One thing that drives me insane is the constant (constant! constant!) offering of snacks to toddlers. If you want to see my head explode, send me an email that says the following:
Hi Moms!
I got this list of people signed up for the 9:15-9:45 movement class on wednesdays. I was wondering if you guys wanted to take turns bringing a snack! just sign up for a week!*
Why must everything involve snacks? It drives me crazy. Today, when I picked up Owen from his Monday class (at the one hour mark they, obviously, break for snack) I was told that he didn't want the apple slices I packed him, but did enjoy the animal crackers that they had, and boy did he eat a lot of those!
Right. So I'm going to explain something to you about kids. Humans, really. The reason Owen did not want his apple was because he was not hungry. the reason he then partook liberally of animal crackers is because animal crackers are cookies. When you offer children cookies, they will eat them. This is really not brain surgery. And of course, Owen came home and proceeded to ignore the (nutritious - or at least better than animal crackers) lunch I prepared for him. surprise, surprise.
Now I am going to say something that is going to make YOUR head explode, so before I begin, let me disclaim it. The following statement applies to my toddler. Yours has hypoglycemia/sensory issues/has a doctors note explaining he can only eat mechanicaly separated chicken. I beleive you. No, really, I believe you. You know all the ways you got your kid sleeping through the night? They don't work on my kid, so trust me when I say I realize that sometimes you just get an outlier.
that said, my kid will largely eat what is placed in front of him at breakfast, lunch and dinner. And I think this is because he is actually hungry at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Because I don't give him a snack every hour on the hour. Which is not to say that I never allow snacks. I think snacks are fine, and I have trouble getting from noon to 6:30pm without one too. But the sheer volume of snacks, and the type of snack provided that seems to be around us all the time is really undermining. Thursdays drive me crazy, because after our (45 minute) music class, without fail, the kids are offered chocolate chip cookies buy the site host. The class ends at 12:15. Seriously, people? So I have 3 options: 1. refuse to let my kid have a cookie when all other children have cookies, thereby being "that mom" and causing my kid to hate me. 2. Allow him to have a cookie, let him then refuse his lunch and endure the tantrum that ensues at 3 because all he's had for lunch is sugar and white flour or 3) go even further down the 'that mom' road and refuse to participate in music classes and/or other contact with the outside world, and homeschool (home music class?) in a safe, snackfree environment.
None of these options are good, are they?
The thing is, there is some food that tastes better than other food. This is just a fact of life. Goldfish tastes better than broccoli. So although I have seen Owen eat broccoli on many occasions, it usually does not happen an hour after he's been offered goldfish. the other day at the playground another mom offered Owen some of the goldfish her kid was eating at 4:30 pm. Of course he's going to take some, and of course he's going to eat a lot of them. Goldfish are extremely tasty crackers. My question is, why are you offering your kid, my kid, ANY KID snacks at 4:30? Unless you eat at 8? And if you do, well, then, see disclaimer above. But dinner for kids is usually around 5:30-6pm. And when MY kid arrives at dinner hungry, my kid will eat whatever is served. And because I would prefer that he eat nutritious food, I get really peeved by snacks.
and yes. I realize that I already am that mom. you don't have to tell me.
* first of all, she's not really wondering. That email means "sign up for a week or be shunned" and second of all, usually someone chimes in with "my kids are allergic to eggs, nuts, dairy and soy so if you could remember that when you pack your snacks I'd really appreciate it :)"
Monday, October 11, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
there's a reason housewives used to eat Valium like candy.
Some days, the three of us have great days. The kids get an educational - or at least engaging - activity or two, the house stays reasonably clean, dinner gets made, and no one loses an eye. And some days, days like today, I wonder what the hell I was thinking replacing my blessed daycare lady with...me. Sure, I am technically the mother, but we're living in a world of outsourcing. Why do what I can pay someone else a subpar wage to do? It's worked wonders for corporate America's bottom line.
