Mom Problems #5

Ok.  I try to keep these mom problems light and funny.  Silly things that happen only when you become a mom.  But today, this problem is serious.  It's one I have been struggling with for a while.  I've tried different ways to deal with it, but they don't seem to be working.  It's fear.  Fear that something, sometime, somewhere will happen to Gunnar.  

Now, I'm not talking about crazy, freak accidents that no one can control.  I'm talking about all the things the news bombards you with on a regular basis.  Kidnappings, murder, abuse, homelessness, hunger, and let's throw in ISIS too.  These things bothered me before I had a baby.  But now, hearing any story about something bad happening to a child, or a baby animal for that matter, makes me physically upset.  Like boarder line crying and hyperventilating.  It's really becoming a problem.  I have blocked a lot of things from my FB news feed, but things still slip in there.  I'm debating about getting rid of FB for a while.  

I don't watch or read the news any more.  I don't even go to the Yahoo main site because there is bad news right in your face the second you get on there.  I have decided the only way to keep my sanity is to become ignorant.  But, if you know me, that is near impossible for me to accomplish.  I like to be well informed but it's becoming crippling to be so.  I am angry at our government for not doing a better job.  I am angry at other governments for not doing a better job.  I am mad that I can't fight to protect my family the way I would like.  I am mad that I can't fight to protect ALL the children EVERYWHERE the way I would like.  

I know that the word needs to be spread about these things so that people can do something about it.  You can't change something if you don't know it needs to be changed.  I just can't seem to compartmentalize this horrible information in a way that doesn't eat at me.  A normal person would hear a terrible story, feel bad for maybe a day, lock that knowledge away and use it when they need to.  I hear a terrible story and I think about it for a week.  Its the last thing I see before I go to bed.  I think about how it could have been prevented.  I get angry that no one prevented it.  I get scared and angry that it will probably happen again.  

This problem I have makes it difficult to enjoy the time I have with Gunnar.  I try to be in the moment, but what if something happens and I no longer have these moments with him? How can I protect him from the bad people in the world, but let let him grow to be a part of the world?  Children are so innocent.  My brain does not have the ability to understand how someone could ever hurt a child.  I wish people were better.  I will never understand how people can have the capacity for such greatness and such evil.  

I pray that in the end, the bad people in the world will all answer for what they have done.  I do not know if God is vengeful, but I do hope there is justice.

Cheers.   

The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight

Last year, I had the Halloween I have been dreaming about for years.  And it wasn't because I was taking my two year old out for trick-or-treating.  It was because our new neighborhood is amazing.

Have you ever seen Hocus Pocus?  Or Ernest Scared Stupid?  Or pretty much any kiddie Halloween movie or TV show?  All those neighborhoods are amazing.  Tons of kids in the streets running around in their costumes getting candy.  All the houses decorated.  Parents dressed up and heading to parties.  Everyone having a good time.  Everyone enjoying the festivities.  I've always wanted to live in a place where everyone, or almost everyone, is excited about the same thing.  A place where you can drop your kids off and you know nothing will happen to them.  Well, last night, after crossing the street to the connecting neighborhood, Gunnar and I walked into just that.

There were so many people.  Houses had lines of kids waiting for their piece of candy.  Kids were running around having fun.  You could hear screaming from the houses that went all out (I'm talking people dressed up and hanging out in their front yards) and see all the lights flashing.  I've never seen anything like it.  I wondered if our neighborhood was going to get as much foot traffic, we weren't as decorated as this block and our houses were spaced farther apart.  But they were crossing the street in small groups heading our way.  I asked if Kevin would stay behind and hand out our candy.  He did, and Gunnar and I went to do a round of trick-or-treating.

When we got back to the house, all the lights were on and there was a line heading to our door.  It's a testament to the kids' desire to get free candy, all of them were climbing the large hill to our front door.  Next year, I plan to pull out all the stops for decorating.  I want our side of the street to be just as popular as the other side. 

Cheers!

Gunnar trick-or-treats in style

The Bear Den #6

I know, I know.  I totally fell off the wagon.  My goal for this blog was always at least one post a month.  Clearly, that's not how 2016 and 2017 went.  The main cause was I just wasn't feeling it.  In November, I started having some weird vibes at work.  It dragged out over the holidays and finally, in December, the upper management told us that our company was merging with a much larger company.  Basically, we were sold to the highest bidder.  The company as we knew it was no longer going to exist.  If you've ever been through something like this, there are some common things that always happen.  First, some people will be retained, some won't.  Second, more than likely your job title, duties or boss will change.  Third, the dynamic of the company will change to that of the bigger company.

Now, I've been around for a while now.  I'm not a business person per say, but I do know how business works.  Nothing that happened during the course of this change was a surprise to me.  But that doesn't mean I liked it.  A good chunk of people were let go, one of which I was very upset to see leave.  My title and job duties did change as well as my salary, all for the better.  My boss was not retained but my new boss wasn't really a change for me.  I was one of the lucky ones.  But the environment that I liked working in has slowly been eroded away and that has taken its toll on me.  I'm dealing with it but not as well as I could be.  I guess only time will tell if I'll be able to continue with the company.  I'm trying to keep an open mind.

While all this was happening, Kevin's job was also going though a restructuring as well making him concerned about what the future held for him.  He came out of it ok, but with changes he is not pleased with.  Needless to say that the end of 2016 was a bit rough for us in the career sector.

