Taste of my own medicine

Growing up I was always a smart-mouth. And I still am! I'm a smart mouth to my own kid, because he needs to learn how to speak the right way. For instance, he says "That was really yummy" as a way of hinting that he wants more. But he needs to come right out and say it! So I tell him "Yeah. It was," ignoring the fact that I know what he really meant (of course we talk about it when I tell him what I expect him to say). So now he talk to me exactly the same way. I tell him "These clothes need to be picked up," an indirect way of asking him to clean his room. So what does he mouth back? "That's good to know."

Another thing he says that bothers me is when he whines "When can we ________?" It will be the most random thing like "When can we go to McDonalds to play on the playplace again?" Well of course I don't have that written on my calendar. So I don't have a literal answer to his question. This is what he asked me today, so I just laid it all out for him. "Rychen, when you want to do something, just ASK. I don't know WHEN we can go, right now it's not scheduled anytime. If you want to go, you need to say, 'Mom, how bout we go to McDonalds while we're out?' or 'Is there a day this week we can go?' or 'Instead of going to Kids Club today, how bout we go to McDonalds?' " All of those are very direct, simple questions that I can easily give an answer to. For whatever reason, it's difficult for me to answer indirect questions! I think very literally and so people need to be careful of the wording they use with me! I will answer the exact thing they asked, without taking the time to realize what they really meant.

My brain is just weird like that. It took me a long time to realize that when people say "How are you doing today?" they don't actually care! But seriously, I take things literally and I cannot lie. I am not going to say "fine" or "good" if that's not the 100% truth. So on one hand, if I do say that, you know I am having a good day. On the other hand, I fear I come across as an unhappy person too often because I won't tell those white lies.

Now that I am a mature adult and have come to realize this about myself, I am working on keeping the truth to myself and putting on a smile, or at least not expounding on the details because nobody cares! (I also have a tendency of giving too much information, too soon, without stopping to consider how well I know a person or what environment we're in.... *sigh* I have issues) This is a trait of the Aspergers personality which runs in my family. So I apoligize in advance. I am a mental case.

So I am working on my social skills. I have a lot to learn :)

Elisabeth's words

This past week, a couple friends blogged about their toddler's emerging verbal skills so I was thinking Elisabeth was behind. I pulled up this milestone chart on Baby Center and am glad to see that she is right on track. For 17 months, it says most babies can use 6 words skillfully. Elisabeth's daily words are:

• "boo!" (a game we play)
• ball
• mom
• other one (when she's nursing)
• bite
• crayon
• boobie (unfortunately)

Other words she has said before but doesn't use daily are:

• down
• kitty
• dad
• bubba
• dog
• banana
• book

For other needs, she communicates very clearly. She just has a way of speaking to us without verbal words. I never feel like I don't understand her. She is very aware, very active, participating in a group activity, and it is clear she understands our words, as she can do tasks exactly as we ask her to.

Lion's Birthday

On Sunday, Rychen Parker informed us that the next day would be Lion's birthday, so we would need to guy buy him some clothes. Naturally, I couldn't argue with that logic.

 

Monday was Lion's birthday (which coincidentally coincided with Uncle Evan's birthday) so we went to Wal-mart (regrettably; a horrible place to shop, if you ask me. I think we go there twice a year.) and found Lion some clothes. Wow, we were really lucky - (a) We found a store that sold doll clothes, and (b) The ONE and only option for doll clothes was Lion's exact size.

 

The package came with two matching outfits, one pink and one blue. So Elisabeth's baby got some clothing too! Presents for everybody.

 

And of course we had to make a birthday cake. But Lion didn't get any because he would "get his hands dirty."

 

Happy Birthday Lion! I appreciate you a lot. You are there when I can't be.

 

To My Solemate...

Dear Solemate,

There's no easy way to say this, but you've been replaced. We've been together 10 years now, and it's been a good run. You followed me to the dusty deserts of Arizona, carried me through the bitter cold of Utah and did what you could to support me during the rainy Willamette Valley winters. For all of these things I thank you. But it's just not the same as it once was.

You don't give me all that I want and need anymore. It's mostly your lack of support. It's just not there. To be honest, it hasn't been there for years. And it's hurt me time after time and I just can't take it anymore. I can't afford to be hurt again. Not now. I hate to be "That Guy," but itn's not you, it's me.

