The Messy Things

I'm pretty easy going about letting my kids do things for themselves, letting them learn by doing, and  letting them figure things out without my help.  There are some things, however, I've been too strict with. Things that might delay things, and this is why.

I am a clean freak! Something I actively work on. The idea though, of juice all over the floor is why I usually don't let my son pour his own. The idea of body fluids all over the floor is why I usually didn't/don't let my kids crawl around without a diaper to cure their rash. The idea of food on everything is why it usually took me way too long to let them feed themselves. The key word here, is usually. I let them do these things, just not as much as others might. I work on it.

Tonight I tried. I tried to let our daughter crawl around without her diaper for about 15 minutes before her bath. Well, pee isn't that big of a deal, and since I just removed and cleaned a poopy diaper, I figured "what time would be better?" Not 5 minutes in to the nakedness, she crawled past us and had one huge explosive fart splattering everything behind her, almost including her brother. That my friends, is why I refrain from doing these things.


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Be Mindful of What You Say

Sometimes, you get so caught up in the adventures of the day, that you forget to pay attention to details. That is right about when your kids pop in and send you a big ol' eye opener to remind you to watch it! That happened to me today. 

We were having a busy day, which means of course, that the baby was getting into everything she could. She was being a curious little one year old all day. When we were sitting in the van waiting for their dad to run an errand, I turned around to talk to the kids. I was playing by asking the baby, "Baby Girl, why you being so naughty?" Immediately, my son chimes in, "Because, she's a b*tch!". Ok, I'll admit, it was so shocking and unexpected that I chuckled a little. Then I calmed myself and explained to him that it wasn't a nice thing to say and we should not speak that way about our sisters because we love them and should respect them. I could tell he knew right away the right from wrong in the situation. 

I can honestly say this didn't come from me. I never call people this. However, I do curse, and I am still responsible for being mindful of the things I say in front of the kids, as well as the things others say in front of them. I have witnessed them copying other people they are around often. (case in point) Thankfully, our son is very receptive when we tell him some words are not good words, and we should not say them.  My awareness has been turned back on for now though. I am still shocked he said that. I will aim to be more mindful of my words for the kids.

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Counting

I personally never cared much for the traditional "1...2....3" counting to make a child do something technique. As I have gotten older and started my own family I feel even more strongly about it now. I just feel like some parents who use it threaten but don't follow through, even allowing extensions such as 3 1/2, 3 3/4 with young children who don't even understand fractions. I have made it a point to follow through whenever I say something, so I try to choose that threat carefully. (taking a toy away if it doesn't get picked up, versus a smack or spank) I certainly am not trashing anyone who uses it, it just isn't a method I choose. No one way is perfect for everyone, we are all unique and so are our children. 

What I have come up with though, is a fun and more positive twist on the same counting. When I want my son to do something like pick up his toys, I say, "You need to pick up all your toys, let's see if you can do it before I count too..." and he is always quick to shout out a number. So, say we choose 20, I will count to 20 like it is a fun race to see if he can get his toys picked up before I finish. He has a blast racing the clock, I don't feel like I am overpowering him, and if something should happen and he needs a little more time I just count slower instead of using confusing fractions. He has been super responsive to this method and he does whatever I ask him to do with a big smile when I use this technique. 

It's all trial and error when you are a parent. Even if you get advice from seasoned vets on the topic, not all advice can be used for everyone. You must try out various parenting methods until you find a match. I am thankful I found a match this time, but I am sure around the corner more trials and errors await.

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My Son Brightens Up My Days

We have some very good light blocking curtains up on our bedroom window. Every morning when I wake up, part of my house waking routine is to open those curtains up and let the sunshine in.

On this morning, I took the baby out of her bed (which is next to ours) I placed her on the floor and then her brother walked in to say good morning. Right after he walked in, I stood up to open the curtains. Immediately once the sun was shining through my son started chanting, "Night time, DAY TIME!" and he said this over and over for a while as I sat there laughing enjoying the way he always puts a huge smile on my face.
 

