So long 2012

Wishing all of you a joyous 2013!

Happy Birthday, Jellybean!

PYHO - There is Only Today

Today my oldest nephew turns 21.

 

I’m booking the pavilion for Jellybean’s 2^nd birthday party.

 

My oldest nephew and niece from my middle sister have a girlfriend and boyfriend. That they go on dates with. Not just holding hands in the cafeteria type dates.

 

I’m almost halfway through this pregnancy with Jujube.

 

Christmas is less than a week away. (And I have none of my homemade gifts made yet that I need to distribute Friday. I also haven’t mailed Christmas Cards yet!)

 

Time is flying by. Each day is so bittersweet.

 

I watch Jellybean. So advanced for his age and learning more every day. I’m proud but I almost want to yell, “Stop! Slow down. Mommy’s not ready!”

 

He is though. Mommy will never be ready.

 

My sister sent me a picture of my nephew snuggling in a chair with his girlfriend and wrote “It’s so sweet but my heart is breaking a little bit.”

 

I get it. I think of our parents. Getting older. Their babies have babies. They wonder where the time went. Weren’t they just kissing our boo boos? Now they call during dinner time and we have to rush them off the phone as we simultaneously wash dishes, cook and throw elmo crackers at our kids with the promise of I’ll call you back later.

 

Then we forget or fall asleep.

 

But what if we don’t get the chance for later?

 

Today, right now is all we have.

 

Christmas isn’t a guarantee. Neither is this weekend. That birthday party or anything else.

 

I don’t need life to slow down.

 

I need to slow down .

 

Put the laptop away. Not rush through bath time so I get some extra down time. Make the twenty minute drive to my parent’s so they feel loved. Shut my mouth when I’m feeling crabby and say “I love you” to Joey instead of nagging. Send the Christmas Card to my oldest sister even if we don’t really talk.

 

Remember that every moment counts.

 

Linking up with Shell for Pour Your Heart Out!

 

A Shitastic Thursday

Last Thursday was perfectly shitastic.

 

It started at 8am with a phone call at work. Someone discovered a mistake with something and it was major. A project I hadn’t touched at all. I wasn’t involved in it and once we did our research my department hadn’t even made the mistake. But of course it became my problem. That consumed 80% of the rest of my day.

 

Which just kept getting worse.

 

Last Sunday night a breaker had blown at our house. The breaker controlled the lights to our living room, dining room and Jellybean’s room. We found out after that happened and a few fruitless visits to various hardware stores in the area that we really need to replace our entire breaker box since its ancient and a fire hazard. Yesterday I was finally able to locate a new breaker. To the tune of $38 for one single 15amp breaker – the same for a new system - $3.45. We put the new breaker in and it promptly blew again. So Joey has to climb in the attic and see if he can find wtf is wrong with it. Except he’s working out of town.

 

Then after work I had to take Jellybean back to the pediatrician as his cough still hadn’t improved from last week. If anything it was worse despite finishing a  round of Zithromax. I had questioned the Zithromax script in the first place as it hadn’t worked well for him in the past but the ARNP swore that it worked best on this type of bacteria. NEGATIVE – never allowing them to prescribe it for him again. He not only still had bronchitis but now had an ear infection to boot thanks to all the fluid build up. Spiked a raging fever from it that night too. Once the thermometer hit 103 and kept going I popped the ibuprofen in his mouth as quickly as I could. He actually slept really well all night. Slowly he is getting back to normal. He was pitiful last week. It didn’t help that the wait at the pharmacy for his script was 3 hours either.

 

Then to top it off – Joey’s truck broke down again. I ordered over $200 worth of parts for him that a friend of his picked up and brought to him. He managed to make it back to town and his car broke down again at the pharmacy when he went to pick up Jellybean’s prescriptions. I drove over to jump him off, he put the new alternator in and hot a quarter of a mile down the road only to have the  truck die again. We tried jumping it a few times and finally had to call a tow truck.

 

Come to find out they sold us a bad alternator.

 

We’ve also been dealing with the 2 yo sleep regression. Not familiar? It involves trying to get your child to go to bed from the hours of 8pm to 11pm. While he cries and screams “No Go BED” “NO GO BED!” Really fun times, especially when you’re pregnant and have to pee, eat and drink during that time. Then the next day he’s a cranky mess and asleep by 6:30 pm. I see the end of nap time ahead. Just in time to have a newborn.

 

Someone go drink a double for me? OK?

 

 

 

 

 

The "Future" Conundrum

Mom’s worry. Its in our nature. We want what’s best for our children and will do whatever it takes to make that happen.

 

Joey and I have been blessed with a VERY smart child. That’s not me being a proud mom. That’s the general consensus. He is very advanced for his age and quite honestly, it scare the living daylights out of me.

