Labor Day Weekend

Any plans for this labor day weekend?  We're getting together with family from all over the country, and I'm sure the kids will have a great time embarrassing us with their volume in public.

Pink Saturday: McPlaydate

A few years ago, if you had told me I'd be blithely spending an afternoon in a McDonald's, let alone the play area, I'd have thought you were hitting the cold syrup a little too hard.  This is doubly true because the cold syrup used to have more kick than it does these days.  Nonetheless, last weekend we had the opportunity to take the kids on a 4 hour car trip to meet a relative they'd never seen before, and McDonald's seemed just the place to go. 

Side note- you generally have to order something to play, so we ordered strawberry sundaes. The strawberry sauce tasted somewhat rancid.... I don't recommend them.

JabberWalky had a lot of fun learning to climb up the various platforms.

Mongoosine even taught him how to go down the slide, somewhat safely.

 The compartment with the little steering wheel was a particular favorite.

Ultimately, the most fun was had when JabberWalky and (Cousin Who Needs a Cute Nickname) were giving  grandpa impromptu dental exams.

If you've ever been in a McDonald's playplace, you're likely looking at this picture in a certain amount of horror.... That's right, hands that have been in the play place... in his mouth. 

We're expecting he'll be sick any day now.

The kids had a lot of fun, and the toddlers were pretty pleased with the existence of one another. Or rather, they didn't say otherwise... though JabberWalky's cousin *did* teach JabberWalky to say "No," and now I'm having to try to get him to say other things again. 

Either way, I'm still proud that he learned to say affirmative words "yay," "woohoo," "yes," "yeah," and "nice," before he started saying "no."

For more Pink Saturday, head on over to How Sweet the Sound

Poetry

Last night was Mongoosine's school poetry slam.
It was held in the school library.  The kids and the teachers dressed like Beatniks. We snapped rather than clapped and I felt moved to use words like "deep." Had they bothered to include the time on the invitation, there probably would have been more in attendance, but as it was, it was fine with me. We had to balance slam with choir anyway.  So, in honor of the slam, I will leave you with some poetry to ponder, if you can dig it.

Mama Dada

mama clock I when sun bright
hold early window blankie change
table shirt coffee skirt glasses fluffy on
and nurse we she when tug smile eye
curl laugh pillow kiss chirp sky

Wordless Wednesday: A Fairly Wonderful Weekend

Wordless Wednesday

Halloween Picture Parade!

Zombie Fairy.

She did her own makeup. I was impressed.

She even borrowed my punk tote bag.

 "I didn't get a punk tote bag!"

"Grandma, I didn't get a punk tote bag, and then this red blob swallowed me, digesting me down to just bones!"

"I think it was more fun to be just bones than to be a scary dragon."

Apparently not even a wagon could make up for the silly thing on his head.

For more picture parades of what all went down this Halloween, check out the SitsGirls blog.

Halloween Then

This year I thought my kidlet might get cold in his costume, so we opted for warm Superman sleeper pajamas over a set of skeleton pajamas and set out with the tween, spouse, my dad, and my grandfather.

That's right, three generations Trick or Treating together. We've been doing this since I was JabberWalky's age.  Every year we'd gather at my grandparents' house and then venture out into the neighbourhood en masse to share in some good quality grandparents time.

Grandpa hasn't changed much. He's thinner now, a bit slower, but his smile is just the same, as is his laugh when the littles get spooked by his neighbours' long planned shenanigans.

One year, when I was young, one of his neighbours had his friends hide in the bushes dressed as were-beasts, and they jumped out as we approached begging for candy.  This year his children had taken over the spooking. 

So much is the same.  I often was wearing a couple sets of pajamas for a costume, though the outermost layer of mine would be my prettiest flowiest gown in stead of the winter equivalent of Underoos.  Don't take that to mean that I didn't have my Wonder Woman ones on under all the princessy nightgownage, because I probably did.

So tonight, I felt a little bit like I was a tiny kidlet again, walking down the street with my Grandpa, rushing up to each house to exclaim "Trick or Treat," just like it was more than twenty years ago.  Halloween now is a lot like Halloween then, just, you know, Halloween then was then-i-er.

For more on Halloween Then, check out TheSitsGirls, because Tiffany is pretty, and unicorns are real.

Wordless Wednesday: Tis a Gift to be Simple

Wordless Wednesday 

Wordless Wednesday: Apples with Friends

Wordless Wednesday

On Subsequent Showers

When you see a newborn baby, can you tell, by looking just at the baby, what that baby's birth order was?  No, you really can't.

