Mom funk over...

So for the last few days this mom has been in a funk. I blamed it on my monthly gift, as the commercials call it. But something just wasn't right. The last few days it's been really rainy and gloomy. The first two days of the week my hubs was gone a ton (for a really good cause) so I wasn't able to get my normal run in after dinner. Long story short, I was in a funk.

But tonight, despite the slight rain (which is better than the not so slight rain that was coming down earlier today) I went for my run, still bumping it up a quarter mile, despite my not going out the last two nights. I felt awesome!

Now, for those of you who don't know me that well, I am NOT a runner. But I started doing this a while ago to take off the Monkey weight that was not budging. (I thought it was like a stingy 10, but turned out after a visit to a scale to be closer to a stingy 20. And that was after having already been running for a bit. Ugh.) Anyhow, I go out for 2 miles approx. each night. I started slow, running 1/2 mile, walking 1, running 1/2. Then every week or so, I run a quarter mile more, and walk 1/4 mile less. Make sense? So today, I ran 1 mile, walked 1/2 and then run 1/2.

I could not believe how good it felt to get out and go on my run. Not just physically, but mentally. When I got outside with my mp3 player (seriously, one of the best gifts I think I've ever had.) and starting hitting the highway my mind felt so much clearer. It was awesome. I so needed that.

So, I proved to myself today how important it is to really take care of #1, so you can better take care of #s 2, 3, and 4. I haven't been neglecting them, mind you, just depriving them of my truly happy-go lucky demeanor. I'm still headed out for my MOM weekend. (So I won't post til Sunday.) I'm just looking forward to it a lot more than I was a few hours ago.

Playgroups

Nothing really important happened for me today, but we did go to a playgroup. These are always interesting environments. A lot of the kids were older and I didn't know any of them. We were basically split in two groups who didn't intermingle, though our kids mingled plenty.

My only beef with these types of things is when people don't monitor their kids. At all. Like the kid who punched mine. Or the little girl who "ran over" my toddler with her bike. No one was seriously injured, although I had some unfriendly thoughts towards some of the parents who were completely ignoring their kids.

I'll say right now, I'm a little bit moody today. I blame hormones. However, I think it is only common courtesy to monitor your child. I know I tend to border on the side of overprotective/attentive. I still think that this is better than the side of a bit underprotective/attentive. Anyone agree?

It's always a mixed bag when you have large groups of kids, all of them used to different parenting styles and techniques. I'm getting better about keeping myself from prejudging or being mentally hostile towards other parents. However, I think that it's just nice if you occasionally monitor your kid, and when you hear someone break out in crying/screaming, check and see if it's your kid, or if yours had anything to do with it. Is that too much to ask?

I know every mother who stays at home craves other adult attention/conversation. But please make sure your kid isn't trying to use mine as a punching bag or speed bump. Thanks.

Let's dance...

So I think Monkey is starting to try and dance. She has started bouncing up and down, making some sort of grunting sound. However, she usually ends up falling over after a few bounces. But after watching her do it for a while, this was standing on Moose's bed, I decided that it looked like she was trying to dance. Moose and I had just been watching "Horton Hears A Who" (Seriously adorable movie) and for the entire last 20 minutes or so of the movie Moose dances as the Who's make music. (I must say, it really is great to listen to. Makes me want to find the soundtrack.) She was watching him dance (Twice. We watched that part again after the movie was over.) so I think he might have inspired her.

Did anything else exciting, thought provoking, miraculous, or just plain interesting happen to me today in the world of parenting? Not that I can readily think of. Or maybe I'm just losing my mojo. That's possible. I've been at this for quite a while. (A few months anyway.) This weekend I'm currently planning on attending something called Time Out For Women (TOFW) in Spokane. It's a real recharging type of weekend planned for women to get a pat on the back, feel inspired, and spend a few days away from family and responsibilities. I'm slightly not as excited about this as I was due to finances and lack of buddy (My mother in law can't come anymore. She'll be attending a funeral. :(

But I'm sure when the Time comes, I'll end up feeling inspired, uplifted and like my back has been patted. So assuming all goes as planned, I will be gone Friday and Saturday nights. But expect me for a few days more before that departure.

As we say in our house, "nigh, night"

Bye Bye...

Today I caught Monkey waving bye bye to the neighbors as we were heading inside. She's never waved hello or goodbye, but we've never really tried to get her to. (You know, by physically waving her hand for her.) But she obviously knew the word and decided she was going to do it on her own. It was pretty darn cute.

Today was a pretty average day. Aside from the kids waking up at 6:20. (For my sweet hubs, not me. I didn't have to get up until 6:45.) It was a rather billowy day outside, despite the sunshine, so we didn't head out anywhere. We have plans for tomorrow so we'll be out and about then.

Nothing really earth shattering to report on the parenting front today. I suppose there are days like that. My biggest triumph today was getting some stains out of their whites with bleach. (Although I did transfer a tiny bit onto a non-white part of Moose's shirt. But I prefer that "stain" to the one that was on the white part before.)

Yup, nothing to report. This Mama's signing out. (and I need to do dishes and clean up a bit!)

Girls...

No matter what some people may say, boys and girls are inherently different. I didn't actively encourage Moose to play with cars and trucks over dolls and pink things. But there's no denying what he wants to play with (and has since he was quite young.) The same goes for little Monkey.

