Friday, September 28, 2007
Just Give Her Space
Shelly Ann is NOT a cuddler. When Archer was tiny, all it would take in the middle of the night was pulling him in close and he'd be comforted and fall back to sleep. Shelly needs her space. But when I'm holding her I LOVE to put my nose into her hair and take a deep breath and just fill up with her sweet baby smell. And actually, I should revise that, because she DOES want to be close, just not TOO close. When she;s aake she needs to be held all the time, but once she falls asleep, just leave her alone.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
On the Mend
Archer's eye looked awful this morning, and he seemed like he was in just as much pain today as yesterday. I worried about him all day long, and hoped that he could just sleep through the worst of it. But when I got home this afternoon he looked so good! His eyelid wasn't swollen and puffy, he came running to open the door for me, and seemed in a really good mood. (Until I had to put the medicine in his eye, but he got over that in a few minutes.) I'm just so relieved that he's getting back to normal so quickly, I hate to see him in pain.
On another front, I have discovered that Shelly's not ready for meatballs. I had spaghetti last night and broke up a meatball into tiny pieces but it didn't go well for her. Not only did she start to gag and spit it out, she actually threw up. Is it bad parenting if you know your kid is about to puke to hold them parallel to the floor, face down, so they puke on the floor and not all over your shirt? Then I almost threw up cleaning up Shelly's throw up.
I had a friend who said to me, "Moms must be immune to the gag reflex when they smell poop and puke, because I don't know how my mom does it." She had a baby sister and got to experience all the stuff that I was too young to remember when my sister was a baby. But now, I'm experiencing it, and here's the real story. As a mom, you're not immune, you still have the gag reflex. You just don't have the option of letting someone else do it, so you somehow force yourself through the job and then breathe a sigh of relief when its over, and hope it doesn't happen again too soon.
On another front, I have discovered that Shelly's not ready for meatballs. I had spaghetti last night and broke up a meatball into tiny pieces but it didn't go well for her. Not only did she start to gag and spit it out, she actually threw up. Is it bad parenting if you know your kid is about to puke to hold them parallel to the floor, face down, so they puke on the floor and not all over your shirt? Then I almost threw up cleaning up Shelly's throw up.
I had a friend who said to me, "Moms must be immune to the gag reflex when they smell poop and puke, because I don't know how my mom does it." She had a baby sister and got to experience all the stuff that I was too young to remember when my sister was a baby. But now, I'm experiencing it, and here's the real story. As a mom, you're not immune, you still have the gag reflex. You just don't have the option of letting someone else do it, so you somehow force yourself through the job and then breathe a sigh of relief when its over, and hope it doesn't happen again too soon.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Major Injury Report
My poor baby. Not Shelly. Archer. I got a call from Sue at work today that Archer was hurt. I told her to wait it out for a little while and see what happened and she called back in a half hour to say he was crying and unconsolable. I came home and took him to the emergency room and found that he had a scratched cornea. Pretty bad, actually. And as I was describing the problem to the nurse and giving my insurance information, I was crying a little because my son was crying and yelling that his eye hurt and there was nothing I could do to help. He's sleeping now, which is probably the best thing, since when he's awake he won't open his eyes at all. He's in really serious pain and I feel awful that I can't keep him comfortable. Isn't that my job his mom? Yes, but its also not something I can do all the time. The perils of childhood - your cousin will accidentally jab you in the eye when you're playing together. And the perils of parenthood - you can't keep them from pain, and you can't always fix the pain once it happens.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Honesty
So... here is the question of the blog. Should I just keep it happy and write about the ups and leave out the downs? Or should I keep it honest, and write about the downs too? I'm not sure. On one hand, I'd like to focus on the positives and leave the negatives out of the picture, let them fade into history and if we all forget them that's just fine by me. On the other hand, it really bothers me when people only tell you the rosy side, they leave out the hard times and as a mom it makes me feel like I must be the only one going through those really chaotic crazy hard times. I don't want this blog to make my life sound so perfect and rosy that its not an honest picture of our lives. But I don't want to vent about the crap too much either.