Anyway, I digress. Actually, I was feeling a bit smug this morning when we left the house at 8:50 am. I had recently recieved an email from Portrait Simple saying if you brought your kids in for thier christmas pictures before September 30th, you would get 50% off your christmas cards. Well, sign me up for that, right? So I was actually congratulating myself as we headed out the door on being a together enough mom that I was actually getting my Christmas cards made...in September! and at 50% off! look at me, mom of the year.
Oh, how we all did laugh.
The pictures were a flop. After 45 minutes of trying to pig wrestle my two (adorable, by the way, but you'd never know it from the photos) kids into some semblance of a passable photo, I gave up. The pictures are actually hysterically funny in their bad-ness. you can check them out yourself at portraitsimple.com (online portraits, search cox, password is 2803). I think I'm going to go ahead and order that one you see mocked up as a holiday card - I think if you can't get a great picture, the only thing to do is to send a flat-out AWFUL picture...sort of a go big or go home holiday card ethos. But the amount of time and trouble the whole endeavor took left me needing a drink by 11.
After the pictures, I decided to head over to watertown to return some shelving for the playroom I had bought from Target the day before. I had bought some shelves for the playroom downstairs - the toys are out of control and we have only an old 3 drawer dresser to contain them - but Andy didn't like it and thought we should get one he saw at Ikea instead. So, fair enough, I troop all the way back to watertown to return them. The dang thing weighs a TON, and I had both kids to wrangle as well, so when I ever finally get all three of us plus the shelving system up to the service desk to find out that somehow I didn't have the recipt....so, moving on. let's say I was annoyed, yes?
Heading back home, now about noon, I get caught in some god-awful construction on arsenal street and end up spending 25 minutes sitting in traffic cursing fate. Normally, Owen would be interested enough in the digger activity to distract him from the car not moving, but he was starving and had to pee. Elias also, (I think, he can't talk) was starving. Either way, I was treated to a meltdown in stereo.
Driving back up Galen street, I pulled into the parking lot of a Bertuccis. I can still save this day, I thought to myself. I'll bring the boys out to lunch, everyone will pee and then we'll head home for a better afternoon. Well, remember the part about the kids having their pictures taken this morning? right. So what were they wearing? right. Matching white button down shirts. NEW. Matching. White. shirts. Bertuccis = pizza place. You do the math.
Feeling duly chastised by the universe, I brought the kids back out to the car.
Which doesn't start.
Yep. Dead battery. Oh, did I mention it was raining? And that I didn't have ths stroller in the car? So we had to walk to a nearby garage (thank God we were relatively near to one) and present our damp, sorry butts to the mechanics there to ask for assitance. After a jump and an assurance that I needed a new battery posthaste, we were finally on our way home.
hubris. It'll get you every time.
Anyway, I digress. Actually, I was feeling a bit smug this morning when we left the house at 8:50 am. I had recently recieved an email from Portrait Simple saying if you brought your kids in for thier christmas pictures before September 30th, you would get 50% off your christmas cards. Well, sign me up for that, right? So I was actually congratulating myself as we headed out the door on being a together enough mom that I was actually getting my Christmas cards made...in September! and at 50% off! look at me, mom of the year.
Oh, how we all did laugh.
The pictures were a flop. After 45 minutes of trying to pig wrestle my two (adorable, by the way, but you'd never know it from the photos) kids into some semblance of a passable photo, I gave up. The pictures are actually hysterically funny in their bad-ness. you can check them out yourself at portraitsimple.com (online portraits, search cox, password is 2803). I think I'm going to go ahead and order that one you see mocked up as a holiday card - I think if you can't get a great picture, the only thing to do is to send a flat-out AWFUL picture...sort of a go big or go home holiday card ethos. But the amount of time and trouble the whole endeavor took left me needing a drink by 11.
