(no subject)
Wow, it's almost been a month since I've popped my head in here. That may be my longest dry spell, ever.
It's been a lot of same ol' same ol' around here, although the boys are always changing things up. Samuel is sharp as ever--his most recent developments include some very good storytelling skills, and a bit of sarcasm. He's definitely taking after his daddy in the attitude department. He's headstrong and doesn't like to take "no" for an answer. I spend a lot of time (it seems) asserting my authority and reminding him that he is not in charge. As I imagined it would, Tae Kwon Do is working some magic. It's going to take time, but I can already see some progress with his behavior. He just needs to learn to control his impulses and to respect (legitimate) authority. All part of being 4 years old, I imagine.
Dixon has experienced an explosion in verbal skills that is revealing just how sharp he is. He's still the sweetest, most loving and polite little boy I know. He's also very sensitive. On his whiny days, we sometimes think our ears might bleed from the high-pitched sounds he emits. He had this particular brain-melting skill when he was a colicky infant, so it comes as no surprise now.
I'm having great fun watching Samuel and Dixon play together. The cities they build (and destroy), the stories they tell each other, the way Samuel tries to help and protect Dixon (when they're not antagonizing each other)... it's all fascinating. We ensure that there's no competition between them, that they know they are each others' best and greatest allies in the world, and that they should always love and look out for one another. It seems to be working, because they're both loving and protective of Liam, too.
For his part, Liam is keeping things interesting. He's teething, so I am now his favorite chew toy. I shocked him yesterday by tapping him on the forehead when he bit me particularly hard. The look on his face was so funny--a mixture of surprise, disbelief, and deep offense--I had to laugh, and (sign of the times) I wished I had been able to capture it on video. Being 6 months old, he was quick to forgive me and promptly latched back on and fell asleep. He can't sit up on his own yet, so eating solids is still an exploratory, tentative thing, but he can crawl/scootch very effectively. This means he can meddle with and annoy his big brothers.
I'm sure it's all very common and boring to the average observer, but I loving every minute of this, even when I hate it. My job now is to remember to set my daily stresses aside so I can always show the kids the calm, emotionally chill mommy (the one I want to be) instead of the "OMG WILL YOU JUST BE QUIET?!?!" mommy who is in desperate need of a solo escape (which I am).
In other news, I witnessed a crime in the parking lot at All About Kids on Saturday morning. A woman broke into two cars in the parking lot. She stole a purse from the first one, and I witnessed her shattering the window on a second car. I hollered at her and moved to step in front of her car as she was pulling away, but then remembered myself and stepped back. The last thing I need is to be nudged by an Escalade while I'm holding Liam. So continued to holler ineffectively at her as she passed, and then called to another woman a few spaces down to "get that plate!", which she did. So as I fumbled for my nearly dead phone to dial 911, the other woman (a staff member at AAK) corralled Samuel and Dixon, chanting the license number all the while. She then took the boys in for Samuel's class and left Dixon in the care of another mommy while I waited for the police to arrive and for the owner of the car to come out so I could tell her what I'd seen. A sergeant with the J-town police just called a few minutes ago to ask if I thought I'd be able to pick the woman out of a line-up, and I told him I'd be willing to try. She knew she'd been seen, she knew I was calling the police (I waved my phone at her as she drove past again on Blankenbaker), but she still used the stolen credit cards within 15 minutes of the theft. Idiot.
So maybe I'll have to look at a line-up. I doubt I'd ever need to testify, right? I mean, they'll probably just arrest her and she'll plead guilty and get a fine or something.
Anyway, that was my bit of excitement for the week.
The only other news I have is that I was invited to submit a proposal for a job on Elance (my first ever) and got the job. If the client likes my work, he has 8 more projects in line. Yay for lucrative self-employed business successes! Maybe someday I'll be able to support my share of the household with my editing work alone. Hey, I can dream, can't I?