Now, this story may not sound that funny to you, so I must show you a video for you to fully understand. My sister showed a video to us and we all fell in love with it's hilarity. I can't find the exact one she showed us, but this one has the important clip right away. If you enjoy the humor then go to YouTube and search "BBC animals". There are tons of great ones. 

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Little Boys

So, yesterday I was in the bathroom putting on my make-up to get ready for the day.

My son walks right in stating that he has to go pee. I explain to him that doing so will be fine, but I would appreciate it if he would knock first when the door is closed to respect my privacy. (he's only 3 and a half, but start in the beginning right?)

He goes on to tell me this story of his dad previously not knocking and he gets so distracted by his tattle that he ends up missing a little while he peed. I told him to pay attention to what he was doing and I pointed out that he had "spilled". His response, said with a grin, "Don't Slip!" Guess this proves we are raising a smart ass just like the two of us are. :)





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Got the Time I've Been Asking For

So, tonight, the baby wasn't feeling very good and went to bed just after 8:00pm. She always goes to sleep on her own, some nights there is some whining, tonight she knocked right out. Shortly after, around 9:00pm, the husband went to sleep too. He works a 2:00am shift and sleeps early.

Before the Hubs went to bed, we were watching some "Robot Chicken" on Demand. When he went to sleep, I was left in front of the TV.... and "Sex and the City 2" was on. I love that show/those movies. So I was stuck a little longer. I sat there on my butt for a good half hour, when I realized my Son never came back in from his last time leaving. Sure enough, after telling me he was tired, he had gone into his bed and passed out. 

So, I didn't have to put anyone to bed. No bedtime stories, bath times, routines, nothing. They all went to bed on their own, and early. And yet here I am, sitting on my butt watching TV. WOW! I finally got that much sought after freedom and alone time every mom dreams of, and I have no motivation to be productive. Ironic. 

I did however, wipe down all the kitchen surfaces, and wash the dishes, fold the laundry.... and of course.... write this blog. All while putting the movie on pause cause I felt guilty doing NOTHING :)

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A Fresh Air Break

Last night my son woke with a fever, a sore throat, and aches all over. Ibuprofen took good care of him, as well as some cuddles in our bed.  Thankfully, him and I both got enough good rest, and the day went by happily. His fever came and went, as well as the pains, but he was mostly good all day. Still, being cooped up all day can really put a family on edge. 

Right before nap time, and after too much TV, I had him put on his flip flops for a quick walk around the block. I explained that fresh (and wonderfully warm) air would make him feel a lot better. Nature heals. He was happy to go outside, so was the baby. So, the three of us took a walk around our block.

At first, he said he was cold, so we started to jog. He was good after that and we spent the rest of the trip in search of beautiful flowers to smell. He found lots of great roses, he touched a lemon growing on a tree, he said hi to the passing people, and he was careful to look for cars when crossing the alley. 

We all came home happier, more refreshed, and ready for the rest of the day. What a great way to break a funk.

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Getting into Girly Things

When I found out I was pregnant with a baby girl, I resolved not to be a pink fanatic once she was born. Pink is cute, but seriously, too much is just extreme overkill. I wanted to put my baby girl in girls clothes that were other colors besides pink. Although, I've always had a deeper connection with DARK pink stuff. I decided no dresses until she could walk, because I remember how t-shirts on our son were very annoying when they would ride up all the time. Most likely I had many of these feelings due to only having my boy and having a hard time switching from "blue" to "pink" so to speak. But things are improving now. 

She is 10 months old right now, and I have since put her in a few dresses, quite a few t-shirts, and inevitably... much pink. Most of her clothes (as well as my sons') come as gifts. Baby showers, birthdays, holidays, baptisms etc. So, many of those gifts for our girl came in pink. Some things have been returned for more suitable items, most were kept to wear. Honestly, some of the long t-shirt and pants sets have been some of my favorite outfits on her. The dresses always have pants underneath, so they are essential the same as the sets just mentioned. It's getting more and more fun to dress my baby girl even though she still isn't walking yet. She just started to pull into standing. 

Maybe I had the switch over when everyone kept assuming she was a boy. With yellow and green on, I got a lot of, "Oh, he's so cute". The more I heard it, the more I began to see her looking like a boy in those clothes myself. And slowly we have gotten to this stage of pink, dresses, and other cutesy things. I am looking forward to more dresses, many hair accessories, and adorable girl toys occupying our shelves.

