hello worm

My mother is a great gardener ( and I didn't inherit the gene apparently). While she is on vaca this week, we have been put in charge of keeping her 30 worms alive (for those of you who don't know...worm poop is GREAt fertilizer...duh!). It seems an easy task...keep them fed, in their bucket and covered so they don't get sunlight. I could do without this assignment but mom and dad took the kids for 5 days last week while Eric and I vacationed our asses off in Mexico (please no more swine comments...yes I ate prosciutto AND bacon AND I mixed with the locals and no flu symptoms yet) so I guess this is the least I could do.

I have been surprised (ok, maybe not really) to find that Syd loves them and wants to play with them. She gets a few out in the morning and puts them on the newspaper and plays with them and talks to them. They have conversations and when I walk up to her she says "touch them mom!...JUST TOUCH THEM...look, they're pooping!" I have to persuade her to put them back in the bucket so we can repeat this in another few hours. Eric said that when he came downstairs this morning, she asked him to take the lid off. He came back about 20 minutes later and she was having a little show with them. It is so funny!

daddy's birthday

The kids are so funny when it is their parent's birthdays. Last year, Coop was laying in bed with me one morning and I said "tomorrow is my birthday" and he quietly whispered "can I be invited, mom?" . So. Cute.

Tomorrow is Eric's b-day and all week we have been counting down, since the kids have it written on their calendars. Today Syd said "tomorrow is daddy's birthday and he's going to get a jump house" ( like Syd's last birthday). I texted Eric and told him about about this new development...then Syd said "I hope I'm invited". To them, birthday means party. To us, its just another year older and a day of eating cake and feeling fat and bad about it the next day. Good times!

Candy Girl

Poor Syd, she is so deprived. Her most recent quote is "I didn't have any _____ today". It started with vitamins. When I would get my vitamins out in the morning, the shaking of the bottle would remind her that she hadn't had hers yet today....so "I didn't have any vitamins today". Of course, she not QUITE correct on her today vs yesterday vs 2 minutes ago time frame. Because, if I shake the bottle again, she will look right at me and say "I didn't have my viatmin today" WHILE SHE IS CHEWING THE ONE I JUST GAVE HER. Ok you get the point.

She also has a problem with candy, as in, I'm pretty sure she's addicted to the stuff. She will hide behind a chair and unwrap a piece of candy that she found and quickly eat it before someone finds out. She hasn't, however, figured out that she needs to throw the wrappers away. She's not that stealth yet. Which reminds me of the story of how I brought home an advent calendar, the kind that everyday you open a door. After she figured out there was chocolate behind every door, I found her under the piano opening and eating EVERY door for the entire month. Sorry Jesus!

Which brings me to Easter...Syd got up around 6:30 and I convinced her to stay in bed another half hour just with the threat of the Easter bunny possibly still being here. Finally she got up, found her basket and started stuffing in the candy. I tried a new strategy today...just let her have as much as she wants and when she's done, THEN take it away and dole it out 1 piece at a time, as we usually do. So she eats for awhile and when she's done I take it away.
Half hour later...I shit you not: "I didn't have any candy today"

I attribute it to the candy coma she must have been in because surely she is not that dumb.

Debby Downer

So the kids have the entire week off of school and we havento plans to do anything. I tried to pick up a lot of hours at work but then I was just annoyed that I was working a lot and pissed at the staffing as usual.
Today was not a good day. I was annoyed and pissed off in general and that was compounded by 2 different worrisome/stressful events that are happening to people that I am close to. Domestic violence and Cancer...maybe the two worst words ever. I am just so sad today. I am an emotional person anyway so when I went to visit said friend with the newly diagnosed "c" word, I turned into a puddle. Especially since as soon as I got in the door she grabbed me and hugged me hard while we both started crying and she whispered "I'm so scared". Even now my eyes are welling up thinking of it.
The other situation makes me sad and very angry too, especially since I am related to her. I feel helpless. I don't want to be a downer but this is my life today and I need to get it out...

On the other hand, Coop knew that I was sad and came right up to me and said "I love you, mom and I'll love you forever...even when I'm 16".

That smell

Poor Cooper! I heard him tonight while he was laying in bed...heaving. Eric ran him to the bathroom but Coop said he was "scared" to throw up in the toilet so it went everywhere else...tub #1. 30 minutes later I hear it again but this time it was all over the carpet all the way to the bathroom. tub #2. laundry load #2. Everytime he pukes he tries to "catch" it in his hands. This grosses me out to no end.
Eric says "aren't you a nurse...don't you deal with this stuff everyday?" well, yeah but we don't feed our patients chicken and noodles for this very reason AND I get to LEAVE when my shifts over. here, I just have to smell it for days!
He is so pitiful when he throws up, it breaks my heart. I just hope Syd doesn't end up with the same thing...she REALLY doesn't understand.
anyone know of a great carpet cleaner? We need one on speed dial

letters from Syd

Sydney is constantly scribbling things, taking up entire pieces of paper, and then giving them to people or wanting to send them to friends. When I ask what it says, she never disappoints. Today I received a small piece of paper.
me: what does this say?
Syd: dear mom, I love you, you can chase me now and then chase me again.

she is so cute I can't stand it

Sharing bag

So at preschool, they take turns bringing home the "sharing bag". Everyone gets a turn with it and it usually involves doing something like writing things you like to do with your family or providing pictures of said family or etc. I actually dread hearing those words "mommy, I got the sharing bag today"...especially since I have to act all excited and happy about running to the drugstore to print off a picture at midnight.

Sydney surprised me today. When I pick her up from school, the first thing she does(as usual), before we even leave the building, is to get into her bag and show me what she painted/drew/wrote/tried to pass off as a painting/drawing/writing, oh and also to show me the snack that she didn't eat.
Today, you guessed it, the sharing bag. "How wonderful" I said while actually thinking "great, I have 2 days to do whatever that tag says I have to do and I've got shit to do today and we're going out to dinner tonight and I'm working tomorrow, I hope its not too complicated or I may just have to be the first mom to send her kid to school without the sharing bag and try to make up some excuse as to why it didn't get done and hope she doesn't notice and start crying and trying to make me feel like an even worse mother"
The assignment was to find things in the shape of a square. Immediately, my mind starts running..."square, square, I can't think of ANYTHING in the shape of a square" . The panic starts...I throw it out there to the other moms hoping they'll throw me a bone. They come through "piece of bread, block".
As soon as we get home, Syd is off like a shot and within 1 minute she is back filling the bag with square things...square legos, square books, and a square box
Genius!! I only hope its the same during all those science fairs in her future.