Tropical Storm Irene hit New England. I'll be honest, I wanted to smack every idiot with a status saying something along the lines of "Come on Irene" or "Bring it on Irene". Tropical storms are nothing to be messed with.
Driving around my parent's neighborhood proved that. There was a tree blocking the street going one direction, a tree on a power line blocking another way, and only one way out. And then once you got out of the neighborhood there were more and more trees sitting on power lines. Tropical storms are dangerous. There are tons of people with damaged homes, house fires, no power for at least a week, and then there are the idiots talking about how awesome it is. Those people are lacking a compassion gene.
I was in Connecticut during the storm to get help with the kiddos because Kyle was stuck at the airport all weekend. We lost power early Sunday and it will be out for days. I came back to Massachusetts this afternoon because Kyle was home and our power was back on, but I feel terrible for my parents. They are losing hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of food, their lawn is trashed, they can't flush their toilets, and they have to other people's houses to shower. Luckily, they are far better off than some people.
We spent the day playing card games in the glow of the flashlights (I dominated) and ate whatever was not in the fridge. Madeleine was horribly confused by the power outage and kept asking for the lights.
And Madeleine has started biting. She bit my arm while sitting on my lap and so I put her in time out. She finally said, "I sorry!" so I scooped her up, told her not to bite again, and hugged her. But we may have to play this daily from now on.
The next two days are Kyle's weekend and so we will be restocking our fridge... the one I just stocked last week. But in all honesty I am just so glad that our home is okay, we are okay, and all the people we love are as well. It could have been a lot worse.
And I am also thankful for the little things like potties that flush and showers that run. And the internet. And that the DVR didn't miss any episodes of CSI Miami. Amen.
Showing posts with label CSI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CSI. Show all posts
Monday, August 29, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
The Playroom
Can I just say how much I love having a playroom? Our old apartment was also a three bedroom and we put a kid in each room. Fools. They still both ended up in our room most nights and the living room looked like we had looted a Babies R Us and still hadn't found a place to pawn our stolen goods. And when we had guests over there was no place to them to stay except for said living room so they would have to push the things to the side of the room, put down the air mattress, and we would pray that no stray puzzle pieces would poke their wooden sides into the mattress causing it to slowly deflate and the guests to wake up on the floor.
That was when we even allowed guests in the house.
Now... we have a PLAYROOM! And it is messy! I try to get Madeleine to help me clean, and she does because she is a perfect angel and loves to please, but we usually find a book to read and end up snuggled on the couch. I have serious cleaning ADD (I'm pretty sure I stopped mid dishes to write this post) so it might take a bit before we get back to the task at hand. If at all. Because there is always something better to do. And to be honest, as long as the rest of the house is orderly I kind of like the playroom a bit messed up. It shows how much fun I have with my kids all day and saves them the trouble of leveling the room again the next morning so we can get down to playing right away.
But the really great things is that when people come over I can just shut the door and they don't have to know. Now, if said guest is staying overnight we have a futon that folds down because not having a crib in there means we have room for that. And there is usually almost nothing on the futon so we just go and swipe the toys onto the floor, lay out some blankets and pillows, and by golly, move over Hilton family. We make your hotels look like a hostel. And from someone who has travel Europe... that is NOT a compliment.
Tonight I snuggled up with Madeleine in the playroom reading the "I love" book while Juliette crawled, scooted, and growled her way from toy to toy looking for something dangerous to put in her mouth. Until she decided snuggling was way more fun than choking and decided to join us as well. It was a perfect evening.
The playroom is a complete and utter disaster but tonight I am just going to shut the door, finish the dishes, and maybe watch a little CSI NY. My kids are happy and so am I.
That was when we even allowed guests in the house.
Now... we have a PLAYROOM! And it is messy! I try to get Madeleine to help me clean, and she does because she is a perfect angel and loves to please, but we usually find a book to read and end up snuggled on the couch. I have serious cleaning ADD (I'm pretty sure I stopped mid dishes to write this post) so it might take a bit before we get back to the task at hand. If at all. Because there is always something better to do. And to be honest, as long as the rest of the house is orderly I kind of like the playroom a bit messed up. It shows how much fun I have with my kids all day and saves them the trouble of leveling the room again the next morning so we can get down to playing right away.
But the really great things is that when people come over I can just shut the door and they don't have to know. Now, if said guest is staying overnight we have a futon that folds down because not having a crib in there means we have room for that. And there is usually almost nothing on the futon so we just go and swipe the toys onto the floor, lay out some blankets and pillows, and by golly, move over Hilton family. We make your hotels look like a hostel. And from someone who has travel Europe... that is NOT a compliment.
