This is the rest of yesterday's morning's story, and again, I am on borrowed time. We will see if I finish!
Things have been even crazier than usual at our house lately. I just feel like we are off kilter. Yesterday morning was no exception. While I was typing, I could hear the boys playing in their room, so I knew my time was limited. What I hadn't expected was for the dogs to be the first ones to get me moving.
While I was typing, I heard Max making that wonderful heaving sound dogs make right before they empty their stomachs. And sure enough, Max was staggering around the kitchen. For the record, almost our entire house has hard flooring, and we just have a few small area rugs. Every time Max gets sick, he goes straight for the area rugs. Maybe his paws want a soft place to stand? Anywho, yesterday was no exception. I put down the computer, ran to the kitchen, and arrived just in time to witness him vomiting all over the entire rug.
I get Max outside, and I start cleaning. That's when Ree comes in and says, "Can we play a game now?" and she wasn't really asking as much as telling. We have pretty predictable Sunday mornings. I get her up, and then I get her brothers up. (I have learned the hard way to ALWAYS get Ree up first even though Leon and Michael may wake up an hour and a half before she does. ALWAYS.) We sit on the couch and read a book or three. Then I make breakfast. If I am cooking hot food, they get to watch a show on PBS or a DVD while I cook. If not, they help set the table for cereal or instant oatmeal. I can't recall ever playing a game first thing on a Sunday morning.
Ree is also blindly walking through the kitchen toward me, so I immediately say, "DON'T STEP ON THE RUG!" Realizing that, perhaps I could be kinder, I stopped and told her good morning in a more gentle tone. She asked about the game again, and I told her we will discuss it after I get done cleaning the rug. The second I finish scrubbing she asked, "Now can we play a game?" At that point I hadn't actually agreed to play, and I was clutching a plastic grocery bag of paper towels and other fun stuff. I was so confused by the demand, I found myself saying, "We will play after I throw out the bag and wash my hands and let the (yelping) Max back in."
So all those things happened, and we played a game on the computer. At that point, before she could even ask for more, I told her I needed to get Leon and Michael up. So she asked if they could play a game with us. I told her no, but somehow ended up settling on watching one video on YouTube with everyone. When that video ended, she started crying because we weren't watching three princess videos. Huh???? I love five-year-old girls, and all their wonderful, mini-teenager behavior. The only thing that gets us through is there was a little girl in Ree's preschool class who acted just like this last year. Then, she showed up at Ree's birthday party in August as this wonderful, polite little six-year-old. Yes, we are back to false hope.
And despite the weird start, we did actually have a good day.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Week in Review
I am struggling to make time for writing. And when I can make time, I am incoherent. So I thought I would just write a list of the things I can remember from the past week. These are in no particular order, and this only includes what I can get written before everyone wakes up. (Highlight 1: I crept out of bed without waking up Natalia!)
Michael pooped on the potty! Yes, I did actually write that. If he were a girl, there is a chance that that phrase alone would cause death by embarrassment. But as a holder of the "Y" chromosome, I am guessing that is something to be shouted from the rooftops. And it's huge. By finally getting everything in the potty, Michael was able to spend ALL DAY yesterday in big boy underwear. (aka his "tightie cartoonies") He wore underwear to the grocery store. And to take a nap. And he was accident free all day!
Natalia started really walking this week. She actually started taking steps...she is the fourth child so I must check the calendar and due some math...January 5. (Wow! It's been that long? I really should keep up with these things!) And that was cute. She started by walking backwards, but found first gear that night. She wasn't walking much, and it was a week later that I came home from work and the kids were all excited to tell me she had started walking. That was when THEY finally saw her take a step. But that's all it was, just steps here and there. Then a week ago, she started regularly taking about six steps at a time, but she still wasn't walking much because she can just crawl so blasted fast. But this week she decided to walk, all the time, everywhere. And now we have this little zombie person tottering around. It is fun to watch, and we are all a bit confused by it.
In other news, Natalia slept in her crib this week! Yes, really! Not all night, and certainly not through the night, but hey. We have to start somewhere. I will settle for being able to roll over in bed for at least a little while each night.
