Xmas2009: Day 10

Well, it's been an eventful week. Trent became a perfect little angel after I put him back into his routine. Daz and Mel arrived on Monday evening after a few delays in Dulles. They were exhausted but happy to be here. We spent the past couple of days shopping for xmas and picking up last minute supplies for xmas day dinner - which will consist of roast lamb, yorkies, mint sauce, a variety of veggies, gravy, and a trifle for dessert! So can't wait to eat all that. I'm declaring us officially ready for xmas. Lucky too, because tomorrow is xmas eve!

Merry xmas, y'all.

Xmas2009: Day 3

day 3 greeted me with yet another cranky toddler who wouldn't take his meds. This morning Trent promised he would take his meds after I gave him a treat, then he refused his meds. I had a flash forward into my day (imagining it to be similar to the previous one) and completely lost it. In what seemed like a blur of motion, I changed him, threw on my clothes, called his daycare and cancelled his holiday time, and drove him in to daycare to dump him off. I ain't spending my holiday pandering to a whiny little tyrant with an inflated sense of self-importance.

In all fairness, he was most likely acting out because I broke his routine and he's bored and doesn't know how to express himself other than to be defiant, push my buttons, and whine constantly. I think putting him back into his usual routine is best for everyone. Sure, mum and dad are probably disappointed that they don't get to spend as much time with him, but I could tell they weren't enjoying being around him, either, because he was stressing me out so badly. I feel like a bad mother and a complete amateur.

After I dropped Trent off, I spent the day hanging with my parents in peace. Did a little xmas shopping, and cooled my jets a bit. When we picked him up he was so much more pleasant, but that only lasted about an hour, then he was back to pushing buttons and making my life hell. I'm so very disappointed in both Trent and myself. Him for choosing this time to act out, and me for letting it get to me.

Xmas2009: Day 2

well today was a little rough. Trent was extremely strong wiled today. He had very definite ideas about what he wanted to be doing and we ended up having a time out in his room where he screamed for 15 minutes while balancing on the top rail of his crib demanding to get out. But he never made it out. After a stand-off he decided to be a good boy for the rest of the day, but he'd already burned through my fuse.

Today we went to the mall and Trent got a look at Santa. He wouldn't sit on his lap, though. Maybe next year. Mum made a funny observation, though: We spend all our lives teaching our kids to not talk to strangers, then at Xmas it all goes out the window as we force our kids, crying, onto some stranger's lap under the guise of Santa.

Xmas2009: Day 1

Mum and dad arrived around 7pm last night. I picked them up and to the first order of business: Papasitos fajitas. YUM! followed by a nice cup of tea @ home.

This morning we went and did some xmas shopping: Koh's, Old Navy, Toys R Us, followed by a trip to the grocery store to stock up on necessities for lunch/dinners, etc. When Trent took a nap I went out for a much needed run. I did about 3.5 miles or so and was relieved to find that, despite my recent laziness, I hadn't lost any of my running stamina. After Trent's nap he took nana and grandad to the park for an hour, which gave me time to do a little work and catch up with emails.

Brian and Kev went out this evening, which presented the perfect opportunity for my favourite food: Fish and vegetables. I made a delicious salmon with broccoli, corn, and Jasmine rice. Then after dinner we went upstairs and played with Trent until bed time. Trent loved making "waffles" with play doh using his toy saw to make a pattern in the "pancakes" I made him, and he played drums for nana and grandad.

Such a great day!

Trent was the perfect little boy today. Only a couple of tiny whining episodes

We Rock U!

More TrentTube!

postponing the inevitable

well, I'm gonna be out of town for my birthday this year. Away from my family and friends. Initially I wasn't fond of the idea, but I've been saying for years how I wish my birthday was in the middle of the year instead of in January, right after the holidays. So I think I should take advantage of this opportunity and move my birthday to May or June. I'll celebrate my half birthday, instead :-)

So that's great news for all of you who were thinking of showering me with expensive presents. Now you'll have an extra few months to save up! LOL!