I have realized over the past few days that my little girl has quite the shoe fetish. She has always enjoyed pulling shoes out of our basket near the door. But since we've been going outside more, and she's been walking around our apartment, she loves to take out her shoes and put them on. Well, she tries to put them on.

This might also just be her excitement about going outside. I don't deny that. But tonight as she was playing with her shoes, I took my high heels and stood her up in them. And she liked it.

So, Monkey has been getting more comfortable with her sign language, occasionally learning "please" and "more". Tonight at dinner, she had some food on her tray and started to throw a small fit and was acting like she wanted out of her chair.

But she refused to sign "all done".

This is a sign she's pretty comfortable with and uses multiple times every day. But she would not say it. She hadn't had much to eat. We continued to encourage her to say all done, even though she refused and continued to squirm in her chair and reach for the floor.

Until about 5 minutes had passed with on and off fussing. Then she stopped, looked at her sandwich and took 2 big bites. Apparently she wasn't done, but was just really hoping she could get something else to eat.

Although a small victory for us, it didn't last too long. She was quite the cantankerous little lady. But we realized she's drooling like her mouth has been numbed, so we're assuming although there's no evidence yet, she's probably starting to get her 1 year molars. So we finally wised up and gave her some tylenol. Then she was back to the happy lady we all know and love.

Back in good graces...

So it seems like I've done something to bump myself back into Monkey's good graces. She still dotes over her papa, but I am back in the top two.

She's been so giggly and silly latey, it's really quite fun. Tonight we had a big birthday party for my father in law. (Happy 60th!) We sat around the table sharing stories and things we love about him, and almost the entire time she was giggling and squealing in my lap. She's such a silly little girl.

She's also started using these signs regularly: milk, all done. She signs milk towards juice if she wants that. She's also starting to sign "more". It's so great to see her communicating. Next we'll have to differentiate between "milk" and "food". I love this level of communication. It is so helpful in stopping fits and tantrums. Of course, those still come. But I can see in her that she appreciates being able to ask me for something and she likes my recognition of her needs. It's really rewarding.

The red wagon

My parents got us this lovely Radio Flyer ATW wagon two years ago for Christmas. We've tried to use it when we can, but haven't had a lot of opportunities with harsh winters and moving. However, today I had a perfect opportunity.

Some friends of mine were going walking. We do this occasionally in the evening, sans kids, but they didn't go last night and decided to go around 11. Only one other has 2 kids, and uses a double stroller. I don't have a double stroller. I really wanted to go, for chatting, and any extra work-out opportunity (as I've been working quite hard to finally take off those 10 or so Monkey pounds that have been lingering) so I thought about ways to make it work. I could have had Moose walk, but knew he would eventually say he was tired or his feet hurt, etc.

The the thought came to me, we have a red wagon. So when the time came, I loaded up the kids, crammed the wagon in the trunk and we went for a walk. Them, with their strollers, and me with my 2 kids in the Radio Flyer. I must say it worked out pretty well. I was pleased. And I know Moose enjoyed it because he loves that red wagon.

All in all, a good day. No major fits. (So far, so good. Yay for that phase most likely being over.) Monkey is climbing on things more confidently every day. As difficult as kids can be, I can't help but think, in those quiet reflecting times when the kids are silently sleeping, that I love my kids. They are my world. My world rocks.

Who needs a time out?

Ooh, me, me, me! Unfortunately, on occasion it is the parent who needs the time out, and not the child. One of those moments happened to me today.

I was getting semi-frustrated as me and Moose were doing our regular school stuff and I was starting to be annoyed because he was having a hard time remembering things we do every day. Other things he remembers so well, but somethings, he draws huge blanks. I know on occasion he says he doesn't know it, but does. It's hard to tell when it's genuine. Today, I think it was genuine. Anyhow, we just took a break from his school activities so I could have a time out. I sat in our school area and sorted out some cards he has that have been in a big heap for a while as I collected my thoughts.

I realized, ultimately, that I was being too harsh and the things he was having a hard time remembering were being presented in a way that weren't memorable for him. He's a very visual/active learner. Just seeing something on the wall once a day and saying what it is, isn't enough for him to really create that memory. As I organized these great cards my parents bought him last Spring when Monkey was born, I realized I had a solution infront of me. There were 3 different sets of cards.

One has the alphabet, with pictures, and a puzzle. Another has the numbers 0-25 with pictures (correlating number of fish). The last has combinations of shapes and colors. (They are really cool.) The two things he's been struggling with are his spanish letters and numbers. I had solutions right infront of me.

He learns them easily enough, but only in one direction. If I put the color cards on the table and tell him to find me "rojo" he can point it out no problem. But if I hold up a green card and tell him to name it, it's much harder for him to come up with "verde". The same goes for numbers. For his numbers in Spanish, he only knows them in sequence.

So I finished my time out and Moose came back to the table and we played some Spanish word games with our wonderful cards. It was so much funner and less stressful. And I had the presence of mind to tell him we could stop once he got frustrated. I don't want learning to be frustrating or make my kid sad. Learning is awesome and fun! Let's hope I can just remember to keep it that way!

Ehh hehh truck...

