Thanksgiving

We are finishing out the Thanksgiving weekend here at the Breiding house.  It is Sunday afternoon.  Everyone in the house is napping, and I am sitting on the couch, by the fire, trying to stay warm and get birthday stuff ready (Yes, I know it is over a month away, but it will be here before you know it).

We had two Thanksgivings this year.  Last Sunday, our friends from Houston came to visit.  They have a little boy who is the same age as Maxwell, so the kids were super excited about it. In fact, when they left, they both wanted to know if he could come live with us and be their brother. For that dinner, I went all out.  I got up at 5 a.m., stuffed the turkey and got it in the oven.   I made everything from scratch, including the cream of mushroom soup in the green bean casserole, and the dough for the crescent rolls.  And, I made pumpkin ice cream tartlets for dessert.  It was big and delicious.  So, we started eating turkey every day last Sunday.

Then, Thanksgiving got here.  Well, you can't skip the day without having a celebratory meal, so, my husband smoked a turkey.  I made an asparagus casserole, and we ate the Stuffing-flavored potato chips our friends left behind.

So, it's been a week, and I've made turkey empanadas, turkey salad, turkey casserole, turkey nachos, turkey melts, turkey sandwiches ... you name it, I've made it with turkey.  And, I still have at least a quarter of a turkey left.

But, I'm not complaining.  It is just pushing my creativity up another notch.

I am thankful that my husband has a job that allows me to stay home and come up with creative new ways to use turkey after thanksgiving.  I am thankful that my kids eat more than just the bread on thanksgiving day and every day.  I am thankful that when I made turkey casserole, both of my children told me how delicious it was.  I am thankful that my house is part-way decorated for Christmas.  I am thankful that my Christmas shopping is almost done.  I am thankful that my wonderful husband makes me warm fires and hot tea to keep me warm on these cold Texas days. I am thankful that, even though I wake up every day feeling terrible and I don't want to get out of bed, I do get out of bed and have two wonderful children to push me through each day.  I am thankful for so many things, but mostly I'm thankful for have Jeremy, Jade, and Maxwell.  They are my reasons for everything.

Happy Thanksgiving!

When it feels like nothing is going your way

I'm sitting here on a Thursday afternoon, wondering why I feel like this.  I am down ... really down.  The only thing I can think of is that it has been a bad week.

First, this is always an off week, with daylight savings time ending on Sunday.  Everyone's schedules are all off.  Both kids and the husband are both up way too early every day and that throws off my schedule.  I can't comfortably get my daughter ready for school and prepare myself for the boys, when they are both up before I leave to take her.  My whole day is thrown askew.

Next, my daughter is testing me, or feeling needy or something because on Tuesday, she decided she wasn't going to do what she was told.  So, when I took away her kindle because she refused to put her clothes away, she screamed at me.  I'm not talking a little yell, or her typical humph.  She outright screamed and cried because I wouldn't give her the kindle.  When she would calm down, I took her favorite toy away, and that just made her scream even more (which I expected, but I'd hoped she would see that I meant business and wanted her to stop screaming).

Wednesday wasn't an easy day, but at least there wasn't any screaming.  My husband's volleyball game was canceled, though, so my quiet relaxation time was disturbed.

Now, here we are on Thursday, and this time it was my son's turn.  After a long day at school and waiting for his nap until after we picked up his sister from school, we came home to read stories and finally nap.  I read his first story just fine and he sat in his "I'm really tired" position.  When I went to read the second story, he kept interrupting me.  When, the third time, he said "I don't want that story, I want this story" and I told him to stop and listen or he wouldn't get any story.  He again interrupted that he wanted a different story, so I stopped reading and put him in bed.  At this point, he sat up and screamed, a blood-curdling scream.  I told him to lay down and go to sleep, and he continued to scream, for 30 minutes, until he finally fell asleep.  He wouldn't listen to anything I said, he just wanted to scream.

So, I'm sitting here.  The screaming has stopped and he's napping peacefully with his little butt in the air.  Jade is playing school with her mini figures quietly on her bed.  I have applied for my 5th job this week (about my 100th this year).  I've gone through the mail and all the school papers.  and, I have about 20 minutes before I have to get up to make dinner.