Happy camper

This past weekend we took Trent on his very first camping trip. We went with our friends, Bryan and Danielle, who have two young children (4 and 21 months), both of whom also go to Trent's daycare. There were also two other couples, each with 2 kids. So a total of 7 children at our camp site! what a zoo! (wine helped me not freak out).

Trent was very well behaved, though with a lake and a fire pit to worry about, we had to have eyes up our arse to keep track of him. The other kids had fishing poles, and Trent was very excited to use them, but children aren't always the best at sharing so we bought him his own. He was so excited! obsessed even. He did, however, relinquish the fishing pole long enough for Sophie to play with it. What a nice guy!
Bryan and Danielle are pros at camping and there were two shifts for dinner. One for the kids who ate beans and hotdogs, then a later dinner of extremely gourmet burgers for the adults. We set up a movie in one of the tents and the kids all settled in to watch, excpet Trent, who insisted on getting in and out of the tent to give us hugs every 2 minutes. But it was very cute. When the kids' bed time rolled around, everyone had little issues of their own to deal with.
I put Trent in his car seat in the car and read a story to him and he fell asleep like a little angel. Then when I transitioned him to the tent he freaked out. 20 minutes of "I wanna get out!" at the top of his lungs, then he passed out. I felt bad because everyone was trying to sleep.

In the early hours of the morning, I heard some of the other kids having their little "moments" as well, so I actually felt a little better about Trent's peace-disturbing outburst.

We all slept on a blow up bed int he Tent, even though it was queen sized and even though Trent isn't that big, he still managed to take up the most room. And of course the thing had a slow leak so by morning it was almost completely deflated. I didn't sleep at all, and I could tell that Trent's sleep wasn't great quality. Brian seemed to have passed out nicely though. Must be a man thing.

We were surprised and happy at the success of our first toddler camping trip, but our celebrating ended abruptly as Trent threw is first of many tantrums of the day. The disruption in his sleep caused him to be a holy terror for most of Sunday. But we cut him some slack because he had a legitimate excuse.

So in hindsight, I'm glad we went. While it was a lot of work to keep an eye on the little guy, it was a good experience for all of us, and Bryan and Danielle made it easy for us, which we so appreciated! We made some new friends, which is aways a plus. And now Trent knows what to expect the next time.

Christmas is coming!

This year I'm really excited for xmas. So much so that I have even opened up to the possibility of having a tree (not a real one). Certainly enough to at least deck the halls. Why? Because my family is coming, and Trent is old enough to understand what all of it means. Last year he was so helpful in passing out presents and we were so proud of him. This year I can only imagine how much fun it will be for him. Even more fun is the fact that he will have his cousin Louise to play with.

Yesterday we attempted to get a head start on xmas shopping. We have good indentions of doing it way early to avoid that mad-dash last minute. So we went to the outlet malls in Round Rock, but sadly, only came home with a few small stocking stuffers and some PJs for Trent. I'm sure it'll all come together. I find the best presents when I'm not actually looking for them.

Another cool thing about this xmas is that we will be featuring some traditional English food on xmas day. Not specifically xmas food, but things like roast lamb and mint sauce, yorkshire puddings and gravy (yes, I know you traditionally eat that with beef but I don't care), ginger and pear trifle, and of course we plan to set a christmas pudding on fire! In addition to that, everyone will be required to participate in the wearing of the paper hat from the christmas crackers. I predict the evening will end with a farting contest between Daz and my dad ;-)

I can't wait!

