"Last Friday Night"

"Yeah we took to many shots......"

"and we danced on table tops......."

Ok maybe not. 

But we did have a pretty good time.

Last Friday I went out with some co-workers for a birthday party.  It was Karaoke in a small town bar, just outside the city I live in.

It was fun!   We had a big group of people,  which made for a very lively night.

To kick off the fun the Kraoke DJ proposed to his girlfriend.  Most of us were in a state of "is this really happening?" shock. 

The Birthday girl AB, did a line of shots shortly after I got there so she was pretty much gone by the time the Karaoke actually started at 9pm.  Which made her feel like the owner of the micophone and every 30 seconds or so you would hear a high pitched "woo woo" no matter what song was being sung.

At one point early in the evening my camera was hyjacked and some interesting pictures insued. A few that are not going to be posted here.

Once the camera was back in my possesion we did get some really nice posed shots.   

"This Friday night, Do it all again!"

O.C.P.- Organizationaly Compulsive Personality

I would not say that I am a neat freak.   I like things organized, tidy, and in order.  I am not over the top about it, because life happens and things do get a little out of hand. Case in point last night. 

I looked around our house as I was eating supper and noticed that the place was completely destroyed.  Toys everywhere, papers all over the counter, empty boxes from various Pampered Chef deliveries, un-opened junk mail.....the list goes on.   

So I asked Peter to help me  pick up after supper.  I started out by doing the dishes and he began picking up various toys and what not and finding homes for things.  Towards the end of our cleaning spree, once the vacuum was put away and we were starting to get our relaxation groove on, I noticed that Carter's wooden puzzles were on the coffee table with only a couple pieces in them.   I knew right away where the rest of the pieces were.  In the course of picking up the toys Peter had simply thrown them into the toy basket instead of putting back into the puzzle.  

My sometimes dormant O.C.P. kicked into high gear and there was no way that I could relax until I dumped the toy basket out and hunted down every last piece.    

As I am in the process of dumping the basket Peter came in  and stared at me. 

I said, "I have to find the puzzle pieces.  We don't just throw them in here.  I can't handle it." 

He responds, "OK" , turns and walks downstairs.  It was not the first time he has encountered me in a situation like this.

I admit that I have a small O.C.P. problem and things like that bug me.  I don't want to try to fix this because, I like being organized and knowing where things are.  "A place for everything and everything in it's place"......not always the gold standard at our house, but we get what we get. 


It may not matter to some people that there is a separate rubber tote with decorations for every holiday. It matters to me.  I know that when it is time to decorate for Halloween all I have to do is get out the tote marked Halloween and in a matter of minutes I will be done.  (It's a longer process with Christmas as there are like 7 totes...............yeah I roll like that.)


So this is a shout out to all the people with an O.C.P. problem like mine. 

Proud to be O.C.P

It's a badge of honor.  Wear it proudly! 


  

Screaming Toddler 101

Yes, we signed up for this when we became parents. 

Are we failing miserably?

I don't think so.

Do we have our moments?

Yes, one of us more than the other.   

I am not an expert in any way shape or form but, here are some of my experiences so far.

I hate saying so far, it just means there is more to come.

It's all about patience and strategy.

You have to be patient with the meltdown.  The more you let it get to you the more they will do it.  They are smart little buggers. If you let it get to you then yeah they will shoot for the moon, go for the goal.......... then do a touchdown dance and laugh about it. 

Strategy comes into play with how to end the meltdown.  There are key questions to figuring out.

1. What is the reason for the meltdown? 
1. Is it because they want to go outside and play and you are seconds from putting dinner on the table and won't let them?  
1. Do not give in to this. It will only make coming back inside within minutes that much worse.
2. Is it because they do not want to let you leave when you drop them off at daycare?  (Sob...sob...he did not used to do this now it is a regular occurrence.)
1. I'm still working on this one, cause honestly I don't want to leave as much as he wants me to stay....but Mommas gotta work!
3. Did you take away a crayon because they felt the couch was their canvas?
1. Place child in time out and walk away.  Once the tears stop calmly explain the reason for the timeout.  They are smart little buggers.
2. My  cousin N took Permanent marker to the walls, the table, you name it he drew on it. His mother took the markers away and he says that he has no artistic ability  today because of this. 
4.  Do they want to get into the cupboard for the ump-teenth time to get a marshmallow that they lick then feeds to the dog?
1. I try not to give into this.  It is pretty funny to watch though so it is hard not to go ahead and let him have "one more".  However when the marshmallow becomes a writing utensil for the couch, it end pretty quickly.
2. My poor couch. 
2. How do you stop the meltdown?   
1. Should you stop it or let it roll?  Most of the time you should stop it.  Simply because, when a meltdown occurs in public they know that you mean business when you try to stop it.
2. Try to distract them, give them something else to do. Sometimes that works, other times you get an emphatic "no" and more meltdown ensues.
3. Pick them up and talk to them quietly, or get down to their level and talk to them.  If they don't have to look up at you and know that you are in that moment giving them your undivided attention they may be more apt to stop the meltdown and listen to you. 
1. I must say that in the big scheme of things reasoning with a young toddler is futile, but the more patience you have the quicker they will learn.
2. My Stepfather G told me one thing to remember about an almost 2 year old is that everything revolves around them and everything in their universe belongs to them.  Good to know!
3. When do you throw in the towel?
1. As in give up and walk away......when you have exhausted your efforts, or your patience is gone.  As long as there is no immediate danger to the child just walk away.
1. I have had to do this.......not my favorite parenting moment. 

So in the big scheme of things this is just a faze.....I hope. 

Until it ends the homework stinks. 

I better get an A.