That's what Moose used to call fire trucks. Luckily, I have the origins caught in a video file. We were walking next to a small engine in a parade, and going up hill. Everytime the engine did something, it made that sound "ehh hehh". After once or twice, Moose started repeating it. It was absolutely hilarious.

Today the kids and a ton of their friends all went for a trip to the local fire station. They had a grand old time. They got to see and touch their uniforms, climb in an ambulance, as well as a fire truck. I think their favorite part was seeing one fireman slide down their big pole. Although Moose was ultra disappointed he couldn't do it too. I'm so glad my friend thought to do it. What a fun trip!

Then Monkey had her 1 year well-child visit. Luckily, I finally wised up and left Moose with a friend for the trip. It was so much easier. My sweet girl is only about 47% for weight but about 98% for height. Our tall, skinny girl! She's so great, and healthy. I couldn't ask for more.

No major fits today. Yay! Things feel like they might've gone back to normal, somewhat. That's a relief. Currently I'm looking forward to the prospect of taking Moose (after I check it out myself) to see Disney's "Ocean". I was just talking about it with a friend today. Each day in school Moose and I talk about something from his Seas and Ocean Encyclopedia. He's so into it. I've wanted to take him to do something involving those areas, but there are no big aquariums or anything nearby. So this could possibly be a great time. Here's hoping it works out.

All in all, a good day. It's been a while since I've had that positive of a report. Like everything else in life (especially us women) we cycle through things. Maybe we're on the upswing for a while. The weather's been warmer, everyone has a bit more energy, the sun's shining, we've been getting out. Maybe that's just what the little kiddos needed.

Each new day is fresh, with no mistakes...

A shameless quote from Anne of Green Gables. Anyhow, as it says, today was fresh and it was an entirely different day. I wish I could take credit for it, but truly I can't. I did try a bit harder to be less harsh in my tone, a bit more patient and talk Moose out of his fits. But he was also a bit easier to deal with, less reactionary, and overall a different boy today. Only one big time out that ended very satisfactorily.

This reminds me of kids between the age of birth to 2. You'll have a day, then the next morning they'll sleep in til 8 instead of 6 and you'll think to yourself, "What did we do yesterday that caused this?" In the end, there's so much going on in those little bodies, it's practically impossible to replicate. They cycle through emotional cycles just as equally, I'm thinking, as they do sleep cycles. So, my new goal is to just deal with it each and every day and try to solve big issues as they come. But overall, you just do the best you can one day at a time.

Yay for me moment: We've been doing sign language with Monkey to help her get less frustrated about things. We did it with Moose and it was fantastic. Anyhow, today she started very intentionally signing "milk" and for the first time, but also very intentionally, she signed "all done". It was awesome! I hope she continues with it. It's so nice to be able to communicate with them before they master speech.

Maybe we'll start over tomorrow...

So today was a huge bust. As of right now, eggs aren't even in the picture. Super long story short: Moose threw multiple huge tantrums today (two about not wanting to go to the bathroom, which is slightly unusual). He was just in a mood to pick a fight. He spent somewhere around 1 1/2 hours sitting in the corner refusing to go to bed without his book or song (which he had lost way before, multiple times over) so I ignored him and let him sit until he was ready.

Tomorrow's another day. I'm feeling slightly rejuvenated from some serious "me" time this evening. (humongous kudos to my hubs. he is the best for me and I'm too lucky to have him.)

Parenting can be such a constant reinventing of yourself as a parent. I guess we were due for a nice overhaul. It'd been a while. Here's to a new day. And to taking them one at a time.

The battle begins...

So today, the real battle broke out. Although I must say that I already feel much better about our position after some long talking with the hubs today. I don't know how many readers I really have outside of the few close family/friends who have commented. But I wanted to open this up to all my "readers" to share and comment. So much of parenting is learning new strategies and tactics and one of the best ways to get them is from other people. Me and my hubs can only go so far with ideas without some outer input. So I'm putting it to all of you who read this random little blog to share with everyone else that maybe we can all learn something. (but really, especially me, because we seriously need some new tools in the toolbox.)

Today at church, Moose threw a fit. He was with the hubs at the time. The frustration, or reason he threw it, was understandable (he was told he couldn't go play with the cars and kid behind us anymore.) but the way it was done, on the parent part, was very good. My hubs was patient and reasonable. He had lots of appropriate entertainment where we were sitting. But when this happened, Moose just chose to throw a massive fit and had to be carried out into the hallway. My hubs was super frustrated. (Just like my fits from the trip to the library a few weeks ago, and just recently last Friday at the park.)

He ended up taking Moose and Monkey home (I had responsibilities at church that day, so I stayed.) and Moose took an early nap.  Ultimately, our frustrations lied in the following: *He's too old to be having these types of major tantrums, and they're usually over very small things, not nearly worthy of the tantrums. *He's literally too big to throw these tantrums. Most of the time, I can't physically pick him up to make him go to the car, etc. because he's too big. (He's almost 4, but he's already to my waist and probably weighs somewhere over 40 lbs.) *We are very reasonable and patient, and in the end, all of our good faith efforts are for naught, which is really frustrating. We try to be really understanding with him, and his perspective, but in the end we're the parents and know what's best.

