Pre-K Perks and the SAHWM

I often wonder if working from home and hustling for freelance work is worth it, or if I should put on the ol' pantsuit and go back to work in the real world. But working from home, cutting those coupons and coming up with interesting ways to entertain the little ones while also educating them and meeting my deadlines has been some times of my life. Here's a few scenes from the past 30 days or so as we got ready for summer:

Downtown Grand pool day! All in a good day's work.

• Not a bad day at the office! We were given a cabana and lunch at the Downtown Grand's outdoor rooftop pool. Along with some great memories, I have story ideas for a few more publications!  

It's a little gem in the summer sun with great views and a good vibe. Aside from the pool, perfect for little ones who are still working on their water confidence, there was ping pong, bag toss, Foosball and other things to keep kids occupied. It's small enough you can keep an eye on your children and spacious enough that you don't feel crowded. The food was good and locals can get in for $5, which includes a free drink. I'm definitely planning on spending an afternoon under an umbrella lounging with some friends and their kids this summer!

• They found a bee struggling on the sidewalk. We love bees, but we do have a healthy respect for their stingers. The kids attempted to help him with this exchange:

J: Maybe we can take him in the house and help him.
M: Bees don't go in houses.
J: Why not?
M: Well, first they don't know how to cook.
J: Oh, yeah. But I don't either. (concerned look)

• Morgan has figured out that I work for the paper that she is proud to bring in from the driveway. She was reading it today with me as we drank our "coffee" (she gets juice and the classifieds), and asked if my name was in the paper today. I said no. "You need to work harder." Ouch. However, this was after a long discussion as to why they had to do their chores. Double ouch?

• Scene: Jack is working on his interview skills, apparently. Morgan has an imaginary friend, Stacey. It's Stacey's birthday, again. While driving to a play date, J and M had this exchange in the backseat:

J: "What does Stacey want for her birthday dinner?"
M: "She likes salad."
J: "Oh. What kind of salad?"
M: "Well, she likes it a little spicy, but not too spicy."
J: "Do you like spicy?"
M: "Not too spicy."
J: "Oh, that's OK. You'll do a good job."

And to close the interview:
J: "Look! Firetruck!"

I love them. I do feel bad for the white Ford truck behind us at each red light while I wrote this down on the back of a water bill envelope.

• Morgan was telling me she would spank Jack's butt if he got out of bed in the night to play. But Jack told her, "That's Daddy's job!" Morgan replied, "I want a job like that." Our little dictator.

•  J: "I don't want to learn about b and d! It's hard!" 

Me: "But bacon starts with b. And Darth Vader starts with D."
J: (Drying his tears) "Oh, yeah."
M: "And if you cry at school you'll get sent to the principal's office. (Stage whisper:) And Mommy is the principal."
J: (Long pause) "Does school have bacon?"
M: (Pats her brother's little face) "You can bring Darth Vader in your pocket if you want. Right, mommy?"
I truly have no idea what we are discussing at this point because I am thinking of how proud their papa will be over their priorities. Bacon and Star Wars. Cheers to teachers, because this takes a lot of patience! When it pays off, WOW. They start kindergarten in September. We're almost ready.

• We have "broken snifflers." (Their interpretation of our attempt at explaining why they had runny noses.) So I pulled out the cool crafts. Melted crowns + wax paper = window decorations! And scissor work, and patience, and more scissor work, then ditching those safety scissors for mommy's coupon scissors with the sharp edge. Much patience, indeed! Shwew, we made it through the craft with no Band-Aids! Although they tried. Any excuse to use the Princess and Cars Band-Aids.

Moth Crafts or More Money?

Day trip to a ghost town with grandpa after mommy puts the keyboard away.

This is my thinking today: I have to get a full time job so we can go on vacation! 

I am lucky as a freelancer to have work almost daily (including weekends), and be able to say that while making moth crafts with Morgan. She's terrified of moths, so, of course, wants to make one. So proud! 

In that respect, I am happy with my current job situation. I get to be with the twins from the crack of dawn (their unfortunate rise time no matter the circumstances) until a good hour after their actual bedtime. I write for national publications, have the opportunity to interview interesting people on a weekly basis about everything from gun control to "Duck Dynasty," the musical. I get to write every morning, while singing "Animal Crackers," unscrewing tricky glue stick caps or receiving "kissy-hugs," sometimes all at once. And I have the time to research such important things as moth crafts, not an easy task.

But it works. We've learned that Luna moths don't have mouths and moths pollinate yuccas, a favorite white flower of the Mugs. Morgan loves bees and is happy that the moths have an important job, too, and no mouth to bite with, so we have two checks in the pro-moth column so far. I even have a few story ideas to pitch to my regional editors about our winged friends.

Still, if I got a "real" job with a regular paycheck, we could take a train trip through the Rockies, which would be such a thrill for them! They are fascinated with stars and mountains. We could rent that beach condo from a friend of a friend of ours instead of staying at the remodeled La Quinta with its permanent "Please excuse our dust" sign in the lobby.

