OMIGOD Make her stop!

Ok when will this get better?! And wth are they talking about the terrible twos? The twos were downright delightful, I mean it. But these threes are challenging me to the utmost.

Heres what she did today:

Screamed and cried numerous times - first time at 7:55 while I was attempting to 'herd her' to the van. "I wanna eat my cereal here at MMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYY TABLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEE; WAHHHHH!!"

No sorry baby, Mommy has to go to work yadayadayada....

At school:
She got put in time out more than once for fighting with her friends, she wasn't listening to the teacher, (Again, yesterday she wasn't listening or coming back from the bathroom and was wandering towards the front door of the center...)

Then when I come home from school I find a ziplock bag of Lucky Charms in her bag. WHICH I DONT GIVE HER! Which means she is stealing from other kids! (Again!) I knw I am a mean mom, she has done this in the past with Juice Boxes and chips. Some moms give their kids this crap for breakfast and Jamie prefers it to low sugar cereal and fresh strawberrries, but thats another story...

Then at home, she ate her dinner ok...but during her bath, I left the room and told her NOT TO GET OUT OF THE TUB, which she did (Again, just like last night) and was sneaking over to the bath paint, (which I would probably have given her if she had just asked)

Why this makes me crazy is my daughter is a clutz and has slipped so many times in and getting out of that tub! Darn it she could really get hurt!

SO I took her out of the bathtub. BIGTIME TANTRUM! "I'm not done, I'm not done!"

Anyway after that tantrum I sat quietly in the dark with her and explained about taking other peoples things and how that wasn't nice and also how she needed to listen to her teachers and me and daddy...

I am sure her eyes were glazing over during my lecture ...

After I put her to bed lovingly, I stayed upstairs to vacuum our bedroom...and she snuck out of bed and got my make up purse into bed with her and smeared it all over herself and the bed. She looked like Adam Friggin ant.

And now I have effectively stripped her room of loveys and books and other stuff....she has gotten up at least 6 times....

OMIGOD MAKE HER STOP!

Justin Roberts is in town tomorrow

Justin Roberts does 'Kid Rock' and he will be at our local Art market tomorrow! I am excited to take Jamie to her first kid concert. I just found out about him from our local childrens library art teacher, she sent an email, so we 'youtubed' him and played some of the videos for Jamie who seemed to like him.

She is such a person of the crowds, not unlike I when I was younger. So Iknow she will have a good time. And I just might buy myself some Kenyan coffee.

New Art Market in Town

Last weekend between GeoCaching we also went to a new art market/fest that happens every Saturday under one of our many bridges in this town.

Whoever came up with this idea is a genius. Our climate is very hot and humid and often rainy in the summer time. So the put down pavers and built a sort of ampitheatre and voila! A shaded space near the river with a roof to keep dry.

We really enjoyed it but it could be dangerous. I found that Kenyan coffee- its $9/bag but so good! I would need 2 bags as I mix caff and decaff, so that's $18, they had Chicken Calypso with black beans and rice for $5; a very large slice of Pizza Palace Pizza for $3; a very cool bug eating plant for $20; Pineappples to support our local shelter for Battered women for $2 - what a deal! and for charity! Numerous handmade necklaces one I adored that was $160; Dark Chocolate Chip Bread and scones for $6.50 and $3.50 respectively.

So since we had a limited amount of cash we just bought 1 portion of Chicken Calypso, 1 piece of pizza and one pineapple. So we spent $10 instead of hundreds. Dangerous I'm telling you. But we will be going back. They had live music down by the river in the ampitheatre, and street performers throughout. I wished we had gotten a picture of the contortionist, but thats for another day.

Is Jamie getting huge or what - she still wants to ride in her stroller though. Oh and isn't that twirl cute that Jamie did when she heard we were going somewhere?!

Cut the clutter, and the fat

I have checked this book out before and didnt read it, so I am trying it again.

I just don't seem to be motivated to do anything. Since returning from our vacation work has been extremely busy and I even had to work on Saturday this weekend for a bit for a trade show.

All of this is just excuses though. The same excuses lead me into the kitchen after 9pm for a bit of oral comfort. I gotta stop. Mike and I took 'Biggest Loser' gut poses Saturday and weighed in and measured our big ole bodies. I am very close to my biggest size ever and I just gotta stop.

At least my fingernails look better since before the vacation.

Tebow turtle

Tim Tebow is our local home town college quarterback hero, and this is the turtle commemorating him. Our town is doing a Turtle hunt called Turtle Trails.

It benefits our local child guidance center. They gathered a group of local artists and had them paint over a dozen turtles and placed them in high traffic locations throughout our downtown area for a limited time.