Tapping into the inner psycho

Last night I caught a rare glimpse of my inner psycho. I was at a Suede concert and the usual craziness on the dance floor had commenced. A Bon Jovi number always riles up the crowd. I'm used to it, I can hold my own and not get pushed around. I usually just ignore rude people trying to displace me from my "spot" up front with the girls. But last night this random guy and his "friend" pushed me over the edge. First, she stepped on my toe with a stiletto heel. FREAKING OUCH! drew blood, damn near impaled me. It felt like someone tried to drive a 6 inch nail through my foot. Now I know how Jesus felt!
Meanwhile the guy is trying to high-five Robert (who is completely ignoring him), and in the process elbowing me in the head and shoving his armpit in my face. After about the 6th blow to the head I lost it. Completely lost it. So during his final elbow blow to my head, I threw an elbow into his kidney, pushed him out of my way, then I got in his face and proceeded to scream at him, at the top of my lungs that if he so much as knocked me one more time I would go medieval on his ass! (a few choice swear words thown in for good measure). He tried to deny that it was him, but seeing that I was over the edge he wisely backed away and gave me some space while I lectured him on how the dance floor was for everyone and you just don't treat people around you like that.
Then, as quickly as the psycho came out, she was back in her cage and I was once again shaking my booty on the dance floor. Yea. I'm a little scary.

Random post

Just stopping in to my blog for a quick update. Nothing specific to report but it's been a while and I figured it was time for a life update.
Work's going well for both me and Brian. Brian has a new assignment that he's very happy about. I'm so busy that last week I spent half a day on Friday analyzing my current work flow and habits in the hopes of finding a more efficient/effective way to manage my time and my tasks. Some of the measures I've taken are working, others have fallen off after only a few attempts. But I'm making improvements and moving forward, and that's good.
Some days I have so much to do and so much on my mind that I find myself frozen, trying to figure out which task to tackle first. But despite my inefficiencies and the feeling of being overwhelmed, I've always managed to keep a positive outlook, and I'm really good at leaving my work at work when it's time for family time. A couple of weeks ago a colleague from my previous dept. pinged me to ask how I keep such a good attitude when everything around us is going to shit. It was someone I have quite a lot of respect for, so I was very flattered that he asked me.

In home life things are good. Brian and I are amazed every day at how intelligent and sweet Trent is. We were playing upstairs the other day and Trent counted all the way to 17 on his own. We are so proud of our little guy. His teachers are constantly telling us how sweet Trent is, and what a huge vocabulary he has, and how well adjusted he is for a child of his age. I wonder how many other parents they say that to, like, are they just making us feel good? but deep down I want to believe that my kid is smarter than his peers. So what? I'm a mother. Y'all don't judge till you've walked a mile in my shoes.

Family visit countdown: 2 months today!

Future American Idol?

Homework assignment

Trent got his first homework assignment this week... well, when I say Trent, I really mean me. The assignment is to make a simple photographic family tree.

Brian said that one "over achiever parent" had already turned theirs in. And I found myself questioning what theirs looked like so I could ensure that ours is better!!! WTF? it's a 2 year old's homework project! When did I become competitive?

That's Brian rubbing off on me, that is!

So here's what "Trent" came up with ;-)

Kiss it better

Whenever Trent gets hurt, I always offer to kiss it better. Most of the time it works, too. I say "mummy kiss it better?" and he sobs "yeees". Then I say "is that better?" and he says "yeees - thankooomummy". Today, I opened the freezer to put something away and a frozen chicken breast attacked my by landing on my foot! Why is it that frozen stuff always lands right on your big toe? why does it hurt SOOOO bad??? And why does it make me swear so much???

As I stood there like a very pissed off flamingo on one foot, holding in all of the swear words that were rising to the surface like hot lava from a volcano, Trent came over and bent down and said "Trent kiss it better mummy!" and he kissed it. Then he got Bear to kiss it, too. And as I marvelled at how very sweet my little man is, do you know what happened? My toe stopped hurting. Moments like those are what makes it all seem worth it.

TrentTube!

Trent's got his own youtube channel now: http://www.youtube.com/user/keylimeypie

Check out his "wee daddy" video. It's pretty cute right up until he smacks his face on the drum set at the end.

How to call your grandparents, by Trent

Can barely contain the excitement!

