Deep (and not-so-deep) Thoughts

Dear Monkey:

2011-01-17T09:10:00.004-05:00

I think I need to clarify something...

When I told you that Candy Land was my "favorite" game, I didn't mean out of all the things I could be doing in the whole wide world.

What I actually meant is that I find it more tolerable than Chutes and Ladders, a game that currently aggravates me to no end. I'm not sure if it's just the poorly-designed Toy Story version, where the little characters clutter up the board, making it almost impossible to count spaces, or the fact that you do not yet recognize your numbers beyond ten, making the idea of having you move your own piece back and forth a 100-space board a bit challenging for a child of your mere 3 1/2 years, but when I basically end up playing the game by myself, a tiny bit of the fun trickles out of the experience. So yes, Candy Land, where you can actually make your own moves, and correctly, is much more fun. That does not mean, however, than when faced with you being home sick today, I had quite the reaction you were hoping for when you eagerly told me: "That means we can play your favorite game!!"

Although I have to say, it is somewhat sweet that you already had it all set up for me, and also amusing that, after playing with Daddy yesterday, you have now incorporated things like "We have to cut the deck" and "You're on my tail!" into our game play... Bring it on!

Dear Disney Channel:

2011-01-17T09:06:00.004-05:00

There's something about your target audience I think you're overlooking...

Their need for routine.

Why else would I need to explain 15 minutes explaining why Mickey Mouse Clubhouse was not on today at it's usual time? Apparently my 3 1/2 year old knows your schedule better than you do. Which is impressive, considering just as we figure out the latest schedule, you decide to change it.

And while I'm at it, while I understand that a large percentage of the under-5 crowd consists of early risers, my child is miraculously not one of them. Which means I would appreciate it if Playhouse Disney wouldn't end less than an hour after my child gets up, leaving us with nothing but Phineas & Ferb (which is hysterical, but my child is not yet sophisticated enough to appreciate the humor) and the various non-cartoon shows which I can not yet tell apart but are clearly geared more towards the Tween set. Which, I might at, should be AT SCHOOL.

Seriously, a consistent schedule for the preschool set - look into it.

Bribery FAIL

2010-10-01T09:57:00.005-04:00

Bribery is such a useful tool with toddlers...

Although I'm not particularly fond of the negative implications of the word "bribery" - I prefer to consider our discussions "negotiations." As in, "If you take three more bites of chicken and two more bites of corn, you can have dessert." Or, as is so much more often the case these days, "If you keep you big boy pants clean and dry ALL day, I will give you a present."

Yes, the potty training war drags on, and I have a tough opponent, one who continues to insist, for reasons I just can't understand, in running behind or crawling under the nearest piece of furniture to poop in his pants rather than the potty. One who has become resistant to my ever-increasing attempts at bribery.

Take yesterday. Driving home from preschool, Monkey expressed dismay at the fact that his Fireman Sam DVD case, which he had brought to school for Show & Share day, was now empty. I told him that surely it was somewhere in his classroom, and we'd look for it in the morning:

Monkey: (Sadly) But I wanted to watch Fireman Sam tonight after dinner...
Me: I'm sorry, but we can't get your DVD back until tomorrow. Unlesss.... Now that I think about it, I think I have ANOTHER Fireman Sam video at home, and if you poop on the potty tonight, you can have it!
Monkey: Hmmm..... I think I'll just watch Curious George instead.

So much for what I thought was some great leverage and a prime opportunity - the kid simply refuses to be bribed on this subject. And without bribery, I am simply at a loss. I need to re-group, re-strategize ... the battle wages on.

Things I Wish I Didn't Have to Google...

2010-09-22T08:40:00.002-04:00

* Toddler Constipation

* Toddler Hiding to Poop

* Smoke Alarm Chirping

On the plus side, what would we do without the Internet??

Potty Purgutory

2010-09-07T14:21:00.006-04:00

I was so naive...

I had no idea that potty training was going to be such a loooooooooooong process!

I mean, I get that it wasn't going to happen instantaneously (well, unless I was extremely lucky, which would have been OK too). I realized it was going to involve time, accidents, and patience, and I promised myself I would do my best possible job of faking the patience part.

But man, it seems like this has been going on FOREVER. And the thing that kills me is that Monkey basically GETS IT. He just chooses not to do it. There's nothing like asking your kid "why didn't you tell me you had to go?" only to hear him say "because I wanted to go in my pants." Even though he will immediately complain that his pants are dirty and he wants you to change him.

At least we finally got over the "ewwww" hump. Once I resorted to putting Monkey in Big Boy Pants, he realized that going #2 was not conducive to continuing to play, walk around, etc., so now if he goes in his pants, he walks arouund like some kind of animal, trying to avoid continued contact with the offending deposit. But he still hasn't made the connection that he can just avoid this whole unpleasant scenario by just taking one minute out of his busy schedule to sit on the potty!

We have glimpses of success... The first time he pooped on the potty, I threw a freaking party. I danced, I sang, I cheered, I showered him with M&Ms! Monkey probably thought I was a maniac, but deep down I know he was proud and appreciated the theatrics. But apparently it was a one-hit wonder kind of thing - it took weeks (or was it months? I've seriously lost track of time!) before we could get a repeat performance. And still, today, if he's going to have an accident, odds are it's gonna be a poopy one. Because that's SO much more fun to clean out of Big Boy Pants. Sigh...

Last week was a low point. We had a string of accidents, and it seemed like we were going nowhere but backwards. But then, on Sunday, we went on a short road trip, and as we got out of the car at our somewhat remote, outdoor destination, I discovered that I hadn't restocked the diaper bag. That's right - we had NO diapers, NO pull-ups, and NO extra clothes. Although, for what it's worth, we DID have a big baggie to put dirty clothes in. Guess Monkey would just have to go naked when the inevitable accident occurred...

But, miracle of miracles, we made it through the entire day without an accident! Monkey successfully used a port-a-potty (although not without totally grossing me out by touching WAY too many things while inside) and a restaurant bathroom until Mommy could get to a Walgreens and buy some Pull-Ups. We were covered by naptime, which took place in the car on the ride home, but ironically, even once adequately protected, Monkey stayed dry!

As we neared home, Monkey started calling out that he had to go potty. We were five minutes from our own, clean bathroom, so I asked him if he could hold it, and he said yes. So why exactly was I surprised when I turned around a moment later to see him with his hand between his legs, "holding it"? I forget how literal toddlers can be!

So yes, we made it through a challenging day, and then we made it through yesterday as well. Yesterday, however, was one of those days that Monkey didn't end up pooping, and those are generally more successful. But, much to my surprise, he jumped up not once, but THREE different times from playing with his race cars and bolted for the bathroom, telling me that he had to go. Two of these were actually false alarms - I think the poor guy was actually constipated. But the idea of him taking the initiative to go? That's a definite milestone for us. Oh please, please, let us finally be over the last hurdle... I like to get my money's worth out of my purchases, but I REALLY wouldn't mind having to find someone to donate these last few diapers and Pull-Ups to!

In a perfect world...

2010-08-06T13:57:00.005-04:00

...car rental agencies would provide CURRENT, CLEAN, UNDAMAGED car seats INSTALLED AND/OR INSPECTED BY A CERTIFIED SAFETY INSPECTOR.

But I guess that's a lot to ask. Really, though, should it be?