This philisophical question was raised in my mind because on Thursday night I had one of the best times with my two kids that I enjoyed so much and never want to forget. And the very next night, on Friday, we were on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Archer refused to do anything I asked (a very simple request, by the way), he screamed and cried for what felt like years (in reality it went on for about an hour and a half), and then I finally just lost it and screamed back at him. I somehow justified my behavior by thinking that I didn't deserve to be screamed at by him, and I wanted him to get it in return. And there was Shelly, just along for the ride, sitting next to the two of us screaming at each other and she was probably terrified. She started crying too. I realized I had gone too far but I had no idea what to do and decided to just get out. I packed up Shelly and put her in the car. Archer (who was completely naked because he refused to get dressed) came running out onto the porch crying "Don't leave me!" And when I told him to get his clothes on I've never seen him move so fast to find pants, a shirt and a pullup and get dressed. We all got in the car and went for a drive.
I apologized to him, I told him I love him so much and that we both need to work on trying to get along with each other. I hate what I did, that I lost my cool and lost control. I hope he doesn't remember it when he gets older but chances are he will. So I can chalk it up to a lesson learned, and remember it the next time I feel on the edge and try to change course.
So that's honesty over nothing but happy stuff. And I think that's important.
This philisophical question was raised in my mind because on Thursday night I had one of the best times with my two kids that I enjoyed so much and never want to forget. And the very next night, on Friday, we were on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Archer refused to do anything I asked (a very simple request, by the way), he screamed and cried for what felt like years (in reality it went on for about an hour and a half), and then I finally just lost it and screamed back at him. I somehow justified my behavior by thinking that I didn't deserve to be screamed at by him, and I wanted him to get it in return. And there was Shelly, just along for the ride, sitting next to the two of us screaming at each other and she was probably terrified. She started crying too. I realized I had gone too far but I had no idea what to do and decided to just get out. I packed up Shelly and put her in the car. Archer (who was completely naked because he refused to get dressed) came running out onto the porch crying "Don't leave me!" And when I told him to get his clothes on I've never seen him move so fast to find pants, a shirt and a pullup and get dressed. We all got in the car and went for a drive.
I apologized to him, I told him I love him so much and that we both need to work on trying to get along with each other. I hate what I did, that I lost my cool and lost control. I hope he doesn't remember it when he gets older but chances are he will. So I can chalk it up to a lesson learned, and remember it the next time I feel on the edge and try to change course.
So that's honesty over nothing but happy stuff. And I think that's important.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Things that happen to babies
that will probably not happen when they get older...
Random people feel that its ok to approach them in public places and talk to them, make silly noises, touch their cheeks and generally act rediculous.
The tops of their feet are dirtier than the bottoms (fromn crawling and their feet draging along behind).
Its cute when they have food covering every inch of their face.
Babies wear all kinds of flowers, patterns, colors, phrases and so on that older people wouldn't ever think of leaving the house in ("Daddy's girl" "So pretty" flowers and plaid and polka dots all in one outfit)
Its ok to be dependant on the bottle.
Everyone around them is older, bigger, and more powerful.
This is the time of life when they'll probably hear "no" more than any point in the future (hopefully anyway!)
Random people feel that its ok to approach them in public places and talk to them, make silly noises, touch their cheeks and generally act rediculous.
The tops of their feet are dirtier than the bottoms (fromn crawling and their feet draging along behind).
Its cute when they have food covering every inch of their face.
Babies wear all kinds of flowers, patterns, colors, phrases and so on that older people wouldn't ever think of leaving the house in ("Daddy's girl" "So pretty" flowers and plaid and polka dots all in one outfit)
Its ok to be dependant on the bottle.
Everyone around them is older, bigger, and more powerful.
This is the time of life when they'll probably hear "no" more than any point in the future (hopefully anyway!)
