I am very confused about how I feel. Not gonna lie. LOL...
In just a few weeks Courtney will be here. Her Grandparents are allowing us to fly her out here for Spring Break. I know Jim has longed to see her in person. I have a feeling it is going to be quite an emotional meeting for everyone.
Here is my problem. Maybe I am just being my stupid, stubborn self. His Parents are my problem. You see, when Jim and his ex found out they were "expecting" she was only 16 and Jim was 17. His Parents said that they didn't want him to be on the birth certificate or pay child support unless the girlfriend went through testing to prove Jim was the Father.
Her Parents didn't want that, at least this is the story that is being told. Will I ever know the truth.....probably not.
Here is what I think. I think that my In Laws were really embarressed about the situation. I can only imagine that they blamed themselves, felt it was their fault for being so busy at work and life, providing for their family and they didn't see what was going on right in front of them with their own child. I can only guess that is why my husband wound up going to College so far away from home. They wanted to get him away from it all.
Jim had been pretty honest with me about the situation. He didn't tell me about the baby until we had been together almost a year. He was upset then, she was two years old at the time and he had never seen her.
As time has gone by, he had been looking for her. Finally we found her (most of you know that story). She has been living in California with her Grandparents, who had adopted her back in 98 and been raising her.
Jim broke down and told his Parents this past July and they act so thrilled. They wanted her address and phone number right away. They mailed her a card. God knows what it said. I am sure it said something to make them look good. They send her money and gift cards. Now before I go all "insane jealous" on you all, let me tell you what kind of people they are.
These people, my In Laws, are very cheap. I am not kidding. They will go out of town shopping all day and not eat. Not eat a thing. Why? Because they dont' want to spend the money! They will be gone ten, twelve hours and then come home complaining how hungry they are. They will order a pizza at domino's because it's only $5 and that is their dinner.
My kids have only gotten a handful of birthday gifts from them, ever. They refuse to attend the girls birthday parties, saying that they don't believe in bday parties. My FIL will even tell you his parents never did them so they never did them for their kids (my husband and his sister) and Jim will tell you he never got bday presents as a kid. When we lived in SC, we actually got bday cards and put $20 in them and signed their names so the girls would have something from someone besides us and my Parents and sisters. They didn't really have many friends down there seeing that we were homeschooling and couldn't find a good church.
So I think that they have never, ever gotten the girls anything for Easter either. And never for Valentines day. Let's just rule out every holiday and special occasion. I can tell you that this past Novemeber when Camryn had her 6th bday and we had a party for her at McDonalds, she personally invited them and they didnt' come. She was so heartbroken.
Imagine my anger when they sent Courtney a card and money for Valentine's day. I am not at all jealous, it is the principal of the fact. My kids are here, they don't act as if they care. They have kept them overnight twice in a year. Twice. After the first time she actually told us that she wanted to start keeping them individually so she can spend time with them one on one. I think it's just so she doesn't have to do anything with them. I know that sounds rude but it is how I feel. And the second time they stayed we had to practically beg them to keep them. We didn't want them to stay overnight, just watch them for a few hours while we went to dinner.
Naturally, you can tell that I have some supressed angry feelings. LOL
Here is my "concern". We have plans with Courtney. Nothing too major, but when we first pick her up at the airport, we thought maybe we would go to dinner before coming back home. I think his Parents will go with us to the airport. So their idea of going out to eat is a bucket of KFC or else double cheeseburgers from McDonald's. I want to take her to this Italian place that everyone keeps talking about, Buca Di Beppo. The girl likes pasta..... :)
So I guess if you think of it, say an extra prayer for me, I am gonna need it. Her plane arrives on Sunday the 5th and we take her back to the airport on Saturday the 11th.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
the stresses of being a preschool teacher
When I was hired for this position, I was informed that there would be a lot of "stuff" to deal with concerning the children. These kids come from really rough backgrounds. I just nodded and smiled, thinking to myself that I could handle that; after all, I did my student teaching in an inner city classroom. I had kids throwing desks. I had some really rough behavior problems. Also, I had worked in preschools for 14 years, collectively. I had been in administration for almost ten. I had seen it all.......
None of that prepared me for this job. I feel so uneducated some days. Like a fish out of water. I think I need some type of trainings, not kidding. The amount of paperwork alone is totally overwhelming. I need a secretary or administrative assistant. Now I know why they are paying me so much on the hour.....LOL.