I want to cry, but seeing what time it is, I know that my daughter will be in here very soon begging to play with her kindle, which will probably lead to her screaming at me when I tell her no again.  I want to bury my head under the covers and just go to sleep, but I have to get up to make dinner sooner than I could fall asleep.  I just want to hide somewhere where no one can scream at me, or tell me that I did something else wrong, or tell me I'm just not good enough.  I want to run away to a place where everyone loves every meal I cook, and I don't have to fight to get one kid to eat their meat and the other kid to eat their vegetables.  Just like every other stay at home mom out there, I want to feel loved and appreciated.

Here's to hoping that tomorrow is a better day, or at least next week is a better week.

What do I want to do?

I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old.  My 2 year old is potty trained. He even just switched to wearing underwear at night.  So, I haven't had to change a diaper for my own children in a long time.  I am done!!!

But, the last couple of weeks, I have been substitute teaching at my son's preschool, and the teacher in the baby class has been out sit for a while and I've been in that class 3 days now.  The first time I subbed in there, I changed 16 diapers in 3 hours (6 of which were stinky).  The second day I subbed wasn't as bad, only 1 stinky diaper, but still, a lot of wet diaper changes. The third day, also, not as bad.

The teacher that is out sick is not sure what is wrong yet, but should find out soon.  My big decision comes in if the teacher needs to be out long term, do I want to be a stable teacher in that class and take over for her?  Do I want to change diapers every day for a long time?

If I did take over for her on a long-term basis, things would have to change from the current situation.  I would need to be the lead teacher in the room and run the class, not the current assistant who has been running, since I'm just a temporary substitute.   But, if I do that, will I be happy.  I have been exhausted from just 3 days of substituting.

Well, I don't currently have a decision to make, but if they do need me, can I (or should I) do it?

Let the holidays begin!

October is here.  With that comes a busy time, that doesn't stop until March!  Am I ready for it?  Sort of.

Halloween is a fun time for our family. We dress up as a family, with themed costumes.  We started when our daughter was 1. That year she was a hippo and we were zoo keepers.  The next year, she was Tinkerbell, my husband was Peter Pan (complete with tights) and I was Wendy (to cover my pregnant belly).    The following year, we were the super family (kids were superman and super girl, and my husband and I were Jor-el and Lara.  And last year the kids were batgirl and Robin, and my husband and I were the Joker and Harley Quinn.  So far, we've let my daughter pick them all.  And, this year, she picked an interesting one.  My son will be Percy Jackson. My daughter will be Calypso.  My husband will be Poseidon, and I will be Athena.

I love pumpkin patches, but I'm worried we're not going to get a chance to go to one this year.  We are going camping this month, so that takes up time we would normally be pumpkin patching.  I'm hoping I can squeeze it in somehow.

After Halloween comes Thanksgiving.  Now that we live in Texas, this is all mine again.  I don't have to run from one house to another, stressing about getting everything done and being where we need to be.  I get to cook and make a wonderful meal for my family and we get to hang out together.  I'm hoping we have company join us this year.  We're still working out the details.

After Thanksgiving comes Christmas!   I love giving gifts.  I just wish I were there to see the faces of my nieces and nephew when they open their gifts. I have so much fun watching my kids on Christmas morning.  I get to spend weeks leading up to it baking for all kinds of things!  I love baking!

Then, New Years, which we have some fun traditions.

Then, Maxwell's birthday (3 this year)! He wants a sports party.  I'm so excited!

Then, Bailey's birthday (also 3 this year)!  So, 21 in dog years, which is big!

Then, Jade's birthday (the big 6!)!  She wants an explore/spy party.  This should be fun!

Then, my birthday (the big 4-0), followed by Valentine's day and our anniversary.

So, I say, let the fun begin!  Now, if all these school fundraisers didn't have to happen in the middle of it all ;-)

Love family, missing family

After the last update, I wanted to let you all know that my daughter did not get a part in the Lion King at her school.  She was heartbroken, but has quickly moved on.  Now, we're a little less busy, and I'm good with that.

So, we've been having a wonderful time, enjoying life in San Antonio, just the four of us.  We are exploring and loving life here as the perfect family.  But, I have to say that there is one thing that is missing, time with our elders.

I grew up with a huge extended family that we saw all the time.  We spent every Friday, before I started school, at my grandmother and grandfather's house.  And, after I did start school, we had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa a couple of times a week, at least.  We visited my Grandpa Max at least once a month.  We saw my aunt and my cousins quite regularly.

