Thursday, May 11, 2006

Of chocolate pretzels and Pirate's Booty


America, I may not make it.

While trying to accomplish the joke that is "staying off my foot" I have done the following things.
1. Done sharing time for Jr. and Sr. Primary
2. Taken Jacob for a surgery
3. Taken Jacob for follow up after surgery
4. Had 3 photo appointments (one was a baptism...Couldn't reschedule)
5. Made an emergency run to Trader Joe's for Unburied Treasure Popcorn and chocolate covered pretzels. These are the only thing that will get me through the week. For those of you w/out a Trader Joes' these are like cheese puffs but they look and taste like popcorn. They melt in your mouth, are perfect for pre chewing toddlers and are my version of crack cocaine.

Not too bad. I have been doing the best I can, but some stuff just can't be rescheduled (like Jacobs surgery.....). My kids are actually driving me nuts (which isn't really surprising because none of us have left the house). I am surprised it took this long for us all to start being irritated with each other. It isn't the little one that I am struggling with, it is the 6 year old. I didn't know that 6 would be so hard. Really. I know that most of it is because I am not feeling on top of things so I am not the most kind and patient mother this week, but seriously...she gets to LEAVE. She should be the happiest one. We are in the middle of clothes battles, food battles and back talk battles. All at the same time. I am also fully aware that they aren't acting any different, I am. That isn't really helping though. Don't let that cute smile fool you. Under those little piggytail's is a child that wants to dress like a Bratz doll, eat nothing but taco chips and tell her mother what she will and will not do. Both kids have been in bed by 6:30 pm this week. I can only get away with this until they understand the concept of time.


The baby is bitter that I have installed a new gate to keep him out of the kitchen (he finally figured out the sliding pocket door....darn it). The kitchen is my oasis and the children are not allowed in unless I say so. The biggest key to being allowed in the kitchen is to be old enough not to get into the kitchen stuff or make me have to babyproof it. I don't want to. The end. The whole toe disaster started because Cubby was getting into something he shouldn't have. I know it would be easier to babyproof the kitchen, but I prefer to buy a gate. This one has bars and he can push things through it. Yesterday he found a magazine and tore each page off, one by one, and pushed them through the bars...........calling "ma ma, ma ma, ma ma" the whole time. America, I didn't budge. I can't keep him from jumping on my foot so he has to stay one one side of the bar and me on the other. I just handed him a pile of magazines and told him to go to it.

Anytime I come near the gate, he holds his hand out like he is trying to flag down a life boat to get off the Titanic. Mostly he forgets he is supposed to be crying and he just watches Go Diego Go. He is currently throwing all his toys over the gate. Too bad for him when all the fun things to play with are on MY side of the gate. Should I play with them in front of him and see how mad he can REALLY get? (just kidding..........)



I will make it until Derek gets home on Saturday night, right? Of course, he leaves again on Sunday night.............

19 comments:

Stephanie Aurora Clark Nielson said...

my girls call it "pirate booby" I like that better, dont you? sounds taster!

Lorien said...

I'm so sorry for you. I was a cranky mess last week just because of a cold and itchy legs. It's amazing how simply feeling like crap makes a huge difference in what we're able to deal with. Hope the foot gets better quickly.

Maybe thread yarn or something around in the gate so he can work on untangling it? I dunno. Drives me crazy when the little ones won't be happy unless they are messin with my stuff.

Bek said...

Lorien,

I LOVE that idea. He is pretty task oriented. Of course, knowing him, he will manage to do something that will get Child Protective Services called on me....

Nie Nie...how are you? I check your blog all the time and I am usually jealous of the great pictures. Pirate's Booby. That IS better. AZ is FULL of Trader Joe's, right? How did I live w/out that store? When I got to Target, not matter what I buy it seems like my total is about 75$. With TJ's, I will have a whole cart full of groceries and it seems like my total is always 35$. My kind of store.

Sister Pottymouth said...

(sniff sniff) Poor Cubby. That rescue pose is so precious! Much too hard to resist, right?

Ummmm, not really. Not when you are desperate to keep the child out of a mess that YOU have to clean up. Sorry, Cub, no sympathy here for you. Plenty for your mom, though, but none for you. I like the string idea.

Enlighten me, please. What is Trader Joes? I think my husband might like some of that pirate booby. (hee hee)

Sister Pottymouth said...

Forgot something--what did Jacob need surgery for?

Unknown said...

Oh, your husband is doing this crazy weekdays-away thing, too? I hate it, oh I hate it.

Your cubby is so cute I can barely stand it. For some reason I get such a kick out of kids looking out from behind bars. That is probably some kind of sickness on my part.

Have you considered doing chore/behavior charting for your daughter? It is the only thing saving my sanity with my 6yo at the moment.

I'll be thinking about you this Saturday ... I'm guessing that your foot situation means you can't meet us at the beach. Another time, though.

