is rougher than we thought it would be. My oldest child (i.e. the one I married) continues to give me a run for my money. Yesterday Aaron spent the whole day with a hangover because he was out drinking and playing video games at Dave and Busters until all hours with school friends. On the bright side, he amassed over 800 points when his friends gave him all their tickets and he was able to win a giant Sponge Bob Square Pants stuffed animal for the boys. It took Aaron and me 3 years to aquire enough points to get a similar sized Big Bird toy for Cade right before he was born.
He finally started to feel better around 5 pm, but then made himself sick to his stomach playing his new Call of Duty 4 XBox game. It turns out that war games are really only fun if you know how to work the controls and properly pivot and run simultaneously. Otherwise, your character runs into a lot of walls and it makes you really motion sick.
Fortunately, he was able to rally to stay up until all hours again watching the Jazz in the playoffs -the game started at 10:30 our time. He is no doubt relieved that they lost and are out of the playoffs so he can go back to hitting the sack at a normal hour.
Poor (31 year old) baby.
This morning he was up bright and early (10:30 am) and is now doing some project out in the garage that involves sawing the edge of a piece of wood that is dangerously close to his own thumb. I'm not complaining since he has the little boys out there with him and they are playing spaceship. This means that I am free to roam the house doing chores in peace and quiet and they will be available to run for a towel and call 911 when he saws his freaking hand off.
Is this really my life?
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Graduation Day is Here!
Aaron has graduated at last! His grad school education has been a long haul for all of us, starting with the moment he E-MAILED me about this time three years ago to let me know he had signed up to take the G-MAT - "just to see" how he could do. I knew it was over. Almost 7 months pregnant with Drew, I was livid. We talked about him going back to business school once before we had Cade and again before we got pregnant with Drew and both times he decided to put it off. Didn't the final decision warrant at least a discussion/phone call as opposed to an email?!?! I mean, do we or do we not live in the same house!??!
From that moment on, it has been a 3 year long rollercoaster ride. First it was the stress of studying for the G-MAT and squeezing the actual test in before the baby's arrival. I constantly fretted that the baby would come early (or worse, come ON the day of the test), but Aaron kindly reassured me that as long as I went into labor after 7 am on testing day, the testing room would be locked and there would be no way I would be able to disturb his testing anyway. Nice. As it turns out, Aaron took the test on a Saturday and Drew held out until early the Tuesday morning following.
Then came the application process. Applications, letters of recommendation, and essays for five schools. Then the agonizing waiting process. Then the acceptance process (two of which came with scholarships - a nice bright spot in the whole ordeal!). All with two children under the age of two in tow, during what was probably the most difficult year of my life. Or so I thought.
We ended up accepting at Emory, which alleviated the need for relocation and its associated hassles. It would definitely turn out to be a blessing for me, although poor Aaron has suffered a brutal cross-town commute for the past two years since the school is literally about as far away from our house as it could be and still be in Atlanta.
Then came the moment of truth - Aaron quit his job and started his school adventure. The first semester was a struggle for all of us, as he balanced the heavy school workload with his responsibilities as husband/father. Throw in his innate desire to be 19 years old for the rest of his life and the ample social opportunities associated with school and it was a pretty explosive year. In fact, we have still a dent in the living room wall to commemorate the book I threw at him in the moment that it all became too much.
But Aaron survived and so did our marriage. The second semester was better, despite the brutal interns hip interview process, and it was followed by a super fun summer in California for all of us while Aaron interned at Google. By the second year, the brutal job interview process and waiting game was old hat. We all took it in stride and celebrated when Aaron's top choice job offers came through. The spring semester of the second year brought a different pace as Aaron realized that his days as a student were coming to an end. He held down the fort academically, but really focused on making up for as much lost "fun" time as possible, including a spring break trip to the British Virgin Islands. This time, when the socializing became too much, I was able to simply point to the old dent in the wall instead of throwing a new book at him. He got the message.
