The cats have outgrown their usefulness, according to my husband. When have they ever been “useful”, I ask? Indoor cats stopped being useful when dirt floors were replaced with linoleum. And we don’t have a mouse problem. Although, it’s unlikely they would know what to do if they saw a mouse anyway.
My husband hasn’t always hated the cats. The cats were here first and he had a healthy affection for them when we started our life together. His distain for them started when he took over the task of cleaning their “bathroom” four years ago when I was pregnant. It remains one of his few household duties to this day, much to his dismay.
We debate about which is the better pet – the dog or the cats. My argument is based on which pet is more destructive to the house and the dog wins! His claws scratch the wood floors when he spastically runs from window to window trying to catch a squirrel he spied in the front yard. The window ledges are shredded from him clawing at the bunny hiding in the Hostas outside. The glass is permanently stained with “greasy dog nose”. And the newly refinished steps have deep gouges from his need to race us up the stairs. The cats have scratched a few pieces of furniture and occasionally take out their frustration over being locked up in a room by leaving a steaming pile of defecation in the middle of the floor (we no longer lock them up). It’s a lot cheaper to replace a couch than repair the wood floors and windows.
My husband’s argument is based on personality of the pet. And while I agree the dog has more personality, he is more annoying than the cats. He barks – a lot. But not because he’s protective, he barks from excitement and the simple act of my husband walking into a room is cause for celebration in the dog’s world. The cats could care less if we are around, much less make much noise. One of the cats whines because he’s eternally hungry; the other cat bullies him away from the food dish. I throw a few cat treats on the floor and push him outside and I don’t see him for hours.
If it were up to my husband, the cats would have met their maker by now. I say that if we get rid of the cats, the dog goes too. The discussion is dropped. At least until the next time we discover some of their destruction or have to clean up after them.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
A few things I've learned...
Elmo’s love of goldfish isn’t the goldfish snack crackers that lives on the grocer’s shelf. His goldfish lives in a bowl and has a name – Dorothy.
I do have tolerance and patience.
The full feeling of love.
How much more you can love your child each day.
All kids love sweets – even if its apples and pears.
She’s not the dog.
You do have change the diaper – even if it’s in the bathroom of an airplane.
Santa is scary.
Sleeping is learned.
Naps equals happiness.
“Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.” -- Phylliss Diller
I do have tolerance and patience.
The full feeling of love.
How much more you can love your child each day.
All kids love sweets – even if its apples and pears.
She’s not the dog.
You do have change the diaper – even if it’s in the bathroom of an airplane.
Santa is scary.
Sleeping is learned.
Naps equals happiness.
“Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.” -- Phylliss Diller
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Sleep...
I finally got that last RSVP from my daughter's BFF. The party was a smashing hit - everyone had fun and we, the parents, weren't too exhausted.
Now onto sleep. As you can see by the name of my blog, I love sleep. To me, sleep is almost as important and food and water. Especially for babies. But, try telling that to my 3 month old. Today, he took only three 30-minute naps. All day. Makes me mental. My daughter was the same way - a difficult sleeper in those early months. The difference is she didn't care if she slept or not; she was content and peaceful. But we paid for her no-sleep day at night - she was impossible to get to sleep. We spent many hours rocking her and walking the floor trying to get her to settle down. My son, however. wants to sleep, needs to sleep and gets fussy if he doesn't, yet can manage only 30 minute naps and is ready to go back to sleep an hour later. He is however, much easier to get to sleep at night and practically sleeps through the night already.
My daughter still isn't the greatest sleeper. It takes her almost two hours to fall asleep at night these days. Her brain doesn't seem to shut off. She talks, sings, and acts our scenes with friends who aren't in the room. Sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night and does the same thing. I hear "you're so silly Cecilia" and giggles and princess-themed songs at 4am! I'm awake anyway, nursing my son.
I don't understand why sleep is so hard for my kids. My husband and I are champion sleepers! Eventhough I'm a light sleeper, I enjoy my sleep and get plenty of it. Even with a baby. My husband can sleep through a train wreck. Before kids, it was not unusual for us to sleep till 11am on the weekends! Oh, I miss those days.
Once my son is sleeping at night, he sleeps until 8 or 9 the next morning with only two wake ups. My daughter's usual wake-up time is around the same time, so like thier parents, they are not early risers.
I realize my son's sleeping patterns will change, as I learned with my daughter. But it's hard to see that far away right now, especially when I spent so much of my day trying to get my son back to sleep.
Ah, wonderful sleep.
