The Most Horrible Day At Work

I had the crappiest day at work. It started with a client stating that she never got my emails, yet she was responding back to an email I just sent her. Nice try lady.
I went to eat lunch at the park and that was a big mistake. I saw all these little kids running around with their friends, with their moms. I realized what an absent mom I am. Working. Coming home late. Never took them out to a park with friends. They have gone to a park with me before, but I don't even know what kind of friends my kids have. This made me feel like shit and was so lonesome for my little guys at that point.

I realized now is the time to win the lottery. Then I will have a chance to quit working. I'm young enough. I think I still have the energy to be with my kids and run around the park like those park moms do.

I went back to work to only get yelled at by two different people on the phone for two completely stupid reasons. Bullshit is what I thought when I was being reamed. This is effin Bullshit. The last call made me cry so hard that my shoulders shook. Then I got really pissed at that idiot lady for making me crumble on the phone. JERK. MEANWHILE, she's in a coffee shop making this call. I feel sorry for any barista that she comes across that doesn't make her mocha latte just right.

I thought of my sweet boys and how their lives from now on will forever be changed as having two parents who work full time. I have friends who had parents that worked separate shifts-daytime one parent, nighttime another parent. I thought how horrible that is and how lucky we have been to have had every night together as a family.

Now our lives are about to change dramatically and I still hate the fact that I work, or that money still matters for some reason. Why can't we live by the honor system? I promise to be a good tenant, then I can live for free right ? You don't really need money for rent right? Property taxes? Isn't that kind of outdated? For what do we work so hard for? Clothes, food. Again, all can be acquired through the bartering system. Let's bring that into fashion again!

I work to provide for my family, not to say that I saved the world by providing a great website. You, idiot lady. You are making me second guess the only good job that I have come across.in a long time and I hate you for that. I guess if I can find something that makes me feel good about what I do, at the same time gives me enough money to feed my family and allows me to be with my family more than just the measly 58 hours a week, then I'll be good in life.
And to that ridiculous lady that made me cry today at work, I say this. I bet I can make a better arroz con pollo than you.
Jerk.

The Santa's Village

We went to Santa's Village for my father in law's birthday. To celebrate his upcoming anniversary of his birth, he wanted the whole Brady Bunch there to be with him. All five grandchildren. It would have been great for him to say  "Hey, I would like all kids to myself on this day. You guys go out and relax!" 

Not this year...maybe next? However I did get a chance to go on the Tilt a whirl this time around. Last time we were here I was pregnant, and therefore the only ride that I had was walking around the horse corral with Jack as he rode a horse. I love that Jack asks to go on the Tilt a Whirl over and over again. I screamed more than he did. Maybe that is because he is braver than I am.

Look at this pic. The three eldest grandchildren. I love that my son is the leader of this pack. 

From left to right; my niece, myself and Jack, waving Hi to our shadows. I love that you can see the excitement in the waving in shadow form. I also love the detail of the shadow captured in my niece's pigtails.

My youngest's first pony ride. Look at that face. Happy and not at all scared. 

The Movie Day

We are always truly thankful to my sister, who is always there when we need her for a few hours or so. For babysitting, for a talk or anything. This time around, she came in and took care of Charlie while Brian , Jack and myself had the rare moment of seeing a movie together. We saw Monsters University, to which Jack loved. As a huge Pixar fan, he would ask months before of when the movie was coming out. As huge Pixar fans, my husband and I gave him a countdown. Three more months! Two more months! Two more weeks til Monsters U!!!! 

After the movie, we got some lunch and hung out at a pretty sweet park by Chicago River. It was nice to just run around with an older kid and not worry if my little chubby bubs that is my 19th month old was going to tumble down the slide or fall over as he walks up the stairs. Yes, these are my worries when I take Charlie to the park. He is in that "I bump my head, gash my lip, have a scratch by my eye" phase. I hate that phase. 

Luckily Jack , you are not in that phase anymore. It was nice just to be the three of us. And it is also nice to know that there is a family member that will come in and be a babysitter every once in awhile,and not because we ask her. But because she wants to. I am lucky indeed.

The Bad Dreams

Jack and I had a very intense night last night. He woke me up around 2 am letting me know that he had a bad dream. On instinct and like a robot, I led him back to his room and went to sleep in the extra bed in his room.  All the while doing this while my eyes half open. Usually this works and he goes right back to sleep.  This time, he stayed awake.  I could tell from his breathing that he was just laying there with eyes wide open.  A mom can tell when her kids eyes are open.  Trust me. 

The whole night was full of interruptions. He would wake up every 10 minutes.  Telling me that he had a dream.  He had a good dream.  He had a bad dream.  It went on and on.  I kept telling him that he can't tell me his dreams any more since it is so early in the morning.  I kept telling him that he needed to sleep and that he needed to stop thinking of whatever was making him feel bad. By the 4th time I told him this,  he  finally started to fall asleep. Now I started to hear his heavy breathing. 
But now I couldn't sleep.  By this point we were doing this whole song and dance for almost two hours and I was just laying there.
My mind was distracting me. It was telling me that I had to go to the bathroom.  I never go in the middle of the night but tonight of all nights I needed to get out of bed.  I kept listening to the sounds outside.  A freight train was rolling non-stop. I think we are about a mile away from the tracks.  But I heard the train as if it was outside right underneath my windows. I kept hearing creaks outside. At this point I was cursing the suburbs.  And all of its creepy noises at night.