Parent are constantly urged to have their car seats checked out by a certified inspector, given the shockingly high percentage of car seats that have been found to be incorrectly installed. Yet, when traveling, we are expected to either: (i) haul our own, bulky, awkward car seat with us through the airport, then re-install it at our destination, without any assurance as to whether we've done it properly; or, even worse, (ii) rent a seat from our car rental agency, who may or not install it for us (but probably won't), may or may not provide a manual helping us to install it, and, in the worst case, may provide us with a car seat that is malfunctioning in some regard.

I learned this lesson the hard way this past weekend. Trying to travel "light" for a quick trip to Atlanta for a family event, we opted to leave the car seat in our car and rent one from Hertz. Which, I should note, wasn't exactly cheap. Upon arriving in the roughly 100-degree heat, hubby and I had to take turns trying to entertain Monkey while the other worked up an immediate and unpleasant sweat trying to get the car seat installed and secured. That, as it turns out, was the easy part.

Our return flight was canceled, forcing us to fly to another city, about two hours away from home, and rent ANOTHER car to complete our trip. Setting aside the fact that the airline wouldn't cover the rental (in lieu of a hotel), we arrived, again sweating like there's no tomorrow, only to get to our car and find no car seat. So we tracked down someone, and about five minutes later, an employee drove by and uncermoniously dumped a car seat in front of our rental. Upon trying to install it, however, I quickly discovered that it was completely missing the lower LATCH hooks. Now, I know that you can also install car seats using the lap belt, but the thing is, I have always used the LATCH system, as it is fairly simple, I'm familiar with it, and I figure there's probably a reason that LATCH is mandatory in all new cars. So, in my mind, a seat without LATCH hooks is defective. Upon again tracking down an employee (I suspect they were all hiding out in the AC somewhere), we explained the problem. Another 5-10 minutes trying to entertain Monkey, who, I have to say, was really being a champ through all of this ordeal, and a new seat was delivered. This one had a LATCH hook... well, one of them. The other one apparently was chewed off by an angry toddler (probably his way of venting about customer service), given the appearance of the threads where the hook was supposed to be. Again, I demonstrated to the employee the flaw in this particular car seat, at which point I was advised that he'd look, but he wasn't sure if they had any more car seats!

Ultimately, the third time was the charm, we got a bare-bones, but functional, car seat, and were on our way, 2000% more exhausted and frustrated, but with Monkey safe enough to complete our trip.

Upon arriving home, I wanted to immediately provide Hertz with some constructive "feedback," but for some reason I held back... Was it unreasonble of me to expect that the LATCH system be in place on the seats, when I could in fact have installed the seat using the car's lap belt? Did I, as a parent, have some unknown "duty" to be fully proficient in ALL manner of car seat installations, in any car, with any seat, with or without instructions, and was it somehow my fault that I couldn't make do with the seats they offered me? Upon reflection, I think not. And, after some brief Goggling, I found many similar vents, including car rental agencies that promise to install seats, but don't follow through, some that install seats, but perhaps not properly, and a host of other complaints, most of which have led parents to the conclusion that the best choice is either to drive your own car or haul your own seat. I find this very sad. I understand that things like quality car seats come at a cost, an that safety training and inspections can come at a cost, but itsn't it worth it to protect our children??

{Crickets Chirping}

2010-06-22T13:09:00.003-04:00

Once again, I have sorely neglected this blog. If anyone is out there actually checking for updates, I apologize. If I'm just talking to myself, well, then I guess I apologize to myself. :-)

I've been reading a lot of new blogs lately focused on healthy lifestyles and the like, and have toyed with the idea of doing the same, if for no other reason than to force myself to eat better. In theory, I won't get pizza and breadsticks for lunch if I have to post about it, right? But then I think, "what if I start a whole blog about food and then fail miserably?" Hmmm...

Where am I now? Well, Monkey has started day care on a full-time basis, in anticipation of his transition to preschool next month. Now excuse me while I take a moment to freak out over the fact that my baby is about to turn 3....

Wow. I really don't know where three years have gone! Monkey has turned into such a smart, funny little guy. He still has a temper, and is mischievous beyond what I expected at this age, but I just LOVE talking to him and hearing the funny, wise, or silly things that alternatively come out of his mouth. Just last night he tried to convince me that we need to paint his room yellow. When I pointed out that it already IS yellow, he pointed out the flaw - apparently he wants it to be WIGGLES yellow, as in the color of Greg's (or Sam's, depending on what DVD you watch) shirt. This pale yellow nonsense just isn't cutting it for him. He also chastized me last night when I tried to put him back to bed after a middle-of-the-night tornado warning, reminding me that "YOU got me up, Mommy." So observant, these kids...

Anyway, job-wise, Monkey's transition to full-time mirrors an effort to put in more hours on my part as well. In the first week, however, I'm finding that my best intentions are being frustrated by more compelling home projects, namely, trying to get rid of all of Monkey's old stuff that I tried, but failed, to sell in last weekend's big neighborhood garage sale, and painting the master bedroom, in anticipation of finally, after five years of begging, getting a new furniture set. You know, one where the pieces actually match? So, yeah, the real work has, if anything, suffered MORE than usual this week. Oops. It would have helped, however, if Once Upon a Child had given me the courtesy of a personal phone call to let me know they were moving their store, saving me a needless 40-minute round trip this morning, that will have to be repeated tomorrow now that I have successfully tracked them down.

Health-wise, it seems like every Monday is supposed to mark the start of a healthier lifestyle, both in terms of eating and exercise. I find that a work-at-home setup, while great in theory, leads to more snacking out of boredom and less exercising than one might think. And I confess that my willpower is weak, leaving me susceptible to many "it's too hot to exercise today - maybe I'll just start fresh tomorrow" moments. And man has it been hot!

I have taken some positive steps. I've started buying more organic fruits and vegetables, and try to keep the house stocked with a decent assortment of them so that I have good foods to choose from. I have tried to eliminate the "bad" snacks from the house, but confess that they still find their way in from time to time, only to disappear far too quickly for the wrong reasons. I'm not much of a "plan the week's menu" in advance kind of girl - I'm not sure why that is. As a result, I'm often a victim of what there is to eat in the house, and it's hard to both keep a variety, and keep from having food go to waste. Still working on that balance. It would be easier, of course, if Monkey and his Daddy liked the same foods that I did, but all too often I find myself preparing 2-3 separate meals, struggling to get them all to the table at the same time. One of my goals is to find more common meals that we can share, and wean Monkey off of his "peanut butter quesidilla" (i.e., PB on a flour tortilla) and "fishie crackers (i.e., Goldfish) addiction. Do you have any healthy meals that your toddlers really love? I really need to work on expanding his horizons, food-wise!

In the spirit of honesty, but not BRUTAL honesty, I'll confess that today has not been a good day so far, diet-wise, so I will refrain from posting about what I've eaten, with the goal of having something to be proud to share tomorrow! And on that note, I'm off to try to get some work done before the day gets away from me!

The Return of Mommy Guilt

2010-06-09T13:37:00.003-04:00

As Monkey approaches age 3 (what? already? not possible...), talk has turned to preschool vs. day care, and what changes we need to make to our routine to make sure we don't inadvertently ruin Monkey's chances at getting into college before he even starts Kindergarten. (Just kidding. I think. I hope...)

And so, we've gone round and round on things like part-time vs. full-time, new school vs. old school, and multi-age classroom vs. 3-year olds only classroom. Seriously, I never realized there would be so many decisions to make, and so soon.

