Although I love the fact that G takes his Saturday chores seriously, I find it difficult to relax with all the movement. I grew up with this too - my Nana was always "puttering". Thank goodness for technology. I prefer to "putter" online.
G is also a Sunday night power-tidy-upper; not that he's had to do that in two whole weeks. And now he's asking me to get my grocery list together so we can meal plan. Or get my meal plan so we can grocery shop. In either case, it is obvious he thinks I am not supposed to be doing this.
Back to my story. I come from a family of insanely pushy women. I don't even mean that in the sense that they're overwhelming or nagging all the time (which they can be). I mean that they push themselves. My Nana is going to be 82 in a couple of weeks and she's still rarely sitting. We're thinking of getting her an iPad for her birthday - she'll sit more.
Nana has always dizzied me with her bustling; always busy, always working. My Mom has had a horribly painful back problem for the past ten years but she still works, cleans and moves stuff that needs to be moved. Yet both of them get on my case about "doing too much". "You need to take a break" or "can we help with anything?" they would say. Like it makes me feel so super capable if I have to call my 82 year old Nana to come give me a hand.
After one particularly annoying conversation with Nana that was something like the above but peppered with her telling me all the things she had accomplished that day, and how my Mom should be taking a break too, I had a lightbulb moment. "Nana" I said with utmost firmness "you do realize that we get this from You?!" There was a short silence. "Get what from me?" She said with complete innocence. "The taking on too much, the do it now, the I can do everything attitude!" "Oh" she chuckled, "I guess."
Granted, this obviously hereditary issue didn't seem to hit me until about five years ago, but I've watched both my Mom and Nana deal with it my entire life. G doesn't really seem to have it, yet he is the only person I know who can function at one hundred and ten percent on little to no sleep. It's crazy. Unfortunately, I don't think there's a cure for this problem and somehow all I've managed to do while writing this is create some weird anticipation of heading into my house and reorganizing my linen closet. F. I really am becoming one of them.
Showing posts with label moms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moms. Show all posts
Saturday, 10 August 2013
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
Vocabulary Building - Curse Words
Do you remember when you learned your first curse words? Personally, I was quite "in the know" while I was attending daycare. I vividly recall standing in a small circle with two or three others, away from the rest of the kids, while we went through all the words we knew. So - that would make me about four or five years old and my friends as well - it was daycare.
My extended family was helpful in giving me an early education. My one Uncle had a preferred saying while he was working on his motor bike. He said "F'n B" (in its entirety) a lot and I picked it up. And according to the stories my mother tells, my great Aunt was a bit of a ... hmmm, how to put this... ah, she was a "pot stirrer".
My great Aunt used to try to make me drop the F-bomb in public. Much to her satisfaction I would eventually oblige just to get her to stop asking me to say it. So I know exactly where I managed to build my vocabulary for curse words and like any community-minded individual, I shared this knowledge with other children at daycare and they in turn shared with me.
Those memories of sharing with other kids don't really help when your own little angels start throwing these words out randomly. I don't think I've heard either O or E use them, but they're ten and eleven - I'm pretty sure they know a good deal of curse words; after all, they went to daycare (yes, I totally associate daycare with learning curse words). No, the one who's used them most in my presence and other's is Aaron, who is seven, who has definitely taught Hunter, who is three.
The first time I heard of Aaron using it was, surprise, surprise: at his dayhome. He and his bff, another little boy, were apparently dishing out "you're such a little B" "no you're a little B" "no you are" when they were busted by the caregiver. Again, we had a chat about appropriate language use via situational context but that hasn't seemed to go far with him.
Now I'm not saying Aaron is the sole educator but the few times Hunter has blessed us with a jaw-dropping gem, Aaron was the only one he was with prior to the bomb (and since O and E have been away the last week, Hunter's picked up a new one - the compound "A" word. You do the math).
I took a cue from my brother-in-law on the kids using curse words. He has the position that the kids are going to learn them and they're going to say them so his idea is to educate them about when and where it is appropriate to use them; "in context, and not in front of your Mom/Grandma/Aunt". I get this since I used them at a young age and aside from the times these came out at the behest of my great Aunt, or in frustration at a doctor's office (any mother's proudest moment), once I was old enough I was taught that I shouldn't use them in front of my family.
