Kids and Recess

When I hit junior high and high school, there was a bit of a fiscal crunch going on. (Sound familiar?) The schools started trying new and creative ways to cut corners.

Our day began earlier, but eliminated one entire class period all together - if I remember right, we ended about 1:15pm. Study hall was gone. Many "electives" started going by the wayside, and even lunch got eliminated at one point. It was replaced by a "snack break." I don't really remember the duration of said break, but thankfully that was one change that didn't last long.

The NY Times has published a good article on the importance of recess. We are just starting our venture into this whole idea of school where Daniel is concerned. But I am seriously considering clipping this and filing it somewhere for easy access.

Interlude

The fever started Monday evening, he was uncomfortable and wanted into our bed, then back in his own bed - and we wound up falling asleep in the living room: me on the sofa, and him on his own Superman sofa - with the Noggin channel on for distraction. I dosed him with Tylenol, to which his response was: Mommy, you shouldn't do that. And we got through the evening.

He's my baby, my honey, my little Energizer Bunny, my little blond Tasmanian Devil. So seeing Daniel feverish, with no energy - just poured on the couch watching videos and napping and drowning his sorrows in juice is a bit of a change in routine.

Today he's more up and around. It's Mommy with the run-down appearance, the semi-sore throat and the cough. H's job has pretty much said that they are cracking down on anyone using their sick time. Can you believe it? I'm sure he's wishing for a hermetically sealed room for when he gets home this evening. Makes me want to sneak into the manager's office at his work and lick all the office supplies or something, I mean really!

Here's hoping this virus is as kind to parents as it seems to be to my kiddo so far...

Digging In

We've taken to calling Daniel "Badger" lately. He digs in his heels about everything. What to eat, what to wear, the potty, stalling bedtime... And invariably when I am occupied, say on the phone, is when he most wants my attention.

One item I decided to stop fighting about early on was using utensils at the table. I put out a spoon or a fork every time, and he dug in with his hands. We serve a lot of finger foods.

Both he and his Daddy are big on eating cereal. I've never had much of a problem with it, as we've mostly avoided the really sugary stuff: a lot of that baby-staple Cheerios, oatmeal, and Daddy's Honey Bunches of Oats. Badger has suddenly decided that his formerly-dry Honey Bunches of Oats should have milk, and he should be driving the spoon.

He's not arguing about sitting at the table for it, and all things considered he's doing a pretty good job. Now I have to find a solution for the multiple clothes changes due to milk spillage. Any ideas? Naked cereal eating? A rain poncho?

Spring - Loaded

H and I spent a lovely Saturday evening recently, eating dinner out with some friends, a couple we have been trying to connect with for months. We finally met up for dinner, courtesy of some babysitting from my parents/Grandma & Grandpa having driven in from Wisconsin for a visit.

They departed, and H and I were spending a quiet evening at the computer and curled up with a book respectively when:

BANG!

I remember feeling puzzled - peeking in on Daniel to see that everything was OK. I finally settled on feeling annoyed, assuming that one of our condo-neighbors had left late and inconsiderately slammed the door.

The next morning, H discovered that one of the massive springs that move the garage door up and down had broken. Sounding like a gunshot that shook the whole place! I'm certainly glad that I wasn't in the garage at the time. Who knew those things could go like that?

We've had a few warmer days here recently. Teasers of 50 degrees or so, that feel gorgeously like Springtime. While we have retreated again to colder temps, it's not quite as bitterly icy as before. I'm holding on to those wafting bits of warmer weather, coiled and waiting for Spring.

Out of Synch...

I love Fall. H and I married in October, with the crisp air and the falling leaves. Winter, I have to say, has been kicking my butt with increasing frequency every year. I'm always cold, and my thoughts turn to cuddling by a fire with a good book and a hot chocolate until the warm weather returns.

(And now, it seems our things are out to get us. We've been spinning with multiple car repairs, computer problems... at the moment I'm afraid to touch anything around here lest another problem rise up to bite me with an ugly chomp.)

My hibernating self is closeted with a three year old Energizer Bunny, and whoo! some days are an interesting tango of what to wear, what/when to eat, the potty struggle...

Today we went to my mother-in-law's place for a visit. It was the usual happy chaos of dogs, cats, Gram, aunts, uncles and cousins. At one point, Daniel came barrelling through the kitchen up to the gate penning in the dogs and shouted into the living room to us: I'm having fun with Nick-o! He then spun about, tearing back through the kitchen to the back bedrooms where he had been playing with his cousins. Leaving us all smiling.