Friday, September 21, 2007
Popcorn
A few days ago I was eating some popcorn and Shelly came along, pulled herself up, and stood looking up at me. And without saying anything, I knew what she was telling me - why aren't you sharing that with me? So I bit off little pieces, the soft part that doesn't have any of the sharp edges, and started feeding them to her one at a time. And that's when I remembered that Grandma Marian told me that she did that exact same thing for her kids when they were little. I'm glad to have that in common with her.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Dancing
Close your eyes, think of the song “Let your love flow… just let your love flow, like a mountain stream, and let your love grow with the smallest of dreams…”Now picture a mom in the kitchen in the evening, her two kids near her feet, everyone swaying to the music and not worrying about anything because its fun to just dance and be together. Picture her holding an 8 month old girl on one hip and a three year old boy on the other, swaying to the music, closing her eyes and thinking that there’s nothing better than this moment. And on the day that I married David I knew we were heading into a life full of adventure but I never could have imagined the pleasure I’d get from simply closing my eyes, holding my children, and enjoying the moment. Hearing my daughter singing along in her own way, and my son wrapping his arms around my neck and saying “I love you mama.” These are the moments I never want to forget, the moments that make parenting the most fulfilling job in the world, the moments that make me know my life is full and happy and complete.
Memories of Home
The first time I came to this house…
The driveway was gravel
The yard was weeds
There was one sock laying on the floor in the front bedroom, and absolutely nothing else in the room
The master bedroom was empty except for a round coffee table and a brass chest with a waterfall on it
The tv in the living room was sitting on the floor
There were no curtains anywhere, except the living room - not the bedrooms
More memories
Our first kiss, standing in front of the refridgerator while David was cooking supper for me
I remember sitting on the couch and David sitting on the floor next to me and us talking about me moving in with him
David discussing that he wanted to start collecting vases to put on top of the kitchen cupboards
Mowing the weeds, then tilling, then spreading fill and topsoil, then spreading grass seed, then watering and watering and watering
Moving gravel from the driveway to the back yard, one heavy wheel barrow-full at a time, spreading it into the sections where we wanted a deck, a patio
Leveling the gravel, adding sand and bricks, making a patio, enlisting the whole family’s help
Enlisting Deuce’s help to build a deck
Renting an auger to dig holes for the footings of the deck, David and Deuce digging the first two holes and David and I digging the last hole
The auger hitting a soft spot of sand and suddenly burying down further than it should have gone, David saying “let go let go!!!” so it would shut off, but my hand was trapped under the handle and I couldn’t let go
Planting flowers from Grandma Marian
Digging up the section in front of the house where I wanted to plant shrubs, and thinking that we worked so hard to get the grass to grow, and now we had to work so hard to dig it up and throw it away
Digging up more grass, that we worked so hard to grow, to make room for flowers
Planting a tree in the middle of the front yard in memory of our baby that was lost before he/she even met us
Bringing our dog home for the first time, setting him down and watching him pee and poop on our carpet five times in the first two hours
Bringing our son into our home for the first time, putting him into the bassinet, and thinking, “now what?”
Archer's first steps in our living room, Archer's first attemt to run away out the front door, his eagerness to help with all the yard work, as long as he's doing whatever we're doing
Bringing our daughter home for the first time and thinking “my life is full and complete and happy and so incredibly blessed”
Its amazing to me to think that already, in only a few short years, David and I have built so many memories in this house, where he kissed me for the first time, and we brought our children home, and painted the walls and put up pictures, and we will continue to stay together as a family, building more memories in this home for many years to come.
The driveway was gravel
The yard was weeds
There was one sock laying on the floor in the front bedroom, and absolutely nothing else in the room
The master bedroom was empty except for a round coffee table and a brass chest with a waterfall on it
The tv in the living room was sitting on the floor
There were no curtains anywhere, except the living room - not the bedrooms
More memories
Our first kiss, standing in front of the refridgerator while David was cooking supper for me
I remember sitting on the couch and David sitting on the floor next to me and us talking about me moving in with him
David discussing that he wanted to start collecting vases to put on top of the kitchen cupboards
Mowing the weeds, then tilling, then spreading fill and topsoil, then spreading grass seed, then watering and watering and watering
Moving gravel from the driveway to the back yard, one heavy wheel barrow-full at a time, spreading it into the sections where we wanted a deck, a patio
Leveling the gravel, adding sand and bricks, making a patio, enlisting the whole family’s help
Enlisting Deuce’s help to build a deck
Renting an auger to dig holes for the footings of the deck, David and Deuce digging the first two holes and David and I digging the last hole
The auger hitting a soft spot of sand and suddenly burying down further than it should have gone, David saying “let go let go!!!” so it would shut off, but my hand was trapped under the handle and I couldn’t let go
Planting flowers from Grandma Marian
Digging up the section in front of the house where I wanted to plant shrubs, and thinking that we worked so hard to get the grass to grow, and now we had to work so hard to dig it up and throw it away
Digging up more grass, that we worked so hard to grow, to make room for flowers
Planting a tree in the middle of the front yard in memory of our baby that was lost before he/she even met us
Bringing our dog home for the first time, setting him down and watching him pee and poop on our carpet five times in the first two hours
Bringing our son into our home for the first time, putting him into the bassinet, and thinking, “now what?”
