Green Like Kermit

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Well meaning people were always asking Duke what he wanted Santa to bring him. He started answering Kermit Toys when asked that question. I figured it was like most things he talks about and likes- liable to change violently the next moment to "NO KERMIT TOYS, NO NO!" so we paid little attention. Till we noticed that he kept saying the same thing. He wanted Kermit toys from Santa. Guess when we figured this out? December 23rd at about 5:30 pm.
We were desperate to have something Kermit in his stocking; this year was the foundation for the great fairy tale of Santa. After calling EVERY store in town (Sam's, Toys R Us, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Dollar Tree, Kmart, Spencer's... you get the idea) NO ONE had ANYTHING with the Muppets.  And obviously, being the late evening on the 23rd, there was no way that the internet could help us.
Darrell nixed my idea of following family tradition with an IOU in the stocking.  We settled for the Muppet Christmas Carol DVD (well, it does have Kermit on the cover, and it is my favorite Christmas movie) after much debate.  We were both pretty disappointed that we hadn't been able to make that "dream" come true for him.
Christmas morning we go in to get Duke and we're talking about Santa and we ask him what he wanted.  His response?
"Nemo stuff."

Christmas- I Have to do What? By When??

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

A discourse on why no one received Christmas cards from our family.

I loved Christmas as a kid.  The excitement of Santa, who always left a large, UNWRAPPED (I could devote a whole post to that discussion in the Wakley household) gift.  The delicious foods for every meal.  The pretty decorations.  But as an adult I'm finding that I don't like it enough to outweigh how much WORK it is.  I just want to show up to the party, you know?  Now that we're "all growed up", there is no party unless we make it.  Fortunately, Darrell loves to decorate for Christmas or we'd be lucky to have a wreath on the door and a tree in the living room.  And we all know I'm not going to go hungry anytime soon, so I can talk myself into cooking special (read- time consuming, expensive and messy) foods for holiday gatherings.  But this was the first year that Santa really visited our house when Duke was expecting him and wow it was exhausting! 

Besides the normal everyday tasks of life, like prepping my children to live and flourish in this big bad world, getting dishes clean, clothes folded, dog hair under control, and on and on, plus the added tasks of holiday time like decorating, I now have to find time to go to stores without them, purchase gifts that I have to hide from them, wrap said gifts, assemble said gifts and so forth.  We also had our largest Annual Tea Party yet, with 120 invitees and 46 attending.  Planning, doing invites, labels, baking, cleaning (special thanks to my mom and sister!)- whew!  And lots of those ladies bring gifts, which they really don't need to, and I feel compelled to write thank you notes for each one.  22 thanks you notes can take a really long time to write.

Once we made it through all that, it was a great day.  Duke had so much fun.  Once again he really got into the Santa thing right about when it was over.  We thought he might spontaneously combust when he saw his bike- covered in sea creatures no less!, but he was kind of blase' about it.  Now though he gets really excited telling people "Santa brought me my bike!"  He didn't want to learn to ride it at first, but I told him that when he gets good at pedaling we could ride to Nonni and Granps' house and that did the trick.  "What are we going to do at Nonni and Gramps'?" he wants to know.  Let's work on making it further than 6 inches, OK?  Baby steps.

My mom came over Sunday afternoon (the 27th) through the kitchen.  Duke hadn't heard her come in.  I told him that there was someone in the kitchen.  His response?  "(Big intake of breath) Santa's here?"

Speaking of parties (well, I was earlier in the post) I had a momentary lapse in judgment and considered having a New Year's Eve party.  Mind you, this thought came to me on Saturday the 26th of December.  However, that wasn't the reason I decided it would be crazy to have one.  It was because as I thought out the details I realized that I would want everyone to go home by 9:30, 10 at the absolute latest and that most people probably wouldn't be willing to do that.  So now I've come to my senses and am looking forward to (I hope) our first virtual party!  What a way to bring in 2010 but by celebrating technology, expensive gadgets and our total nerdiness!!