Seriously, though. I have something due to the office almost weekly. There are naturally the Lesson plans and newsletters, also we are required to create a monthly calendar. We also have to submit curriculum and non-curriculum supply lists monthly. The curriculum supply list is actually pretty cool, though. Each classroom teacher is allowed $40 per month to spend on supplies. The second Thursday of every month we all meet at Wal-Mart and we shop for our supplies. Our boss is there with us and she makes the purchases. It is totally hilarious to watch!
We are all instructed to meet at the front of the store, near the registers, by 2:30. We all use the same check out. She has previously handed us our supply list to shop with, when we check out we give it back to her. After each teacher goes through the line, the cashier will tell our boss how much that person has spent and our boss marks it on the individual supply list. Then when everyone is finished, she pays on the agency credit card. I can only imagine how much that total is, considering there is like 16 or 18 classrooms. Sheesh.....
But now I am digressing.
So the other part of my job is all the standardized testing we have to implement. I have to use something called a "DECA" form twice a year per child. I have to administer a "DENVER" twice a year per child. Each child has to have a communication screening on file. We are required to fill out two progress reports, per child, per year. Then comes the most wonderful part of all, the Creative Curriculum.
First of all, I see nothing curriculum related about this binder. Secondly, there is little room for creativity. Basically it is a testing tool. They list a total of 50 skills that a typical child should master before going to Kindergarten. I have booklets for each child. I have to also submit every score online and print out a classroom composite. Worst of all, it plots graphs and charts of the children's progress and compares from the last time the report was submitted. We have to do this form of testing three times per year.
There is little time for much of anything else, if you let yourself fall into the trap of testing for all these different forms and such. I was so caught up in it at the beginning. I wanted so badly to impress my boss and prove to her that I could do the job. I worked diligently for about three weeks to get all the testing done that was behind. I was so proud when I turned in my Spring report only a couple weeks behind everyone else. Do you know she didn't say one thing! Not one!! :(
Now for the most overwhelming part of the job......the children. Over all, my kids are wonderful. I have grown to love each one of them, and have only been there ten weeks so far. As I read more and more about them, my heart aches. Several of my students have been molested. Most of them have been physically abused. A lot of them have been/are in the middle of custody battles.....torn between two parents. These kids are up against all kinds of odds and still they come to school with a smile on their face. They feel safe. They feel loved. They long to be "normal" and do the things all preschoolers do. My job is to provide a place where they can be themselves, they can learn and be proud of what they accomplish.
My students all come from a different lifestyle then I have ever known. It is hard to say why some people choose to live the way they live. My adult life has been a struggle, but I am an adult and I can change things. These children don't know any other kind of life.......I am very thankful for the opportunity to work with them each day. I pray that I make a difference in their young lives.
None of that prepared me for this job. I feel so uneducated some days. Like a fish out of water. I think I need some type of trainings, not kidding. The amount of paperwork alone is totally overwhelming. I need a secretary or administrative assistant. Now I know why they are paying me so much on the hour.....LOL.
Seriously, though. I have something due to the office almost weekly. There are naturally the Lesson plans and newsletters, also we are required to create a monthly calendar. We also have to submit curriculum and non-curriculum supply lists monthly. The curriculum supply list is actually pretty cool, though. Each classroom teacher is allowed $40 per month to spend on supplies. The second Thursday of every month we all meet at Wal-Mart and we shop for our supplies. Our boss is there with us and she makes the purchases. It is totally hilarious to watch!
We are all instructed to meet at the front of the store, near the registers, by 2:30. We all use the same check out. She has previously handed us our supply list to shop with, when we check out we give it back to her. After each teacher goes through the line, the cashier will tell our boss how much that person has spent and our boss marks it on the individual supply list. Then when everyone is finished, she pays on the agency credit card. I can only imagine how much that total is, considering there is like 16 or 18 classrooms. Sheesh.....
But now I am digressing.
So the other part of my job is all the standardized testing we have to implement. I have to use something called a "DECA" form twice a year per child. I have to administer a "DENVER" twice a year per child. Each child has to have a communication screening on file. We are required to fill out two progress reports, per child, per year. Then comes the most wonderful part of all, the Creative Curriculum.
First of all, I see nothing curriculum related about this binder. Secondly, there is little room for creativity. Basically it is a testing tool. They list a total of 50 skills that a typical child should master before going to Kindergarten. I have booklets for each child. I have to also submit every score online and print out a classroom composite. Worst of all, it plots graphs and charts of the children's progress and compares from the last time the report was submitted. We have to do this form of testing three times per year.
