In the past 4.5 years that I have been a mom, I have yet to sign either of my children up for a class (excluding preschool and summer camp). No baby gym, no baby music, no mommy and toddler swim, no dance. Nothing. We've had museum memberships, zoo memberships, that sort of stuff, but I really hadn't seen the point to carting around two small children back and forth between activities that they probably really didn't care whether they were signed up for or not.
Until now...
The community center down the street from us offers three programs in the fall for ages 4-5. Soccer. Dance. Tae Kwon Do. Apparently I waiting too long to sign my daughter up for soccer, so I gathered up information about the two remaining classes. Dance was one day a week and $35/month. Tae Kwon Do was 2 days a week and $30/month. WELL. I am the sort of person who wants to get the most for her money, and my daughter really didn't care which I signed up for, so I picked Tae Kwon Do. Thankfully you pay per month, so if she doesn't like one class, the next month we can sign up for the other!
Last week was her first week and, although she didn't quite grasp the concept of how to punch, she did really well. She followed directions about as well as you can expect from a 4 year old, and she really did try. This week she will have her cute white uniform like the other kids, so I will make sure to have my camera ready!
I hope she sticks with it for awhile. She looks too cute!!
Please don't judge me on this outfit... She picked it out herself. And who am I to stump creativity?
Until about a year ago, my daughter was a very independent player. She would sit in the living room or her bedroom and entertain herself so nicely that if I even attempted to play with her, she would get mad at me.
At some point over the last year, she has forgotten how to play independently. She is more whiny, demanding, and insists she does not know how to play with her toys unless either my husband or I am with her. I'm not sure if it is a personality trait or age...but after chatting with other moms of 4.5 year olds, it sounds like this is an age-thing. And it is really darn annoying!! Don't get me wrong, I love playing with my children, but I hate the complaining that comes out of my daughters mouth when I say I can't play with her because I have to do something else.
In an attempt to get her to play without me, we went to the store last night and let her pick out an area rug for her bedroom. Her brother has one of those rugs with the roads and buildings on it for his trains and cars, so we thought maybe her ponies and polly pockets would like to play on a rug too?? (Hey, pirates like flowers and butterflies too, right?).
It has only been about 14 hours and already she has played twice up in her room quite nicely. I hope this works because this momma needs to clean her house!! (Or blog.....)
When I was little, I NEVER went to yard sales. Either my mom wasn't interested, or they just didn't occur where we lived. I suspect it was the latter reason since I don't remember neighbors ever putting their old junk outside on the lawns! Because of that, I never understood yard sales. What was the point? Why not just donate or throw away what you don't use anymore?
When I started having kids, and realized how overpriced pretty much everything in stores is, I discovered Craigslist. I thought that was the bees knees! I can buy stuff I want SUPER discounted and still in good condition. How cool!!
Not too long after she was born, I was told about freecycle. HOLY SMOKES the stuff some people just GIVE AWAY! And it was so easy to give away our old junk. People will pretty much take anything, plus it made me feel better not throwing away stuff that we didn't need that was still good... I even gave away my unused wedding dress to a charity! (That's a story for another post!).
Then we moved to the military housing. What I have experienced makes Freecycle and Craiglist look a little pathetic. Because families are constantly moving, they are always trying to get rid of stuff that they either can't or won't move with. Sometimes we drive down the street on trash morning and people have put out perfectly good scooters, kids desks,bikes, this past week we got a sand/water table. Once the temperatures get above 60, you can guarantee at least three or four yard sales in our neighborhood every Friday/Saturday. As like most yard sales, some stuff really ought to just be donated, or prices are too high, but I am lucky (or unlucky depending on how you look at it... I say lucky, bank account says unlucky) to find at least one item we could use... Notice I didn't say NEED. Ha ha!
