Yes, my verb tenses are EVERYWHERE. Deal.

Originally posted to my LiveJournal on September 18th, 2008:


So, we're coming back from our allergy shots appointment and the grocery store, and I'm pulling into the parking space here at home. Music was loud, as always, and it being the time of day that it is, two of Maddie's buddies are riding bikes past the house. I heard her unbuckle her seatbelt, as I'm putting up the windows - front ones first, then the back ones. I suddenly heard a screech from her, and since she does that far too frequently, I didn't react immediately - thinking that she's yelling to her buddies. I'm not entirely sure at this point what exactly made me turn around, but when I did I see CW with her head stuck in the stupid window. She had apparently been sticking her head out WHILE I WAS PUTTING UP THE WINDOWS, and been pinned. I swore (this *is* me here) and let her out, turned off the car, got out and stomped back to her, where she was crying in the back seat.

A (me): Are you okay?
CW: *wails*
A: ARE YOU OKAY!?
CW: *whimper* A little...
A: YES OR NO! (I'm physically checking her at this point)
CW: yes...?
A: ...WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! Go inside and tell your father what you just did! Go tell him what a STUPID thing you just did.

She went inside, and I got the groceries out of the car, locked up and stomped inside.

A: Did she tell you what she did?
D (Matt): Yeah...I told her she was pretty dumb to have done that, didn't I?
CW: *sniffles* yeah.
A: The worst part is that I didn't realize anything was wrong when she screamed, since she does it all the time!
D: See, now you have first hand knowledge of,"the boy who cried wolf!" Mommy didn't react quickly because you scream like that too much. Are you going to scream like that anymore?
CW: No...
A: Alright, go take your stuff upstairs and put it away.

She went up and Matt and I rehashed a little (giggling at this point), when we hear a sob of some sort upstairs. So I yelled up the stairs...

A: Do I need to take you to the doctor? Is your head broken? Are you bleeding? Is your ear falling off?
CW: *giggles* No...!
A: okay, well go to the bathroom if you need to...
CW: *more giggling* I don't have to go to the bathroom!
A: Whoa! I really DO need to take you to the doctor, there MUST be something wrong with you if you don't have to go to the bathroom.
CW: *hysterical giggling from upstairs*

She then came back down the stairs, and slipped on the large pink pencil box (that SHE had left on the stairs not 60 seconds earlier) and nearly fell the rest of the way down the stairs.

*shakes head*

Lessons Learned

Originally posted on May 16th, 2004 to my LiveJournal:

Lessons Learned

So, Matt is in Korea again. And as usual, the plane tickets were not purchased until about 2, maybe 3 days before he left. For some reason, the tickets had to be paper tickets...

CW LOVES to go through Matt's wallet and pocket stuff that he puts down on our dresser. Well, he put the tickets right there, and when he looked for them, about an hour before we had to leave for the airport, they were gone. CW had of course been moving stuff from our room into her room and vice versa, so we asked her if she'd taken them.

I think this best represents the process:

" CW, did you take the green papers that were here next to Daddy's wallet? Daddy really needs them."

"Wook, it's Weewo!"

"Yes I know that's Lilo, did you see the green papers here?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, so, did you move the papers? Did you take them into your room? Could you show me where they are?"

"Hmm?"

" CW , Did you see the green mail here on Mommy and Daddy's dresser?"

"GREEN! and Daddy's wallet, the pictures the daddy!"

"Yeah. Do you remember what you did with the green papers that were right here?!"

"STITCH!"

So we had called and found out that yes the tickets could be reprinted, but we'd have to stop by his office. Luckily, Matt finally looked in CW 's storage clipboard. I had asked him earlier to put the stuff I was handing him into said clipboard. Apparently this must have been when he picked up the tickets, thinking to put them into his carry on bag. He spaced and put it all in the clipboard...

So when I suggested that maybe he shouldn't put Important Things right where she can get them, and is known to rummage, his comment was that she hadn't taken them. I pointed out that we had thought she did, and wasted a lot of time asking Her about them...so it was really more of a future reference thing...

Computer Kid - A Maddie Post

Originally posted on April 15th 2004 to my LiveJournal:

Computer Kid

So, I donate LOTS of our stuff to a United Way place that comes and picks it up, leaves a receipt, etc. It's great. My Dad had some extra computers lying around, and since Matt is doing the Frankenstein thing, he gave them to us, to mess around with. I mentioned that if he couldn't figure out what to do with it, we'd donate it...no problem.