I'll spare you all the debate, and let you know that we've decided on full-time, old school, and multi-age classroom. Fingers are crossed. And yet, with those decisions made, we still had to deal with the final issue of timing. Should we let Monkey enjoy his last couple months as a care-free not-really-going-to-"school"-school toddler, basking in a part-time schedule, spending extra quality time with Mommy, and then switching to part-time in the fall, on a "traditional" school schedule, after the switch to the new classroom happens this summer? Or should we just get all the transitions over at once, possibly traumatizing Monkey in the process? And then, to complicate matters, our school offered us a third possibility - take advantage of a full-time opening now, then switch to the new room next month, and bam, transition complete, perhaps before Mommy was mentally prepared for it all.

And that, for better or for worse, is what we've decided to do. I tell myself it's not because I'm a crappy SAHM, who is running out of ways to amuse Monkey on "our" days together, and is going broke taking him to the zoo and out for pizza and breadsticks (which, in Monkey-ese, means about 3 breadsticks and half a slice of cheese pizza - thanks for the carbo-loading, Mommy...) I also tell myself that this might be the "best" way to ease his transition, increasing his days while he's still in a room that he knows and loves, and hopefully fast-tracking the transition to the new room by having it occur over the course of a solid week, as opposed to broken up over two weeks of part-time attendance. And who knows? Maybe Monkey will surprise me this year and will be EXCITED about moving to the "big kids' room" (yep, I'm trying to play it up already). Maybe he won't cry every day for three weeks when I drop him off in the new room. Maybe he'll immediately bond with his new teachers, and won't look at me like I'm taking him to the "wrong" place, away from his beloved Miss Amber and Miss Laura. A mommy can hope, right?

And of course the biggest question of all remains unanswered - what will this part-time work-from-home Mommy do when suddenly she has the "opportunity" to contemplate returning to a full-time work atmosphere? Hmmm, perhaps we should let this just be about Monkey for now...

Contemplating an investment in Depends...

2010-02-17T12:00:00.007-05:00

Every child eventually learns to use the potty, RIGHT?

I mean, I get the convenience of diapers. Hunting down a restroom when you're out and about can be difficult, time-consuming, and, well, inconvenient. But there has to come a time when our little ones get grossed out by the fact of what they're sitting in, RIGHT?

Monkey has reached a stage where he totally knows how to use the potty - I think what's missing for him is the "when." He can remove his shoes, his pants, and, yes, even his diaper. He has already rejected the little potty that sings when he makes a deposit, preferring to use the step stool to climb up onto the big potty, scoot his little butt back on the seat, and do his business. But if you don't ask him if he wants to go, I honestly don't think the idea will ever cross his mind. And if you notice a certain unpleasant odor beginning to permeate the room and ask him if, perhaps, just maybe, he has soiled his diapers, he will look you straight in the eye and either tell you "No, I not poopy!" or, if he's feeling a little more clever, "I'm not sure..." And then he will run away when you tell him he needs to be changed!

So now I'm worried that Monkey enjoys being filthy and stinky, and that this may be something he never outgrows. How exactly do you teach a kid that having a dirty diaper is not something to be savored? I've tried bribery, and believe me, Monkey will demand his M&M after peeing in the potty, but it doesn't seem to be enough to make him want to go on his own. We've shopped for and put on super-exciting Thomas the Train big boy underpants, only to have him pee in them within mere minutes of me asking him if he's sure he doesn't have to go potty. We've watched Elmo's Potty Time video ad nauseum, which appears to have done nothing but teach him various entertaining ways to describe what comes out of his body. (And, for what it's worth, he likes to explain what comes from where, and has recently advised me that "we don't eat poop," which I didn't realize was something that even needed clarification). And he even has his pre-school teacher tricked into thinking he's ready, staying dry all day at pre-school, based on what I can only assume is fortuitous timing with their potty schedule, as I have been hopelessly unable to replicate their results at hom.

He WILL want to stay clean at some point, right???

Christmas Highs and Lows

2009-12-29T11:18:00.004-05:00

Wow, Christmas with a two (almost 2 1/2) year old is a FAR different experience than Christmas with an infant!

There was lots of good stuff about it. Monkey had so much more of an understanding of Christmas (well, at least the commercial aspects of it). For at least a month beforehand, we've been talking about Santa, elves, snowmen, Christmas trees, presents, and Christmas lights, and he has delighted in seeing all the decorations when we've bee out. We got to do some fun and easy craft projects, like painting some "glass" (i.e. plastic) ornaments to give to our teachers and family members, and making Santa door hangers that Monkey decided really belonged on the tree. We practiced looking at, but trying not to touch all of the pretty ornaments and presents. We had a daily Christmas countdown, complete with a small piece of chocolate each day. And we looked every morning for Sophie, our Elf on the Shelf, who somehow managed to find new places to watch Monkey every day from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve (although I think she MIGHT make her appearance a tad later next year - I'm just sayin'...). We saw Santa at the mall and at a farm, and Monkey worked up increasing amounts of courage to talk to him and ask him for presents, although he never did get comfortable with sitting on the old guy's lap (and really, can you blame him?). And we watched Curious George and Elmo Christmas DVDs more times that I care to remember at the moment...

But, alas, now that it's over, we've got the inevitable letdown. Monkey still asks where Sophie is every morning, and still wants to do his Christmas countdown. When we moved his new kitchen set down to his playroom one night while he was sleeping, he asked Daddy the next day if Santa took it back! (that one still breaks my heart). And when he got to school yesterday, after four days off with Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, and Auntie, he cried when it was time for me to leave. :-( Poor guy - as fun as it was to ramp up the excitement, I guess I never really considered the after-shock. The good news is that we still have one more family exchange this Friday, after a semi-normal school/work week and no more visitors at the house, so hopefully that will help with the transition somewhat. But next week Daddy is back on the road for work, and we're gonna have to figure out how to entertain ourselves for the rest of what is looking like a long, cold winter! I'm thinking some trips to the Children's Museum need to get planned, pronto!

The Day Care Double Standard

2009-11-04T14:39:00.010-05:00

First off, I realize I didn't post yesterday - Way to stick to my renewed blogging commitment for two whole days, huh?

But, in my defense, I sort of have an excuse, and it's sort of tied to the subject of this post.

Monkey wasn't feeling 100% yesterday, and to top it off, his Daddy was reduced to a whimpering pile of mucous, becoming more of a hindrance than a help. Just one of those days, and I was exhausted by the time the boys got to bed.

But here's the question: Was Monkey "sick"? As in, could I still send him to day care today? (Monkey goes every other day, so we didn't have this dilemma yesterday...) Well, I asked myself this question, and decided to tally up Monkey's symptoms.

For starters, there was a very runny nose, which started over the weekend, and has caused us to run through our share of Kleenex and "I do it" moments (Yes, Monkey prefers to wipe his own nose, which often results in the snot being smeared all over his face - gotta love toddler independence). But a runny nose is practically a REQUIREMENT in day care, particularly at this time of year. I can't tell you the number of times I have dropped Monkey off, only to glance about the room and see just about every single kid with matching snot lines running from their noses to their mouths - apparently it's quite the fashion statement among the toddler day care crowd?

Next, a cough, again picked up in the past couple of days. Just your basic cough, which he seems to get and lose every few weeks or so this time of year, and not a particular reason for concern. Although he did have a bit of a spell Monday night, which woke him up crying and struggling a bit. But once he got some water and relaxed again, he was fine. And both runny noses and coughs are expressly listed in the day care manual as "OK to send to school," which we've done more than once.

