Jen - There are some really great 5ks up my way in the spring and summer, but I also want to be fair, so maybe something in between? Maybe the Stroller Strides, that runs through Brookfield Zoo. This year's date isn't up yet, but it was June 19 last year. It's cool running around the animals, and then you can hang out at the zoo after!
I am so very sorry for your loss.
I should have known when we didn't get home until after 10 last night. DS slept in a little, and by the time we had breakfast, it was time to get around and ready to head for school. Where I swear the teachers have it out for me...they seem to have radar that lets them know to get out the messiest, glitteriest projects whenever I'm the helping parent. 
Ok, it really wasn't *that* bad, but I do seem to be on a streak for the glitter projects. What will actually be worse is bringing home said project...a planet: a CD that they painted with glue and then glittered that the teacher is going to attach a string to so they can hang in their rooms. Fabulous. 
Seriously, though, it was a fun day. I really like being the helping parent this year since the teacher is SO much more organized than last year. Too bad it was my last scheduled day, thanks to school.
I'm off to Orlando. BBM should be finished with the half by now, and I just texted with Paige (HBM)....on my way to the Dingo meetup (and oh yeah, the DISNEY MARATHON!!!!!!)
I'm off to Orlando. BBM should be finished with the half by now, and I just texted with Paige (HBM)....on my way to the Dingo meetup (and oh yeah, the DISNEY MARATHON!!!!!!)
I'm off to Orlando. BBM should be finished with the half by now, and I just texted with Paige (HBM)....on my way to the Dingo meetup (and oh yeah, the DISNEY MARATHON!!!!!!)
So exciting!!! :D
Geo ~ I wish you lived closer - I have some great ear drops made by someone local. There's TTO, lavender, and geranium in there. I think it saved us from ear infections here last month.
I'm sore today! My arms were shaking while I was shaving my legs last night... maybe it's because it's been WAY too long since they've seen a razor. :) My goal today - just 100s.
Hi, ladies!! Gosh, I can't remember the last time I logged on here. I thought FB was enough to keep in touch, but a quick skim through the thread tells me I need to visit MDC more often.
I need your help. I'm at my wits end with my 8yo dd and don't know what to do. Her attitude is just.so.awful. From the rolled eyes, to the nasty mimicking of my voice; she even growls and makes animal noises at me. When I ask her to to something, she only does it if there's something in it for her. For example, after I made her and her 5 yo sister's beds this morning (which used to be their responsibility, but somehow now isn't?), I asked them to put their clean clothes away--I even offered to help. My 5 yo dd's response was "I'm too tired." When I suggested that might also mean she's too tired for her playdate today, she popped right up. At that point, my 8 yo, snuggled deeper into her blanket on the sofa, turned her attention to the t.v., and replied "E [her best friend] is too busy for a playdate today so I'm not doing anything." I wish I could capture the nastiness of her tone of voice.
I know she feels jealous of her younger sister. In fact, that seems to trigger a lot of the mean interactions. My older dd is smart, quiet, and sensitive. She has one friend that she plays with outside of school. Her sister is silly and outgoing. She seems to have an endless string of playdates. I've tried doing more one-on-one activities with my older dd to reinforce how awesome she is and fun to hang out with. Moms aren't always an adequate substitute though.
I know I'm making parenting mistakes here, but I'm too ensconced to see it objectively. How do I boost her esteem and get her to act more respectfully?
for tomorrow to both BBM and Nic!Nemesis--I'm so very sorry about your uncle. I hope your family will be able to find some peace.
Good luck to all of those running Disney! I'm so jealous, and I can't wait to hear what a great time it is.
No running for the past few days, but I have been doing a lot of swimming this week. It's getting marginally easier, so I have hope.
