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fig newtons

13 Apr

It’s late and I should be in bed but I’m up stress eating fig newtons instead. This does not bode well for my weigh-in tomorrow morning. Whatever. I’ve logged over 8 miles of wogging and 10 miles of biking the past three days so I don’t feel too bad about it.

Current worry: Kiddo got in some trouble today at her after-school program. The   situation has been dealt with but the details of such make me worry in general. She’s a great kid but growing up is hard in general and navigating appropriate friendships, boundaries, physical changes, etc. is around the bend and I can see it coming bright as day. I was much less stressed before I had a child and I won’t pretend to not be envious of those without such specific stresses. And that’s just a fact jack.

So that’s the biggie for tonight. Anyway.

And I just read an article on all the evil ingredients in fig newtons. According to it, I’m going to die in my sleep tonight. Stupid internet.

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breathe momma breathe

23 Nov

Screen Shot 2014-11-23 at 9.10.56 PMBeing a parent is THE most stressful thing. And I have it easy. One kid. No major health issues. Normal behavior. Easy peasy. Yet still THE most stressful thing. I must be a complete wuss or something.

Kiddo had a tummy bug a couple of weekends ago. She recovered in a couple of days but seems to complain of her stomach hurting on a very regular basis lately. This Friday night, more tummy issues that were not pretty and then this afternoon she started hurting again. This time actually writhing in pain in between bits of sleep. She’d say in the most pitiful voice, “Mommy, what’s wrong with me?” and “I only want my tummy to stop hurting”, and her little face was all scrunched up with hurt and I couldn’t do anything but lay next to her and stroke her hair and hold her hand. The Accountant and I debated a trip to the ER but then she’d settle down and sleep some more. At the very least, a trip to the pediatrician is in order if this keeps up.

And of course, you can’t research your kid’s illness (or anyone’s for that matter) without reading the most horrible and worst case scenarios. I know this but I Google whatever it is anyway, therefore only making the worry exponentially worse.

I don’t know how parents of children with chronic or terminal illness do it. I remember a sermon once by a man in his 30s who has a son who is disabled and wheelchair bound. He said that people say to him and his wife all the time, “I don’t know how you do it”. His response was a candid, “you don’t have a choice, you just do it”. I have no idea what the sermon was about but that anecdote sticks with me. My kid has a stomach ache and I stress eat an entire can of ranch flavored Pringles in one sitting.

Besides parents of seriously ill children, what about parents of more than one? How do you keep them all healthy at once? How do you possibly walk around wearing multiple hearts on the outside of your body and not drive yourself directly to Straightjacket Town thinking about bullies, sickness, broken bones, car accidents, food poisoning, bad grades, peer pressure, sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll????????? Oh sure, its two or three or more times the love and cuddles but also that much more of the worries and stress. I’ll pass thanks, but major respect to those of you who are rockin’ the parenting of multiple offspring.

Now I need a paper bag to breathe into. And more Pringles.

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I say “Ninja Turtle” three times in this post

22 Mar

IMG_20140322_172845_270bI got the office cleaned out and goodbyes said on Thursday. I’m more excited than nervous about Monday. I mean, what can I possibly mess up on the first day? The first week even? I’m probably tempting the new gig gods by saying that. I still need to figure out what I’m going to wear…and find my ID badge…and color my hair…and stop thinking…

It’s been a productive weekend otherwise as well and its only Saturday. Only continue reading if you have time on your hands and perhaps no life of your own. Deep breath and here we go….

Got the car through emissions testing, tags renewed, laundry caught up, walked a couple of miles, purchased a water softener, went out to eat, fell asleep with kiddo while watching Dumbo…Today was a trip to Toys “R” Us with the kiddo to wander the aisles of ninjas, superheros, Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles to find the perfect yet inexpensive birthday gift for one of kiddo’s classmates. We ended up with a Ninja Turtle (Raphael, I believe) and a Cars book/cd thing. Kids are so easy to please at this age. We also left the store with a coveted copy of Frozen which kiddo had to watch immediately on the car DVD player and then when we got home. Decorate a birthday card for 6 year old boy, bag the Ninja Turtle and head to the party at local trampoline place. Endure two hours of screaming, bouncing kids on trampolines, swinging from ropes and jumping into foam block pits…then pizza and cake (for kids only apparently…I looked on and quelled tummy growls and salivated), then mass chaos while birthday boy opened presents. Home for momma to eat leftovers while kiddo and The Accountant went on a short motorcycle ride. And now we are on our second home viewing of Frozen.

All of this because while life is sometimes maddeningly ordinary, it is also fabulous and well, some people are worth melting for.

/endsaturday

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the latest

24 Jan

012114aIt’s been a crazy, but good week for various reasons. I’ve made some headway on my personal to-do list, hung out with friends, made some plans, and did some thangs. Next week’s list includes drastically ramping up the job search and figuring out/solidifying some vacation plans we have brewing.