Archer's first steps in our living room, Archer's first attemt to run away out the front door, his eagerness to help with all the yard work, as long as he's doing whatever we're doing
Bringing our daughter home for the first time and thinking “my life is full and complete and happy and so incredibly blessed”
Its amazing to me to think that already, in only a few short years, David and I have built so many memories in this house, where he kissed me for the first time, and we brought our children home, and painted the walls and put up pictures, and we will continue to stay together as a family, building more memories in this home for many years to come.
Good News
Well, the list of things that take priority over a new computer are long, but we're moving through them.
My car needed repairs, its done.
My tooth needed a root canal, I got away with just a filling instead, taken care of.
The dryer needed a new timer and heating coil, installed last night.
There's lots still on the list but someday (hopefully soon) we'll get to the computer on the list. Its amazing how lost I feel witout it, and how many different things I use it for. How did people ever do anything before computers and the WWW?
My car needed repairs, its done.
My tooth needed a root canal, I got away with just a filling instead, taken care of.
The dryer needed a new timer and heating coil, installed last night.
There's lots still on the list but someday (hopefully soon) we'll get to the computer on the list. Its amazing how lost I feel witout it, and how many different things I use it for. How did people ever do anything before computers and the WWW?
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
BookMooch
I've told some of you about the website BookMooch but for those of you who don't know, here's the scoop. BookMooch is a website where you can trade books for free with other people. All you pay is the cost of postage to send your books away to people who want them. But when you request books from other people, you get them for free. The way it stays fair is by a points system, where every time I send a book I earn a point. So when I want to request a book from someone else, I loose a point and they get a point.
The reason I'm writing about this now is because I've started a little project and if you're interested in contributing I'd be happy to have your help. When I went to see Lou at his new home a few days ago, I saw that the library shelves were empty. The building is fairly new, so I'm sure they just haven't had a chance to start their collection, but I wanted to help them get started. So here's what I did. I set up a charity account on the BookMooch website. I told the other people who are members of BookMooch about it, and so far they've donated almost 50 points to the chartiy account for the Veterans Home. That means that we can get 50 books FOR FREE for the veterans, books that they request by title or by general topics of interest.
Here's how you can help my project. Join BookMooch, give away books and earn points, give those points to the Veterans Home account so they can request more books. -OR- Send books to me that you're done reading and ready to give away. I'll give those books away to help earn points for the Veterans Home account. Donating even one book to the project is one more book for the Veterans who have served our country and given so much to us. Thanks for your help!
The reason I'm writing about this now is because I've started a little project and if you're interested in contributing I'd be happy to have your help. When I went to see Lou at his new home a few days ago, I saw that the library shelves were empty. The building is fairly new, so I'm sure they just haven't had a chance to start their collection, but I wanted to help them get started. So here's what I did. I set up a charity account on the BookMooch website. I told the other people who are members of BookMooch about it, and so far they've donated almost 50 points to the chartiy account for the Veterans Home. That means that we can get 50 books FOR FREE for the veterans, books that they request by title or by general topics of interest.
Here's how you can help my project. Join BookMooch, give away books and earn points, give those points to the Veterans Home account so they can request more books. -OR- Send books to me that you're done reading and ready to give away. I'll give those books away to help earn points for the Veterans Home account. Donating even one book to the project is one more book for the Veterans who have served our country and given so much to us. Thanks for your help!
