Times, they are a changin'

So, I've decided to take back control (like I ever had control) over my most feared time of the day......meal time.  Ever since Little J came into the picture, mealtime....well, just plain sucks.  There is just no other way to describe it.  I'm sure he's like ever other normal kid out there, but good gawd give me a break already.  I've never been able to figure it out with him.  One day he likes something and the next day I'm ducking as it's flying across the room.  What the heck changes from one day to the next?!  I've tried everything to get this kid to eat from cutting his food into big chunks, little chunks, no chunks......to whatever, I've tried it.

So today I had a revelation.  I got out the pressure washer, hosed the highchair down (man that kid is a messy eater) and put it away.  Yep, you read that right.  No more highchair.  I mean, it's the one thing I haven't tried and I finally came to the conclusion that maybe he just doesn't like the darn thing.  You would think a year of him screaming each time I put him in it would have clued me in.

Anyway, tonight my little guy had his first meal at the table.  Spaghetti no less.  Yep, I decided to christen my carpets with the one thing that probably won't come out.  

But look at my little man, using a plate and a fork.  No screaming and no crying (from me).  There was total peace.  I've never gotten him to eat spaghetti before (and I've tried a million times).  But that boy shoveled it down like he got paid to do it.  I couldn't believe it.  Unfortunately, about half way through the meal he decided the fork wasn't an effective tool for quick eating:

But in the end, how can you resist a face like this:

Not that I want to jinx myself, but it was the best meal I've had with him.  He actually ate a lot (which rarely happens) and ate without any fits.  I hope I've found the magic answer.  We'll see how tomorrow goes.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

And no, I don't mean my birthday (which was yesterday by the way).  For all those keeping count, I'm the ripe old age of 27.  Ha!  Did you think I would actually tell my real age?!

I mean good 'ole back to school time.  Don't you just love that Staples commercial where the Dad is frolicking down the aisles while singing, "It's the most wonderful time of the year".  Dang, that still makes me laugh.  Well, I don't have any school age children yet, but Miss C will be attending preschool this fall.  She won't be able to start until November (you have to be three to go there), but she will be able to participate in field trips and other special events in the meantime (we are lucky enough for them to be holding a spot for her).  J and I will go to a "Meet and Greet" this week to meet some of the other parents/children in her class.  

The other day we passed by the school and I told Miss C that is where she was going to school next year.  She first asked me if she was going to ride the school bus (she's obsessed with them too).  When I told her she was too little, she told me she didn't want to go to school.  Then I told her she would get to play kitchen and hospital with the other children in the class and that her school was near the "puppy dog store" (aka PetCo).  Well, now she's cool with school. 

We even had a school supply list and went shopping today.  I was like a little school girl (pun intended).  So excited for my baby to be going to preschool.  Miss C could have cared less.  The only thing on her mind was the Lightening McQueen band-aids she spotted as we were looking for tissues.  Give that girl a box of band-aids and she's entertained for hours.  "Mom, do you have a boo-boo?  I need to put a band-aid on it."  There are days when I'm covered head to toe.  Best $2.27 I ever spent :)

Here's one of me and my little preschool girl

And this is her after we told her she was going to school this year (this is generally the same reaction most parents get from school aged kids)

Ha!  Gotta love the shoes.  She accessorized.  They are her Minnie Mouse shoes from her halloween costume last year.  I love to encourage my kids to express their individuality (to a point--otherwise Miss C would wear a Lightening McQueen shirt with underwear and that's it).  I generally pick what they wear and allow them to "accessorize".  I just love some of the combinations that Miss C comes up with.  Even though it's not Flashback Friday, this is an oldie but goodie of Miss C's personal style (and yes, she picked it out on her own):

Don't you love the stethoscope necklace and basketball looking purse?  Oh, and the hat that was two sizes too small.  But she just HAD to wear it.

Flashback Friday

I spent the afternoon with a good friend today.  "D" and her daughter "M" came over for a play date with the kids.  I met "D" in the birthing class J and I took when I was pregnant with Miss C.  We actually sat next to each other.  We never exchanged numbers after the class was over, but as fate would have it, we met again in a baptism class (required before they could be baptized) a few months after they were born.  Turns out she had a little girl too (it was a surprise when we met in the class).  "M" and Miss C are two weeks apart and have been friends since they were 2-3 months old.  

We started regular play groups February/March 2006 and still continue today.  We actually had a third little girl, "A", that joined us ("D's" old neighbor who has a girl born on the same day as "M").  When we first started these play dates, all three girls would sit in their car seats and sleep the whole time.  Kind of reminds me of that chip commercial where the three moms are talking about how much their kids love these play groups, etc.  Then they pan out to the kids and they are all sleeping in their car seats.  That was exactly us a little over 2 years ago.  Honestly, it was more for us than it was for them.