 

This child – who isn’t quite two, can open a door with keys – luckily he can’t reach the key hole. He has already memorized his favorite books and will read them. He knows how the childproof electrical outlets work. Can count to twenty. Knows his letters. Knows which words go with which letter and can spell the first part of his name.

 

He speaks in complete sentences.

 

I feel like I won’t be able to keep up with him. I’m actually wary about keeping him home with me during my maternity leave as I’m concerned I won’t be able to challenge him enough academically.

 

So when election day came around last month I made it a point to vote for a tax referendum that would have made sure our schools were getting enough money to operate. It came out to about an additional $75 a year on our property taxes. Well worth it when it comes to educating our youth – or so I thought. Apparently the rest of the county didn’t agree. The referendum failed to pass.

 

What does that mean?

 

The recap from our county says that due to the budget cuts the following will happen beginning with the 2013 school year –

 

1.    Projected minimum $25 million deficit for fiscal year 2013-14 is the equivalent loss of nearly 500 teachers.

o     

o    Further reduction in the number of Advanced Placement high school classes

o     

o    Further reduction in middle and high school elective classes, including the arts

o     

o    Reduction/elimination of science fair, social studies fair, field studies/trips

o     

o    Reduction of elementary music and art teachers resulting in these subjects being taught by the classroom teacher

o     

o    Reduction/elimination of various instructional programs, including Project IBIS (environmental/science learning program) and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination)

o     

o    Reduction of school district salary payments for teachers to serve as directors for band and chorus, sponsors for clubs, coaches for athletics, and extra duties for supervision and security

o     

o    Major reduction in the number of substitute teacher days allocated to each school that results in combining students into other classes and grouping students into gymnasiums and cafeterias when teachers are absent

o     

o    Instructional materials provided as classroom sets, rather than for each individual student

2.     

3.    Loss of a high number of teaching positions that result in a further loss of student instructional programs and extra-curricular activities, including athletics. 

4.    Ability to meet Florida Statute class size requirement is highly unlikely with a reduction in the number of teachers, resulting in a financial penalty to the school district.

o     

o    Significantly higher class sizes in middle and high school core academic classes and even higher class sizes in elective courses

5.     

6.    Other changes that will impact the instructional program at schools:

o     

o    Increased number of combination multi-grade classes at every elementary school (example—combining grade 2 and 3 students into one class with one teacher)

o     

o    Increased number of elementary schools that share a principal with another elementary school and further reduction of assistant principals at secondary schools.

 

Scary stuff, huh? Jellybean doesn’t begin school until 2016 but that doesn’t reassure me. That only means that the district will have been suffering for 3 years at that point. We picked our home because it was zoned for excellent schools. Now those schools are in jeopardy so we’re forced to think of the future and what we want to do.

 

We both attended public schools, myself through the university level and received excellent educations in the process. That was always my plan for my children too.  Until this happened.

 

So we’ve been talking a lot lately, neither one of us feels that public school will be a good fit for Jellybean with the current state of the system.

 

Our choices as we see them are –

 

Private School

 

Montessori

 

Homeschool

 

Charter School

 

Or (and this is a long shot) my being able to get a job with the school system in the next county over – thus allowing our children to attend their schools. They happen to have a charter school for gifted children. That suggestion actually came from Jellybean’s day care – unsolicited by me. She thinks that’s where he needs to be by PreK.

 

Each area has its pros and cons. I know he would flourish in a Montessori environment but that doesn’t come cheaply. Most don’t accept or offer scholarship money either. There are some private schools in the area but just because you’re paying for it doesn’t mean the quality is better or even up to par. That’s a real problem for me. Homeschool is enticing but I don’t know if I’m cut out for it or if we could live on one budget. And the charter school depends on what our county has available at that time.

 

I know we have time to reach all these decisions and so many things can change between now and then but I’m a mom. I worry. . I never want to feel like I made the wrong decision when it comes to my child’s education.

 

This parenting thing….it comes with a huge burden of responsibility!

 

Linking up with Shell for Pour Your Heart Out!

 

A Novel Approach

I posted awhile back that Jellybean had shown an interest in potty training so we were letting him take the lead and try  it.

 

That didn’t last long with all the craziness of the holidays, traveling here and there, Joey working overtime, etc. Potty training is really about training the parent and not the kid and we just weren’t that dedicated to it.

 

I really, really want him to be potty trained by the time Jujube gets here though so I needed to get my ass in gear.

 

Unknowingly, Jellybean gave me the perfect opportunity. He finished his antibiotic on Friday and like it always seems to happen he started complaining of a boo boo on his bottom last night. We went to change him and sure enough it was bright red. The inevitable antibiotic induced yeast infection. Since it was bed time when it happened last night we just washed him off, slathered on the nystatin cream and put him to bed.