But, as evening came, he started to feel a bit warm. In an effort to avoid the discomfort of the rectal thermometer, I tried one of those strips you hold up to their forehead. Those things basically suck, but I have had them work when Monkey's been burning up, so while I don't trust it to give me anything near a precise reading, I do expect it to give me a quick read as to whether we're in fever territory. Last night, however, I couldn't even get it all the way UP to normal. Yeah, I'm thinking that's wrong. So on to the digital thermometer under the arm. Squirming toddler + arm measurement = false "normal." So with apologies to Monkey, we went for the accurate reading, which was about 100.5 before I finally concluded we were "close enough" and took it out to soothe his complaints. Not a particularly high temp, and within the range that, even if he couldn't be in the classroom, he could be in the "sick bay." Hmmm...

Miscellaneous symptoms included first-time ever complaint that "my tummy hurts," followed by "tummy OK now" after some follow-up questions over the next hour. (And, can I just say, this is one of the great things about him becoming more communicative? I'm still not 100% sure if he had a tummy ache or not, but I look forward to the day when he can REALLY tell me what's bothering him). And one not-so-pleasant diaper change - I'll spare the details, but it wasn't a clear-cut problem either.

So herein lies the double standard: As an already tired Mommy who is supposed to be using day care days to do actual work to bring money into the house, all signs point to sending Monkey to day care. He really seems to just have a cold, not the dreaded flu, and the day care checklist suggests he's OK to go. But as the Mommy of a toddler who wants MY son to stay as healthy as possible, and is really hoping we can avoid the flu this year, I can't help but put myself in the shoes of the other mommies in the class, who would probably prefer that Monkey stay home. So who wins, Tired Mommy or PC Mommy?

And does the answer depend on the fact that this is day care, where parents usually have no choice but to send their kids, but also understand that they're going to be exposed to various germs, and just hope that this will give them loads of antibodies to make them super-healthy kindergartners? What if Monkey were scheduled not to be in day care, but a paid class of some kind - sports, music, what have you? Does the fact that these kids are more likely of the stay-at-home variety mean that they haven't "signed on" to the same risks of catching colds? But what about the fact that we're all paying for those classes? Does that mean we're entitled to try to get our money's worth, as long as the situation isn't more serious? And what about free activities - certainly those seem the easiest case for the "keep your kid away" approach - you don't HAVE to engage in that activity on that day, and no one there invited Typhoon Toddler or is benefiting from his presence...

Bottom line? It's tough being able to see both sides, yet being the one who has to make the decision.

Talking Shop

2009-11-02T11:54:00.003-05:00

Well, it's no secret that I've neglected this blog horribly... But, in an effort to try to remedy the situation, I've decided to jump on the NaBloWriMo bandwagon (thanks for the heads-up, Kristen), Yes, it's National Blog Writing Month, and the goal is to blog every day during the month of November. I don't make any promises about my ability to actually pull this off, and I may bail if I feel like I'm totally stretching for things to write about, or if I have to give up precious sleep to get an entry done, but for now, I'm optimistic. I'm also trying to do the same for Monkey's personal blog, so we'll see how that goes.

On the subject of blogging, I was perusing a magazine in a doctor's office about a week ago, and I saw mention of a site that might be of interest to my fellow bloggers: . It was cited as a good way to print off and save your blog entries in book form. I've often wondered whether I should be doing something more to preserve my blog, and if I might be more likely to look back at it years from now in hard form rather than online. Despite all the amazing changes in technology, I still enjoy curling up on the couch with a good book, and I'd like to think that Monkey will some day as well. So, something to look into. Although I'd also be interested in hearing what others are doing to save their deep thoughts - please share!

I Want My Extra Hour

2009-11-01T20:35:00.003-05:00

Dear Daylight Savings Administrator:

I'm a big fan of the concept of "falling back," so you can imagine my disappointment when this morning I was awakened an hour ahead of our long-standing schedule by my 2-year-old son, who apparently did not get the memo on the significance of last night's time change. This, I should note, is despite my best efforts to tire him out through strenuous trick-or-treating and a later-than normal bedtime. It occurred to me that perhaps you need to do a better job of spreading the word to the toddler crowd, perhaps through a series of educational presentations at day care centers across the nation, or cleverly worked into timely episodes of "Sesame Street," "Curious George," or "Sid the Science Kid." Since it is, however, too late to implement such proactive members in time for this year, I would like to know how you plan to go about offering me a raincheck. Might I humbly suggest an all-expenses paid trip to a spa/resort of my choice, complete with all necessary babysitting services back at home? It's really only fair...

Sincerely,

Still Tired in Toddlerville

We interrupt this blog...

2009-09-11T09:47:00.004-04:00

... for a brief bit of promotion.

No, I'm not selling out to advertisers. For starters, I don't think I have quite the readership they'd be looking for. :-) But I do have a friend with something to share, and I wanted to do what little I can to help give her an audience.

Diane is a breast cancer survivor, and an amazing, creative woman. She has designed a ring as a symbol of many things, including her journey, and it is now available for sale. Perhaps you or someone you know might be inspired by her journey or her vision, and so, without further ado, I present to you the PINKie Promise Ring (TM):

http://www.pinkiepromisering.com/

Acciental Learning

2009-09-10T20:33:00.004-04:00

As a follow-up to my last post, I thought I'd share a story of some further evidence that Monkey is in fact learning something, somehow, somewhere...

I have this old wooden ring toss set that I was thinking of throwing away. It's just two intersecting pieces of wood that holds five pegs, with heavy yarn rings. The pegs have gotten kind of mildewy, and the rings are just kind of gnarled and gross ,for lack of a better description. Of course, once I got it out of the box to inspect it, Monkey was all over it, so I wiped it down as best I could and let it stay in the outdoor toy box for a while.

I should mention that the pegs, holes, and rings are different colors. Not something that really caught my attention, but it definitely caught Monkey's - I've discovered that he loves to put it "together," and gets almost agitated if I happen to, say, put all the pegs and rings on the "wrong" spots, which I have an annoying tendency to do, just to mess with him. So I guess we can check color sorting off the list - now I just have to wonder about his obsessive need to keep it in order...

Tales of the Uninspired (or "Why Paid Professionals Will Be Educating My Child")

2009-09-02T20:34:00.006-04:00

I've been chatting with some fellow Mommies lately about "Mommy Guilt" for failure to come up with sufficiently creative and educational activities for our toddlers, and the consensus seems to be that while some people have an amazing skill for this task, others of us, not so much, and, thankfully, our children don't seem to be any worse of as a result. Accordingly, I am hereby abandoning future educational efforts and turning my child's educational and creative future over to those who have a clue as to what they're doing.

I should probably mention that, yes, I have TRIED to be "Fun, Clever Teaching Mom," but the record suggests it is not just not in my genetic code. You be the judge:

1. Flashcards. I bought flashcards for Monkey with colors, shapes, and various objects. Monkey, in turn, has perfected the game of "[insert number of cards here]-Card Pickup."

2 Educational Videos. "The Letter Factory" has been met with "eh" reviews, but at least the entire video has been allowed to play once or twice. Monkey's response to "Meet the Numbers" was somewhat less enthusiastic: "Wiggles! Wiggles! I want Wiggles!! PLAY WIGGLES NOW!!"