It is a very good cause, and I am betting they will sell the statues when they are done, so I suggested to Mike we incorporate 'Turtle hunts' into our geocache hunts for the time being anyway.

Geocache #2

+

Well yesterday we had to go out and try our hand at a local cache. It was a presidential theme cache - right up Mike's alley. And it was downtown, near our regular Saturday morning fun routine. (the Main library for art and storytime)

We were able to find this one despite the rain - it really is a lot of fun.

Geocaching- treasure hunting for geeks

And it's right up our alley. I love maps and finding my way. We just bought our first GPS for our trip last month, and of course we are both all over the web daily. That and having a car to go find the caches are about all you need to take up this new hobby.

I heard about it vaguely about 6 mos ago when the newspaper I work at did a feature on it. (Does anyone else out there read a daily newspaper?)

Then when we were in Michigan going to the Metro Park that time with my cousin I read something about Geocaching on the brochure for the park.

People put little 'caches' in public places in either a film containter, a magnetic keyholder or even a tupperware container. It can contain small objects such as coins or nibbety nobs or it can simply hold a paper log for folks to sign their name and date and whether they left anything behind.

Then you go back to the website and post any comments regarding finding the cache, or if you dont find it, that you couldnt locate it.

We looked for our first while we were in North Carolina with Mike's brother. It was on the side of the road next to a river at the county line out in the country. Mike's brother Bruce found it, but we were all pretty psyched.

Bruce with first geocache located!
Mike putting it back
Martha by the river near the cache

When we went to look for the cache today it was between the baseball stadium and the coliseum. A very public place. We knew it was in a magnetic holder because of some of the clues/comments on the website.

I was the one to find it this time and yes, it is fun and it is addicting. We will be doing this regulary. You have your own list of findings on the site, so it's a bit like blogging...or twittering, or something mildly addicting and worth adding to the myriad of other mildly addictive hobbies we both have.

Taming the Spirited Child

Anyone out there read this book? I think it makes alot of sense so far, but I am still at the beginning of it where he is giving the rational but not the methods to use. Now if the methods he describes are doable I am hoping Mike will read it too and take ownership of the methods along with me.

Jamie is getting very willful. She comes by it honestly as Mike and I can be very strong willed or 'willful', or as this book terms it 'Spirited'. It purports that you should rejoice in the fact that your child is willful. A passive child is easier to get along with and will behave better, but probably won't have that fire inside to become an entreprenuer or a leader or an artist/creator type. And that it is our job as parents to nurture that spirit. To help that child tame that spirit so they can be happy productive members of society.

To try to break that spirit can result in rebellion and ruin.

I need to do something different. We have administered more spankings recently and they just don't seem to work, just bad feelings result from them on all sides.

I hope this is the answer, if not we will keep working to find the right answer for Jamie and for our family.

These 3's are by far much more challenging than those 'terrible'? twos.

Back to Reality and it ain't all bad

I went back to work yesterday after a great long vacation. I had a one on one meeting with my boss today and he commented that he loved his job and what we do there and doesn't ever really want to go on vacation.

As usual I was truthful with him. (I cant seem to use corporate speak). I said that I do love what I do and my job, but I also love my vacations and need that time to recharge. He was ok with that I think, but I get the feeling that he wishes we all didn't take vacations.

All I can do is be a hard working employee and try to show that I do care about my work. I can't lie and act as if work is all there is for me in my life. Work pays the bills, and allows us to go on nice vacations and enjoy our life. And my work is actually enjoyable and fulfilling for the most part. So I am pretty lucky.

Familial connections

We are home from our vacation. It was wonderful, lots of good times and memories were made. Of course my husband has spoiled our child, and now she won't sleep by herself (without loads of protest ie. I can't sleep, I want to sleep with you, I need some water, I have to go pee pee etc..)

Anyhow, while away I realized I hoped there would be more of a connection with relatives her age. We go up there and she gets to see her grandma and uncle and my various cousins, but not many who were around her age.

Mike and I both just have one brother (I have stepbrothers and sisters as well), and both of our brothers are still bachelors. So this basically means Jamie has no first cousins. So I really want her to connect with 2nd cousins or 3rd removed, or whatever there is for her.

On my side of the family we were able to get with my stepsisters kids and Jamie truly enjoyed herself. I really had hoped we could have gotten with some of Mikes relatives who have children but it just didn't happen this time.

I guess I feel a little guilty for some reason, when I was a kid I had first cousins my age we saw pretty regularly, and loads of 2nd and 3rds and Jamie really doesn't have much of an extended family.

