Category: Ryan

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Me Mothering Parenting Ryan School Work

Working Mama Guilt

Ryan will be five in a few weeks, and when he was born, I had a full-time job.  I took 3 months of maternity leave when he was born, and returned to work part-time for a few months, to ease back into work.  Before I returned full-time, the company I was working at was sold, and my job was eliminated.  We were in a position where I didn’t have to work, so I decided to become a full-time stay-at-home-mom.  I loved it. 

When my second son, Cole, was 18-months old, I was offered a very part-time job, working one and a half days a week, that would allow me to keep my professional skills current, but still allow me to be with boys, most of the time.   Ryan and Cole’s grandparents graciously offered to watch the boys one day while I work, and we found a great child care provider who watches them on the other day.

I have been at my job for fifteen months, and I haven’t missed anything that I felt guilty about in my boys’ lives.  But that is going to change this week.  Ryan’s preschool is having a winter concert later this week. The kids have been practicing their songs for a few weeks now.  I hear Ryan practicing his song, and humming the tune.  He sounds so cute singing it, and he is so excited.  The school is having the concert at a local church, so it is a very big deal.

Except I can’t go.  The day of the concert is one of the days I work, and this week I have to be there.  Normally, I could switch my schedule around so I could attend, but I have to cover for vacations and my co-workers working off site.  I am the only one who is scheduled to be in the office, and I take that responsibility seriously.  But it is breaking my heart that I am going to miss my son’s first and probably only preschool concert.

The school is rehearsing at the church all week, and I am hoping tomorrow and on Wednesday, I’ll be able to catch some of the rehearsal to at least hear him sing a bit.  Ryan’s teacher told me someone should record the concert and they can burn it on a DVD for me, but it isn’t quite the same thing as being there in person.  Thanks to Ryan’s grandparents, he will more than likely be able to attend the concert, because Joe can’t change his schedule this week either. 

I know I shouldn’t be sad- I should be thankful I have a job, and I am, but how do you balance out the grown-up responsibilities that you must fulfill with knowing you will miss your little boy singing about seven little penguins who are cold?

This is really hard for me- I’ll take any words of wisdom you can offer.

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Activities Cole Family & Friends Holidays Ryan

Wanted for Christmas: Socks With No Holes- Shopping for the Kids (UPDATE #2)

Today my sister, Mara, my sister in-law Kat, the boys and I, went shopping for the impoverished kids in Mara’s second grade class.  Here is the original, Wanted for Christmas: Socks With No Holes post.

Mara had received enough donations of school supplies and books, we did not have to purchase any of those.  The little girl who needed a pencil to finish her homework will have plenty, and the boy who wanted some chapter books, will have a good supply of them.

The first section we went to in Wal-Mart, where the school district’s tax-id number is on file (so we wouldn’t have to pay tax for the items), was the sock section.  Mara has 11 boys in her class, and she wanted to make sure they each had two pairs of socks, so we bought three packages of 10-count socks.  She is going to give the little boy, whose plea to Santa for socks with no holes in them, the remaining eight pairs. 

Then we did the same for the girls- Mara has 15 girls in her class. We also bought some pretty headbands, rubber bands, and bows for their hair.  Kat was touched by the little girl who asked for a sparkly red dress, and wanted to personally buy the sparkly dress for her.  This little girl will be the princess, she wrote Santa about. 

Our next stop was the blanket section, where we picked up a red fleece blanket for the little girl who asked for a blanket because her house was so cold.  We also bought fleece hats and gloves for all the girls, and Batman and Cars hats and mittens for all the boys.  Mara said none of her kids have hats or gloves when they come to school. 

Then it was time to get them some toys.  We found a great deal for the girls- High School Musical Barbie Dolls.  Mara say the girls love High School Musical, and none of us are fans of the Bratz dolls, so this was a great alternative for them.

The boys got little hand held video games- we got an assortment of racing, soccer, basketball, football, and bowling.  We also picked out card games for the boys like Go Fish, Old Maid, and Crazy Eights.  They also got some rubber bouncy balls, that Mara says the boys love.  Mara also bought several soccer, and footballs for the class to play with at recess.  The school does not have any balls for the kids.  We also got recorders (the musical instrument) for every kid in the class. Mara says they have a few recorders when the kids have music, and most of them really liked playing it. We got some sidewalk chalk for the kids to draw with at recess.  We got the girls some lip gloss, and some Silly Putty for the boys.  

My sister is an excellent present wrapper. She always has the prettiest packages, so our next stop was the gift bag area, where we got blue gift bags for the boys, and red and green striped bags for the girls.  Then we were done.