So. ultimately our solution is that if he throws a fit at home, he loses an easter egg. (I know, how silly and simple, but I have an explanation why I think it's going to be effective.) If we're out and about and he throws a fit, he's going to lose and egg, and we're going to come straight home and he'll be put to bed. So far today, anytime he's started throwing a fit, we'll ask him if he wants to lose an egg, and he'll immediately cut it out.

So, why do I think (hope, really) this will be successful. One, it worked with the obnoxious "why" questions. He hasn't done it in days. (little hooray for me!) Second, (I should probably say two, since I started with one, huh?) as I posted a few days ago, I'm realizing Moose is a very visual learner. We keep his stash of easter eggs on the counter in a bowl, so he can see them. When we take them away, he can see that there aren't as many. I think that's why it works for him. It's visual and more tangible.

Anyway, that's our battle from today, and our current battle tactic. Now, to you. I would love to hear your input. What do your kids, neighbor's kids, nephews, grandkids do? How do you handle their tantrums? What's worked for you? What hasn't worked? Why? (It's always nice to know what not to try.) I would really love any input you have. (And I'll admit I'm slightly curious if I have any readers out there that I don't know about who might be so nice as to comment and let me know they're there.) One of the best ways to learn new ideas and ways to manage is from other parents and their experiences. Every day I'm sharing my life and kids. I don't know if I'm helping anyone, but maybe this can be a way for me to be helped by others. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a perfect parent. I know I can pretty much constantly use help and advice from others. So here's your chance to shine. Please do share.

Looking forward to what you have to say...

Happy Birthday Monkey...

April 17, 2009 at 5:47 our little Monkey was born. Her birth was such an amazing experience. Moose was an emergency c-section. But our little Monkey was a V-BAC (for those not savvy, that means vaginal birth after cesarean). That's not easy to do as many hospitals are not supportive of them because of risks to the hospital (being sued etc. when things go wrong.) Anyhow, we were amazingly fortunate to be in a city (one of only about 4 in our state) that is supportive of VBAC. My doctor was also amazingly supportive as well.

So, little Monkey was our first experience with a "normal" delivery. It was such an awesome experience. When she was born, she didn't cry. She just laid there, until the nurses eventually got her squealing. She was so extremely peaceful. It was such a great experience.

Now our little babe is jogging around, she's attempting to communicate. (her favorite way is the point and grunt, at the moment.) Her and Moose get along pretty awesome 99% of the time. I couldn't have asked for a better addition to our family. I love this little girl and look forward to every day with her. It has been a phenomenal year, and I can't wait to see what the next one brings.

Thank you Monkey. You are wonderful! I'm so glad you joined our family. You made it complete.

Picnic a la screaming...

Well, I thought I'd be so great today and take the kids for a picnic in the park. It was so sunny outside and warm, that I couldn't keep them in the house. It all went well. Until it was time to come home, that is.

Sometimes I think I need a list of all of the tricks I use on Moose to convince him not to freak out on me. He did it. Oh goodness. There was much screaming in the car on the way home.

For my own sanity and possible mental saving reference, I'm going to list out the different tactics I use to get him not to scream at me. The first is the one I should've done first but didn't. The rest are in no particular order:

*If you want to be able to do this again, be happy. If you're not happy when we leave, I won't do this with you again. (This one is quite powerful if done early on, before the craziness really begins. It's really worked with Moose, when I've remembered to use it.)
*The minute warnings. 5 minutes til we leave, 4 minutes, etc. (This used to work great. Not so much anymore, but I did it anyhow.)
*If you do X, you're losing Y privilege. (This works on occasion. Although, every now and then he just chooses to lose a privilege intentionally. That one's a bit irritating.)
*Or there's always the, bribe them with something even better for leaving happily. Like ice cream. (I'm sure this one would've worked, but I wasn't even going there. Sometimes I get crazy stubborn and refuse to give in to the beasts. Me and my hubs have a saying about our kids, "We do not negotiate with terrorists." For they are all really mini-terrorists in diapers and onesies.)

I know there's more, but it's not coming to me. My hubs just set a nice little bowl of ice cream infront of me and the couch is calling. Let's just hope Moose doesn't wake up tomorrow at 4:57 a.m. like he did this morning.

Oh, and happy early birthday to Monkey. Can't believe it's been one year already. I love you!

Out for a walk...

Well today actually felt like spring. We live in a wintery climate, so although it's technically spring, we haven't really felt it yet. But today was sunny and warm so we went out a bit. Walking around downtown, I let Monkey walk around a bit. Since she learned to walk during the winter, she hasn't really been able to walk outdoors at all. I think she rather likes it.  She would throw a fit when I picked her up.

Of course, all it took was one oopsy. We were out walking, looking at some huge construction right next to our apartment. She was up on a sidewalk, and it it a really small step up from the parking lot. She walked off the sidewalk onto the parking lot, not slowing down and the momentum took her straight down. *crash* The poor sweety hit her face right on the parking lot. Some older gentlemen was jogging by in those horrid jogging shorts and no shirt and you could tell he felt sorry for her. Needless to say, that ended the outing. I wanted to get her indoors asap so I could see where exactly the bleeding was coming from and how bad. Luckily, she was just fine. I knew once I calmed her down enough to suck on the pacifier that was in her mouth for the whole ordeal, it would help stop the bleeding. So, yay, for surviving her first crash and bleed.