Since we are such older parents I feel like when we are gone she will have no family and that makes me sad. Are your families more fractured now than when you were kids?

Winding down

We just loved Stanley

Jon and Kate fan

Mom being Silly

The Motor City isn't thriving so much anymore

Detroit street scene

Spinning with Aunt Kristina

15th President Buchanan's Grave

We have had a great vacation but we are all exhausted; maybe a bit too much of the get up and go and not enough of the rest and relaxation. I am sitting here in my brother in laws living room, while he, Jamie and Mike are snoozing away at 7 pm on the fourth of July.

We left Michigan and my favorite cousin Kristina's house on Wednesday and drove to Hershey PA - not for the Chocolate but because it was near Lancaster PA. Michaels lifetime endeavor is to visit all of the presidents grave sites, and I have been along for the ride for the last 10 years. I think I have been to about 8 -10 sites with him, mostly in Ohio and on the way back and forth to Michigan (Tennessee, Indiana etc).

But I digress...since we have been dragging Jamie all over this great country of ours, I felt we needed to squeeze in some Jamie 'Surprise Time'. I intended on us going to Dutch Wonderland which was recently featured on Jon and Kate, (which is one of Jamie and I's favorite shows) but I miscalculated the locale, so we went to another Amusement Park called Hershey Park, right in Hershey PA.

I don't have photos from the amusement park yet as we used the point and shoot, and we are all about the Rebel lately. This is how the day went:

Get there, run to a group of kiddy rides, then to another group of kiddie rides, then to the 'You drive em Mini cars' then to a 'Kissing Tower' that revolved around and showed everything from high above. Then Jamie and Mike went on the little log flume and I went on a great roller coaster - The Great Bear. Then more of the same throughout the day. One drenching 20 minute rainstorm at 5pm or so and a couple of Jamie meltdowns later and then we left during the next rainstorm.

It was really alot more fun than that. We saw some talented young folks put on acrobatics and dancing and singing, we enjoyed the time together laughing and giggling, but it was pretty exhausting.

Then yesterday we traveled to President Buchanan's grave and housesite and then here near Durham. The freeway was closed down so we arrived past midnight instead of past 10. We got up early today - 6:40 am but didn't get moving until noon or so and we went to the Durham Science Museum, then home for her nap by 3:30. We woke her from her nap at 6pm and she promptly fell back asleep on the couch.

Then Bruce fell asleep, then Mike and here I sit blogging.

For any of you still reading the minitue of our vacation events please make a comment will ya? I haven't heard from a soul since we left Florida over 2 weeks ago.

I know my vaca isn't as exciting to you as it is to me, but is anybody out there?

Bouncy Girl

The first half hour we were here at Kris' Jamie bounced on the trampoline. I was a bit concerned and the concern was warranted. She didn't understand the concept of staying in the middle and konked her head on the side.

I am such a bad mommy...I didn't catch her and she has now has a double goose egg on her noggin.

Tree Hugger

My cousin Kristina wanted to make sure we saw all the cool sites at this Metro Park we went to, among them the trees she carved her Nephew's name and another tree near by where she carved Bill and her names after seeing this tree with all of the carvings. Well there was something new by the tree, this sign showing how it hurts a tree to get carved.

Poor Tree!

It's cold up here in the North!

Under the Pond in the 'Pond Room'

Family rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

in Ampitheatre in Michigan Metro Park

I am sitting here under blankets on my cousins couch while my family and hers still drowse away this chilly Michigan morning. It is only supposed to go up to 65 or so today and I bet it is still in the 50's. She has all the windows open which makes a cozy sleeping environment. I slept in socks, jammas and a hoody!

Yesterday we swam in the lake she lives at (although it wasn't hot, it barely hit 75 degrees) with a friend of Kris' and her granddaughter. Jamie had the chance to play with another child which is a highpoint for her, and we just lazed on the rafts, til it started sprinkling. With that weather change, the temperature seemed to drop about 10 degrees or so...

We went to a very nice Metro Park near her home that had wide open spaces with lots of wildflowers and rattlesnake warning signs. (We saw no actual snakes, it was probably too cool for them- though Jamie asked repeatedly 'where are the snakes Mommy') This park also had a very cool thing, a 'Pond room'. They have a tunnel built under the pond with a room where you can view the fish and plants. Very unique and fascinating.

The park also had a small ampitheatre, where when you stood in the middle and orated or sang it would amplify very impressively. We took the opportunity to ham it up.