Trade offs. That train will still be there when the twins are older and possibly in school full-time. We can go another year at La Quinta, close to family we can't see enough of. The free continental breakfast includes hot, fresh pancakes, almost as yummy as the fluffy flapjacks I could whip up in that fancy condo kitchen. Trade offs.

Easter Bunny gives mommy a gift

Jack woke up sobbing this Easter morning, before the sun truly cracked over the horizon. I went in and rubbed his back, trying to coax the bad dream out of the little guy.

J: "I won't get an Easter basket!"
Me: "Why not?"
J: Racked with sobs, "Because, becaaauuusse...I got out of beeeeddddd!"

We had told him the night before if he got out of bed and goofed around that the Easter Bunny might not come. Ugh.

Morgan piped up and said, without hesitation, "I'll share my basket with you, Jack!" They crawled in to my bed and slept until the Easter Bunny could hide the eggs.

That's an "awww" moment, right? Well, I felt bad for a couple of reasons.

I had just scolded Morgan a few days ago, and I was still feeling kind of bad. I don't like the word, scolded. It's hard and, like the action, sort of mean and condescending. But I forgot all the conscious-mindful-brain link info I'd digested in the last 5 years of their little lives and turned to the hard-wired parenting that is in all our brains: What would my mother do? Except I went old-school: What would my grandmother do?

She didn't worry about my level of understanding, kindness quotient, emotional IQ. She took swift action when I crossed the line with either a kitchen utensil or a mean glare.

But it works, I'm tellin' ya. Morgan saw my face and heard that roar start to build in my voice when I called her name. And we all walked away unscathed, I hope. We'll find out later, I guess.

We've talked about sharing, and I've fumbled around with the latest parenting techniques when I've found her holding her brother's toys hostage in some childish pleasure we never quite shake or see a that look in his eye when he's about to do something he knows is off-the-charts 'No.' It kills me when my children act like... mean children. Correcting it feels like a mine field sometimes. Go too far, they feel really negative about something we all do, not far enough and you're that mom getting those calls from the parents who actually finished that parenting book.

Apparently, Morgan is getting something good out of our parenting. In a crisis, who she is comes out fast and true. "I'll share my basket with you."

And hey, maybe that Easter Bunny boycotting our house thing might serve us well. At least one more night? We could really use the extra sleep around here.

Throw out the list and build yourself a moment

We've been traveling, taking care of business and generally not paying attention to the must dos after many adult have-tos that bubbled up in the first week of 2015, such as new tires, new dishwasher and home repair uh ohs. It's been nice to not consider an online update, a foursquare check in and, well, generally check out of our online lives. However, after boxes of tissue were dispensed, chapped lips, cheeks and noses convalesced, I made a big to-do list for our first well-health Monday, which included my many online must dos. Then, well, this happened.

There was nothing else to do but throw away the must-do list for one more day of get-to-do goodness. We had a snow day! And we did all that this former East Coast native hoped to teach her wee ones in the 12-hour fresh snow window the desert weather allowed.

Snow angel, with knitted hat left behind.

My sweet twins were aware that the soft snow turned to hard ice once balled up into snowballs. Desert kids don't take snow for granted!

A few of my New Year favorite things

We are getting in to spring cleaning early. New Year's Day and the dishwasher, after 12 long years of service, called it a day. The garbage disposal, which had a small crack (possibly from my homemade fix a few months ago), was in league with its neighboring appliance and began to sputter almost immediately.

So, after installing the new garbage disposal, cleaning up the water from our attempt to fix the dishwasher, and then replacing the dishwasher after a two-day delivery delay (Kmart, you really need to step it up!), we have a new kitchen. And a clean spot.

We turn on music when it's time for the heavy cleaning, and we've had a few little singers join us while making clean spots in their areas.

Here's a few of my favorite mish-mashed lines from the twins:

"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is butter cream."

"Shut your mouth, I'm just talking about...Crafts!"

"Hey, your really gummy now, you got me gummies and I know what's gooooood."

"Who can make the sunshine? Sprinkle it with cheese. The candy man, oh yes, the candy man can."

"The ladies are gonna shake, shake, shake and mommy's gonna bake, bake, bake bake, and that's why we gotta shake, shake, shake..." (She can not remember the lines to this song but sings the chorus constantly, using her own words with "shake" and "bake" making regular appearances.)

And I found a great new cleaner that has not failed me in its many uses, from master bath to magic marker on the sofa. It's a mix of a Heloise recipe and a bit of trial and error from previous cleaners I've tried.

7 ounces Rubbing Alcohol
5 ounces White Vinegar
1 T Laundry Soap (powdered or liquid, but ease up on powdered over liquid, to your taste)
2 little drops of essential oil (I use lavender. It's just nice, but optional.)

Fill a 32 ounce spray bottle with the mixture, shake it up and add water to the fill line. Works on kitchen, bathroom, mirrors, floors. It's awesome. Add more laundry soap if you have particularly messy shorties running around who aren't fans of cleaning up





 

Milestones and Memories, So Long 2014

January – Started the year off with a few sales on my Etsy shop. Just sold another pair of baby booties! A lovely lady bought the Blooming Garden Booties, shown on the left. Jack scored at his hip hop class and Morgan performed a perfect launch off parallel bars at gymnastics.