Finally, a minute to write something!
When we ride in the car, as soon as we start moving Shelly starts her song. Its not moaning, or crying, or babbling. She just says a long, contented "aaaahhhhhhoooooooaaaahhhh..." On and on, like she's listening to the sound of her voice as she bumps along in the car, hearing it over the engine and other sounds. She does it every time, until she falls asleep.
When she's done eating, full and content, she sticks out just the very tip of her tongue. Not just for a minute, either, she keeps it stuck out as long as she's feeling happy from eating.
A few days ago, when I came home from work, Grandma Sue was making a trip out to her car to pack things up before taking the kids home. She left the door between the garage and the laundry room open, and I was reminded of the three door system we had instituted to keep the dog in the house. Now that the dog moved out, we haven't been as vigilent about the system, but we'll have to go back to that routine soon, because Brock started crawling through the laundry room as quick as he could to get to the open door. So I picked him up, turned around and set him down in the hallway, just in time to catch Shelly before she tumbled out the open door. And then I caught Brock on the edge again, and then Shelly, around and around... Those two can really move!
Yesterday Heidi and Sue and I started telling stories about broken bones, inspired by Annika's fall off the mokey bars at school the day before. It makes me cringe to think what might be ahead in my parenting adventure, but I guess all you can do is tr to keep them safe, keep telling them to quick throwing rocks at each other, and hope for the best!
When she's done eating, full and content, she sticks out just the very tip of her tongue. Not just for a minute, either, she keeps it stuck out as long as she's feeling happy from eating.
A few days ago, when I came home from work, Grandma Sue was making a trip out to her car to pack things up before taking the kids home. She left the door between the garage and the laundry room open, and I was reminded of the three door system we had instituted to keep the dog in the house. Now that the dog moved out, we haven't been as vigilent about the system, but we'll have to go back to that routine soon, because Brock started crawling through the laundry room as quick as he could to get to the open door. So I picked him up, turned around and set him down in the hallway, just in time to catch Shelly before she tumbled out the open door. And then I caught Brock on the edge again, and then Shelly, around and around... Those two can really move!
Yesterday Heidi and Sue and I started telling stories about broken bones, inspired by Annika's fall off the mokey bars at school the day before. It makes me cringe to think what might be ahead in my parenting adventure, but I guess all you can do is tr to keep them safe, keep telling them to quick throwing rocks at each other, and hope for the best!
Monday, September 17, 2007
Weekend Words
Just a quick post during break-time here at work...
Yesterday Archer said to us "I don't like you!!! No, I mean, I HATE you!"
And my response was, "I don't care." Obviously I can say that I don't care what he says because I don't really believe him. He's three, its hard to take what he says very personally. I'm not sure I'll be able to say that I don't care what he says a few years from now...
And Shelly said to us "Mama." Of course I have no idea if she knows what she said, or if she was just babbling new sounds in the mix of sounds she already knows, but I got excited and cheered her on anyway. Those two kids balanced each other out pretty well yesterday, one's tantrums tolerable because the other was happy and babbling away, saying my name for the first time.
Yesterday Archer said to us "I don't like you!!! No, I mean, I HATE you!"
And my response was, "I don't care." Obviously I can say that I don't care what he says because I don't really believe him. He's three, its hard to take what he says very personally. I'm not sure I'll be able to say that I don't care what he says a few years from now...
And Shelly said to us "Mama." Of course I have no idea if she knows what she said, or if she was just babbling new sounds in the mix of sounds she already knows, but I got excited and cheered her on anyway. Those two kids balanced each other out pretty well yesterday, one's tantrums tolerable because the other was happy and babbling away, saying my name for the first time.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Toughen Up!
Shelly’s not really a cuddler like Archer was.
No, she’s got a different drive. Food.