Well... now going back to the title of this post... this is the item we purchased this past weekend. I swear, I normally only spend between $1 and $5 per weekend at yard sales, but this item was WAY TOO COOL to pass up! I checked out the yard sale, bought a container of stamps for $2 because my son really wanted them (and we do actually love doing stamps), and I saw the bounce house. No way would my Hubby EVER agree to this, so when I got home I hesitated to tell him. Much to my surprise, he asked me to take him back to the yard sale to show him. He bargained with the seller, and we got it for half the original retail price!
Now we just need to move somewhere like Hawaii where we could use the bounce house all year long!
Sometimes as a parent you come up with a really great idea to entertain your children that turns out to be the dumbest idea ever. Here are some of my more recent ones...
1. Stamps... stamps are fun. I have fond memories of using stamps. Of course most of those memories are from when I was 8. Not TWO and FOUR years old. Thankfully I was intelligent enough to spread the 2 dozen stamps and ink pads on the tile kitchen floor so the mess was easy to clean up.
2. Six Flags on a 95+ degree day... Yeah, not so much. I thought if we went in the morning then we would be ok. I felt as though I was dying after 45 minutes! Goodness knows how the kids were feeling in the heat, but weren't telling us because they didn't want to leave.
3. Bouncy Balls... Yeah, God help my children if they break anything with this dang bouncy balls! The Jacks that came with them weren't the best idea either. The four year old is sad because the two year old keeps stepping on them and breaking them. Thankfully the jacks were free from the treasure box at the dentist.
4. Water guns... These are a current favorite at our house right now. Two year old hates being sprayed with water, but of course is spraying his sister which means she WILL retaliate. Oh well.. at least we bought 8 more yesterday so when friends come over there is no more fighting (over the guns, there will always be fighting over something!)
5. Rocking chairs... I bought two at a yard sale and they are SO super cute. They are wooden and just the right size for my kiddos. Unfortunately the four year old has taken to extreme rocking chair activities. I swear it as if her butt will explode if it touches the chair. She sits every way BUT the correct way. I can't recall how many times I have threatened to give these chairs away. She is a goober and knows that I won't go through with that threat.
Those are just a few examples of my dumb mommy brain as of late. I'm sure there are about 100 more examples of things I have done that I thought would be really great but turned out to be stupid ideas that I soon regretted. Do you have any examples? Hopefully fewer than mine!
Since the new year started, my husband has been counting down the days until Six Flags opened. Seriously, counting EACH DAY. So, when the park opened and he had to WORK every day it was open, he was pretty upset. Yesterday we could FINALLY go!!!
I measured the kids before we left. Jordan is 41 inches, which means that she can still ride all the rides she went on last year, but is 1 inch too short for a few new rides. Ben measured in at 35.75 inches. With shoes, he is 36 inches, JUST tall enough to go on some bigger, real people rides (not those lame little kid rides... I mean, fun little kid rides....).
I do believe that my 2 year old is now a roller coaster JUNKIE! He LOVED all the new rides we went on. And although I was scared to death that my baby was too little for such fast or spinning rides, he did have fun. There were only two rides I will NOT let him go on again until he is a little bigger. I swore I saw him nearly pass out! Of course, being the new junkie that he is, as soon as his head stopped rolling and he could stand, he said "AGAIN! AGAIN!!" But the roller coasters.... those were the biggest hit with him. Thankfully we went on a weekday, at the beginning of the season, with chance of rain, so there weren't a lot of people there and we could re-ride without getting back in line a few times per ride. If the park hadn't closed at 6pm we probably would have stayed longer!
I think this year's Six Flags experience for us will be an awesome one. We can go on rides as a family, instead of one of the adults being left behind with Ben while the other takes Jordan on the big rides. It's crazy. Time is going way too fast. My children are growing into these amazing, fun, thrill seekers!!
Thankfully we can still find horsies on carousels fun so that mommy's tummy can recuperate!
I never thought I would be one of those moms who wanted to spend Mother's Day away from their children. What is the point in that? Isn't this holiday about family? However, this year I asked to spend the night away from the family. That's right... every mother's dream. One night, uninterrupted sleep, and no responsibility in the morning!
