SIGH...sigh...
Lost my full time income today. Noelle had an awful day it was REALLY bad. So bad that I was told I could finish out the month without bringing her with me or be done today. I said I would start packing my stuff. Chapter closed, I'm done with it. It's for the better for myself and my entire family.
I will still work 2-3 days per week for the other 2 families I work for. But the money isn't enough in the long run to help sustain us.
So when Noelle is in a good mood she is VERY, VERY well behaved and helpful, great to be around. When she is in a bad mood you better watch out! Screaming, growling, spitting, scratching. usually she will also hit and kick when in these moods. I was so thankful that the worst she did today was scratch and try to pinch (I was holding her on a chair for time out at the time). It's like a whole different person! And nothing we do can bring her out of it...unless we are just going to let her have her way always and expect nothing out of her. Obviously we are not willing to do such, then she would be a terror 100% of the time. I'm just so frustrated with the behavior. Back in October or so we had 3 visits with Children's Hospital's Psychiatry department. It went no where. The lady didn't know how to help Noelle, but was more than happy to tell us how to parent. The thing is that I truly believe we are okay parents. We try very hard to be consistent with her and parent to her strong willed personality (we took a seminar on the strong willed child). I also think there is something in her we just don't get. I need Children's help in figuring out what is going on with her when she goes into these rages. Anyway, I went ahead and left a message for the lady we saw before so that we can get her transferred to the main campus and hopefully see someone who can actually help us. I really hope to hear back from them tomorrow and also hope they can see her ASAP.
I am going to try really hard to enjoy the rest of my week and get some things done around the house that haven't been done because of working FT. I also need to keep up on some sort of routine to our days at home. Thank goodness Noelle's preschool is already paid through the end of the school year so she will continue going 3 days a week for 3 hours each day. I'll need that time to get a plan in action and just to relax a little.
Hoping for a better tomorrow!!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Early Spring?!
The weather last week was amazingly beautiful!! We took advantage of it by going to the park M, T, W, and Th. I take Noelle's bike with me to work during the week so she can ride it anytime we go for a walk and to the park. She has been building up some great leg muscles the last few weeks, especially last week!
The neighborhood I work in has a great park and also a pond and lake. Here we are looking out over the pond/river that eventually leads into the lake and a mile or so away into Aurora Reservoir.
She insisted on this exact picture! LOL!
Such a cutie. She LOVES to go down the slide with Anna in her lap.
Such a big kid now. No baby or toddler left anywhere on her. :(
Noelle's 4th Birthday
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
We had a party at home the weekend before her birthday to celebrate with all our friends and family. We had at least 30 people in our tiny house! Noelle had a great time and wasn't at all shy this time!!
I made her this shirt. She LOVES it and wants to wear it all the time!
Patiently waiting to open her gifts.
Daddy made her this great Mickey ears cake. He took the cream out of Oreos and crushed it for the topping. It was very yummy!
Mommy decorated the cupcakes. Noelle chose the sprinkles and decoration.
On her actual birthday we celebrated at Chuck E Cheese. The Threlkeld family joined us and we all had a great time!!
Noelle and Audrey. Noelle misses her friend so much and they were incredibly happy to see each other.
More of the story....
I had hinted at some "problems" last time I wrote. Now that it is official I figured I should write about it and get it out of my head a little more.
In about a months time, maybe less or more, I will lose my FT income. My FT job had been not going very well in the month of February. A lot of tension in the house, especially after I was told, at the beginning of February, that I needed to get better control over Noelle at their house. Unfortunately the mom I work for was out of town for 3 weeks in February and it just wasn't possible to have a meeting with everyone We were finally able to sit down last Tuesday and talk. I was told that they are pursuing other childcare options for Anna since our parenting styles do not fit well together. The gist of it is that since I am not able to get Noelle to follow directions 100% of the time I am losing my job. Pretty crappy really. They think I am too CALM when dealing with her during a tantrum. I would just love to know how they want me to react! It is extremely hard to discipline my own child in my bosses house when the dad is there all day. I'm pretty sure that if I were shouting, yelling, or spanking her in front of them that they wouldn't like it. Believe me when I say that "calm" and "Noelle" rarely go together when she is losing it, which usually only happens with me about once a week or less. (It happens far more frequently anytime her Daddy has to take care of her instead of me.) At home I yell. At home I shout. At home she may get a swat on the butt.