Thanks to Todd we had a nice date night, we went out for supper and then to a movie. The movie was about a boy who had a horrible teacher in gym class when he was young, and grew up resenting that man, only to find that his mom was now dating that very same man. We’ve all had one of those teachers, the ones that you hate, they’re too hard on you, you wouldn’t wish them on the meanest bully in the school, but there you are, stuck with them for a whole school year. And now I’m a mom - I talk up school to Archer, tell him how great its going to be when he goes to school but always in the back of my mind there’s that small fear. What if the other kids are mean to him? What if he has a mean teacher? I was talking to someone about his daughter’s first week in kindergarten, she was pushed down four out of her first five days. I remember my first grade teacher, she was just downright mean and cranky. And some people might say, “it makes you tougher,” but that doesn’t mean we don’t try to avoid those situations for ourselves, and why shouldn’t I try to keep my kids out of those situations? I know they have to go through tough things in life, its just how life is, but I still wish I could keep them from it. My heart aches to think I’ll be sending them out into the world to face the same injuries that I went through. “Having children is making the decision to forever have your heart walking around outside of you.” How true.
No, she’s got a different drive. Food.
Thanks to Todd we had a nice date night, we went out for supper and then to a movie. The movie was about a boy who had a horrible teacher in gym class when he was young, and grew up resenting that man, only to find that his mom was now dating that very same man. We’ve all had one of those teachers, the ones that you hate, they’re too hard on you, you wouldn’t wish them on the meanest bully in the school, but there you are, stuck with them for a whole school year. And now I’m a mom - I talk up school to Archer, tell him how great its going to be when he goes to school but always in the back of my mind there’s that small fear. What if the other kids are mean to him? What if he has a mean teacher? I was talking to someone about his daughter’s first week in kindergarten, she was pushed down four out of her first five days. I remember my first grade teacher, she was just downright mean and cranky. And some people might say, “it makes you tougher,” but that doesn’t mean we don’t try to avoid those situations for ourselves, and why shouldn’t I try to keep my kids out of those situations? I know they have to go through tough things in life, its just how life is, but I still wish I could keep them from it. My heart aches to think I’ll be sending them out into the world to face the same injuries that I went through. “Having children is making the decision to forever have your heart walking around outside of you.” How true.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Mess Assessment
Allowing Archer to play in the kitchen is less about trying to avoid all messes, and instead choosing which messes I’m willing to clean up. Each moment that Archer moves on to something new is a moment for me to envision the mess that’s about to ensue, and decide whether or not its worth his entertainment for me to clean it up. Broken eggs? As long as they stay in the kitchen, and don’t end up in the living room. Water in the sink, definitely fine with me, no matter how much ends up on the counters and floor. Sticky stuff like peanut butter, syrup, juice, dish soap straight out of the bottle, not ok.
Withdrawal
I am going through severe blog withdrawal, from not being able to post regularly, so I'm taking five minutes at work to write this. My son can now count to five in Spanish. Good to know Handy Manny and Dora the Explorer are sinking in. My daughter crawls quicker than ever, pulls herself up, and walks along the couch, but can't quite stand on her own yet. That's not keeping her from trying, though! That's all for now folks, have a nice day!
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Farmer Archer
Today I was raking up the grass in the yard after mowing, and Archer came out and said one of his most common phrases, “Can I help?” So he brought out his little wheelbarrow, I gave him a rake, and he started raking. He soon gave up, and started picking up grass instead. Then he told me that he was feeding the cows. “Here cows cows cows cows! I’m Farmer Archer. Cows say MOOO!” He screeches “moo” in the highest pitched voice I can imagine and I smile thinking how unlike a cow he sounds, but he’s Farmer Archer so he must know what cows sound like. And all I have to do to take advantage of his energy and willingness to help is come up with someway to play into his game. “Farmer Archer, don’t put the grass on the patio, because the cows don’t like to come on the patio, it hurts their feet. They don’t wear shoes. They like to be in the field back there, can you put the grass back there for them?” And, viola, he’s doing the job for me! Ahh the power of manipulation… One point for me for getting him to do work for me, and another point for me for playing his game along with him.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Things Archer Says
Don’t say another word.
If you do that again you’re going to have a time out.
Don’t even talk to me.
That’s not ideal.
You need your shoes on before you go outside.
You forgot to buckle me up!
Did you hear that? it’s a train (or airplane, big truck, noisy motorcycle…)
Save big money at Menards!
You can do it, we can help (from the Home Depot commercial).