After the pictures, I decided to head over to watertown to return some shelving for the playroom I had bought from Target the day before. I had bought some shelves for the playroom downstairs - the toys are out of control and we have only an old 3 drawer dresser to contain them - but Andy didn't like it and thought we should get one he saw at Ikea instead. So, fair enough, I troop all the way back to watertown to return them. The dang thing weighs a TON, and I had both kids to wrangle as well, so when I ever finally get all three of us plus the shelving system up to the service desk to find out that somehow I didn't have the recipt....so, moving on. let's say I was annoyed, yes?
Heading back home, now about noon, I get caught in some god-awful construction on arsenal street and end up spending 25 minutes sitting in traffic cursing fate. Normally, Owen would be interested enough in the digger activity to distract him from the car not moving, but he was starving and had to pee. Elias also, (I think, he can't talk) was starving. Either way, I was treated to a meltdown in stereo.
Driving back up Galen street, I pulled into the parking lot of a Bertuccis. I can still save this day, I thought to myself. I'll bring the boys out to lunch, everyone will pee and then we'll head home for a better afternoon. Well, remember the part about the kids having their pictures taken this morning? right. So what were they wearing? right. Matching white button down shirts. NEW. Matching. White. shirts. Bertuccis = pizza place. You do the math.
Feeling duly chastised by the universe, I brought the kids back out to the car.
Which doesn't start.
Yep. Dead battery. Oh, did I mention it was raining? And that I didn't have ths stroller in the car? So we had to walk to a nearby garage (thank God we were relatively near to one) and present our damp, sorry butts to the mechanics there to ask for assitance. After a jump and an assurance that I needed a new battery posthaste, we were finally on our way home.
hubris. It'll get you every time.
Monday, September 20, 2010
say it with me now....
Awwwww.
Owen goes to a Pre-preschool program Monday mornings. It's a drop off class for kids ages 2.5-3.5. It's billed as "preschool readiness" (I know. the insanity). Basically they run around the gym at the y, stand in a line, have a snack, listen to a story, go potty and get picked up 2 hours later. It's great fun for him and he gets to bring a backpack, which is pretty much the highlight of the whole endeavor. Of course, all that's in there is a change of pants and underwear in case he has an accident, but it's the spirit of the thing that counts.
Here's my baby boy growing up before my eyes.
Owen goes to a Pre-preschool program Monday mornings. It's a drop off class for kids ages 2.5-3.5. It's billed as "preschool readiness" (I know. the insanity). Basically they run around the gym at the y, stand in a line, have a snack, listen to a story, go potty and get picked up 2 hours later. It's great fun for him and he gets to bring a backpack, which is pretty much the highlight of the whole endeavor. Of course, all that's in there is a change of pants and underwear in case he has an accident, but it's the spirit of the thing that counts.
Here's my baby boy growing up before my eyes.
Monday, September 13, 2010
I'm still here!
Once again, I've let my blogging fall by the wayside, but I'm determined to keep up with it - if for no other reason than one thing I know about myself is that I am not the baby book type. Heck, I'm not even the photo album type. Ever since the advent of digital photography every picture I've taken (which are remarkably few - I came back from my honeymoon with 15 pictures. 15. Total) is just in a jumble of files somewhere on this computer with easily archivable names like 1103329m4.jpg. So the blog functions as the baby book I'll wish I had 30 years from now. If they ever, I don't know, cancel the internet or something, I'll just have to go and print it all out beforehand.
So what's new? Nothing, really. Things are great. The kids are GREAT. Forgive me for getting nostalgic but Owen is such a big kid these days it kills me sometimes. He's (forgive my mom bias) smart and funny and remarkably coordinated. He's also 2 and a half, so he has his "moments", as they say, eupehmistically. Overall, however, he has fewer moments than he might have, and those moments he has are pretty funny. Today, I was vaccuming the living room sofa (why? because www.motivatedmoms.com told me to. Laugh all you want, I need structure, dammnit.) and after I unplugged it I let Owen play with it for awhile. When it was time to put it away, he wasn't having it, and yelled at me "you can't touch this! it's too dangerous! you have to be safe!" when that didn't work and I proceeded to continue putting the vacuum away he protested "don't touch that! it's really expensive! you might break it!" I find that my biggest parenting challenge these days is keeping a straight face.
