As you can tell by the pained expressions on their faces, it is no fun.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Dancing with Dada
In preparation for our trip to Peru, there has been a lot of Salsa practice going on at our house.
As you can tell by the pained expressions on their faces, it is no fun.
As you can tell by the pained expressions on their faces, it is no fun.
Pictures
A random assortment from the last few days. This was one of those games that you just know is not going to end well. Yes, they both had it in their mouths at the same time. Yes, they ran around laughing the whole time. Yes, they pulled eachother across the room this way. And, yes, it did end badly (not too badly, just with a fall).
Little Drummer Boys
Stressed about Christmas shopping? Just hire Darius, the personal shopper, and leave the work to him!
Cocoa returns:
Coming soon to a mailbox near you!
Another checkmark on my list. Now that I have your attention for a minute, I would like to explain to you about the envelopes. The ridiculously oversized envelopes.
You see, I make my own Christmas cards, as you may know. Last year I printed 5"x7"s and WalMart gave me envelopes. I don't think they were supposed to, but obviously I did such an amazing job that the envelope person assumed I had ordered one of their professional designs, and that they should include the envelopes for me. :o) Now, this year I cheaped out, and printed 4"x6"s instead, and apparently they were not so amazing because WalMart did not gift me envelopes this year. OK, no problem. I was already at WalMart picking them up, I could just walk over to the stationary aisle and grab a box of envelopes. So lets see, 4"x6" pictures; and of course envelopes come in either 3-5/8"x6-3/4" ~or~ 4-3/8"x5 -3/4" Do you see my problem??? Its like they did it on purpose, just to mess with me. Am I seriously the only person who has ever wanted to mail a 4"x6" photograph? Really?! So I figure, I'm just at the wrong store. Surely Staples will have a better selection. Nope. So you're all getting huge 5-3/4"x8-3/4" envelopes with little 4"x6" cards. And I don't wanna hear about it. Merry Christmas!
Taye
Luis and I have been talking a lot lately about how Taye amazes us. He does in many ways, but specifically we have been talking about his ability to handle his emotions.
A couple of months ago he went through a period of time where he did not want anyone to come over our house. Half the time he would even try to get rid of Mom when she came home or came down from her room. Unfortunately for him, I watch my 2 neighbor kids every morning before school, so they had to be here. Every day for almost two weeks, he would try to shut the door on them and say, 'bye!' when they came over. When he saw that they weren't leaving, he would get upset and shut himself in the bathroom or the bedroom. I learned early on to leave him alone, he didn't even want me in there. He would stay in there for a few minutes and then come out and say 'hi', completely happy and fine. I had never seen anything like it, such a young child being able to handle obviously strong emotions in such a calm way. He knew what he needed to do to make himself feel better and he just did it, that amazed me. Luis says its normal, thats how it is supposed to be, and somehow it just gets lost along the way. To be honest, I don't have that kind of self-awareness/self control half the time, I wish I did. I just hope that we don't mess it up for him somehow, that we are able to protect that in him.
Lately he is doing it in other ways. I notice that when he gets frustrated/upset, he'll say "I wanna throw ___ " or "I wanna break ____." He rarely actually does those things without saying that he wants to first. And even then, he won't do it unless we say its ok. We try to find good ways for him to get the emotions out. The other day he was holding coloring book pages, and told Luis he wanted to break them. No harm there, Luis told him he could if he wanted, and he did. He seemed to feel better after. Another time he told me he wanted to throw something, and I told him he could throw it at the couch, just not at people, which he did. If its something he really can't/shouldn't do, we suggest something different. Earlier today he wanted to break something, I can't remember what, but it was something I didn't want broken, so I asked if he wanted to rip some paper instead. He did. He seems to just need something to get the anger out.
A couple of nights ago, I waited too long to put the boys to bed, and Taye was overtired. He did not want to go to bed, and it was a tearful bedtime for the first ten minutes or so. At one point he was sitting on my lap, and said "I wanna break it!" I asked what he wanted to break, and he said, "I wanna break Mama!" I didn't really know what to say to that, so I just hugged him and we snuggled and he fell asleep. I really like him. :o)
A couple of months ago he went through a period of time where he did not want anyone to come over our house. Half the time he would even try to get rid of Mom when she came home or came down from her room. Unfortunately for him, I watch my 2 neighbor kids every morning before school, so they had to be here. Every day for almost two weeks, he would try to shut the door on them and say, 'bye!' when they came over. When he saw that they weren't leaving, he would get upset and shut himself in the bathroom or the bedroom. I learned early on to leave him alone, he didn't even want me in there. He would stay in there for a few minutes and then come out and say 'hi', completely happy and fine. I had never seen anything like it, such a young child being able to handle obviously strong emotions in such a calm way. He knew what he needed to do to make himself feel better and he just did it, that amazed me. Luis says its normal, thats how it is supposed to be, and somehow it just gets lost along the way. To be honest, I don't have that kind of self-awareness/self control half the time, I wish I did. I just hope that we don't mess it up for him somehow, that we are able to protect that in him.
