Adventures of Motherhood

I am a harried mother of three kids who move at light speed and a husband who lives in a world of words. If that isn't enough, I teach in an elementary school as I slowly watch my hair turn gray.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

It's only Tuesday

I'm having the Tuesday blues. I can't believe it's only Tuesday. I'm so tired it should be Friday already. It's so silly. Our school goes to 4 o'clock on Tuesday instead of 3:30 and that extra half-hour just wipes me out.

I'm procrastinating, I should be making dinner but I am writing this instead. I'm tired of making dinner that everybody complains about anyway.

Blah! I hope I haven't totally depressed you. I'll come back later when I'm hopefully in a better mood and a little less sleepy.

I hope you're having a good day anyway!

Sunday, September 25, 2005

***THINGS TO KNOW***

I received this as a bulk email today. Some made me laugh while others baffled me. Not the sender but the one who created this list has far too much time on his/her hands. Who the hell tried all these things?! Better question, what made them think to try them in the first place? Finally what the heck is a chigger bite??

Things you need to know:
1. Budweiser beer conditions the hair
2. Pam cooking spray will dry finger nail polish
3. Cool whip will condition your hair in 15 minutes
4. Mayonnaise will KILL LICE, it will also condition your hair
5. Elmer's Glue - paint on your face, allow it to dry, peel off and see dead skin and blackheads come off.
6. Shiny Hair - use brewed Lipton Tea
7. Sunburn - empty a large jar of Nestea into your bath water
8. Minor burn - Colgate or Crest toothpaste
9. Burn your tongue? Put sugar On it!
10. Arthritis? WD-40 Spray and rub in, kill insect stings too
11. Bee stings - meat tenderizer
12. Chigger bite - Preparation H
13. Puffy eyes - Preparation H
14. Paper cut - crazy glue or chap stick (glue is used instead of sutures at most hospitals) 15. Stinky feet - Jell-O!
16. Athletes foot - cornstarch
17. Fungus on toenails or fingernails - Vicks vapor rub
18. Kool Aid to clean dishwasher pipes. Just put in the detergent section and run a cycle, it will also clean a toilet. (Wow, and we drink this stuff) (See #39)
19. Kool Aid can be used as a dye in paint; also Kool Aid in Dannon Plain yogurt as a finger paint, your kids will love it and it won't hurt them if they eat it!
20. Peanut butter - will get scratches out of CD's! Wipe off with a coffee filter paper
21. Sticking bicycle chain - Pam no-stick cooking spray
22. Pam Will also remove paint, and grease from your hands! Keep a can in your garage for your hubby
23. Peanut butter will remove ink from the face of dolls
24. When the doll clothes are hard to put on, sprinkle with corn starch and watch them slide on 25. Heavy dandruff - pour on the vinegar!
26. Body paint - Crisco Mixed with food coloring. Heat the Criscoin the microwave, pour into an empty film container and mix with the food color of your choice!
27. Tie Dye T-shirt - mix a solution of Kool Aid in a container, tie a rubber band around a section of the T-shirt and soak
28. Preserving a newspaper clipping - large bottle of club soda and cup of milk of magnesia, Soak for 20 min. And let dry, will last for many years!
29. A Slinky will hold toast and CD's!
30. To keep goggles and glasses from fogging, coat with Colgate toothpaste
31. Wine stains, pour on the Morton salt and watch it absorb into the salt.
32. To remove wax - Take a paper towel and iron it over the wax stain, it will absorb into the towel.
33. Remove labels off glassware etc. rub with Peanut butter!
34. Baked on food - fill container with water, get a Bounce paper softener and the static from the Bounce Towel will cause the baked-on food to adhere to it. Soak overnight. Also; you can use 2 Efferdent tablets, Soak overnight!
35. Crayon on the wall - Colgate Toothpaste and brush it!
36. Dirty grout - Listerine
37. Stains on clothes - Colgate
38. Grass stains - Karo Syrup
39. Grease Stains - Coca Cola, It will also remove grease stains from the driveway overnight. We know it will take corrosion from car batteries!
40. Fleas in your carpet? 20 Mule Team Borax- Sprinkle and let stand for 24 hours. Maybe this will work if you get them back again.
41. To keep FRESH FLOWERS longer Add a little Clorox, or 2 Bayer aspirin, or just use 7-up instead of water.
2. When you go into buy bread in the grocery store, have you ever wondered which is the freshest, so you "squeeze" for freshness or softness? Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week? Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different colour twist tie. They are: Monday = Blue, Tuesday = green,Thursday = Red Friday = White Saturday = Yellow. So if today was Thursday, you would want a red twist tie; not white which is Friday's (almost a week old)! The colors go alphabetically by color Blue - Green - Red - White - Yellow, Monday through Saturday. Very easy to remember. I thought this was interesting. I looked in the grocery store and the bread wrappers DO have different twist ties, and even the ones with the plastic clips have different colors.

