Curtain Calls

My children are the queens of Curtain Calls. In case you don't know what a "curtain call" is, it is that time after you get the kids in bed, all tucked in, said goodnight and walk away, and then it comes "MOMMMMEEE". And they need something, anything, and most of the time they don't even know what it is. Usually it is a drink, or they are hungry, or a band aid for an "owie" that has miraculously popped up as soon as the lights were turned out. Last week Amber called out to me. As I came back up two flights of stairs to see what the problem was, she says to me, "It is boring in here not doing anything." Really! She called me to tell me she was bored as she was supposed to be going to sleep! Unfortunately, I am not very patient or sympathetic at bedtime. BUT, that is where Dave comes in...he is SO much better at bedtime than I. So last night, after we got the Nintendo DS put away, Amber showed me a bruise on her leg that she got while I was at a meeting. I was honestly sympathetic, I kissed it, told her it must have hurt and if she got some sleep her body could start healing it. She gets up...LIMPS to her bed...and starts whining about how bad her leg hurts. My reaction, no more sympathy, no more patience, I tell her to go to bed and walk away. I know, bad mom, but it was after 9:00 at this point. So Dave goes in...and is there with her for a few minutes, and she quiets down. I walk back by the room after he leaves and this is what I see...

Of course, that wasn't the end of it...suddenly Amy's knee hurts. It is now Dave's problem. Here is what I find on her.

Amy's leg brace only lasted a few minutes, but Amber has a much more stubborn personality. She had to unwrap her leg when I woke her this morning.

It is not fun to be sick

We have not had a healthy start to this year. Amber started us off a few weeks ago with a double ear infection. Then a week later the stomach flu, which she so graciously shared with Amy last week. Friday night, Amber and I were back at the urgent care with another ear infection.
Since the girls have been sick and each one very helpful when the other is sick, Dave took them to Target to pick out one new game for their Nintendo DS. Of course they didn't agree on ONE game initially, so he offhandedly says, "Get sick again and then you can come back and get another".
Fast forward to breakfast this morning. I gave them each a half of a banana with breakfast. They both looked at me like I had gone completely nuts. I told them, we are going to eat more fruits and vegetables so that we can be more healthy and not get sick again. Amy looks at me and says, "I'm not eating this." Of course, I ask her why, since bananas are one of the few fruits she will eat. She tells me, "I want to get sick again." I of course look at her like she is crazy. And she finishes with, "Then I can get a new DS game."
Way to go dad! Hopefully, we are done with illness for a little while.

What do I do?

I can remember talking to an old friend right after I had Amy, Amber was 19 months old, and I had just left work to become a stay-at-home mom. My friend said to me, "Aren't you going to be bored?" At that time, if I wasn't changing diapers on one or both girls at the same time, I was feeding one or both girls at the same time, or trying to get them down for a nap. Boredom never was a problem...TRUST ME!

As the girls have now gotten a little older and are not as needy as they once were, I have branched out to do some other things "to keep me from getting bored". HA HA!!!

So here is a rundown of what I do to keep me from boredom:

• Part-time teacher at Gymboree Play and Music - Wednesday Evenings and Saturday Mornings
• Girls Scout Daisy Leader - 1st and 3rd Monday Evenings, also neighborhood meetings once per month
• Bible Study Fellowship - Tuesday Mornings
• Bible Study Fellowship Children's Program Volunteer - 2 Tuesdays each month
• MOPS - 1st and 3rd Friday mornings
• MOPS Steering Team Member - Meetings once a month in the evenings
• Room Parent
• Subdivision Trustee
• Driver - Amber to school and back everyday, Amy to and from school on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, Amy to gymnastics on Thursdays, Amber to dance on Tuesday evenings

I think that is all. Believe it or not I really do love everything that I do, OK maybe with the exception of being a subdivision trustee. But that is just because I have to listen to adults complain and not just kids...HA!

The question that I have been pondering to myself is: What am I going to do next year when Amy is in school full-time as well? As you can see, I really don't have time to work. LOL I will just spend a lot of time praying over it and see where God's plan leads me. No matter where it is, I am sure I will not be BORED!

Alarm Clocks

I really dislike alarm clocks...I love days when I don't have to use mine...like summer and days off of school. I bought Dave a new alarm clock a couple of years ago.

It is a very cool clock. It tells the temperature outside, inside and the humidity inside. (It even attempts to forecast whether or not it is going to rain the next day or not, but that part is not very predictable.)

When Dave got that alarm clock we passed "his" old one (which was his Grandpa's before that) to Amber. Amber loved it. We didn't really set the alarm, for her, but we could tell her stay in your room until your clock says 8:00. (I like to sleep in.) My Amber is very much a rule follower and would never come out until 8:00.

So now that she is going to school, she requested a new alarm clock for her room.

Grandma and Grandpa bought her one for Christmas. Talk about a cool clock! The only problem is she totally sleeps through the alarm. Her alarm wakes me up in my room and I will go in 15 minutes later and she will still be sound asleep. That's OK though because I can get a couple of snuggles out of her while she is still half asleep.