Ree turned 5 1/2 this week, and she did not like the fact that Jeff pointed that out to her. Our little teenager is very weirded out by things that are different that are not her idea. Someone told me when she was itty bitty that the "terrible twos" and other crazy personality changes happen on the birthdays and half birthdays. As always, she has been reading the calendar. Thankfully, the kids are big enough that we can split up a bit, so she was able to have a daddy-daughter with Jeff yesterday which got her away from everyone else and some extra attention. And one of these days, she will miraculously be our wonderful, sweet girl again.
I have nothing to say about Leon. Really. He's had a good week. Yesterday I took the kids grocery shopping while Jeff was running other errands. When we got back, Leon looked at Jeff, smiled, and said, "I'm having a good day!" And he was. He's been in a good place lately. He cries at bedtime, but not even as much as usual, and that's about the only problem from him. He helps pick up, and he has been great about making sure all the dirty laundry, even clothes that are not his, end up in the hamper.
The dogs, yup, they are still around, are stressed. Well, Max is stressed, and that might be what is making Pru stressed. We are still trying to unravel this one, but we think they are just done with the insanity that is our house. Plus, because our house is so insane, I have only been able to walk them a couple of days a week lately so they are bored and lacking exercise. And...
DRAMA!
Michael pooped on the potty! Yes, I did actually write that. If he were a girl, there is a chance that that phrase alone would cause death by embarrassment. But as a holder of the "Y" chromosome, I am guessing that is something to be shouted from the rooftops. And it's huge. By finally getting everything in the potty, Michael was able to spend ALL DAY yesterday in big boy underwear. (aka his "tightie cartoonies") He wore underwear to the grocery store. And to take a nap. And he was accident free all day!
Natalia started really walking this week. She actually started taking steps...she is the fourth child so I must check the calendar and due some math...January 5. (Wow! It's been that long? I really should keep up with these things!) And that was cute. She started by walking backwards, but found first gear that night. She wasn't walking much, and it was a week later that I came home from work and the kids were all excited to tell me she had started walking. That was when THEY finally saw her take a step. But that's all it was, just steps here and there. Then a week ago, she started regularly taking about six steps at a time, but she still wasn't walking much because she can just crawl so blasted fast. But this week she decided to walk, all the time, everywhere. And now we have this little zombie person tottering around. It is fun to watch, and we are all a bit confused by it.
In other news, Natalia slept in her crib this week! Yes, really! Not all night, and certainly not through the night, but hey. We have to start somewhere. I will settle for being able to roll over in bed for at least a little while each night.
Ree turned 5 1/2 this week, and she did not like the fact that Jeff pointed that out to her. Our little teenager is very weirded out by things that are different that are not her idea. Someone told me when she was itty bitty that the "terrible twos" and other crazy personality changes happen on the birthdays and half birthdays. As always, she has been reading the calendar. Thankfully, the kids are big enough that we can split up a bit, so she was able to have a daddy-daughter with Jeff yesterday which got her away from everyone else and some extra attention. And one of these days, she will miraculously be our wonderful, sweet girl again.
I have nothing to say about Leon. Really. He's had a good week. Yesterday I took the kids grocery shopping while Jeff was running other errands. When we got back, Leon looked at Jeff, smiled, and said, "I'm having a good day!" And he was. He's been in a good place lately. He cries at bedtime, but not even as much as usual, and that's about the only problem from him. He helps pick up, and he has been great about making sure all the dirty laundry, even clothes that are not his, end up in the hamper.
The dogs, yup, they are still around, are stressed. Well, Max is stressed, and that might be what is making Pru stressed. We are still trying to unravel this one, but we think they are just done with the insanity that is our house. Plus, because our house is so insane, I have only been able to walk them a couple of days a week lately so they are bored and lacking exercise. And...
DRAMA!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Food Love
Today my office closed up shop at lunch time, and we all headed to a cooking demonstration by Bryant Terry. I really knew nothing about him except I think I had heard he was a vegan activist. I wasn't quite sure what that meant, but hey, I support veganism even if my kids are meat-atarians, and a cooking demonstration sounded all fun and glamorous and TV like.
It turns out he is a very chill and interesting guy. Afterward, a friend described him as zen, and that fit him perfectly. His passion is encouraging young people in at-risk areas to eat more produce, and he does this by working to increase access to produce and by teaching them to cook. In many instances, they are second or third generations individuals who haven't cooked, and if you've never seen anyone in a kitchen, what the heck are you going to do with a head of broccoli? (Those would be my words, not his. He was all eloquent and stuff.)
