Archive for the ‘weekend’ Tag
August 09 2010 ·
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life,
this sucks,
weekend I would have gladly taken a getaway to New York City this past weekend.
But instead of a plush hotel bed all to myself, I was shoved to the edge of ours by small feet in the back after finally getting all 3 kids to sleep without assistance, which required more maneuvering and luck than I can adequately express. Instead of drinks and belly laughs past 2 a.m. with a circle of good friends that I could have so desperately used, I was hoping that no one would wake up crying or barfing. Instead of days spent taking in the sights and sounds of a bustling city, I spent those days as the only referee stuck within these walls listening to repetitive demands and high pitched screaming and nonstop bickering. Instead of feeling revitalized, I’ve just about lost my mind.
Instead of taking some well deserved time for myself away from it all like so many blog-minded women were able to enjoy this past weekend, I was stuck in the middle of it. I spent Thursday through Sunday parenting solo while J was out of town for work.
I’m used to being the main parent for the majority of the day. However, we have a routine. There are a number of tasks J helps with that I normally take for granted, such as bedtimes and teeth brushing and baths and corralling everyone for dinner. I did buckle down and ask my parents to just give me a break already, but still. 3 kids by myself for over 3 days is exhausting.
Someone got screwed in this deal.
That someone was me. Though the kids haven’t fared so well, either.
June 14 2010 ·
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life,
lists,
weekend Saturday afternoon, J suggested the bright idea of taking the kids to Chuck E. Cheese, a place we usually try to avoid as much as possible. Except this time, I said sure, sounds fun. Sounds fun? Clearly, neither of us were in our right minds.
I came home with a few alternate takes on their “where a kid can be a kid” slogan:
- Where a mom can lose a kid, and her last nerve.
- Where your 4yo can score higher than you at skeeball.
- Where a kid can be truly indecisive.
- Where a kid can be terrified of a pigtailed robotic chicken.
- Where it’s impossible to look cool drinking from a cup shaped like a crown.
- Where you eat your already non-appetizing pizza while staring at a giant mouse.
- Where you wish you brought hand sanitizer.
- Where you realize how cute your own kids are compared to everybody else’s.
- Where they play music from KidzBop. Need I say more?
- Where random kids will follow you around, begging for tokens.
- Where your entire self-worth is based on how many tickets you can accumulate.
- Where a kid can be a kid, but the parents feel really, really old.
- Where a kid might, possibly, pee his pants.
- Where a kid can be a screaming wild animal let loose out of it’s cage.
- Where it might be a good idea to keep a kid on a leash.
- Where they should really serve alcohol.
- Where a kid can spend 4 hours playing and racking up tickets to win some foam rocket piece of crap that was destroyed within 5 minutes of being home.
The things we, as parents, go through with a smile on our face. The kids had a good time, though, which is what counts. That’s what I’m supposed to say, right?
January 11 2010 ·
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Buzz,
life,
weekend Sunday is laundry day. If I don’t have a specific day set aside for this chore, it might never get done. I refrain from doing laundry during the week, because it’s better if someone else is here to distract the kids while I carefully fold and hang articles away.
It’s a nice thought, I suppose. One that is rarely seen to fruition thanks to a certain 3 year old.
He watches as I carry in a load of freshly cleaned clothes, scented with floral fabric softener. His face brightens as he anticipates what’s to come. Down his body falls on the mattress, legs dangling over the edge, his smile like a target. I hesitate, knowing the mess he’ll make. He looks so hopeful, though. I bury him in still warm material, his laughter contagious. From clean socks and underwear, he peeks out a thankful, happy eye.
Sure enough, he arises out of the pile with a burst: dress shirts in one corner, pants on the floor. It’s a game he can’t get enough of. The obsessive compulsive in me, envisioning smudges and wrinkles and even more work, is urging him to stop. But I resist.
Wrinkles are temporary.
In a former life, I was proud to have an ordered house. It’s safe to say, clean isn’t what it used to be. Drawers are overstuffed, crumbs magically multiply, toys are everywhere, laundry is never carefully folded. It’s a version that I’m still learning to accept, to enjoy. I’m not there yet, but it’s getting better.
September 01 2009 ·
3 CommentsPosted in:
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Buzz,
weekend We visited the zoo this weekend, mainly for Buzz’s benefit. The boy is all about the animals. He has a fascination, especially with penguins and monkeys. Stemmed from copious amounts of Madagascar and Over the Hedge, no doubt.
It’s a good thing he doesn’t have a fascination with, say, giraffes or elephants, because there were none of those there.
Our local zoo is not the best zoo. In fact, it’s rather lousy. It’s dirty and outdated and in desperate need of renovation. I tend to compare it to a farm, because it’s range of animals isn’t very far off. There are horses and donkeys and goats, complete with a barn, interspersed throughout. Although a farm might be better kept.
The especially unnerving aspect, however, were the state of a lot of the animals. There were more than a few that appeared in immediate need of some medical attention. Even the ones that didn’t look as if they were about to keel over as we passed were still old and degenerate (seriously, the cougars even had a sign on their enclosure “we suffer from degenerative joints”). We were also unfortunate to arrive right at feeding time. Nothing says family friendly quite like witnessing a hawk peck apart a freshly mauled rat.
Buzz had a blast, though, and didn’t seem to mind the mangy peacock or sedated wolverine or bloody rat carcasses, even. There were penguins! Which he saw up close! Right in front of him! I’m pretty sure that made his year.
August 03 2009 ·
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Buzz,
life,
weekend The only item on our agenda for this past weekend was to repopulate our goldfish aquarium. That was really all we had to do. Buy a fish.
Exciting! Blog! Material!
Except it was for Buzz, because pet stores are like crack for that kid. He’s truly enamored by animals of any kind, and there were plenty to go around. Turtles and lizards and rabbits and birds. He stuck his face too close for my comfort up to a rat and splashed his hand in dirty pond water. He watched, momentarily amazed, as every kind of fish swam past. Nemo fish! Dori fish! The boy couldn’t get enough. It was like the zoo, only miniaturized. And lined with bottles of water treatment chemicals.
He had the joy of this twice, since the first pet store’s goldfish were in quarantine. Which meant a simple outing turned into an almost 2 hour event. To that, all I can say is of course it did. However, a child’s happiness + 4 goldfish (that are still alive!) = priceless. Well, .87 plus the cost of gas, actually, but that’s about as close to priceless as you can get.