It's not not just your lack of support though. I know there are things we could do to fix that. It's more that that. Frankly it's, well, your appearance. I mean, look at you. You're withered and dirty and way past the point where a little soap and water will make any difference. The truth may hurt but I need to say it: I'm embarassed to be seen in public with you.

So this is it I guess. There's no use in trying to talk me out of this decision. I've moved on. And you will too. Actually, I think you two should meet before you go though. I think you'd be able to understand why I have to do this. It will be better for all of us.

All the best,

Rychen

Minneola Tangelos

I just got my first taste of a Minneola, which is apparently the hybrid of a tangerine and a grapefruit. I was curious so I paid the 78 cents/lb over the 33 cents/lb regular navels. I don't buy tangerines very often at all, so anything other than the cheap-o orange is a treat! But I really like this Minneola... although I don't taste much grapefruit in it. It tastes like a tangerine but what I love about it is the very high juice-to-pulp ratio. So high, in fact, that I wouldn't let Elisabeth have a taste (she is wearing white today)! Very juicy without any gagging involved.

 

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about it.

To nap or not to nap

Mothers of young children are all too familiar with this dilemma.

 

To nap? or Not to nap?

 

Simple dozing has become a crazed game of analyzing and weighing the pros and cons between various sleep schedules. Manipulating your child's wake time or nap time/length in order to control the lenth of their next awake stage, and subsequent nap time or bed time.

 

Life is full of choices. And this is one time when you really want to have your cake and eat it too. But unfortunately, you must make your choice.

 

Child sleeping longer in the mornings equals parent sleeping longer in the mornings. But then the parent doesn't get alone time.

Weigh: sleeping in vs. read my sciptures? Or,

 

Child waking up early means equals child taking a nap that day, equals parent alone time OR parent time with other child. (There are just too many good things in this world) Weigh: Work-out or teach my preschooler addition? Or,

 

Child taking a longer nap equals possible time for work-out AND preschool games. This is good. Except child taking a shorter nap equals earlier bedtime (for both children) and the possibility of a sex life.

 

But the problem with that, is that it creates more children, and I only got through pre-calculus. My mind cannot compute or analyze any further statistics, cannot manipulate any further overlapping sleep schedules, cannot wrap itself around the inevitable decreasing amount of alone time forseen in my future!

 

 

Keep it up

We sleep with our feet toward the wall. And our heads at the end of the bed, so my pillow always falls off the bed. Isn't that so strange? Why do we sleep like this? I honestly can't remember why we first set up the bed like this.

 

But what is even STRANGER, is why we keep doing it, everytime we make the bed!

 

This is one example of a curious human phenomenon - we tend to continue doing things long after the reason to do them is gone. We just "keep it up" and keep going, never questioning. We keep doing things we always did. We do some things just because "that's what people do."  We do things because other people do them, and never question why they did them.

 

I recently heard a story illustrating this last point. Unfortunately I can't remember the details but let me sum it up for you. A woman was making bread with her friend, when her friend noticed she had an odd way of baking, so she asked why she was doing it this certain way. The woman says "because that's how my mom did it." The friend is perplexed and seeks out the woman's mother so she could ask why she makes bread this certain way. The mother says "because that's how my mom did it." Again, the intrigued friend seeks out the grandmother so she can investigate further! The grandmother explains that she had to make bread this strange way because of her physical disability. It wasn't the usual way of making bread, and it wasn't necessarily a beneficial way at all. But she did it out of necessity, for herself personally. Not knowing this, she passed the funny habit down to her daughter, who passed it down to her daughter. The generations just kept repeating a silly, unnecessary custom without realizing that the original intent wasn't even relevant in their own case!

Around the house

DDR is the latest craze at our house! It started as an alternative to ao gym membership, and now it's exercise for all of us, once or twice every day! Even Elisabeth loves trying to do it. We have a video of her doing the steps, maybe I will upload it (videos are just more complicated....but I do them when it's worth it)

Here's our little toy corner. For a long time we just kept most of the toys in Rychen P's room, but now that there are two children (only one of whom is "allowed" to go into that room) we decided it was best to create a play area in the living room.

A most wonderful thing, the best toy ever! A great huge cardboard box! It has many uses, from puppet theater, to superbasketball basket, to picnic area, etc... and any child who comes to our house is sure to love it too!

(p.s. Check out Elisabeth's cute pigtails!)

The kids fighting over the broom. Chores are so much fun around here, we end up in tears.