party Lady" would spin each of the girls around 5 times, and then let them try to "pin" the tail on the pigs ass rump. It was at this point that I had to assure my husband, who had been sitting there "demurely" (oxymoron) that the Rum and Cokes had not been given to the children before the party. Those were being held until after we got home.
After the pig had been poked, we moved on to what is known as "The Wishing Well." Think Las Vegas. Think Slot Machines. This game is something like that. Each child was dealt a certain number of cards, and the object was to match them where you could. The more you matched, the higher the points. I think in this case, you really need to be familiar with the whole Webkinz community to realize what this whole game is about. Thankfully, all of the girls are experts (former drips under pressure?) so there was no problem.
No birthday party is complete without the cupcakes baby! And the cupcakes we did have. I'm not completely sure, but I believe the girls enjoyed the icing the most. After the cupcakes, we still had a little time yet, so we played yet another game of "Home After Dark." With a different take. This time, "The Party Lady" brought out the Lil' Kinz one by one, and put them back. The twist was? They had to name the ones that were missing.
All in all, it was a wonderful party that surprisingly enough was enjoyed by the younger kids as well as the old. Since this post is similar to a novelette in length, I'll stop it now and in the next day or so, will move on to the part at home.
Which I am just now recovering from.
Posted by Moogie at 6:21 PM | Comments (1)
March 21, 2008
School Buses
Since moving here, the girls have started to take the bus to school, which is almost a necessity because this is a small county and the schools are far apart. It's really not bad though because both of their buses stop right on the corner, two houses away. On my Fridays off, as well as those I work (I get off an hour earlier); I generally walk to the bus stop to meet Meelie. The only reason I don't do this for Chickie is because that would be categorized as "Most Embarrassing Moment" in her "Book of Mother's Faults." "Helloooo, Mom? I'm 13 now and NOT a baby any more!" I guess I can understand that, especially after she has finally forgiven me for shouting out "MAKE GOOD CHOICES!" as she was climbing on the school bus one morning. She didn't talk to me for over two weeks.
I'm bringing this up because I needed to go into work today (on my day off) and finish up some work as I'll be heading down with the girls to my parent's house for Easter and a few days during the week. I specifically stopped early enough so that I could be home in time to meet Meelie at the bus stop. And the bus is late. As in over 35 minutes late. Understanding that she attends a public school helps me realize that this should not surprise me one iota. These kinds of things tend to happen when a driver calls in sick or a bus breaks down, and they have to cram four routes into one vehicle.
I still can't help but worry because I remember at the beginning of the year, Meelie's bus was late. Or so I thought. I realized there might be a problem when I saw other kids playing out on our street who took the same bus as she did. I ran headlong into a wall of bricks when the reality of the situation hit me. My child did not get off the bus, or worse yet, was not on the bus.
My mouth felt like the armpit of a gorilla with a side of Tabasco sauce as I called the school and calmly (on the outside) inquired as to the whereabouts of my child. I could hear mild pandemonium in the background as two-way communicators were going off while they furtively tried to contact the driver. When the lady came back on the line (it happened to be the principal) she told me that apparently, Meelie had fallen asleep on the bus and they were well into the second route before it was discovered (when I called).
So you see, while it turned out this had a happy ending, I don't have a lot of faith in the school bus system. If you'll excuse me, I need to go call the school now.
Posted by Moogie at 3:28 PM | Comments (3)
March 19, 2008
It's stuck
Meelie stayed home sick today with the flu. All kids have different ways of communicating that what went down is about to come back up. It was tough when they were littler because they couldn't verbally express what was going on. I learned early on that Chickie would pace while holding her blanket. Back and forth across the carpeted floor. She would wander aimlessly, giving a bystander the impression that she was terribly worried about where her next meal would come from. After a few missed queues, I learned what to watch for and when she began her inevitable pacing back and forth, clutching her beloved blanket, I would run to get the "bucket."
Meelie really had no identifiable reaction when she was small. It became easier when she was older and had begun to talk. When she was ready to worship the almighty porcelain god, she would cry out "it's stuck!" It came out more like "it tuck!" I quickly realized that this was her signal that the volcano was about to erupt and if I didn't get the "bucket" soon, I would be cleaning up and unholy mess. To this day, she still uses that, albeit she can now speak in what we know as English. "Mama, it's stuck!" And that's what I heard at 1:18 am this morning.
And about every hour afterwards, poor thing. It was my husband's turn to take care of her (stay home from work). I'm fortunate enough to have a partner that will take turns being off of work when the kids are sick. It was still hard because, with all of my being, I wanted to be home taking care of her. Don't get me wrong, he is more than capable of taking care of her himself, but I wasn't there. What my presence would have done couldn't tell you, except perhaps make me feel better.
By evening time, she was doing much better, although she was terribly exhausted. Thankfully, she was able to get some food (popsicle, toast) down, which seemed to help her out a lot. We got her to bed fairly early and before I had even turned of the lights, I heard a faint snore coming from her parted lips. I'm hoping this means we are through the worst of it.
Upadate: Meelie made it through half the day at school today. I go a telephone call from the nurse stating that she was in her office crying because she felt so horrible. Currently, she is sleeping on the recliner with Fergie playing softly in the background.
Posted by Moogie at 5:36 PM | Comments (2)
March 18, 2008
Before
Did you know that five 10 year olds and three 13 year olds can make enough noise to "blow the house down?" Take my word for it. They can. This weekend we had Meelie's birthday party. She is now officially a double digit. Well, not until the end of the month but she had her party on Saturday. My girlfriend made the cake and here is a little spoiler. I'm currently writing up a post about the whole party but you'll have to wait until tomorrow for that. Right now, I need to play taxi cab driver and take my girls to dance and cheer.