Let me back up a little. We had a lovely day. We headed up to the Racine, WI zoo. I love that zoo. It is small but fun. We don't need to bring a stroller because it is just the right size for both of our children to walk around the zoo a few times and not be too tired. The train ride is cheap ($2 per person, Ben was free). We packed our own healthy lunch. It just so happened that it was also the lion cubs' first birthday so the zoo had big cakes and we all got a slice! Perfect morning.
Did our normal naps in the afternoon, hung out a bit at home, visited a new restaurant for dinner... Chinese buffet. I should have known better... DIET FAIL! BUT... SO TASTY! There was food there the kids liked, reasonably priced (and again, Ben was free!). It was super good, not shady like the ones back home in Pittsburgh!
After that... I left. I had some treats, a book, my tooth brush and pjs. I was ready to be by myself. The novelty wore off sometime around an hour after the kids bedtime. Although I was grateful to skip out on the stress of getting my stubborn children to bed, I was lonely and bored without my husband. I enjoyed watching certain shows I can not normally watch because we don't get most cable channels (Army Wives, 16 and Pregnant, and TONS of Law and Order Criminal Intent). But I couldn't fall asleep in that bed by myself, too lonely. No kitties taking up my side of the bed, no husband snoring.
But I have to say, it was all worth it to wake up on my OWN in the morning. I slept till 7:15... sadly in our household, that is sleeping in. Gotta love before 6am risers! And I didn't have kids barging in first thing in the morning with demands, hitting me in the face with toys, and the sounds of unhappy tortured kitties. I wasn't in charge of breakfast or getting the kids out the door in time for Preschool.
Will I ever do that again? Probably not. A few hours of tv and 15 minutes of peace in the morning was not worth missing out on morning snuggles with my boy, kisses and pats on the back at bedtime with my daughter.
This was an exercise in remembering how much I love my children. They fight, they hit, they kick, they scream, they demand, they jump... but they snuggle and love. They are funny and clever, energetic and entertaining. I love them with all of my heart. I have realized that I need to take more time to step back from bad or frustrating situations and remember how much I love them and that they are still SO young and really do not mean to be naughty, they are just reacting to a situation how 2 year olds and 4 year olds react.
I need to remember that each moment of the day, whether it is pleasant or not, is a moment that only my children can give me. And without them, I would still be behind a computer at a desk, spending 8-9 hours a day bored and lonely. They fill my life in a way no other human being could possibly satisfy. Thank you, my children, for making me a MOM.
I haven't posted in awhile and my brain is way too tired to think of a clever post or sort through photos. Instead I'm sharing my kids' top 5 movies choices for the past 2 weeks:
1. How to Train Your Dragon (this has been number one for months now) 2. Megamind (we just rented this from red box 2 days ago and Jordan keeps talking about it) 3. Shrek Forever after 4. Cars 5. Toy Story 3 (except the scene with the cymbal playing monkey, that scares my son!)
If I wasn't losing weight or getting more fit, at least me exercising is providing If I wasn't losing weight or getting more fit, at least me exercising is providing entertainment value through my children!!
I'm not sure how well you can see from the photo, but my son is spotted. Lots of red spots... all over his arms, legs, face, tummy, and back. Poor kiddo!
Of course a parent's first reaction is CHICKEN POX. Most parents don't care. I still remember my mom sending me to friends' houses when they had chicken pox so I could get them too. I'm fairly certain moms still doing that. However, in this household, a chicken pox outbreak would be bad. My husband never had chicken pox. That is the SOLE reason my children received the chicken pox vaccine. So, how could a child who had the vaccine get that same disease he was vaccinated for?
Needless to say, poor little guy was rushed to sick call this morning. We checked in and were put in an isolation waiting room (ha ha!). After waiting, we were finally seen... only to be told NOTHING. Seriously, waste of time. I already knew the spots weren't chicken pox because there was no blistering and he was not sick AT ALL. But just to ease my mind, I wanted confirmation. Basically, he has a viral rash that is like the second cousin to chicken pox. So he has spots, but they are not itchy or making him ill. He is contagious but we don't know for how long. We don't even know what virus it is, only that it is a virus so there is NOTHING we can do. Thankfully he has no other symptoms so there is not anything we need to do for him.