The weekend is looking promising. Kiddo is so excited that she can hardly stand it. Some family members are taking her to Chuck E. Cheese Hell with some cousins and then they are having a sleepover. Kiddo has stayed the night at her favorite babysitter’s a couple of times so I’m hoping this one goes well and The Accountant and I get to enjoy a nice relaxing time to ourselves. Crossing fingers for no phone calls at midnight telling me to come get my kid.

Tax season is underway and we are adjusting. Kiddo has had some negative behavior issues at school that we are surmising have to do with not seeing daddy very much. I’m hoping this evens out soon because we have a long way to go before Uncle Sam releases us. The Good Morning board has been working out great for making the beginnings of our day less frustrating. So there’s that.

That’s it for now.

bribery by clothespin and blogging milestones

22 Jan

morningboardGood Morning board:
I’m trying something new with kiddo in an attempt to make our mornings go more smoothly. Mornings with her are hit or miss. Sometimes she’s raring to go and cooperative without too much nagging. But on other days she’s a royal pain, to be blunt. Oh sure, I can make her get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, etc and we always make it to school on time but I’d much prefer that this happen without tears or frustration from either of us.

Someone posted a “chore board” from Pinterest on Facebook and it gave me the idea to make a “Good Morning Board”. We made one together last weekend, she decorated it and I wrote morning tasks on clothespins that I need her to do without complaints or tears. We begin the morning with all the pins on the “To Do” side of the board and as she does them, she moves the pin to the “Done” side of the board. When all the clothespins are on the “Done” side, she gets a trinket from our homemade treasure chest that I stock with stickers, cheap-o items from the dollar bin, etc.

We’ve only used the board for two mornings so far but those mornings have been good ones. Although, morning #1 probably doesn’t count because she was super excited for her dentist appointment (because weirdo) so that was a big part of our first day’s success. This morning there was a bit less enthusiasm but she still did great and carried her board around with her as she did each thing and promptly moved the clothespins as appropriate. She will get bored (haha, I’m so punny) with this as she is her momma’s child so I’m going to try to curb that by keeping the items in the treasure chest new so its not the same ol’ things in there every day. Because ho-hum treasure chests are just a bummer in general I say. And, parenting is all about bribery.

Blogging Milestone:
WordPress told me today that Finnspace has been registered here for seven years. Seven yearshat. Ack. I have always thought that I wasn’t one to stick with things but I guess in this case, I’m wrong about that. I actually had this blog on another platform for a few years before that even. I’m not sure blogs are as in vogue with the cool kids as much as they used to be and many of the local oldies that I used to read have shifted to Twitter for quicker brain bursts. But I never claimed to be one of the cool kids anyway. Happy Blogging Anniversary to me!

Cold as $#&@*!:
Thank you TN weather for being quite lovely this weekend and then turning into a hellacious Siberian cold front the next day. Yikes. I did make good use of one of my many super cute hats but balanced that win by forgetting my gloves this morning.

Ciao,
Finn

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stuff ‘n thangs

4 Jan

PicMonkey CollageI’m over the holidays and Christmas “vacation”. I’m ready to go back to work. And now there is the threat of Snowmaggedon on Sunday night so there’s more than a snowball’s chance in hell that Monday will be a snow day and I will go crazy. I’m overly dramatic, I realize. Its been awesome to hang with kiddo these past couple of weeks and we’ve done a lot of fun things…but y’all, I really need to reenter the adult world. I can easily see how stay at home moms tend to “lose themselves” in the land of Legos, diapers, tantrums, Nickelodeon, and all things kiddie. Those women deserve a raise and a stiff drink or five.

I’ve registered for my first 5K of the year for February 15th with some friends. Should be a fun race, albeit COLD. But there will be hot chocolate and fondue at the finish line so how could a chunky girl NOT do it? I’m not sure I’ll ever be a very good or fast or consistent runner. But I can’t seem to stay away from it for long. Maybe its because I consider it a solitary sport (or at least as solitary as you want it to be) and I like that about it. You’re only competing against yourself and seeking to improve from your last time or pace or hot chocolate consumption or whatever your goals may be.

On the literary front, I’ve been reading Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series lately and am on the second book. I’m saving the movies for after I finish and hope to watch both the Swedish and American versions. As far as movies go, I did get to see Bettie Page Reveals All the other night and wow, interesting lady! I didn’t realize she was born and lived in Nashville, or was diagnosed with acute schizophrenia and spent almost two years in a mental hospital…and so many other things. I love documentaries. On the other hand, I watched The Last Unicorn with kiddo tonight and I did not love that. Odd movie, in my opinion, and I usually like the weird stuff.

Tomorrow let’s make veggie tacos, do some stuff at the gym, rock some Angry Birds Star Wars on the Playstation, and go for a walk in the freezing cold, um’ kay? Fabulous.

Peas ‘n carrots.

 

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True story

2 Oct

This made me snort. Especially #s 1, 11, and 22. Heh.

http://www.chicagonow.com/baby-sideburns/2013/10/you-know-you-are-a-mom-if/

 

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