I realize there are some kids wouldn't dream of using them - like those lucky homeschoolers who have zero interaction with the outside world. Have you seen Blast From the Past? It's an extremely amusing take on a child being influenced only by his parents. Aside from it being super funny, it makes you realize what a difference it would make if we were able to be the sole influence in our children's lives.
Hunter doesn't tend to swear really; his word is "stupid" and I hate it. Since we've made such a big deal about it, he says it often - mostly when he's mad at me so I know he's doing it on purpose. When he dropped the F-bomb, we said nothing - of course, the shock hardly allowed for words at that point. He hasn't said it again (to my knowledge).
I don't usually ask for comments (though they are welcome!), but I'm curious - is it just me and my experiences thinking this is totally normal? I know the majority of my readers come from Facebook and you might need a Google+ account to comment here, but really - is it just me???
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| Original Artwork |
My extended family was helpful in giving me an early education. My one Uncle had a preferred saying while he was working on his motor bike. He said "F'n B" (in its entirety) a lot and I picked it up. And according to the stories my mother tells, my great Aunt was a bit of a ... hmmm, how to put this... ah, she was a "pot stirrer".
My great Aunt used to try to make me drop the F-bomb in public. Much to her satisfaction I would eventually oblige just to get her to stop asking me to say it. So I know exactly where I managed to build my vocabulary for curse words and like any community-minded individual, I shared this knowledge with other children at daycare and they in turn shared with me.
Those memories of sharing with other kids don't really help when your own little angels start throwing these words out randomly. I don't think I've heard either O or E use them, but they're ten and eleven - I'm pretty sure they know a good deal of curse words; after all, they went to daycare (yes, I totally associate daycare with learning curse words). No, the one who's used them most in my presence and other's is Aaron, who is seven, who has definitely taught Hunter, who is three.
The first time I heard of Aaron using it was, surprise, surprise: at his dayhome. He and his bff, another little boy, were apparently dishing out "you're such a little B" "no you're a little B" "no you are" when they were busted by the caregiver. Again, we had a chat about appropriate language use via situational context but that hasn't seemed to go far with him.
Now I'm not saying Aaron is the sole educator but the few times Hunter has blessed us with a jaw-dropping gem, Aaron was the only one he was with prior to the bomb (and since O and E have been away the last week, Hunter's picked up a new one - the compound "A" word. You do the math).
I took a cue from my brother-in-law on the kids using curse words. He has the position that the kids are going to learn them and they're going to say them so his idea is to educate them about when and where it is appropriate to use them; "in context, and not in front of your Mom/Grandma/Aunt". I get this since I used them at a young age and aside from the times these came out at the behest of my great Aunt, or in frustration at a doctor's office (any mother's proudest moment), once I was old enough I was taught that I shouldn't use them in front of my family.
I realize there are some kids wouldn't dream of using them - like those lucky homeschoolers who have zero interaction with the outside world. Have you seen Blast From the Past? It's an extremely amusing take on a child being influenced only by his parents. Aside from it being super funny, it makes you realize what a difference it would make if we were able to be the sole influence in our children's lives.
Hunter doesn't tend to swear really; his word is "stupid" and I hate it. Since we've made such a big deal about it, he says it often - mostly when he's mad at me so I know he's doing it on purpose. When he dropped the F-bomb, we said nothing - of course, the shock hardly allowed for words at that point. He hasn't said it again (to my knowledge).
I don't usually ask for comments (though they are welcome!), but I'm curious - is it just me and my experiences thinking this is totally normal? I know the majority of my readers come from Facebook and you might need a Google+ account to comment here, but really - is it just me???
Sunday, 4 August 2013
And We're Off to the Rodeo!
Actually it was more like the midway at the rodeo. Aaron and Hunter were bouncing off the walls by the time we finally decided to get moving - out of the house that is. I finally freed the clutter beasts from Ethan's room and Geoff dug up the last of the "stairs" on the side of the house in the back yard. A and H were pretty good considering but they were definitely ready to get out by 7:00pm.