That's all my news that's fit to print. I'll leave you with a little video entertainment...
It's been a lot of same ol' same ol' around here, although the boys are always changing things up. Samuel is sharp as ever--his most recent developments include some very good storytelling skills, and a bit of sarcasm. He's definitely taking after his daddy in the attitude department. He's headstrong and doesn't like to take "no" for an answer. I spend a lot of time (it seems) asserting my authority and reminding him that he is not in charge. As I imagined it would, Tae Kwon Do is working some magic. It's going to take time, but I can already see some progress with his behavior. He just needs to learn to control his impulses and to respect (legitimate) authority. All part of being 4 years old, I imagine.
Dixon has experienced an explosion in verbal skills that is revealing just how sharp he is. He's still the sweetest, most loving and polite little boy I know. He's also very sensitive. On his whiny days, we sometimes think our ears might bleed from the high-pitched sounds he emits. He had this particular brain-melting skill when he was a colicky infant, so it comes as no surprise now.
I'm having great fun watching Samuel and Dixon play together. The cities they build (and destroy), the stories they tell each other, the way Samuel tries to help and protect Dixon (when they're not antagonizing each other)... it's all fascinating. We ensure that there's no competition between them, that they know they are each others' best and greatest allies in the world, and that they should always love and look out for one another. It seems to be working, because they're both loving and protective of Liam, too.
For his part, Liam is keeping things interesting. He's teething, so I am now his favorite chew toy. I shocked him yesterday by tapping him on the forehead when he bit me particularly hard. The look on his face was so funny--a mixture of surprise, disbelief, and deep offense--I had to laugh, and (sign of the times) I wished I had been able to capture it on video. Being 6 months old, he was quick to forgive me and promptly latched back on and fell asleep. He can't sit up on his own yet, so eating solids is still an exploratory, tentative thing, but he can crawl/scootch very effectively. This means he can meddle with and annoy his big brothers.
I'm sure it's all very common and boring to the average observer, but I loving every minute of this, even when I hate it. My job now is to remember to set my daily stresses aside so I can always show the kids the calm, emotionally chill mommy (the one I want to be) instead of the "OMG WILL YOU JUST BE QUIET?!?!" mommy who is in desperate need of a solo escape (which I am).
In other news, I witnessed a crime in the parking lot at All About Kids on Saturday morning. A woman broke into two cars in the parking lot. She stole a purse from the first one, and I witnessed her shattering the window on a second car. I hollered at her and moved to step in front of her car as she was pulling away, but then remembered myself and stepped back. The last thing I need is to be nudged by an Escalade while I'm holding Liam. So continued to holler ineffectively at her as she passed, and then called to another woman a few spaces down to "get that plate!", which she did. So as I fumbled for my nearly dead phone to dial 911, the other woman (a staff member at AAK) corralled Samuel and Dixon, chanting the license number all the while. She then took the boys in for Samuel's class and left Dixon in the care of another mommy while I waited for the police to arrive and for the owner of the car to come out so I could tell her what I'd seen. A sergeant with the J-town police just called a few minutes ago to ask if I thought I'd be able to pick the woman out of a line-up, and I told him I'd be willing to try. She knew she'd been seen, she knew I was calling the police (I waved my phone at her as she drove past again on Blankenbaker), but she still used the stolen credit cards within 15 minutes of the theft. Idiot.
So maybe I'll have to look at a line-up. I doubt I'd ever need to testify, right? I mean, they'll probably just arrest her and she'll plead guilty and get a fine or something.
Anyway, that was my bit of excitement for the week.
The only other news I have is that I was invited to submit a proposal for a job on Elance (my first ever) and got the job. If the client likes my work, he has 8 more projects in line. Yay for lucrative self-employed business successes! Maybe someday I'll be able to support my share of the household with my editing work alone. Hey, I can dream, can't I?
That's all my news that's fit to print. I'll leave you with a little video entertainment...
Click to view