 

This morning when he started complaining I decided to take a different approach. Jellybean is a pretty smart kid. (I’m not just saying that as his mom. The sucker has already figured out how to plug and unplug the Christmas lights – despite us having the childproof outlets installed!) I decided to reason with him. I took his diaper of and explained that if he used the potty his boo boo wouldn’t hurt and that it would get better faster. He needed to pee pee and poopy in the potty. Then I left the diaper off and went about my business of getting ready for the day.

 

About two minutes later he comes running into the kitchen – “Momma – Peepee on potty, peepee on potty!”

 

So we went in the bathroom and he sat down and made a poopy! I praised him, wiped him, let him wipe himself and we flushed. Kept the diaper off still and told him to let me know if he needed to go again.

 

Another two minutes and I’m being dragged to the potty again. This time he lets out a drop or two. He just wanted to flush again I think.

 

Then about five minutes later he drags me out of the bedroom – half dressed. We go in the bathroom. He has me sit on the big potty which he usually uses and he sits on the little one. And he pee pees. A real one too and not the little tinkles he usually does. I was shocked. Then of course he had to wipe again. (He loves wiping, if I’m going potty he’ll try to wipe for me! J )

 

So, this yeast infection has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We talked about it some more on the way to day care. I reminded him that he needs to use the potty to keep his boo boo from hurting and he can tell his teachers if he needs to go. He repeated a lot of it back to me so I think he was actually listening and is going to try. Now its up to me to stay dedicated to it!

 

Potty training – Round 2!

 

LET’S GO!

Sometimes I miss...

As you all know – I LOVE being a mom.

 

Seriously – the best thing ever.

 

That said – occasionally, I find myself getting nostalgic for the old days – I blame country music. I mean a song like “Cruise” comes on and suddenly I can’t help but think back.

 

Back to driving around in Joey’s Jeep when we were dating. Blue is in the back slobbering out the window. The radio is up, windows down and we have no destination in mind. We really were just cruising on the back roads. Care free. We might have some Publix subs with us (mmm…Publix subs…I miss lunch meat…) and a bag of boiled peanuts.

 

Then there were the road trips to Mississippi where we’d just talk and laugh the whole way. We’d fall in love again during those 10 hour hauls. Sometimes get a little naughty on the way. (Hey – how do you think we ended up with two kids this quickly? We like each other. A LOT!) ;)

 

I wouldn’t change my life for the world but occasionally it’s be nice to travel back to a time where car payments, mortgages, health insurance day care, etc weren’t on the list. It was pay per view UFC fights on demand with a bonfire going in the back yard and good friends hanging out at home with a six pack.

 

Maybe its just me realizing how little free time we will really have once Jujube is here. Its how little together time I get with Joey since he’s been working so much. We squeeze it in when we can but I miss him. I wish my time with him didn’t mean doing chores, running errands and tackling grown up stuff.

 

Every once in awhile I’d love to go back to  sitting on the back of a lift gate, staring at the beach and not thinking about a damn thing other then the hot guy sitting next to me.

 

Luckily, he’s my hubby and one day, when the kids are grown, we’re old, gray and flabby we will be that couple – sitting margaritas on the beach and feeling content with how full our lives really were.

 

What do you get nostalgic for?

 

Jujube Bares it All and Jellybean Gets Taken Down

Sorry for not being around the last few days. I've been cooped up at home with a sick toddler. He has pneumonitis (inflammation of lung tissue) and bronchospasms. In other words a cranky, phleghmy, coughing mess.

Today was especially trying as he was still sick but on the mend so he didn't know what he wanted. Playing then whining, a tantrum at naptime that included pegging me in the eye and the nose with a had book. Then he got yelled at and had to fuss himself to sleep while I checked for bleeding. Woke up from his nap miserable too. I think he ate three popsicles today and not much of anything of sustenance.  I'm actually looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. Days like this make me wonder if I could ever be a SAHM!

So on to Jujube.

Saturday was the big day - the gender reveal!

Joey and I got ready for it by fighting like cats and dogs Friday night and part of Saturday morning. I'm starting to think he has pregnancy hormones himself...

Anywho we finally got to my sister's loaded everyone up and headed to the ultrasound. My facebook feed was hopping with guesses. They were all for girl.

We get there and Jujube wants nothing to do with a photo shoot. Jujube is nestled in there, back turned to us, legs fused together.

She has me roll to one side...

Nope.

Then the other...

Uh uh.

I offer to get on all fours. Everyone laughs. (Hey, It worked with Jellybean!)

Finally, Jujube gets tired of all the commotion and....

THE MONEY SHOT!

Jujube is all boy! We are thrilled - Jellybean gets a playmate and best friend.

We're also lucky enough to get to honor Joey's best friend who passed away to cancer when Jellybean was four months old. We've chosen to use his name as Jujube's.

Now - to prepare ourselves for two rambunctious boys in the house!

Anyone want to start sending window panes and drywall my way? We're going to need it!