Elias remains a joyful, snuggly pile of baby love. He is the most good natured and charming baby I've ever come across. When I was pregnant with Owen a coworker told me her 'decoy baby' theory. She said when you get a baby that is really easy and smily and laid back, you must be on high alert, because that baby is dangerous. He or she is a decoy baby. You'll be convinced that you should have 10 more babies - or at least another one. And when you do, that next one will have 10 months of colic, guaranteed. Eli is absolutely the most devilish decoy baby there ever was. I'm ready for a conversion van full of Elis. I am aware, however, that another Owen would probably cause total system failure, so I am able to keep my head about me in these matters.
I've gotten the swing of my new schedule and it's going well. We're packed with activities: We have something every day in the mornings. On Mondays, Owen goes to a 2 hour program at the Y called "kids club" which is really just running around the gymnasium like a maniac with 9 other 2 year olds. On tuesdays, he has swim lessons. Wednesdays, we joined a rotating-house toddler playgroup. Thursdays, we have our music class at the local Alzheimer's center (it sounds odd but is actually awesome. Both the kids and the patients adore it) and Fridays we go to public skating at the ice arena down the street. In the afternoons, we generally try to do playdates. all these activities alleviate my biggest fear about staying home, which was that I'd be trapped in my messy house going nuts with the kids bouncing off the walls, but really we're hardly home at all.
So in sum, I'm back to blogging and have resolved to do a better job of it. If I don't start updating twice a month or so, feel free to pester me.
So what's new? Nothing, really. Things are great. The kids are GREAT. Forgive me for getting nostalgic but Owen is such a big kid these days it kills me sometimes. He's (forgive my mom bias) smart and funny and remarkably coordinated. He's also 2 and a half, so he has his "moments", as they say, eupehmistically. Overall, however, he has fewer moments than he might have, and those moments he has are pretty funny. Today, I was vaccuming the living room sofa (why? because www.motivatedmoms.com told me to. Laugh all you want, I need structure, dammnit.) and after I unplugged it I let Owen play with it for awhile. When it was time to put it away, he wasn't having it, and yelled at me "you can't touch this! it's too dangerous! you have to be safe!" when that didn't work and I proceeded to continue putting the vacuum away he protested "don't touch that! it's really expensive! you might break it!" I find that my biggest parenting challenge these days is keeping a straight face.
Elias remains a joyful, snuggly pile of baby love. He is the most good natured and charming baby I've ever come across. When I was pregnant with Owen a coworker told me her 'decoy baby' theory. She said when you get a baby that is really easy and smily and laid back, you must be on high alert, because that baby is dangerous. He or she is a decoy baby. You'll be convinced that you should have 10 more babies - or at least another one. And when you do, that next one will have 10 months of colic, guaranteed. Eli is absolutely the most devilish decoy baby there ever was. I'm ready for a conversion van full of Elis. I am aware, however, that another Owen would probably cause total system failure, so I am able to keep my head about me in these matters.
I've gotten the swing of my new schedule and it's going well. We're packed with activities: We have something every day in the mornings. On Mondays, Owen goes to a 2 hour program at the Y called "kids club" which is really just running around the gymnasium like a maniac with 9 other 2 year olds. On tuesdays, he has swim lessons. Wednesdays, we joined a rotating-house toddler playgroup. Thursdays, we have our music class at the local Alzheimer's center (it sounds odd but is actually awesome. Both the kids and the patients adore it) and Fridays we go to public skating at the ice arena down the street. In the afternoons, we generally try to do playdates. all these activities alleviate my biggest fear about staying home, which was that I'd be trapped in my messy house going nuts with the kids bouncing off the walls, but really we're hardly home at all.
