Every Christmas since Devon was just a few weeks old I have been making an elf video of the kids. The first one was a little odd because it just didn't look right to see a tiny baby's head on an adult body dancing around. I kept putting it off this year but Bailey insisted that I get on it, so here it is. I just thought I'd go ahead and put it up for anyone that didn't see it on facebook. This one is pretty cute this year! It's a swingin' Christmas beach party!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Gain, Loss, and Confusion
Yesterday was a pretty full day as far as accomplishments and stories of the kids' shenanigans. I had my VERY last final yesterday and it was to be taken online. The only problem was that it was 90 questions with a 100 minute time limit and I knew that I would never get that much time where Devon didn't bother me or need something. I guarantee that no matter now situated I thought he was, as soon as I clicked on the "Begin Assessment" button that something major would happen that would demand my attention! He'd bang on the door saying he was poopie, or say he broke something or he was hurt or whatever, so I knew that for the one last time, I was going to need reinforcements. I called my dad and he did have something to do later in the day, but I promised him that if he would keep Devon this time it would be the very last time I would need to ask him....until I stared my Master's Degree. He readily agreed and I pounded out that exam with over 20 minutes to spare, even though the last two were complicated essays. So...I'm completely finished with school. It doesn't feel amazing like I thought it would because I need to go straight into my Master's now and this dinky little undergraduate degree doesn't change much for me. Once I'm finished with my Master's in about two and a half years THEN I'll finally be able to teach. It's just frustrating. So, yes, I'm finished, which has been a huge weight on my back for so many years, but it's just the first step.
Later that day when I picked the kids up from school, Bailey asked me if we could go to Target and get her some new erasers for her pencils because the kids around her won't let her borrow theirs when she has a mistake she needs to fix. Of course that made me so irritated that I said we'd go to Target immediately! I just can't believe how mean kids are these days! So as we were walking into Target, Landon ran way in ahead of us and was acting more hyper and full of energy than usual so I decided I wasn't going to take my eyes off of him. We grabbed the erasers and then stopped by the toy section like we always have to, and Bailey and Devon stayed together and Landon ran off around the corner. I followed him to make sure he didn't do anything...odd...or run off. After a couple of minutes Bailey came down our isle and I asked her where Devon was. She shrugged and kept looking so I told her to stay with Landon no matter where he went so that I could call for them, and I went back down the isles to look for Devon. I walked up and down and up and down the toy section and he definitely wasn't there. I grabbed Bailey and Landon and made them search for him with me so that we wouldn't lose anyone else. We walked all around the areas surrounding the toy section calling and calling him. By then I was starting to get a little frantic, so we walked faster and called him louder and went all the way to the front of the store yelling for him. One lady asked me if he had on a red shirt and I stopped and thought about it and I was ashamed to discover that I didn't remember what he was wearing! I always make sure I know what Landon is wearing just for situations like this, but I've never had to worry about Dev before! I said "I don't remember! He's blond!" She and another lady walked all over calling for him and someone said they saw a little boy go towards customer service. I pulled Bailey and Landon over there and there he was, surrounded by Target employees barking on their walkie talkies that they had a lost child. I ran over to him and grabbed him and they reported into the walkies that they had "found the mother". I was actually more mad at him than anything, because he NEVER runs away, and the last thing I need is ANOTHER kid that is always doing that to me! Landon has embarrassed me like that more than once, and he even caused the Disney Store in Phoenix to completely lock down until he was found. I am always so mortified when this kind of thing happens, which is why I always try to keep close tabs on Landon. Devon always stays with me so when he was missing I kept thinking how he must be more than "lost" because he never runs off. Plus we were WAY back at toys and he had wondered all the way to the front of the store! What was he thinking?!! I still don't know, but I put him right in the cart and bought Bailey her erasers and got out of there immediately! I have decided that I can only shop during the day when my kids are in school and I only have Devon. They take advantage of the fact that there is only one of me and three of them!
So today I took Devon with me to Toys R Us so that we could look at stuff without the other two seeing what we were looking at. I mostly wanted to find something for Devon, and I wasn't sure how to go about finding what I needed. He has shown a great fondness for doll houses and they entertain him for hours! If a store has the Calico Critters out on display he wants to play with them more than with the train set, and he loved his cousin's Littlest Pet Shop house, so I was trying to find a more little boy oriented toy that had a similar theme. I saw some castles with knights, but I thought I had found the answer when I came across a little farm that came with animals and a farmer. Isn't it cute?
The farmer is a boy and farm animals are pretty unisex, so I was going to get that, but a store employee told me he had a better idea. He took me over to a toy Bat Cave that came with a Batman, Robin, and lots of accessories. Here's what it looked like:
I didn't get either one because I'm just a little confused. Why is everyone so afraid that a little boy is going to play with a toy that was made more for a girl? Why are men so afraid that their little boys might enjoy playing with little toy animals that are purple and pink, or a toy kitchen or something that just draws and keeps their attention? Why did some stranger stop me from getting my son a farm and direct me towards a super hero lair? I don't understand why it's so important to everyone that we steer our male children in the proper direction from a young age so that they don't think that sissy toys are acceptable. They make sure they know it's for girls and that they should never go near that stuff, and that's why little boys are so rude to little girls about their "dumb dolls". It's my personal opinion that making a little boy play with a cave that two men live in alone together isn't necessarily a step in the right direction. But then again, maybe I just don't understand boy's toys. I'm sure Ben would love to play with the Bat Cave with Devon, so I may just leave the decision up to him.