We aren't... wait, I'm not "a little bit country". Geoff has been in the past so he owns a hat. I worked in a country bar a couple of times and had a hat that I guess I eventually allowed the dust bunnies to run away with. It really belonged to them anyway by then. Now that I'm living in an area that lets its old west heritage loose once in a while, I feel like I need at least one outfit to show my western pride. And why not? I have about eight different outfits for golf and I've only been once a year for the past two years. However, golf outfits are super cute. I digress.
So we headed out to the midway after asking repeatedly if the kids were hungry, knowing full well that they would be as soon as we arrived anyway. For the second time in as many days, my good intentions to stick to my "diet" were out the window (not a real diet if you're just tuning in, just stuff I'm supposed to avoid in case I actually have acid reflux; read: anything at the fair grounds is probably fighting to be at the top of that list). And Geoff was helpful as well in as many days, texting me "Bud or Heineken?" when he was out. I chose Heineken. Not that we felt like having one after returning home so that worked out - yesterday.
But back to the midway. We arrived and were standing in line at the gate behind a bunch of teens who were probably looking forward to kicking it up for the night. An extremely generous dude with an official-looking badge asked if we were just going to go to the midway. We said yes and he let us in the side that doesn't have to pay. Well Yahoo! Off to a shining start! We headed for the rides, passing a sign that said "Monster Truck Rides $8.00". I drew Geoff's attention to it. I'm not sure who wanted the ride more, him or the boys. They all went. I headed back for mini-donuts.
In this small Southern AB town, the rodeo itself is the highlight. The midway is there for the very few individuals who aren't coming to see the rodeo so it's not especially big. There were only two rides that Hunter didn't need an adult for. I got the lucky first take on an adult needed one; the Tilt-a-Whirl. I used to love the rides.
One year, when I was Miss. Hometown, my gf and I went to the Ponoka Stampede, paid for I believe by the mayor of my hometown and I think they even gave us a ride as well. Anyhow, I still wasn't much for the rodeo then and my gf and I rode the rides. It wasn't very busy that day and the guy at the Zipper told us we could stay on. We must have ridden that thing for an hour straight. I guess a Miss. Hometown sash does wonders for free rides. Afterwards, we headed for the Spider. That's when it hit me. Too much movement. I threw up before it stopped and I haven't been good on rides since.
Back to the present. The Tilt-a-Whirl didn't look so bad. By this time, I had eaten an entire bag of cotton candy, mini donuts, a hot dog, French fries with gravy and onion rings with gravy. When Aaron and Hunter got to the gate, the ride master told me I had to go too. "You're not going to make me pay for this are you?" I said to him as I passed him the TEN tickets for the boys to go on. I was really thinking about the possibility of my getting sick. It didn't seem right to be charged for that type of excitement.
You know how these guys aren't really the chatty sort unless you're some leggy teen in a tube top? Well he muttered something and took my tickets and I headed into a "car" with the boys. Aaron had just been on it with another kid who apparently wanted to go again also so we climbed in with him.
These things work better with more people. I had forgotten that before we got on. Anyhow, so off we went and when that thing spun I was like HOLY CRAP!! My stomach just turned a little at the memory. And again, when it's not that busy, they seem to allow you to ride for longer. At one point I wondered if the ride master was tormenting me on purpose since I refused to pay as a chaperone. I swear I've never seen those cars move like mine did. I just kept praying that I wasn't going to hurl.
Finally the demonic ride master slowed the damn thing to a stop and we were able to get off. The boys wanted to go again but I told them we had to wait for Geoff to return - there was no way I could have gone again without covering us in vomit. Geoff returned and the boys asked for another shot at the Tilt-a-Whirl but he turned them towards the rides Hunter could go on without us. Smarty pants.
Aaron headed to the Ferris Wheel and lucked out with a camera shy blond girl for a companion. As they were going up and up Geoff returned with Hunter and showed him where Aaron was. They were pausing closer to the top at this point and Hunter says "I want him to come down. Now."
That was cute. They all took another ride on the monster truck and I held back again. Granted I'd never seen a monster truck ... anything, but riding in the back of one seems like a dumbass thing to do. I watched though, you could tell the driver knew how to not make the thing flip over. Still. I bought another bag of mini-donuts.