I thought I'd sneak out this morning to run, but at the moment it's snowing and I have a lot to do for a possible mom and dad visit later this afternoon so I need to spend some time cleaning. Our floors and bathroom are in deplorable shape. This afternoon my sister-in-law is hosting a three kings day party, which I'd never heard of, but apparently it's some post-Christmas thing that involves a bunch of kids making paper crowns.
DH has been home sick from work for the past three days, which makes me irritable. I've been channeling that irritation, and have completely organized the kids' rooms and all of our basement storage space. Now I need to take some pictures of a handful of things I'd like to sell and get those out of the house. Hooray for more decluttering!
Good luck BBM, HBM and Nick! 
I'll be thinking of you guys!
Nemesis: I'm so sorry for your family's loss. What a terrible and heartbreaking thing.
Towson! I was reading through your post and thinking of all the "consequence" style punishments that I always seem to fall back on (with varying degrees of success), then this sentence popped out at me:
Quote:
How do I boost her esteem and get her to act more respectfully?
Wow, I really think you said something so true and wise, and way more life-changing than any reaction to her behavior! Maybe the answer is not a reaction at all but something proactive, something good and fun and really special, just for her. I don't know, some one-on-one activity with you maybe (biking, hiking, ice skating) or a fun project that she could help with, maybe a craft or a building project. I will also be following along the others' responses to this one.
Hi everyone! I have not posted yet with my intros in part because the idea of thread stalking made me a little nervous about having my profile picture up so I changed.
Here goes.
I have been on MDC forever or since 2001, Dh and I just had our 16 year anniversary last month. He is now happily employed after a brutal year plus stint on unemployment. When I am not with our 3 girls ages 13, 10, and 7, I am either running or working as a psychotherapist in my part time private practice.
I run for health and sanity. It really got me through hubby's unemployment, both of us actually as he is a runner also. I started running in college and have been at it ever since. There was a pretty long lapse after our 3rd was born but for the past three years I have been at it solidly.
Running goals for this year include my first half marathon in February it's the Disney Princess Half I am so excited, never thought I would get into being a princess at age 41 but why not.
I really admire this group of women so diverse and talented. I love checking in and hearing how everyone is doing. I may not post often but I always feel connected.
Welcome to the new dingos.
Good luck and I can't wait to hear from the Disney Runners.
Go Disney Dingoes!!!!!! Anyone stalking BBM in the 1/2? I didn't jot down her race number...
Good to see you towson, although I'm so sorry your DD is giving you grief. Honestly, my girls were the same way, and then we turned off the TV. After 10 days or so, DH and I both noticed a huge behavior change. Much more compliant, creative, and helpful. It's worth a try.
Real ~ thank you for your BTDT experience with being gifted in Illinois. I also used to read ahead the same way in school.
The older two are doing something called the Read and Run Marathon at school, where they need to read 26 books (30 pages = 1 book) and run 25 miles (lots of different activities = 1 mile) and on April 11th, they get to run the last mile together as a school with race shirts and race numbers! So today, we're running a mile. That will probably be my FM for the day, but at least it's something!
The older two are doing something called the Read and Run Marathon at school, where they need to read 26 books (30 pages = 1 book) and run 25 miles (lots of different activities = 1 mile) and on April 11th, they get to run the last mile together as a school with race shirts and race numbers! So today, we're running a mile. That will probably be my FM for the day, but at least it's something! I 
this idea.
Have a great race to those of you raceing today
RR hope you get some sleep soon
mommajb~It's nice to know I'm not alone.
mel~Don't get me wrong, I go right to consequences plenty of times. They just don't seem to be working right now.
jaygee~Yes, the television. That's been my "go to" consequence lately. It's doubly bad because I think she picks up a lot of the negative behaviors from it (thanks, Disney and Nick) AND it leads to zoned-out, isolation behaviors. On the other hand, it seems to be her respite, in a healthy way at times, from the chaos of two younger siblings. What kind of limits do you set?