Which brings us to today - and graduation at long last. We've still got an entire summer to survive before he starts his new job, but I can't help but be proud of him and of us for surviving the past two years. Although I think it would have been easier and more fun had we done this BK (before kids), I'm not sure that Aaron would have been as focused or have gotten as much out of it. So, like most major life changes, it worked out for the best. And now we are looking forward to the next two major life changes: a new baby in August and the return of a steady paycheck in the fall.
From that moment on, it has been a 3 year long rollercoaster ride. First it was the stress of studying for the G-MAT and squeezing the actual test in before the baby's arrival. I constantly fretted that the baby would come early (or worse, come ON the day of the test), but Aaron kindly reassured me that as long as I went into labor after 7 am on testing day, the testing room would be locked and there would be no way I would be able to disturb his testing anyway. Nice. As it turns out, Aaron took the test on a Saturday and Drew held out until early the Tuesday morning following.
Then came the application process. Applications, letters of recommendation, and essays for five schools. Then the agonizing waiting process. Then the acceptance process (two of which came with scholarships - a nice bright spot in the whole ordeal!). All with two children under the age of two in tow, during what was probably the most difficult year of my life. Or so I thought.
We ended up accepting at Emory, which alleviated the need for relocation and its associated hassles. It would definitely turn out to be a blessing for me, although poor Aaron has suffered a brutal cross-town commute for the past two years since the school is literally about as far away from our house as it could be and still be in Atlanta.
Then came the moment of truth - Aaron quit his job and started his school adventure. The first semester was a struggle for all of us, as he balanced the heavy school workload with his responsibilities as husband/father. Throw in his innate desire to be 19 years old for the rest of his life and the ample social opportunities associated with school and it was a pretty explosive year. In fact, we have still a dent in the living room wall to commemorate the book I threw at him in the moment that it all became too much.
But Aaron survived and so did our marriage. The second semester was better, despite the brutal interns hip interview process, and it was followed by a super fun summer in California for all of us while Aaron interned at Google. By the second year, the brutal job interview process and waiting game was old hat. We all took it in stride and celebrated when Aaron's top choice job offers came through. The spring semester of the second year brought a different pace as Aaron realized that his days as a student were coming to an end. He held down the fort academically, but really focused on making up for as much lost "fun" time as possible, including a spring break trip to the British Virgin Islands. This time, when the socializing became too much, I was able to simply point to the old dent in the wall instead of throwing a new book at him. He got the message.
Which brings us to today - and graduation at long last. We've still got an entire summer to survive before he starts his new job, but I can't help but be proud of him and of us for surviving the past two years. Although I think it would have been easier and more fun had we done this BK (before kids), I'm not sure that Aaron would have been as focused or have gotten as much out of it. So, like most major life changes, it worked out for the best. And now we are looking forward to the next two major life changes: a new baby in August and the return of a steady paycheck in the fall.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Drew Ism
It's been awhile since I've posted anything funny for the grandmas. Here was Drew's funny tonight:
Aaron: Hey Drew - look at all those cars you have! Where's Mater? (Mater is Drew's favorite character from the movie Cars)
Drew: Daddy! Mater's not a car! He's a hiccup truck!
Aaron: Hey Drew - look at all those cars you have! Where's Mater? (Mater is Drew's favorite character from the movie Cars)
Drew: Daddy! Mater's not a car! He's a hiccup truck!
Duh! It's the Cereal!
So by now most of you have probably heard about the recent study asserting that a mother's diet at the time of conception may influence the gender of her baby. A recent New York Times article on the study discusses the theory that although X and Y sperm ultimately determine gender, higher food/calorie intake and higher glucose levels during conception makes "conditions" more hospitable for for male embryos. Skipping meals results in lower glucose levels, which makes it difficult for male embryos to survive. The study makes the leap that women who eat breakfast and have diets high in potassium, calcium, and vitamins C, E, and B12 tend to produce sons. Further, there was a strong correlation between eating breakfast cereal and producing sons!
