Hello! If anyone still reads this blog, they should now that it is about to move. Here is the new location/name of my brand new blog. My posts should be shorter, sweeter, and more frequent.
Thanks!
Moving Day April 23, 2010
Drew-bee-do-be-do March 6, 2010
We are having the time of our lives with our almost three year old right now and I just had to write about it. Drew will be three in May and he’s growing up and surprising us every single day. The thing about Drew is that he is unlike anyone else in our family and we are all having fun with him. Here are some fun(ny) facts about our little man:
1. He will sleep anywhere (i.e. . . a sandy beach, his sister’s bedroom floor, precariously perched on a stool at our kitchen island- If he’s tired, he just passes out.)
2. He has to answer the telephone EVERY time it rings and he always thinks it’s Grandma.
3. Everything must be eaten out of a blue cup/plate/bowl or eaten with a blue utensil.
4. He will wear nothing except jeans, Star Wars or Thomas the Train t-shirts and his trusty old pair of too small running shoes. (Do you see a theme? Drew does not like change!)
5. He’s been known to eat chocolate pudding and Nerds in his sleep (He takes after my Dad and we have the video to prove it.)
6. His baby sister is his absolute favorite person on the earth.
7. He is utterly helpful. If I ask my two older kids to do something, Drew has already done it before they even acknowledge that I am speaking to them.
8. His favorite food is pizza.
9. He never refuses a cuddling opportunity. He’s like a little teddy bear. Oh. So. Sweet.
10. He’s fiercely stubborn (as I suppose many two year olds to be). Case in point- refused to even sit on the potty for two whole months then decided to potty train himself in two days flat. Evidently, he likes to do things on his own terms.
11. Has the best “If Looks Could Kill” face out of anyone I know.
12. He tells a mean knock-knock joke!
Drew is a complete character and we are so proud/happy to know him. Thanks for making our lives better, little man!
Peace Talks February 19, 2010
One of the biggest discussions floating around our house as of late has been about being “peacemakers”. In a house with lots of kids (or any house for that matter) there is bound to be conflict. But I really want my kids to grow up with a sense of being on a team and to look for ways to deal with conflict that are constructive. I want them to know that we are all here to support one another and cheer each other on, even if we don’t always agree. And it is important to recognize as parents ways in which we may inadvertantly create competition between our kids and make sure that we are able to keep it healthy. Because a little healthy competition can be fun and drive us to be our best. And being able to “talk things out” when you don’t agree seems like an important tool to have in life.
My kids have had lots of successes in this area lately and I am very proud of their ability to put their selfishness aside and make decisions that are good for the family and others. But then of course we also have had our challenges. This is what I am talking about:
Kate: Daddy, Daddy, Jonas wants to watch Dinosaur Train but it is my turn to pick the show!! And he pushed me!
Dan: Kate, did you push Jonas?
Kate: Yes but he is being meeeeaaan to me!!
Dan: Kate, why don’t you try what we talked about earlier. How do you think that you could be a peacemaker right now?
Kate: (A big smile spreads across her face because she loves a challenge) I’ll go tell him I am sorry. I’ll tell him that I love him but that I don’t like it and it hurts my feelings when he is mean to me and doesn’t take turns.
Dan: I think that is a great plan, Kate. I’m very, very proud of you for trying to bring peace right now. Why don’t you see if you can BOTH agree on a show together.
(At this moment we were feeling pretty good about ourselves as parents. But then we heard the crying- and we raced downstairs.)
Dan: What is going on down here?!!
Kate: I told Jonas that I was sorry and that I don’t like it when he is mean to me. Then I told him we should pick a show together but he still wanted to watch Dinosaur Train … so I kicked him in the peanuts.
Ahhh … so much for peacemaking. Let’s get right to the brute force.
Train them up in the way that they should go … January 28, 2010
I’ve once again entered into potty training territory. Potty training little boys is not my most favorite thing in the world but there ARE worse things in the world of parenting … although right now there aren’t very many things coming to mind.
My son is not so much interested in this new endeavor and I am wondering just how successful it can be if he would rather the whole house be his toilet instead of the 4×5 area we keep telling him to sit in while he does his “business”. Thus, I waver between thinking that we either a) waited too long, b) he’s just not ready now, and c) we need to just suck it up because we can’t put it off forever. (Thoughts of a five year old Drew in diapers keeps me up at night.)
