Sunday, April 5, 2009

Grown-up School

It looks like hubby and I will be going to grown-up school in may. Yay! I've been itching to get out of the house and start practicing my social skills again and this will be a great oportunity for that!
Our future plans are to buy rental properties(one at a time of course), so we have decided to go to the community college and take a class that will better prepare us so that we don't have to hire a property manager. I'm so excited! I know, property management sounds boring, but basically I have 6yrs experience doing more or less that for our own home, so it won't be like completely new territory or anything.
The greatest part about it is that the classes are in the evenings and we have a baby-sitter lined up and also a back up babysitter for when the usual one can't do it. It will really work out great! I'm hoping anyway.
Aside from that, there isn't really anything new going on. Scott is still working on fixing his behavior at school. We are still working on fixing our diet to include all our necissary nutrients and whatnot.
Tyler is working on seeing how far he can push me. haha! Yeah, the terrible twos are right around the corner.
We did get to meet our next door neighbors baby. She is sooo cute! Her birthday is one day before Tyler's and they are one year apart in age. She growls all the time too, just like Tyler. I think that is the cutest thing in the world to hear a baby growl. hehe. Yeah, I'm a bit demented. I just love contrast. Cute innocent baby + furocious growl = me grinning. hehe!

Monday, March 9, 2009

Update - Craziness

It's been a while since I have updated this and since I finally have a chance to get on here, I thought I would do just that.

In the last few weeks Scott has kept me quite busy. He has been bouncing off the walls, misbehaving at school, and just driving me bonkers. Last week I told him to brush his hair for school because he only had 5 minutes left. He comes out and says "mom, do you like my hair?" I seriously thought he had used some hair gel and pushed the bangs up. I said "Oh yes, it looks great" Then he informed me "I fixed it with scissors!" and I got a bit closer to see that, yes, he "fixed" it all right. Oh dear. Have I had the time to fix his mistake? Nope. He is still going to school without any bangs. Maybe I will have time this evening.

At the end of the week, Scott learned about fire safety........Thankfully nobody was hurt and nothing was destroyed other than the tip of the pipe cleaner that had been inserted in the electrical outlet. Scott's words "Mom! It came alive and fire was falling out!"

I took my sister out shopping yesterday to keep her mind off grandma's deathiversary. Harry is sick with the flu and was so miserable that I just couldn't leave the kids with him. Scott was able to bring his own money to spend. The highlight of his day was not so much the toys but the fact that he got to have his own receipt and keep it. haha! Kids! You just never know what will excite them. At the end of our shopping trip, the boys were so wild that I had to put them both in a basket so that I could actually look at something. I only ended up being able to purchase a few make-up items since I had to chase the boys the rest of the time. I left the basket at the end of an isle, walked 3 ft. away from it and Scott stood up in the basket, after I had already told him to sit down. I went back and said "what are you doing? I just told you to sit down." His response was "yeah, but you couldn't see me". I had reached my limit. I quickly finished shopping and we went home and I got the kids to bed after a quick dinner. I seriously need a girls day out. You know, the kind without children.

Things at school are easing up a little bit. At least Scott has only been in the principals office for lunch time. He keeps throwing food, so I have had to adjust his lunch to contain nothing "fun". No nuts, sunflower seeds, crackers, or anything else that sounds musical when you throw it against a table, floor, or other students head.

Scott is now enrolled in martial arts. I know, it sounds insane to put an out of control child in something where he will learn to kick and punch and yell, but thankfully there is much discipline in such learning. I am hoping that it works for him and he learns to focus and control himself much better. The instructors are wonderful and I really like the entire staff. Scott is also crazy about them.

Yes, I do actually have 2 children. I often leave Tyler out when discussing my children because he hasn't learned to be a complete terror yet. Let's see, what can I say about Ty? He blows kisses to me and says "night night" when I tuck him in. It's so precious and just melts my heart! His utter joy of food seems to be winding down a bit. I'm guessing that he must be going through his first down cycle for growth. It seems he has been in a constant growth spurt until a few weeks ago, judging by his appitite. His hydrocele seems to be closing on it's own. Yay! That doesn't mean there wasn't bad news at his last appointment though. It seems he has a heart murmur. The doc says he thinks it is of the variety that will require surgery later in his life.