You learn something new every day!
Okay, now it's your turn, tell me your different and interesting tips!

Monday, September 19, 2005

Oh, my muscles are killing me!

Every muscle in my body aches. Muscles I didn't know exist, ache.

Our children are getting older. Both Carmi and I have shared stories about them. Noah and Dahlia have shared a room ever since he was born. But their increasing differences have made it more and more difficult. They argue every night about which music to listen to and Dahlia now 8 needs her privacy. She either runs around naked before her shower or screams at the top of her lungs (did you hear, yesterday? I'm telling you I'm sure you heard her!) that Noah can see her in her underwear. Both of them bug Zach by going into his room. "I'm almost a teenager, I need my space!" he yells after one "invasion" of his siblings.

So some bright person (who will remain nameless..I thought it was a good idea at the time) decided that Zach should have a "bachelor pad in the basement. I spent most of the summer cleaning and purging the main area of the basement and my office in the basement, as well as going through the kid's rooms. Finally I decided that we couldn't wait any longer and yesterday was the day.

Carmi and I shoved the furniture (guest room items and toys, toys and more toys) from the main area to my office. One day in the near future when I have time (hahaha!) I will turn my office into a guest room. The the shlepping began. We started to bring drawers, clothing, toys, etc. to the basement. (did I mention we live in a 3 bedroom townhouse? There are a lot of steps from the bedrooms to the basement!)

Then the fun began. We started with the bed. Zach has a lovely captains bed, that was slightly to large for the stairwell to the basement. Carmi and I poked quite a few holes into the wall before we wedged it perfectly and could not budge it. I also got my foot caught once between the frame and the stairs. Another time I started to drop it and scrapped both legs before I had a good grasp on it again. In total frustration we decided to hammer out the staples and remove some pieces so we could get it down the stairs. Carmi's suggestion to leave it there really wouldn't work as neither he nor Zach would be able to come up nor would I be able to squeeze the laundry down. After a few more frustrating minutes we were able to break it apart to get it in the basement. Carmi promptly dropped on his foot. He has a nice spongebob squarepants bandaid covering his boo-boo.

Carmi ran out to drop off Noah for a playdate, Zach to a birthday party and get some groceries. I stayed back with a very grumpy Dahlia (A. She was not going anywhere with a friend and b. It wasn't fair she wasn't moving anywhere. I had a few suggestions to where she could go, but I kept them to myself!) While Carmi was gone I shlepped some more things out of Zach's room and moved the rest of his furniture into the hallway.

Carm came back and we proceeded to move down the rest of the furniture. Everything went down smoothly but with difficulty and they were f#$%^*%g heavy! We got to the last piece of furniture and I told Carmi, there was no way I was going to be able to carry it. It's a huge one piece dresser with a book shelf, drawers and door with 4 shelves inside. We decided that Noah was going to enjoy it very much!! WE pulled out the guest room dresser from my office for Zach. It's the same style as his furniture but green instead of blue. IT WILL HAVE TO DO!

The story is over, right? WRONG!! Now we are in the process of taking apart Noah's bed to move into his new big boy room. He's crying, he wants to spend one more night in his old room. Zach is hemming and hawing, "maybe I don't really want to sleep in the basement!" and Dahlia wants to know when are we going to switch her furniture around and paint the room.

AHHHH! Totally exhausted and out of patience I told them to go watch TV. It is tough but there is no switching allowed at this time. Zach was having his new room, Noah was having his and Dahlia will get her furniture moved around before bed, but we were not painting at this time.

Everyone was finally happy at bed time. Noah and Zach needed some extra reassurance. Both told us, separately "I'm getting this room because I'm such a big boy". Yes, you're all getting so big and you all need your own space.