February – Went for a walk and a chicken followed us home. It was just hangin' in the yard and wouldn’t go home. What do you do with a chicken in your yard that has 4-year-old twins very intrigued? We learned all about what to feed a chicken and where eggs come from. They still won’t eat eggs. Sigh.

March – We moved! And it’s raised our quality of life by at least 50 percent. 

April – Jack has found golf. He has watched the game since infancy on television, but his first trip to the links brought his interest to a whole new level. Ha!

May – Successfully sewed curtains and a few items for the kiddos. Who knew the tedious reading of sewing books would pay off! 

June – The twins are spelling their names without prompting from me! They are also taking off on their bikes like pros.

July – Enrolled the twins in summer camp and started having regular tea parties as a summer tradition. Have to use those Pinterest ideas somewhere!

August – Wrote a story for the NY Times, made the frontpage, A1! The twins ‘helped’ by begin quiet while I worked the phones and typed away. I love being able to work from home and be with these funny little people every day. Very grateful. Here’s an entry from a typical day “I love my jobs. Saved the kids from the crocodiles in the bocce courts as they did their gymnastics in peril on the concrete edgings, finished my interviews in the car while they were in school and had a picnic with some good friends. Feeling pretty grateful. Freelance is a hustle, a worthwhile one today.”

September – Started homeschooling and also found an amazing in-home preschool for two half days a week! They are loving their new friends at school and I'm loving the crafts they bring home! Miss Kim is a talented teacher!

October – Jack took over reading duties on a regular basis. He likes to 'read' his Three Musketeers book to us, sitting on the reading stool, carefully running his finger over the words, stopping where he knows the word and getting really excited at recognizing a word. It's pretty darn cute.

November – We went camping for the first time! It was lovely. The twins jumped out of the car and ran up the sandstone formations, immediately getting a good 20 feet off the ground. We'd have a quiet moment and one or the other would say "It's time to climb," and off they would go. I love them.

December –My babies turned 5. I still see the toddler in them, particularly when they sleep, and their little hands are still just that, pudgy, reaching little hands. But they are growing, and more fun than ever, particularly at dinner when they take over the conversation.

We ask what their favorite part of the day was and what they are looking forward to tomorrow, but they have changed it up. Morgan to Jack: "Do you want the good news or the bad news?" Jack: (long pause) "Good news." Morgan: "There are houses on fire in the valley." Jack: "That's the good news?" Morgan: "Well, the fires were put out, but only for the people who didn't go shopping late." (She said this while looking at me intently. I had gone shopping, without her, on Christmas Eve. She apparently is still a little peeved.)

Jack: "OK. The bad news. Somebody is afraid of the dark."

They both laugh like they’ve just heard one of their knock knock  jokes.

Then Jack, mouth full, says, "I think it’s me," rather matter-of-fact and nodded his head like a little man satisfied with his answer. Scott and I just about fell out of our chairs laughing. It's funny in that he will get up from what we're doing, take himself to bed because he's tired now and turn out the light. He's so grown up!  

Words/phrases to retire and/or redefine from 2014

When it comes to language, our twins offer up words and phrases throughout the year that are pretty darn cute, at first. When an older boy climbed on the forbidden outer play gym area at the local McD's, they were both in shock, claimed it was “unnatural” shook their little heads and wondered when management would alert the police. Earlier in the year, after our first big science experiment, they switched out the word 'guess' for 'estimate.' When considering a choice between carrots or celery, “Carrots, I estimate.” Adorbs, right? But there are a few phrases and words we’d like to see end with the twins' 4^th year and the last days of 2014.

Oversharing: When we go to the grocery store, the twins turn into little reporters, sending out verbal news blasts about our little family. “We can’t buy ice cream anymore because Daddy lost more weight than mommy.”  “Daddy slept on the couch for two nights.” (It was a back problem, I swear!)

"Sharing": As in “I’m sharing with Jack” while the boy whimpers he wants his toy back, please, and rubs at the mark on his head. They really want to "share" the neighbor kid’s iPad, a lot.

"Butt": As in “Look at my butt, hahahahahahah.” “I have a butt, hahahahahah.” “Jack has a butt, hahahhahah.” “The dog has a butt, hahahahaha.” “Daddy has a big butt, hahahahaha.” “If I eat more chocolate I’ll have a butt like mommy?” No, seriously, this was a question when we were trying to share with them that eating more than the allotted one piece of chocolate would make them ill.

"I have an idea": As in “Please put shoes on so we can go shopping.” “Wait, I have an idea! Maybe we go to the park? Do you want to go to the park or McDonald’s? Your choice.”

Knock Knock Jokes: This started earlier this year. It began kind of cute: “Knock knock.” “Who’s there?” …. "It’s me, Jack,” said with a bit of an incredulous pout because we obviously didn’t recognize our own son. It has devolved into: “Knock knock.” Sigh “Who is there?” “Butt, hahahaha.”  Of course.