Hello, Strangers

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

First of all I am mortified that not only have I not posted anything since October 15th, but I didn't even get on here to change my theme for Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas! To my many, many followers whose lives are not quite fulfilled without reading my eloquent rambling about my children and nothing in particular; never fear! I am back.
We have had a whirlwind past few months. Lots more to come on that soon, including some photos of my darling offspring.

And my page is red and green! Better late than never...

Tomorrow Never Comes

Thursday, October 15, 2009

I've been trying to prepare Duke for our absence and explain to him that he would be going to stay with his Nonni and Gramps while Daddy and I go on a trip.  We are leaving before he wakes tomorrow, so when Darrell left for work today it was the last time he would be seeing him until Monday afternoon.  He's been really excited about staying at Nonni's, saying "That's a treat!"

Well, this morning he started pushing me saying, "Go on a trip, Mommy.  Want to go to Nonni and Gramps'."  I tried to put him down for a nap and gave up after 2 hours of him hopping about in there.
When I came to get him out of the crib, he wanted to know if they were there to pick him up.  As we walked out of his room, he was going through the house saying, "Where are you Nonni and Gramps?  Come out, stop hiding... I am ready to go to Nonni's house."

Good to see he's not heartbroken over my departure.


It's going to be a long night in the Wakley house.  I was going to tell him that they'd be here in the morning when he woke up, but I'm afraid that might happen at 1 am, and then what would I say?!

Bake it up

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Last Friday I decided to bake some pumpkin cookies. They were delicious, though next time I'd use raisins instead of chocolate chips. Which is mind-boggling because as a general rule I DETEST raisins and nuts in my baked goods. (With the exception of oatmeal cookies, which really need raisins.) But that's another story.


I decided to include Duke in the cookie making. He was so excited. I really wish I had been able to capture this on video, but really it was hard enough having him help, I can't imagine how I would have been able to video, unless I'd had the foresight to set it up on a tripod.

So he started by helping me dump the brown sugar into the mixing bowl. And he was in love. He watched me crack the eggs; he dumped the vanilla in and watched the mixer go "faster, faster, FASTER". We mixed the dry ingredients in another bowl. He was helping me dump and getting very excited, which led to some spastic dumping. By the time we got to the cinnamon, he flung the spoon and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon all over the counter and floor. Which looks like a lot more than a teaspoon. I tried not to freak too much, I didn't want him to be afraid to cook, and held his hand while we dumped the ingredients so he could see how to do it "slowly and controlled". He was standing on a kitchen chair and kept saying "This is fun! We are making cookies! We are standing on the chair... we are mixing... we are making cookie dough!"

I was trying to get a new container of ginger open and it exploded, all into the open silverware drawer. I really need to remember to close that thing. He thought this was hysterical. We held the spoon together and mixed the dry ingredients, then put them in the mixer.

Now it was time to taste the dough. De-li-cious! We took a quick break and then came back to the kitchen. I was going to clean up the cinnamon but he really wanted to. I have him a wet paper towel and he wiped all the cinnamon off the floor (he actually did a great job). Narrations for this went something like: "We are making cookies! We are having fun! We are wiping up the cinnamon! (At this point he starts sniffing the rag) Mmmm, cinnamon smells very good."

Kitchen somewhat cleaned, we start greasing the pan. Apparently this is fun for kids? I gave him a cookie sheet and myself one. He took over, and wanted more Crisco. I tried, in vain, to explain that we couldn't touch the pans once they were greased. After turning my back to grab the dough, I see there are little hand prints all over the pans. And little greasy smears all over his shirt.

We start "blooping" the dough onto the sheets. He helped on 2 until he realized that there was cookie dough right in front of him that I wasn't going to keep him from and the rest of the time he spent pinching dough off the top of the cookies and eating it. We put a pan in the oven and washed up while I explained the concept of waiting 15 minutes until the timer went off. He was so excited to eat them that he periodically pretended to be the timer!!