Seriously, this xmas is going to be the xmas to beat all past and future xmases. Why? Because not only are my parents coming, which is, in itself, reason to celebrate, but also my BFF, Darryl, his awesome wife, Mel (like a sister to me) and his very cute daughter, Louise, are also coming!!

I can barely stand to wait until December!

The only down side is that they will eventually all have to go home. But let's not focus on that. Let's instead focus on how freaking awesome it's gonna be to have everyone together for xmas for the first time EVER since I moved to the USA. I usually hate xmas. I normally get the blues around xmas time because my family is so far away. Don't get me wrong - my Texas family are awesome and they really, really try hard to make me feel at home and go along with all the English traditions like the silly xmas crackers and party hats... and I love them dearly for this... but nothing --I MEAN NOTHING -- can compensate for having your own family around during the holidays.

We have a graduate in the family!

Trent graduated from the 2 year olds classroom today! They had a little graduation party, which the parents were allowed to attend, but which I decided not to because it would upset Trent for me to show up, then leave again. Instead I settled for watching him on the web cam. They had special treats to eat and it looked like they had fun.

On Monday, Trent will be in his new classroom, the "3 year olds" class. What does this mean?
Well, first off, this is where potty training begins! He's already using the toilet at home but it's quite intermittent and most of the time he poops then tells us he needs to use the potty. So that being said, the recommendation is that we do not use diapers anymore. They claim that 2 weeks is all they need to get them trained.

Brian and I both raised an eyebrow when this news was given to us. But I think we've concluded, after a little worrying that he's not ready, that if they say they can do it, we'll give it a shot, follow the recommendations, and look at this as a wonderful gift.

In this classroom, Trent will also work on communication. This is where his vocabulary will really take off. Many people have commented to us how great Trent's vocabulary already is. I cracked up the other day when Trent corrected me. He said "Actually 2 mummy" when I pointed something out to him and used the singular. The fact that he knows what "actually" means cracks me up. He uses the word all the time.

So, on to a new chapter in Trent's life. What adventures we will have.

Bathroom redo part 2

The bathroom is finished! Here's what I did:

1. Repaired and repainted the walls "Soothing Green Tea"
2. Installed a new light fixture
3. Installed decorative shelves
4. Installed the new sink and cabinet, which consisted of the following steps:

• Mount faucet to granite counter top
• Attach sink to counter top using provided hardware
• Call sink manufacturer for better instructions on how to connect the damn thing to the drain pipe. Sent them pictures via email. Waited for them to respond. No response.
  
• Figured out a way to connect it myself by using the parts from old sink and one new $2 piece from Home Depot.
  
• Tighten all the connections (Sink to counter, faucet hoses to water supply, drain to wall)
  
• Attach granite counter top to the cabinet using silicone
  

All done. We now have a fully functioning and beautiful sink:

Bathroom redo part 1

Well, the ugly sink is out! It was a multi-part task that Brian and I shared. I got it un-stuck from the wall and floor and shut off the water supply, then Brian disconnected the hoses (a nasty job) and did the heavy lifting. What a man! (all without me asking him to).
The floor tile under the sink is intact so no floor fixing to be done. YAY! The wall where the sink was connected needs a minor patch and some texturizing to match the rest of the wall. I think we've picked a colour. It's called "Soothing Green Tea". It's kinda light greenish yellow. I hope it won't overwhelm the bathroom. I thought it might lend itself well to the somewhat asian style cabinet that I'm installing.

Anyway, some before and in-progress pictures:


Before: Note the ugly light fixture, the hideous scalloped sink, and the fact that the sink isn't even the same colour as the toilet! Also notice the very ugly colour on the walls.



Sink has been removed and I made a unsuccessful attempt at texturizing over the spot where the sink was attached. It didn't look good and the stuff I was using didn't work properly so I wiped it off.








This is the colour I am thinking of painting the walls. Imagine it with black furniture/mirror and brushed nickel light and towel holder.