This used to be one of my favorite weekends of the year. An extra hour of sleep on Sunday morning. Less painful risings at the start of the week. In my 20's, it also meant a whole extra hour of drinking time, should I feel like staying out 'til closing time.
Now this weekend is dreaded. Now, I do not stay up later, knowing I can just hang out in bed a bit longer the next morning.
Now I have kids.
They do not understand the concept of "fall back".
They do not really even understand the concept of time.
On a good weekend morning, Finn might stay in bed until 6:30.
Oh, 5:30 am, I do not want to see you tomorrow morning. I sure as hell do not want to see 5:00 am.
Though it *should* still feel like 6:00 am to me, it will not. Intellectually, emotionally, psychologicially, I will KNOW that it is only 5:00 am.
I will need lots of coffee.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Parenting Milestone
Today marked a milestone in parenting for me. It was not a good milestone.
I picked up Finn and Lucy right around 5 pm from daycare today. All was well, and the kids were being extra cute. Finn, in particular, was wearing his camo winter hat and dancing out of his classroom to a strange recording of a Pink song sung by kids. Totally adorable. We got to the car, and as I was buckling Finn in to his carseat, he notices a two-week old goldfish on the seat next to Lucy and asked to eat it. I said no (see: two-weeks old, above) and tossed it on the ground (you know, for the squirrels...). And suddenly, Finn went batshit insane. Screaming, crying, kicking my seat, and lacking utter reason.
I knew from previous experience that he can, and likely would, continue this screaming at the top of his lungs the. whole. way. home. And frankly, I couldn't take it. I'm tired of not knowing what will set him off, what will change him from a perfectly pleasant person to an insaniac. I wanted a peaceful ride home, a chance to listen to MIX 107.3's Chili Amarr's Late Breaking Show Biz Headlines. I wanted QUIET.
I'm not proud of what occurred next, though I do feel justified. I slammed on my brakes, yelled at Finn to shut up, used the "S" word. All of which I have probably done separately in the past (except the slamming on the breaks part, I think that was new).
And then, I did it. I threatened to kick Finn out of the car. I even went so far as to drive across the street to a quiet side neighborhood, pull over, and get out of the car. Ostensibly to unbuckle Finn and make him start walking.
My mother used this tactic quite frequently. She even actually followed through a number of times. I remember in particular one day where she made us get out of the car as she was driving us to Sunday School. In that case the plan backfired, as we started to walk home instead of onward to church (which I'm sure was a large part of the original argument).
This is yet another parenting technique I swore I would not use. Oh how the mighty crumble.
But you know what? It worked.
I picked up Finn and Lucy right around 5 pm from daycare today. All was well, and the kids were being extra cute. Finn, in particular, was wearing his camo winter hat and dancing out of his classroom to a strange recording of a Pink song sung by kids. Totally adorable. We got to the car, and as I was buckling Finn in to his carseat, he notices a two-week old goldfish on the seat next to Lucy and asked to eat it. I said no (see: two-weeks old, above) and tossed it on the ground (you know, for the squirrels...). And suddenly, Finn went batshit insane. Screaming, crying, kicking my seat, and lacking utter reason.
I knew from previous experience that he can, and likely would, continue this screaming at the top of his lungs the. whole. way. home. And frankly, I couldn't take it. I'm tired of not knowing what will set him off, what will change him from a perfectly pleasant person to an insaniac. I wanted a peaceful ride home, a chance to listen to MIX 107.3's Chili Amarr's Late Breaking Show Biz Headlines. I wanted QUIET.
I'm not proud of what occurred next, though I do feel justified. I slammed on my brakes, yelled at Finn to shut up, used the "S" word. All of which I have probably done separately in the past (except the slamming on the breaks part, I think that was new).
And then, I did it. I threatened to kick Finn out of the car. I even went so far as to drive across the street to a quiet side neighborhood, pull over, and get out of the car. Ostensibly to unbuckle Finn and make him start walking.
My mother used this tactic quite frequently. She even actually followed through a number of times. I remember in particular one day where she made us get out of the car as she was driving us to Sunday School. In that case the plan backfired, as we started to walk home instead of onward to church (which I'm sure was a large part of the original argument).
This is yet another parenting technique I swore I would not use. Oh how the mighty crumble.
But you know what? It worked.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Election Night Gumbo
OK, a few random housekeeping and rant-y items:
1. Regarding my search for meatless "meat" products - thank you all for your suggestions. I believe I am on my way to a solution, at least with regard to veggie sausage products. Just tonight I tried the Trader Joe's brand of Italian meatless sausages, and I was quite impressed. The texture was not rubbery, and the flavor was good. They look like complete yuck before cooking (really, really pale), but cooking them in a skillet with some oil gave them a nice color. All in all, I was quite happy with them - it's just unfortunate that I can only by them at Trader Joe's. I have also bought some TJ's meatless Chorizo to try out this week, and will likely check out the other suggestions as well. But my anxiety over this issue is already easing, thankfully. I still have no good solutions for the veggie hot dog problem, though...