Tyler's latest funny is that he has an oppinion for everything. Typical Gemini. When mommy lectures Scott, Ty joins in and gets so loud that I can't hear myself over him. He puts his entire body into it. It's so funny! He also likes to say "dumb boy", thanks to Scott. Scott, for some reason, calls himself a dumb boy when I dish out lectures. I've never called him dumb, or stupid or anything even remotely close to that. Those words aren't allowed in our house. I don't know where Scott gets the idea that he is dumb or stupid if he makes mistakes. I'm just hoping that I can train Tyler to quit joining in with that phrase.

I'm sure I am leaving out lots of funny stuff, but I feel that is a good enough update for now. I'm spending lunch with Scott tomorrow to try to encourage good lunch behavior. It will be a once a week thing from here on out. This week is going to be another busy one. My whole week is booked so I probably won't update again for a bit.

Friday, February 13, 2009

A Family Outing

Tuesday night we got to see the premier for Open Season 2. This is only the 2nd time we have taken kids to the theater, so it was interresting. Since it was a work only viewing, we didn't really have to worry if the kids were a bit too noisy. They actually both did better than I expected them to. The theater it was shown at was awesome! There are tables at every seat and you get to order food so you can have dinner and a movie in one sitting. That really made for a nice time and Ty was very happy as the boy's whole world revolves around food. I thought the movie was awesome! It was so funny and they really did a great job on it! Of course, I am probably biased. Harry even got one of those nice big shiny credits at the end. You know, before the other credits start traveling up the page. I can't help but be totally proud of him. Not to say that I wasn't proud when he got the little credits all the way at the bottom of the scrolling one, because I have always been proud of him. I do know how hard he has worked to get here though. I also know how much the entire family has sacrificed in order for him to get here.
I actually got dolled up a bit, for once in........don't know how long. Scott was really excited to see mommy wear a dress and put makeup on. He also encouraged me to do my hair in a different hairdo. LOL! The boy is obsessed with how mommy looks. He loves to pick out my clothes, and of course he usually chooses something pink or close to it. I normally avoid pink like the plague. I just don't like the color. I tollerate it occasionally for Scott though.
Speaking of Scott, he got his first in-school suspention yesterday. Yuck! He has come a long way from last year, but there is still a constant struggle with his behavior. He no longer blows up over anger issues, but he is just so wired all the time and it is so hard to constantly adjust things to make sure his daily report isn't filled with bad behavior. For every 2 good days of school, he has at least 3 bad days at school. Sometimes we even have weeks go by with only mediocre behavior reports. Well, this time we boxed up all of his toys for a week. Hopefully that helps. Durring this week, he will also have no time for plug-in time. No tv, no pc, no v-smile. That may be a bit harsh, but the reason he was sent to the principals office was the type where someone could have gotten seriously hurt. I'm sure he thought it was all fun and games. I'm sure he didn't intend for anyone to get hurt, but I also know that he KNOWS the dangers of running with scissors. I just don't know what else to do. Harry was awesome though. I called him at work to let him know what was going on and he came home immediately so that the two of us could talk to Scott together about it. Harry did all the talking, which is great since I usually have to be the bad guy.
Tyler has gotten a lot more interactive. It is a lot of fun. At night I put him to bed and he says "night night" and blows me kisses and waves to me. It is so cute and sweet and I am really loving this stage. At the same time, he is also going through a defiant stage. Durring lunch yesterday, Ty was trying to get down to play and after telling him "no", he laughed at me. Then I asked if he wanted a spank and he laughed some more. I busted out my "this is really serious" face and said "spank?" and what does he do? He spanked himself and laughed at me some more. Wow! I really do wear the pants around here, huh? That's not even the half of it. He kept standing up and I kept telling him to sit and eat and when he would lean way over to try to get down, he would say "no no no no no" in this cutesy little sing song voice. Yeah, my 1 1/2 year old is mocking me, already! I don't remember Scott being that defiant at his age, and he is my Taurus. haha! Well, hopefully Ty gets it over and done with soon or he will end up at the principals office before he even gets to kindergarten.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Christmas trip and priorities