Here is from one of the first "dates".  Left to right it's Miss C, M and A:

Little by little, we made it to the point where all three girls were awake.  Since the girls are so close in age, we have pretty much been through everything together (and all at the same time).  Here is a pic of Miss C and "M" this afternoon.  

I can't believe how big they have gotten.  Time really flew.

I'm so glad that fate stepped in and had "D" and I meet up again for a second time.  Otherwise, I never would have known her or "M".  Through D, I was able to meet "A" and her mom.  The girls enjoy being together and I have enjoyed their company over the past couple of years!  

Feedback

Well in the previous post, I mentioned that we bought Little J cloth diapers.  I forgot to mention that we had the brilliant idea to try them out for the first time overnight.  I'm also doing disposables.  We had this master plan of only putting on the cloth diapers when we knew Little J wasn't going to poop in them.  In fact, he had strict instructions last night to hold his poo until we could put a disposable on him this morning.  Well, someone did hold up their end of the bargain.

J:  What do we do with THAT?!

A:  You swish it in the toilet

J:  You do WWWWHHHHAAATTTT?  That's just gross.

He does have a point.  It's funny to watch two grown adults play rock, paper, scissors to find out who had to take care of our little "situation".  I lost.  

Not only did Little J poo in the diaper, but everything was soaking wet.  I mean soaking.  I thought these suckers were supposed to be super absorbent.  So what am I doing wrong?  Any other crunchy granola moms care to chime in?  I'm thinking I need to double up on the liners over-night.  

Man this diaper rash better clear up, and quickly.

Ten on Tuesday + 1

And by + 1 I mean Wednesday....not 11. I can hardly make 10 never mind 11. But I had a good day and wanted to celebrate with 2 posts (make sure you check out the new post below). So, it's my version of 10 on Tuesday, but Wednesday style. I guess I'm a day late (and a dollar short). I wish I had a $1 every time I heard that phrase. Wonder what that says about me?

Anyway, here's my list:

1. A little nod to Mee-maw (aka Meem). She hasn't been featured on the blog yet. Here's a couple pics of a cute couple:

2. Little J has finally learned how to go down the slide by himself. I couldn't be more proud. I took them to the park today for a little play date. Let me preface this by saying I didn't care to go to the park with two little ones when Little J wasn't walking. No fun. A crawling baby is no good with the bark chips (can't crawl on them but sure can eat them). But today was that magical day that all mom's dream about. Two children that can play by themselves without having to hover over and help them do everything. Pure heaven. After about an hour of helping Little J to "sit down" to go down the slide and then "roll over and get off the slide backwards" he finally got it. You could tell he was proud of himself too. So cute.

3. Miss C has been so good these past couple of days. I don't know what is going on, but I like it. Now mind you she generally is a good kid, but these past three days she has been exceptional.

4. Little J has been a good boy too. He is finally getting getting into the routine of one nap and that helps me a lot. He's been down to one nap for a long time now, but would still get tired around 10/10:30 but would only nap if he was in the car. Now he can make it until 12/12:30 without being cranky.

5. Miss C makes this little grin just like her daddy. It's the grin that comes out when they are proud of themselves. I wish I had a picture of it. But this will have to do instead....

Don't you just love those eyes. And here she is with a little 'tude....you can almost hear her say, "Yeah, you know I'm bad"

And this is when I asked her to smile....

Next time, let's have a little less smile :)

5. Speaking of smiling, Miss C loves to take pictures too. Funny, because she hates having her picture taken. Anyway, tonight J and I were sitting on the couch and Miss C had the trusty rusty point and shoot. All of a sudden she says, "Now smile and if I take one picture you get a special treat. And mommy gets a special treat and daddy gets a special treat." Hmmm....sounds like I offer too many special treats.

6. Miss C has become quite the conversationalist lately. I'm so tickled by what comes out of her mouth sometimes. Every now and again she will string several sentences together. It's becoming easier and easier to understand what she wants. She even recounts what she does during the day (and sometimes brings in details that happened awhile back). She is becoming such a little girl. I'm going to try to write down some of these conversations so I can blog about them.