Every muscle in my body aches. It hurts to type. It hurt to hold Zach's toast and butter it. I won't be doing this again, that's for sure!

Dahlia wants to know if she can have the basement the next time we move the furniture. I don't think so honey. The next time we move the furniture we will be moving to a bigger house and the furniture will be the movers problem!

Sunday, September 11, 2005

How Can it be?


How can it be...My little baby girl is turning 8 tomorrow. Where has the time gone? I feel like it went by in a blink, minutes ago that we brought our sweet little baby home. I remember it like it was yesterday. We drove home from the hospital, the sun shining. We were greeted by my parents and a then almost 3 year old Zach. My Mom had tied pink balloons and ribbons to the tree, mailbox and lamp post. Zach was smiling form ear to ear. Mommy and Dahlia were home!

I look at her now and I can't believe how much she's grown. She is a beautiful, smart, funny, athletic, creative young lady. She drives me crazy (probably because our temperament are so much alike!) But I wouldn't want her to change in anyway. She's kind, (almost) always will to lend a helping hand. She is a little mother to her younger brother and is often willing to give something up, so he will be happy.

I hope as she blows out her candles and makes her wishes, that all that she wishes for come true for her, today, tomorrow and always.

Happy Birthday, Monkey Girl! Mommy loves you!

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Great first day but I really should be working or snoozing!

It was a great first day of school. The kids (mine) all cooperated this morning and we got out the door without any hassles. It was a good thing because Carmi is away again (this time at a conference in Seattle), I still had to finish the last minute details in the classroom and I was on duty this morning.

Tuesdays are usually a heavy load, as I teach full time. But the combination of a lack of sleep (either first day jitters, Carmi being away or both), a full full day and the kids only being asleep for the last 20 minutes, my eyelids just want to drop. I still have to pack the lunches and jot down a few notes for tomorrow.

I'm so tired that I'm going to do the things that need to be done and then I will go to sleep. As Seattle is 3 hours behind us, I'll set an alarm for 12:30 am so I can call Carmi to say goodnight. Is that devotion or what?

I'm going to stop for now because I think I'm rambling on. Just needed to say hello and I'll see you when things calm down here, a little bit. (I'm dreaming of course, 3 children, a husband, a house and 2 classes...Things never seem to calm down, really!! :-)

Have a good night and don't let the bed bugs bite!

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Zach at a Sleepover


Zach is sleeping at a friend's house for the very first time. Usually when asked to sleep at a friend's house he says no immediately. But today, we got an excited call from him asking if he can stay the night.

I've been waiting for this day, but why do I feel so sad? This isn't the first time I've been away from him. In a previous post I mentioned that he spent a week with my parents in Montreal...but this feels different.

I guess I have to admit that my first baby, my little boy is growing up. As he likes reminding me "I'm going to be 11, Ma!"

I hope we made the right decision to let him stay the night.

I hope he doesn't call us at 11 o'clock saying he wants to come home.

I really hope he has a great time tonight and comes home really sleepy because he stayed up late having fun.

Sleep tight little man.

This is a picture of my three cuties from a couple of years ago. These are the faces they made when I told them it was time for bed.

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Getting Ready for School

I have been away from the computer for much of the week, as I have been busy getting ready for school.

I obsess with everything I do. I think at times it drives my co-teacher crazy. I find myself arranging the desks, step back, look, move them slightly, step back, look and start the process all over again. I do the same thing with anything I hang on the walls. I just want the room to look so appealing and inviting when the kids walk in!

I'm always happy when the first week is over with. As you would imagine the 2 older ones aren't as excited to go back. But I love Noah's enthusiasm that only a kindergarten student can have. Each night he asks how many more sleeps until he can go to big-boy school.

As I have mentioned in previous posts I love teaching. I love watching their wheels turning, the excitement in their face as grasp a new concept and just being with these little people with this abundance of energy.

One of the greatest compliments I received last year was from a student I had in grade 2. I was also his kindergarten teacher.

"Morah Debbie, you know what's great about having a grade 2 teacher, who is also a kindergarten teacher? They can teach us but still remember how to have fun!" It still makes me smile when I think of it.

Why does learning have to be less fun as we grow older? What do you think?