I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that my daughter does not become spotted so she can still attend preschool. I'm not sure I could handle complete quarantine with both children!
Big event... the boy's first birthday!! He was a pro at eating cake right from the beginning. At the end of the month we went to El Paso, TX. Jordan and Ben met their second and third cousins for the first time. Although we were there for a sad reason, it was nice to catch up with Dave's family and have them finally meet the kiddos. February:
Jordan turned THREE! She also became fully potty trained! March:
With warmer weather approaching, we were able to go to the playground and for the first time, Ben was able to PLAY! It was great having two little ones running around the playground.
April:
Jordan got her first bout of lice... EEK! Hence the shortest hair cut she's ever had. It was a disgusting experience I hope to never repeat! We also took the kids on a train ride, which was definitely awesome in Ben's opinion! May:
Dave got his first ever grill. YUM! June:
The kids took their first trip to California for Grandma Luisa's wedding. They also had their first beach experience. They were excited and had a lot of fun. Definitely worth the plane ride. They got along great with their new grandpa!! July:
Acquired a red wagon. This made all our trips to the zoo and Six Flags much easier! Loved this yard sale find!!
August:
August was a busy month. We went to Pittsburgh to see my parents and my sister+family. Then my friend from college came to visit. We saw THOMAS!! And finally I got to meet lots of lovely ladies from my February 2007 Baby forum! It was amazing getting to see a bunch of people that I "knew" so well but had not actually met in person. They came from Illinois, Ohio, Arkansas, and South Africa!! September:
September was a pretty laid back month. Dave and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary, I had my 29th birthday. We were busy with Jordan's first month of preschool, so no major outings. October:
We got to visit my best friend in St. Louis this month. We loved visiting so much that we went TWICE! Jordan and Ben fell in love with their new friends right away. During the second visit, we saw the St. Louis Arch and went up! November:
Ben is a full blown train lover so we went to the Museum of Science and Industry for the first time and he went NUTS over the train exhibit. Here he is trying to kiss the trains. December:
My parents were able to come out and visit in December. They hadn't been in over a year, so it was great to have them visit. Christmas was so much fun this year! Both kids were really into the holiday and it was a delight to celebrate with them!
I don't know what 2011 will bring for our family, but I cannot wait to find out!
Although it was challenging, only the second one I had ever made, and my child was not quite as patient as I would have liked, I thought that the making of gingerbread houses/objects would be a really fun activity to turn into a holiday tradition.
This year, while visiting the Chicago Botanic Gardens, we happened upon a gingerbread train kit. I LOVED this kit. It came with candy (though I prefer M&Ms so I picked up some at the store), and the icing!
My daughter REALLY wanted gummy bears to be involved in the process, so I decided to use the icing to glue them down, like passengers waiting to board the train. This was a lot of fun and I can't wait to build another one next year! Maybe even do a house AND train.
Another tradition we have started with our kids is the matching PJs. This year mommy and daddy picked out spongebob... I NEVER thought I'd have kids that would love spongebob so much, but they do. Our almost 2 year old breaks out in the theme song multiple times a week. Pictures of said PJS will be posted later, after they have been unwrapped!
We still haven't decided if there will be other traditions started with our family. I do know that I am thrilled to not be traveling this year. As much as I miss my family and friends back in Pittsburgh, I feel so much more relaxed knowing I don't have to pack up and drive 10 hours with the kids! Dave has a church gig this year, so our big meal on Christmas day will be brunch, when he gets home from the church. So far I have apple bread french toast, cinnamon rolls, turkey bacon, eggs, and cut up bananas on the menu. Not sure what else we will have, maybe some sort of apple pastry since we have lots of apples to use up.
In case I don't get on the computer tomorrow, which is likely because I've been a bit of a slacker lately, I would like to wish all of you out there in blog land a very merry Christmas.
