The Eighth Week Of Summer- Part One

Last week was another really busy week.  It was the last week of swim lessons, and I have to admit, I was happy to have it end.  I don't think Dylan got a whole lot out of it.  He still won't put his head under.  He still doesn't get the concept of "blowing bubbles" in the water, but just ends up drinking some.  When he jumps in, he still doesn't seem to get that he needs to keep his mouth closed, so he just ends up swallowing water.  Hopefully the next one I sign him up for will be a bigger success.  (Thanks again to my parents for the days they took him, and especially to my dad who swam with him!)

On Sunday last week, Doug's grandma ("Nan") passed away.  She was a really special lady, and she was so good to me.  On Thursday, my parents and I went to the viewing while our friend Rachel watched Dylan.  I have many happy memories of Nan, and she will certainly be missed!

On Wednesday, I needed to drop off some forms and the first payment at Dylan's new preschool.  I told him we were going to go see his new school, just so he could see it and see his room and the playground.  While I was changing my shirt, he was yelling from downstairs, "Mommy!  I'm going to make my new teachers a picture!"  Of course, he decided to "draw" the numbers 1-20.  I really didn't want him to take it, because I just knew the teachers would think I put him up to it - that I was trying to show what he could do!  He was so excited about it, though, that I had to let him bring it.  On the way there, I was singing along to the radio and he said, "Excuse me Mommy!"  I turned down the radio, and said, "Yes Dylan?"  He looked at me with the cutest expression and said, "I'm really happy!  I get to see my new school!"  Man I love that kid!  I really hope the new school lives up to his expectations (and mine!).

Thursday morning we had Dylan's friend over for a playdate.  The funniest part was the two of them playing hide and seek in the yard.  One would "hide" behind a tree and shout "COME FIND ME!"  Each time they would peek their head out from behind the tree laughing and the other one would shout, "THERE YOU ARE!!"  Then they would run towards each other laughing.

On Friday I had an interview for a new nanny job and I got it!  I think I am starting August 16th.  I am very relieved, because my current job was ending in four weeks, so I was starting to really panic.

We went to Lake Erie for the weekend, and I have a bunch of pictures, so I'll do a separate post for the weekend.  To be continued...

Sixth Week Of Summer

Are you sick of these "Weeks Of Summer" posts yet? I can't help it! I need to document all the fun, and this summer I am really relishing each moment.

This week, on Wednesday, my dad and I took Dylan to Pittsburgh Mills mall, where he rode the huge merry-go-round, played in Giggles & Smiles, and we ate a huge lunch at Houghlihan's.

On Thursday, what felt like the hottest, most humid day so far this summer, Dylan and I met friends at "Castle Park" for a playdate. It was our first time at that park, and I know it won't be the last, because it is such a cool park! The whole thing looks like a castle, and it also has a huge sandbox. We had a good time, and would have enjoyed it even more if we weren't drenched in sweat from the stifling heat!

Thursday evening, Jim and I took Dylan to his first circus. It was a small, mom and pop type circus, but as I told my friend earlier at the playdate, "He's never been to a circus before. What is he gonna say, "This is lame""? Nope, but I did a few times. When we take him to a "real" circus, he's gonna say, "What was that other ridiculous thing you took me to, with the goats that did tricks?" The lighting under the "big tent" was horrible, and I had my small camera, so I didn't get any great shots (of the goats doing tricks). Oh, and did I mention we were crammed onto uncomfortable bleachers, like sardines, in a big tent, with no air circulation, on the hottest day of the summer?! There was a guy who kept walking around selling snow cones, but he was NOT making it to our side, because they kept selling out by that time. I was envisioning a crowd of sweaty people, stampeding the poor snow cone guy, trampling him while trying to get the last precious snow cone. I would be the one on the top of the pile. Of course, in the middle of the show, Dylan had the urgent need to go potty. Then, the guys sitting outside the tent said we couldn't go back in where we came out. Meaning, we would have to go in the front, and walk the entire way around, in front of EVERYONE watching the show. Uh...no. So, then Dylan and I had to sneak past the circus dudes into the back of the tent. How many times do you get to write that in a sentence?