Now onto sleep. As you can see by the name of my blog, I love sleep. To me, sleep is almost as important and food and water. Especially for babies. But, try telling that to my 3 month old. Today, he took only three 30-minute naps. All day. Makes me mental. My daughter was the same way - a difficult sleeper in those early months. The difference is she didn't care if she slept or not; she was content and peaceful. But we paid for her no-sleep day at night - she was impossible to get to sleep. We spent many hours rocking her and walking the floor trying to get her to settle down. My son, however. wants to sleep, needs to sleep and gets fussy if he doesn't, yet can manage only 30 minute naps and is ready to go back to sleep an hour later. He is however, much easier to get to sleep at night and practically sleeps through the night already.
My daughter still isn't the greatest sleeper. It takes her almost two hours to fall asleep at night these days. Her brain doesn't seem to shut off. She talks, sings, and acts our scenes with friends who aren't in the room. Sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night and does the same thing. I hear "you're so silly Cecilia" and giggles and princess-themed songs at 4am! I'm awake anyway, nursing my son.
I don't understand why sleep is so hard for my kids. My husband and I are champion sleepers! Eventhough I'm a light sleeper, I enjoy my sleep and get plenty of it. Even with a baby. My husband can sleep through a train wreck. Before kids, it was not unusual for us to sleep till 11am on the weekends! Oh, I miss those days.
Once my son is sleeping at night, he sleeps until 8 or 9 the next morning with only two wake ups. My daughter's usual wake-up time is around the same time, so like thier parents, they are not early risers.
I realize my son's sleeping patterns will change, as I learned with my daughter. But it's hard to see that far away right now, especially when I spent so much of my day trying to get my son back to sleep.
Ah, wonderful sleep.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Importance of an RSVP
RSVP: “Répondez s'il vous plaît", a French phrase that translates to "reply, please." or literally "respond, if you please". It is with this meaning that invitation cards and similar documents are often marked with "R.S.V.P." It is standard practice to reply to an RSVP request whether confirming attendance or declining.[ Wikipedia]
The first time I understood the importance of RSVP was planning my wedding. It was important to know how many people were coming so we had enough food. (Although, as it turns out, it didn’t matter because the caterer had 100 person minimum and we only sent out 75 invites.) Nevertheless, it was nice to know if who we invited was coming especially since we painstakingly reviewed, edited, added, and deleted many people from our list.
I understood the theory of the percentage of RSVP returns for wedding invitations, but I never could wrap my head around how hard it was to check a box on a card and drop it in the mail – especially when it was addressed and stamped.
I waited for weeks for people to RSVP. This was especially maddening because we invited some people out of obligation (out-of-town family, long-time friends that we don’t see often) but I really wanted to invited co-workers, people I see almost everyday. A couple weeks before the wedding, I sheepishly invited some of my co-workers. None of them came and while I think some had legitimate reasons, I’m sure the others felt like sloppy seconds.
Fast forward 8 years and now we’re planning our daughter’s 4th birthday party, which also happens to be her Golden Birthday. We’ve been talking about it for months and the invite list is very important to our daughter. She was adamant and specific about who was to come. I distributed the 7 invitations with RSVP requests and even provided two RSVP ways – a phone number and an email address. I received one phone call, two emails and an in-person confirmation. As for the others, I emailed two of the mothers I know to ask if they received the invitation – which they did. Both of them were very cavalier about saying they were coming – as if it was an afterthought. I’m still waiting for one more RSVP.
And this is where it gets sticky…
The unknown RSVP happens to be my daughter’s current BFF. She is in her class at school and every time we talk about who is coming to her birthday party, she says her BFF’s name first. I try to explain to her that I don’t know if BFF is coming because I haven’t heard from her Mommy. I know my daughter doesn’t understand this and will be completely crushed if BFF doesn’t show up.
How do I explain delinquent manners to a 4-year-old? How do I say in kid-speak that some people don’t follow the same social etiquette we do? How am I going to keep her from whining (and possibly crying) at her birthday party because her BFF didn’t show up? If her mother would simply pick up the phone and/or drop me an email and tell me they aren’t coming, then I can absolutely prepare my daughter that her BFF can’t come. She’ll understand that – she doesn’t understand vague. Things are very black & white to my daughter, as I think they are for most kids her age.
Why wouldn’t you tell someone you are showing up at a party? What if I assume you’re not coming because I haven’t heard from you and I don’t have enough food when you show up? Birthday parties these days require gift bags (A phenomena I don’t understand and wonder when it started…I never left a birthday party with gifts…?) and what if I don’t have a gift bag for your daughter because you didn’t tell me you were coming? Or I assume you’re coming and you don’t and now I have an extra gift bag – just more crap toys I have to push around in the playroom.