It was a day of outings, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and enjoying the sun. Ahh, the sun.  It almost feels criminal to keep kids indoors when it's that nice out. At least when your winters last as long as ours do. It's supposed to stay this way for the weekend. This Saturday is Monkey's first birthday, so here's to hoping it's a beautiful day!

See?

So I'm pleased to say that I'm learning more and more about my kids as time goes on. (Thank goodness!)  In the past few days I've been learning more about how Moose learns. Meaning to say, which methods work best for him.

Every morning Moose and I do school together. I read scriptures to him, he learns a word and number in spanish, practices writing a letter, sings a song, recites a quote, we do activity books, and are currently learning from Usborne's Encyclopedia of Seas and Oceans. It's something different every day. But the structure is what he craves (even if he doesn't know it) and he's so darn bright. I feel like the kid could start kindergarten this coming fall.

Anyway, to the point. I've realized he is a very visual learner. Since we've been working with the Encyclopedia each day, I've realized he is learning so much faster. With each page we go over, I write down vocab words and we review them every day. He has learned ocean, seabed, submarine, gills, fins, predator, prey, camouflage, coral reef, school (as in school of fish), poison, and symbiosis. We have yet to review the last two, but he knows the meanings of all the other words. (For the most part, and in his 3 1/2 year old way) He's quite taken with the predator idea. Anytime he sees a big, intimidating looking fish, he calls it a predator. It's really pretty cute.

So I'm pleased with myself (so selfish, I know, right?) for realizing the way he learns. It makes all the difference in the world. If I can now utilize this more often, I think I'll find he learns even faster than he already does.

Before I know it, the little rascal will be smarter than me. Good grief.

Eggs - 4, Moose - 0

So, today didn't go as well as hoped. Moose officially lost 2 eggs today. Unofficially it should've been much closer to 5. I'm all about consistently when it comes to discipline, follow through and all that parenting jazz. But sometimes it's so much harder. Especially when the consequence is harder to deal with than the problem.

Overall, however, it wasn't a bad day. Moose was very aware whenever he popped out his very obnoxious and somewhat unconscious, "Why?" Most times he couldn't remember what he was asking why about, and therefore wasn't even able to rephrase it to an "intelligent question". (Our term for saying more than just why.)

I had some fun reminiscing. I keep journals for both kids. In them I keep track of my pregnancy, thoughts, and then their childhood. Mostly just random milestones, funny moments. That sort of thing. In updating their journals today, I always review and reread bits and pieces. It's so fun. I'm totally a memory lane type of gal.

Anyway, I found a list of words that Moose was saying when he was two. (right after we told him I had a baby in my belly.) I was reading them to the hubs at dinner, and we were laughing. Then after a few more words, we realized Moose was cracking up! He thought they were all hilarious!  It made us laugh all the more. It was a really fun dinner.

To spread the love, here's a few of his best 2 year old words:
muffin: mamoof
waffle: wawoof
balloon: boof
paci: bobees
binky: memees
stinky sandals: neeneenanals (I guess his sandals that summer smelled pretty bad)
stroller: worwor
And best, the way he said his name: Weewees (I know you have no reference since we've decided to leave out the babes real names. But just know it's not even close to this. But for some reason, that's how he decided to say his name. To this day it's a joke nickname we use on occasion.)

Now I'm looking forward to Monkey starting to use real words. At the moment she's learning sign language. She's currently mastering: milk, please, and all done.

Why?

That has been my biggest problem today. And I have realized it's not in the way that I always thought it would be. I remember those tv show/cliche scenes of kids asking why the sky is blue, or why dogs chase cats, or those questions that make you go, "Why on earth do you need to know the answer to that? Besides, I don't know the answer anyhow."

However, this is not the way Moose works. I would honestly prefer that version. His is, whenever I ask him to do something or make a request of him, he responds with, "Why?"

It is driving me bonkers. I am so completely one of those moms who constantly says, "Because I said so." Often with an exclamation point. Is the fact that I asked you not enough? And really, I don't think I would mind so much if he asked me an actual question, versus just saying why.

This is where our battle has begun. My sweet hubs, sensing my exasperation, made this ultimatum with Moose. For everytime he says, "Why?", he will lose an Easter egg from the birthday party he attended last Saturday. Oh yes. The battle has begun.

He did it shortly after dinner. The minute he realized what happened, he was jumping up and down, flailing his arms about like a limp noodle, crying that he wanted his egg back. Oh goodness.

He did it again right before he crawled into bed. I asked him to say his prayer. He was already knelt down next to his bed, assuming the position. Then he blankly looks up at me and says, you guessed it, "Why?"

Now, I don't have a problem with question asking. I consider myself a very tolerant explainer when it comes to question asking. However, we've come to realize Moose asks why simply for the habit and reflex of asking.

My request of Moose is, if you really want to know why, ask an intelligent question. (Yes, I used this terminology with my 3 1/2 year old. He knows tons of big words that he can't define. It's occasionally annoying, but I'm sure he'll have a large vocab that he can actually use one day because of it.) That is, don't just ask me why. If you really want to know why I'm asking something or whatnot, ask me, "Why do you want me to say my prayer?" or "Why do you want me to pick up my puzzle quickly?" Then I can respond with an answer such as, "Because we say a prayer to our Heavenly Father every night before we go to bed." or "Because your sister is trying to grab at them, and you're making her cry by snatching them away. So if you pick it up quickly, there will be less fighting."