While it will be interesting to see if the theory holds up to further study, it certainly sheds light on my tendency to produce male offspring. While my caveman husband has been walking around pounding his chest about producing a flock of sons, I have long been consuming mass quantities of two of my favorite foods - cereal and bananas. Coincidence? Maybe not!
My love affair with cereal started in college and has lasted all the way to present day, although it has subsided somewhat. There was a time in my single days when my grocery cart literally contained a gallon of milk, a bunch of bananas, 3 boxes of cereal, 10 different kinds of beans, and a bag of rice. Thankfully, my palate has matured a little (I've moved from Lucky Charms to Kashi), but cereal is still high on the list. The boys must have inherited a taste for the stuff in utero because it's high on their list too, as well as their father's. I kid you not when I say that a fourth of our weekly grocery bill is due to the 5 boxes of cereal and 3 gallons of milk we consume each week.
With the news of our third boy, almost everyone asks us if we plan to "go for the girl" and have a fourth. Considering the fact that I have not missed a meal since the day I was born and at least 2/3 of those meals have been cereal, we definitely don't plan on giving this theory a test run. Which is just fine with me. We seem to be pretty good at this boy thing.
While it will be interesting to see if the theory holds up to further study, it certainly sheds light on my tendency to produce male offspring. While my caveman husband has been walking around pounding his chest about producing a flock of sons, I have long been consuming mass quantities of two of my favorite foods - cereal and bananas. Coincidence? Maybe not!
My love affair with cereal started in college and has lasted all the way to present day, although it has subsided somewhat. There was a time in my single days when my grocery cart literally contained a gallon of milk, a bunch of bananas, 3 boxes of cereal, 10 different kinds of beans, and a bag of rice. Thankfully, my palate has matured a little (I've moved from Lucky Charms to Kashi), but cereal is still high on the list. The boys must have inherited a taste for the stuff in utero because it's high on their list too, as well as their father's. I kid you not when I say that a fourth of our weekly grocery bill is due to the 5 boxes of cereal and 3 gallons of milk we consume each week.
With the news of our third boy, almost everyone asks us if we plan to "go for the girl" and have a fourth. Considering the fact that I have not missed a meal since the day I was born and at least 2/3 of those meals have been cereal, we definitely don't plan on giving this theory a test run. Which is just fine with me. We seem to be pretty good at this boy thing.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Cheater!
Just wandered into living room to find that husband has plugged TV back in and is parked in front of it. Apparently I failed to see the memo that NBA playoff programming is exempt from National TV Turnoff Week resolutions.
National TV Turnoff Week
This week (April 21-27) is National TV Turnoff week. Yes - this is an actual event, started by a group of people who were clearly watching too much TV. I'm not sure about the history of when or where it originated (or who exactly it was watching too much TV), but I've caught wind of it in a couple of places these past few months and LOVED the idea. Gross national statistics aside (the average American youth spends 900 ours in school but 1500 in front of the TV, 66% of US families watch TV during dinner, half of children ages 6-17 have TVs in their bedroom, etc.), I am starting to get concerned about the amount of TV time in this household. Which is really interesting, given the evolution of screen time in our family.
Once upon a time when Cade was a baby (and until he was almost 3), he watched zero TV. I registered for Baby Einstein videos because the few moms I knew told me they were educational and stimulating and really, who can argue with a video that claims to turn your child into a Baby Mozart. But I could never quite bring myself to pop one in. And yes, in case you're wondering, his first toys were age appropriate books, his first taste of cake was at his first birthday party (featuring a nutritious yet baby friendly carrot cake), and he never had a drop of juice to drink until he was close to a year and a half old. I was pretty granola back in those days.
Then along came Drew, 17 months after Cade. Desperate for time to nurse, shower, and pee, I cracked open the Baby Einsteins and wished that Cade would magically develop an attention span long enough to watch one. No dice - I had already spoiled him. He was way more into Clown Mom than watching a pull toy duck crawl at a snail's pace across the screen to an annoying tinkling song that makes you want to punch the TV.