I do love my stormy, passionate kid.

Details

Ugh, it's cold here. I can tolerate cold and snow up until Christmas, but then as far as I'm concerned it can all go away. Unfortunately the trend is to have nearly zip in the way of snow until January and then get socked for the next few months.

Just off a few days of immobility due to car repairs (yet again). H had mine for work, and so Daniel and I rattled around the house for a few days.

H is hopefully staying mobile, after a recent slip and fall on the job. Some folks are just not into shoveling and salting their drives/paths, I guess.

Computer having major hiccups/difficulties recently. We hadn't exactly budgeted for a new one at the moment, but it may be time. If I am absent for a smidge soon it won't be by choice, but will hopefully have the technical difficulties ironed out on the other side. Stay tuned!

A Treat

I love my little guy to pieces, but there are moments where my switch always being in Mom Mode just becomes a bit exhausting. H gifted me with a few hours of time to myself this afternoon by taking Daniel for a visit with his Gram and Uncle Bruce.

It was a delightful smorgasbord of things to do - some necessary like a load of laundry, but most were not and just completely my aimless wandering. A power nap, computer work without the guilt, nibbling a snack of avocado, reading a chapter of Driving Sideways while curled under the bedcovers, watching non-kid approved programs such as a documentary on Hollywood folks who escaped Nazi Germany, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, and Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives all at the same time. I also got the chance to sneakily wash Daniel's much-loved blankie while he was gone.

The boys returned, and we bustled about dinner. As is typical of late, Daniel was more interested in his robots and coloring and wrestling his father than eating. We all had hysterics when one of us exclaimed: Let me see Daniel! Preparing to scoop him up, only to have Daniel reply: Dam-el isn't ON right now! As though he were a TV show we were all happily watching. Then there were Curious George stories and bedtime.

Buzzing about at my own pace was refreshing. I must work at finding small concentrated moments to do this more often.

Mismatched and Freezing

I am always cold this time of year. Pretty much everyone who knows me, knows this and last time I really checked I had amassed what I thought was an impressive collection of slippers. Of course now, someone needs to explain to me why all I can find is what is in this photo.

Apparently organization needs to be on the list for 2009.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Bouncy Balls - Always trying to escape

We're in that stage of the "threes" where Daniel is arguing with me about everything. The food list is shrinking (Hello carbs!). He's too busy to use the potty, and no he really doesn't need a nap. The one plus to the recent ice storm and the current snowy weather is that he has finally stopped resisting the idea of long pants, long sleeves, coat and occasionally boots and a hat on his body.

No amount of coaxing, cajoling, redirecting (misdirecting) or smoke signals on my part seems to move us from an impasse on the other items however.

A recent tantrum on both our parts regarding the afternoon nap found me hoisting him under the arms, hauling him into his room and settling the two of us on the rocking chair in his room that has been sitting idle for awhile. I was a little amazed as the tension seeped away, and he laid his head on my shoulder and within ten minutes was asleep. We might have stayed longer, but my arms had started to ache holding up his 30+ pounds. I rolled him and his blankie onto the bed for his afternoon nap.

I resolve to make more space for "cuddle time" in 2009 and beyond.

It's All in the Attitude

Christmas Day, Daniel has just played the animatronic dancing bear, and dancing penguins for the umpteenth time while ping-ponging around the room in harmony with the music. His big cousin Robert managed to turn down the volume on the creatures in between songs.

Daniel, having noticed asked Robert to turn it up. After which we got this exchange:


Robert: Oh, I don't know how.

Daddy: Poor Daniel...

Daniel: No, I'm not! I'm happy!

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Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Push Me, Pull You

Meals are something of a loosey-goosey affair around our house. H works very hard for long hours, meaning he is out a good portion of the time. All the physicality his job entails also means that when he gets home he is hungry. For me, left to my own devices I tend to subscribe to the eat when you're hungry, stop when you're not routine - one not governed so much by the clock.

Enter the three year old. The three year old who is currently surviving on crackers. He's steadily shrinking his list of acceptable foods, and it's driving me a bit battier than I already am to begin with. Days often start with a request for warm juice (not sure where the warm trend started for him, blech, but I'll run with it). Then it's a request for crackers. How about some peanut butter on those? Nope, just crackers. Crackers and cheese? Oh, Okay. Only to have me discover a plate full of cracker crumbs and a mound of cheese not long after.