I was careful to ask if there was anything they wanted me to do different with ANNA in the month or so I have left with her. Should I do more of anything, maybe less of something? NO!!! They say I am a great nanny and love everything I have done and do for Anna every day.
So I am an amazing nanny, but since my own child can act out and not follow directions I can no longer care for their child. SO FRUSTRATING!!
Despite my frustration with the whole situation, I actually do think this is for the better. I am seriously considering taking a CNA course and going to work for PASCO. They do home health care. I think I would really enjoy it and would be very good at it. The mom in a family I have worked for for almost 4 years now works for them. She says it is a great company to work for and thinks I would be great at it.
Lots of decision making in my near future. Plus, I think it's time we do some consolidating of J's student loan bills. Ugh! I don't look forward to it, but it really would help us out to not be paying so many different bills each month. Maybe I will take the plunge and drop Wells*Fargo while I am at it (HATE THEM!!).
I'm looking forward to a nice normal March and especially to our vacation to New Jersey in a few weeks!! Can't wait to go relax with some of my very favorite people. The kids, and cousins, are all so excited! This will be our first trip out there since they moved before Noelle was even born.
In about a months time, maybe less or more, I will lose my FT income. My FT job had been not going very well in the month of February. A lot of tension in the house, especially after I was told, at the beginning of February, that I needed to get better control over Noelle at their house. Unfortunately the mom I work for was out of town for 3 weeks in February and it just wasn't possible to have a meeting with everyone We were finally able to sit down last Tuesday and talk. I was told that they are pursuing other childcare options for Anna since our parenting styles do not fit well together. The gist of it is that since I am not able to get Noelle to follow directions 100% of the time I am losing my job. Pretty crappy really. They think I am too CALM when dealing with her during a tantrum. I would just love to know how they want me to react! It is extremely hard to discipline my own child in my bosses house when the dad is there all day. I'm pretty sure that if I were shouting, yelling, or spanking her in front of them that they wouldn't like it. Believe me when I say that "calm" and "Noelle" rarely go together when she is losing it, which usually only happens with me about once a week or less. (It happens far more frequently anytime her Daddy has to take care of her instead of me.) At home I yell. At home I shout. At home she may get a swat on the butt.
I was careful to ask if there was anything they wanted me to do different with ANNA in the month or so I have left with her. Should I do more of anything, maybe less of something? NO!!! They say I am a great nanny and love everything I have done and do for Anna every day.
So I am an amazing nanny, but since my own child can act out and not follow directions I can no longer care for their child. SO FRUSTRATING!!
Despite my frustration with the whole situation, I actually do think this is for the better. I am seriously considering taking a CNA course and going to work for PASCO. They do home health care. I think I would really enjoy it and would be very good at it. The mom in a family I have worked for for almost 4 years now works for them. She says it is a great company to work for and thinks I would be great at it.
Lots of decision making in my near future. Plus, I think it's time we do some consolidating of J's student loan bills. Ugh! I don't look forward to it, but it really would help us out to not be paying so many different bills each month. Maybe I will take the plunge and drop Wells*Fargo while I am at it (HATE THEM!!).
I'm looking forward to a nice normal March and especially to our vacation to New Jersey in a few weeks!! Can't wait to go relax with some of my very favorite people. The kids, and cousins, are all so excited! This will be our first trip out there since they moved before Noelle was even born.
Friday, February 25, 2011
And I'm Back
The last few months have been hectic and at times very stressful. When life gets too busy and/or stressful I tend to fall off the face of the Earth for a while. I guess that's what has happened here. I hope that by starting to blog about our family and life again I can handle everything a little better. If nothing else I need the outlet to spare my friends and family from my 'problems', LOL!
Back in October I made the very hard decision to leave my wonderful part time position in order to take a full time one. It was such a hard thing to do. I enjoyed only working 3 days a week and genuinely like the family I was working for, not to count the fact that I LOVE Aud and Lex with all my heart. When the opportunity to work full time Monday-Friday fell in my lap in October I felt it was the right thing to do for myself and my family. So here I am, over 3 months into working full time 6 days a week, and NOT handling it very well. I never could have imagined it would be so hard!! I thought I 'needed' to be out of the house all day for work in order to stay sane. I absolutely LOVE the 12 month old girl I am now working with, but NOTHING about this position has been easy (except that I still get my Zachy twice a week, I adore and love that little guy so much). LOL, did you catch the '6' in there? Yup, I still work most Sundays with Sweet Bianca up North.