So we had a pick up this morning. The driver comes to the front door...even though I had the yellow flyer taped to the wall above the pile of items to be donated out in the front yard...so I had to "show" him where the stuff was. When he started to take the stuff to the truck, CW FREAKED.

"Could you my Daddy's Pyoo-yer?!" in a very upset voice...

"no Sweetie, turn around and look behind you, Daddy's got a computer right there...he's giving this other one away to someone else who needs it more than we do...."


Tears now, "Could you my Pyoo-yer?! Get you my Pyoo-yer! Get you MY PYOO-yer! I wan get you my Pyoo-yer!"

I of course, being the horrid mother I am, am laughing outright at this point trying to explain that it's okay...while holding onto her so she doesn't run out to the donation truck to get the computer back. Her litany is getting louder and ever more shrill, and she runs to the closet to get her boots, because apparently we've done a decent job in getting her to understand she needs shoes to outside. So she runs back over to the door, still yelling mind you, and THROWS one of her rainboots (the ladybug ones) out the door...I'm not sure how she thought this would help...

So we call Daddy. "Blahbittyblah Inc, this is Matt"

"Daddy could you explain to your daughter that it's okay with you that the man took the computer away?"

"Hah! Yeah put her on..."

Still in tears, although much quieter, "Daddy, get you my Pyoo-yer? " oh, yes, and she's pointing out the door.

This went on for several minutes. Eventually she calmed down, but Wow, was that one funny. and I forgot, she was wearing the Lion Suit.

Shades of traveling across the country

Originally posted on May 24th, 2004 to LiveJournal (Maddie and I were up at my parent's house and we were still potty training):

Shades of traveling across the country

Apparently putting her to bed no longer means the day is done. About 1/2 an hour after putting her to bed, she starts yelling that she peed.

"That's great!" you say, "She's recognizing when she pees."

Well, not exactly. I was coming down the hall when my mom went in and was talking to her. I hear mom say something about puke...

...but the room doesn't smell like puke. There's stuff all over the bed. And on her shirt.

I guess I should mention that she had not pooped ALL DAY, and had drunk 2 bottles of apple juice. Dad had asked if Apple juice bothered her at all...I said I didn't think so...

Needless to say, she had to be put in the shower and everything on the bed had to be washed. While in the shower she freaked about the stuff on the floor of the shower and wanted to sit on the toilet. Good sentiment, but a little late. :-) So while Mom and I were redoing the bedroom, she sat on the toilet, and my dad sat in the cramped corner next to her on a stool that's only about 6 inches tall, reading stories to her. I value both my camera and my life so I did NOT take a picture. Though it was tempting, because with the DSL it was entirely possible I could've uploaded the pic before Dad managed to get out of the corner...

It's been a bad couple of nights for Bear, let me tell you. He desperately needs a vacation. 'Nother(bear) is going to be on duty for a few days...

His X Period.

So, SG brings a drawing over to me this morning. "I'm doing a lot of Xs now, and not SGs." He informs me, as though this were the beginning of his Blue Period. I asked him about the snowman looking figure there UNDER all of the Xs, and I was told that was SG, as was the larger Frosty-esque rendering on the back of the sheet. He then, with so much pride, points to the squiggle between 'SG's' legs, and says, "And that's his Penis!" (Yes, my son can in fact, pronounce his Capital letters on certain words.)

Oy.

"We don't draw penises, okay?" I say.

"Oh, okay." He agrees before wandering off. Matt and I are giggling quietly about this whole thing, when SG comes back in with his drawing, and proudly show us that he had drawn in The Penis on the other SG. *sigh* In to Time-Out he went. Where, much to our frustration, he started wailing about 30 seconds later, because he'd peed all over himself. I'm assuming that The Penis was angry that it's been banned from pictures and was making Its displeasure known.

So after I stripped him and cleaned him up, I sent him upstairs to get dressed. He stomped up the stairs and after he went into his room I heard him talking to himself. Loudly. I yelled up asking what he'd said, and got the response of, "Nuffing!"

"Sweetie, what did you say?" in my best, cajoling-mom voice.

"I SAID, I NOT HAPPY ANYMORE!!" Oh, gotcha.

So after he served his remaining Time Out sentence, he went back into the kitchen, where he and daddy were discussing what to draw next. I hear:

"Okay, I'll draw a Butt!"