3. Crafts. Despite Monkey's willingness to wear a smock for almost all crafting activities, Mommy's "mess" factor isn't quite ready for much yet. Play-Doh is a good way to kill about 15 minutes, until Monkey starts to eat the dough. I know it's non-toxic, but I'm not ready to encourage snacking on it. Crayons are OK. Unfortunately, however, Monkey doesn't like to share, so it's not a good joint activity, because Mommy's desire to use the red crayon is inevitably followed by Monkey's NEED to have "MY crayon." But at least most of the crayon stays on the page. And the table. And very rarely has it ended up on the walls. Or the, um, TV. Yeah, rarely. And those Dot Markers? Monkey likes to take the caps on and off, and put the markers in his mouth. I just don't feel like we have a future artist on our hands...

4. Magnets. Mommy bought a fun bucket of letters and a magnetic board to put the letters on to spell different words. Monkey's version of this game is to (a) dump all of the magnets on the floor, or (b) grab the magnets from Mommy and insist on putting them away. At almost no time are they actually on the board.

5. Cooking. Mommy has tried to make mealtime more interesting by letting Monkey "help" cook. Sometimes this is successful. Other times, not so much. Case in point: While making spaghetti, Mommy thought Monkey might be able to participate by breaking up the spaghetti noodles. Since it wouldn't be safe to have him put them into the boiling water, Mommy got out a big tupperware container, put in a handful of dried noodles, and showed Monkey how to break them in half. What followed was a shower of broken noodle fragments that I am sure we will be finding the remains of for days to come.

I'm sure there are a few others, but I appear to have (perhaps thankfully) repressed my memories of them.

On the plus side, everyday life seems to be teaching Monkey a ton whether I mean for it to or not. For example:

1. After a couple of trips to the zoo, Monkey is very interested in animals right now, and particularly in learning how to make their various sounds. His favorite is the lion, but he also enjoys monkey, cow, rooster, duck, and dog. We're still working on bird, cat, frog, and a few others, but he's a fast learner. He also loves to tell me about "dolphins jumping out of water" after seeing the dolphin show twice now, and also still talks about the "elephant getting a bath." Awesome.

2. Colors. We've pretty much got the basics down: Yellow, red, blue, green, purple, yellow (a/k/a orange), yellow (a/k/a brown), and yellow (a/k/a white). Can you guess what Monkey's favorite color is??

3. Name that Tune. If they ever bring this show back with a special Wiggles edition, Monkey will no doubt be crowned champion. He has an uncanny ability to tell me what song is coming up about two seconds into the song or video. But perhaps this isn't brag-worthy?

Call me immature, but...

2009-07-29T15:52:00.003-04:00

I just bought Monkey an Elmo video about using the potty, figuring the more he hears about this whole potty idea, the more he'll take an interest in actually using it properly (versus sitting on it for five seconds, ripping up toilet paper, hopping off, pulling out the protective shield, flushing the toilet - you get the idea). Anyway, we decided to debut the video yesterday, and there was an entire segment devoted to different words for #1 and #2, perhaps the highlight of which was a bunch of kids screaming in unison "I really need to urinate!" Really?? Of course, Monkey WAS fascinated by all the talk about pee-pee and poo-poo, so perhaps they're on to something. Just ignore me while I snicker like a 12-year old...

It's Official - The Terrible Twos Are Here

2009-07-29T14:13:00.003-04:00

Silly me... I thought Monkey started acting like a terrible two-year-old somewhere around 18 months. Little did I know what he had in store for me...

Since his birthday a week and a half ago, it's like someone flipped a switch, and he started having MORE tantrums with LESS reason behind them. Like this morning, I THINK he was upset that he didn't get the sippy cup that he wanted. Not that it's easy to tell, because when you ask him if he wants Pooh or Elmo, he responds with "Pooh Elmo." Um, yeah, they haven't made that cup yet, kiddo, I'm asking you to make a choice. And does receiving the "wrong" cup REALLY justify a five-minute screaming tantrum? Apparently it does...

I'm learning, though. I'm learning that if I ignore the tantrum, and go about my business (after assuring that Monkey is in a safe place where he's not likely to get injured if he decided to flail around a bit), the screaming AT me turns into screaming FOR me, and when I go back in, his arms are outstretched, wanting his Mommy, and he quickly calms down, telling me that he was "crying," in case I hadn't noticed. So, it's a start, but I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to tweak the technique when he inevitably throws a fit in public.

It's so disheartening to me when he throws a fit within like half an hour of getting up - it just seems to set the tone for the day for me, and I need to get past that kind of thinking, or we're gonna have a LOT of bad days over the next year or so. And I keep telling myself that I have to stand my ground and not just give in to what he wants, so he doesn't become spoiled. It's hard, though, particularly when Monkey is one of those kids who tends to hyperventilate when he gets really upset, and sometimes passes out. I've talked to his doctor, and read up on the subject, and I know in my head that the temporary passing out is just his body's way of protecting itself, and forcing him to take a breath, but that doesn't make it any easier to watch the handful of times that he's done it. So far, knock on wood, he has only done it once as a result of being purely upset, as opposed to injured, and I just pray that he never tries to use it as leverage.

Anyway, so as not to end on a totally down note, what are some of the good things that the Twos have brought? I think the highlight is that Monkey's communication continues to improve by leaps and bounds, and he is repeating and seemingly understanding SO much! When I was dropping him off at day care the other day (where he's in a new room), one of the teachers said to me, "He has older siblings, right?" Somewhat confused, I told him no, and asked why he thought that. He responded that Monkey is very bright, and has great communication skills for his age. That's so nice to hear, especially when I think back to the days I thought he would never say "Mommy." I still think he's probably in the middle of the pack as far as kids his age, and he is still difficult to understand at times, but it's always reassuring to have someone give that kind of a compliment.

Separation Anxiety Revisited

2009-07-13T21:20:00.005-04:00

Today was Monkey's first day in the Two's room at day care. And, alas, it involved many tears, his AND mine... :-(

He'd been transitioning for the past week, and it went well. Each day, I would drop him off in his old room, and his teacher would take him over to the new room to visit for increasing periods of time - By Friday, he spent pretty much the whole day in his new room. So, in the one sense, I was expecting today to go pretty smoothly - after all, if he didn't mind his teacher leaving him with new people, why would he mind it when I did it?

That said, he fussed during drop-offs for 1-2 weeks when we made this transition last year. At one year old, still not walking, and very dependent on familiar caregivers, he was a bit traumatized by all the new faces and all the kids up on two legs moving about the room. One year later, he is NOT happy to be leaving behind the teachers that he was at first so wary of. This year, it's still a bit of separation anxiety, the need to be around trusted adults, but I also feel like he's saying "hey, Mommy, THIS isn't my room!" Made more difficult by the fact that his old room is RIGHT across the hall. And it figures, as we walked into the building today, we were right behind one of his friends from the Ones room, and the two kids were smiling and waving at each other, making it that much more difficult for me to explain why were going to the OTHER room today, and not into HIS room with his friend. His "former" teacher was in the doorway as we came up the hall, and when she saw the fuss that was already setting in, she gave me a sad, sympathetic smile, and ducked behind the door so as not to make things any more difficult for Monkey.

So, in typical "how not to handle this" fashion, I started tearing up as soon as Monkey started crying and telling me he didn't want to go in the new room - nice job, hormones or whatever. I then spent 20 minutes trying to get him comfortable and entertained in his room, only to have him crying pitifully when I left anyway. His teacher tells me he only cried for 2-3 minutes, and I know I should just drop him off and make a quick exit.... sigh. So, we'll see how things go Wednesday. I hope it will be better, but I suspect it won't. History suggests that he'll be happily waving goodbye to me by sometime next week, but my heart will be breaking a little bit until then.