Here are some photos of him enjoying our finished product:

It will probably also be the last time he wears that shirt, since I'm not sure how to get Crisco handprints out!

All afternoon he talked about baking cookies, and was making little finger play of what we did.  My favorite was his mime of breaking the eggs.  He has talked a lot about the cinnamon and the ginger, and the mixer going fast, fast, FASTER.  In fact, we're going to bake again this afternoon.

S-Mother

Monday, September 28, 2009

I like to think of myself as an independent sort of Mom. I don't look to my kids to make me feel good. I don't follow them around all day. I expect them to entertain themselves and don't want them hanging all over me constantly.

I like to think that I have other interests and hobbies. That I have friends outside of my little world with 2 small people. While I'm not the modern mom who schleps her kids everywhere, I imagine that I go places that adult women go; like Starbucks, the mall and the salon for mani/pedis. Or to lunch with girlfriends.

Then something happens that causes a paradigm shift. A shift into reality.

I am a smother-mother.

We have a trip coming up in less than three weeks. Darrell and I will be gone from the kids for 3 and a half days. As I am typing this my heart is beating faster, my breath is becoming more labored. I am starting to panic. I CANNOT leave my children for this long. For several reasons.

1. I am a control freak of a mother. Which is the main reason why my son isn't doing preschool and one of the main reasons we've decided to homeschool. I just don't think anyone can mother my kids the way I can.


2. Others do no respect my kids' schedules like I do.


3. They're not going to be able to get Lilly to sleep enough and then she's going to be a bear, resulting in less sleep and a similar effect on her like-ability rating, which has a direct impact on my sanity. After 3 days of this downward spiral I am going to come home to a mess of a baby.


4. 3 days of indulgence with Duke (who knows exactly how far he can push buttons) is going to mean several days of increased militant parenting and probably several meetings with the spanky spoon. All to the soundtrack of a screaming, over-tired baby (see #3).


5. My children have not been away from me, in particular Lilly. When Duke was small, it seems I did get out more. Darrell's work schedule afforded me the option of meeting people in the evening or doing things that interested me. I recall pumping a lot, and washing bottles which tells me that there were many times I was not around (though I can't remember where I was; not surprising since I am not really sure where I am right now, let alone 2 years ago). Lilly has had hardly any bottles. I never pump. Partially because she eats less frequently, but mostly because I AM ALWAYS AROUND. I ALWAYS put her to bed. If I leave, it's for a quick errand while she's asleep. If Darrell and I go out (which is rare, let me tell you) we arrange to go after she's in bed. Which cuts our dates pretty short since I'm normally in bed by 9:30! The very few times that I have gone somewhere, particularly around the dinner/bed hour, I have received multiple calls for instructions, help, etc. What is going to happen when I am states away and can't come back to help?

I have found myself not making doctor's appointments when I probably need to, not meeting friends, not having a LIFE outside of my home because I want to have complete, ultimate control over my kids.

I need to get away from them for these 3 and a half days. Yes, I am going to be a wreck. But maybe it will give me the kick in the pants that I need to remind me that I am not the best mother on earth (well, I'm sorry but I believe I am the best mother for my kids). OK, maybe it will remind me that I need to have a life outside of them. Maybe it will teach me to be a little more open to accepting people's offer to help. To lighten up on my selection criteria for babysitters. To schedule time for myself, that doesn't include cleaning the house or working on baby books or photo sites.

Then again, I may spend all 3 days sleeping like a baby without the static, lights and small noises from 2 bedside monitors. Every mother knows that even when you're kids are quiet, safe and good sleepers that you only sleep so deeply just in case they need you. (I have once, in 28 months, been needed at night. Fact has no bearing on this behavior.) I may be so rested when we come back that I don't even care what state the kids are in.

Maybe. But I doubt it.