He finally went to sleep around 5 am. That was only because I told him that he could sleep in my room with my husband. It was there where he felt safe. I think that was why he finally drifted. That or that he has been awake for three hours in the middle of the night. 

I am not sure what to do now with this new phase in my child's life. Do I let him sleep with us? That will only create a bad habit of which I do not want to encourage. 

I remember when I was little , I would cry out for my parents because I had a bad dream. Sometimes I dreamt of them dying and that I was all alone. I remember crying in my bed and my dad or mom would say "It was just a dream" . They would stay with me until I fell asleep. I remember them leaving the room, but I was so sleepy I was never able to protest for them to stay. My son, however is a fighter. Picking up all my traits of wanting a parent by his side in the middle of the night, and not wanting to let them go as he would go to sleep.                      

The Playground Bully

So what do you do when you are at the playground, you see your kid trying to interact with some kid on the playground, and then said kid goes off to tell other kids that your kid is weird? Yet, your kid hasn't heard this conversation so for all he knows, all is right in the world.

I took my son to the park on Saturday morning and he sees this kid and immediately runs over to him. Hey let me see your shirt!! my son said excitedly. I am not sure what my son's response was to the shirt but he looked and then just ran away at that point. I think the kid was wearing a typical Angry birds shirt. One of the many dozen angry birds shirt that my son doesn't have.
The kid then goes over to his buddies and says " Keep that kid away from me. He will ask to look at your shirt and then he will tell you that he doesn't like it. He's weird."

That last part stung me. My mind told me to back off, this is not the first time that Jack will encounter little snots like this kid on the park, and it will not be the last. My heart however wanted to march right over to the kid, tell him that I am that "weird kid's " mom and tell him he has the worst manners on the planet. I am sure if I did that, then I would become the "weird mom on the park who can't take kids being kids and will hunt your kids down if they say something bad to her kid." Bring it suburban moms. I grew up in the city. That alone should make you back off.

alright, easy there.

My heart broke knowing that this can happen to Jack, but maybe only next time someone might say it to his face. My Jack at this point in life doesn't really care if kids don't want to play with him sometimes, but he will understand someday. I couldn't enjoy myself that morning. I was feeling so sad for my son, and tried at best to keep him away from the park instigator. As we walked home, I did have a conversation with Jack on how to introduce yourself to new people, always say hi first, followed by a "do you want to play?" Maybe saying let me see your shirt is a good intro too, but never tell the kid that you don't like it. Although my kid is a huge angry birds fan, so why would he tell the kid he didn't like it? Park instigator has bad manners and is a liar!!!!

As I told this story to my husband later on, he laughed about it. Which made me feel a little better and also made me realize that I was boiling so much for an incident that Jack never knew took place. It wasn't even an incident, just something one kid said, only once.

I am not sure what to do if this happens again, do I just sit back, watch kids being kids and have my son learn to stand up for himself should such words are thrown at him? Or do I walk over, and tell the kid that has the worst manners in all history and that he should go to charm school?

The Attempt Of The Nice Photo

I thought- what a good chance to have a nice photo with me and my boys.  Then Jack puts this face.  Truly he has his father's sense of humor.

The Star Wars Day

With Brian being sick last weekend, I took the boys on a Metra adventure over to the Joliet library, where it was Star Wars Day.

 Jack has been asking when this day was going to come since he found out about it at the Comic Con convention. Here we were, June 1, it was a sunny and not so humid day.

A lot of favorite moments in this day. I like on the first photo that the evil Emperor was holding Jack's hand in the photo. I didn't notice that til we saw the photos later on that night. To which at first I said, oh that is really cute that they are holding hands. Then I quickly said " They are holding hands? That's creepy. And why would the emperor think that my child would like to join the Dark side? He just wanted to say hi to you, not join your evil team. Stay away emperor.

The fest started with a parade of Stormtroopers. Much thanks to the 501st Legion - they were the ones that put on this show. My sons appreciate you guys going all out and being in costumes 24/7. Although they did give a second glance and were really confused when you guys would take off your helmet. It was like reality sunk in and you are not who you say you are!! 

Pure, pure joy from this kid. This is why I will go to as many Star Wars day as possible. Just to see this face light up.

At one point, we were trapped by Stormtroopers. I just wanted to get out at that point. My son was in Clone/Stormtrooper heaven. At one point, he was asking all the characters if they had lunch yet and if they wanted to join us for lunch. Isn't he the best kid ever?

My littlest was a superstar, and would fist bump Darth Vader and Chewbacca. No fear.