We have been having a great time, but our time in Michigan is coming to a close. We will be leaving tomorrow for Lancaster Pennsyvania, for a side trip for my dear husband to see yet another presidential gravesite. Yes, that is his ambition to see all of the gravesites in his lifetime.

Lazing by the Lake instead of going to Hell

Mike and Jamie are both napping. We had plans to go to Hell today, yes there is a 'Hell' Michigan! They have a Ice cream shop called Screams that supposedely celebrates Halloween every day, the employees wear costumes and masks and they have Halloween items for sale. Well if you know my Jamie you know that Halloween is among her favorite holidays. We have been having behavior issues at bedtime here at Leisure Days (the name of this lakeside cottage we rented for the week)

Anyway to combat the bedtime tantrums I suggested we try reward rather than punish or use threats. So last night we told her if she behaved well at bedtime and went to sleep we would take her to a surprise after we saw Grandpa for lunch.

It worked~ the child went to bed with relatively no fuss. Good thing too as we need her to behave better for when we are staying with others or in a one room hotel. Anyway after the visit with Grandpa at the pub for lunch we realized we didn't bring the map. And despite what they say about the path being paved with good intentions we just didn't want to try it without the map. (We have a GPS system but it didnt recognize the town Hell for some reason).

So we came back to the cottage and Mike promptly fell asleep on the couch. Jamie was quietly playing with a game so I didnt rock the boat. When Jamie noticed her dad asleep she started crawling on him so I sent him off to bed to nap. She announced she needed a nap too, so here I sit alone in delicious almost silence. I'm out by the water under a shade tree with the wind breezing and the birds tweeting and an occasionaly boat buzzing by.

This is heaven.

Sometimes I can slip into the role of the scullery maid

Even on vacation, what with this tremendously beautiful kitchen at this cottage, I can't seem to keep it clean. We are constant eaters and drinkers it seems and I am not sure I like this granite surface. For one thing it is extremely hard, it feels if I put something down on it too quickly it will shatter. For another you can't see the puddles, and you end up putting something like the cardboard box of sugar in it...

Anyway, I find myself polishing and rearranging constantly. This morning I just asked Mike if he would take a turn. Of course he did, he is such a good guy.

Swimming Fun On A Perfect Day

Vacation Memories

My stepsis Shari and stepmom Char

Jamie and Cousin Morgan

Jamie had a blast over at Shari's house yesterday. Shari and Jeff have 6 kids and though they are all older it was so much fun! Of course Jamie is already asking to go back out there again. They have a pool and Jamie barely came out all day, her fingers were completely pruned up.

I had to drag her kicking and almost screaming out of there.

Not sure what we are doing today. My inclination is stay here - the lake is so nice as there is a bit of a breeze and it will only be going up to 80 or so today.

Do you ever buy older pc games at thrift stores?

Or Garage sales? I thought i was so smart picking up a bunch of these for a dollar each for both Jamie and us. Then Mike told me they wouldnt work on Vista... Not so kemosabe....there are some articles on the web instructing how to adjust your settings in order to do so.

I will take them up north for idle times since we are bringing all 3 laptops. I know - we are pretty geeky.

So do these photos look worth it?

So we got our 7 Best Buy gift cards from our credit card usage, and went to shop for the camera - the Canon Rebel- on Saturday morning. Ever shop for something like that with a 3 yr old? Next time we will call Grandma or a friend to watch her as it was EXTREMELY stressful. I have never wanted to duct tape her mouth so badly. It took almost 2 hours to purchase our camera, and a cell phone for my mom.

The camera was packaged as a kit with the 18-55 lens (which has image stabilization) another lens which didn't have it that was 70-200 and a case. Well when we were talking and comparing with the Nikon we got sold on that Image stabilization and asked about upgrading to the better lens 55-300 with image stabilization. It was a lens that was $150 more than the 2nd kit lens, and they said we could upgrade for only $50 additional. So for $779 we got the body, and both image stablized lens and a case. But they were out of the 2nd lens! So they will mail it to us...meanwhile as they were writing up the bill I was trying to occupy Jamie and the guys figured the invoice wrong. I couldn't tell how far it was wrong, but I knew they charged our credit card too much. The manager took the invoice to the back and refigured it and gave us a credit of $100 on our card. When I refigured it later he really should have only given us $75 credit so we ended up with a great deal - for only $25 over the $729 price or $754!

I feel happy with the price, now we will see about the photos. Here are the first few photos, Jamie was napping, so I took one of Mike and one of the Truman and Minnie napping. Then I couldn't resist and took a few of Jamie napping. Heehee I woke her up with the door and she stuck those fingers back in, and they fell out by the 6th photo taken.