"The Tightrope Walker"

"The Tightrope Walker" by Jean-Louis Forain

Friday, April 29, 2011

Friday Five.

Thinking fascinators are truly fascinating!

Friday, April 22, 2011

Friday Five.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, YEAH-Day!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Seeds for a Money Tree?

Anyone know where I can get seeds for the mythical money tree?  No?  I didn't think so, but it was worth a try.  Although JD and I both make a really great wage; we are in trouble.  Big trouble!  JD works for an auto manufacturing that is being highly impacted by the crisis in Japan.  The situation is now serious enough that he will be working a four-day work week for at least 6 weeks and there will be a full week in May with no work.  This equates to 10 days, two full weeks, without pay.  For our family this is a huge problem because supply teaching is unpredictable and I never know exactly what my income will be.  If I work one day a week that covers the day JD misses.  Then I have to work another day and half to cover the cost of the babysitter for the week.  That totals 2.5 days I MUST work to stay a float financial, which really doesn't sound too bad.  Here's where things get rough:  worked to-date the equivalent of 53 days, 30 weeks have passed in the school and that means I've worked an average of 1.8 per week.  With the school year rushing to an end I'm not very hopeful that this trend will change.  We are facing some very tough choices.  Not only are we battling a shortfall in our monthly income, but we have some significant debt which might be enough to put us over the edge.  (This debt is a particularly hard pill to swallow because until about two year ago we had no debt and we were proud of it.  That's a whole other story!)  Stress is high, brain is spinning and we are frantically trying to come up with creative money saving and making solutions.

Here's the manic train of thought so far:
Coupons, of course we need to use coupons!
Molly needs to be potty-trained because we can't afford diapers. Reasonable??  Hmmm....
Eat less, bathe less, no treats....cancel the cable....cancel the internet!  No, must.....keep....internet.
Second job!  Yes, that will do it!  Now, where do I get a job that doesn't conflict with the school day or JDs night shift?  Weekends only???
Quit my job!  Staying home means no babysitting expenses!  But, this new career cost us big bucks......
Then again, if I'm home I could babysit.  After all our babysitter is cleaning-up!
JD could get another job....but who will hire him to just work weekends???
Cash in an RRSP...yikes!
What else? Sell a car....our house...a kidney???  Kind of like my kidneys.
ROB A BANK!  Yes, that'll do it.  Wait.........maybe not!
I know!  Coupons!  We need lots and lots of coupons!!!

Deep breath!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

A Dose of Birth Control!

Approximately 3 p.m., Saturday:
"Mommy, Molly is asleep with no clothes on and poop on her bum!"  said Sophie and that is how the nightmare began.  As I climbed the stairs two at a time my mind raced.  What does she mean poop on her bum?  Did her diaper leak?  But, why did she say bum?  Oh my FREAKIN' goodness!  I literally burst into tears and started laughing at the same time; as the anger boiled up from my guts, through my chest, into my head and out of me ears.  I really do mean that bullets of anger sprayed out of ears!!! Again, you have got to be F*$&ING kidding me right now!!!!

Earlier in the day:
JD and Sophie were out for the day, so after swimming lessons with Molly I was looking forward to a little quiet time during her nap.  Of course she was a challenge to settle and had to be put to bed a couple of times.  Finally, she seemed settled for about 10 minutes and then I heard her moving around in her room.  I debated whether or not to go to her, but in the end I decided to leave her because she was quiet and I knew she would settle.  As it turned out the quiet wasn't a settling for a nap quiet, but a being as naughty as I can quiet.

Lovely, darling Molly had removed her clothing (no big deal) and also emptied the bottom two drawers of dresser (annoying, but no biggie).  At some point during her "dress-up" session she had also removed her diaper AFTER pooping!  The clothes from the dresser had poop on them, her bedding had poop, her crib had poop, the rocking chair had poop, the baby gate had poop and worst of all the CARPET had poop on it!  Oh yes, and Molly had poop all over herself.  After this lovely, fun-filled, naked, dress-up session she had finally exhausted herself and that's how we found her.  Cuddled up, naked and pooped cover on the floor next to the gate in her doorway.  Did I mention that she had also peed?  Yep, adding insult to injury she had peed and her sleepy head was resting just at the age of the soaking wet carpet.