So I learned several things from him. (Actually, I am sure I learned a lot more, but I am just going to share a few for now.) I learned that if you are making guacamole and mix in the avocado pit, it will be much slower to turn brown. (Lime juice works too, but then you have to watch the consistency.) I also learned that all savory dishes should have salt, a fat, and an acid. He made the most amazing collard greens I have ever tasted. They were so simple and didn't even require bacon grease. (Go vegan!) He blanched them in really salty water first, then sautéed them with olive oil and garlic. He added raisins, a sprinkle of sea salt, and orange juice. They were amazing. I have some spinach in the fridge that desperately needs to be consumed. I am definitely going to try this.
He also said that our energy is transferred to our food. If we cook with love, the food turns out better. Wait, I know. Sounds completely nutty, but it's hard not to relate to the story he told. He talked about how after a fight with a girlfriend, he made a favorite recipe, and it turned out horribly. This happened in our house last Wednesday. Jeff was having a not great day with the kids. Actually, that's an understatement. I've blocked out the details that were shared with me, but I think this was one of those Alexander, and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad (or whatever it's called) Day kind of bad days. You know, a rainy day at home with kids. We had planned on having spaghetti for dinner, but Jeff realized it was not a good day for having a pot of boiling water under the same roof as the children and dogs. So instead he was making a pasta bake. This is a really simple dish where you cook the pasta is the oven in a cake pan or a casserole dish. We make it all the time, yet that night it just wouldn't cook. After extra time and a higher temperature in the oven, the pasta was still crunchy. However, once I came home from work and got the kids and their crazy energy out of the house, dinner came together.
What this makes me think of most is Baba, my little Ukranian grandmother who makes me look like a giant. She is an amazing baker and cook, and anyone who has ever met her knows you will instantly gain 5 pounds when you walk in her door. And it will be worth it. She makes the best noodles, fabulous pastries, and an apple pie that is to die for. (I take back that comment about gaining weight by walking through her door. I am pretty sure you can gain weight just thinking about the food she makes.) But she never uses recipes or measuring cups. I don't think anyone can ever really recreate her recipes, because they are all "a little of this, a little of that." But they are all made with love. Love for food and for the people eating it, and it shows. The energy is all right and the food is delicious.
It turns out he is a very chill and interesting guy. Afterward, a friend described him as zen, and that fit him perfectly. His passion is encouraging young people in at-risk areas to eat more produce, and he does this by working to increase access to produce and by teaching them to cook. In many instances, they are second or third generations individuals who haven't cooked, and if you've never seen anyone in a kitchen, what the heck are you going to do with a head of broccoli? (Those would be my words, not his. He was all eloquent and stuff.)
So I learned several things from him. (Actually, I am sure I learned a lot more, but I am just going to share a few for now.) I learned that if you are making guacamole and mix in the avocado pit, it will be much slower to turn brown. (Lime juice works too, but then you have to watch the consistency.) I also learned that all savory dishes should have salt, a fat, and an acid. He made the most amazing collard greens I have ever tasted. They were so simple and didn't even require bacon grease. (Go vegan!) He blanched them in really salty water first, then sautéed them with olive oil and garlic. He added raisins, a sprinkle of sea salt, and orange juice. They were amazing. I have some spinach in the fridge that desperately needs to be consumed. I am definitely going to try this.
He also said that our energy is transferred to our food. If we cook with love, the food turns out better. Wait, I know. Sounds completely nutty, but it's hard not to relate to the story he told. He talked about how after a fight with a girlfriend, he made a favorite recipe, and it turned out horribly. This happened in our house last Wednesday. Jeff was having a not great day with the kids. Actually, that's an understatement. I've blocked out the details that were shared with me, but I think this was one of those Alexander, and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad (or whatever it's called) Day kind of bad days. You know, a rainy day at home with kids. We had planned on having spaghetti for dinner, but Jeff realized it was not a good day for having a pot of boiling water under the same roof as the children and dogs. So instead he was making a pasta bake. This is a really simple dish where you cook the pasta is the oven in a cake pan or a casserole dish. We make it all the time, yet that night it just wouldn't cook. After extra time and a higher temperature in the oven, the pasta was still crunchy. However, once I came home from work and got the kids and their crazy energy out of the house, dinner came together.