Bek said...

Trader Joes is a grocery store that is half Whole Foods (lots of organic/ vegan/ vegitarian/ etc) stuff/half Safeway. Also, they have tons of ethnic foods that are hard to find (like ReadyCurry, Hummus (real), falafel, etc). They are a great place to get every kind of Luna bar ever made AND organic diapers!!

The BEST part about TJ's is that they have their own brand. So things like olive oil are only 3 or 4 dollars for a bottle, their big bags of cashews are only 5 dollars (as opposed to 15$ in the store). My favorite thing is homemade pizza dough (whole wheat and regular) in baggies that freeze really well--only 99c). Apple juice is cheap..fresh flowers are cheap...chocolate is cheap...it is all cheap.

They are kind of small, but the stuff they have is great. They aren't in Utah and never will be...something about an agreement w/ Albertsons.......anyway. I will fill my bags for you all when I come back next time.

Jacob had to get his tounge clipped. He was tounge tied (the skin that attaches the tounge to the bottom of the mouth went all the way to the tip). This is usally snipped at birth and it is no big deal. Medicaide wouldn't do it for him, so we had to wait until he was old enough for anesthesia but BEFORE he started to talk. It wasn't a huge deal, but it made for one cranky baby. As for the kitchen exile. I will never feel sorry for him again...not after he painted my BRAND NEW couch with purple food coloring..........

sarah said...

I personally liked the "go diego go" watching pose. I think I've seen that one before.

LuckyRedHen said...

I like the picture of your booty (booby). Heehee.

I should try the chart with my 6yr old sassypants. He used to be my silent/sweet one.

dangit!

Hang in there (and I'm still working on the film).

dalene said...

My friend used to live in LA and we would always score TJ (and what is it with the retail magic of the intitials "TJ"? As in, they are also the first part of TJ Maxx!) products at holidays. Now they--my friends, not TJs--are in Nevada and I'm dying for TJs to start selling online.

Bek--I am sorry. All I can think of are the famous words a great friend used to tell me when life turned upside down: "This too shall pass." And she said it soooooooo many times. And she was always right. Thank goodness!

Maybe you could hit up a rich aunt or uncle for plane fare to Utah and we could all take turns playing with your beautiful but mischievous children and feeding you grapes, bon bons, pirates booby, whatever you please.

Best wishes!!!

Oh--and about the gate--maybe you could put a bunch of multi-colored plastic shower curtain rings around the slats in the gate and he could pull them to the top and watch them slide down.

Lorien said...

This is what my hubby calls a "wird dill" (wierd deal). I had never ever before even heard of trader joes until earlier this week when I was hangin with some great girls. Then the discussion about TJ's and how they wouldn't be coming to Utah ensued--almost the very same discussion as the one here. Wird dill.

~j. said...

I am so jealous of anyone that get's to "just run" to Trader Joe's. When I'm driving through a city with one, I stock up, and like you said, Bek, it's not pricey - I don't know that I've ever spent more than $50 at once, and I always STOCK UP.

I always assumed that they'd never come to Utah (Provo, anyway) because one of their biggest sellers is the cheap, cheap wine.

dalene said...

WHAT? They're not coming to Provo? We don't buy enough cheap wine?

Bek said...

The wine could be a factor...but when I called the corporate headquarters...they said it was something about Albertsons.....but didn't they just get sold?

That is my next adoption fund raiser. Importing TJ's stuff for a 20% comission.......yeah.....

The even years STINK. Jacob just went to the dr. 13% head, 19% weight and 60% height? Huh? Last time he was 15% height. I should have known because he no longer can fit in the 6-12 month clothes. We are cracking out the 12-18's....my poor little polly pocket. He better be funny...or a jockey....

Lisa said...

OH Bek! Why don't we live next door to each other!?!? We could have really helped each other this week!! Hang in there. . . I'll call you.

Betina said...

Limits are good for kids. The gate is a great idea!

Hope your foot gets well soon.

wendysue said...

Yuck Bek, I wish I could've had a clone with me out in California, then I could've taken care of you AND my sister/kids/baby, etc. Hang on. Sometimes I wish I could lock the kids in the room with the gate and just push goldfish through while they watch videos ALL day. (And I don't even have a broken toe!!)

I can just picture your little "polly pocket" shoving all those pages through to you. "Hey, that's a good lookin' pie, thanks for the recipe kiddo!"

My kids are the same way with their little smiles. . everyone says, "oh, their ADORABLE", yeh, sometimes but you don't live with them 24/7!!

Tigersue said...

I just wanted you to know that I added you to my Calling all LDS Women Bloggers site.

La Yen said...

Bek--check out cabesh's posting. (Jill of all trades from ~j's blog.) Then take all measures to keep Cub away from Stars Hollow.