Literally, I really and truly did cry and laugh at the same time.  Then I yelled.  Then I stomped.  Then I laughed and cried some more.  JD scrubbed Molly.  I collected FOUR loads of dirty laundry to wash.  JD went across town to borrow a carpet cleaner.  I wiped poop of furniture.  JD cleaned carpets.  We both fumed.  Molly?  Well, poor Molly cried!  I do feel badly that she cried, but never before have I wished so badly that there was an actually effective and reasonable method for punishing a twenty-month-old.  I honestly was so steamed that I considered calling my parents to come and take her away for the evening because I couldn't imagine having to read her a bedtime story and lovingly tucking her into bed.

A day later and I'm still peeved, but I'm trying to remind myself that I'm lucky.  Generally, our kids are really well-behaved.  Sophie never even attempted something of this nature and although this isn't the first time we found Molly in the nude it is the worst thing she has ever done.  I know other parents who have dealt with permanent markers, nail polish, scissors and other things that are harder to clean or repair.  So we must be lucky, right???  Who am I kidding?  Poop is way more disgusting than anything that can be done with permanent marker, nail polish or a pair of scissors!  Okay, forget it we aren't lucky.  She is lucky.  She is lucky I didn't take her out to the corner, flag down the first passing car and hand her over!  One thing I know for sure: this incident has put an end to any more discussions about a third baby.  In fact if Molly had been our first born, and don't get me wrong I love her to bits, there may not even have been a second!

(A note to all future-parents:  I know this sounds horrible (and it was horrible), but thankfully this too shall pass.  Besides there is nothing that a little duct tape can't fix.  Whether you use a few short pieces just on the diaper tabs, or opt for the duct-tape belt all the way around their waist, their little fingers shouldn't be able to peel the tape back.  So go for it!  Kids are such a great experience and totally worth every moment, even the disgusting ones!)

Friday, April 15, 2011

Friday Five.

Teach, eat, parent, sleep, repeat.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

A Tired Week.

This has been one of those week....loooooong!!!  I still can't believe it is only Thursday evening.  The company JD works for is facing some challenges and as a result they are shutting down production a few times over the few weeks.  Although it is nice that JD will have few extra days off we are feeling high stress about the pay he will miss out on.  With our finances a mess and our debt really mounting for the first time ever in our marriage I'm trying to pick-up the slack by accepting every supply teach job that comes my way.  I am happy to work and like feeling like I'm pulling my weight financially, but life certainly is simpler when I only work a few days a week instead of every day.  I know that most families have two working parents and is during weeks like these that I really appreciate all they do for their families.

Adding to the craziness, JD is working nights this week and Molly is really ramping up the terrible-two's  tantrums.  I can deal with JD working nights.  I can deal with Molly throwing herself on the floor and screaming.  I can even deal with spending three days in kindergarten and the fourth in seventh grade.  But, put it all together and my mind and body are screaming for peace.  I'm actually writing this post and counting the minutes until I can tell Sophie to go to bed, and trying to decide if there is a feasible excuse to get out of bedtime reading because I have read what feels-like a thousand storybooks to two-million kids the same age as her.

In a nutshell I'm impressed by families that successfully manage unusual work schedules, teachers who successfully parent their own children (especially when they are the same age as their students), and single parents who raise their children and manage any degree of sanity.  So parents, how do you do?  How do you manage it all?  The end goal has always been to supply teach until I'm able to find a permanent position as a teacher, but after a week like this I appreciate the flexibility and convenience of supply teaching.  I appreciate that my job bends for my family and not the other way around!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Cinderella Sunday.