So in sum, I'm back to blogging and have resolved to do a better job of it. If I don't start updating twice a month or so, feel free to pester me.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Time is flying.
So you (I) probably thought that since I'm now only working part time in the evenings, I'd have plenty of time to stay on top of the blog, keep up with email communications, keep my house sparkling clean, and pick up quilting. Well, you (I) would be totally wrong (just kidding about the house cleaning thing. I might yet pick up quilting, but it'll be a cold day in hell before my house is sparkling clean while Owen still lives in it). I'm finding I'm busier these days than I've ever been, and compounded by the working till midnight thing 4 days a week, I'm pretty tired. I have to say, though, of all the permutations of work-life balance we've tried so far, this is by far the best one. True, I could use a little more sleep. But I really think that eliminating just one element from my life - the daycare drop off and pickup and related stress about timing, etc. - has made a huge difference in my stress level. Things just seem so much easier now, late nights notwithstanding.
So anyway, a few quick updates (and sorry no pictures, the problem is that I usually blog on the computer we don't upload the pictures to, so in order to put up pictures I have to a) remember to update the blog and then b) remmeber to update it from the other computer. apparently a 2 step process is now beyond me. I blame the kids.)
1) potty training. we're done. that's a wrap, it was over in a week. Don't ask me how, because I had nothing to do with it - it was Owen's idea, and now he's a pro. He even is waking up dry in the morning, although I'm nervous about pulling the plug on the nighttime diaper and am keeping him in one now just in case, but I think another week of dry mornings and I'll let that go too. Don't ask me for any potty training advice, because I have none - all I know is that the kid decided he was done with diapers and that was it.
2) Our vacation. I'm not a paid shill for Smuggler's Notch family resort, but I'd be happy to be one (note to smuggs, you listening?) It was awesome. We had a condo, which relieved the two major reservations I have about vacations - the first being the need to eat out all the time, and the second the lack of laundry facilities. The fully equipped kitchen in the condo was the key to vacation success, in my opinion. I only like to go out to eat when what I'm really doing is going out to drink - I think it's fun to get dressed up, go someplace trendy, and order a $17 martini. I do NOT think it's fun to get food out just because I'm hungry. I'd rather buy a powerbar at a gas station and be done with it. And I'd rather have my toenails extracted than go out to dinner more than once in a week with 2 kids under 3. So the kitchen solved that problem and saved us a ton of money as well. And the laundry - well, again I mention we were travelling with 2 kids under 3. Do you know how much laundry they can generate in a week? Coming home with a suitcase full of clean and folded clothes felt like a vacation in and of itself. Beyond that, the place was just really well done for families. We spend 4 days with the kids and 3 days without, which was the perfect balance and everyone had fun the whole time. And for what we got, it was extremely affordable. I highly recommend it and if you want more details, please ask because I'm happy to shill away.
3) Being home during the day - or, as someone recently put it to me - so have you 3 killed each other yet? Surprisingly, no. We're all having a really good time. Part of me was kind of anxious about making the transition to home full time, and to be honest I was secretly reserving the option to put Owen back in half time daycare if I couldn't handle it, but it's actually turned out great. The one problem I've found is that we're certainly not lacking in places to go and things to do, but if we're on the go all the time Elias naps for crap. If we stay home all day, he takes 2 beautiful 2 hour naps in his crib from about 9-11 and again from 2-4, and then goes down at 7:30 and sleeps really well all night. But if we're out and about on the go, he catnaps here and there and is cranky and paradoxically up more in the night. Most of the time I say screw the naps (I'm exhausted anyway, what's a little less sleep at this point, right?) and we've filled our days, but the days we've been home have been really good for Eli's sleep. I'm still trying to work this one out.
So that's about all the news. I'll try and post pictures soon.