"No. No Butts, no Penises. We don't draw Butts or Penises, that's not appropriate. Okay?"

"Oh. 'kay."

I can't wait to see what he draws next, and I hope to god, that The Butt doesn't make Its displeasure known like The Penis did.

It puts the lotion on it's back or it gets the hose again...

Writing about and interacting with the Bears the other day reminds me of these old posts I made years ago to my personal journal, while we were up at my parent's house:

Originally posted on May 23rd, 2004 to LiveJournal

It puts the lotion on it's back or it gets the hose again...

So we put CW to bed around 7pm...

I checked on her about 8pm and what did I find? She was sitting back down on the bed, and looking kind of sweaty, but it was hot, so not really alarming...but I did notice that the room smelled like the baby lotion we still use for her...

I go over and notice white stuff in her hair, as she starts mumbling about it being hot and she had to put the lotion on...

She was covered. As was her diaper, tank top, the quilt, her blanket, bear, the floor, the lotion bottle itself...shall I go on?

We cleaned her up, or rather, we cleaned up the area and simply rubbed in what was on her...She slept well after that... :-)

The closest that we could figure was that since she had identified Sunblock as lotion that gets put on when it's hot, she figured that the Johnson's Nighttime lotion that she found would help cool her off. She cracked up up that night. :)

Can you tell we've done this before?

It was dinner time. For us anyway, the kids had eaten earlier. Matt brought in the plates, we sat down and started to eat. About three bites in, Nate shows up on my side of the couch, with a, "What the H***?!" look on his face, holding his hand out to my face. Now, I've played this game before, so since I don't see blood, I'm looking for the poop or the booger that he's obviously presenting to me. As I'm questioning him and turning over his hand to find the horrible surprise that awaits me, his face is getting redder and redder. I'm not seeing anything, so I start asking him what the problem is. Finally he tells me.

"I burn my hand."

"WHAT!?"

"On the stove."

I took him into the kitchen and ran his hand under cold water for about 10 minutes, we put Neosporin and band-aids on him, and gave him an ice pack. A few minutes later he was starting to lose it, so we gave him some M&Ms to distract him. Eventually though it was time for bed. The ritual went fine, but he started wailing and thrashing in his bed just after Matt left him and came back downstairs. So we decided that he'd sleep with us for the night. We set him up in the middle of our bed with Wall-e running on the tv, and his hand wrapped in a towel and shoved into one of Maddie Pack-its. He passed out about an hour later, happy as a clam. A little while after that he flailed his arms and threw the Pack-it at my head. He apparently spent the night kicking Matt, and sleep-climbing on him. :) I, of course had, with great foresight, placed my body pillow between Nate and I before hauling him more to my side of the bed, so all I got was the occasional arm flail to the head. Go me! *eye roll*

So, 25 months is about the limit for being careful after you burn your hand on a stove. The blisters are all intact, so for now, he's fine. He's at pre-school with band-aids all over him...

CWlocks and the Three Bears

CW and I cleaned up her room yesterday, oh the complaining! We managed to get two full bags of garbage out of it, and about a garbage bag's worth of clothing that she's outgrown/hates-and-will-never-wear. I pulled out her bed, and emptied out underneath it, I made her pull out all sorts of catch-all containers and drawers that have just been gathering crap. We moved her physical books up onto the shelf near the ceiling across the end of the room (we'd taken the bookcase and kiddie books into SG's room last weekend), culled her stuffed animals, reorganized her closet...it took all day, but it looks great now.

It apparently freaks her out that I talk to her stuffed animals. I was talking to her bears about the possibility of them coming down from the shelf, taking baths, and actually interacting with us all again. They were of course, responding to my questions, nodding or shaking their heads, that kind of thing. I know those bears more than she does, since they were my comrades-in-arms. I can still look at them and tell you which one is Bear, which one is Other (bear) and which one is (a)'Nother (bear). She didn't believe me, so she checked their tags...I was right. :) SG was absolutely floored when they all showed up on the floor (ha!), because he's got one too, Yet (another bear). So, they've all been washed, and are in the process of having their fur fluffed. Nate is helping with that part a lot - it involves using a bristle brush on the bears, so he's having a blast being the barber.

Children are freakishly flexible

SG just bounced in and announced that he'd finally earned his glazed doughnut (he had to finish his lunch first). He then promptly turned himself into a knot. It looked like something between these two poses, only there was a foot in the air above it all.

Toto! Toto where are you!