People vs. The Wiggles

2009-06-05T09:46:00.005-04:00

I can't believe it's come to this, but it's time for me to put on my attorney's hat and step up with my defense of The Wiggles...

You see, I've noticed lately that when I mention Monkey's extreme love of (or, dare I say, obsession with?) The Wiggles, I get reactions ranging from sympathy to almost disgust. "Oh, you poor thing..." "The Wiggles? They're awful!" "Thank goodness our kids don't like them" "We won't allow them in our house"

Really?

I can understand the sympathy. Any parent who's had a child obsessed with a particular TV show, movie, or character knows how mind-numbing it can get to watch the same things over and over and over again - the endless fascination gene must spontaneously combust somewhere between the ages of 5 and 10.

But what I don't get is the hate. When I've pushed a little farther, here's some of the comments I get, followed by my rebuttals:

1. "They're gay." Really? THAT's your argument? I hope you don't mind if I don't even dignify this one with a response, because it's clearly an argument crafted by a 12-year old, and it's not fair to pick fights with children.

2. "They're grown men - it's just creepy." Yes, they are grown men - does that automatically make them pedophiles or something?? In fact, a little quick research will reveal that The Wiggles were formed when several of its members met in school, where they were studying to be elementary teachers - The Wiggles act in its earliest stages was a school project, attempting to integrate learning with song and dance. How dare they!! And speaking of creepy, I am extremely thankful that Monkey has never seen, and thus never developed any kind of attachment to the Teletubbies or the Doodlebops - if you ask me, those are the kinds of characters that nightmares are made of!

3. "Their songs are so annoying - fruit salad, yummy, yummy." Setting aside my original point that anything can becmoe annoying in high doses, is their music really that bad? I don't think so. In fact, I'm amazed at the sheer volume of songs these guys have managed to put out, with the not unexpected outcome that some stuff is better than others. But the variety is sure nice - I'd rather listed to an entire Wiggles CD than have to fast-forward through our Sesame Street to find the three Elmo songs that Monkey is currently interested in, and then repeat those same three songs when Monkey insists on "more Elmo" and refuses to listen to more than three notes of a song by Big Bird, Grover, or Kermit the Frog. Sigh... And really, what alternatives are you advocating? Barney, with his annoying "I love you" song? I'll pass, thanks.

4. "There's nothing educational about them." Well, I'll give you that it's not Sesame Street, with it's emphasis on counting and the alphabet, but Monkey has learned a TON from watching The Wiggles, if you ask me. For starters, colors - Monkey could identify The Wiggles by their shirt color long before he knew their individual name (and frankly, yellow is still providing a small amount of confusion, given the Greg/Sam switch, which is unfortunate). But let's also not under-estimate the value of the dances - MOnkey has gone from merely watching the DVDs, to standing up and kind of bouncing and swaying along, to actively copying the dance moves. He jumps, waves his hands in the air, turns in circles, makes animal sounds, pretends to rock his bear to sleep, says "shhhh"... all relatively on cue with the songs and dances that he's watching - it's so much fun to watch, and he's learning to follow directions, develop his fine and gross motor skills, and I bet eventually he'll even sing! (Although the latter part does scare me a wee bit, if you've ever heard his father sing...) He may not be speaking another language, but he is very involved in the videos, identifying objects and characters and participating as if he were right there - pretty cool, IMO.

Ironically, Monkey's unwavering devotion to The Wiggles appears to be, well, wavering just a bit in the past couple of weeks, with Elmo providing some strong competition of late. Of course this would happen just weeks after I bought Monkey tickets to a live Wiggles show, right? Let's hope that he doesn't lose interest in them altogether any time too soon - the concert's not until the end of August, and Daddy and I certainly don't want to be the only ones in our family singing along! :-)

Random Thoughts

2009-06-01T13:32:00.003-04:00

I think that part of my lack of blogging lately is a lack of light bulbs going off in my head with big ideas of what to write about. Monkey is making lots of strides in his development, but we're kind of past the "big" milestones for now, and some of the smaller stuff doesn't seem to generate the same level of excitement to justify posting. But, since I hope to have Monkey someday look back on this blog to read about his early years, I think I'll attempt to play catch-up a bit and just share some random thoughts. Here's what's been going on at the Monkey House:

1. Food, Glorious Food -- The good news is that Monkey's menu of acceptable foods seems to be expanding ever so slightly! Vegetables are STILL, and I suspect will always be, a challenge, but Monkey has discovered corn on the cob, and he eats it with gusto! So much fun to watch! And, with the arrival of spring/summer, Monkey has become a bigger fruit fan, so instead of applesauce day in and day out, he has been feasting on yummy blueberries and strawberries. I thought I had him on pineapple as well, but that lasted all of about a day. Oh, and grapes, which already has me looking forward to the day when I don't have to cut them up for him to avoid a possible choking hazard...

2. All Choked Up -- Speaking of choking, please tell me I don't have the only toddler who insists on shoveling multiple fistfuls of whatever he's eating into his mouth?? It's not so much a manners thing, although, geez, slowing down a tad would sure be nice, but I swear he swallows half of his food whole, despite a mouthful of teeth. He's gagged more than once, giving my husband and I quite a scare, but I actually think he may just be one of those kids with a relatively sensitive gag reflex, as it's been triggered by things as little as a small, possibly sharp piece of potato chip. I struggle with being the mom who cuts and breaks up her kid's food until he's ten, and trying to teach him to take bites, at the risk that he just won't do it, or will take twenty small "bites" in rapid succession, defeating the purpose. :-(

3. Chug, Chug -- And also on the subject of food, I was told by Monkey's day care teacher a couple of weeks ago that one of the changes that will take place when he moves to the two-year-old's room (in less than two months - gasp!) is that they will start drinking from open cups instead of sippies. Am I the only one that thinks this sounds a bit soon, and, um, messy? Again, I don't want Monkey to be drinking from a sippy when he goes to the prom, but man am I not looking forward to the idea of him drinking from an open cup on a regular basis yet either! I've let him sip from my cup from time to time, and although he gets the basic idea, he's a bit too eager, and inevitably ends up with water down the front of his shirt. I know that it takes practice, and toddler-hood isn't always neat, but I'm just not sure I'm ready for this one. Maybe I'll let day care take the lead on this one, and I can just benefit from their tried-and-true teaching methods?

4. Potty Time -- Speaking of new challenges, I feel like full-on potty training will be upon us soon, and I am approaching it somewhat tentatively. Don't get me wrong - I can not WAIT to be done with smelly diapers. But something about them IS awfully convenient, you know?? It's not the idea of Monkey being potty trained that I dread (although it will sort of mean he's officially a big boy - sniff!), it's the process... Having to be constantly attuned to his signals, racing to the potty for numerous false alarms, devising and consistently following some kind of reward program, etc. Monkey has handled so many of his other transitions (sleeping through the night, dropping bottles, limiting paci use, etc) so well - I hope this isn't the one that we struggle with!