                    

Friday we rested after all that excitement, and Saturday was my "Spa Day" as I marked it on the calendar. See, last year on my birthday (almost a full year ago) my wonderful husband bought me a gift certificate to a spa. It has taken me this long to use it. I had a makeup lesson with a fantastic guy, Larry, who I wanted to immediately befriend because he was so much fun (I'll let you guess his, um, sexual preference). Then I had a massage with a woman who thought I said, "Torture" when I said "Relaxation". Since when is having someone's elbow jammed into your bum relaxing? I really wish I had the time to do a complete post on my thought process during that massage, because I was cracking MYSELF up. I cannot clear my mind and allow my mind to just... go blank.

Sunday we went to my grandfather's and spent the day with a bunch of my extended relatives that we only get to see a couple times a year. Family, Friends, and Fun. That's my kind of week. Hope you all enjoyed yours.

Friendship

I have made, and lost, many friends in my life.  It is the losing part that bothers me.  I wonder why the friendship faded, why we lost touch, what went wrong.  As an only child, friendships have always been very important to me.  As an only child, friendships will probably be very important to Dylan.

I have tried to help Dylan cultivate friendships.  I plan play dates as frequently as I can.  Some of them go well.  Some of them do not.  Years ago, I invited one of the moms in the Mom's Club over with her son and daughter.  My boy, who has never been especially affectionate, spent the majority of the play date doing this...

I was dumbfounded!

  (Later, he tried to impress her by eating his shoe).

Quite a while after that, I had them over to my new house.  That play date did not go as well.  There were a lot of these looks being exchanged...

When her mom told her to say goodbye, she said, "GOOD-BYE!  I'm leaving!", with a great deal of attitude, whipping her hair around in the process.  I'm not sure if he is pouting, or acting indifferent?)

No hugs were exchanged that day.  The other mom and I lost touch, and we didn't see them again until this year, when we passed in the hall at Dylan's preschool.  The two of them didn't even seem to remember each other.

But, I guess that is the way it is with friendship.  People come into our lives, some for years, others for months, some just a day, but each leave an impression.  Each serve a purpose.

Some are in our lives to share a hobby, some to share complaints with, some to lend a listening ear, some to make us laugh.  Some come at a time when we just... need to hug someone.

The Best Things

When Jim saw I was starting to read the Simplicity Parenting book, he commented, "Oh boy.  I sense some changes are on the way".  I answered, "Oh a change is a gonna come!", in my best Baptist preacher voice.

The first change was the decree that Dylan and Jim would now be clearing off the table after dinner.  Why, oh why, haven't I been doing this all along?  Probably because I feared my clumsy 3 year old would spill food onthe floor, or break a dish.  But, I am determined NOT to raise my son to feel that a woman's place is in the kitchen.  If I have anything to do with it, he will NOT feel that cooking and cleaning is women's work.  He will NOT go into the living room to relax after enjoying a holiday feast that the women in the family prepared and are now cleaning up.  That is certainly worth some food on the floor and a few broken dishes.

The second change is that we now have a nightly ritual.  Every week night at dinner, (or later, if Jim isn't home for dinner), we each tell the best and hardest parts of our day.  It took a few nights for the boys (yes, both of them), to catch on.  The first night, Jim said his hardest part was "from the time I got to work until the time I got home".  Men.  They're so descriptive, aren't they?

We are really enjoying Dylan's answers.  Dylan had a playdate Friday, (his first since probably November! groan).  That day, his "best thing" was "Me and Caleb playing up in the air with the balls".  That was a lovely game in which they threw all of Dylan's 25 balls up in the air over and over, laughing hysterically and screaming "UP IN THE AIR!!!", until my friend and I could no longer carry on a conversation.