At some point (I'm not sure when since I had long stopped filling out the baby books by this point), Drew became interested in TV. A more mellow child by nature, he was content to watch the duck do its thing and even hung in there long enough to watch the psychedelic swirls do their thing. And then we learned that Cade loved Elmo (through books before he ever saw him on TV) and music, so we could actually buy a little peace and quiet if we picked our programming carefully. It was all downhill from there.
We limit screen time, naturally, but I have noticed it creeping up to uncomfortable levels lately. I almost always count on it for the dinner prep hour - I can't make dinner with rug rats underfoot so The Wiggles are my saving grace. Then I became pregnant (and exhausted) for the third time and realized I was counting on Curious George to keep Cade entertained during Drew's nap so I could catnap. Then there were the assorted times where I just needed them out of my hair - for a phone call, an uninterrupted conversation with their father, or just to read the Sunday paper. And suddenly I found myself feeling as irritated by their pleas for TV as their pleas for junk food - how did we get from carrot birthday cake and fabric covered books to this point, anyway?
So Aaron officially put the kids on notice today. They seemed to take the news in stride, until he pointed out that "no TV" means no DVDs or videotapes either. And he unplugged the TV just to make sure. We survived the first day OK, but I'm still anxious about the rest of the week, mainly because it means more gigs for Clown Mom . And I'm wondering if computer counts as TV (pbskids.org buys me as much time as Maya and Miguel). Stay tuned. And will someone please let me know when National Throw Out the Junk Food Week is?
Once upon a time when Cade was a baby (and until he was almost 3), he watched zero TV. I registered for Baby Einstein videos because the few moms I knew told me they were educational and stimulating and really, who can argue with a video that claims to turn your child into a Baby Mozart. But I could never quite bring myself to pop one in. And yes, in case you're wondering, his first toys were age appropriate books, his first taste of cake was at his first birthday party (featuring a nutritious yet baby friendly carrot cake), and he never had a drop of juice to drink until he was close to a year and a half old. I was pretty granola back in those days.
Then along came Drew, 17 months after Cade. Desperate for time to nurse, shower, and pee, I cracked open the Baby Einsteins and wished that Cade would magically develop an attention span long enough to watch one. No dice - I had already spoiled him. He was way more into Clown Mom than watching a pull toy duck crawl at a snail's pace across the screen to an annoying tinkling song that makes you want to punch the TV.
At some point (I'm not sure when since I had long stopped filling out the baby books by this point), Drew became interested in TV. A more mellow child by nature, he was content to watch the duck do its thing and even hung in there long enough to watch the psychedelic swirls do their thing. And then we learned that Cade loved Elmo (through books before he ever saw him on TV) and music, so we could actually buy a little peace and quiet if we picked our programming carefully. It was all downhill from there.
We limit screen time, naturally, but I have noticed it creeping up to uncomfortable levels lately. I almost always count on it for the dinner prep hour - I can't make dinner with rug rats underfoot so The Wiggles are my saving grace. Then I became pregnant (and exhausted) for the third time and realized I was counting on Curious George to keep Cade entertained during Drew's nap so I could catnap. Then there were the assorted times where I just needed them out of my hair - for a phone call, an uninterrupted conversation with their father, or just to read the Sunday paper. And suddenly I found myself feeling as irritated by their pleas for TV as their pleas for junk food - how did we get from carrot birthday cake and fabric covered books to this point, anyway?
So Aaron officially put the kids on notice today. They seemed to take the news in stride, until he pointed out that "no TV" means no DVDs or videotapes either. And he unplugged the TV just to make sure. We survived the first day OK, but I'm still anxious about the rest of the week, mainly because it means more gigs for Clown Mom . And I'm wondering if computer counts as TV (pbskids.org buys me as much time as Maya and Miguel). Stay tuned. And will someone please let me know when National Throw Out the Junk Food Week is?
Saturday, April 19, 2008
The Voices in My Head
I'm writing over at Atlanta Parent today about my garrulous children. Come check it out.
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