2. Let's talk shoes for a moment. Specifically, toddler girl shoes. Oh my lord in heaven, are they freakin' expensive or what?!?! My little girl has been blessed with tiny, thick feet (with her 85% growth rate, this makes her look a bit like a Geisha girl - minus the blond hair of course - as she totters around on teeny feet). Extra wide shoes are just no where to be found, except online in two places: 1) Stride Rite - and they basically have sneakers only, one pair of which we have already purchased; and 2) Zappos.com - plenty of Mary Jane style shoes, some even available in the small size 4/5 Lucy sports, but they range in price from $36 (only those on sale) up to nearly $60. Gasp! I feel guilty spending that much on myself for shoes, and I usually wear shoes for at least 2 years (and some have been hanging on for way longer than that, grossly). Lucy's shoes last tops 4 months. Do you all really buy such expensive shoes for your kids? If not, what do you do instead? Anyone with experience buying extra wide toddler sizes? I plead for help before the holiday season is upon us!
3. My dieting was severely derailed this past weekend, and hasn't fully recovered yet. Which is so, so unfortunate, because after about 2 weeks of dieting I was down about 4 pounds. Now I'm pretty much back at my starting point (can we say YO-YO?). It began with a fundraiser buffet lunch at work - homemade macaroni and cheese, baked beans, desserts, nary a salad in sight... and no way to track calories without some serious effort on my part. I felt compelled to participate because a) it was for a good cause (to raise money to buy holiday gifts for military families in need); and b) M. refused to make my lunch the night before. The binging continued with birthday cake, take-out Thai food, Dunkin' Donuts, appetizers, wine, etc, etc - all in the name of entertaining our guests, but all of which I happily partook of. I'm having trouble getting back on track - the last two days I've started out counting my calories, but by noon I've slipped up and, out of guilt, ceased with the counting. I think part of my lack of will power for this is tied to a lack of exercise - I've only managed to jog about 4 times since my race, though one of those times was a 4 mile jog tonight, so hopefully that will help. I also need to start heading back to the gym during the work day a couple days a week to build up some muscle that will help me burn fat. Sigh.
4. This could fall under "Things That Annoy Me," but I forgot to include it in my list last week. And that is, apparently the Diaper Champ has been redesigned, and in my estimation, it makes for a much poorer diaper pail. Perhaps not the most interesting topic, but I feel that I must go public with this information. Now, we have used the Diaper Champ since Finn was brought home from the hospital, and we have always been very happy with it. First, you can use regular tall trash bags with it, no need to purchase some other wonky bag system. Second, it did a pretty good job keeping in the stink. Keep in mind that no diaper pail is perfect in this regard because toddler poop, it is some nasty smelly stuff. We have always viewed diaper pails as somewhat of a consumable, though - after a little while, an air freshener tucked in the bottom of the pail is necessary to keep the room stink-free. And eventually, it needs to be replaced, as no air freshener in the world is strong enought to contain the smell. I'd say after 4 years of diapers, we had 3 Diaper Champs. And we just bought our 4th two weeks ago. This time, though, it's... changed. First, it's smaller. And the top is different - and the way it has been redesigned basically means you can't throw a dirty diaper in it with one hand - you need two hands, one to open the lid and the other to throw in the stinky diaper you are holding. And worst of all, we christened the brand new DC with a poopy diaper at around 6 pm. By 11 pm that night (Lucy was night-waking at the time), I was ready to gag the moment I walked in her room. One day old, and already stinking! An air freshener has been deployed, and it's helping for the time being, but I fear that the day when we must abandon the Diaper Champ is coming soon. Perhaps this is incentive to potty train Lucy a little early? She already tells me when she has a poopy diaper, after all... (further proof that she is a genius, IMHO).
OK, enough for now. Must keep M. company as he hurls insults and incredulous snorts at the news coverage of the election night.
1. Regarding my search for meatless "meat" products - thank you all for your suggestions. I believe I am on my way to a solution, at least with regard to veggie sausage products. Just tonight I tried the Trader Joe's brand of Italian meatless sausages, and I was quite impressed. The texture was not rubbery, and the flavor was good. They look like complete yuck before cooking (really, really pale), but cooking them in a skillet with some oil gave them a nice color. All in all, I was quite happy with them - it's just unfortunate that I can only by them at Trader Joe's. I have also bought some TJ's meatless Chorizo to try out this week, and will likely check out the other suggestions as well. But my anxiety over this issue is already easing, thankfully. I still have no good solutions for the veggie hot dog problem, though...