Lately he is doing it in other ways. I notice that when he gets frustrated/upset, he'll say "I wanna throw ___ " or "I wanna break ____." He rarely actually does those things without saying that he wants to first. And even then, he won't do it unless we say its ok. We try to find good ways for him to get the emotions out. The other day he was holding coloring book pages, and told Luis he wanted to break them. No harm there, Luis told him he could if he wanted, and he did. He seemed to feel better after. Another time he told me he wanted to throw something, and I told him he could throw it at the couch, just not at people, which he did. If its something he really can't/shouldn't do, we suggest something different. Earlier today he wanted to break something, I can't remember what, but it was something I didn't want broken, so I asked if he wanted to rip some paper instead. He did. He seems to just need something to get the anger out.
A couple of nights ago, I waited too long to put the boys to bed, and Taye was overtired. He did not want to go to bed, and it was a tearful bedtime for the first ten minutes or so. At one point he was sitting on my lap, and said "I wanna break it!" I asked what he wanted to break, and he said, "I wanna break Mama!" I didn't really know what to say to that, so I just hugged him and we snuggled and he fell asleep. I really like him. :o)
Monday, December 3, 2007
Butt-Kicking Weekend
Friday afternoon Luis and I started discussing the long list of things we need to get done in the next few weeks, not only for Christmas, but to get ready for our trip as well. There are a lot of things that need to get done. A lot. Really. Inspired by the conversation, we decided to get down to business once the boys went to bed (stop it). Actually, before they even went to bed I went upstairs to the boys' 'new' room and finished the second coat of paint. Check one.
After they went to bed, we pulled out everything we have bought anyone for Christmas. Most of it is going to Peru. We stuffed 8 stockings for our nieces and nephews, sorted jackets and clothes for them and Luis' siblings and put everything into bags for each person. We packed it into 2 suitcases (!) Check two. We then wrapped all the boys presents, including a new kitty:
Check three.
Saturday morning I got to visit Kathy for a little while. I saw these cute fabric Christmas trees and wanted to make some, but needed fabric scraps. Thats when having a friend with an entire craft room comes in handy :o) She gave me a bag full of fabric to use. When I got home it was time to move. Taye and I took a trip to the video store to rent a movie for the boys to watch while Luis and I lugged furniture around. I'll give you one guess which movie he chose. Taye joyfully watched Cars (twice) while we moved, but Darius would not be bought. He wanted to be part of the action, following us up and down the stairs (not a good idea when large, heavy objects are involved.) He settled for a trip to WalMart and Market Basket with Nana instead (yay Nana!) Luis and I kicked butt (thus the title of my post) and moved three rooms worth of furniture around while they were gone. Giving us:
The boys' new room (which we are all still sharing - and yes, those are sleeping babies, I didn't get around to taking pictures until last night):
And the downstairs guest/play/computer room. A new favorite hangout (soon to become even more popular as it will be the home of the new train table).
At this point, Luis and I also came to realize why the tree was still so tippy. We had forgotten to smash it down onto the metal spike in the tree stand, so it was balancing on top. A very precarious position. We had no choice but to unscrew it and smash it down. Fortunately the ornaments weren't on yet. Unfortunately the base, as you may remember, was full of water. We made quite a splash (ha.)
At this point, Darius, who had not taken a nap, was done for the day. We took a break while I put him to bed. When I came back down, Luis, Taye, and I finished with the ornaments, and Taye put the angel on top.
After they went to bed, we pulled out everything we have bought anyone for Christmas. Most of it is going to Peru. We stuffed 8 stockings for our nieces and nephews, sorted jackets and clothes for them and Luis' siblings and put everything into bags for each person. We packed it into 2 suitcases (!) Check two. We then wrapped all the boys presents, including a new kitty:
Check three.Saturday morning I got to visit Kathy for a little while. I saw these cute fabric Christmas trees and wanted to make some, but needed fabric scraps. Thats when having a friend with an entire craft room comes in handy :o) She gave me a bag full of fabric to use. When I got home it was time to move. Taye and I took a trip to the video store to rent a movie for the boys to watch while Luis and I lugged furniture around. I'll give you one guess which movie he chose. Taye joyfully watched Cars (twice) while we moved, but Darius would not be bought. He wanted to be part of the action, following us up and down the stairs (not a good idea when large, heavy objects are involved.) He settled for a trip to WalMart and Market Basket with Nana instead (yay Nana!) Luis and I kicked butt (thus the title of my post) and moved three rooms worth of furniture around while they were gone. Giving us:
The boys' new room (which we are all still sharing - and yes, those are sleeping babies, I didn't get around to taking pictures until last night):
Our new bedroom, still filled with junk since we aren't using it and the downstairs closet isn't finished:
And the downstairs guest/play/computer room. A new favorite hangout (soon to become even more popular as it will be the home of the new train table).