My christmas trip went amazingly well. We stayed at the condo for a few days. On Christmas eve we went to an alligator park. That was cool. Scott was scared of......no not the alligators, but the parots they had there. He was freaked by their loud squaking. He thought they would peck his eyes out. Christmas day we went to Disney village and I spent way too much money. Also, Ty decided he would walk off and go talk to strangers. Dad had him and then set him down, turned around to set something down, turned back around and said "where's Tyler?". I freaked. It was a matter of seconds and Ty had dissapeared. About 10 feet away we saw him in the doorway of a shop and some guy was talking to him, probably to keep him from going too far. Thank God for that! I was petrified!
The next day we went to Animal Kingdom. It was fun until Scott decided to walk ahead of us and HE got lost! Cindy and I went back to where we last saw him with no luck finding him. Then we went ahead to where dad was waiting with Tyler. We found someone who worked there and I asked "who do I talk to if I have lost my 5 year old?" Well, Scott had already been found by someone and turned in. Thank God for Disney staff! Scott wasn't scared, but boy, I was! Next time, kiddie leashes!
Then we went to my uncle Bud's house. I hadn't seen him in so long! I don't even know the last time I saw him. It was great seeing him again! Then we headed for the beach. We just went to the one close to Dad's house since everywhere else was packed. It was nice. Dad and Cindy had bought sand toys and we built some sand castles. Ty scooped up sand and then let it fall slowly and said "ooh" each time. It was cute!
We went on a boat with Dad as captain. He was disapointed that we didn't see any creatures, but we had a blast anyway. I loved the way the wind hit my face and how the boat felt as you hit the small waves. It was so awesome!
Dad also busted out the kayaks and he and I went down the creak with them. It was a total blast! I told him I would have to check into that when I got home. I want a kayak! hehe! I think I will start by renting some and take Harry out since he missed out this trip. I just know if I get him out in one, he will want one as much as I do!
I'm in love with my new brother, Danny Boy. He is my dad's new cockatoo. He is sooo cute! I wasn't crazy about him trying to bite my nose off, but he was fun. I am dubbed Godmother for him now, but hopefully dad will live long enough where I never have to fullfill the title.

Durring my trip, I have realized I spend way too much time on the computer and not enough time in the real world. My new years resolution is to do more outside of this box and enjoy the beautiful things outside my front door. So for those of you who I know in this box, I have to get my priorities straight. If you have my number, you are welcome to call anytime. If you have my email, I will still be checking that regularly. Other than that, I have to limit my pc time so that I can enjoy my life to the fullest.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Ice day