5. Story Time -- I LOVE that Monkey is finally showing more interest in books. He's still hard pressed to sit still for a story, and I'm sorry to say that we still haven't been able to incorporate a "traditional" bedtime story into our nightly routine, but he seems to be going for books as often as toys these days, and not always the same three or four books, either. Character books are still one of the biggest hits (Wiggles and Elmo, specifically), but he's starting to pay more attention to some of the Dr. Suess books, and I've once again renewed my hopes that someday he will enjoy reading as much as I do, for content rather than pictures! And yes, he actually says "read a book?" now, which I love. :-)

6. Outdoor Adventures -- I can't remember if I posted earlier about our severe cabin fever over the winter months, but needless to say, the arrival of Spring (FINALLY!) has opened new doors to things to do with Monkey. Unfortunately, it has also opened the door to new battles with Monkey's independent streak, and his desire to walk freely without holding hands. As you can imagine, this presents a problem pretty much anywhere other than in our fenced-in backyard. It's been a little hit or miss -- sometimes Monkey not only willingly holds MY hand, but wants to hold Daddy's hand as well, making it difficult for us to walk in and out of stores, etc. I think Monkey secretly hopes when we do this that we'll start randomly swinging him, a trick taught to him by my mother and aunt (thanks, guys!), but I think my husband is afraid of dislocating his shoulder, so we don't often play along. Plus, let's face it, it kind of slow things down a bit when ever five seconds you have to stop and go "one, two, three -- whee!" :-) But other times, Monkey does NOT want to hold hands, and left to his own devices, would appear to be on the verge of running off into a parking lot. Clearly this is non-negotiable, so Monkey has been getting a choice - hold Mommy's hand, or let Mommy carry you. You may not like either choice, but you've gotta pick one. I yearn for the day when he will walk calmly by my side - will it ever happen? I keep contemplating the monkey backpack with the leash, but it seems like more trouble than it's worth, especially when we're just making a quick trip from car to store. But lately, the desire to be "down" doesn't end at the store door, as riding in a shopping cart is apparently no longer the thrill it once used to be (unless said cart is shaped like a car, in which case the difficulty is getting Monkey OUT of it!). Monkey threw a royal fit in Gymboree a few weeks ago when, in a moment of kindness, I let him out of his stroller to sit in the little chairs and watch cartoons at the back of the store. All was well until it was time to leave, and I think I earned a few new bruises, as well as several sympathetic and/or questioning looks, as I struggled to get Monkey back in his stroller. Our evening walks around the neighborhood are also beginning to change, as Monkey is no longer content for up to an hour in his stroller as we walk around, visiting with neighbors, getting some exercise. Monkey wants to be "out" or "down" before long, adding a new level of parental anxiety to the whole process. And don't get me started on his "car rides" - Monkey has a cool radio flyer car that he used to love being pushed around the neighborhood in. These days, however, it's about two minutes before he wants to get out, walk, push the car himself. Nothing like pushing an empty car back to your house while carrying a struggling toddler, let me tell you...

Well, I think that's the end of my train of thought for now. Hopefully I'll be able to return to more regular, less rambling posting soon!

Mommy Check

2009-05-27T10:41:00.003-04:00

Is it just me, or do you ever miss the days of being in school, when everything was for the most part black or white - pass or fail, A or C, doing great or needs improvement? I miss some of that clear feedback now that I'm a mom, and wonder just how good of a job I am (or am not) doing with Monkey...

On the "pass" side, Monkey is healthy, happy* (yeah, we'll get to the tantrums in a moment), and showing us every day that he is learning new things and understanding so much. On the "see me" side, we have frequent tantrums involving pretty much every aspect of daily life - eating, changing diapers and clothes, and pretty much anything that challenges Monkey's growing sense of independence. "I do it" is an oh-so-common phrase around our house, and it's hard to teach Monkey that sometimes, no, he actually CAN'T do it yet. He CAN'T walk around cars without holding Mommy's hands. He CAN'T roam freely around the garage. And, as much as he tries, he cannot screw the lid on his sippy cup, and please, can't we avoid the mess of allowing you to engage in more futile attempts?? The good news, I suppose, is that I don't think we have any "fails," although I do worry that some of our problem areas, if not nipped in the bud, could prove more troublesome down the road.

I struggle to find the right method of discipline, both for me and for Monkey. And then there's the issue of getting Daddy on board, which is probably the subject of another post. I read the magazines and books, and I know what I'm SUPPOSED to do, yet the well-reasoned approach often eludes me in the heat of the moment. For example, when Monkey is rocking in his booster chair and giving me a heart attack with the possibility that he is going to topple over any moment and crack his head open, the calm "Monkey, we don't rock in our chair" approach is NOT my first instinct. To the contrary, last week it was a scream that almost gave Daddy a heart attack, BUT, it got Monkey's attention, long enough to stop what he was doing and allow me to run over from behind the sink, where I had been preparing part of his dinner. And, for what it's worth, I HAVE tried the calmer approach, and Monkey just smiles at me and continues what he's doing - why do they not mention this in those not-quite-so-helpful magazine articles, hmmm?? And yet, as much as the smart aleck in Monkey drives me absolutely insane, I know that he got part of it from me, so who exactly should I blame?

So, where exactly am I going with this? I guess I'd like a report card to tell me that, despite all the daily challenges, I'm still doing OK as a Mommy, that this is all normal and I'm actually averaging a B or higher at this parenting thing. I don't need a gold star or anything, but I do miss the days of feedback and the good feeling that comes with recognition of a job well done!

My Kid, the Bully?

2009-04-07T09:53:00.004-04:00

I really wasn't expecting it to start this soon (or necessarily at all, for that matter). But it happened - I got my first note from Monkey's day care teacher about a behavior issue... Monkey has apparently started being more "aggressive" towards his classmates - pushing them down, taking toys away from them, and sometimes pulling hair. Where is this coming from? Is it just part of the Terrible Twos - a child who is gaining independence and wants to do what they want to do, when they want to do it, the heck with what anyone else wants? Or is it Only Child Syndrome - signs of a child who doesn't have to share toys and time at home? I want to blame one or both of these things, as opposed to worrying that somehow I'm doing something wrong and raising a brat and/or a bully, but the real question is, how do we fix it?

You know, it's ironic... Monkey has a July birthday, which means that once "real" school begins, with kindergarten, he is going to go through life being probably the youngest kid in his class (unless we hold him back a year, but we haven't really considered that at this point). So in my mind, I've always worried that Monkey is going to be the small kid, picked on by the other boys. Perhaps he's trying to nip that in the bud by showing his "toughness" from the get-go?? Interestingly, right now he is actually one of the oldest, if not the oldest, in his one-year olds' class, so I wonder if that dynamic isn't playing into this a bit too - he's just showing that he's the big kid in charge because he can?

I'm not sure yet what our plan is to tackle this. Do I start randomly taking toys away from Monkey to teach him that he can't always have what he wants? Or does that just frustrate him more and increase the acting out at school? I hate to be always saying "no," but I also don't want him thinking he can always have whatever he wants. This is such a tough stage - they have the power of the tantrum, while we struggle with letting them have the tantrums vs. giving in just to keep the peace. Yikes - it's gonna be a long year....

Mommy Confession

2009-03-17T20:35:00.003-04:00

Here's the deal: I don't enjoy blowing bubbles with Monkey.

Of course, he LOVES it. And I really thought it would be fun, watching him chase after bubbles, etc. But here's the thing: Monkey's way of "blowing bubbles" is to dip the wand in the bubble solution, then just kind of FLING it, so that all the solution splashes to the ground (and on my pants, and on Monkey, etc.). Not a single bubble comes out of this motion - it's really just glorified splashing. And it is soooo not fun. But Monkey laughs hysterically.