When we got back from picking Ben up from work that day we had a huge styrofoam package waiting on our doorstep that we certainly weren't expecting and didn't know what it was. We looked at the label and it had been sent to us by Ben's new boss for a Christmas present! We opened it up and it was a huge assortment of different meats from Omaha Steaks! Ben has never had a boss give him a Christmas present before, and I was so excited! Look how big it was!
FUN! They are now resting comfortably in our freezer awaiting their faits.
So now that I'm finished with school for at least the next semester I don't know what to do with myself. I keep running through my head trying to make sure I'm not overlooking something that is about to be due. Bailey keeps asking me if I have homework to do and she can't believe that I'm actually finished completely. I keep telling her I'll go back again soon and she can't understand why I would want to. After being out of school for a semester I may be asking myself the same question.
Later that day when I picked the kids up from school, Bailey asked me if we could go to Target and get her some new erasers for her pencils because the kids around her won't let her borrow theirs when she has a mistake she needs to fix. Of course that made me so irritated that I said we'd go to Target immediately! I just can't believe how mean kids are these days! So as we were walking into Target, Landon ran way in ahead of us and was acting more hyper and full of energy than usual so I decided I wasn't going to take my eyes off of him. We grabbed the erasers and then stopped by the toy section like we always have to, and Bailey and Devon stayed together and Landon ran off around the corner. I followed him to make sure he didn't do anything...odd...or run off. After a couple of minutes Bailey came down our isle and I asked her where Devon was. She shrugged and kept looking so I told her to stay with Landon no matter where he went so that I could call for them, and I went back down the isles to look for Devon. I walked up and down and up and down the toy section and he definitely wasn't there. I grabbed Bailey and Landon and made them search for him with me so that we wouldn't lose anyone else. We walked all around the areas surrounding the toy section calling and calling him. By then I was starting to get a little frantic, so we walked faster and called him louder and went all the way to the front of the store yelling for him. One lady asked me if he had on a red shirt and I stopped and thought about it and I was ashamed to discover that I didn't remember what he was wearing! I always make sure I know what Landon is wearing just for situations like this, but I've never had to worry about Dev before! I said "I don't remember! He's blond!" She and another lady walked all over calling for him and someone said they saw a little boy go towards customer service. I pulled Bailey and Landon over there and there he was, surrounded by Target employees barking on their walkie talkies that they had a lost child. I ran over to him and grabbed him and they reported into the walkies that they had "found the mother". I was actually more mad at him than anything, because he NEVER runs away, and the last thing I need is ANOTHER kid that is always doing that to me! Landon has embarrassed me like that more than once, and he even caused the Disney Store in Phoenix to completely lock down until he was found. I am always so mortified when this kind of thing happens, which is why I always try to keep close tabs on Landon. Devon always stays with me so when he was missing I kept thinking how he must be more than "lost" because he never runs off. Plus we were WAY back at toys and he had wondered all the way to the front of the store! What was he thinking?!! I still don't know, but I put him right in the cart and bought Bailey her erasers and got out of there immediately! I have decided that I can only shop during the day when my kids are in school and I only have Devon. They take advantage of the fact that there is only one of me and three of them!
So today I took Devon with me to Toys R Us so that we could look at stuff without the other two seeing what we were looking at. I mostly wanted to find something for Devon, and I wasn't sure how to go about finding what I needed. He has shown a great fondness for doll houses and they entertain him for hours! If a store has the Calico Critters out on display he wants to play with them more than with the train set, and he loved his cousin's Littlest Pet Shop house, so I was trying to find a more little boy oriented toy that had a similar theme. I saw some castles with knights, but I thought I had found the answer when I came across a little farm that came with animals and a farmer. Isn't it cute?
The farmer is a boy and farm animals are pretty unisex, so I was going to get that, but a store employee told me he had a better idea. He took me over to a toy Bat Cave that came with a Batman, Robin, and lots of accessories. Here's what it looked like:
I didn't get either one because I'm just a little confused. Why is everyone so afraid that a little boy is going to play with a toy that was made more for a girl? Why are men so afraid that their little boys might enjoy playing with little toy animals that are purple and pink, or a toy kitchen or something that just draws and keeps their attention? Why did some stranger stop me from getting my son a farm and direct me towards a super hero lair? I don't understand why it's so important to everyone that we steer our male children in the proper direction from a young age so that they don't think that sissy toys are acceptable. They make sure they know it's for girls and that they should never go near that stuff, and that's why little boys are so rude to little girls about their "dumb dolls". It's my personal opinion that making a little boy play with a cave that two men live in alone together isn't necessarily a step in the right direction. But then again, maybe I just don't understand boy's toys. I'm sure Ben would love to play with the Bat Cave with Devon, so I may just leave the decision up to him.
When we got back from picking Ben up from work that day we had a huge styrofoam package waiting on our doorstep that we certainly weren't expecting and didn't know what it was. We looked at the label and it had been sent to us by Ben's new boss for a Christmas present! We opened it up and it was a huge assortment of different meats from Omaha Steaks! Ben has never had a boss give him a Christmas present before, and I was so excited! Look how big it was!
FUN! They are now resting comfortably in our freezer awaiting their faits.
So now that I'm finished with school for at least the next semester I don't know what to do with myself. I keep running through my head trying to make sure I'm not overlooking something that is about to be due. Bailey keeps asking me if I have homework to do and she can't believe that I'm actually finished completely. I keep telling her I'll go back again soon and she can't understand why I would want to. After being out of school for a semester I may be asking myself the same question.
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