While you're waiting, won't you take this quick little survey?
Posted by Moogie at 5:31 PM | Comments (1)
March 12, 2008
Homework
Any parent of school aged children can tell you that children and homework can sometimes be akin to mixing oil and vinegar. If you don't shake it up often, it sometimes separates, if you know what I mean.
Chickie was a problem in grade school. She hated homework with a passion and it would take a lot of time for her to finish just a few pages worth. She spent so much time whining and moaning about it, that by the time we were done I was ready to drop her through the chimney or start drinking heavily. Preferably both. She has always been a child who does well in school, if she puts forth the effort. Quite often, her grades would be low because she didn't do homework. Once she did it, they would skyrocket. It was up and down, much like a roller coaster and it used to drive me mad. She's much better at it now, but tends to wait until the last moment to do things. I've been trying to break her of that habit and I'm about 50% successful in that endeavor. It's hard for me to get too worked up because I was (am) exactly the same way. It drives me nuts because when she applies herself, she aces her classes. I just wish I could figure out a way to motivate her.
Meelie No is an entirely different matter. I keep waiting for the point in which things get better, but we aren't there yet. She hates homework with a passion. Getting her to read can be likened to pulling teeth from a newborn, without the drool. Come to think of it, drool is involved in most cases. She is a volatile child, not in the violent sense, but emotionally. She is convinced she is stupid, and "will never get it." This bothers me greatly because I have no clue where that is coming from. On the flip side, there are days when she will sit down and do the homework, and have no problems with it. The problem lies when she doesn't get a concept right away. The frustration runs high and we plunge head first into a complete meltdown. And it's very ugly. I have to keep a tight hold on my temper because if I get mad? Things just take a leap off the Golden Gate Bridge and get worse from that point on. Of course it's because "I don't understand. I am mean and always yell at her. I think she's stupid and get angry if she doesn't understand." And people wonder why my blood pressure is so high.
I really don't want to come out as someone who is complaining. I love my children and take my job as their parent seriously. It's just that sometimes, it's hard to know what to do. How do I make it right? How do I become a parent whose child just comes home, has a snack and does her homework every night? Any suggestions?
Posted by Moogie at 7:51 PM | Comments (4)
The life of a mom
I am sitting in front of my computer. The blinds in the office are pulled up, and the sun is streaming through, casting a wonderful sunbeam across the center of the room. Tiny is lying at my feet. The children are outside with their friends, jumping on the trampoline.
And then....
SLAM! goes the back door as the children rush inside.
SCREECH! goes Meelie No at some horrible thing someone has done.
SMACK! is the sound of Meelie No hitting one of the kids.
BELLOW! is the sound of Meelie No when said child strikes back.
ABJECT HORROR! is the reaction I get when I take said child's side and remand Meelie No into her room.
SLAM! goes her bedroom door, causing the pictures to rattle precariously against the wall.
I'm not sure the tax deductions are worth it. At the very least, I'm going to have to remove the inside doors.
Posted by Moogie at 5:01 PM | Comments (2)
Word Game
Okay you brainiacs, here is a brain teaser for you. What nine letter word in the English language is still a word when each of the nine letters is removed one by one? The letters are removed in a specific order.
Take a few minutes to try and come up with a nine letter word that fits the bill, then watch the attached video.
Okay, so just watch the video.
Posted by Moogie at 4:36 PM | Comments (1)
March 7, 2008
A little list
- I come back to my blog after a few days away and find that someone left the lights on, and there are dirty dishes in the sink. It never ceases to amaze me that no one does any work while I'm gone. I was hoping that the Posting Fairy would pay a visit but alas, it seems she had a root canal it was too painful for her to type.
- It is raining like cats and dogs here today. A more appropriate terminology would be elephants, but that thought scares me because I don't think my roof could handle a barrage of elephants landing on top of it. I don't even want to contemplate the mess. I would delegate the job of Pooper Scooper to my husband, that's for sure.
- Last week, Meelie performed in a Black History Month (in the Chorus at school) program that was very well done. My camcorder decided to decimate it's battery so I was stuck using my digital camera for short little clips. As a result, the picture quality is not the greatest (the lighting was difficult, to say the least), but when all is said and done, you don't need to SEE the Chorus to enjoy it. You just need ears to listen, and believe me, I have listened to them over and over again. I'm Mom. It's my job to be proud.
- Why is it raining on my day off? It seems that's the way it always goes. So much for spreading the Weed 'n Feed today. I sure am sad that I won't be able to do that. NOT!
- Speaking of rain, there is a tornado warning a little up north of here, which, coincidentally, is where my girlfriend works. We had made plans to have lunch today. They had to evacuate the building so they all went somewhere to get breakfast. We have to reschedule.
- Chickie's school competition was to be held today up in Valdosta. Because of severe weather conditions, that has been canceled as well. I felt really sorry for her, but mostly I am relieved. I'm just glad they are being cautious and not taking any risks.
- I've been working on time management here at Chez Moogie. I'm trying to figure out how to juggle everything we have on our plates, without simultaneously pulling my hair out and poking myself in the eye with a sharp stick. Wish me luck. If I'm successful, I think I'll write a book. What do you think I should call it?
Posted by Moogie at 10:42 AM | Comments (2)