Show me the money

We recently embarked on a new enterprise; one that involved resale of salvage (read: we took some stuff from the neighbor's trash and sold it on Craig's list).
The top item was a Honda pressure washer that brought us a quick $50. We are a cashless family. I'm not sure that Duke has ever even seen money; if he has, it wasn't here. He was with Daddy and helped broker the transaction. The $50 bill was handed to Darrell. Duke grabbed it and said, "take it to Mommy."
Gotta love it.

My Mid-Week Epiphany

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Wednesday-
(I've been doing some old-school blogging, i.e. paper and pen in a journal so this post is a day late)
I've been selfish. One a more base level than any spiritual application. I'm trying to do all kinds of things for myself (workout, lose weight, read, watch TV, relax by the pool, have a social life, etc.) and have been getting annoyed with my children when I can't do those things. I'm trying to find ways to shove them off and keep them "out of my hair" rather than engage them, train them, and share experiences/life with them.
Here's the epiphany: I've had it before but the light of this revelation can fade pretty quickly beneath potty-training, dirty diapers, nursing, nap refusals and so on.
They are the reason I am here.
If it weren't for these terrific children who don't always fit into the little boxes I try and create as life, I'd be out there in the corporate world again, and man talk about no time for me! My priorities should be, in this order, God, Darrell, Kids, Self.
So if I don't get a great night's sleep because people were making noise, it's OK not to go to the gym at 5 am. In fact, it's good to get some extra sleep so I can deal fairly with the charges that God entrusted to me and be prepared for the unexpected twists that the day might bring.
And if I happen to get an hour or so during the day when they're both asleep or busy, and the stars are aligned so that all my work is done, the house is clean and laundry dealt with, then maybe I can use that time for myself. Like by working on Lilly's baby book.

Pigeon-holed

Thursday, August 6, 2009

We LOVE going to the library. Not only does it have a huge dinosaur, more books than even my kids can read, puzzles and a fire engine, it also has the duck pond.
Last week we made a trip out there to play with some friends, feed the ducks at the pond and read some books. Duke was ecstatic; running around the house the whole morning saying "to the duck pond!"
His enthusiasm hadn't diminished when we arrived. He spent almost an hour chasing the birds while our friends would lure them in with bread, pancakes and crackers. Besides ducks, the library pond hosts some very nasty/mean geese, a boatload of turtles, fish, ibis and pigeons. Plus a lot feathers and droppings from said inhabitants.
We were there a little before our date; Duke saw a group of pigeons, said "IT'S BERNICE!" and ran after it like he was the paparazzi stalking Angelina Jolie or Jennifer Aniston.
How he knew which one was her, I'm not sure.

Sadly, I did not catch this on video. As is the case with most of the hysterical things that he does.

(Oh, it just occurred to me that some of you might not know who Bernice is- she's Bert's pet pigeon from Sesame Street.)

Photo Op

Thursday, July 30, 2009

I got some great advice at my baby shower- one grandma told me that her daughter took a picture every month on her kid's "birthday" and that way she had a really neat timeline of her kids growth. All of us parents know how hard it is to keep up with photos of the kids, especially as we keep adding more kids! We have some in spurts, like when there were a lot of events, and then weeks go by without a single photo. They're always doing something funny (especially when they're 2), but to get them to keep doing it long enough to go get the camera and to hold still while you take the photo is another challenge all together.

So I've been taking photos of Duke on the 28th of every month, without fail. That being the other day, I went in to capture the moment while he was very intently reading one of his books:

He heard me, and wanted to pose (unusual: usually he wants nothing to do with having his photo taken).

Then I tried to get some shots of the two of us (I'm not posting them, I look terrible!). But then the dinosaurs apparently needed to be documented. And his books. And all his other toys.

This is just a sample population. Thank God for digital cameras- I can't imagine having driven to the store, dropped off the film, waited, driven back and having to PAY for these!