There is little time for much of anything else, if you let yourself fall into the trap of testing for all these different forms and such. I was so caught up in it at the beginning. I wanted so badly to impress my boss and prove to her that I could do the job. I worked diligently for about three weeks to get all the testing done that was behind. I was so proud when I turned in my Spring report only a couple weeks behind everyone else. Do you know she didn't say one thing! Not one!! :(
Now for the most overwhelming part of the job......the children. Over all, my kids are wonderful. I have grown to love each one of them, and have only been there ten weeks so far. As I read more and more about them, my heart aches. Several of my students have been molested. Most of them have been physically abused. A lot of them have been/are in the middle of custody battles.....torn between two parents. These kids are up against all kinds of odds and still they come to school with a smile on their face. They feel safe. They feel loved. They long to be "normal" and do the things all preschoolers do. My job is to provide a place where they can be themselves, they can learn and be proud of what they accomplish.
My students all come from a different lifestyle then I have ever known. It is hard to say why some people choose to live the way they live. My adult life has been a struggle, but I am an adult and I can change things. These children don't know any other kind of life.......I am very thankful for the opportunity to work with them each day. I pray that I make a difference in their young lives.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Sometimes I just gotta vent!
Where to start....where to start......hmmmmmm.
Ok, well, I have been stuck between a rock and a hard place for awhile now. Jim's health has really been on my mind. He has to go back to the eye specialist tomorrow and see if these darn shots are even doing any good. You know, the shots that the insurance refuses to cover because they are labled "experimental"? Yeah, those. So if they are working, we start another round. If they aren't working, we discuss other options. Please, God, I pray they work! I love my husband and I want him to continue to see his children grow. With the "wonderful" insurance plan we have, I would have to imagine they won't be covering the surgery anyways.
The latest drama in my life began yesterday afternoon. Well, actually it sort of began unknowingly on Wednesday evening. Jim's boss (Jeff) told him that there were going to be some major management changes and almost all the assistants were trading places throughout the district. As my husband got all in an uproar, Jeff assured him that he was not going anywhere. So imagine our surprise and dismay when he is informed only three days later that he is, in fact, being transferred. He felt so deceived by Jeff.
The worst part of this mess is that the store they are sending him to is almost 30 miles away. One way. So every day he has to travel 60 some odd miles to go to and from work. Now, it is our choice to drive an SUV, understand, but also realize that we have six people in our family and it is either an SUV or a mini van. We had driven mini vans from 1999 to 2006 when we upgraded to the SUV. SUV's are terrible when it comes to gas mileage! It costs somewhere around $70 to fill my tank up these days. To make a long story short, he is going to consume a tank of gas a week compared to a tank of gas a month. Our budget doesn't have room for this!! And there will be no raise. He was informed, however, that there is the possibility of a promotion by Christmas. Yes, you read that right. It is March and they are promising something by the end of the year. Talk about stupid.
I am totally at a loss on what to do right now. First thing I did was message my friend April, but she is visiting her Mom in the mountains and cannot get on line to IM with me (which btw, I totally understand) then I called my sister, Jackie. She said she would pray. What else is there to say anyways? So I call my Mom, I guess I was looking for a little bit of Motherly love and advice. Who was I kidding??? She has never really given me any of that in the past. So when she responded with "oh, honey, I wish there was something that I could do to help you out but our money is just so tight and with Angela's wedding coming up and all...." ugh!! As if I was calling to ask for money. I just wanted her to listen. To say she was sorry. To understand.
In a moment of true desperation, I called my Mother in Law. Do you know she told me to put my kids in school and get a job?! After the last blog, you probably aren't surprised by that one, are you?.....
So here's the thing. Why doesn't anybody understand the reason why I cannot get a job? First of all, almost any place I go is going to start me out at minimum wage. IF I am lucky enough to get a job that is full time, I MIGHT bring home something like $150 a week after taxes. What am I supposed to do with Camryn? She isn't old enough for school. And then what am I to do with the older three when school is out and I am still at work?? See, no one thinks of this. Well, let me tell you, the cost of childcare is OUTRAGEOUS!!! I called one place not long after we moved down here, simply because my kids were driving me crazy and do you know they wanted to charge me something like $240 a week?! So I would be working for what???...... appearantly I would be working to still owe them $90 a week. Not gonna happen!