Tonight I snuggled up with Madeleine in the playroom reading the "I love" book while Juliette crawled, scooted, and growled her way from toy to toy looking for something dangerous to put in her mouth. Until she decided snuggling was way more fun than choking and decided to join us as well. It was a perfect evening.
The playroom is a complete and utter disaster but tonight I am just going to shut the door, finish the dishes, and maybe watch a little CSI NY. My kids are happy and so am I.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
In the Behr cave... or wherever it is that Behrs live
So it's been a while since I've done a post about daily life with the baby Behrs and since I am apparently an insomniac all of a sudden now seems as good of a time as ever.
My day usually begins around 10 am. Go ahead, be jealous of me. Just know that this means that my kids are up until at least 10 pm every night. With Kyle's schedule it just works best for me so you'll just have to trust that it's awesome and that it won't permanently damage them or cause them to be criminals by kindergarten. I wake up to Juliette pouncing on top of me excitedly. I generally have only a vague recollection as to how she ended up in our bed instead of the crib but I nurse her and after a while she's done and ready to dive head first off the side of the bed looking for adventure.
I catch her and carry her to Madeleine's crib and place her next to her sister. Madeleine wakes up, wraps her arms around Juliette, and says "BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABY!" sometimes tenderly and sometimes with a terrifying amount of enthusiasm. I let them play for a few minutes, start the coffee, and check my email. It's about at this point that the girls realize they are trapped inside the crib, grow restless, and Madeleine tries to remedy the situation but yelling, "MOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM" and throwing things out of her crib in protest. I take them out, put them on the floor, and Madeleine and Juliette take off as startling speeds. Madeleine, to see if breakfast is ready and Juliette, to see if there are any small objects she can shove in her mouth before I catch her.
A typical scene is myself, seated, trying to inspire the girls to sit still and join me for story time. Madeleine is in kitten heels, underwear for a necklace, and a purse, pushing Bitty Baby in the doll stroller while Juliette crawls across the room with much determination making sounds that sometimes scare people that don't spend much time with us and don't realize that they come from her. It's this deep growling noise. It's why we call her dinosaur.
Obviously when I start cooking or cleaning that's when they want my attention. Demand my attention. Their very survival depends on my attention. Juliette wants to eat again and Madeleine wants to read or go out. The morning goes on, Kyle gets home around 2:30. The girls are winding down for naps and Kyle wonders why I look so frazzled when they are so relatively calm. All I want to do is sit on the couch while they sleep and spend some time with my good friend Horatio Caine and the CSI team from Miami. Kyle has grand visions of driving the minivan up a mountain. A mountain. With two kids in the back for hours. Awesome plan dude.
I can usually talk Kyle down and get him to relax with me and before we know it the peace we had just begun to enjoy is over and the kids are SO HAPPY TO SEE US. But wait, all of the chores we promised we'd do today are still left undone. No matter! We'll totally clean the car out tomorrow! (It's been months)
Kyle goes to bed around 7:00 and after they finish crying because daddy DARED to leave them to go to sleep, the girls look at me expectantly. GIRL TIME! That's usually when we jet off to Walmart to grab the groceries. Everyone is happy until about the time we reach check out and Juliette starts screaming and Madeleine is trying to shoplift a candy bar and I look exhausted and disheveled as a teenage boy "Mam"s me and I leave the store hurriedly while disapproving older couples look on like their kids NEVER cried in stores. We get home and put away the groceries, play, read, and then (horrors!) I let Madeleine cuddle up to me and watch a show for a few minutes. She starts to conk out, we say our prayers (she loves praying and going to church), get tucked into the crib with our favorite Monkey, and fall quickly to sleep. It's about 10:15 and Juliette realizes that she has me ALL. TO. HERSELF. She can't decide what she wants to do first! Nurse on the left side? Nurse on the right side?
It's ten minutes later and Juliette has passed out drinking yet again. I tuck her into the other crib. I put away the dishes, maybe hang the cloth diapers to dry overnight, perhaps even shower, and finally settle down in front of the TV to make my mind stop. I climb into bed around one thanking God for another wonderful day. My husband and my girls are healthy and thriving and adore me to pieces as I them. I haven't discovered a cure for cancer or fought crime like Horatio but I feel fulfilled.
This is just a general overview of a typical day of the week. We learn, we explore, we eat, we do all the normal things that normal moms do with their kids. As they grow older I will add more and more structure to our days so as to build a foundation for homeschooling. For now though I am trying to enjoy the crud out of them because I hear they don't stay this little forever.