However, I am committed to remaining positive about the whole thing and keeping a good attitude as much as I may want to pull my hair out. One day of potty training has passed and while I’ve already cleaned up too many messes to count we’ve also have had some bright spots.
My strategy is such:
1) Let my son run around naked ALL day… which he LOVES.
2) Use bathroom buddies (i.e. every other potty trained member of the house gets the pleasure of taking turns sitting with Drew in the bathroom so he doesn’t get lonely.)
3) Excessive praise for pottying achievement and positive encouragement in response to “poop on the floor”.
We shall see how it goes as we venture into days 2, 3 and 4. If anyone feels like sending me some more disinfecting wipes, I have a feeling we will need them. My Costco bulk supply of wipes is dwindling faster than Drew can say “Mommy, I goed peepee!” On the floor, of course. 🙂
Donna Digestion- you WILL be the end of me January 26, 2010
It is utterly amazing how good I have become at completely avoiding the very thing that I need to do. I say this because I’ve been subconsciously trying to avoid what needs to be done for LAST Thursday’s homeschooling science lesson for about six days now. Yep, it’s almost a whole week later and I didn’t even get around to buying all of the supplies. I guess I am just not that jazzed about constructing a cardboard woman with a tube sock esophagus, red construction paper stomach and 6 pantyhose pairs worth of intestines. Her name is Donna Digestion and yes, she will be the end of me.
Last night alone I spent four hours trying to get around constructing her. Here is what I did with my time instead:
1) Spent a good 40 minutes mourning the demise of the Tonight Show with Conan O’brien.
2) Whipped up chocolate chip cookies because at 11:30 p.m. I desperately needed to see if agave syrup could be substituted for sugar in my favorite cookie recipe.
3) Painted my toenails a ghastly (almost black) color.
4) Listened to Hall and Oates Greatest Hits for 20 minutes while reliving the 80’s (and wondered what Hall and Oates were thinking when they chose their hair cuts.)
5) Decided I couldn’t wake up to a dish full of cookie dough covered dishes, so reluctantly washed them.
6) Watched some guy try to come up with a delicious dish using random ingredients suggested to him via Twitter.
9) Burnt cookies that I forgot were cooking while I thought about putting away my Christmas decorations.
10) Spent 20 minutes trying to air out my house after the burnt cookie fiasco.
11) Tried to get mysterious stains out of carpet with toothbrush.
13) Spent some time researching the possible organizations to donate to for Haiti Relief (the only redeeming thing I did all night.)
14) And of course, never got around to constructing Donna Digestion. AHHHHHH!!
Thank heavens for laundry-averse husbands … January 20, 2010
It’s 9:30 and right about now I would like to be crawling up on my couch with a nice warm cup of chai, chuckling to myself as I get my fill of “pants on the ground” (an American Idol reference) and other such amusing things. Instead, I am folding laundry as I listen to my husband plead with my two oldest children “keep your hands to yourselves and GO TO BED!!”
But this is not a complaint about having to mess with laundry instead of watching TV. Quite the opposite. I’m feeling incredibly lucky that my husband doesn’t particularly like folding laundry and that I don’t mind it so much. Because it means I can avoid putting out fires until tomorrow… and my poor hubby gets … to pull his hair out 😉
I *heart* you, Honey.
Cleaning the bathroom really stinks … literally January 6, 2010
So there isn’t much time left for little things like cleaning the house now that we are a homeschooling family. And I like a clean house. It’s just one of those crazy things about me- I’m sort of a clean freak- not quite of Martha Stewart porportions- but a clean freak nonetheless. Which is probably one reason that a person like me shouldn’t keep having kids because kids = chaos.
But to all those naysayers, I offer in my defense the reasoning that I just love kids so darn much (and MY kiddies in particular) that it naturally trumps my clean freakiness. Thus instead of going on birth control I keep having to find ways to reconcile my inclination to organize with a growing realization that the house I dream of will never quite become a reality. I’ve gotta just do what I can and be o.k. with the rest going to you-know-where.
Just when I thought I had gotten over my wicked old habit of wanting to clean the bathrooms every other day and had become quite comfortable with a “we’ll be lucky if they get cleaned every other week” attitude, God sent me a sign. Yes, I would admit that it is getting pretty bad when you can’t see any sign of your reflection in the bathroom mirror anymore. BUT it is just so much work … and it stinks- really, sincerely, literally stinks … at least at my house.