Don't Tread on Me

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

A Lesson in Brotherly Love

I was cleaning the kitchen (why is it that I spend more time in the kitchen cleaning than cooking?) on Sunday afternoon. It was quiet in the house, which meant that no one was crying and the dogs weren't barking and Duke wasn't running down the halls singing. In fact I couldn't hear him at all.

Darrell comes in the kitchen and says, "He's in Lilly's room, did you know that?" I said no, I hadn't heard him in there (which if you know Duke is amazing; he is NEVER silent, or still for that matter). Lilly was on the floor on her tummy-time boppy. Carrying on with my duties, Darrell says he doesn't trust him in there with her alone. He walks into her room, is gone for a minute and then walks out.

Duke was lying on the floor next to Baby Lilly, stroking her head.

Truth In Advertising

Saturday, July 18, 2009

(*if you have an aversion to hearing about natural bodily functions, do not read this*)

Fiber. It's the buzzword these days. Lots of people believe that most illnesses and diseases start from problems in the digestive track. Some companies have made products to help getting your daily dose more palatable, especially if your normal diet doesn't include much of the green stuff or home-cooked anything.

Let me give you a little piece of advice:
If someone offers you a Fiber One bar, run away. And if someone you know has eaten one in the last 24 hours, run far away, fast.

Sadly, these bars taste absolutely delicious. My mom gave me one to try yesterday. I was really surprised at how good it was. I added it to my grocery list for my weekly shopping. But then, a few hours later, it happened. The. Worst. Gas. EVER. Frequency, force and nastiness. Not only did my little bar come with these goodies, it also felt as if I had eaten 4 cups of very absorbent cardboard that had suddenly swelled up like our wood laminate flooring after a heavy rain. My mom had been suffering similar symptoms; I know knew what they were from.

(As a side note, my apologies to anyone who tried to shop at Target this morning and found that the location had been evacuated. Since I have pledged abstinence, I can assure you that this will not happen again; at least not because of me.)

Granted, I eat a lot of vegetables. I mean a lot. And I take a fiber supplement, eat whole grains, etc. So perhaps this "35% of my RDA" just put me way over the top. WAAAAAAY over.

Surely my mother and I can't be the only ones of you out there who've had trouble with these. Yes, they are delicious and I hear the chocolate flavor ones are great, but please, do yourself and your house mates a favor. Eat some veggies instead.

Hi, My Name is Whitney

Thursday, July 9, 2009

And I am an addict.

I am totally addicted to the Internet. When I got my new phone a few months ago and was told that I had to have the data package, I was disappointed. One, because I didn't want to pay for it. Two, because I was sure I'd never use it and three because I really didn't want to be that connected.

Slowly, over the last few months I have gone from cringing when I heard an email come in to checking my email on my phone, obsessively, every few moments.

And don't even get me started on Facebook. I can't even count the number of times that I pull that up just to see what everyone has been doing in the last 2 minutes since I refreshed the page before!

Apparently I have too much free time on my hands. Ha!

Quick and Dirty

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

It's been a while- life is (slowly) starting to adjust for the newly expanded Wakley family.
Duke is the sweetest big brother. So far he really seems to love his baby sister and is adjusting well. Let's hope that continues!


Here's a few funny things from the last month:


When kissing baby Lilly's head he commented on her soft hair. I said that Duke had soft hair like that when he was a baby. He looked pensive and ran his hand over his hair a few times. He replied "Kind of like an anemone". Yup.


Several times in the past few weeks Duke would look up from some activity and say, "Where'd Mr. Buz go?" At first I was very confused by this since my dad (Gramps) is the only Buz I know but we certainly don't refer to him as Mr. Buz. I finally remembered to ask my mom and apparently she refers to him as such sometimes when Duke is there. Mystery solved.