Doing this exercise has been really helpful for me.  Finding the best thing is usually really easy, but often I have to think a long time to come up with the hardest thing.  When I do, hearing the best thing and the hardest thing together really puts things in perspective.  The hardest things really aren't so bad when you consider how awesome the best things are, (my husband bringing me flowers for no reason, or my son kissing both sides of my face, then my forehead, before saying "I luv you").

Dylan's hardest things really show how easy a 3 year old's life is (at least for him).  One night it was, "when Mommy wouldn't give me any drink or food".  I was making dinner, and told him he couldn't have milk until it was ready.  I know!  Call Child Services.

The funniest was, "when I had a really big poop, and I couldn't get it out, and I tried and tried, and I pushed like this (imitating push and grunting), and it finally came out!"  As Jim said, "Someday, when you're old, that will be the best part of your day!"

Um...Ouch?!

Last week, on Wednesday afternoon, I took Dylan to the playground. We were the only people there. Dylan said, "No kids? You play with me, Mommy!" We went down the slide a few times, then pretended the climbing wall was a huge mountain. After we made it to the top, I said, "Well, what can we see from the top of this big mountain?" He giggled, and we started naming things we could see. That went on for quite a while, but suddenly he got very quiet. He put his hand on my arm and said, "Mommy, we need friends".

Um...Ouch!? The frantic plea for a play date went out the next day!

On Friday, he had a play date with three boys, ages 2 1/2, 1 1/2, and 6 months. Wow! Chaos reigned, but have you ever noticed how insanity causing chaos for one person becomes hilarity causing chaos when shared? There was a lot of laughter. There also was a hat thrown into dirty pool water, sand just about everywhere but in the sandbox, goldfish crackers eaten off the ground, and sippy cups stolen and "shared".

One kid fell off a bench, one got stuck in an overturned car, one removed his pants, one gave the baby a very large rock to play with, one ate a mysterious brown substance.

But, we were with friends and even at age 2 1/2, my kid realizes that "we need friends". As we left, he excitedly remarked, "We had fun with our friends!", and of course, he was right.

To Catch Up

I know, it's been a while since I posted anything. I've been exhausted. I've had a sore throat now for two weeks. Technically, two weeks and 3 days, but who's counting? I have had no other symptoms other than being ridiculously tired and weak. I figured I just wasn't getting enough sleep. But after two weeks, I decided I needed to see a doctor.

Before that, though, I had to get through Dylan's first official Kindermusik class (yes, I signed him up). It was adorable. He walked right in and got to the very important business of dancing/hopping/rolling on the floor, etc. Wow! Definitely the right decision to sign him up. They gave us a CD with the music and he has been recreating class ever since, usually several times a day.

On Friday was my doctor appointment. Basically, the official diagnosis is, "I'm not sure what is wrong with you". See why they get paid the big bucks? So, they took a test for strep throat, gave me an antibiotic and reflux medication (in case I have reflux, in spite of having NO symptoms), and then she uttered the two dreaded words... blood test. Maybe I have mono - for the THIRD time. Yes, I have already been through that twice. As soon as she said the words "blood test", I went into super annoyed mode. It never goes well. As soon as I hear the words, I know what is coming. I am at the point of throwing politeness and tact right the heck out the window, so I exclaimed, "Do you have someone really good, because it is really hard to get my blood. I have teeny, tiny veins, and they roll. I NEED someone good!"

In spite of my comment, she sent in the young male medical assistant, who I could just tell was clueless. After explaining things to him, he started "searching for a good vein". After a while I asked, "So, are you pretty good at this?" His, "Uhh..." answer was all I needed to hear. "Okay, listen, you have to get someone else in here who is really, really good at this". He went for back up and she started poking and prodding and slapping my right arm. This went on for a ridiculous amount of time, with clueless guy and her having an entire conversation about my tiny veins. "There was one right here, but where did it go?" There are only so many times a person can slap your arm before you start to think about slapping them back, so I begged, "Could you please try somewhere else?"

