Tuesday, August 30, 2005

This Little Piggy

A day without a boo-boo is rare in our family.

As you know, when one kid contracts a boo-boo, the other develops a sympathy boo-boo.

Today, Valerie had a small cut on her finger. As expected, Dagny demanded a Band-Aid to cover her sympathy boo-boo.

I asked her where the boo-boo might be located to accurately cover the sympathetic cut.

She sweetly proclaimed, "I need a Band-Aid on this little piggy!" and proceeded to stick her left index finger in my face.

Moments like these get me by....

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Build-A-Bear

Evidence of our attendance at a today's Build-A-Bear birthday party:

Build A Bear

Apparently, my children will not only be eating and sleeping with their new bears, but Dagny plans to potty-train her bear. He's already tried on her pull-ups.

Excuse me, I stand corrected. Valerie's bear isn't just a bear. It's a Koala Bear.

Duh!

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Hug Rations

I have imposed hug rations in our house at bed time. It sounds wicked, but I've put my foot down.

Of late, I put the girls to bed and it usually goes smoothly. The girls get a bath, brush their teeth, brush their hair and read stories. They climb into their beds and I dim the lights. Then the trouble begins.

Hugs and kisses for everyone. Just as I start to leave, someone will call out, "Mommy, I need one more hug!"

Not to be outdone, the other child sweetly calls out, "One more hug for me too!"

So, I embellish them. I think, it's not like kids can have too many hugs & kisses, right? I love the affection just as much as they do. After the fifth time, I get wise to their strategy. Clearly, they are stalling. If I were more agreeable, they could do this all night.

I announce, "You each get only ONE more hug and ONE more kiss tonight. Then, I have to go downstairs and do my own work. I promise to kiss you and hug you more tomorrow. But this is IT! Understood?"

They giggle and squeak out a "yes". They each get their turn and I leave the room.

They protest, but I stick to my guns. Hiding my smiles, I promise more hugs and kisses tomorrow.

When I reach the family room, Ken laughs at me, "What are you rationing hugs now?"

I retort, "What would you do, smarty pants?"

And we realize their affinity for affection will be short-lived. Too soon, we will be just dumb ol' mom and dad.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Old Mama

For whatever reason, Valerie claimed today that she was a "new girl." I don't remember the exact context of the claim, but she asserts that she is definitely a "new girl."

Me: So what makes you a new girl?

Valerie: Because I'm a cute little girl. And you're an OLD MAMA!

Me: So what does that make Grandma?

Valerie: (silence)

Boy, that sure was a kick in the gut....

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Blame

We were at swimming lessons. Valerie followed directions kicking and paddling in the pool. Dagny played in the little play yard. I quietly kept one eye on each child, somehow without going cross-eyed.

As Dagny opened the gate to the play yard, she bonked her head. Tears sprang to her eyes and she ran into my arms for comfort. She cried, "Mommy, Vaa-ree hit me!"

It was an "Ah-ha!" moment. I'm onto you, kid... Valerie was no where near you, honey.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Bodily Behaviors

Sitting on the ground, Dagny gleefully announced, "I tooted!"

I nodded, having witnessed the bodily function.

"Mommy, I tooted!"

"Yes, honey, you tooted. What do you say?"

"Thank you!"

Not exactly, but she could be thanking us for holding our breath...

Sunday, August 21, 2005

Eating Lunch

At lunch, Valerie chose Dora the Explorer Campbell's soup.

After two bites, she announced she was finished, but needed a cookie to complete the meal. As most mothers in my predicament, I suggested she eat more of her lunch first. Then, she could have a cookie.

She responded, "How about I eat ten more bites, then I get a cookie! How about I eat ten BIG bites?"

Don't you love it when things just go in your favor? "Well, I guess ten bites is okay.... Maybe you should shoot for eleven bites?"

Saturday, August 20, 2005

Stalking Moon

Last night, I took Valerie to a dinner playdate with a future classmate to get the acquainted prior to the start of school.

On the way home, it was dark. A beautiful, big moon hung above the horizon.

We quietly drove. Half-way home I assumed Valerie had fallen asleep. But, she quietly asked, "Why is the moon following us?"

On the one hand I considered getting into the Big Bang Theory. Instead I answered, "Honey, there is one moon and everyone on earth sees the same moon. Your cousin Abby sees the same moon we see."

"Why?"

Better question, why to I keep setting myself up for these imploring questions?

I responded, "Well, let's ask daddy when we get home!"

Whether Ken answers any of the questions his children ask or not, I'm setting him up to be the smartest man on earth by encouraging my children to believe he knows everything.

Friday, August 19, 2005

To Companize

Meaning: To keep someone company.

Example: Changing Dagny's diaper before taking a nap, Valerie offered, "Mommy, do you want me to companize Dagny while you change her diaper?"

Not only is she being a great big sister, she's adding words to the dictionary.

Sounded good to me! Maybe I'll start using the word, too!

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Girlie Girl

Today, Valerie knew she had to wear the color blue to camp for the annual "color war" theme of the day. We discussed each piece of blue clothing she owns.