Okay, enough about me, for now. There are three other people and a dog in our house.
J has been extra busy planning and prepping for the big 3-0 this summer. King's Day 2011 - coming this July to Picadilly Way. Let's see...making weapons, designing and hand writing invites (in calligraphy), figuring out the games and tokens, and so many more things have kept him very busy. A funny side note: He is truly enjoying my laziness around the house. He just doesn't agree with the level of cleanliness I always strived for.
Adam is going to turn 7 in April and is in the First grade. Adam definitely has his Daddy and I's love of reading. From the time school started at the end of July through his conferences in October he gained close to a full grade level in reading and comprehension! His DRA, what our district uses to asses reading level, was 18 at that 1st conference and is estimated to be at about 30 now. That puts him at a high 2nd grade or low 3rd grade level. I couldn't be prouder! I love that reading is such a strength for him. Now if I can just get him to take his time when doing his other work so that I can actually read what he writes. He's so sloppy! Adam's other big achievement this school year has been that he has now lost 6 teeth in just a few months!! We teased him at Christmas that "All he wanted was his 2 front teeth.", but really he was missing a couple more. He has an Orthodontist appointment this Monday. We expect that he will need teeth pulled since he has a small mouth just like J and I. This last tooth he lost was actually pushed out by a new tooth so that it could take up 2 spots worth. Ugh, I see payment plans in our future.
Noelle is in her first year of preschool and just celebrated her 4th Birthday in January. She started the school year in a district school but I recently switched her to a Christian Preschool close to home. She spent over 5 months in our school district and never adjusted to the classroom she was in. I also don't believe she was learning anything at school. We both LOVE her new Preschool!! They have been very welcoming and it is clear that she is learning and making friends. She can't wait to go to school now! She had her first turn as the Special Helper today and liked getting to take a special 'About Me' poster and lead the class in many parts of their day. A couple days ago we took away all the pull ups that we have relied on for rest time and overnight for a year and a half to two years now. It's an experiment to see if we can train her body to wake her up when she needs to pee. I discovered that she will potty in the pull up even if she is awake, which is what prompted this whole thing. It hasn't been too bad so far. We have her go potty right before lights out and then wake her at about 10pm or so and have her go again. So far she has woken up at 5:45 both mornings with wet pj's and bed. I am assuming she is peeing and waking up right afterwards or during, but there really is no way to know. I want to give this at least a good week to see if it will work. In the meantime I am doing laundry every morning and night to make sure the wet stuff gets washed right away.
Oh, the dog! Shadow is such a good doggie. He is such a puppy still and wants SO much attention! I love when the backyard is either frozen or dry so that he can be outside to run around. I think Shadow is the little sibling of the house! He and Noelle have such a love/hate relationship still. She adores and hugs on him when she is in a good mood. But watch out if she is mad or angry because she will take it out on him just as easily as anyone else.
There's so much more in my mind! But it will have to wait until another day.
Back in October I made the very hard decision to leave my wonderful part time position in order to take a full time one. It was such a hard thing to do. I enjoyed only working 3 days a week and genuinely like the family I was working for, not to count the fact that I LOVE Aud and Lex with all my heart. When the opportunity to work full time Monday-Friday fell in my lap in October I felt it was the right thing to do for myself and my family. So here I am, over 3 months into working full time 6 days a week, and NOT handling it very well. I never could have imagined it would be so hard!! I thought I 'needed' to be out of the house all day for work in order to stay sane. I absolutely LOVE the 12 month old girl I am now working with, but NOTHING about this position has been easy (except that I still get my Zachy twice a week, I adore and love that little guy so much). LOL, did you catch the '6' in there? Yup, I still work most Sundays with Sweet Bianca up North.
Okay, enough about me, for now. There are three other people and a dog in our house.
J has been extra busy planning and prepping for the big 3-0 this summer. King's Day 2011 - coming this July to Picadilly Way. Let's see...making weapons, designing and hand writing invites (in calligraphy), figuring out the games and tokens, and so many more things have kept him very busy. A funny side note: He is truly enjoying my laziness around the house. He just doesn't agree with the level of cleanliness I always strived for.