My day usually begins around 10 am. Go ahead, be jealous of me. Just know that this means that my kids are up until at least 10 pm every night. With Kyle's schedule it just works best for me so you'll just have to trust that it's awesome and that it won't permanently damage them or cause them to be criminals by kindergarten. I wake up to Juliette pouncing on top of me excitedly. I generally have only a vague recollection as to how she ended up in our bed instead of the crib but I nurse her and after a while she's done and ready to dive head first off the side of the bed looking for adventure.
I catch her and carry her to Madeleine's crib and place her next to her sister. Madeleine wakes up, wraps her arms around Juliette, and says "BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABY!" sometimes tenderly and sometimes with a terrifying amount of enthusiasm. I let them play for a few minutes, start the coffee, and check my email. It's about at this point that the girls realize they are trapped inside the crib, grow restless, and Madeleine tries to remedy the situation but yelling, "MOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM" and throwing things out of her crib in protest. I take them out, put them on the floor, and Madeleine and Juliette take off as startling speeds. Madeleine, to see if breakfast is ready and Juliette, to see if there are any small objects she can shove in her mouth before I catch her.
A typical scene is myself, seated, trying to inspire the girls to sit still and join me for story time. Madeleine is in kitten heels, underwear for a necklace, and a purse, pushing Bitty Baby in the doll stroller while Juliette crawls across the room with much determination making sounds that sometimes scare people that don't spend much time with us and don't realize that they come from her. It's this deep growling noise. It's why we call her dinosaur.
Obviously when I start cooking or cleaning that's when they want my attention. Demand my attention. Their very survival depends on my attention. Juliette wants to eat again and Madeleine wants to read or go out. The morning goes on, Kyle gets home around 2:30. The girls are winding down for naps and Kyle wonders why I look so frazzled when they are so relatively calm. All I want to do is sit on the couch while they sleep and spend some time with my good friend Horatio Caine and the CSI team from Miami. Kyle has grand visions of driving the minivan up a mountain. A mountain. With two kids in the back for hours. Awesome plan dude.
I can usually talk Kyle down and get him to relax with me and before we know it the peace we had just begun to enjoy is over and the kids are SO HAPPY TO SEE US. But wait, all of the chores we promised we'd do today are still left undone. No matter! We'll totally clean the car out tomorrow! (It's been months)
Kyle goes to bed around 7:00 and after they finish crying because daddy DARED to leave them to go to sleep, the girls look at me expectantly. GIRL TIME! That's usually when we jet off to Walmart to grab the groceries. Everyone is happy until about the time we reach check out and Juliette starts screaming and Madeleine is trying to shoplift a candy bar and I look exhausted and disheveled as a teenage boy "Mam"s me and I leave the store hurriedly while disapproving older couples look on like their kids NEVER cried in stores. We get home and put away the groceries, play, read, and then (horrors!) I let Madeleine cuddle up to me and watch a show for a few minutes. She starts to conk out, we say our prayers (she loves praying and going to church), get tucked into the crib with our favorite Monkey, and fall quickly to sleep. It's about 10:15 and Juliette realizes that she has me ALL. TO. HERSELF. She can't decide what she wants to do first! Nurse on the left side? Nurse on the right side?
It's ten minutes later and Juliette has passed out drinking yet again. I tuck her into the other crib. I put away the dishes, maybe hang the cloth diapers to dry overnight, perhaps even shower, and finally settle down in front of the TV to make my mind stop. I climb into bed around one thanking God for another wonderful day. My husband and my girls are healthy and thriving and adore me to pieces as I them. I haven't discovered a cure for cancer or fought crime like Horatio but I feel fulfilled.
This is just a general overview of a typical day of the week. We learn, we explore, we eat, we do all the normal things that normal moms do with their kids. As they grow older I will add more and more structure to our days so as to build a foundation for homeschooling. For now though I am trying to enjoy the crud out of them because I hear they don't stay this little forever.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
CSI Sarah
Last night I had a dream that I was nominated for an Emmy and lost but decided to go to the after parties so I could meet Brad and Angelina and learn how to adopt babies. But then, in my dream, George Clooney told me that there had been a murder and asked me if I would come with him to solve it. So I went and we looked for clues and I found out that one of the police at the scene did it. And in my dream that bad guy threatened me and so I went into hiding for three years until I felt safe and came out of obscurity to make a movie and then I went to the Academy Awards and George Clooney told me if it wasn't for my investigative skills they would never have caught the bad guy. And then we went to the after party and ate mini hot dogs. And then I woke up.
In conclusion I watch too much CSI and have very vivid dreams.
The end
In conclusion I watch too much CSI and have very vivid dreams.
The end
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