As we waited in line, Mara showed us all of the gift cards that had generously been sent in to her- some from people out of state, whom she didn’t know.  Here is a picture of all of the gift cards:

I still hadn’t bought my gift card yet, so my sister gave me some items to just buy outright.  Kat and I paid for our purchases, and then helped unload the carts of gifts for the kids. When all the items had been brought, there was still a few gift cards left!  We couldn’t believe it, and we were all overwhelmed at the generousity of people-most who were strangers to us.

These are not easy economic times, and yet so many found a way to give something to these kids who have far less.  None of these people have ever met these kids.  They just heard they needed help, and they jumped into action to help. 

Even Ryan and Cole, who usually are bad shoppers (they just get bored and start fussing) seemed to be in the spirit. I can’t recall at time, I have taken them shopping when they have been so well behaved.  Ryan was not feeling himself either.  We were there for two hours, so it wasn’t a short trip by any means.  Ryan told me that we were lucky we had toys, and he liked shopping for Auntie Mara’s kids that didn’t have toys.  I could not have been more proud of them.  Here is a picture of them with Auntie Mara, in front of the carts:

Here are two more pictures of us shopping.  Thanks to a very nice shopper, we were able to get a picture of the three of us with the items, and then one of my sister and I:

  

Mara is going to assemble the gift bags this week, and then give them to her kids on Friday- the last day before Christmas break. She has invited the boys and I to come to her class for that so we can take pictures and meet the kids.  I want to see the little boy when he sees his 10 pairs of new socks.  I want us to see and share in the the smiles and joy that these kids will have when they realize that Santa heard and responded to their requests.

Ryan told me tonight as he was falling asleep that he would really like to go see the kids open their presents.  He asked if Santa was going to be there, and I told him Santa will not be able to be there in the class, but Santa has many, many helpers.  I told him Santa’s helpers were the reason we were able to get so many gifts for the kids, and Santa’s helpers will make the kids very happy.  He nodded his head and said, “That’s good Mommy. Santa’s helpers are good.”   

On behalf of Mara, and myself, thank you so much to everyone who was able to help these kids out this year, and thank you to all my wonderful readers who were able to help as well.  There just aren’t enough words to express the gratitude.  I will post pictures of the kids with their gifts, and once again, thank you for being one of Santa’s helpers.  🙂

Categories
Cole Holidays Ryan

Santa’s Helper

I have been asking the boys what they would like Santa to bring them for Christmas for about a month now. It seems like they always change their minds, so I wanted to make sure I got the same answer a few times before Santa works his magic.

Ryan has been asking for a cement truck since July.  He has not changed his mind at all.  He said it had to have stripes on it, and he said this was his truck when he saw the Bruder truck in a toy catalog:

Cole kept asking for a dump truck. I’m not sure if Ryan Santa’s Helper put that bug in his ear or not, but when I pointed out to Cole that we already had a dump truck, he stopped asking for one.  Cole points out backhoes, every time he sees one and I asked him if he would like Santa to bring him a backhoe.  He seemed more excited at that prospect.  He hasn’t changed his mind in a few weeks.

I took them to the the toy store the other day to look around, and I think Cole died and went to heaven, when he saw, a backhoe on a flatbed truck.  He had that look like he just couldn’t believe something like that even exsisted.  As a mother of two boys, I do have to say, it is pretty cool. 

I told them we’d write letters to Santa in a few days. Today I was upstairs getting ready to go to the grocery store and I heard this exchange between the boys:

Ryan: What Cole, I don’t understand you?

Cole: (something that sounded like this:) Bahhoe on flaaaaatbhed.

Ryan: Oh, you want a backhoe on the flatbed truck?

Cole: Yes.

Ryan: Okay, Cole.  I’ll tell Santa for you that is what you want.  I’ll find Santa’s phone number and call him for you.

Cole: Okay Ryan, thank you.

It is so cute to hear how excited the boys are for Christmas, and thanks to the Santa’s helper I have in the house, I realized my little Cole has his heart set on that backhoe and truck now.  I ordered them both tonight to ensure Santa comes through. 

We have bought a few Bruder toys before and they are wonderful for boys.  They are so durable and they are made in Germany.  Germany has one of the toughest toy standards in the world, so you don’t have to worry about any funky or toxic chemicals on them.

I found both items in stock at  3000toys.com.  It was my first time shopping with them, and their prices were great. They were considerably lower than other sites I had checked.  I was able to take advantage of free shipping as well.  If you are buying toys online, check them out.

Now I think I am as excited as Ryan and Cole, to see their reactions on Christmas morning.  🙂

Categories
Activities Cole Mothering Ryan

Bowling

On Sunday, Ryan and Cole were invited to a bowling birthday party.  It was the first time they had ever been bowling, and the were oh-so excited to go.