Adam is going to turn 7 in April and is in the First grade. Adam definitely has his Daddy and I's love of reading. From the time school started at the end of July through his conferences in October he gained close to a full grade level in reading and comprehension! His DRA, what our district uses to asses reading level, was 18 at that 1st conference and is estimated to be at about 30 now. That puts him at a high 2nd grade or low 3rd grade level. I couldn't be prouder! I love that reading is such a strength for him. Now if I can just get him to take his time when doing his other work so that I can actually read what he writes. He's so sloppy! Adam's other big achievement this school year has been that he has now lost 6 teeth in just a few months!! We teased him at Christmas that "All he wanted was his 2 front teeth.", but really he was missing a couple more. He has an Orthodontist appointment this Monday. We expect that he will need teeth pulled since he has a small mouth just like J and I. This last tooth he lost was actually pushed out by a new tooth so that it could take up 2 spots worth. Ugh, I see payment plans in our future.
Noelle is in her first year of preschool and just celebrated her 4th Birthday in January. She started the school year in a district school but I recently switched her to a Christian Preschool close to home. She spent over 5 months in our school district and never adjusted to the classroom she was in. I also don't believe she was learning anything at school. We both LOVE her new Preschool!! They have been very welcoming and it is clear that she is learning and making friends. She can't wait to go to school now! She had her first turn as the Special Helper today and liked getting to take a special 'About Me' poster and lead the class in many parts of their day. A couple days ago we took away all the pull ups that we have relied on for rest time and overnight for a year and a half to two years now. It's an experiment to see if we can train her body to wake her up when she needs to pee. I discovered that she will potty in the pull up even if she is awake, which is what prompted this whole thing. It hasn't been too bad so far. We have her go potty right before lights out and then wake her at about 10pm or so and have her go again. So far she has woken up at 5:45 both mornings with wet pj's and bed. I am assuming she is peeing and waking up right afterwards or during, but there really is no way to know. I want to give this at least a good week to see if it will work. In the meantime I am doing laundry every morning and night to make sure the wet stuff gets washed right away.
Oh, the dog! Shadow is such a good doggie. He is such a puppy still and wants SO much attention! I love when the backyard is either frozen or dry so that he can be outside to run around. I think Shadow is the little sibling of the house! He and Noelle have such a love/hate relationship still. She adores and hugs on him when she is in a good mood. But watch out if she is mad or angry because she will take it out on him just as easily as anyone else.
There's so much more in my mind! But it will have to wait until another day.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Hammond's Candies Tour
Wednesday we did the Hammond's Candies tour. It was much shorter than I thought it would be, but it was neat to see. Cathie joined us along with her 3 kids and 1 daycare kiddo. Her older 2 are the same ages as mine so they get along great when we see them!
First we watched a short video about the company and how they made the candies and chocolate. They were so cute in their Hammond's hats!
Adam, Riley, Noelle, Kiera and that's baby Reid in the Snugli.
Next they took us to see how the hard candies are made. We were able to watch most of the steps in the process, such as pouring the hot mixture onto a cooling table, mixing in scent and color, putting it on the machine to pull and aerate it. I thought it was neat to watch it change colors to get lighter when on the puller machine. Even though it seems like common sense I also learned that the white candy does not get anything added to it but becomes white all on its own when getting pulled. We also saw a man cutting candy canes and a woman putting the curve in them, all by hand. She was really good at it and the curve was perfect every time!!
Noelle, Adam, and Riley. Not sure what's up with the hands at mouths, but they were pretty enthralled by what they were watching.
Next we went to the packaging area. Everything is done by hand, including wrapping the candies and labeling them. I'm not sure I would want the job of candy cane stuffer for 8 hours a day. LOL
After the tour everyone was allowed to choose a piece of candy from a big bowl. I had figured we would get a small piece of broken candy. NO!! The candy was broken for the most part but was mostly full size candy canes!! You can see how big they are in the kid's hands below. Adam, being his odd self, chose a small ball of candy maybe the size of a peppermint.
When we came out of the building there was a rather big toad just sitting there on the railing/wall to go down to the parking lot. The kids loved it and I am still amazed to have seen him in full sun at 11am, nowhere near water or grass.
