A Handy Tool Box

I just thought I'd share a mommy chaos control idea. When my little boy gets together with other children, they completely demolish his room. The big toys aren't a problem, but all the little stuff is a nightmare. With cars, play food, blocks, potato heads, and Lego's scattered through the house, the kids are too overwhelmed by the mess to clean up. So I came up with a solution.

I headed to Walmart and purchased cheap tool boxes ($6.00) at Walmart to put the various small toys in. We had a bunch of little luggage locks already. I separated the toys and locked the boxes. The kids had to have me unlock the boxes in order to access the toys so I could control how much they got out.

Some parents might find putting a lock on toys distasteful, but it worked well for us and it might work well for others. Many will say that training your children to get one thing out a time is the goal and they will not learn this if you use this method, but that is not true. We no longer need the locks. Jamie knows he can't get out more than one at a time (maybe two, depending on the toys). We still keep the locks on them because Jamie insists upon it. He calls them his treasure boxes. He has access to the keys now, though. If he has friends over I might take back control of the keys, though.

Spring Break from the Bugs

Today is the last day of preschool before spring break. Jamie did not get to go. Illness has creeped back into the house. I suspect strep, but I'll have to get him into the doctor on Monday. Brianna had a relapse of Strep. She had it at the same time Jamie had it last time, right before Valentine's Day. Dynisha stayed with us all week. I put two and two together.

On the bright side, perhaps this three week hiatus from school will give all the bugs a chance to die off. It seems like there has just been illness after illness at Jamie's school, not to mention lice which mercifully Jamie didn't contract despite the fact that his cousin, McKalah, did.

The challenge now is explaining to my enthusiastic four year old why he can't go to school. Even though he woke up this morning telling me he was too sick to go to school, he's been asking to go all day saying, "I'm all better now." I imagine that he'll be begging to go to school throughout the break. I've tried to explain spring break to him, but I don't think he gets it.

Mom Makes the News

Remember my post about the meaningless scam artist? Well, it turns out that this was related to my mother trying to get a job online as a secret shopper. It's still meaningless. I can't imagine what is in it for the perpetrator, but our local news station decided to pick up the story.



http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=9975010&nav=menu7_2_6_2

Oak Ridge woman's online job search leads to fake money
orders

By DON DARE
6 On Your Side Reporter

OAK RIDGE (WATE) -- Once good as gold, money orders have been tarnished
by a new generation of fakes.

Technology makes it easy to forge all
kinds of checks.

For several months, 6 On Your Side has reported how
counterfeit cashier checks have flooded mail boxes.

Now, it's something
new, fake money orders.

Two of them recently reached Oak Ridge resident
Pat Jump, who has been searching the Internet for a job.

She received
two postal money orders for $950 each.

It didn't take long before she
found an opportunity.

Her so-called employers sent postal money orders
to help her get started. "It's easy money, easy money, easy get," Jump said.

Despite the lure of easy money, Jump was suspicious and she did some
investigating.

She cross-referenced the name on the check, Johnson Park
in Plano, Texas. It didn't match.

According to Jump, she contacted the
fraud department at the post office and was told the checks' numbers were
fraudulent.

Real money orders will have an image of Ben Franklin if you
hold the check up to the light.

Also, the initials U.S.P.S. are embedded
in the security thread running left to right.

Jump counts herself lucky
for not cashing the money orders.

The people who send bogus money orders
might suggest you cash them at a bank, because they know the people at a local
post office can spot the fake ones.

If you think you've gotten funny
money, go to the post office and have them look at it.

A Snafu: Kindergarten Enrollment

It's almost time for Kindergarten registration. I can hardly believe it. He's just a baby... isn't he?

Registration is at the end of April, but I've already run into the first registration snafu. His school says, and I quote, "STUDENTS ENTERING KINDERGARTEN MUST HAVE A PHYSICAL AFTER JANUARY 1 OF THE YEAR THEY REGISTER." I knew that getting a health exam this quickly would be difficult because they schedule them many months in advance. I schedule Jamie's a year in advance. I thought the pediatrician's office would probably be aware of this rule. Surely they've run into it before even though they are not in our town, they are close and surely have plenty of kids in our school district. Apparently not.

The scheduling desk said that they could not schedule Jamie an appointment this close to his last one (which was in October). They said insurance would not allow it. It had to be a full year. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do here. Am I going to have to pay for this out of pocket?

I put a call into the school, but it was late and the person I needed to speak with was already gone for the day. I left a message on her voice mail to call me with a brief explanation of the issue. Hopefully there is a way to work this out without me having to dish out a few hundred dollars.

Good Night. Sleep Tight. Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite.

Jamie has just been so cute tonight. When I get him out of the tub I wrap him in his towel and call him my baby burrito. He usually says, "I'm not a baby burrito. I'm Jamie!" Tonight I wrapped him in his towel and he said, "Pick me up like a burrito!" I said, "Are you my baby burrito?" and he said, "Yes!"

He woke up a few moments ago. As you know we've been having some difficulty with tantrums during the night. He groggily walked to the living room where Matthew and I were just finishing up watching the episode of American Idol we recorded this evening. Rubbing his sleepy little eyes he crawled into my lap and asked for some milk. I went to the refrigerator and got him a cup and he sauntered off to bed. "Come with me, Mommy. I need a kiss." I followed and gave him a kiss goodnight. "Good night. Sleep tight." I said. And he responded with, "Don't let the bed bugs bite." I kissed his head again, but I think he was asleep again before all the words were even out of his mouth.

A Unified Front

I've been working really hard on a clear and defined discipline schedule and reward chart for Jamie. Matthew and I have been flying by the seat of our pants and we are not on the same page. We talked at length about this last night and Matthew agreed.