Not even at 3 months

When I was pregnant with my second child, and excited about my upcoming shower, a usually very nice woman looked at me, aghast, and said "you don't get to have a shower for your second baby.  That's just wrong.  Showers are for first babies."  She proceeded to go on about how second showers are greedy and in poor taste.

If felt like getting slapped, and I have to say, took a lot of enjoyment out of my baby shower, the following weekend.  It upset me so much that I still feel punched in the gut about it and my baby is nearly a year and a half old.  Of course, when I said "my daughter is 10 years old, we have no baby stuff, and I never had a shower when I was pregnant for her, so what, then I just don't get one ever?" she backpedaled, a little.  She did add "well, if you didn't invite anyone who may have sent a gift for her, I guess it's alright."

No. It's not alright.  It's good, and wonderful, and exciting.

Showers are celebrations of the coming life and ways for communities of friends and family to come together to meet the needs of the soon-to-be-born baby and lift the spirits of the tired mother, presumably in her third trimester, or as more and more often done, the exhausted new mother.

Even women whose children are born less than 2 years apart are likely to have given away much of their newborn gear to a friend or relative, if one is inclined to use sposies, they're always in need, as are things like wipes and other non-renewable things.

In about two hours, I'm heading to a baby shower, for a second baby, of a dear friend of mine.  This baby will be some 5 years younger than her brother. I know for a fact that this mother has given away most of her baby gear since the birth of her son, as we rocked her co-sleeper and Boppy, are still rocking her high-chair, and lots and lots of other baby paraphernalia, and we weren't the first fortunate recipients of her son's hand-me-downs.  Yet, when I tweeted that my friend was having a shower the other day, some people started in with the "subsequent showers are greedy" script.

No. They are not greedy.

In this case, the mom didn't run out and register for all the things she wants, and the friend hosting sent out a low key invitation asking for loved but lovable hand-me-downs.  Me? I made a quilt similar to the one I made for her big brother five years ago. I might also be bringing some prefolds, because lets face it, every house needs them, even when you're planning on going sposie.  My mom plans to bring some zinc oxide butt cream and some icky nasty sposies, just like she would for a first baby's shower. Why?  Because the people who say that gifting a subsequent child and preparing for their birth is selfish have missed the point.  It's not about how many times you give to a specific family, whether the second or the fifth child. It's about being there for the mom, supporting and welcoming the kidlets to come.

There is no law saying that because you went in to buy the $300 stroller and carseat combo last time that you have to spend as much for a second child, maybe $15 on a sweater and hat or $5 on a new pack of bibs, a sweet lovey/skullie or maybe even a little baby sized sock monkey. I prefer handmade myself, but this isn't about me.  It's about welcoming and preparing for a new baby.  You can even bring something small for the older sibling. It's all good.  Show up, spread the love. That's the point.

So before you get all irritable the next time you hear someone is having a second, or a third, or a fourth baby shower, remember, there are always things, even small inexpensive things, like infant nail clippers which retail for $1.50, which will make the family more ready for the baby, and give everyone a great opportunity to get together and send a strong message of support to the mother.

Hate the "stuff" part of showers but want to support a mom who really does have everything?  Why not give her a Blessing Way instead of a shower?  None of the naysayers can effectively argue that heaping blessings on a mama is selfish and inappropriate.

Survival

That's what we've been focusing on lately. Survival.
It started with a sweet baby who had a cold, and fussed night and day, stubbornly repudiating sleep.  Although that was energy consuming, it was survivable.  I felt mostly peachy, and armed with about 150 mg of caffeine a day, I was good to go. Sleep was for wimps.
You see where this is going, right?
Well, in my foolishness I forgot that I can only survive so long on caffeine and no sleep.  The result, now I've caught a different cold, which I've passed on to Mr. Teething with a Cold.  That's right.  A whole new round of fevers, running noses, coughs and misery for the baby, coupled with mom who feels like she has snot for blood.


So, since someone should benefit, my Top 10 Sickness Survival Tips.