She finally found a "good one" in my hand. I absolutely cannot look anywhere in the vicinity of the needle, so I looked at the wall and envisioned myself on an island with the cabana boy massaging my shoulders. That's when I heard her tell clueless guy, "Wow, look how slow this is! It is just dripping out. How much do we need?" Then, she asked me, "Does your blood usually come out really slow?" "Yep, that's just the joy of being me", I explained. After what seemed like an eternity, she stated that she thought that was all we were gonna get.

After all that, the doctor gave me a number for an ear/nose/throat specialist, and told me to make an appointment. You know life isn't going well when you actually hope you have strep throat.

Believe it or not, after all that torture, later that day, a friend came over with her 3 boys for a play date. Four boys under the age of 3 in your home = chaos and a great deal of NOISE, NOISE, NOISE. It was fun, though, and my friend's ability to focus on our conversation in spite of one kid getting in the refrigerator, while another stood on the windowsill, while another screamed the alphabet (did you guess that was mine?), while another screamed bloody murder, was nothing short of extraordinary. Moms truly are amazing, and I am one, so I figure I can handle a sore throat and a little exhaustion.

Dating is Hard

Dear Dylan,

I didn't have to work today, so I tried to schedule a play date for you. I emailed just about every other mommy I know that doesn't work! I was excited, because your girlfriend's mommy said they were free. You haven't seen her in a while, and now that you have really decided that you like hugs and you want to hug everyone, not just her, I was anxious to see what you would do. I was a little concerned when you opened the Mother Goose Rhyme book to the page with Georgie Porgie kissing those girls, only wanting to read that page this morning. What the rhyme doesn't tell you, Dylan, is that those girls all cornered him later on the playground and beat the snot out of him. So, don't get any ideas.

I'm sure you were sad when your girlfriend's mommy emailed, and cancelled, using some lame excuse about her being crabby and not fit for a play date due to her molars coming in. Sorry, kiddo. Women are fickle. At least she didn't say she had to wash her hair.


(Here he is on tiptoes, watching the kids across the street playing, who are much older. Then he looked at me, as if to say, "Well, Ma, will they do?)

My Social Butterfly

Yesterday I was assaulted by so much rudeness, that this morning I was still reeling from it, so I started a blog ranting like a maniacal lunatic. The post started... "This is a test. This is just a test. Had this been an actual smackdown you would have received instructions of where to go run and hide, and a five second headstart....Maybe". But, you know what, I didn't have time to finish the post, because our friend Rachel came over for a few hours, and by the time she left, I was mostly over it. Too bad, it would have been a doosey(is that a word, and how do you spell it?). Anyway, since I am no longer emiting smoke out of the top of my head, I better just let it go. Don't worry, I'm sure someone will irritate me sometime again in the near future. Rachel cured me of my bad mood and put herself on the top of my "People I Love" list, by simply uttering one wonderful question..."Would you and Jim like to go on a date, while I babysit next Friday?" "Uh, is this a rhetorical question?"

One good thing did happen yesterday. Dylan had a playdate! One of the mom's from the Mom's Club I belong to came over with her daughter who is 3 months older than Dylan, and her son, who is 3, I believe. It was amazing! Dylan has been around this little girl a few other times, but always in groups, and he never paid any attention to her at all. Yesterday, he decided he LOVES her. The looks my little flirt was giving her! Then he walked over and hugged her! This, from a kid who, at least up to this point, was never affectionate. He hugged her again, and again, and then with such force he knocked the poor kid over. "Okay, Whoa, Mister Love, calm yourself down a bit. I know she's pretty and hip with that princess backpack, but chill". At one point, the other mom and I were talking and realized the kids were no longer in the room. Yikes! We found the 3 of them in the kitchen, sitting spread out on the floor, rolling a ball to each other. They had initiated and were playing a game together - amazing! It was then that I realized I have got to get this kid around some other children more often. He is social, and I definately want to encourage that quality.

So, we have another playdate planned with his 2nd cousins tomorrow. Another older woman - I hope he can control himself. She is related, after all.