There is a new found interest in underpants. Unfortunately this has not translated in any way to an interest in the potty. But apparently putting them on our arms, head and yes, over our diapers, is a fun way to entertain ourselves. While he was playing with them he kept calling them "Pairins". I was trying to explain that they were a pair of underpants and wondering what on earth he was talking about. Then I remembered the failed potty training attempts, when he would wet himself I'd say you need to go put a new "pair on". And they were known as pairins forever more.

The "Yeah's" Have It

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Oops, this was dated May 19th. Appears I never got around to posting it....

Sometimes you wonder how much Duke understands, especially because he answers most everything with the affirmative. As Darrell pointed out, he is kind of like a foreigner in that regard.


Tonight I was putting his pajamas on and told the dogs to get out of the room. I had my back to them, but Duke was facing them. "Dogs obeying" he says. I asked if the dogs were obeying and was given the standard "yeah" reply. I turn around and sure enough, the dogs are headed out of the room.


So, he has now proven himself to be fully responsible for "obeying" since he's made it clear that he knows what it means.

A Lesson in Realistic Goal Setting

Darrell asked Duke what he wanted to be when he grew up. Seeing as how he was playing with his Doctor Kit, I kind of thought that would be the answer. Nope.

"A big boy" was his response. When asked again, he replied, "A big boy, have a little sister."

Well kiddo, I think we can make that happen for you. How does it feel to have achieved your life goals at the young age of 2?

Let There be Life

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

"Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being"- Genesis 2:7

This is why boys love dirt so much; it's part of their makeup.

Best Big Brother

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Duke was singing one of the little songs Darrell had made up, "Grease up the Pig" for lotion-ing after tubby. He was asking to see Baby Lilly and feel her.
"Are you going to be a good big brother?"
"Yeah."
"Will you teach the Grease up the Pig song to Baby Lilly? I'm sure she'll love it."
He lifted up my shirt and sang the song to my belly.
Too cute!

A Whale of a Tale

Friday, May 1, 2009

Fishermen are born, not bred.

This morning, Duke was playing with a little felt fishing pole that has velcro on the end. I showed him how to "hook" a little stuffed blue fish (maybe 3 inches long) on the end. He proudly carried it around saying "caught a whale on the fishing pole!".

Now he's ready to tell about the one that got away!

Front Seat Driver

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

As I prepare to make the switch from the pick up truck to a mini van, there is one thing that I regret, and that's losing my driving buddy. Right now, Duke sits right next to me and helps me drive. Literally.

He reminds me that the keys go in the "gi-nition" when we are ready to leave. He points out the steering wheel and the gear shift in case I forget. Well, I don't need that much help yet. But he does have some useful driving abilities besides being able to spot school buses and fountains from a mile away, locating cranes and excavators and spotting every fire hydrant in a 10 mile radius.

He navigates for me. Not only does he tell me where to turn and when (especially when we're going someplace for the umpteenth time, like swimming lessons), but he helped me out of a jam the other day.

We were sitting in a parking lot waiting to turn left onto a major road. There was a traffic light there and while we were sitting at the red light, I was preoccupied with something (probably checking my email on my phone- don't judge me, you do it too) when my navigator said "That's a green light!"

Sure enough, it was. I had just enough time to pull through, and as I did, my navigator yelled "That's a orange light!" Thanks, buddy, for not making us sit through another traffic cycle!

A "Teachable Moment"- Missed

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

It was late in the afternoon. Duke was eating dinner and I was trying to get my dinner cooking so I could eat shortly after putting him to bed. I will starve to death, people! Of course he finished eating early and I was in the middle of cooking with about 15 minutes till I could break away and give him a bath. He ran around like the little "White Tornado" that he is and between disappearing in and out of the kitchen and hearing various items in the living room being moved around, I thought I was in the clear.

He came into the kitchen for a pit stop and to play with his castle for a minute. He starts telling me "poop". I asked if he has to poop? "Yeah." I say, well that's OK, you can go ahead and poop.