And then there is the fact that we only have one vehicle. So if I got a job (which I guess everyone is thinking they are passing out jobs on the street corners these days) then we would have to get a second car. So there is more money going out for the car. Oh, and then there is the added insurance. And the added expense of more money for gas for the second car.
So, does anyone else now see what I live with??
And do you think it is all rosey and stained glass windows here in this house all day long with four strongwilled, stubborn little girls?....NOT!! My life is not a picnic.
It is quite stressful to keep up on laundry and cleaning as it is, but to be properly educating all four of them is very time consuming.
(and someone had to go and add a kitten to the mix....ahem.....)
It is so hard to always be the perfect wife.
To try to do it all myself.
And to be trapped here, day in and day out, with no one to talk to and no where to go......
I know my strength comes from the Lord. It is in moments like these when I can hear Him speak to me, ever so gently "my child, why do you turn from me. Why don't you call me, cry on my shoulder? I long to hold you, to comfort you. This too shall pass. Trust me."
I know. I know. I understand and I don't know why I turn away from Him. My maker and the keeper of my soul. I guess it is easier to turn inwards, to cry outwards, to take the weight of the world on my own shoulders so I can cry "oh, poor me".
I am sure I will be looking back on this learning experience one day and shaking my head at this version of myself. I will be older and wiser. Hopefully I will have learned to turn to the Lord FIRST with my problems. :)
Ok, well, I have been stuck between a rock and a hard place for awhile now. Jim's health has really been on my mind. He has to go back to the eye specialist tomorrow and see if these darn shots are even doing any good. You know, the shots that the insurance refuses to cover because they are labled "experimental"? Yeah, those. So if they are working, we start another round. If they aren't working, we discuss other options. Please, God, I pray they work! I love my husband and I want him to continue to see his children grow. With the "wonderful" insurance plan we have, I would have to imagine they won't be covering the surgery anyways.
The latest drama in my life began yesterday afternoon. Well, actually it sort of began unknowingly on Wednesday evening. Jim's boss (Jeff) told him that there were going to be some major management changes and almost all the assistants were trading places throughout the district. As my husband got all in an uproar, Jeff assured him that he was not going anywhere. So imagine our surprise and dismay when he is informed only three days later that he is, in fact, being transferred. He felt so deceived by Jeff.
The worst part of this mess is that the store they are sending him to is almost 30 miles away. One way. So every day he has to travel 60 some odd miles to go to and from work. Now, it is our choice to drive an SUV, understand, but also realize that we have six people in our family and it is either an SUV or a mini van. We had driven mini vans from 1999 to 2006 when we upgraded to the SUV. SUV's are terrible when it comes to gas mileage! It costs somewhere around $70 to fill my tank up these days. To make a long story short, he is going to consume a tank of gas a week compared to a tank of gas a month. Our budget doesn't have room for this!! And there will be no raise. He was informed, however, that there is the possibility of a promotion by Christmas. Yes, you read that right. It is March and they are promising something by the end of the year. Talk about stupid.
I am totally at a loss on what to do right now. First thing I did was message my friend April, but she is visiting her Mom in the mountains and cannot get on line to IM with me (which btw, I totally understand) then I called my sister, Jackie. She said she would pray. What else is there to say anyways? So I call my Mom, I guess I was looking for a little bit of Motherly love and advice. Who was I kidding??? She has never really given me any of that in the past. So when she responded with "oh, honey, I wish there was something that I could do to help you out but our money is just so tight and with Angela's wedding coming up and all...." ugh!! As if I was calling to ask for money. I just wanted her to listen. To say she was sorry. To understand.
In a moment of true desperation, I called my Mother in Law. Do you know she told me to put my kids in school and get a job?! After the last blog, you probably aren't surprised by that one, are you?.....
So here's the thing. Why doesn't anybody understand the reason why I cannot get a job? First of all, almost any place I go is going to start me out at minimum wage. IF I am lucky enough to get a job that is full time, I MIGHT bring home something like $150 a week after taxes. What am I supposed to do with Camryn? She isn't old enough for school. And then what am I to do with the older three when school is out and I am still at work?? See, no one thinks of this. Well, let me tell you, the cost of childcare is OUTRAGEOUS!!! I called one place not long after we moved down here, simply because my kids were driving me crazy and do you know they wanted to charge me something like $240 a week?! So I would be working for what???...... appearantly I would be working to still owe them $90 a week. Not gonna happen!
