All I Want for Christmas is... Two Free Hands!!!

First and foremost, let me apologize to all my paraplegic readers... yes, I'm a wuss.

I do not like to be trapped... it's just one of those many things I don't like.  Trap me in a room, watch me go bat shizzzzz crazy.  Trap me in crummy relationship, watch me load up a uhaul by myself.  Trap me in a coffin underground with only a small supply of air to last me until a detective figures out all the clues in time to save my life... nuts.

So with that in mind, I hate being trapped on my fanny holding a baby 24/7 or trapped with one hand available to do anything... dishes, cleaning... I am not your old fashioned lady who is okay with having a child strapped to her hip.  My worst frustration is not being able to type with two hands.  Between trying to keep up with this blog, blogging for school, doing my school assignments, responding to the neverending emails in my inbox or trying to grade papers and enter the grades onto the computer... I need both hands!  Hunting and pecking just doesn't fly.

My two hand options are- go into work early or stay late so I can type or get up super early/stay up late so I can have two hands free.  But then comes the pick and choose time of what do I need to do more with those two free hands?  Should I clean, fold laundry, strangle someone or use the computer?

While you ponder that, I'll get back to you.  Baby H just woke up and now I have no hands available.

My Daughter Drives Me Crazy!!!

If you recall, 8 months ago I similarly posted that my son drives me crazy.  Oh, how the tables have turned.  My son will be 5 in January and he is a sweet and easy-going little boy.  He loves preschool, he stays in bed all night and he pretty much agrees to anything you ask him to do.  I like to think of him as an angel now, lol.

My daughter, however, is another story...

Once again, children are a gift from God, blah blah blah.  Now that I got that formality out of the way, let me tell you about my mini-me.  She will be 7 in December, but I'm pretty sure she has aged a decade in the past year.  The attitude!!!  Here's my biggest beefs with this child:

1. Socks.  Every fourth school day she has P.E.  Normally she wears flip flops, sandals or slip on shoes and no socks.  On P.E. day she has to wear sneakers and socks.  She complains about it EVERY TIME.  Then she will spend a good 10 minutes fiddling with the seams until my head explodes or I put her shoes on and drag her out the door.  And then with the shoes she spends another 10 minutes messing with the velcro straps.  Now, I did not like wearing shoes and socks when I was little (still don't), but I don't recall throwing a fit about it when I had to.  I just took them off as soon as I got home.
2. Arguing.  She argues about EVERYTHING.  And I mean Ev...er...y...THING.  You tell her the sky is blue and she will tell you that it's actually gray.  So when I tell her to put her socks on for P.E. day she will try to tell me that she really doesn't need socks and she can wear the sneakers without them.  If we are running late she will try to tell me that maybe if her brother went to a different school we wouldn't be late.  Very contrary.
3. She is such a ... meaniehead.  This little girl can be vicious.  It's amazing that someone so young can read people and exploit their weaknesses.  She knows what buttons to push and boy does she!  She doesn't really do this much with me, but she does it with pretty much everyone else.  She can be so mean to her brother.  Then it boggles my mind when she is mean to her friends because I would think she would want to keep them as friends.  I wouldn't want to play with her!
4. She picks on her brother.  As mentioned above, she is super mean to L.  Some days when she's mad she takes all her frustration out on him and makes him cry on a regular basis.  She will tell him he can't come in her room and when her friends are over she will tell them to be mean to him too.  Poor little guy looks up to her and loves her so much and that's what he gets in return.

 These are just the highlights.  I know that she has A LOT of similar characteristics to myself.  David even says she makes the same faces as I do.  Her attitude doesn't phase me, because I know she's trying to get a rise.  But some people can't let it go and have to react about everything.  And it's not about discipline, because I think I do a very good job disciplining my kids.  I don't know why she is such a grumpy gus.  I thought this attitude was reserved for teenagers.  It bums me out because she is so smart and funny and it's great when she shows her good side.  Sometimes she says things that are very profound and she is very wise for her age.

I'm wondering if this post will get the same kind of reaction as when I wrote about my son.  Are girls actually harder to raise than boys?  I've always thought it was the opposite.  I know as teenagers girls can be absolute witches, but I've met some boys that aren't very nice to their parents as teenagers either.

Who's in the same boat here?

The Slackery Cometh

To my readers and business affiliates:

I will apologize for the recent "slacking" and probably forthcoming as well.  Between work stuff, school stuff and communication stuff, I don't have a lot of time for internet usage.  My 3 month old is attached at the hip, which makes anything other than hunting and pecking virtually impossible.  I have to use my sparse times before I start teaching and after my classes are done for the day to get as much done as possible.

I have a lot to say, just no time to say it!!  Plus we just moved, so I have been using that baby napping time to try to put stuff away.

I will try to churn some pithy words out soon!

Don't forget about me!!