7. I've become a little more granola today. We bought Little J some cloth diapers. Yes, I actually did it. But before you snicker, these are not the same cloth diapers of yester year. I can still hear my mom recount horror stories of cloth diapers when I was a kid. The cloth diapers of today are pretty high-tech. It only took how many years? When we put them on Little J, Miss C asked "Are those Little J's pretty panties?"  Anyway, here is the model in his pretty panties:

And for all the old timers out there, yes, those are snaps. No more sticking yourself with pins while a screaming toddler is kicking and twisting. No more plastic pants that you can hear a mile away. Nope. No plastic at all on these. I'm not going to ask how it prevents leaks. All I know is that it does. And these even have elastic on the leg holes so the "goods" don't leak down the legs. Yep, pretty high tech. Wonder what rocket scientist finally came up with this.

But I will tell you, if they came in my size, I would wear them. They are sooooo soft on the inside. For any who might be interested for your little ones, they are called Fuzi Bunz.

And don't worry. I haven't turned 100% granola yet. This is only for a couple of hours during the day. We still use disposables like every other normal family. Little J just gets such bad chronic diaper rash that this is my last resort (believe me, I even tried the expensive dye free, chlorine free ones first).

8. Little J seems to be out of the attachment phase for now. I'm so thankful. That was probably the longest 6 months of my life. I know it's going to rear it's ugly head again, but I'm thankful for the reprieve. I can actually get a few things done during the day while the kiddos play. It's so nice. But don't tell J. I don't want his expectations to get too high. Otherwise I may have to start cleaning or some other nonsense like that.

9. Another note about Miss C the photographer. She's obsessed with you taking pictures of her dupee (who knows if that is the right spelling but it's pronounced doop - ee). It's polish for your tush. I just love that word. It's probably one of my favorites of all time. Anyway, we have this bean bag. She drags that thing into the living room and belly flops on it and asks you to "take a picture of my dupee." Bonus if she is wearing her Lightening McQueen underwear. Poor Nana took quite a few pictures of that little tush last week. Tonight she had the camera on play back and was looking for those photos. She's quite proud of that J-Lo booty. I have no idea where she came up with that one.

10. Finally, a little shout out to myself. For the last couple of months I've really struggled with photography. It's a big passion for me, but I was stuck in this rut. You know, the place where you know just enough to be dangerous but not enough to really rock it? That was me. Not that I rock it now, but I feel that my photography has improved dramatically over the past couple of weeks. Something about it just clicked. Almost like the light came on. Granted I'm not that great, but I'm pretty proud of myself. If you could see me, I have that Miss C and "J" grin on my face right now :)

Phelps Schmelps

Ok, I didn't come up with that catchy title all by myself. I saw it on MSNBC. It was about an article where J Lo is upset that all the world's focus is on Michael Phelps when she is training for a triathlon and has two babies. I can totally see her point. I mean, it must be really hard to watch over the nanny that takes care of those kids around the clock while probably eating lettuce and other rabbit food and working out like a mad woman. I'd be pretty cranky too.

But I've got her beat. Try going to a disgusting public bathroom with a potty-training toddler and a baby. And in a tiny stall obviously engineered by a man who doesn't have children none the less.  Now that's an Olympic event.  But let's face it, even without kids those stalls are too dang small.  I mean you have to stand on the toilet to even get out.

I remember the days when Little J couldn't walk and Miss C was potty training. Try hauling one kid under your arm (because the stroller doesn't fit in the stall and your toddler needs the door closed for privacy), lining the toilet with TP one handed, pulling down the pants of a toddler, again one handed, sit said toddler on the potty while carefully trying to prevent her from touching anything, coax her to go already since it takes HOURS when they are just learning, get her off the pot, pull up her pants and then hold her up while she insists on flushing with her foot (because of course that is how she watched you do it a million times before). Yeah, and that sitting on the potty while trying not to touch anything is the biggest challenge. If you can successfully land them on the TP without it falling into the pot first, then I bow down to you. Oh, and of course this is a timed event. If you aren't fast enough, there is a hefty penalty. I think you all know what I'm talking about.

But now it's an all new Olympic event. Little J can walk. So try to do all of the above with him walking around and wanting to touch everything. And I do mean everything. Not to mention the fight that ensues because Little J wants to flush the potty when Miss C obviously has rights to it. One day they are going to go Fight Club style right there on the bathroom floor. That would just take the cake.

Phelps Schmelps.

I'm also reminded of the day that "J" asked me what he was supposed to do when he was out with Miss C by himself and she needed to go potty. He then followed up with a "Do I just send her in the ladies room by herself?" I mean he said that so innocently. Honestly. Yeah, that's a great idea to send a 2 1/2 year old into a public restroom by herself. Now, Miss C can maneuver the potty at home but she doesn't have to line it with TP first.  Although for a long time she wanted to line every toilet with TP....even the one at home.  For awhile she made a point to announce, "And remember, don't touch anything."  Besides, she has a stool at home to help her out.  She's actually pretty good for only being 2 1/2. But not that good.