Unfortunately tonight one of my dear, sweet little kiddos had been battling an upset stomach that happened to strike at the worst time possible- Bath time. Several blood curdling shrieks later, I found three kids huddled up against a corner of the bath tub fighting for their lives (or rather fighting to stay away from the several huge turds floating around the tub like wayward goldfish- whichever way you see it- same difference in my book.)
Anyway the situation was easily remedied with my trusty old friend Mr. Soft Scrub and now I am quite pleased to admire the handy work that I had been trying to avoid like the plague for the last few days … or week … or two. Sparkly clean just as I am inclined to like. Have to admit that I appreciate it much more now when Sparkly Bathroom finally makes an appearance. Yes, I must say, I really appreciate a nice clean toilet bowl.
12 New Year’s Resolutions December 30, 2009
12. Get my kid’s in bed before 10 p.m. ……. every so often.
11. To kiss my husband every day before he leaves for work.
10. Pull my baby into bed with me whenever she wakes up in the middle of the night and relish her “squishiness factor.”
9. Actually finish that half-marathon I signed up for…
8. Laugh to myself every time my oldest daughter changes her outfit and hairdo 6 times before lunch.
7. Stop bad mouthing Tiger Woods.
6. Eat more ice cream because eating less just seems impossible.
5. Wear rose colored glasses more often than not.
4. Continue to wrangle my boys and kiss them uncontrollably even though they pretend they just don’t like it because I know they really do.
3. Never again drive my minivan into the side my house. (Well, at least for this year- I mean, let’s not push it!)
2. Celebrate every holiday (even Martin Luther King Day) with as much gusto and glitter as humanly possible.
And #1 on my list of New Year’s Resolutions …. drum roll, please ….
1. To be the best Pokemon trainer this world has ever seen! Ok, I stole this from someone else (whose name happens to rhyme with Conas) but I figure it couldn’t hurt to be the best at SOMETHING.
Here’s to a Happy New Year!!
Splish splash the kid’s were taking a bath … December 29, 2009
Bath time is actually one of my favorite times of the day. The kids love it and I get to soak my feet as I watch them play/fight/splash.
It was especially entertaining to watch tonight because I pulled out the shaving kits we had included in our boys Christmas stockings and let them go to town. (They were FAKE shaving kits of course… what kind of mother do you think I am?)
Of course they all had to get in on the action some how- even the girls. What was so amusing to me is what they each ending up doing with that play shaving kit. Jonas shaved his pits, Kate attempted to get rid of an imaginary 5 o’clock shadow, Rachael threw herself out of her baby tub in an attempt to get her hands (and teeth) on a can of shaving cream and Drew, well Drew is actually still quite afraid of razors (pretend or not) after a not so fun incident he had with one a few months back- so he just put lots shaving cream in his hair.
I hope these days never end … which is why I will probably end up rivaling Michelle Duggar.
Honesty- is it always the best policy? December 20, 2009
My oldest child is the kind of kid who always says what is on his mind. He doesn’t mince words or gloss things over to make you feel good. I, on the other hand, am generally known for trying to choose my words carefully. (Which isn’t to say that I never find my foot in my mouth but I am pretty sensitive about it.)
Which is probably why I ALWAYS find myself telling my son to “think before he speaks.” In his eyes, he is just being truthful and doesn’t mean to hurt anyone. But still, I can’t help at least attempting to explain the age old adage, “if you don’t have something good to say, don’t say anything at all. ” I’m pretty positive the whole concept is lost on him.
(Case in point) Just yesterday I was teaching my kids to play boggle as I cooked dinner. They were having a fun time trying to make up words and when they finished, I thought I would point out other possible words that my son could have used. He had found “land” and I casually remarked that he could have also jotted down “bland” using a nearby letter “b”. He wasn’t quite sure what that word meant so I explained that it could be used to describe something that seems plain or doesn’t have much flavor.
Suddenly it was as if a light bulb went off in his head. “Oh! You mean like the dinner you made last night!”
Wow. OUCH. Could have definitely used some subtlety there. I mean, the truth sometimes hurts.
But on the flip side, the awesome thing about my son’s unbridled honesty is that I know when I receive a compliment from him, he isn’t just flattering me. He really means it with all of his little heart. So … I can in all honesty say that I am really content and quite happy with my title of World’s Best Cuddler even if I won’t be able to claim to be a 4-star chef anytime soon 🙂
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