It is the best, most beautiful day of the spring so far and I've had a 'Cinderella Sunday'.  Laundry, make a meal, dishes, more laundry, more meals, more laundry, dishes AGAIN!  Clean the car, clean the closet, pack up winter clothes, change a diaper, change another diaper, another meal!  Whaaattttt?  WHY are you SO hungry?  Two lunches is not the norm!  Productive, but I'm still waiting for my turn to go to the ball.  Trouble is I'm too tired to go to the ball, and it isn't even bedtime yet.  Do you ever have Cinderella days that feel like all you do is clean, feed, and repeat?  I might ask my children to call me Cinderella instead of Mom.  At least I'll feel princess-like as I clean, feed, and repeat.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Friday Five.

Just a reminder....five syllables, words or sentences that sum up the week.

Cough. Cold. Sleepless nights.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Kids Say and Do the Darnedest Things.

Sophie asked me tonight what allergies I have, and I told her cats and some plants.  She thought about it for a minute and then said, "So when you stare at a cat for a long time your eyes get itchy and then you start to cry."  I couldn't help but laugh out loud before explaining that staring at the cat didn't make my eyes itchy and runny.  Good logic though!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Slipper Lubrication.

Sunday was suppose to be MY day to sleep-in and JD's day to conquer breakfast and morning child entertainment.  My turn to rest, until Molly the Marvelous-Mess-Maker made an appearance.

The girls woke like normal, Sophie entering our bedroom to tell us she was hungry and Molly standing at the gate calling, "Mom, Ma, Momma, Mommmmeeeeee, Mum, Ma.......Daddy?"  I was so grateful when JD rolled out of bed and closed the bedroom door.  I shifted, repositioned, pulled the blankets up and settled in for my hour of self-indulgence.  As sleep began to return I could hear JD saying, "What is this? What did you do?"  Soon after the water started to run in the bathroom (never a good sign before 9 am) and JD popped his head in the door, "YOUR daughter got into the Vaseline!"  Oh crap!  Crappity, crappity, crap!  Clearly he was telling me to get-up and get-up NOW.

 JD discovered the greasy-mess when he tried to change Molly's diaper.  When he first went to see her she was chatting on happily about the slippers on her feet.  He thought nothing of it, but this was the first warning sign that something was up.  We don't put her to bed with slippers on and this particular pair would not be easy for her to get on by herself.  He pulled the slippers off her feet, then took her pants off and grabbed her feet to change her diaper.  Trouble was her feet were totally slimy!  It took a few minutes, but finally he realized that she had gotten the Vaseline down and then used it to grease-up her feet and slide on the difficult slippers.  Marvelous-Mess-Maker-Molly had managed to pull a small basket from the third-shelf in her closet, picture it above her head height.  (How she got it down we will never know!)  She removed the lid from the Vaseline and spread it all over the container, her hands, one cheek, both feet and the slippers.

With Molly in the tub, I began the hunt in her room to discover all petroleum jelly and wipe it up.  Thankfully (I think), she had used it mostly as slipper lube and body cream so the clean-up was quick.  I even noted to JD that her leather hand-me-down, Robeez slippers looked like brand-new.  Clean-up done, and Molly de-greased JD shooed me back to bed.  Of course all was lost, sleep was gone and after 20 minutes of tossing and turning my Sunday morning sleep-in came to a premature end.  Now its Monday night and I'm desperately looking forward to next Sunday morning....without the Vaseline that is!  One hour, just one extra hour of peaceful sleep.  From my lips to Marvelous-Mess-Maker-Molly's ears!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Appreciations.

Gloriously sunny AND warm(ish) day.

The girls playing with their grandparents new puppy.

Greek salad for lunch - yummy!

Back door is open; letting the fresh spring air in even though not all the snow has melted.

JD is home and rested on a Saturday, with no work in sight until Monday.

Molly saying "cute" over and over while the puppy gives her kisses.

Feeling stronger and noticing muscles I never knew I had.

Playing outside.  Just playing with no purpose.

Sophie getting dressed all by herself.

Lots of work coming my way.

Almost convinced JD we can afford a weekend away - just us.

The thought of green grass, tulips, daffodils and all things spring.

No hats or mitts today!

Rubber boots.

April comes before May.

May is such a lovely word!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Friday Five.

Just to switch things up I'm going to try and post a "Friday Five" every week.  Five syllables, words, or sentences...only five...that sum up the week or day.

Here goes my first attempt:

Go away winter!