I don't think I'm completely unreasonable. We'll see how many eggs he loses. We haven't determined yet how he can earn them back. I'm thinking if he can go a whole day without losing one, he can earn one back. So far, 2 eggs in the cupboard. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Precious Moment: Well, it didn't start out precious. The kids were driving me nuts as I was making a dinner or waffles, scrambled eggs, syrup, and homemade breakfast sausage made from ground turkey. So, to get them away from my ankles, I told Moose to go check and see if the hubs was here. He started heading for the door and Monkey saw him. She started squealing and jogging after him. Only to realize once he opened the door, that the hubs was not here. Monkey was crushed. I felt horrible. Then, when I knew he was here (we live on the second floor of an apartment complex and you can hear anyone walking up the stairs.) I told them to go look again and she was happy once again. Although I did notice she didn't squeal or jog like the first time. But still, it was sweet to see how excited she was for her favorite guy to come home.

What'd you say...

So many random moments over the weekend. Moose and I were writing his name in the condensation on our window in the morning. (We get an insane amount of condensation on our living room windows every morning. Turns out they're great activity boards.) I asked him something along the lines of "and what comes next?" And he says "animal crackers?"

We went to a friend's birthday party on Saturday and she had a beautiful Barbie cake (where the barbie is actually in the cake and the cake makes her dress, and the frosting is like the fabric of her skirt. They put frosting all over her torso to make the dress cover her up. I had one in fourth grade.) Anyway, Moose told me, literally like 7 times, that the Barbie was a toy and that we should not eat it. It was hilarious.

At this same party, there were pizza, strawberries, milk, and cake (as well as other yummy tasty treats). Monkey decided she wanted to eat and was chowing down on Little Caesars cheese pizza, strawberries (an exciting first), drank her milk from a big girl cup (well, it was a big BOY cup, since she was sharing with Moose), and then chowed down on chocolate Barbie cake. She was so impatient with me, she grabbed her own fork and started stabbing at the piece of cake, trying to feed herself. Oink, oink, little girl.

Now, I know I share my little interesting experiences or funny stories, or the occasional thought-provoking (maybe not for you, but at some point it was for me) parenting thing. But my day to day really is that of a homemaker. I do those things that make our apartment feel like a home. Well, that help it feel like a home that's not a pig sty. I try my bestest (most days) to keep the dishes under control, do laundry, keep the toys from completely covering the living room/kitchen/bedroom floors. I change diapers, wipe bums (yes, unfortunately that's still plural. When on earth will his arms be long enough to do it himself?), run small errands, read stories, tickle bellies, manage time outs, take multiple cleansing breaths every day, and ultimately play house. Every day. All day. I cook, I clean, I am the ultimate (although so very far from perfect) mother, wife, cook, maid, chauffeur, and play mate. Now, let's not forget that I don't do any of these perfectly on any given day, and rarely do I do any of them perfectly on the same day. But I don't often mention these day to day tasks of parenting/playing house because I do them every day. And unless something remarkable happens while I'm doing these, I tend to forget I did them. (if I remembered to do them at all.)

So yes, I do all that boring stuff too. Although I say boring sarcastically because you make your own fun. If I dreaded my day to day activities, I wouldn't be able to make it to the next day. Although I don't mind laundry (after 5 1/2 years without a washer or dryer, I'm loving laundry) or doing dishes (after over 4 1/2 years without a dishwasher, I'm loving that too).

And good night...

Well, we stayed up too late (for us.) and are headed to bed asap. We told Moose he has to sleep in tomorrow because it's Saturday. I'll let you know how that works out. :)

Good night.

Who knew that was true...

So I was scrubbing the kiddos down in the tub today and remembered a funny thought I've had.  I never realized it was true.

Kids really do need to have their "behind their ears" scrubbed. They get totally crusty and gross. I don't know what it is that they do that gets weird stuff behind their ears. I don't need to scrub behind my ears. It's one of those things you remember from old tv shows, or old sayings. I never realized it was true until I had kids.

It took me even longer to convince my hubs it was true. But once you feel that spot behind their ears, if it's been a while since their last scrub, there's no denying it. It's real.

Who knew?

Oh, ps, we went back to the park and I found the transformer. (15-20 min. drive up and back, with Monkey screaming over of the half way home.) Mom of the Year Award for me. :)

Score 1 for me...

Nothing big really. Just that I was really organized today and it felt good to feel like I was the one in charge of when we do what, and not my 2 runts.

Highlights of today:
*Moose left his transformer (his most favorite toy at the moment, which actually makes me sad too. He's been singing his own transformer songs and everything. So cute.) at the park. Usually we don't let him take toys out, for this very reason. The last time it happened, he lost his Mater truck at Albertsons. We were lucky enough to get that back, although he and the hubs went back the same day, if I remember correctly. If he's a good boy, we might do a drive by tomorrow. (despite the 15 minute drive.) We'll see.

*Monkey did not have diarrhea. Although, she didn't poop at all, which just might mean we're in for another exciting night!