Anyway, I digress. Speaking of Olympic events, cleaning should be another. But I've smartened up on that one. Instead of me participating in the event, I'm training my kids for the Summer Olympics in 2020 and 2024. I think Little J is going to be a gold medal contender. That kid loves the vacuum.  See what I mean?!

That vacuum was on too.  Hey, I might as well get a clean floor in the process.

He also likes getting a paper towel and wipe messes up. While Nana was here, he spilled his milk on the floor. She gave him a towel and told him to clean it up. And he did it! I was shocked that he understood what she meant. Ever since then, he will periodically go up to the counter and whine for a paper towel. What a good boy. Miss C likes to do her fair share as well. Her speciality is dishes and dusting. Give that girl a dust mop and she is one happy camper. In a few years I'll actually be able to sit back, watch Oprah, and eat my bon bons. Apparently that's what mom's do all day anyway, right?!

And just for kicks, here is an out take from the vacuuming.  I wish I was quick enough with the camera to have caught the moment right after this.  But while I was shooting this one, I was thinking to myself, "don't stick that up near your face."  Well, guess what?  He did.  Fortunately I put the camera down in time and got over to him before he was too traumatized.  I mean, I need him to like to vacuum.  I'm such a good mom.  Sacrificed the funny moment to help my kid.

Catching up

All right, all right.....so it's been awhile.  Get ready for the excuses.....I've got a million of them.  I probably should have waited for Tuesday and done another Ten on Tuesday post since I've got so much catching up to do.  But for the one or two readers out there, I decided to throw you a bone.  Merry early Christmas!  

I kind of suspected this was going to happen....get really excited about the idea of a blog and then crap out a week into it.  That seems to be my style.  But I am committed to this, so I'm going to try my best to keep up with it.  But I do have to share the biggest excuse for my delinquency.  It's called Mom's Weekend Out.  Last weekend, a bunch of us left our hubbies and our kiddies at home and had a weekend get-away (which included some much needed spa time).  I even have a snap shot of the event....

Since I wasn't home over the weekend, all the stuff I usually get done during the weekend (because who the heck can get anything done during the week?!) got pushed off.  I think I'm still catching up.  We had a great Mom's Weekend Out.  It was so nice to go 48 hours without someone screaming, crying, hitting, pushing, or whining.  Also, I was able to wear "adult" clothes and *gasp* didn't have any spit up, snot, food particles, goop, marker or paint on anything by the end of the night.  Can't say that has happened in the last 3 years!

But it is good to be home.  So let's catch up.  Little J's bottom right tooth finally broke through last week.  

You can't see it in this pic, but it's there....trust me.  I've been living through the fussiness.  Doesn't he look excited to have his picture taken?

Funny story about Little J.  He loves to steal his sister's toys.  When she catches on, she chases him.  Man he loves that too.  Half the time I think he steals the toys so that she does chase him.  He squeals with delight and takes off running.  A second or two into the chase, Little J throws the toy aside mid stride.  When Miss C stops, Little J turns around and gives that little look.  You know, the "I didn't do it, see I don't have anything in my hands" look.  Kinda like that show Cops.  Don't you just love it when you are watching the car chase and the video catches the criminals throwing something out the window?  Uh huh.  Like we all didn't see that just happen.  That's Little J.  At 15 months, he's pretty clever.

Nana was also here for a visit (hence another good excuse).  The kids really enjoyed her visit.  I left her alone for a couple of hours one morning and she was practically waiting at the door for me when I got back.  That's pretty much how I am with J when he gets home from work.  He thinks it's because I'm happy to see him.  How cute.  I'm actually ready to tag out and get out of there.

Today we took the kids to the regional airport to see the airplanes.  Did I mention Miss C loves airplanes?  Yeah, well she loves airplanes on just about every day except for today.  Could have cared less.  We even got to see a Bomber up close.  Like, could have gone in the cockpit.  But here is what Miss C wanted to do instead:

Yep, eat snacks on the tarmac.  Did I mention that Miss C is a snack queen?  If it were an Olympic competition, she'd win a gold medal.  Hands down.  In fact, the other mom's in the play group always joke about how much this child eats.  She is always looking for a snack.  Always.  She's right on track with her weight, so I don't worry.  She certainly takes after her mamma's love of snacks.

To close, I leave you with a rare event.  So rare, it's like Haley's Comet and only comes around once every 76 years.  For all the other mom's of two or more, you will appreciate this........

SHARING!  And voluntary too boot!