So anyway, a few quick updates (and sorry no pictures, the problem is that I usually blog on the computer we don't upload the pictures to, so in order to put up pictures I have to a) remember to update the blog and then b) remmeber to update it from the other computer. apparently a 2 step process is now beyond me. I blame the kids.)
1) potty training. we're done. that's a wrap, it was over in a week. Don't ask me how, because I had nothing to do with it - it was Owen's idea, and now he's a pro. He even is waking up dry in the morning, although I'm nervous about pulling the plug on the nighttime diaper and am keeping him in one now just in case, but I think another week of dry mornings and I'll let that go too. Don't ask me for any potty training advice, because I have none - all I know is that the kid decided he was done with diapers and that was it.
2) Our vacation. I'm not a paid shill for Smuggler's Notch family resort, but I'd be happy to be one (note to smuggs, you listening?) It was awesome. We had a condo, which relieved the two major reservations I have about vacations - the first being the need to eat out all the time, and the second the lack of laundry facilities. The fully equipped kitchen in the condo was the key to vacation success, in my opinion. I only like to go out to eat when what I'm really doing is going out to drink - I think it's fun to get dressed up, go someplace trendy, and order a $17 martini. I do NOT think it's fun to get food out just because I'm hungry. I'd rather buy a powerbar at a gas station and be done with it. And I'd rather have my toenails extracted than go out to dinner more than once in a week with 2 kids under 3. So the kitchen solved that problem and saved us a ton of money as well. And the laundry - well, again I mention we were travelling with 2 kids under 3. Do you know how much laundry they can generate in a week? Coming home with a suitcase full of clean and folded clothes felt like a vacation in and of itself. Beyond that, the place was just really well done for families. We spend 4 days with the kids and 3 days without, which was the perfect balance and everyone had fun the whole time. And for what we got, it was extremely affordable. I highly recommend it and if you want more details, please ask because I'm happy to shill away.
3) Being home during the day - or, as someone recently put it to me - so have you 3 killed each other yet? Surprisingly, no. We're all having a really good time. Part of me was kind of anxious about making the transition to home full time, and to be honest I was secretly reserving the option to put Owen back in half time daycare if I couldn't handle it, but it's actually turned out great. The one problem I've found is that we're certainly not lacking in places to go and things to do, but if we're on the go all the time Elias naps for crap. If we stay home all day, he takes 2 beautiful 2 hour naps in his crib from about 9-11 and again from 2-4, and then goes down at 7:30 and sleeps really well all night. But if we're out and about on the go, he catnaps here and there and is cranky and paradoxically up more in the night. Most of the time I say screw the naps (I'm exhausted anyway, what's a little less sleep at this point, right?) and we've filled our days, but the days we've been home have been really good for Eli's sleep. I'm still trying to work this one out.
So that's about all the news. I'll try and post pictures soon.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Potty Update
because I know you're waiting with baited breath:
dry all day. No accidents. Still not down with #2, this apparently still requires a diaper. But hey - not a single pee accident? really? that HAS to be a good thing.
I'm still in shock. Do kids really potty train themselves?
dry all day. No accidents. Still not down with #2, this apparently still requires a diaper. But hey - not a single pee accident? really? that HAS to be a good thing.
I'm still in shock. Do kids really potty train themselves?
Sunday, June 27, 2010
the mind, it boggles.
we had a great vacation - I will post about it in detail and with pictures later. But first, I simply must share this news: Last night around 8:30 Owen announced that he needed to use the potty. We pretty much ignored him, but he insisted. He walked over to the potty and started pulling off his diaper. So to humor him, Andy took it off. He peed.
He got up this morning, and did it again. And again. And again. In fact, he has not been in a diaper ALL DAY at this writing (4:51pm) and has had exactly one accident.
I have no idea what happened, but I think this is a very, very, very good thing.
He got up this morning, and did it again. And again. And again. In fact, he has not been in a diaper ALL DAY at this writing (4:51pm) and has had exactly one accident.
I have no idea what happened, but I think this is a very, very, very good thing.
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