Towson - Good to have you here mama! Sorry it's a nutty 8 yo driving you to it though. I don't really have any good ideas about what to do but I'm interested since I assume it's only a matter of time before the attitude gets here. I would probably start with cutting out tv too, or at least restricting Disney channel (and Nick if we allowed it) and keeping it to mythbusters and pbskids. I definitely notice that too much Hannah Montana can have a direct correlation to increased snottiness.
Nemesis - I'm so sorry, what a terrible thing to go through. Did he have kids?
Re:Disney tracking - So, I signed up to track everyone with email updates but nothing came in, WTF Disney? You take all my info for nothing?
Jo - Any news?
Jennie - Trial run, what a good idea! It could be great if the kids all get along, sometimes all it takes is one non-sibling (Val) to make a party.
So it looks like three members of our school board have indeed ousted the principal that everyone loved. It's outrageous. So now I'm all
and helping organize some reasonable backlash.
Okay, I've gotta hit the road so dh can get himself to a garage sale - I think I'll try out my new iPod.
The other day DH did something jerky and I've been stewing over it since then. I just ran four miles and during most of that time I had a huge imaginary screaming fight with DH in my mind (and keep in mind that I've never had a screaming fight with anyone in my life). Now I'm feeling better and better able to deal productively with the jerkiness. I can't help feeling that there must be a psychological problem with me, that I am able to gain closure without any actual input from the other person. I'm too afraid of conflict, although I don't think that actually having the big screaming fight would have helped to make things better, so maybe it's good that I got it all out in my mind and can now move forward calmly? Or does DH sometimes really NEED the screaming in order for him to understand where I'm coming from? Am I teaching my kids to avoid conflict in an unhealthy way?
Anyway, I ran, and it could be argued that it was productive to my mental state at the moment.
I'm sorry about the 8-year-old attitude problems. My DD is only six, but already has some attitude. It's mostly toward her younger brother, which really pushes my buttons. I wish I had some idea of how to fix it. Although I'm the poster child for a kid who was terrorized by her older sibling then being able to have a really good relationship as an adult, so at least there's hope for that.
Okay, I'm shivering and need to kick DH out of the shower so I can get in there. This afternoon we're going to a paper-crown-making party. Apparently it's Three Kings Day. Who knew?
jaygee~Yes, the television. That's been my "go to" consequence lately. It's doubly bad because I think she picks up a lot of the negative behaviors from it (thanks, Disney and Nick) AND it leads to zoned-out, isolation behaviors. On the other hand, it seems to be her respite, in a healthy way at times, from the chaos of two younger siblings. What kind of limits do you set?
towson ~ honestly, we just turned it off entirely. DD1 was watching lots of Nick (iCarly and Big Time Rush) and was talking about "hot" boys and "making out" and DH and I both said NO MORE! It took about 10 days of whining and fussing about having nothing to do, but just in the last week, she's been reading a ton more, doing art projects, and doing a lot of active play (scooter obstacle courses in the basement, biking up and down the street, handstand contests). For her quiet time, it's books, drawing and writing. I know she's younger than your DD, so your experience might be a bit different. All three kids have been playing a lot of games together which is nice. I personally sometimes miss the hour or two of quiet that comes with TV, but don't miss the fighting and negative behavior that always accompanies it. We do still play Wii and DS and DD1 have a DSi they play games on too.
Off to bring DD1 to her first cheerleading practice. She's been dying to cheer for years and is finally old enough in 1st grade. Inside, I cringe, but she totally has the personality for it!
JayGee~ What kind of personality = cheerleader? LOL! Cheerleading can be so beneficial... it brought me out of my shell a lot.
Just had to stick in my 2 cents.
Onward... :)
I might not be over it yet: I am being forced to play settlers of catan and am going to shower afterwards and only if I am still cold otherwise I may stay stinky to preserve my personal space. It works for ds1. (I showered this am, I wonder how bad I really am?)
I am off to conquer the invaders - traders and barbarian style.
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