*Aside: We are not potty training yet. We are talking about it. And by we I mostly mean Duke. I have been intending to do it for some 3 or 4 months now, but haven't quite gotten around to it. I finally have most of my supplies and my new plan was once Lilly's room is together (hopefully next week) we will take the plunge. As you'll see from the rest of my story, I hope we make it that long.

To that he looks at me puzzled and says, "in the pants?" I flounder for a moment and say yes, you can poop in your diaper and someday soon we'll learn to use the potty. I just couldn't fathom getting the potty down and setting it up and trying to show him how to use it, especially not with the kind of notice I had. So he squats and takes care of his business.

Now let me remind you that it is about 10 minutes till bath time and about the same till I can step away from the stove. I figure, he can run around with a dirty diaper for 10 minutes and it won't kill him. I'm not going to put a diaper on him for 10 minutes and then just throw it away, plus there's the matter of my dinner! (Go ahead, call DCF on me.) €

So he resumes his treks in and out of the kitchen, running up and down the hall. He's pulling on his pants. He comes back into the kitchen and tries to pull them off (another hesitation/excuse in potty training is that he doesn't really know how to dress/undress himself yet). I tell him he can take the shorts off but not the diaper and help him.

He makes another round then comes back and unhooks the diaper. The poop drops out onto the floor. I go to grab him and he steps in the poop as he tries to escape. Trixie comes over to sniff/taste it. I am trying to clean it up and get it off his heel so there aren't little poop prints all over.

As for peeing, he isn't sure when he's going to do it (he doesn't announce it's imminent arrival like he does the bm's) but he sure likes to have his little toy Thomas the Train go pee in the potty. Every night in the tub he has Thomas and tells me over and over and over and over "Thomas go pee in the potty" and keeps repeating it with a very serious nod of the head until I lift the toilet and hold Thomas over it and squeeze the bath water into the potty. Repeat.

So what's the moral of the story? I don't know. Don't postpone potty training? Or that poopy pants take precedence over dinner on the stove? Nah, that can't be right... I hope I didn't wait to long or miss the key moment for teaching him to go. I guess we'll see.

Safety First

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Most moms I know have trouble getting their kids to sit in a shopping cart. I've never given mine an option of being out of it, so he doesn't put up much of a fuss. It definitely makes for easier errand-running (rather than Duke-chasing!). I realized yesterday just how consistent (read: Nazi) I've been about buckling him in.

We ran into Sally's for some hair dye (I know, you can't believe this isn't my natural color... it is, just from about 25 years ago) and I put him in the cart. I would normally have just held him, but hey I'm 7 months pregnant and he's not exactly tiny anymore (neither am I!). And he wriggles like a worm. So I set him in the cart and don't latch the "seat belt buckles" as he calls them since we're just going to be a second. They also don't let you take the carts out of the store, so it really was a short cart ride.

I get the hair dye and while we're checking out he's very earnestly trying to get the straps and buckle himself in saying "seat belt buckles on". There's an older lady behind me in line who thinks this is very funny. She also thought it was funny that I told Duke the eyeliner and lip liner was "for girls" when he tried to grab them.

We also tried making Easter cookies this weekend with Nonni. Let it be said that he's not quite ready for that. He had a great time, ate a lot of dough and was occupied in one spot for about 45 minutes. He had to be dragged away from the cookie and the colors. However, we only ended up with 4 cookies to eat- not quite worth the effort. (See video)

They really do pick up on everything. In fact yesterday morning we were up and he was running in circles (literally) around the window blinds in the bedroom. I asked him where he gets his energy and he stops his laps, looks at me like he's kind of surprised that I'd be asking such a ridiculous question, says "food" and then takes off again.

Play On, Maestro

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

What a big day we had on Sunday! After church and a nap, we took Gramps' boat to the new Squid Lips for a (very) late lunch. There were minor operator-error technical difficulties that we overcame and then the rest of the trip was uneventful, if not a little cold.

Going under the bridge and seeing the birds was a great thrill (smelling them was not), almost as much as watching the sailboat. We got to the restaurant and climbed up the docks to go inside.