I suggested she wear her jeans. Hers happen to be blue jeans.

Boy, did I get an earful.

"Mom, jeans are boys clothes. Girls wear skirts and dresses!"

Oh, well, some girls wear jeans, right?

"Mom, girls aren't supposed to wear jeans even though some do."

Oh, okay. So, do you know any boys who wear skirts and dresses?

"Mom, of course boys don't wear skirts and dresses. Those are GIRL clothes!"

Thanks for the distinction, honey.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Grovel for Gravel

I realize that some rocks in the world are precious. Some are worth a lot of money. Some are pretty and sparkly. However, what could be so special about gravel? Isn't gravel just useless rock fragments and pebbles used as a cheaper alternative to pavement?

At swimming lessons, part of the parking area is covered in gravel. There are man-made painted orange lines showing cars where to park. As a result, some of these rocks are colored orange on one side. My children are obsessed by the gravel at swimming lessons. For both of them, picking out their precious rocks seems to be the highlight of the swim lesson experience.

Upon arrival, they hussle out of the car to seize their precious stones. I eventually coax them toward the swim instructors back yard where the pool awaits. As Valerie shyly edges toward the pool, she makes me swear, nearly on my life, that I will save her special piece of the earth's crust until she can retrieve it upon completion of her lesson. I oblige.

Meanwhile, Dagny spends the swim lesson stalking the gravel. She compares and contrasts nothing less than 20 pieces of gravel in a thirty minute period. This one is bigger, that one looks like a fish, and this one is cool. She attempts to keep as many pieces of gravel as her little mitts can carry. If I offered her a bucket, she's start hauling the dirty white rock fragments home to place inside her toy-box containing assorted prized possessions.

After the swim lesson, we head to the car. The girls squat by the side of the car gathering as many rocks as possible to haul home. I inform my offspring that we have to leave rocks for the other kids, too. Each child only gets one rock. I mean really, if we take all the rocks, where will the cars park? Where will the other kids find rocks (knowing full well gravel is everywhere)?

They look up at me silently and I know they are thinking, "Who cares about the other kids? They can find their own rocks!"

The ride home is full of conversation and descriptions of their gravel.

If this keeps ups, their future husbands will save a lot of money offering them gravel engagement rings, painted orange on one side. Maybe I am doing someone a favor by allowing them to steal our swim instructors gravel.

PT Status Report

On occasion, I admit to my mistakes.

Maybe now it's time to admit defeat....

After two days of potty training, Dagny's had only one success in the potty.

I'm tired of wet panties. Therefore, I'm tired of laundry, too.

The incentive is one jelly bean for pee-pee in her little potty, two jelly beans for poopy in her little potty. She fully understands the incentives.

Now, to get her to fully understand her potty needs. I think the problem is that she's just a busy, busy kid!

Monday, August 15, 2005

Love you...

For the life of me, I can't remember what I was doing to deserve this....

But, I was doing something to occupy my mind and my hands. I looked down to see Dagny tugging my hand down so I could squat to her level. She announced, "I hug you" causing me to open my arms.

Upon jumping in my arms and sweetly hugging me, she declared, " I wuv you!"

And my heart melted.

Friday, August 12, 2005

Happy Homecoming

We returned from our vacation. Coming home is usually the best part of any trip, I've decided. I think I only started feeling this way after having children and being forced to check my luggage on airplanes.

Upon arriving home, Dagny decided to be in her birthday suit from the waist-down. After about a half hour of the cool air hitting her rump, Dagny informed me she needed to go poopy. So, I picked her up and ran her to her little potty chair. Within a few minutes, she left a nice surprise in the potty bowl! Woo hoo!

She did this entirely on her own.

So, who was it that told me children should never be potty-trained before the age of three? Just goes to show that each kid does it on their own time. Apparently, just because someone is a parent, doesn't make him/her an expert on all children. We all do the best we can.

Seems like she's READY to rid herself of those dreadful diapers.

Get set!

Let's go!

What a nice homecoming present, eh?

Monday, August 1, 2005

Go! Go! Go!

I took a blog hiatus last month. I guess summer does that to "at-home" moms. Even though Valerie has spent some time at camp, Dagny seems to require much more attention of late.

For example, if we spend more than a couple of hours at the house, as I try to put away groceries, do laundry, or other typical household chores, Dagny will reach her breaking point awfully quickly. See, after an hour or so of doing what she views as "nothing" she grows bored. Independently, she will open the door to the garage, stand by the car-door near her carseat and scream, "Go! Go! Go! Go!" until I physically place her in the car and drive somewhere. I've gone so far as to drive around the block. But pulling back into the driveway, she immediately returns to her tirade. There's no tricking this child....

Thank goodness Dagny has been accepted into a preschool program starting in September. Apparently, I'm not a very good entertainer unless I chauffeur her to an off-site location. September 6th is the date of blast-off. We've started to countdown... Just 35 more days and the teachers can entertain her twice a week for a few days...