2. Let's talk shoes for a moment. Specifically, toddler girl shoes. Oh my lord in heaven, are they freakin' expensive or what?!?! My little girl has been blessed with tiny, thick feet (with her 85% growth rate, this makes her look a bit like a Geisha girl - minus the blond hair of course - as she totters around on teeny feet). Extra wide shoes are just no where to be found, except online in two places: 1) Stride Rite - and they basically have sneakers only, one pair of which we have already purchased; and 2) Zappos.com - plenty of Mary Jane style shoes, some even available in the small size 4/5 Lucy sports, but they range in price from $36 (only those on sale) up to nearly $60. Gasp! I feel guilty spending that much on myself for shoes, and I usually wear shoes for at least 2 years (and some have been hanging on for way longer than that, grossly). Lucy's shoes last tops 4 months. Do you all really buy such expensive shoes for your kids? If not, what do you do instead? Anyone with experience buying extra wide toddler sizes? I plead for help before the holiday season is upon us!
3. My dieting was severely derailed this past weekend, and hasn't fully recovered yet. Which is so, so unfortunate, because after about 2 weeks of dieting I was down about 4 pounds. Now I'm pretty much back at my starting point (can we say YO-YO?). It began with a fundraiser buffet lunch at work - homemade macaroni and cheese, baked beans, desserts, nary a salad in sight... and no way to track calories without some serious effort on my part. I felt compelled to participate because a) it was for a good cause (to raise money to buy holiday gifts for military families in need); and b) M. refused to make my lunch the night before. The binging continued with birthday cake, take-out Thai food, Dunkin' Donuts, appetizers, wine, etc, etc - all in the name of entertaining our guests, but all of which I happily partook of. I'm having trouble getting back on track - the last two days I've started out counting my calories, but by noon I've slipped up and, out of guilt, ceased with the counting. I think part of my lack of will power for this is tied to a lack of exercise - I've only managed to jog about 4 times since my race, though one of those times was a 4 mile jog tonight, so hopefully that will help. I also need to start heading back to the gym during the work day a couple days a week to build up some muscle that will help me burn fat. Sigh.
4. This could fall under "Things That Annoy Me," but I forgot to include it in my list last week. And that is, apparently the Diaper Champ has been redesigned, and in my estimation, it makes for a much poorer diaper pail. Perhaps not the most interesting topic, but I feel that I must go public with this information. Now, we have used the Diaper Champ since Finn was brought home from the hospital, and we have always been very happy with it. First, you can use regular tall trash bags with it, no need to purchase some other wonky bag system. Second, it did a pretty good job keeping in the stink. Keep in mind that no diaper pail is perfect in this regard because toddler poop, it is some nasty smelly stuff. We have always viewed diaper pails as somewhat of a consumable, though - after a little while, an air freshener tucked in the bottom of the pail is necessary to keep the room stink-free. And eventually, it needs to be replaced, as no air freshener in the world is strong enought to contain the smell. I'd say after 4 years of diapers, we had 3 Diaper Champs. And we just bought our 4th two weeks ago. This time, though, it's... changed. First, it's smaller. And the top is different - and the way it has been redesigned basically means you can't throw a dirty diaper in it with one hand - you need two hands, one to open the lid and the other to throw in the stinky diaper you are holding. And worst of all, we christened the brand new DC with a poopy diaper at around 6 pm. By 11 pm that night (Lucy was night-waking at the time), I was ready to gag the moment I walked in her room. One day old, and already stinking! An air freshener has been deployed, and it's helping for the time being, but I fear that the day when we must abandon the Diaper Champ is coming soon. Perhaps this is incentive to potty train Lucy a little early? She already tells me when she has a poopy diaper, after all... (further proof that she is a genius, IMHO).
OK, enough for now. Must keep M. company as he hurls insults and incredulous snorts at the news coverage of the election night.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Kids in Costume (and more)
Halloween weekend 2010 was a success by all accounts. My parents were in town, and the two extra sets of hands/unqualified attention for the under 4 feet crowd were a clear bonus.