What happened to Grandpa's clock?

It is in Amy's room now. Too bad it never has the right time, she likes to press the buttons...

Presents

I thought I would do a post about all the presents that were hot for the girls to have this year for Christmas, as well as the ones we made and those in which we are most thankful.

Our holiday break began with 2 of my sisters-in-law, and nieces and I feverishly putting together scrapbook of our summer vacation for my mother and father-in-law. We spent a week in a beach house this past July as a 50th wedding anniversary celebration for them. The scrapbook was a huge hit. It turned out wonderful and really brought some memories back. My mother and father-in-law also received a flag that was flown over the Capital in Washington D.C. on October 31, 2009, the day of their actual 50th wedding anniversary. Awesome gift.

My mother-in-law must have been EXTREMELY busy over the last year. She made these "no-sew" blankets for EVERYONE. I watched at least 12 of them be opened and I know she made at least 2 others beyond that. I cannot imagine how she did all that. I have a made a few for charity though my MOPS Group and I thought that my hands were going to fall off after cutting and tying 1-2 blankets with help!

Onto a few of the gifts that made the list at our house. Amy's Christmas list went on and on...every time a new commercial came on all I would here is "I want that". Thankfully that has stopped since the holidays are over. Her big items were, a Nintendo DS and a "2-wheeled scooter". These were also the two big items that Amber got for her birthday in October...I am a bit afraid of the pattern this might be turning into.

Amber's bigger gifts included Mario Kart for her DS and roller skates. She loved playing her cousins MarioKart over the summer so now she and Amy can play together. HA HA!! Playing together is usually not the problem, it is playing together without and argument developing.

Wish I could say that my children are not spoiled rotten, but unfortunately they are. I prefer to call them "extremely loved".

Holiday Vacation

Over the holidays, we spent 10 wonderful days in Ohio. Dave is from Canton, Ohio, so we travel there usually twice a year. Every other year, we spend Christmas in Canton...this was our year to pack up everything, including all presents, and head to Canton for the holidays. As always we had a wonderful trip. The girls LOVE spending time with their grandparents and cousins. I am always so amazed at how these kids all pick up and start playing as if they saw one another yesterday. In reality, we haven't seen anyone, except Grandma and Grandpa, since July. I know when I was young and hadn't seen my cousins in a while, I was a little shy to begin with, but not these kids. It is really something to see their relationships.

We came home on Saturday, but it was a rough trip. Poor Amber has figured out that when we leave it is going to be a few months before she sees her grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles. The poor thing cried herself to sleep the night before we left, because she didn't want to come home. She woke up "OK"...that was until Aunt Tammy, Uncle Guy, Missy and Johnathan left for Florida about 30 minutes before us. Then the tears really started again. The poor thing was so sad, and it was absolutely heartbreaking for us to see how sad she was and not be able to do anything about it. She cried herself to sleep in the car again about an hour after we left. And then at bedtime once we were home. She really misses her family. It makes me sad that we live so far away, but yet I am happy that the girls have such a closeness with their grandparents that they do care.

I was particularly close to my Grandma Rahm. I can remember as a child praying that she would never die because I didn't know how I could go about my life without her. As a child she was my best friend. To this day, when things get really challenging, I often wish I still had her to talk to.

This is a picture of me and B.J., my cousins Meredith and Stephanie and my Grandma Rahm. I am the only one not looking at the camera.

Fencing...not interesting to the 4 year old

Apparently Amber has been learning some fencing in P.E. at school. (Don't worry, they are using swim noodles.)

So, Dave has decided it would be a great idea to bring our swimming noodles into the house and let the girls practice "fencing" (Don't worry that we do have a Christmas Tree, but nothing has been broken, YET).

As always, Amber is very serious about teaching us what she has learned. Which is fine as long as she is talking to Dave or myself. She holds her noodle in very straight posture and shouts "HONOR POSITION", and then proceeds to show us how to gallop across the room in the stance that I am sure is exactly like her P.E. teacher has shown her and explains to us that we can only score is we touch her in the chest or belly.

Of course, her seriousness on the sport is lost on Amy and boy is that frustrating for Amber. Amy thinks fencing is a great sport because she can run through the house whacking anyone that might get in her way. Meanwhile, Amber stands in the middle of the living room screaming very impatiently "HONOR POSITION" in her very straight posture waiting for Amy to return and listen to the remainder of her instruction. Of course this ends in tears because Amy just won't listen to her.

Last night Amber and I had a very intense conversation, where I explained to her that there is a reason you don't learn fencing in preschool. She finally did recover from her impatience when we told her that if they did teach fencing in preschool it would involve chasing one another and whacking each other with a noodle. She thought that sounded OK, so the evening was saved. Such a rule-follower, that girl.

Since today was a P.E. day, I can't wait to see what I learn about fencing tonight!