And then there is the fact that we only have one vehicle. So if I got a job (which I guess everyone is thinking they are passing out jobs on the street corners these days) then we would have to get a second car. So there is more money going out for the car. Oh, and then there is the added insurance. And the added expense of more money for gas for the second car.
So, does anyone else now see what I live with??
And do you think it is all rosey and stained glass windows here in this house all day long with four strongwilled, stubborn little girls?....NOT!! My life is not a picnic.
It is quite stressful to keep up on laundry and cleaning as it is, but to be properly educating all four of them is very time consuming.
(and someone had to go and add a kitten to the mix....ahem.....)
It is so hard to always be the perfect wife.
To try to do it all myself.
And to be trapped here, day in and day out, with no one to talk to and no where to go......
I know my strength comes from the Lord. It is in moments like these when I can hear Him speak to me, ever so gently "my child, why do you turn from me. Why don't you call me, cry on my shoulder? I long to hold you, to comfort you. This too shall pass. Trust me."
I know. I know. I understand and I don't know why I turn away from Him. My maker and the keeper of my soul. I guess it is easier to turn inwards, to cry outwards, to take the weight of the world on my own shoulders so I can cry "oh, poor me".
I am sure I will be looking back on this learning experience one day and shaking my head at this version of myself. I will be older and wiser. Hopefully I will have learned to turn to the Lord FIRST with my problems. :)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Why should I feel guilty?
A few weeks ago my In Law's came down from Indiana for a long weekend. Promptly after hugging all the girls, my Father in Law exclaims "well, everyone is old enough to go to school next year, so that way your Mom can go out and get herself a job!"
EXCUSE ME....WHAT?!
I was so offended. Now, he has repeatedly offended me over the years when he degrades Teachers and complains about how useless we are. Doesn't he realize that is where I met his son in the first place? That if I wasn't going to College to be a Teacher, we never would have met and he wouldn't have these beautiful Grandkids in the first place??
This one statement set the tone for their entire visit. In fact, it still bothers me today. It is our choice to homeschool. Mine and Jim's. Are there days where I wish I was part of the public work force? I'm not going to lie, yes there are, but MONEY isn't everything.
And if he would step back, shut is yapper and think, our girls are so much better off then they were a year ago. Everyone is healthy, happy and wise. Why mess with that! SHEESH!!
EXCUSE ME....WHAT?!
I was so offended. Now, he has repeatedly offended me over the years when he degrades Teachers and complains about how useless we are. Doesn't he realize that is where I met his son in the first place? That if I wasn't going to College to be a Teacher, we never would have met and he wouldn't have these beautiful Grandkids in the first place??
This one statement set the tone for their entire visit. In fact, it still bothers me today. It is our choice to homeschool. Mine and Jim's. Are there days where I wish I was part of the public work force? I'm not going to lie, yes there are, but MONEY isn't everything.
And if he would step back, shut is yapper and think, our girls are so much better off then they were a year ago. Everyone is healthy, happy and wise. Why mess with that! SHEESH!!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Getting a jump on Spring!
Last week I was browsing in the Lawn and Garden Department at Wal Mart. To be quite honest, I was looking for porch furniture....just don't anyone tell the hubby, at least not yet, he has to think it was his idea in order to buy it! lol....
Anyhow, I was so overwhelmed with all the "simple" ways to start any kind of gardens or potted plants that you could imagine. The girls and I decided to plant some flowers and watch them, thinking we could use it as a Science experiment. You see, I don't do too bad with things OUTDOORS, but inside - well, let's just say my green thumb is more black than anything!
We kept changing our minds. I have always adored wildflowers, there is nothing like them for me in the entire world. They are the picture of innocence and beauty all wrapped in one! So when I saw a boxed kit for a potted butterfly garden, I was "hooked".
It was the best purchase for only $5. When we got our treasure chest home, we were thrilled to see all that was inside. We didn't need to add anything but water and love. So we did just that, a week ago Friday. By the way, the girls have named it "Johnny Smith Appleseed". And I have found them singing to it at least a dozen times a day. The seeds sprouted within three days. I am thinking we will have some flowers before the end of March. :)
Thursday, February 28, 2008
HiS eYeS
My husband has been a diagnosed diabetic for almost ten years. Over the past decade he has sometimes followed Doctor's orders and other times he has not. He has also been an on again off again smoker. Mostly on again. I cannot get him to stop.