I recently nixed a breakfast request for marshmallows.

And oh, the wailing and screeching at not getting his way! Well then, I'm not hungry and he marches away from the table.

And we all stage a repeat of this scene, center stage, at the next mealtime.

This tug-of-war is getting to me. Thank goodness for Flintstone's chewables!

Well, this has been fun...

H woke me around 4:30am last Friday to let me know that our power was out. Really out - as was the rest of the area. To further add to the complications he had left his car at the mechanic the night before to have it looked at... If he went to work I was facing no electricity (no heat, no cooking) and with no way to leave, having no car. With a three year old.

Needless to say, H called in to work and we drove out to find a town with power to grab something to eat. Stopped at Gram's to meet her new kitties, and headed back home. Rather disheartening to have the power still out when we arrived. You know those shows like Survivorman? Adventure expert gets dropped into the wilds with a Swiss Army Knife and is expected to make it out alive? I would so be toast.

The three of us were cuddled under a mound of blankets on the sofa, candles lit, listening to Christmas music on a battery-powered radio and musing about our limited dinner options when poof! Power back on. It had been a total of 12/13 hours for us. I'm very aware that we were pretty lucky and many people went much longer with no power. I'm saying many small prayers about the approaching snowstorm.

Following our no-electricity adventure very closely was my developing a rather nasty sinus infection. Antibiotics seem to be kicking in, and this is the first day that I feel like my head isn't going to come rolling off my shoulders anytime I bend over to do something. I have started to realize that there is a lot of bending involved in the daily life of chasing a three year old around.
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Stay tuned over at Relishing the Dirt for a giveaway!

Rewards

There are days where I'm still looking for the instruction manual for this Mom Gig. I mean, as soon as you start to feel you have it figured out, it changes up on you. First it's the sleep deprivation, and the breast feeding and the endless marching line of diapering while you try and figure out the wants and needs of this little being who is so totally dependent on you for everything. No sooner do you settle into a routine when...

It's walking and solid foods and talking up a storm and potty training. My formerly dependent little being has become a decidedly independent boy who has found his voice. And his opinion. On everything from what to wear and when - (He's now in his Fall coat. In December. At this rate the Winter coat should be on his body by mid-February or so...) to what to eat, and firm opinions on the decided injustice of having to take a nap when there is so much to do.

And there are the days where Mama wants a do-over and I have to remind myself that my boy is no longer just that cute, cuddly little thing that I brought home from the hospital and that maybe he is just having a do-over day too.

Then the bed time routine rolls around. These days it involves pajamas and story time with Daddy. I really don't mind, as it gives them a chance for some "boys time." He comes to say goodnight, and I get open arms and a Mwah (kiss), and an I wuv you.

I love you too, my baby boy.

Unraveling

It's finally happening. A week or so ago Daniel walked up and handed me a handful of yarn. When I asked where he'd gotten it, he gave me his impish grin - Blankie.

My Aunt Anne had made him a baby blankie, fleece, with a crocheted, sort of scalloped edge and whoosh, Daniel was in love. Blankie is our go-to-sleep item, calming-down-in-a-crisis item, snuggle on the couch, all-around cuddler. Luckily he hasn't needed to carry it everywhere a la Linus, but it has been a fixture at our house for quite some time now. If he's asleep, a corner of fringe is stuck in his mouth or the blankie is at least within arms reach.

I've been anticipating this moment, but not really sure what to do. My Aunt was kind enough to make a Blankie #2 awhile back - but with a shake of his head, Daniel dismisses it. It's not the real deal. Even today we came home from the library and he rolled onto his blankie on the floor, curling up and declaring how much he'd missed it. The look on his face when a clean, warm blankie emerges from the dryer is a thing to behold.

He couldn't have pulled this when his crafty Grandmother was in town a few weeks ago? I don't crochet. Some of the fringe is being held by safety pins at this point, while I hunt down a yarn/craft store that might point me in the direction of someone who could do some work on it. If Daniel lets it out of his hands that is. Wish us luck!

Hitting the Yellow Brick Road

We were in the mall recently, and making the rounds of our usual stores: The Disney Store, the food court to see the carousel... and stopped in the pet store to see the puppies. Daniel looked over at me and said: Grandpa has a puppy too. Grandpa has Sophie.

Yoinks.

I hmmd and agreed with him and quickly changed topics. I have yet to address the subject of loss to my three year old, and this one blindsided me a bit. Grandma and Grandpa are 1,200 miles away so it was easy to gloss over. But I can guarantee that this one is going to come around to bite me again. Anyone out there with some tried and true angles/methods/recommendations for talking to little ones about losing a pet?