1. Cancel, cancel, cancel.  If it's not absolutely necessary, cancel it.  Appointments, blog memes, whatever. Call, email, txt whomever you need to so you can focus on recovering.
2. Love the environment later.  I am all about the hankie for blowing your nose, but frankly, I only have so many, and doing laundry when I'm really sick isn't helping anyone out.  So yep, if I'm really sick and running out of cloth nosesipes?  Toilet paper works.  So do tissues, but really?  Buying paper specifically for nose blowing? No thank you.
3. Accept help.  It's harder than it sounds, but being the Allmother and doing all things by yourself all the time is just going to leave you more tired and more sick.  Let your spouse/partner/older kids help out by cooking for you- even if it's gross macaroni and cheese.  Starving doesn't actually help anyone heal.  When they ask "can I get you anything," don't sigh "no," because the directions you'd need to give them are more than two sentences.  Take a deep breath, make eye contact, and tell them what you need.
4. Got water?  Keep a glass or BPA free reusasable water bottle by your bed or by the couch where you're laying trying not to die.  Fluids are your friends.
5. Have someone help you kidlet proof your bedroom and any other room you might lose consciousness in, and then keep the door closed so that if your baby gets loose while you're busy not dying, you don't have to freak out that they're going to eat your tax records, get tangled in computer cords, or find the power drill.
6. This one involves prep.  Sick toys.  You're sick, your kidlet is probably sick too.  Keep a box of EASILY WASHABLE toys that baby only plays with when sick.  Then have someone HELP you put away the regular toys and get these out when you're sick.  Whether they're hard toys that are easy to scrub down or soft toys that wash up well, be sure to wash them and put them away when everyone's recovered.  These are extra fun for the wee one, and more apt to capture baby's attention longer because they're a special treat.  
7.  Use the phone.  Remember that whole starvation sucks thing?  Well it does. Sucks the life right out of you.  So if it comes down to it, and you can afford it, don't be afraid to order in.  You're not going to snog the pizza gal, so you're probably not going to get her sick.  And even if the food isn't the wonderfully nutrient packed goodness you'd have cooked if you were feeling 100%, again, starvation bad.
8. DVDs.  You're not going to get anything done.  Don't try to pretend you're going to use this down time to catch up on the family tree, or knit that baby blanket for your best friend's sister's shower. No one wants a plague blanket.  Veg out already and get better.
9.  Accept that some days you just don't have 9 in you and roll on.
10. Keep your phone handy so you can text, IM, tweet, and FB your way through.  To those of you who can't do these things on your phone... well, I'm sorry, but after last year's bedrest episode, I can't imagine not having any means of contacting the outside world and my best suggestion is to bring your laptop to bed with you.


Note- I never assume anyone is going to be so helpful as to take the baby for most of the day. Besides, if you're breastfeeding, that wouldn't help at all anyway.  

Wordless Wednesday: This Mother's Day

Wordless Wednesday

Mother's Day

This year for Mother's Day (shouldn't it be Mothers' Day?) my daughter, who is awesome beyond all logic gave me something truly magnificent.

That's right, it's a POLICE CALL BOX ON A FLOWER POT.

*sniffle* She knows me so well.

Why am I so excited?

Um, it's a POLICE CALL BOX on a FLOWER POT!
If you don't get it, i'm terribly sorry, there is only one remedy.  Watch Doctor Who and read the once increasingly misnamed Hitchiker's trilogy.  Start HERE and HERE.

One Year

Precisely one year ago.

You didn't have a name. You were 21.5 inches long. You weighed 8 pounds. You were sweet and tiny and had a smell that was unlike any other smell I'd ever smelled before. You had big curious eyes which so easily became sleepy eyes. You wanted to nurse and be held.

You have more names than a baby needs. You are 32 inches long. You weigh 25 pounds. You are sweet and big and have a smell that is unlike any other smell, even when your diaper is fine. You have big curious eyes, and hands, and knees for crawling, though you try to walk with one leg and drag the other beneath you for balance. You like to giggle, high five, wave hello and bye bye. You like to nurse, even when you're not being held. Even when it means crawling over and latching on yourself, but you still like to be held.

I love you.

Wordless Wednesday: Make a Wish

Wordless Wednesday

Ring Around Your Finger

When spouse and I had been married about a year he got a phone call.

No, perhaps this story is best told another way.

When spouse was in high school, he got a class ring. He wore this ring that was always just a touch too big just about everywhere. He developed the habit of slipping it off and on his finger, like a nervous tick. And one day, the fall after he graduated, at a football game about 20 miles from home, he realized he'd lost it. Where? When? He didn't know. He only knew it was gone.

When spouse and I had been married about a year, he got a phone call.

A young man told him "I found your class ring. I called around and talked to your niece, and she gave me your number." Well, our niece was a student at the local high school, from which spouse had graduated, and it seemed reasonable. Heck, her family had just moved and it wasn't unreasonable that it had been lost in their garage and relost in their move. It just made sense. A kid finds a ring, he asks the girl he knows with the same last name, and she tells him whom to call.