I am not ever going to be one of those moms who says, "You just wait until your father gets home!" I want us to be equals. We're not playing good cop, bad cop. I want Jamie to continue to yell out in excitement when Matthew pulls into the driveway, "Daddy's home! Daddy's home!!!"

Right now, from lack of a solid plan, Matthew is the stronger disciplinarian, though I'm the more frequent disciplinarian since I'm home with him more. My goal for today is to make a reward chart for the good things that Jamie does during the day and a list of behavior issues for Matthew and I and how we will respond to them.

Currently, our biggest issue is Jamie throwing a temper tantrum when we tell him he can't have something. He continues to beg for whatever the item is and the more he begs the worse the tantrum gets. The second issue we are having is that he is talking back. "No, I don't want to." I've got to nip this in the bud.

We only get one shot at this raising our child thing, so I'm determined not to screw it up. I've read article after article on how to handle this and I'm trying to figure out exactly what I think will work for us, aka What we can follow through with and what I think will work for Jamie. I'm still tweaking it a little, but hopefully I have it all sorted out before Jamie gets home from school today.

A Little Spa Treatment at Home

I decided to dedicate a little time this evening just to myself. After tucking Jamie into bed I swept my hair back and applied a peel off mask. While it set I filled a tub of water and Epsom salt to soak my feet in. I watched TV and soaked my feet while gave myself a little manicure. When I was done I gave myself a full pedicure and my feet are as smooth as a baby's bum. I was going to shave my legs, but my husband has promised me the full treatment tomorrow evening. Yeah!

It would be nice to go to the spa and get all this done by someone else, but it still feels pretty good to dedicate a night to myself right here at home. Now I'm heading off to the shower to finish spoiling myself for the evening. Instead of my normal quickie shower, I'm going to make it long and really exfoliate good so my skin is extra soft. When I'm done I'm going to crash. After last night I could sure use a really good nights sleep. Jamie hasn't woke up yet (where's the wood to knock on) and hopefully he won't until I'm done.

Off topic a little...

I emailed Jamie's teacher to let her know how little sleep he had in case he was too tired to make it through the day. She sent a note home with him saying that his eyes were really red when he got to school and that she was glad I let her know what was going on so she didn't need to call me. She said he went to sleep immediately. I assume she meant at nap time, but she didn't specify. He was a little cranky this evening, but we still had to force him to go to bed. He got to sleep sometime between 10:30 and 11:00 pm, which is much later than I would like.

In the Wee Hours of Morning

Jamie's midnight tantrums are peaking again. For the last three or four weeks he has awakened, between 1:00am and 4:00am, on a nightly basis screaming and crying. At the onset he was able to tell me why he was crying. "I need a drink of water!", "I want my Eeyore!", "I'm hungry!" As time has passed he has become unable to speak words during these wee morning hours, which frustrate all of us and leave us all tired and cranky in the morning. The more Matthew and I try to guess what will appease our angry little boy, the angrier he seems to become. No amount of soothing will comfort, in fact, no amount will be accepted. He gets angry if you talk to him, touch him, try to tuck him back in, offer him a drink, etc. He's even hurled Eeyore around his bed in frustration.

Last night I tried everything to calm him and when I could find nothing else to do I left him room and went to my own. I listened from there, heartbroken and worn out, as he cried for what seemed like an eternity. Matthew got out of bed and tried his hand at calming him, as well. Nothing could be done so he too returned to our bed.

As a mother there is nothing so frustrating as a child who is upset, maybe even hurting, and you have no discernible way of comforting them or easing their suffering. It is a dark time when you must walk away, having tried everything. All I wanted to do was wrap him in my arms and rock him back to sleep, but my mere touch seemed to offend him. Being pushed away when it seems he needed me the most was hard. I wish someone could give me a clue what to do here. I wish I could read his mind just a little. When there is no comfort for him, there is no comfort for me.

My Birthday

I had a good birthday dinner. My mother-in-law fixed turkey breast, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn. She bought me a beautiful cake with red icing and black flowers. I had never seen one with those colors and I think it was pretty fabulous. They put a "9" candle on it because that was the only candle they had. What's funny about that is that earlier in the day, when we were alone, I asked Jamie how old he thought Mommy was today and he said, "Nine."

I got a new electric razor. I'm generally too lazy to shave my own legs and my husband does it for me. Yeah, I'm spoiled like that. :) I love the Lady Remington wet/dry shaver and the screen broke on my old one so I got a new one for my birthday.

I got a cute little card from my baby boy and a pencil holder. Too precious.

I got some pictures of Jamie with Pap. He got to come home yesterday. They have called Hospice in and he will not be returning to the hospital. He was lucid and even played with Jamie a little. Jamie is a little afraid of him, so we were lucky to get them sitting together and a couple of pictures with all the kids.

Just for the record. I payed attention to the story he was telling tonight. He talked at length about how he dropped out of school and wish he hadn't because it held him up a little bit in his career as a builder, but that he was exceptionally good at math and that was the only reason he was able to be so successful. Jamie already shows such an interest in numbers and Matthew is extremely good at math. Perhaps it is hereditary.

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Coming Home

Every day I stand at the corner. I wait anxiously for my buggaboo to get home. Waiting at the corner is boring and it always feels like I'm standing there forever, especially when the weather is bad.

Then I see the bus coming over the hill. I always smile as I see it approach.

Soon, it stops in front of me and the doors swing open. There's my Jamie! I get a smile and a big hug. I swing him around and give him a kiss. I ask if he had a good day at school and he says "Yes."

He hands me his backpack and runs toward the house with me trailing behind him.