Oh, and that giant armoire on the right, that used to be for extra sheets and the boys clothes. It was supposed to go up to their room. It was way to heavy, so now it stands empty. Luis has designated it my craft supplies storage area. I like him. :o)
Moving is done. Thats a big check four.
Once we moved, however, there was a big, lonely, empty spot in the livingroom. It will soon have a papasan cushion with tons of pillows piled on top and baskets of books nearby. But not until after Christmas. Oh, what to do? How to fill that space? Why, with a Christmas tree of course!
Sunday afternoon we went to pick out our tree. To those of you who will say its too early, you're wrong. It is the perfect time. Picking out the tree, and a perfect one at that, was easy. The rest of the process became a comedy of errors. Somewhat resembling a nightmare.
We brought it home and screwed in into the stand. Luis tightened the screws with a pair of pliers, but it still seemed a little wobbly. Satisfied we had done the best we could, Taye and Luis watered the 'thirsty' tree. They filled the base. Full. Remember that.
We left the tree for the next few hours to give it some time to settle. Nana made dinner and after we all ate together we started the decorating. Naturally, we put the lights on first. Two strands of multicolored lights. One of which, we discovered after putting it on the tree, was broken. After checking the bulbs and fuses in an attempt to fix them (we got half the strand lit) we decided we needed a plan B. The broken lights came off, and the one remaining strand of colored lights was re-wrapped evenly around the whole tree. We then took a strand of white lights and wrapped that around the tree too. We checked them before putting them on the tree - they worked. Darius thought the lights were very pretty.
Once the lights were done, it was time for the strings of silver beads, always a favorite. We have an extra strand just for playing with, they are so popular. They went on without a hitch, even Mack got in on the fun.
At this point, Luis and I also came to realize why the tree was still so tippy. We had forgotten to smash it down onto the metal spike in the tree stand, so it was balancing on top. A very precarious position. We had no choice but to unscrew it and smash it down. Fortunately the ornaments weren't on yet. Unfortunately the base, as you may remember, was full of water. We made quite a splash (ha.)
At this point, Darius, who had not taken a nap, was done for the day. We took a break while I put him to bed. When I came back down, Luis, Taye, and I finished with the ornaments, and Taye put the angel on top.
It was anything but a serene, joyful event (in fact at one point I felt the need to listen to The 12 Pains of Christmas). But it is done, and the result is very pretty, if I do say so myself:
I also set up our ecclectic Christmas decorations on the entertainment center:
We have our Peruvian nativity set, which I love:
And my newly finished fabric trees, one of which is missing the top since someone was having fun playing with the cones as I finished them. I was thinking of painting the wooden snowmen, but I kind of like them unfinished too, so we'll see.
And Nana got the outside decorated as well.
So the decorating is done. Check five. And after Taye went to bed, I worked on our Christmas cards. I finished and ordered them this morning. Check six.
I'm thinking tonight I may do some knitting. Or pack the boys suitcases for Peru (it will be summer there). Or maybe address a pile of envelopes. The choices are almost infinite.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Q.T.
My boys like freeze pops, you know the ones that you have to push up to eat. Usually we will just cut the plastic wrapping shorter and shorter as they eat so that they are able to get at the pop themselves. The other night, Taye's brought me a piece that was less than an inch long and asked me to cut it to get at the microscopic sliver of pop left inside. I took it and showed him how he could 'just push it up' to eat it. To which he said (with 'tude) "Just cut it, ok?"
Last night Luis and I were cleaning up when I heard Taye saying, "Look! Look! I made a balloon!" And saw this:
(In case you can't tell, it is a toothpick stuck into a piece of Kix.)
Sickies
The Dorseys gave us a yucky stomach bug this week. They claim we gave it to them, but its not true! The fun started on Tuesday, just one day after we played at the Dorsey's house (coincidence? I think not...) I will spare you all the details, but it was not pretty. I got sick first, then Darius, and finally Taye decided to join us in the middle of the night (Luis has somehow managed to escape with just a little queasiness here and there). Tuesday was the worst of it, and by Wednesday we all seemed to be over it. For some reason Taye slept much of the day on Thursday, and Darius got sick again that night. We're keeping our fingers crossed, but it does seem to have passed. I really hope so, because I am sick of laundry!
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