We figured that was good enough for the night. We'd been there for three hours and managed to spend $160. How that was even possible is beyond me. Though, $40 for monster truck rides adds up. The boys were happy, I hadn't puked, and we were fairly tired out. Aaron and Hunter danced all the way home because they were high on sugar and fun times. Geoff and I were absolutely finished. There's a reason these things only come once a year; parents just can't handle themselves.
We aren't... wait, I'm not "a little bit country". Geoff has been in the past so he owns a hat. I worked in a country bar a couple of times and had a hat that I guess I eventually allowed the dust bunnies to run away with. It really belonged to them anyway by then. Now that I'm living in an area that lets its old west heritage loose once in a while, I feel like I need at least one outfit to show my western pride. And why not? I have about eight different outfits for golf and I've only been once a year for the past two years. However, golf outfits are super cute. I digress.
So we headed out to the midway after asking repeatedly if the kids were hungry, knowing full well that they would be as soon as we arrived anyway. For the second time in as many days, my good intentions to stick to my "diet" were out the window (not a real diet if you're just tuning in, just stuff I'm supposed to avoid in case I actually have acid reflux; read: anything at the fair grounds is probably fighting to be at the top of that list). And Geoff was helpful as well in as many days, texting me "Bud or Heineken?" when he was out. I chose Heineken. Not that we felt like having one after returning home so that worked out - yesterday.
But back to the midway. We arrived and were standing in line at the gate behind a bunch of teens who were probably looking forward to kicking it up for the night. An extremely generous dude with an official-looking badge asked if we were just going to go to the midway. We said yes and he let us in the side that doesn't have to pay. Well Yahoo! Off to a shining start! We headed for the rides, passing a sign that said "Monster Truck Rides $8.00". I drew Geoff's attention to it. I'm not sure who wanted the ride more, him or the boys. They all went. I headed back for mini-donuts. In this small Southern AB town, the rodeo itself is the highlight. The midway is there for the very few individuals who aren't coming to see the rodeo so it's not especially big. There were only two rides that Hunter didn't need an adult for. I got the lucky first take on an adult needed one; the Tilt-a-Whirl. I used to love the rides.
One year, when I was Miss. Hometown, my gf and I went to the Ponoka Stampede, paid for I believe by the mayor of my hometown and I think they even gave us a ride as well. Anyhow, I still wasn't much for the rodeo then and my gf and I rode the rides. It wasn't very busy that day and the guy at the Zipper told us we could stay on. We must have ridden that thing for an hour straight. I guess a Miss. Hometown sash does wonders for free rides. Afterwards, we headed for the Spider. That's when it hit me. Too much movement. I threw up before it stopped and I haven't been good on rides since.
Back to the present. The Tilt-a-Whirl didn't look so bad. By this time, I had eaten an entire bag of cotton candy, mini donuts, a hot dog, French fries with gravy and onion rings with gravy. When Aaron and Hunter got to the gate, the ride master told me I had to go too. "You're not going to make me pay for this are you?" I said to him as I passed him the TEN tickets for the boys to go on. I was really thinking about the possibility of my getting sick. It didn't seem right to be charged for that type of excitement.
You know how these guys aren't really the chatty sort unless you're some leggy teen in a tube top? Well he muttered something and took my tickets and I headed into a "car" with the boys. Aaron had just been on it with another kid who apparently wanted to go again also so we climbed in with him.
These things work better with more people. I had forgotten that before we got on. Anyhow, so off we went and when that thing spun I was like HOLY CRAP!! My stomach just turned a little at the memory. And again, when it's not that busy, they seem to allow you to ride for longer. At one point I wondered if the ride master was tormenting me on purpose since I refused to pay as a chaperone. I swear I've never seen those cars move like mine did. I just kept praying that I wasn't going to hurl.
Aaron headed to the Ferris Wheel and lucked out with a camera shy blond girl for a companion. As they were going up and up Geoff returned with Hunter and showed him where Aaron was. They were pausing closer to the top at this point and Hunter says "I want him to come down. Now."
We figured that was good enough for the night. We'd been there for three hours and managed to spend $160. How that was even possible is beyond me. Though, $40 for monster truck rides adds up. The boys were happy, I hadn't puked, and we were fairly tired out. Aaron and Hunter danced all the way home because they were high on sugar and fun times. Geoff and I were absolutely finished. There's a reason these things only come once a year; parents just can't handle themselves.