What this makes me think of most is Baba, my little Ukranian grandmother who makes me look like a giant. She is an amazing baker and cook, and anyone who has ever met her knows you will instantly gain 5 pounds when you walk in her door. And it will be worth it. She makes the best noodles, fabulous pastries, and an apple pie that is to die for. (I take back that comment about gaining weight by walking through her door. I am pretty sure you can gain weight just thinking about the food she makes.) But she never uses recipes or measuring cups. I don't think anyone can ever really recreate her recipes, because they are all "a little of this, a little of that." But they are all made with love. Love for food and for the people eating it, and it shows. The energy is all right and the food is delicious.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Right Now
Right now, I should be:
Working.
Getting ready for a dentist appointment.
Switching laundry.
Vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, dusting.
Wrapping Valentine's presents.
Writing thank you notes for birthday presents sent to Natalia and me.
Planning interesting and stimulating activities for the children.
Plotting to take over the world. (Well, maybe not. But I felt the need to throw something else in there.)
But instead, I am sitting here with a sleeping baby in my lap. My poor little girl who woke up NINE times last night due to ouchie teeth and a subsequently ouchie heiny. But right now she is blissfully sleeping. In my lap. And I am loving it.
Working.
Getting ready for a dentist appointment.
Switching laundry.
Vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, dusting.
Wrapping Valentine's presents.
Writing thank you notes for birthday presents sent to Natalia and me.
Planning interesting and stimulating activities for the children.
Plotting to take over the world. (Well, maybe not. But I felt the need to throw something else in there.)
But instead, I am sitting here with a sleeping baby in my lap. My poor little girl who woke up NINE times last night due to ouchie teeth and a subsequently ouchie heiny. But right now she is blissfully sleeping. In my lap. And I am loving it.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Weekend
Last week was definitely one of those times I was reminded, "Be careful what you wish for." My parents had been visiting, we had been moving at an insane speed their whole trip, and I was exhausted. I really should know better, but it's hard not to go crazy when grandparents come to visit. They take us out to dinner which is fun and delicious but so far from my boring regular diet. They take children off our hands - and in this case, overnight! Plus, I tend to adjust to the speed of those around me, and my parents are go, Go, GO! (Living in Athens as an adult where things are more like slow, slow, sloooow was very therapeutic for me. I had no idea people could do so little for so long and actually enjoy the serenity.) I got SO much done while they were here, but the last thing I wanted to do when they left was to jump into a crazy week.
But real life s always crazy, especially after taking 8 days off to play with guests. I aided at Ree's preschool, which is a 6-7 hour event involving everything from hanging with the kids to scrubbing toilets. I went to a training class for work in Raleigh which required five hours in the car in on day. While I was driving home, I started feeling achy. I blamed it on a day that included 5 hours of driving in one of those awesome, government-issued white sedans broken up only by sitting and more sitting. By Thursday afternoon, I knew that it was more than that. By Thursday night I was sick with the flu. Always fun. Thankfully, it was a relatively mild case that never knocked me completely out of commission. But I was sick enough that it limited my weekend to napping, relaxing, and cooking healthy food. (As a bonus, I finally got Natalia to eat sweet potatoes. It turns out she likes hers served as oven fries with olive oil, sea salt, and chili powder. Apparently we have another foodie on our hands.) It was actually an okay weekend. I just need to learn to give myself permission to relax like that without the fever, chills, or pounding headache. THAT would be a nice weekend.
But real life s always crazy, especially after taking 8 days off to play with guests. I aided at Ree's preschool, which is a 6-7 hour event involving everything from hanging with the kids to scrubbing toilets. I went to a training class for work in Raleigh which required five hours in the car in on day. While I was driving home, I started feeling achy. I blamed it on a day that included 5 hours of driving in one of those awesome, government-issued white sedans broken up only by sitting and more sitting. By Thursday afternoon, I knew that it was more than that. By Thursday night I was sick with the flu. Always fun. Thankfully, it was a relatively mild case that never knocked me completely out of commission. But I was sick enough that it limited my weekend to napping, relaxing, and cooking healthy food. (As a bonus, I finally got Natalia to eat sweet potatoes. It turns out she likes hers served as oven fries with olive oil, sea salt, and chili powder. Apparently we have another foodie on our hands.) It was actually an okay weekend. I just need to learn to give myself permission to relax like that without the fever, chills, or pounding headache. THAT would be a nice weekend.
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