So, we're under a tornado warning right now, and we're not to freaked out ab out it, but we've got the weather channel on, and the house is open so we can hear if something changes. But, after thinking about it I wanted CW downstairs where we could simply lay hands on her and

****BEEPBEEPBEEP**** Warning has expired, but we're still under a watch

simply drag her into the little bathroom (our most protected room) instead of having to waste time yelling for her to get her bum downstairs. So, she was a little freaked out by the possibility of us having a tornado.

Meanwhile SG and I are counting from Lightning flash to Thunder clap, and he figures that if he gets to 10 he wins... *rolls eyes*

Regularity is for sissies. 'Be Prepared' is our motto!

Sometimes being Mom-the-All-Knowing is easy. Like when your daughter (or mine really, since we know who this is about) is newly come to the wonderful world of woman stuff, and hasn't learned to pay attention to a calendar, or carry certain specialized items when she's near a certain time of month. I'd thought about the calendar and timing and mentioned to her Monday afternoon that she should be expecting it any day now, likely in the next week. I also explained that while she's been really lucky in having regular cycles so far, it was in now way guaranteed to continue that way, and she really ought to always have a spare pad in her pocket at all times. And then I told her a nightmare story (not really) about just how irregular I was in that first year...

Fast forward two whole days to her coming home from school this afternoon. Bingo! Mom you were right, and thank you - that pad really came in handy today!

:) I'm telling you, that girl makes parenting easy.

Parental bed defenses 101

I've discovered how to keep my little one out of my bed.

Sometime around 6:45 this morning I woke up to CW coming through our room to go take her shower. I thought I'd heard Matt get up and take his shower much earlier, but obviously I was mistaken since I could hear him breathing rather noisily next to me. I rolled over to poke him and find out why he was abed so late - but he wasn't there. *frowns*

The breathing hadn't changed. It was still there. It was however, NOT coming from the bed, so I rolled BACK over and looked over the side of the bed.

There he was (SG), flat on his face on top of my third (don't ask) down pillow and our brown soft-fuzzy blanket that had been tossed off of the bed. He'd come into at some point during the night (Matt mentioned later that he'd thought it was ME breathing noisily when he woke up), but apparently was waylaid by the pillow and fuzzy blanket in his path, and passed out on them. He woke up about half an hour later and staggered back out of my room, dragging the blanket halfway across the room with him - I've no idea if it was stuck onto him and it took him those 8 feet to untangle himself, or if he changed his mind and left it instead of taking it with him.

SO! Word to the wise, plant a soft pillow and blanket in your pre-schooler's path to your bed, and MAYBE they won't make it far enough in to wake you up. :)

{Insert witty title here}

Interesting times here. CW has embarked on an on-line Elementary Latin course in the afternoons, and so far likes it. SG is really starting to have some noticeable changes (for the good) sparked by pre-school. He actively decides that it's someone else's turn and puts himself in line behind them, he's figuring out how to buckle his seat belt, and he's starting to try different foods.

Yesterday was simply a series of WIN with him. He took his allergy medicine when confronted with the choice between taking it and going to Pre-school that day or not taking it and staying home, restricted from TV and computer. Then he was willing to try learning how to buckle himself into the car, and was successful with the steps I had him attempt. THEN, he was willing to try more of it (the buckling) in the afternoon when I picked him up, and it worked out great. He happily ate a hot dog for lunch (he's been fighting protein lately) when it was presented with a corn muffin and fruit snacks all on one plate. Dinner was the real coup though, I sliced up another hot dog, and put cheddar shreds on them in so they looked like Xs, melted it, stuck toothpicks in them and told him he could have another corn muffin if he finished the hot dog. He came close, but didn't quite manage to finish it, but just that he was willing to eat the CHEESE! Boy doesn't like dairy for some reason, aside from yogurt, and vanilla milkshakes, so cheese was an accomplishment. This morning he was delighted to sit in my lap and work through some on-line exercises for reading and math too... :)

CW's attitude is REALLY good about 90% of the time still, so I'm happy. She's delighted with bread baking, is learning how to do laundry, and is managing to keep her room decently neat. She's still very happy about school, but still has not shaken off the pull of the tv. If it's on, it needs to be paused, turned off or muted before you can actually expect her brain to kick in... *rolls eyes* She's taking her lunch lately too, PLUS I've put mayo on her sandwiches several times lately to start moving her away from completely dry sandwiches. :)

My goodness - are they growing up?