Things are finally starting to catch up with him because two weeks ago during a routine eye exam he was told he has "diabetic retinopathy". From the little bit of research I have done on the internet and the short chat I had with the opthamologist, I learned that this diabetic condition is the leading cause of blindness in the United States! It is when the blood vessels in the eyes swell and may even bleed. They form clots near the macula. The macula is the part of your eye that controls your sight.
He has already been told that his right eye is far worse than the left one. The clots are so very close to his macula in the right eye. Last week he started seeing an eye specialist for aggressive therapy on his eyes. This Doctor is actually giving him shots in the eye! He had three in the right eye last week and now three in the left eye this past week. He goes back for a check up in two weeks. And follow up visits with more shots after that. All said and done, if they don't start to improve then a decision will be made in May about laser surgery.
You would think that going through all of this would make him follow his diet. It would make him take his meds like he should. It would make him check his sugar at least ONCE a day. But NO! NO!! He still eats practially whatever he wants, whenever he wants. And if I won't make it he gets really mad. I know what he is craving is not at all what he should be eating. That is part of the disease. I don't know what it will take for him to wake up!
All I know is that is scares me to even remotely think of living without him. To watch our children grow and not have him by my side. Raising four daughters is hard work, and it was something we had dreamt of doing together. This condition is something I never really thought of......I knew he could have complications with his diabetes but even that I didn't expect to happen until we were OLD. Like 70 or something.
I have decided to take a positive look on it, though. Why sit and dwell on the negative. If we pray and have a positive attitude than it doesn't hurt so bad, right? I know my God is bigger than this!!
Things are finally starting to catch up with him because two weeks ago during a routine eye exam he was told he has "diabetic retinopathy". From the little bit of research I have done on the internet and the short chat I had with the opthamologist, I learned that this diabetic condition is the leading cause of blindness in the United States! It is when the blood vessels in the eyes swell and may even bleed. They form clots near the macula. The macula is the part of your eye that controls your sight.
He has already been told that his right eye is far worse than the left one. The clots are so very close to his macula in the right eye. Last week he started seeing an eye specialist for aggressive therapy on his eyes. This Doctor is actually giving him shots in the eye! He had three in the right eye last week and now three in the left eye this past week. He goes back for a check up in two weeks. And follow up visits with more shots after that. All said and done, if they don't start to improve then a decision will be made in May about laser surgery.
You would think that going through all of this would make him follow his diet. It would make him take his meds like he should. It would make him check his sugar at least ONCE a day. But NO! NO!! He still eats practially whatever he wants, whenever he wants. And if I won't make it he gets really mad. I know what he is craving is not at all what he should be eating. That is part of the disease. I don't know what it will take for him to wake up!
All I know is that is scares me to even remotely think of living without him. To watch our children grow and not have him by my side. Raising four daughters is hard work, and it was something we had dreamt of doing together. This condition is something I never really thought of......I knew he could have complications with his diabetes but even that I didn't expect to happen until we were OLD. Like 70 or something.
I have decided to take a positive look on it, though. Why sit and dwell on the negative. If we pray and have a positive attitude than it doesn't hurt so bad, right? I know my God is bigger than this!!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
bedtime blues
I love each of my girls dearly. My intent is to do as much as I can with them, as often as I can. They grow up so quickly. I already feel as if time is slipping away. My memories of my Mom spending time with me are few and far between, she worked a lot. When she wasn't working, she was sleeping, especially the older I got. I do remember that she would take us and drop us off at the ballpark, the skating rink and even the YMCA for gymnastics. She would do other things while we were there and then come to pick us up when she was done.
There were many weekend nights that I remember playing games together as a family. We used to play card games like UNO and SKIP-BO as well as board games, like Monopoly, LIFE and Clue. The thing is, they would always "go" the same way. She would make chex mix or have some kind of snacks and sodas. Inevitably, someone would always spill their drink. That would then be the end of the game. No kidding. My Mom would go into some huge rage and just dump everything off the table and put it in the boxes and that was that. And don't you dare think about crying.....lol.
I have vowed to do it differently with my girls. We have an entire cupboard full of nothing but games. Board games, puzzles, card games, silly games like (ants in the pants & don't spill the beans). You get the idea. We havent' even begun to play them all. I like to play the ones where they can all participate. My younger two are not quite old enough to understand the concept of some games yet. Although the board game companies have gotten smart and invented "young" versions of adult favorites, which we did purchase monoploly jr. That is hilarious to play!!