Somehow the parties in charge disappeared and Duke, my mom and I were left waiting in the booth. Mom and I were talking and I look next to me at my son, who has taken a (dull) knife out of the silverware roll and is rubbing it back and forth on his shoulder.

I ask him what he is doing- "violin." My mom and I dissolve in giggles. Darrell and Dad come back, we ask Duke to show them. Darrell is not amused. I guess letting our almost 2-year old play with a knife isn't his idea of funny. Oh, well.

Here's a photo from the ride:

"O Captain! My Captain!"

Ain't Skeered

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

We went to a birthday party at a large park a few weekends ago. Duke was playing with a soccer ball, throwing it into a large island of palmettos and watching it roll back out off the palm fronds. I was sitting on a bench chatting with some girls and Darrell was manning the munchkin.

I vaguely hear Darrell telling Duke not to throw the ball in too far because there might be snakes in there. I then hear Duke trying to climb into the bushes saying "Snake in there. Snake in there." Apparently that was the wrong thing to say to keep him out of the bushes.

A few days later, we're in the kitchen and he runs out of the laundry room saying "Snake in there." I thought that he was just remembering the bushes, or hopeful that there was a snake in there. This went on sporadically for a few days, with "Hold the snake" being added to the dialogue before I finally figured out what he was talking about.

There is a gray hose going to the washing machine that is slightly visible from the front. I guess to him it looked like a snake, albeit hung in midair. We have pushed the "snake" back behind the washer and have heard nothing else about it.

Now if we could deal with the frog in the kitchen and the ant hole in the hall, we'd be OK...

This Diet's for the Dogs

Monday, February 2, 2009

I always thought if I were a dog it'd be so easy to lose weight and/or diet. I've never had much sympathy for overweight dogs or their owners. I mean, the dogs only get fed when you feed them. They can't raid the fridge right before bed and come up with cheese, pudding, some chocolate and a banana (just so it feels healthy) with a few jellybeans thrown in for good measure. They can't start the day great and by lunch be so hungry that lunch melds into dinner and you realize you haven't stopped eating since noon, and it's now 8. They lack the necessary skills to order pizza, or coerce their mates into getting take-out Chinese when the healthy meal they had planned just isn't sounding so great. They can't dip back into the bowl for seconds, or thirds.

So when the vet said that Hunter was no longer our "little" brown dog, I figured no big deal. We'll cut his food down and possibly walk him a little more (or a little, which would be more) and he'll drop the 10 pounds he's packed on since last year. I figured he'd be cranky- he loves his kibble as much as I do, and because can't cheat on his own he'd be getting no relief. I didn't realize he'd shift into survival mode.

He has discovered some amazing ways to get food. While he hasn't taken to tipping trash cans (yet), I do have to watch Duke more carefully when he has a cracker or something as Hunter is all over him. This evening, I was eating dinner in front of the computer (my eating habits have become even more detestable since Darrell has been working the later shift) and got up to get the door. I was gone from the office for a few moments. [I know what you're thinking, and no, there wasn't anything left in the bowl for him to eat. Please, this is me we're talking about.]

As I am stepping over the threshold of the office, I see a strange scrap of paper. Which on further inspection is a small remnant of my napkin, which I, being the messy creature I am, had wiped some food on, still damp with his saliva. I'm not sure if that part of the napkin had no food scent on it, or if I came around the corner and he interrupted his snack for fear of being busted. I'm betting on the latter; he's hungry enough to eat plain paper.

Tubby for Toys?

Friday, January 16, 2009

I am very fortunate to have a little boy who likes to entertain himself. The other morning while playing in his room, I happened to walk by and peer in, as I normally do, to see what cute thing he was doing.

He had taken the top off of his dragon humidifier, and in the reservoir was dunking his airplane and his dinosaur saying "bathtub, wet". Apparently I'm not keeping his toys clean enough for him.