But, my kids have no family around.  We do our best to Skype or FaceTime with her grandparents whenever we can, but it just isn't the same.  And, we go to Michigan once a year and Florida once a year, and so they're able to see most of the family, but we don't get to see them all.  We haven't seen my husband's father since we moved here, almost 2 years ago.  And, we haven't seen my niece, Isabella, in almost as long.

So, I'm sitting here on a Sunday evening, after a wonderful weekend with my family.  I had a perfect day yesterday, taking my daughter to see the Little Mermaid at the Majestic followed by a wonderful dinner out for sushi with the whole family. We had so much fun and the great conversation you get with a 5 year old and a 2 year old.  You can't ask for a better time.  And, today, we watched Papa play soccer and made my daughter's star student poster!  She was so excited and we had fun putting it all together.  But, I still miss my mom and dad.  I miss my sister and her beautiful children.  I miss my brother and his beautiful daughter.    I miss my husband's grandparents, his mom and dad, and his sisters and our nieces and nephew.  I hope we can plan a trip to see them again soon.  And, I hope they can plan a trip to come see us in our great city soon, too.

What is too much?

We're back into the swing of things for the new school year now.  My 5-year-old started out kindergarten with no complaints.  She didn't collapse after her first day because she was so tired. She kept right on going.  She actually didn't show any signs of tiring for the whole first two weeks.  We just finished week three of school and she started complaining about her legs hurting on the walk to school. She's no longer running around the track at school, but walking instead so she doesn't get too tired.  The year is starting to take a toll on her.  But, I don't think it's school that is the problem.  It might be all the extra stuff.

Every Tuesday, after a full day of school, she comes home to a quick rest (soon to be homework time) and then she heads off to an hour of gymnastics.  After that, its home for dinner and then off to bed, with no time to play.

Every Wednesday, after another full day of school, she comes home to change and then heads straight off to an hour of Broadway.  Then, it's home for dinner and off to bed, again not much time to play, and will soon be filled with finishing her homework for the week.

This past week, she tried out for the school play.  If she gets a part, that will mean an hour and a half every Monday after school.

Her school also has a lot of other fun stuff too.  Last Thursday, after school, we came home for a quick rest, then headed back for her play auditions, then back home for a little more rest, then she turned right back around and went back to school for a Daddy/Daughter meeting.  She didn't get home until an hour after her normal bedtime.

So, knowing that she's only 5 and needs some time to do her homework and just be a kid, do I make her quit gymnastics or Broadway to make room for the school play, which she is super excited about?  She's also super excited about Broadway and gymnastics too, although gymnastics is her least favorite of the three.  Have I let her overload herself and set her up to fail by not saying no?  What is too much and can she succeed with such a busy schedule?

Back to School

We survived our first week of kindergarten and our first day of preschool.  Back to school is officially in full swing.

Jade is now on her second week of kindergarten and she is starting to get frustrated.  They spent the first week learning the rules of the class and learning their way around the school.  They got to know their teacher and their specials teachers.  Now, in week two, and they are still learning the rules and getting acquainted with the school.  She wants to read.  She wants to write.  She wants to do math.  I keep telling her that it is coming and she'll have plenty of time to do lots of things, but I can see the frustration on her face.  I ask her about her day and she says "we went to the library."  I asked her if they got to check out any books and she said "no, they just told us a story about a kid who ruined a book by spilling red kool-aid on the book, and told us that we shouldn't eat or drink while reading a library book."  The look in her eyes was a bit of disappointment and a lot of frustration.  She was really hoping to get a BabyMouse book to read at school.

Maxwell started preschool today.  He walked right in and sat down and started doing his puzzle with a big smile on his face.  He had a wonderful day.  He said, "I played with that boy."  He couldn't remember his new friend's name but he liked meeting new friends.  He was so proud of his "superstar" sticker he got.  I am so proud of what a big boy he is and how he can so easily go into a room of strangers and make friends.

So, we're in full swing.  As they get older, I'm running them around like mad.  Someone in this family has something almost every night of the week.  My only problem ... tonight we had to go straight from gymnastics to the PTA meeting.  I didn't get to eat dinner, and I'm okay with that.  What I'm not okay with is that I didn't get to eat dinner with my kids and put them to bed.  I want to our family to always sit down together.  I want to read stories to my children every night.  Tonight, I didn't get to do that.  So, I kiss them softly so I don't wake them and watch them sleep on the baby monitor, and I will give them an extra big hug tomorrow.