A friend recently experienced the same situation, except she only received 1 RSVP. A week before the party, she hastily invited a few more kids to the party so her son wouldn’t be devastated with only 1 party guest. She didn’t want him to remember his 6th birthday party when only 1 kid showed up and how she couldn’t prepare him for it because no one bothered to let her know if they were coming.
I think an RSVP is a necessary part of an active social life. It’s the simple polite thing to do.
The first time I understood the importance of RSVP was planning my wedding. It was important to know how many people were coming so we had enough food. (Although, as it turns out, it didn’t matter because the caterer had 100 person minimum and we only sent out 75 invites.) Nevertheless, it was nice to know if who we invited was coming especially since we painstakingly reviewed, edited, added, and deleted many people from our list.
I understood the theory of the percentage of RSVP returns for wedding invitations, but I never could wrap my head around how hard it was to check a box on a card and drop it in the mail – especially when it was addressed and stamped.
I waited for weeks for people to RSVP. This was especially maddening because we invited some people out of obligation (out-of-town family, long-time friends that we don’t see often) but I really wanted to invited co-workers, people I see almost everyday. A couple weeks before the wedding, I sheepishly invited some of my co-workers. None of them came and while I think some had legitimate reasons, I’m sure the others felt like sloppy seconds.
Fast forward 8 years and now we’re planning our daughter’s 4th birthday party, which also happens to be her Golden Birthday. We’ve been talking about it for months and the invite list is very important to our daughter. She was adamant and specific about who was to come. I distributed the 7 invitations with RSVP requests and even provided two RSVP ways – a phone number and an email address. I received one phone call, two emails and an in-person confirmation. As for the others, I emailed two of the mothers I know to ask if they received the invitation – which they did. Both of them were very cavalier about saying they were coming – as if it was an afterthought. I’m still waiting for one more RSVP.
And this is where it gets sticky…
The unknown RSVP happens to be my daughter’s current BFF. She is in her class at school and every time we talk about who is coming to her birthday party, she says her BFF’s name first. I try to explain to her that I don’t know if BFF is coming because I haven’t heard from her Mommy. I know my daughter doesn’t understand this and will be completely crushed if BFF doesn’t show up.
How do I explain delinquent manners to a 4-year-old? How do I say in kid-speak that some people don’t follow the same social etiquette we do? How am I going to keep her from whining (and possibly crying) at her birthday party because her BFF didn’t show up? If her mother would simply pick up the phone and/or drop me an email and tell me they aren’t coming, then I can absolutely prepare my daughter that her BFF can’t come. She’ll understand that – she doesn’t understand vague. Things are very black & white to my daughter, as I think they are for most kids her age.
Why wouldn’t you tell someone you are showing up at a party? What if I assume you’re not coming because I haven’t heard from you and I don’t have enough food when you show up? Birthday parties these days require gift bags (A phenomena I don’t understand and wonder when it started…I never left a birthday party with gifts…?) and what if I don’t have a gift bag for your daughter because you didn’t tell me you were coming? Or I assume you’re coming and you don’t and now I have an extra gift bag – just more crap toys I have to push around in the playroom.
A friend recently experienced the same situation, except she only received 1 RSVP. A week before the party, she hastily invited a few more kids to the party so her son wouldn’t be devastated with only 1 party guest. She didn’t want him to remember his 6th birthday party when only 1 kid showed up and how she couldn’t prepare him for it because no one bothered to let her know if they were coming.
I think an RSVP is a necessary part of an active social life. It’s the simple polite thing to do.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Update!
I've just been reminded that I have a blog by a good friend who wants to link our blogs - great idea I say, but I should probably remember that I have one and actually write something on it.
Although, writing something decent might be hard to come by because my brain power is very scarce these days due to the fact that I have a 7 week old baby. Time gets away very quickly between him and my daughter who is 3.5 and sometimes I forget to eat...okay, not really, I never truly forget to eat. In fact, I eat a lot. Breastfeeding will do that to you.
I will stop the eating and start writing! Check back!
Although, writing something decent might be hard to come by because my brain power is very scarce these days due to the fact that I have a 7 week old baby. Time gets away very quickly between him and my daughter who is 3.5 and sometimes I forget to eat...okay, not really, I never truly forget to eat. In fact, I eat a lot. Breastfeeding will do that to you.
I will stop the eating and start writing! Check back!
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