Eat fresh (from the Subway restaurant commercial).
See the lights are on at McDonalds? See that? That means we can go there! (Heading off my excuse of not going to McDonalds because the lights are off and they’re closed).
Where are we going? But I want to go visit Dad at work! (I love this one because he just wants to spend more time with his dad, even if its at work.)
If you do that again you’re going to have a time out.
Don’t even talk to me.
That’s not ideal.
You need your shoes on before you go outside.
You forgot to buckle me up!
Did you hear that? it’s a train (or airplane, big truck, noisy motorcycle…)
Save big money at Menards!
You can do it, we can help (from the Home Depot commercial).
Eat fresh (from the Subway restaurant commercial).
See the lights are on at McDonalds? See that? That means we can go there! (Heading off my excuse of not going to McDonalds because the lights are off and they’re closed).
Where are we going? But I want to go visit Dad at work! (I love this one because he just wants to spend more time with his dad, even if its at work.)
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Reflexes
Grandma Marian once told me a story about a time when Grandpa Glenn was feeding James, when he was a baby. As Grandpa moved the spoon closer and closer to James’ little mouth, Grandpa’s mouth would open wider and wider until… the spoon went in! Then James’ mouth would close, and Grandpa’s mouth would close too. Its funny to picture it, but there’s something reflexive about this - I do the same thing when I’m feeding Shelly and no matter how hard I try, I can’t keep my mouth closed as I move the spoon to her mouth. it’s a reflex, impossible to control. Just like when we were riding in the car with Mom, and if she had to suddenly slow down, she always put her arm out, across me, to protect me. And when a mom hears a kid scream she immediately asses the noise - excited or injured? My kid or someone else’s? Major injury or minor?
Update
Hello family and friends. I'm letting you know that its going to be a little while before I can post anything new on the blog. Unfortunately there was a major disaster at our home, involving a three year old, a glass of wine, and our laptop computer. So, as we work on resolving that, I'll be writing but unable to post. And sometime in the future (hopefully not too long) I'll be able to put everything up that I've written. But in the mean time, you'll just have to imagine what we're up to. Or call us to find out the latest. Or send a letter. Like in the good old days, when people used the US Postal Service to communicate with each other...
P.S. It might be longer than we'd like before the computer gets fixed, because we have a whole list of other things that need attention, like my broken car last week, and my root canal this week, and a broken clothes dryer, and David's car needs service.
P.S. It might be longer than we'd like before the computer gets fixed, because we have a whole list of other things that need attention, like my broken car last week, and my root canal this week, and a broken clothes dryer, and David's car needs service.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Problem Solving
Today Shell was crawling around with a toy, and came up to her bouncer seat, which she never uses anymore (since she’s too busy to sit still and bounce). She tried to use it to pull herself up, but she ran into a problem - she wanted to hold the toy and also stand up, but she couldn’t pull herself up with just one hand. She tried a few times and then gave up, or so I thought. She left the bouncer and crawled a few feet away to a pile of toys. She sat down in the middle of the toys and examined each one, picking it up, shaking it, putting it in her mouth, banging it against other toys around her. After a few minutes she found the right one, and took it back to the bouncer. This one was much smaller. She tested it again by hitting it against the bouncer, putting it in her mouth, passing it back and forth between her hands, and then finally trying again to pull into a standing position. She tried and tried, holding the toy in a different hand, thinking about how she could position herself differently, and didn’t give up. Well, eventually she did. She never quite managed to succeed, but I was very impressed with how long she tried, before moving on to something else. I can see the wheels turning and she’s working hard to figure things out, and this is a great time, when everything is brand new and interesting.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Abridged Books
I am writing this on my faithful AlphaSmart 2000. Our computer has died. This is not unexpected, considering the circumstances - a glass of wine, a three year old, an inevitable big spill. And bam, its fried. So I’m temporarily out of commission, but writing this anyway with plans to post later.
Can I come?
No.
But I want to! (you can see where this is heading)
Well, we don’t always get what we want.
Otay. (complete happy surprise!)
I shouldn’t have been happy so quickly. The boy brought it up again two minutes later and then started his screaming and whining. Ahhh another day in the life of a three year old.