Ryan thought it was great, he got to put on the ever-popular bowling shoes.  Cole wanted a pair too, but they didn’t have a pair small enough, so the lady said he could wear his Crocs.

Cole gave it his best shot, but I think he is still a little too young to get the whole concept.  One of the workers brought out a ramp, where Cole could just roll the ball down.  He liked that-but he liked moving the levers back and forth on it more than bowling.  He did slow down long enough for me to capture him with his goofy smile:

The first time Ryan was up, he placed the ball down, and then kicked it with the sole of his foot- good thing it wasn’t with his toe!  He quickly caught on, and he had a little warm up move, and one he did afterwards.  I was happy for him, that he usually knocked down several pins- he was really into it!

 The warm up

 Watching

 Doing the post-move

For some reason when it was my turn to bowl, the automated bumpers stayed up.  I haven’t bowled in such a long time, I was happy the bumper was up.  But as a testament to my awful bowling, Ryan beat me!  He’s a 4.5 year old, who had never bowled, getting a higher score than his ol’ mom- even with the bumpers up!  Guess I need to work on my bowling game-in my spare time. 

The birthday boy’s mom, mentioned to us the alley we were at, had night bowling where they turn off the lights, and light up the lanes, and all of that.  Ryan heard that, and has been asking everynight when we get to go night bowling.  We are hoping we can take him soon.

I wonder if I can have them leave the bumpers up for me.  At least it will be dark, and no one will actually see my bowling ball hit the bumper.  On the other hand, maybe I’ll have them take the bumpers down for Ryan, and leave them up for me. Then we will have an even match up.   🙂 

It is so fun to see your child enjoy something, and just have 100% fun.   Even if I am an awful bowler, it was still the best time I ever had bowling.

Categories
Activities Cole Family & Friends Holidays Household Mothering Parenting Ryan

Another Thrilling Update

I wish I had a brilliant or at least somewhat exciting update for you, but I don’t. 

We’ve been working on the house, and trying to get everything else done in daily life that must get done, like work, errands, parent, spend time with the boys, etc.  I still haven’t started packing yet, but that is soon to change.  Joe started bringing home boxes the other day, so now that fun chore is on my plate.

I really don’t mind, but there is always way more stuff you realize you have.  I am hoping we can donate or just get rid of the stuff we haven’t used in years, and be done with it.  Like the extra microwave that has been sitting the pantry now, for eight years.  If our microwave ever broke, we had a spare.  Except it hasn’t and we have had a microwave sitting in the pantry for eight years.

I usually blog at night- but I have been so tired physically and mentally, I think I have blogger’s block.  If you don’t see very many posts here in the upcoming weeks, I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth.  But with moving, fixing up the house, and the upcoming holiday season, I’m not sure how much time or motivation I will have to blog.  Please continue to check in- I know I’ll get my blogging mojo back eventually.  🙂  You can find me on Twitter, and I seem to be able to post 140 character items, much easier and regularly than actual blog posts these days.

I pinkie swear I will post pictures of the new house and the progress we have made.  Joe finished painting the boys’ rooms today, and he’s going to start on our bedroom tomorrow.  I placed the carpet order last week, and that should be installed right after Thanksgiving.  We are ordering our engineered hardwood flooring tomorrow.  We have decided on a honey hickory color which is a golden brown- not too dark or light.  We should have it around Thanksgiving.  It has to cure at room temperature for a week, so Joe should be able to install the floor, the beginning of December.

The brand we are getting has a locking system, so there is no need to glue or nail the pieces together.  Joe is optimistic he can install it in a few days, rather than a few weeks.  So it appears we are on schedule to move into the house by the end of December.  Not sure where we will end up having Christmas- in the old house, or the new one, but Ryan is already wondering about the tree this year, and how Santa will find us.  🙂  Cole has just been talking up a storm and telling us he wants Santa to bring him a dump truck.

I’m also trying to plan Ryan’s fifth birthday party, which always sneaks up on me, since it is just two weeks after Christmas.  I booked the venue this year in JULY- so that is set.  Now I just have to get save the dates out to people, and hope I’m not over the number of guests we are allowed to have.  Guess I had better double check on that.  Ryan of course, is just thrilled to be turning five.  I’m wondering where the time went, and how did my ‘baby’ become a little boy, who is just weeks away from being five years-old?

My mom is coming out for a visit the week of Christmas and will be able to spend an entire evening, and the next day with us.  I’m excited for that, and to be able to show her our new house.  Ryan and Cole are excited to bake cookies for Santa with Nana. 

So that is all we have been up to.  Stay tuned for another exciting update in the near future.  🙂