We began on Friday night with some small gifts for the kids (mandatory grandparent gifts), and a birthday cake to re-celebrate Finn's 4th birthday:
A Batman cake
That went over very, very well with the guest of honor
Lucy refused to eat any cake (weirdo), so she managed to stay this clean
Finn did not fair so well
But at least he was a cute mess
Saturday morning brought soccer class for Finn, which, though cold:
A bundled Grammy gabbing with Lucy on the sidelines
was also fun. Finn's class had their first real "game", aka two different classes that tried to score on each other. There was much confusion about which goal each group of kids was supposed to aim for, and plenty of wandering attention spans, but it was adorable:
Finn is the one in the green shirt and camo hat
Lucy was her usual effervescent, hard to control, keeps-you-running self:
Pic of M. chasing her far and wide while the rest of us cheered Finn on
Saturday afternoon I escaped with my mom for mani/pedis and some kid-free grocery shopping (trust me, that IS a luxury). Then it was time for pumpkin carving, spearheaded by the surgeon himself, Bumpa:
Assisted by Finn, of course
My mom and M. took on the role of event photographer, so that left the role of "getting in the way and whining" to Lucy
And the unenviable role of separating the slimy pumpkin seeds from the even slimier pumpkin guts to me
Finn and Bumpa are posing with their finished product here
And Lucy helped Grammy prepare the pumpkin seeds for roasting (seriously, how cute is that?!)
The pumpkin made a suitably scary jack-o-lantern once lit up after dark
Sunday morning we headed out for breakfast at the local airpark, and dined on eggs and pancakes while watching little prop planes take off and land. Then M. and my dad took off for a game of golf (and I would be a remiss wife if I didn't sneak in the fact that M. managed to hit an 89, despite being very cold and utterly out of practice). A quick dinner for the kids, and it was time for costumes and trick-or-treating!:
Lucy was a fairy-princess-type thing - basically whatever cheap little bits we could find that we thought she would not cry about wearing (and would be able to keep using as dress up clothes for years to come - how's that for frugal?).
Finn, as previewed a couple of weeks ago here, continued his superhero obsession by dressing up as Batman
Attempts to get a picture of both kids in costume, together, failed
Repeatedly
Not a failure? The actual Trick-or-Treating. Both kids had a great time, didn't shy away from saying trick-or-treat or thank you (when prompted) to all the many strangers, and lasted a good hour out on the streets. The evening basically ended when Lucy pooped, necessitating (by virtue of smell) a return home to assess the loot.
Now I have a whole bucked of candy and a half-eaten birthday cake to get rid of. Help!!
p.s. - all photos taken with my dad's camera. Makes me want my dad's camera!!
We began on Friday night with some small gifts for the kids (mandatory grandparent gifts), and a birthday cake to re-celebrate Finn's 4th birthday:
A Batman cake
That went over very, very well with the guest of honor
Lucy refused to eat any cake (weirdo), so she managed to stay this clean
Finn did not fair so well
But at least he was a cute mess
Saturday morning brought soccer class for Finn, which, though cold:
A bundled Grammy gabbing with Lucy on the sidelines
was also fun. Finn's class had their first real "game", aka two different classes that tried to score on each other. There was much confusion about which goal each group of kids was supposed to aim for, and plenty of wandering attention spans, but it was adorable:
Finn is the one in the green shirt and camo hat
Lucy was her usual effervescent, hard to control, keeps-you-running self:
Pic of M. chasing her far and wide while the rest of us cheered Finn on
Saturday afternoon I escaped with my mom for mani/pedis and some kid-free grocery shopping (trust me, that IS a luxury). Then it was time for pumpkin carving, spearheaded by the surgeon himself, Bumpa:
Assisted by Finn, of course
My mom and M. took on the role of event photographer, so that left the role of "getting in the way and whining" to Lucy
And the unenviable role of separating the slimy pumpkin seeds from the even slimier pumpkin guts to me
Finn and Bumpa are posing with their finished product here
And Lucy helped Grammy prepare the pumpkin seeds for roasting (seriously, how cute is that?!)
The pumpkin made a suitably scary jack-o-lantern once lit up after dark
Sunday morning we headed out for breakfast at the local airpark, and dined on eggs and pancakes while watching little prop planes take off and land. Then M. and my dad took off for a game of golf (and I would be a remiss wife if I didn't sneak in the fact that M. managed to hit an 89, despite being very cold and utterly out of practice). A quick dinner for the kids, and it was time for costumes and trick-or-treating!:
Lucy was a fairy-princess-type thing - basically whatever cheap little bits we could find that we thought she would not cry about wearing (and would be able to keep using as dress up clothes for years to come - how's that for frugal?).
Finn, as previewed a couple of weeks ago here, continued his superhero obsession by dressing up as Batman
Attempts to get a picture of both kids in costume, together, failed
Repeatedly
Not a failure? The actual Trick-or-Treating. Both kids had a great time, didn't shy away from saying trick-or-treat or thank you (when prompted) to all the many strangers, and lasted a good hour out on the streets. The evening basically ended when Lucy pooped, necessitating (by virtue of smell) a return home to assess the loot.
Now I have a whole bucked of candy and a half-eaten birthday cake to get rid of. Help!!
p.s. - all photos taken with my dad's camera. Makes me want my dad's camera!!
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