Shelly’s absolute worst thing that can happen to her is being left behind. Even though she can crawl really well now, it still isn’t fast enough to keep up with Archer, or anyone else, for that matter. So, when she’s left behind, she tries to follow but cries the whole time, just to remind you that she doesn’t appreciate being left out of the fun.
Archer has been so willing to help take care of her lately, he jumps at the chance to get her bottle, or feed her, or give her toys. Usually, anyway, when he’s in a good mood. Sometimes, if he’s laying on the floor and she crawls over and climbs on him he whines and says, “I don’t want her by me!” But sometimes, the best times, he says, “Look, Shelly wants me! She loves me. I love you Shelly!” Before I had kids I was under he impression that Dr. Seuss was one of the best children’s book authors out there. Now that I have children, and am asked to read and re-read and re-read, I’m not such a big fan of Dr. Seuss. Yes, the books are amusing, original, imaginative. But some of them are SO LONG. And at night, when all I can think about is getting Archer to bed ASAP, so that I can go to bed ASAP, I dread the Dr. Seuss rhymes. I’d much rather read a book about colors or numbers, since those are definitely shorter. Anything that has lots of words is definitely not something I look forward to. Which is funny because in general I like to read long novels. But something in me just doesn’t have the patience to read the same eternally long books a million times over. And so, here is my confession: I abridge. I read only half the sentences on the page, or summarize, or skip pages (when I can get away with it). And as long as we’re on confessions, I have another one for you: One day we were going somewhere in the car, and pointing out birds to each other that we saw as we went. We stopped at a light and Archer pointed out a bird that was walking across the road. “What kind is that?” he said. And I didn’t know, so I said, “it’s a roadrunner.” I was just goofing around of course, but now, whenever we see that same bird, in our yard says, “Look, a roadrunner!” And even though I was kidding when I first said it, I now feel like I lied to him about the bird, since he remembers what I said and believes me.
Can I come?
No.
But I want to! (you can see where this is heading)
Well, we don’t always get what we want.
Otay. (complete happy surprise!)
I shouldn’t have been happy so quickly. The boy brought it up again two minutes later and then started his screaming and whining. Ahhh another day in the life of a three year old.
Shelly’s absolute worst thing that can happen to her is being left behind. Even though she can crawl really well now, it still isn’t fast enough to keep up with Archer, or anyone else, for that matter. So, when she’s left behind, she tries to follow but cries the whole time, just to remind you that she doesn’t appreciate being left out of the fun.
Archer has been so willing to help take care of her lately, he jumps at the chance to get her bottle, or feed her, or give her toys. Usually, anyway, when he’s in a good mood. Sometimes, if he’s laying on the floor and she crawls over and climbs on him he whines and says, “I don’t want her by me!” But sometimes, the best times, he says, “Look, Shelly wants me! She loves me. I love you Shelly!” Before I had kids I was under he impression that Dr. Seuss was one of the best children’s book authors out there. Now that I have children, and am asked to read and re-read and re-read, I’m not such a big fan of Dr. Seuss. Yes, the books are amusing, original, imaginative. But some of them are SO LONG. And at night, when all I can think about is getting Archer to bed ASAP, so that I can go to bed ASAP, I dread the Dr. Seuss rhymes. I’d much rather read a book about colors or numbers, since those are definitely shorter. Anything that has lots of words is definitely not something I look forward to. Which is funny because in general I like to read long novels. But something in me just doesn’t have the patience to read the same eternally long books a million times over. And so, here is my confession: I abridge. I read only half the sentences on the page, or summarize, or skip pages (when I can get away with it). And as long as we’re on confessions, I have another one for you: One day we were going somewhere in the car, and pointing out birds to each other that we saw as we went. We stopped at a light and Archer pointed out a bird that was walking across the road. “What kind is that?” he said. And I didn’t know, so I said, “it’s a roadrunner.” I was just goofing around of course, but now, whenever we see that same bird, in our yard says, “Look, a roadrunner!” And even though I was kidding when I first said it, I now feel like I lied to him about the bird, since he remembers what I said and believes me.
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