Anyhow, one of my neighbor's brought over two board games Saturday. One is LIFE and the other is SORRY. We played SORRY right away. OH, my! lol....that was fun, but I think the next time it will just be the older two girls. We waited to play LIFE until yesterday. Yesterday was Martin Luther King day, and although public school was not in session, we still kept our regular school schedule. When we were done for the day, we played LIFE. Carson ended up winning. I am so glad I didn't play, I was only the banker. Do you know I actually had to keep track of things on a seperate peice of paper??? They have changed things with that game since I was a kid. It does make things more interesting.....this is definately one of those games when you want to follow the age limit on the box. SEVEN years old and up!!
So, I was frustrated to say the least. But somehow we managed. It totally blew my mind, too, that whoever had originally purchased this game had never even used it. How do I know? All the peices were still intact on the little plastic bars and the cards and such were still sealed in their little bags. Who would do such a thing when the game sells for like $35 at the store.
Enough said. My kids were tired. Between an entire school day, playing a game AND running around the playground for about an hour. I figured they would all but pass out when I tucked them in. They did the normal routine. About ten minutes after "tuck in" they all, one by one, miraculously have to "potty" one more time. Next comes the round of dehydration - you know, just one more drink. After chasing them all back to bed for what feels like the millionth time, my five year old sneaks back out to the sofa to sit beside me. Fighting back the urge to yell at her, I decide to ignore her and see what she does. She crawls right up under my left arm and snuggles with me. I stroke her hair, gently, and ask her why she isn't sleeping yet. Do you know what her response is?
"Mommy. I am not tired. Yep, how can I be tired?? I haven't yawned once all day!" Kids!!
There were many weekend nights that I remember playing games together as a family. We used to play card games like UNO and SKIP-BO as well as board games, like Monopoly, LIFE and Clue. The thing is, they would always "go" the same way. She would make chex mix or have some kind of snacks and sodas. Inevitably, someone would always spill their drink. That would then be the end of the game. No kidding. My Mom would go into some huge rage and just dump everything off the table and put it in the boxes and that was that. And don't you dare think about crying.....lol.
I have vowed to do it differently with my girls. We have an entire cupboard full of nothing but games. Board games, puzzles, card games, silly games like (ants in the pants & don't spill the beans). You get the idea. We havent' even begun to play them all. I like to play the ones where they can all participate. My younger two are not quite old enough to understand the concept of some games yet. Although the board game companies have gotten smart and invented "young" versions of adult favorites, which we did purchase monoploly jr. That is hilarious to play!!
Anyhow, one of my neighbor's brought over two board games Saturday. One is LIFE and the other is SORRY. We played SORRY right away. OH, my! lol....that was fun, but I think the next time it will just be the older two girls. We waited to play LIFE until yesterday. Yesterday was Martin Luther King day, and although public school was not in session, we still kept our regular school schedule. When we were done for the day, we played LIFE. Carson ended up winning. I am so glad I didn't play, I was only the banker. Do you know I actually had to keep track of things on a seperate peice of paper??? They have changed things with that game since I was a kid. It does make things more interesting.....this is definately one of those games when you want to follow the age limit on the box. SEVEN years old and up!!
So, I was frustrated to say the least. But somehow we managed. It totally blew my mind, too, that whoever had originally purchased this game had never even used it. How do I know? All the peices were still intact on the little plastic bars and the cards and such were still sealed in their little bags. Who would do such a thing when the game sells for like $35 at the store.
Enough said. My kids were tired. Between an entire school day, playing a game AND running around the playground for about an hour. I figured they would all but pass out when I tucked them in. They did the normal routine. About ten minutes after "tuck in" they all, one by one, miraculously have to "potty" one more time. Next comes the round of dehydration - you know, just one more drink. After chasing them all back to bed for what feels like the millionth time, my five year old sneaks back out to the sofa to sit beside me. Fighting back the urge to yell at her, I decide to ignore her and see what she does. She crawls right up under my left arm and snuggles with me. I stroke her hair, gently, and ask her why she isn't sleeping yet. Do you know what her response is?
"Mommy. I am not tired. Yep, how can I be tired?? I haven't yawned once all day!" Kids!!
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