2017 so far has just been really busy.  I bought a new car on New Years Eve and I've been trying to figure it out ever since.  Its a fancy car with the touch screen dash and a bunch of bells and whistles I'm not used to.  I can hear certain people laughing right now because most cars have these things these days.  I'm used to my Jeep that doesn't get fancy.  I'm old school like that.  I've also been traveling a lot.  Well, twice in a month, which is a lot for me.  Once for work and the other for our vacation.  I hate traveling for work but I went with a coworker I like so it wasn't terrible.  He got seafood with me one night and taught me how to eat Korean the next.  I think we represented our new company well.

Stay turned for some recaps from the end of 2016.  I hope to finally put up a Christmas post!

Cheers!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Haus of Kendi!

Cutest little scarecrow ever!

From the "What Was I Thinking?" File

Don't start plumbing projects after 8:00 pm. It doesn't end well. Just leave it until tomorrow. Unless there is water spraying everywhere.

Our kitchen sink has been problematic lately. I thought I fixed the drain a couple of weeks ago when I pulled the measuring spoon out of the drain. But it's been plugging up again and I'm out of drain cleaner. I needed to finish some dishes tonight, so I ran down to the basement to grab my snake. I thought, "this should be quick and easy."  Wrong. The snake got caught and I couldn't pull it back out. Only option was to take the trap apart to figure out the problem.

The technical aspect of this was pretty easy. Unfortunately my bucket wasn't big enough to catch all the water/sludge that came out when I took the trap off. Do you know how bad rotting food smells after it's been fermenting in the plumbing for who knows how long?

So I cleaned up the mess, got the trap cleared out, and freed the snake. Done right? Nope. Put everything back together and ran the water to check for leaks. And there it was…water filling the sink again. In a moment of brilliance I thought I'd try the snake again. It's currently lodged in the drain and I'm in bed. I'll try again tomorrow.

The Bear Den #5

It's been a while since the last update.  Gunnar is full on into two years old.  Some days he's the sweetest little chatter box you will ever meet.  Other days he's a tiny tyrant.  But every day he is a little boy.  I have to stop referring to him as a baby because he is not that anymore.  He's become more responsible around the house.  He is expected to help clean up his toys and put his hat, coat and shoes away when he comes home from school.  He even helps with the grown up chores, like sweeping, every now and then.

Papa made him a "tower" for his birthday which helps him reach the level of the kitchen counters. He likes being up there when Kevin and I are in the kitchen making dinner. Gunnar will help get ingredients from the pantry and fridge for his favorite meal, PB&J.  He will pick out a plate and when his meal is ready, he climbs into his highchair all by himself. He's also turned his tower into a mini jungle gym.  

Gunnar talks ALL the time now.  He is way ahead of his class on vocabulary.  He can be sassy and incredibly sweet.  He also gets an attitude and he can be a smartass sometimes. But he has good manners so we're going in the right direction.  Plus, he's quite charming and he knows it.  It makes it very difficult to be mad at him when he flashes his cute little smile. He also loves to sing.  At bedtime we sing Baby Beluga, Watermelons (Down by the Bay) and Ants (The Ants Go Marching).  In the tub it's Row, Row, Row Your Boat and The More We Get Together.  When Dada is taking him to school, there is always a rendition of The Wheels on the Bus.    

There are also high fives, fist bumps, hugs, blowing kisses, raspberries and tickles.  He says goodbye to all his teachers and friends by name.  But we need to work on just Mommy and Dada disciplining the dogs and he still hits when he gets really mad.  We read books every night and watch our favorite cartoons which include Bubble Guppies, Sofia the First, Clifford, Chugginton and Thomas and Friends.  We've settled into a routine and I think it's helping all of us a great deal.

We are very slowly and surely getting settled into our new home.  Gunnar's room and play room are the spaces the most complete.  Then the dining room.  I'm trying to decide on how I want to decorate the master bedroom but it is so hard because I like so many looks.  We were getting a lot done during the summer when Kevin worked 4-10s.  But he is back to his school schedule so a lot of the work has slowed down.  Aaaaaannnnddd....Kevin started classes for his PhD!!  It has been quite an adjustment but we've got the hang of it now.  So, hopefully, in 4-5 years, we will have a doctor in the house.  :)

That's all for now!

Cheers!

Gunnar's 2nd Birthday - Part 2

Here's the party!  It was a monster theme.  Lots of pinterest projects and a whole day to get ready.  I'm happy, for the most part, about how everything turned out.  Some projects were better than others. It was the first time we had people over to the new house so I was stressed beyond belief.  I got all ambitious and invited people I work with...including my boss.  Everything had to look great.  I think people had a good time.  Gunnar made out like a bandit again this year.  

Cheers!

Here are the details:

These looked like bacteria to me

The goodie table.  The stuffed monsters were from Ikea and were a $1!

Monster bubbles.  So easy!

I'm going to try and make a photo number every year.

Both entries were turned into monsters.  The big orange monster is our bookcase covered in fleece.

Not the best picture of the cake, but there were monsters around the food and the frame with his picture was a monster too. 

This was a complete pain in the butt to make...

Here's the Photo Booth this year!

And here's the fun!

Like I said, spoiled!

Opening presents is serious business!