Playing Catch Up
March 25, 2008
Today is Yesterday was a typical Monday, filled to the brim with annoyances compounded by children who are were on a serious sugar rollercoaster.
“Oh, you are cranky. Go eat a jellybean. And bring Mommy one too while you are at it.”
The good news is that by tomorrow today there will be is no more candy left. Except for my one child who doesn’t like candy and saves it for “later.” Later being when I toss it all in the trash.
(I wrote all of this last night right before I crashed and burned with a migraine that had me clutching my head and willing myself not to vomit, hence the editing.)
We have a handy man working on our house, which is a good thing. In theory. He is getting work done. But he is getting it done so slowly that it isn’t quite visible. Case in point yesterday he logged in 8.5 hours. Spent about an hour putting in the insulation, um okay. And the next 7.5 hours hanging two sheets of sheetrock. For those of you not familiar with home improvement type things, that is really FREAKING slow.
The funny thing is that he gave me a list of supplies that Rob would need to buy before he came back. On the list was two more sheets of sheetrock. We already have about 10 of them waiting there outside the bathroom. I am not sure what the rush is all about because at the pace he is working we have enough sheetrock to keep him busy for at least a month.
I am still not used to the time change. Every night at 6:30 I am suddenly shocked by the time and scrambling to make dinner.
Yesterday Susan called and I was forced to reveal to her that I was feeding my children chicken nuggets and frozen vegetables, and serving it on paper plates. And then during the course of our conversation I realized that I had not put out any silverware. But that didn’t stop my children. One child was holding his plate up in the air pushing the peas and carrots and green beans off the plate and into his mouth with a chicken nugget. I wasn’t sure if I should be proud at his resourcefulness or horrified that he would not think to get up and get a proper utensil.
At least I know that they are well suited to dorm life. Or prison.
It’s his ninth birthday so he whipped himself up some Monkey bread. Recipe over at Work It, Mom!
Over at Parenting I wrote about girls and boys and the differences between them.
My children would be different. They would break free of these gender stereotypes. My boys would play with their Waldorf-approved gender neutral dolls and my girls would do boy things. Granted, I was not really sure what those boy things would be since I was an only child and didn’t grow up around boys. I assumed it had something to do with playing with cars, burping contests, and making fart noises in your armpit.
And guess what? It is 5:30pm and I have not resolved the question of what is for dinner.
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6:20pm… haven’t thought about dinner… i think i win.
March 25th, 2008 at 6:21 pmI’m glad I’m not the only one who is still messed up by that time change…
March 25th, 2008 at 7:01 pmWere the frozen vegetables still frozen when you served them? If not I totally beat you for slacker mom of the night.
March 25th, 2008 at 7:29 pmI am impressed that you cooked! Nutritious cereal and soymilk…hhmmm good! You are good in the clutch!
You tickled me with the plate and no utensils!
March 25th, 2008 at 8:07 pmWhen my daughter was 3 or 4 I took her Barbie cars and told her we were going to race them down the hall. So I set them side by side and say “ok..ready…go” -
“But mom…it needs the mom” she puts a Barbie in it.
Ok..lets go..lets see who goes FASTER
“but mom…she needs a friend” in goes another Barbie”
Ok kiddo…can we race now?
“but mom…they need to talk about where they are going”
I gave up!
When I’ve played these games w/ my nephews they don’t care about the interactions of the dolls INSIDE the car but just to beat me racing down the hall!
So yeah..I tried too but her girliness beat my inner tomboy every time.
Hope you are feeling better…I “thought” I had migraines (one stupid doctor that said that is what I had after I told him I had a bad headache) until I saw my husband have one…nope…I just have “bad” headaches.
March 25th, 2008 at 8:23 pmChris, I’m so sorry that you get migraines. There’s nothing worse than a headache that stops you in your tracks. Except people who say, oh it’s just a headache, you should still be able to function. My migraines tend to be hormonal because it’s not enough to be PMSing, I need to be unable to see or move too! Glad you’re feeling better.
March 25th, 2008 at 8:43 pmLet me get this straight: your child is devouring “peas and carrots and green beans”? You win all mom contests with that phrase alone! Who cares about utensils? Let him use a nugget - manners won’t come until college (if then?), anyway.
March 25th, 2008 at 10:08 pmMaybe you should pay that guy by the job instead of by the hour.
My dad is a contractor and a carpenter. He’s done floors, cabinets and has built homes since he was a young boy working with his father. He tends to pay by the job (except his full-time crew - they get a regular salary) because of the very thing you’re describing.
Migraines are awful. I hope you’re feeling better today.