Thankful Thursday

Part of living in so many places means that I have friends spread out all over the country, as well as overseas. Kim and I met in fourth grade - Mrs. Lindburgh's class, if I'm not mistaken. We went all through school together, mooning over 80s bands and listening to Duran Duran LPs in the sunroom of my house. Kim snuck me into basketball games with the band, and I dragged her into working on drama productions like Hello Dolly.

Even as I've bounced from Michigan to France to California to Massachusetts, Kim and I have kept up. Visits, phone calls, email... through six kids (yep, five of those are hers!) and countless ups and downs of life we've kept up with each other. She stood up in my wedding, and when I was trying to sleep train Daniel she was the one I called sobbing: I can't do this.

I haven't seen my friend in person in eight years. Ever have a friend that no matter how long it's been, the years just melt whenever you reach out to each other? Like you'd never been apart? Kim is one of those friends for me.

She emailed this week asking for prayers for her family. Her husband has been quite unexpectedly laid off. They have options, and they're doing OK. She is one of the most faith-full people I know. Friends are at the forefront of my thoughts of gratitude today, especially her.

Zoom Zoom

Drove my parents to Logan airport today. Daniel was a trooper in the car.

I've lived for many years in a separate state from my parents and brother. For the most part I do OK with it. We talk on the phone a lot, visit as often as we are able and last year even acquired a web cam to do some video calls (ain't technology wonderful?).

The hardest part was/is always the parting company at the end of a visit, whether it is us in Wisconsin, or the folks out here. And it's magnified a bit with Daniel thrown into the mix. We were climbing the stairs back at home when he asked: Where's Grandma? I imagine it will be tomorrow before it really sinks in that they've gone back to their home.

The speedy trips to the airport can actually make it a little easier on all of us to leave, as it is a screech to the curb, dump the bags as fast as possible, kisses and hugs all around and peeling out again to not block traffic. It will probably be tomorrow before their absence sinks in for me as well.

refreshing

Grandma and Grandpa are still in town, but are winding up their visit. It's just after our 8th anniversary, and so H and I took advantage of the babysitting to use a positively ancient gift certificate that I had to a very nice restaurant.

I love my little guy more than anything, and of course he was a big topic of conversation. But it is such a gear switch to have a leisurely meal with attentive waiters. Conversation without having to ask the three year old to get back into his chair or to stop mashing his potatoes between his fingers. And to take a browse through the local Borders bookstore - not to buy anything, just to look - without the constant refrain of "Where's Daniel?" pitter-pattering through my brain.

Wasn't there an old slogan - The pause that refreshes - for Coca Cola or something?

Tonight was a refreshing Mommy and Daddy pause. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Right place, Right time

Growing up in the Midwest, lobster was always a real treat for our family. Several times I've had some packed to take with us when we visit Wisconsin. A visit from my parents often prompts a little look-around to see if there are any good deals out there. The local Stop and Shop got rid of their tank awhile back. The usual spot that H had picked out a lobster or two from was a Shaw's. After some shopping and driving, we were mightily disappointed to be greeted at Shaw's by an empty tank.

I started calling around, discovering that a local Hannaford's carried lobster - and so we headed in that direction. Mom chatted with the elderly gentleman in front of us about the best way to cook lobster. He handed the deli-guy a slip which I took to be some sort of rain check for his lobster. Dad took his place in line and requested four of the beasts from the large tub that had just been brought out for transfer to the tank. We continued with our shopping, and headed home.

Dad remarked on the way up to our place that the price seemed really reasonable for four lobsters and a few other assorted items. Upon closer inspection, we discovered that we had been given the elderly gentleman's "rain check" price of $4.99 a pound!

Sometimes the deals just find you!

I am off to take my butter/lobster-soaked self to bed.

Basking in the Balance

Days of butting heads, screaming tantrums, preschooler fish-flopping on the floor in frustration... me firmly securing my place in the boy's eyes as "Chief Squasher of Dreams."

Daniel: I want marshmallows for breakfast!

Me: No.

A visit from Grandma and Grandpa affords some much-needed breathing space. Daniel scooted me out of his room this afternoon because he and Grandma were reading a book. I happily went off to read a magazine.

And I quite enjoyed H's report of a smile on our little guy's face as he slept late last night. Sweet dreams my little one.