*Had some great "me" time. Talked with other moms at the park. Even though it was a short visit. (Partially because I started driving to the wrong city, and partially due to the really cold weather/wind.) It was really nice to talk to other moms. It seems so simple, but it's such a relaxing thing. It's really nice to talk to other adults who understand the day to day things you go through. It doesn't have to necessarily be other moms. But you can sympathize with each other if you're all dealing with the same issues. Also went on my nightly "run" (I'm not actually running the whole time.), came home and took a nice shower, and then patched Moose's two pants that have been by my sewing machine for a while. All of this, of course, made possible by my amazing hubs who played with the kids and is currently singing them songs as he puts them to bed.

Sometimes I really think I'm the luckiest girl alive. :)

Just another day...

So, lots of thoughts from today and last night.

You know how I'm always saying it's such a great thing to go and peek on the kids at night? Well, last night I went and did so, and occasionally I stroke a cheek, tug a blanket, that sort of thing. Well, I made Monkey stir and watched her until she settled down. Once she was settled, she proceeded to fill her diaper in a noisy and stinky way. Oh man. Talk about timing.

Well, in the end I was really glad I was there, because laying in that all night, besides being all around gross, would have done a number on her sensitive skin. So we took her to our room, and changed her diaper.

This leads me to my next story.

This morning, I was taking a shower while Monkey was napping. Moose was on the couch, playing with this neat new toy from my sis in law. Anyway, so he's in the living room, I'm in my bathroom. I finish my shower and reach for my towel, only to remember it's not there. The hubs used it (with my permission) to change Monkey on last night, just in case it got messy, to protect our bedspread. I really didn't want to run across the apartment to get a fresh towel. So I stood in the shower for a minute, waiting to hear him stomp across the house. (Seriously, the kid never walks.) He didn't come, so I tried knocking on the shower wall. It's not too far from the living room wall where he was. After about a minute, I heard him running down the hallway! Woohoo! He went ahead and got me a towel. Bless his heart! I was so pleased I offered him a candy heart (leftover from V-day.) Of course, he went on to ruin it by begging for a cookie, which was not the offer (and is much bigger than the offer) and ruined the mood a bit. But overall, I was still so pleased!

Then later on, after Monkey woke up, we had the hiccups together. Awww.

Upon returning home from my run this evening (something new I'm doing, and my hubs is so supportive.) my hubs was wrestling with Moose (something he loves and really needs, but he's just so big and I'm not a very good wrestling partner) He (kid, not adult) was laughing so much and having the time of his life. I just loved hearing him laugh so hard. It was that kind of laugh, when my hubs wasn't even touching him, he was cracking up. I just loved it. Kids need those moments. Moose probably needs them more than he's been getting since Monkey was born. I suppose that's something I can work on.

A pretty busy day, overall pretty good. Filled with some great moments. Moose's towel story reminds me of a really great one from last summer. Perhaps I'll share that tomorrow. It's way better. One that I wrote down in my journal. I'll definitely share it soon.

Like a rollercoaster...

Kids are so up and down. After another nice, long nap this afternoon Monkey was apparently rejuvenated. At least for about 2 hours anyway. If tomorrow is equally strange, we're calling the doctor.

It's so hard to tell sometimes what's going on with kids. Especially when they're as young as my Monk here, who will have her first birthday in under 2 weeks! (So hard to believe.)  She's got an ear infection, she's teething, she's had a cough/cold, and I betcha she's probably having a growth spurt on top of it all. So does she have a fever? Sure, sometimes. She's drooling a storm too. She gets crabby. She's just a ball of baby/toddler stuff. She's got her well-child visit in a few weeks. Hopefully our doctor will check her over and declare her all well and fit for duty.

So far, we've been super blessed to have kids that are generally healthy as oxen. They still get the average cough/cold. Especially when it's "that season" and everyone and their dog is catching stuff. But all in all, oxen.

So many aspects of what we have to do as parents is complete chance. We haven't had to deal with any major or even minor health issues. But I've had so much stuff happen to nieces and nephews, all at very young ages. My precious niece passed away at 3 1/2, due to complications stemming from a genetic disease she was born with, but on a slightly less tragic scale, they've had hearing issues, autism, impacted teeth, severe food allergies, broken bones, and all sorts of stuff. The worst we've had so far is the stomach flu. So blessed, but I really can't take any of the credit.

But no matter what hand you're dealt, you deal with it, you love your kids with more love than you can possibly imagine you're capable of and you take it one day at a time. So, here's to tomorrow.

Sad kids and the library...

Ugh. So the day started out unusual, and kinda icky. We got the kids to bed late last night after an Easter dinner with family. But they konked out pretty fast, probably 1 minute after their heads hit the bed, at 8. Moose was up at 7:15. Cozy enough. Monkey, she didn't get up until 11:30. Yes, you read that right. 11:30.

I went and checked on her once to make sure she was alright. Oh my gosh! Did it stink in there?!? She was still completely asleep. But I knew was going to go straight in the tub once she woke up. One might think, why not wake her up and clean up that poor stinky baby? Because then that leads to cleaning up a screaming & very unhappy baby. So I waited. The room totally smelled like pee and she had some of her antibiotic poop as well. So nice to read about, right? I know. I had to smell it too.