March 25th, 2008 at 10:39 pmWeird. On a recent recipe post, I wrote:
“This is one of my “aak! It’s 5:30! What am I going to make for dinner!?!” recipes.”
If you’re interested, you can get it here: http://pragmaticcompendium.wordpress.com/2008/03/09/spaghetti-florentine/
March 26th, 2008 at 2:41 amI can totally understand the funky feeling with the time change! Last night I looked at the clock and realized that my youngest had just missed ballet class! It had been over for about 15 minutes at that point. doh!
Your handyman? Geez, that is FREAKING SLOW! Wow. Sorry.
March 26th, 2008 at 7:06 amWhen I was a kid, I would have been thrilled to get chicken nuggets on a paper plate, it would have been like a special picnic supper! So I don’t think the children will hold it against you.
I have only twice had headaches bad enough that I think they were migraines (could hardly see, threw up), I feel so bad that it’s a regular occurrence for you! Hope you have some gooood medication . .
March 26th, 2008 at 7:57 amReally, no harm in chicken nuggets and frozen veggies. Even if the veggies are still frozen. At least my daughter never seemed to mind… Hope your headache is better!
March 26th, 2008 at 8:37 amMy kids haven’t adjusted to the time change - every day we pick them up from extended day between 5:30 and 6 - and they are insisting that we are picking them up earlier b/c it’s still light out. Cool - I score good mom points w/no effort for once!
March 26th, 2008 at 9:06 amI wouldn’t worry too much about the frozen veggies. My first daughter is addicted to frozen peas and corn. She scoffs them down, still frozen.
If there’s a line between feeding your kids and lazy parenting, I think I may have crossed it
March 26th, 2008 at 9:26 amThe same thing happens with me at dinner time. The light outside throws me off completely.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:14 amActually frozen vegetables are more nutritious because they are frozen very soon after they are harvested, where as fresh produce has been exposed to days of heat, light, and all around exposure, thus diminishing their nutritional quality.
So don’t feel too guilty.
All hail the frozen vegetable!
March 26th, 2008 at 10:16 amMaybe I missed this…but do your kids make their own cakes? Because, seriously, THAT IS GENIUS.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:25 amHow is it the same kid , in my house anyway
March 26th, 2008 at 11:00 am“What’s for dinner?” is the BANE OF MY EXISTENCE. Yeah, I know. Me, with my one kid. Wah, wah, wah. But it is.
March 26th, 2008 at 2:40 pmOh, I can relate. Granted, adjusting to Mondays is never easy. Compound that with the time change, however, and my entire rhythmn is off…Julie for WOW!
March 26th, 2008 at 4:53 pmWait… chicken nuggets on paper plates is bad? I’m in big trouble.
March 26th, 2008 at 6:00 pmI think if I live long enough, someday I will see your 9 year old on his own Food Network show. His monkey bread cake sounds wonderful. I do that at Christmas, but with copious amounts of butter and garlic. The plate is always empty. Even the tiny bits of garlic that fall off are slurped up.
March 26th, 2008 at 6:39 pmAnd of course it’s always us moms who put the most pressure upon ourselves. I’m sure the kids were perfectly happy to eat with their hands!
Oh and that cake sure looks yummy!
March 26th, 2008 at 7:51 pmI’m all for the gender neutral balancing thing, but my husband freaks out every time my son puts one of his sister’s bows on his head or something.
The dinner time thing is all off for me too, esp. since I’m pregnant. I made my dinner about an hour ago, and now I have to go make dinner for the rest of the family. Just seems like the wrong time to eat to my body.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:19 pmI would fire that handyman. That is ridiculous. We had a siding man one time who worked at that speed. We had paid him by the job, but he was still so slow I was almost ready to side it myself. He did finally finish, but I wouldn’t do it again.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:34 pmI love your blog. We have 7 kiddos too. So true about the what’s for dinner stuff.
I lOVE the monkey bread receipe! It is a fav in our house!
March 27th, 2008 at 10:48 amI went to a waldorf school and let me tell you, regardless of the gender neutality of the dolls the boys in my class still beat me over the head with it
March 27th, 2008 at 3:30 pmI love Monkey Bread, I won’t lie to you and tell you that a lot of the reason I love it is because I get to call it MONKEY bread.
xoxoxo
March 28th, 2008 at 2:02 pmYum, I made this that day, and THANK YOU. It was beautiful and yummy.
March 28th, 2008 at 2:49 pmHey! Congratulations on finding a DWSHKON-certified handyman! (That’s right.. all of OUR handymen work on a geological time scale.) The advantage is once they’re done you’re always happy (to see them go).
Hugs to you and your totally gorgeous family.
March 31st, 2008 at 8:21 pm