Saturday, 27 July 2013
Parent Birthdays
Today is my mom's birthday and yesterday was my dad's for that matter. What on earth do you get parents for their birthdays? And mom has a dentist appointment this morning anyway so how can you top that? I usually find it difficult to come up with something unless mom has specifically said that there is something she's interested in. She's generally difficult too because if there's something she wants, chances are she already purchased/did it. She's just like that.
So each year when her birthday comes around, I'm often left wondering what on earth to do. One year I happened to be sans kids because I had a work engagement and I took her and Nana out for dinner. It was an extremely special evening because we were able to sit and enjoy an entire meal at our own pace. Actually I think that was Nana's birthday but don't even get me started on the grandparent birthdays.
My sister is taking care of birthday dinner this year because we have a wedding to go to so we won't be here anyway. We have plans to get together Sunday night at my sister's for a big family dinner. Not that I don't think she enjoys this as well, but I'm still unsure of what to bring. She's not past the point of presents by any means, but she also doesn't have space for anything.
Mom loves antiques. One year I bought her a spinning wheel, which she loved. Another year I had picked up something nice, handmade sweater I think, and then I saw a great big wall hanging of "The Timeless Art of Seduction" I absolutely had to pick up. I made a big production out of the presentation of this one too. Mom had thought it was going to be a beautiful painting. They almost peed themselves after the unveiling. It was perfect. That gift hung in her main bathroom for years until Nana finally "got sick of seeing it" and made her take it down.
She (Mom, not always Nana) has a pretty good sense of humour so you can get away with that. My sister recently presented her with two beautifully framed photos she had taken in Iceland. One was of my sister and her fiancé and the other was of my sister, bare arsed, pointing to something in the Icelandic distance. I wish I'd seen the presentation of that one. Like I said, you can get away with stuff like that for my mom.
So this year, not unlike any other, I'm still trying to think of what to get for her. Bare arses are out since she already got one of those. Not that I would have thought of it honestly - that's been my sister's thing since she was much younger. Mooning our mom that is. I just made her crazy. On the plus side I've kind of stopped doing that so that's a present in itself. Yes, I'll probably write her something nice detailing how I no longer make her crazy. And I'll add a gift certificate for new jeans; to make up for reminding her of how I used to make her crazy :)
So each year when her birthday comes around, I'm often left wondering what on earth to do. One year I happened to be sans kids because I had a work engagement and I took her and Nana out for dinner. It was an extremely special evening because we were able to sit and enjoy an entire meal at our own pace. Actually I think that was Nana's birthday but don't even get me started on the grandparent birthdays.
My sister is taking care of birthday dinner this year because we have a wedding to go to so we won't be here anyway. We have plans to get together Sunday night at my sister's for a big family dinner. Not that I don't think she enjoys this as well, but I'm still unsure of what to bring. She's not past the point of presents by any means, but she also doesn't have space for anything.
Mom loves antiques. One year I bought her a spinning wheel, which she loved. Another year I had picked up something nice, handmade sweater I think, and then I saw a great big wall hanging of "The Timeless Art of Seduction" I absolutely had to pick up. I made a big production out of the presentation of this one too. Mom had thought it was going to be a beautiful painting. They almost peed themselves after the unveiling. It was perfect. That gift hung in her main bathroom for years until Nana finally "got sick of seeing it" and made her take it down.
She (Mom, not always Nana) has a pretty good sense of humour so you can get away with that. My sister recently presented her with two beautifully framed photos she had taken in Iceland. One was of my sister and her fiancé and the other was of my sister, bare arsed, pointing to something in the Icelandic distance. I wish I'd seen the presentation of that one. Like I said, you can get away with stuff like that for my mom.
So this year, not unlike any other, I'm still trying to think of what to get for her. Bare arses are out since she already got one of those. Not that I would have thought of it honestly - that's been my sister's thing since she was much younger. Mooning our mom that is. I just made her crazy. On the plus side I've kind of stopped doing that so that's a present in itself. Yes, I'll probably write her something nice detailing how I no longer make her crazy. And I'll add a gift certificate for new jeans; to make up for reminding her of how I used to make her crazy :)
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