Cole, Noelle, and Griff
After the tour we headed across town to a nice park with a gazebo and had lunch and let the kids play for a couple hours. We stopped for a potty break before heading home and I allowed the kids to each get a Slurpee of their own. It was the only money I spent for the whole outing! We had a fun day and I am so happy I finally got to do the tour!!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Dolls and Waterfalls
The kids, all 4 of them, have really been bugging me this week. To get out of the house on Monday we went to the bank, the gas station for a Dr. Pepper, then to the park for a little bit. Tuesday I decided to head over to the local mall so we could check out the American Girl store. I've been wanting to take Noelle since it opened months ago. It was really neat to walk around and see all the different dolls set up in dioramas that coincided with the era the girl is from. She seemed really overwhelmed at first. She was more interested in the "extras" than the actual dolls. The last spot we went to was the room with the Bitty Twins and Bitty Babies. Her little eyes lit up right away! It was so sweet!
When we were done looking around the store we walked around outside for a little while. It was so nice out!! The kids all liked the waterfalls!
I keep telling him that he has got to STOP making these signs, but he just doesn't get it! He always looks like he is flashing gang signs in pictures.
Aud, Noelle, Adam, and Lex looking at the waterfall in the following picture.
So pretty!
Aud, Adam, and Noelle
Adam and Noelle thought this dog statue was awesome and asked me to take their picture with it.
Adam has been going to work with me this summer, nearly 5 weeks now. One of the things I ask off him is that he read to Aud most days. Before rest time on Tuesday they cuddled up to read a book together. She is going to miss her buddy when he goes back to school this coming Tuesday. Good thing it's only for 9 weeks and then she will have him back for 3 more weeks!
The BIG Trike
All the kids in the neighborhood LOVE the big sized tricycle. Noelle can just barely ride it.
Noelle and Maddy Jo
Adam and Heidi
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Adam's Team Picnic and Awards
First off - Adam won his game ball Wednesday!!! He played a really great game!
These balls are very special since they are 2010 REDS Spring Training balls.
Adam's team played the Red Sox again today, this was who they played Wednesday. The Red Sox coach said we are the 2 best teams he has played this year and he could not believe the way our team's friends and family show up to support the kids. Both of which were great compliments!
Grandpa Ron, Grandma Sheri, Heidi, Brent, Riley, Keelie, and Danny all showed up to cheer Adam on today!!
Riley and Keelie even made a sign for him!!
(I overheard the Red Sox coach mention about this sign as well!)
Getting ready for the game.
AWARDS!!
Adam received the Scott Rolen Award, a ball signed by Mike Leake (the REDS Pitcher), baseball cards, and will get on Monday a ball signed by every team mate and coach.
Thank you to Coach Eric, Coach Mike, Coach Steve, and Coach Larry for an amazing season!!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
A child's mind...
...never forgets!! Even though I slept til 9am this morning (I was really tired) Noelle waited to eat breakfast because I had told her last night that we could make muffins. And sure enough, we did!
Since she is currently off dairy we made them with Very Vanilla Soy Milk. I couldn't taste a difference, but they didn't hold together as well as normal. That could have been because I got distracted and left them in too long though. The kids didn't mind at all.
I always use my stand mixer now and Noelle loves to watch it go round and tell me when it is mixed well. She also poured everything in and put the papers in the muffin tin. She is a great kitchen helper!! She also helps me grind my coffee on the mornings we are at home. She will hold the button down with just 1 finger and then tell me her finger hurts afterward. LOL She will proceed to watch the pot until it has filled up and then let me know it's ready.
She chose blueberry over lemon-poppy seed, which was very surprising.
Since she is currently off dairy we made them with Very Vanilla Soy Milk. I couldn't taste a difference, but they didn't hold together as well as normal. That could have been because I got distracted and left them in too long though. The kids didn't mind at all.
I always use my stand mixer now and Noelle loves to watch it go round and tell me when it is mixed well. She also poured everything in and put the papers in the muffin tin. She is a great kitchen helper!! She also helps me grind my coffee on the mornings we are at home. She will hold the button down with just 1 finger and then tell me her finger hurts afterward. LOL She will proceed to watch the pot until it has filled up and then let me know it's ready.
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