Well, so I stuck the kid straight in the tub (after undressing her, of course) and bathed her. She was so sad and still really lethargic. So I redressed the doll in some clean pj's and she basically cuddled me for an hour. I managed to get some formula in her. The she decided to sleep for another 45 mins. or so.  After she woke up, we finally got everyone rolling to take a DVD back to the library that was due today.

Well, I was originally going to do a drive-thru (since our library has one) but Moose really wanted to go inside, knowing we weren't going to borrow anything since we were just there Saturday. I thought, "This could be nice. Check for a book I'm waiting for, read a few to the kids, maybe even snag a DVD for me from the rack near check out. This might be good." Oh, to the contrary.

For no reason whatsoever, Monkey starts screaming after she finally ventured off my lap and over to a bookshelf. It went straight south from there. I was mid-book with Moose, but we needed to leave. Screaming baby in the library is just a bit awkward, you know? But Moose was not pleased. Not one bit.

So he proceeded to throw a fit. A massive fit.

I was already holding one screaming baby (whose reasons were slightly more convincing at the moment, being sicky and all). It was so annoying. I could tell one sweet lady just wanted to help. But I know Monkey wouldn't have gone to anyone else. And Moose, well, he's just old enough to not behave that way. There was no way I was caving on what was going on. He finally tells me he wants me to finish the book. I know we were really close to finishing. But there's no way I'm going to do that with a screaming child on my lap. Not happening.

To make a really long, and unhappy story short: Moose cried and cried until I threatened him with a public spanking. I don't know if I would've done it or not. I suppose I would have if he made me follow through. But luckily I didn't have to and the threat worked. He screamed the whole way to the car (but walking on his own and not being carried by me. Thank goodness.) He then screamed half the way home, until he calmed down, we got home, got ready for a nap, he stayed in bed for maybe 30 minutes, and is now puttering around the living room, somewhat quietly reading books, and completely killing my mojo for doing what I normally would do during naptime.

Ugh.

It doesn't matter...

"...but it does matter, because it doesn't matter." The logic of a 3 1/2 year old.

So, I promised true parenting, the pretty, the ugly, and the stinky. Today's a lovely dose of the stinky. Sweet Monkey, getting over an ear infection, is on antibiotics. They warned us that this would mess with her diapers quite a bit. Welcome to yucky-ville.

We prepared ourselves (and her sweet little toosh) by using diaper creme the last few days to keep her skin from any irritation. It took a day or so, but the antibiotics kicked in. Today, she blew out two diapers, soiling 2 separate outfits. She spent the rest of the day running around in her diaper and a pair of socks.

Oh, the joys of parenting.

Day after day...

Well, yesterday was one of those days where the computer was already turned off, and me and the hubs watched New Moon, and got to bed late, and my post was put off one night.

Yesterday Moose was a ball of nervous energy, basically driving me slowly, crazy.  Today, however, was a bit better. Thanks to PBS Kids games and Harry Potter #7 to keep me company.

Most of my thoughts are currently headed to you, my dear friend, PJ and your very honest comment. This is what I've got swirling around in my head.

No matter how much you read, or try and prepare yourself, nothing will truly prepare you for parenthood. And I say this in the best and worst of ways. This does not mean, that you should not try and prepare yourself. To the contrary. The more tools in your tool belt, the better off you'll be. Eventually. It just takes time. 

But overall, there's no way to know how your child will change your life. Everything changes once you actually hold that baby. Everything. In the best ways. In ways you cannot possible dare to imagine. And it's different for every single person.

Is it normal to be scared? Completely. I should've been more scared before my first. Now, however, the shock value is somewhat gone. I've been poo'd on, pee'd on, screamed at, bitten, barfed on, bear hugged, snuggled, eskimo kissed, cried on, and everything else. I'm sure my list will only get longer.

The beauty of all of this is: I can't wait. As grueling as parenting is, I absolutely love every minute of it. I may not love it in the exact moment something's happening. But at the end of the day, when I look at my sleeping angels (which I highly recommend. Really helps to remind you what treasures they are. Kids are so angelic when they sleep.) I'm reminded why I'm doing what I do, and I get the strength to carry on. Day after day.

Parenting is a real job. The most under-appreciated job there is, I bet. But the best payment is what you receive naturally. The love of your children. The joy you feel when you see them enjoying life, living, experiencing all that the world offers.

Sometimes I have to remind myself of these things. I've only joined the parenting club about 4 years ago now. It's hard to believe it's been that long. While at the same time, I feel like I've been at it a while and getting pretty good at some of it.  But I'm slowly realizing that this job, parenting, is something that won't ever end. No matter how long my kids have been married, raising kids of their own, they'll still be my babies. And I'll still worry about them, brag about them, and pray for them every day.

PJ - These 9 months are going to seem eternally long. The first pregnancy did for me too. Just know that once this little angel joins your sweet family, your life will have changed in the best way possible, and it will only get better. And once these 9 months are over, time will speed up. Whether you like it or not. And you'll eventually miss the days of feeling your baby kick you in the bladder, and having to everytime you sneeze.

Hang in there. All you parents. Find support. Find ways to get through the tough times. But hang in there. I'm rootin' for ya.