Actually, I am really looking forward to having an easy Easy Bake Oven in the house. I love playing with the kids' toys.

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The Disney On Ice Fiasco

We're a Disney family. We love the movies, the characters, the music, the shows and of course... Disneyland. Last night we got the chance to go see the "Let's Celebrate" Disney On Ice Show. We were excited all day, but had to work on our son because he had no idea what and "ice show" was. This will be one to remember.

We left our house almost an hour and a half early. It was in Long Beach, which is about 20 minutes from us here in West LA. We clearly accounted for traffic, or so I thought. It took about an hour to get there and an hour to park. The line to park was so bad I was kinda hoping they'd postpone the show since it seemed like half the audience was out there trying to park. At the parking booth, it was cash or check only. Neither of which we had. Lovely. The guy was super awesome though and said he wouldn't ruin it for the kids so he let us go without charging us. I wonder now if he knew what was in store for us in the coming hours.

Finally parked, fought through the crowds and found our seats. It was 7:58 when we sat. The show started at 7:30. So much for leaving early. Two things went through my head as we sat there settling in. 1) "I remember that story my Mom always tells me about me throwing up on her during a fireworks show, I'm so happy my kids have never done anything like that" and 2) "Well, since it's the baby's bedtime right now I will feed her a bottle and then she is free to fall asleep as she pleases". Apparently, the "watch what you think about fairy" was listening in. I made the bottle, and fed her. She decided she'd eat 6 of the 8 ounces. When she was done I got situated and had her stand on my lap to see the show. Immediately following (and just 15 minutes after sitting), warm creamy fluid was projecting out of a little baby's throat and all over all four of us, the people in front of us, the floor around us, inside the diaper bag, and on everything we had with us. That 6 ounces turned into 18 ounces somehow and it was pouring out of her mouth and her nose. As I sat there with no other choice but to wait for the shower to be over, the sound of a 3 year old gagging faintly filled my right ear, though I wasn't thinking clearly enough at the time to figure that out. With a quick Daddy distraction, our son was detoured away from puking himself, and tuned back into the show. All the while... no one around us knew what was going on (we were in the back row).

Baby wipes cleaned off the majority of the mess from our legs, and I called for a cleanup and I walked briskly to the nearest bathroom. All the while, thanking myself for having put on so many layers and always bringing a change of clothes for the baby. I was super thrilled in one way, because I had to use the restroom since before we got there and this was my chance. As soon as I was done with the baby I was going to use the bathroom myself before we made our way back to our seats. Well, I was almost done changing the baby when intermission began and a flood of women flocked to wait in line. There went my chance.

Mostly clean, reeking to high heaven, and wondering why she puked in the first place.... I sat back down, apologized to the people around us and proceeded to finish the show. When it was over, we all took our chance to use the restrooms since everyone was leaving. First the boys, then me. On my turn I hand over the baby. When I come out I am greeted with, "Now, she's pooping." Lovely, but we're leaving, so let's go. Walking through the building, both my hands and my stomach grow increasingly warm and slippery. Soon the smell saturates the air around me. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? This insane amount of fluid coming out the the OTHER end was leaking out of her disposable diaper, through her clothes, and all over me. I had no choice but to walk, fast, back to the van to change her again.

The thing about my van is, there is no interior light thanks to my son and a penny incident. So, there I sit in the van, working by flashlight, to change the baby and clean up this obscene amount of poop she created. I took off my shirt and traded it out for an only slightly puke covered sweater. I got the baby comfortable, we get in front, and took off. Thankfully, the trip home didn't take as long as the trip there because, our son cried the whole way home about how he didn't want to go home, he wanted to see the ice show. Weeeeeee!

I know people try to make light of these things by saying, "The joys of parenthood". We certainly had our share of joys last night. The best part is that we both stayed really calm the whole time. I mean, it sucked, but we were laughing about it. No wait, the best part has to be that my little girl got puke on everything in arms length.... EXCEPT her SHOES!! haha.



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