But no. He doesn't know her. He was simply calling people with that last name. He doesn't live in this town. He lives in a town 8 miles south of here. He says he found it at a football game.

This seems reasonable. His school was playing spouse's school and he was looking around and found it, right? No. His school was playing a school some 20 miles from here and he was messing around beneath the stands and found it.

Spouse graduated from high school in 1984. It was 2004 when our phone rang. The ring had laid beneath the stands for 20 years at a school which neither party attended for 20 years.

Irony- that was my high school's football field, and for the record, my school whomped BOTH of their schools.

Last spring spouse was working on clearing the fence row at the cemetery one crisp and cool May afternoon. When we got home, he realized he had lost his wedding ring. He and Mongoosine quickly hopped back in the van and drove, 20 miles, back to the cemetery, and spent an hour searching for it in the rain.

Today, at the same cemetery, clearing twigs and branches, guess what was glinting between the dry blades of grass...

Natural Consequences

As any parent veteran parent will tell you, you can't protect your children from every possible danger, and though you try to redirect, minimize risks, and babyproof, not everything can be made 100% safe.

Even in an empty room with no electric outlets, there will still be the floor for baby to hit her head on when she falls, or perhaps some texture on the walls to scratch himself on when he tries to explore them.

In the end, babies are a curious lot, and that is as it should be.

They put things in their mouths. The touch things. They grab things, they pull things. They crawl out the door while you're turned away, and they open cupboard doors and get into drawers.

One of the advantages of traveling and staying in hotels is that they have very minimal clutter. This is a great relief to me, because it makes it easy to nearly childproof the room upon arrival.

I can walk into the room, put the garbage cans up on the counters and dressers, and barring a cord-tastrophe, the room is pretty much fine for an infant. (I'm not going to talk about the overpowering and disgusting cleaning chemicals, because that's an entirely different subject for a different morning.)

HOWEVER, I can't make any environment 100% baby proof, and my curious little boy is learning how to. How to open doors, how to crawl fast. How to take his diaper off. How to find mama. How to UN-baby-proof. How to open drawers.

This particular hotel room has long modern metal bar pulls on the drawers. They are particularly easy and tempting for a baby of a full 11 months. Upon realizing all he had to do was grab and apply the slightest pulling pressure and the drawer would open, he decided he'd found his favorite new toy. He smiled and laughed and clapped as he pushed the drawer closed and opened it again, learning all he could about the mechanics of drawers.

Seeing the logical outcome, I picked him up, moved him across the room and tried to distract him, and for a moment, he was distracted, but soon I heard the tell tale sound of the drawer opening again and a squeal of delight. So I picked him up and put him by different toys, but even faster he found his way back to that drawer. I tried propping a suitcase in front of it, but alas, he still managed to open it, and it was hard to walk through the room, having to step over he suitcase.

Well, as I'm sure you saw coming, he decided that the pll wasn't as much fun as playing with the drawer itself, and when he leaned in to close it, fingers still wrapped over the top edge, he learned that some toys bite, perfecting How-to make mom freak out. In my head, not out loud.

Opening the drawer and picking up my screaming baby, checking to see if his fingers were broken (only one bleeding) I was secretly grateful that he had figured out that was dangerous, that it hurt, and that he hadn't been hurt worse.

This morning, when setting him down again, I placed the larger suitcase in front of the drawer.

Well, he managed to displace it too, and again was at it with the drawer, very carefully opening and closing it with the pull. I thought, "huh, it seems he can learn a lesson the hard way." I thought too soon, as moments later he had shut a lonely finger in the drawer again, and was screaming for me to help him get loose from the mean biting drawer.

Eventually, he will learn to be more careful with drawers, but I'm afraid it's going to be a hard learning process, for him, and for me.

Have your children been learning anything the hard way lately? Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Wordless Wednesday: First Time by the Water

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Tidings of Good Cheer

Wordless Wednesday

Blue Monday: Yule Blessings

Happy Yule!

At a wedding earlier this year, my best friend's wedding, actually, we all tied ribbons of blessing onto the broom over which they jumped as part of the handfasting portion of the wedding ceremony. I like this picture today, because this night, this longest night of the year, I think it is a wonderful time to sit down together as a family and reflect on the blessings of the year. The delightful blessings, the blessings that were a little harder to see at the time, you know, the lessons learned type of blessings, the unexpected blessings, the planned for blessings, the blessings shared, and the blessings bestowed.

I hope your year has been blessed, and may each year be even more blessed.

Love & Light.

For more Blue Monday, head over to Smiling Sally.

Wordless Wednesday: Dude and Da-Dude Can Has Bonding