Well, you can't really call it a snow day. We got the slightest whisper of snow, but my entire car was covered in ice this morning. I got the car all warmed up and scraped as much of the ice off my windshield as I could, then went in and got Tyler all ready to take Scott to school. Then I heard the phone ring and knew it must be Harry since his flight was due to arrive in LA. I went ahead and listened to the message to see if there was anything important. Boy am I glad I did. Last I had seen on the news, our school district wasn't even on the list for delay, but Harry mentioned it was. I went ahead and checked and they delayed by 2 hours. I went to turn off the car and got the kids unwrapped. It wasn't long after that they showed us as being closed for the day.
I'm glad I didn't have to drive in it, but I was so sluggish today that I didn't really want to deal with both children all day. Am I a bad mommy for saying that? I was really looking forward to a nap.
Harry had to go to LA for a 3 day work trip. Of course, knowing we wouldn't see each other for 3 days, we stayed up late gabbing. We ended up getting 4 hours of sleep since we had to get up at 5:00. I went ahead and got up with him so I could be sure he had everything he needed for the trip and to make sure the kids car seats were out of whichever vehicle he decided to take.
I ended up falling asleep on the recliner while Scott played his computer game this evening.
I have been searching everywhere for our Christmas decorations. They are all in one box, somewhere in this house. If you knew how many boxes of stuff I have, you would know why this is such a difficult task. I didn't find it. I throw my hands up at this point. I will just bust out some paint and we can paint the Sweet gum tree seed pods that we have been collecting after school. I want to put glitter on them. Scott wants them to be red so they will look like red bombs. Yeah, that's nice. How boyish of him. haha!
With hubby away, I don't know what to do with my time. My sister and mom are both working an early shift and neither will have much time during the week for phone calls. I am so used to calling whenever it strikes my fancy and to have to wait until the weekend is a bit of a bummer. I can't be selfish though. They both really needed to get that job and I am so happy for them that they found an enjoyable job and can carpool and all that.
I do need to get Michelle's sweater done though. I usually do my crochet while on commercial breaks, but there doesn't seem to be much on tv. I suppose I can use my On Demand and watch all the freebies. There is some weird stuff on that list. Problem with that is there aren't any commercials. LOL! Never thought I would complain about that! I am concerned over whether or not I will have enough yarn. I had more than enough in the beginning. That was before my lovely labs decided my crochet looked like a small mammal. I had to throw out a completed piece for the front of the sweater. I'm sure I have another roll of that yarn somewhere! Just don't know where I might have hid it. I have this problem all the time. If it isn't dogs, it's kids that I have to hide everything from. Do all parents have this problem or am I just completely clueless? Back on topic.....you might wonder why I don't just buy another roll. The answer is simple, really. I am the world's tightest penny pincher. I found the yarn at Big Lots. It was soft and fuzzy and such a nice shade of army green. I had to have it! Well, come to find out, it is a discontinued color and I can't find more of it. I suppose, worse come to worse, I will create my own pattern and use stripes or something in the front of another color that would be appealing. They do have lots of other colors in the same kind of yarn. I just hope it doesn't come to that. I'm so picky when I have my mind set on something.
Sorry, no pics for today. There wasn't enough snow to make any pretty pics. Ty has had an upset stomach and is very cranky. Scott.....well, he was feeling the affects of the cold weather and couldn't sit still long enough for a picture. haha! I do need to get the pics done for the huas though. Maybe I will post those tomorrow.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Faker!

Tyler has this new thing. When I make a pretend cry sound Tyler will pretend to be really sad. I have to post these pics because they are soooo cute! Ty is not a very good actor, but he sure is adorable!
Oh, please excuse the crayon on the wall.




Monday, December 8, 2008

Park Fun

I kept promising Scott that I would take him to the park and never got around to it, so we went yesterday. Harry was busy with Sea Of Lies, so it was just me and the boys.
Scott had a blast and ran around all over the place as usual. Tyler hasn't been to the park very much and the times we have taken him, he hasn't been interested in doing anything because of the fear of strangers phase. This time I made Ty walk around a bit. I took him up the ramp and he was unsure of that, wouldn't let go of my hand. He doesn't like to hold hands, so of course I was thrilled that he let me hold his, but sad that it was due to him being unsure of the park. I went down a 2 ft. slide with him and he didn't like it. I tried it a few more times and he seemed sorta okay, so I decided it was time for him to try the 2 ft slide by himself. I set him down and held his hands and he still didn't like it. Oh well, on to the swing. He didn't like that either. He wouldn't hold on to the side bars on it and kept flopping forward and back and crying. I finally gave up on that. Then I just stood him up and said "where you wanna go?" so I followed him around as he paced back and forth. Then he spotted those animals on springs(you know where you sit on it and can lean forward and back to make it rock). He chose a motorcycle one.
As you can see, he didn't seem to mind this as much. Then he actually was having some fun! I was so proud! He did NOT want to leave the motorcycle thing, but I did want to show him that there are other things that are fun too. I took him over to the slide again and had Scott show him how much fun it was. Ty was more comfortable around it and thought it was okay so long as mommy rode too. I love that Ty has a big brother! Scott is always so willing to show and teach Tyler and I'm so glad Ty gets to have that experience!

After that, we decided to try the see saw. It isn't the normal kind like they had back in my day.
They are on springs and kinda jiggle around a bit. I sat on it and had Ty in my lap while Scott sat on the other side. Scott had a really good time and of course had to show off. I then put Ty on it by himself and held him around the waist to make sure he didn't fall off and to also give him that extra secure feeling. He really had fun so long as mommy stayed real close. We only stayed for about an hour because it got windy and cold and I hadn't brought jackets. We will go again next weekend. It is good because it gives Harry some alone time to play guitar or whatever and it gives me and the boys lots of fun time together. I just need to be better at sticking with my commitments.