At first, I was able to enjoy his enjoyment, because who doesn't love watching a toddler's face light up with laughter. But then.... sigh... I just got bored, and impatient, and wondered how I could talk him into doing something else.

And, in case you're wondering: No, he won't give up the want to Mommy so that I can blow the bubbles and he can gaze at them in wonderment and chase after them. Simply not an option. As Monkey is fond of saying: "I do!"

Bad Mommy. :-(

And speaking of Elmo...

2009-03-12T18:36:00.004-04:00

Let's all have a brief moment of silence, shall we?

In memory of the times, not so long ago, but not then appreciated, when Monkey and I could go to a toy store, Babies 'R Us, or anywhere we wanted in Target or Walmart, and Monkey would be happy just to be in the cart, looking at all the people and "stuff."

Before he recognized things like... Elmo. Mickey Mouse. The Wiggles. Pooh.

And before he screamed out that he must have these things, because they are "mine!"

I made the mistake of taking Monkey to Toys 'R Us today, looking for a step stool for his bathroom. My search took me through the bath and bedding sections, where there were Elmo couches, Elmo blankets, Elmo Sheets, Elmo towels, you name it. And Monkey saw it all.

And, being the sucker that I am, I picked up the cute Elmo hooded bath towel, and asked Monkey if he wanted it.

He happily grabbed it, and enjoyed checking it out for about - thirty seconds? Before it landed unceremoniously on the floor.

I can't tell you how many things I picked up to keep him from having a tantrum, and yet, ultimately we left the store empty handed. Sigh...

Elmo Not-so-Live

2009-03-12T13:49:00.003-04:00

OK, I have a confession to make...

I think Monkey is in the process of committing Elmocide. :-(

I bought Elmo Live! for Monkey for Christmas, partly because he LOVES books with Elmo, and partly just because I thought it was so clever and wanted to see what all he would say when taken out of the box and "test" mode.

And Elmo is pretty cool - he tells stories, dances, tell jokes, sneezes... all kinds of stuff. And initially, Monkey was fascinated (the dog, on the other hand, was a little wary, but can you blame him?). But then we discovered the "uh oh" feature. For those of you not familiar with this furry little robot toy, apparently he has a sensor that can tell when Elmo has fallen down, leading him to say "Uh oh, Elmo fell down. Can you pick him up, please?" Then, once Elmo is returned to upright position, he says "Thank you," and tells the kind helper that he/she is Elmo's best friend.

Well, I don't know if Monkey became intrigued with this particular feature or what. After all, "uh oh" WAS his first word. But soon, Mommy began to go crazy listening to the chorus of "uh oh"s and "thank you"s. Then, Elmo started to get a little wonky, Monkey stopped picking him up and just started dragging him around by the arms, and now Elmo sounds like the lady who's fallen and can't get up, with a creaky case of arthritis to boot. He creaks every time he moves, and is constantly begging for help, to Monkey's deaf ears. So Mommy started imposing "Elmo rest times," with the help of the little on/off switch on Elmo's foot. I'm frankly at the point where I'm not sure whether to try to save Elmo or to hide him somewhere to let his batteries die out in peace. Would that make me an accomplice??

I'm still here...

2009-02-13T14:19:00.004-05:00

Wow, it's been a while since I've written anything.

Perhaps not coincidentally, it all seems to go back to when Monkey dropped his morning nap... Our new schedule seems to be working really well now, and it has for a while, but man, it's amazing how much less down time I have now that we're a one-nap household!

That morning nap was great for so many things, not the least of which, I should not, is for me to get a shower! Now I often find that non-daycare days are "slob" days, and Mommy often doesn't get a shower, although at the very least she gets up about 15 minutes before Monkey to get dressed, put in her contacts, slap on some makeup, and take a quick pass at straightening her hair. That way, should we HAVE to leave the house for some reason, we can minimize the embarrassment if we run into someone we know. Mommy's actually gotten pretty good at this half-baked routine, actually, and has ventured out to the mall, although she usually regrets it as soon as she gets into a dressing room with unfriendly lighting (which is pretty much all of them, right??)

And, there are now that many more hours in the day to keep Monkey entertained... Thank goodness that warmer weather is starting to make an appearance, because Mommy is running out of indoor activities and is desperate to get out of the house most days (hence the ill-advised mall outings...)! Don't get me wrong - I have tried to find my craftier side, but so far, Monkey must not be impressed, because he is much more interested in scrutinizing the art tools - taking caps on and off markers, putting markers in mouth, biting tips of crayons - than using the tools to create a work of art to hang on the fridge. Today I even broke down and bought Play-Dough, which I KNOW in my heart of hearts that Monkey will only try to eat, but yet I am holding out on the slim hope that he enjoys actually playing with it more. I've seen some scattered about the room at his day care, so perhaps he's already experimented with the tasting and is ready for bigger and better things?

I was also sorely tempted at Target today to buy him some fun outside things as Valentine's Day present, most notaby a bubble lawn mower and a couple of small kick balls. But I'm afraid that if I buy these, the weather will take a turn for the worse, and I'll be stuck with a cranky Monkey who won't understand why we can't go outside and pay with his cool new toys. Maybe the Easter Bunny will have to bring them instead...

I am seriously thinking of buying one of those Learning Towers for the kitchen. Monkey has gotten in the habit of wanting me to carry him around WHILE I'm making his meal, which can be somewhat difficult, as you might imagine. He also likes to try to "help" put the lid on his sippy cup, etc. So I'm thinking this might be part of his "I do" stage, and that he'll feel more included if I get him up to counter level in a safe place that he can watch and maybe start to help. Those things are expensive, but it might be worth it to preserve my sanity!

Anyway, that's the latest from Monkey Land. I will try to be better about posting, and I hope I still have a few readers out there!

An update...

2009-01-20T20:50:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted, and I didn't want you to think that the napping strike had done me in. Thankfully, I'm stronger than that!

Actually, the strike lasted about a week or two - it's a blur now. Monkey has finally settled into something resembling a routine again, and is napping consistently in the early afternoon, without nearly as much fussing (although a little protest here and there, just to keep Mommy on her toes). Sadly, his total nap time is still only half of what it used to be, which means less time for me to play around on the computer, not to mention do more productive things. But kids grow up, and he wasn't going to sleep forever. Besides, how much fun is that?

So, we've been trying to fill our extended days with new activities, and I will freely confess that I am stealing liberally from my on-line mommy friends, particularly since the cold (more like ridiculously frigid!) weather limits our ability to get out of the house as much as I'd like. We've bought some new art supplies, and I'm hoping to turn the time between lunch and nap into a quiet "sit at the table and do crafts" time, instead of the current "running around the house and chasing the dog and throwing toys and tripping and falling" time. We'll see if Monkey agrees...

I'm also trying to implement some semi-educational activities into our day. To echo a sentiment raised by more than one of my mommy friends, I'm having some "mommy guilt" over the fact that I seem to spend very little time interacting with and teaching Monkey, and most of my time just trying to keep him from hurting himself or the dog. I know that he's picking up on new things, both at home and at day care, but a little more effort on my part couldn't hurt. So, I've been looking at things like flash cards for shapes, colors, etc. Again, for all I know, Monkey will have zero interest, but it's worth a shot! Hopefully I'll be able to post about new accomplishments soon...

The Great Nap Strike of 2009

2009-01-05T14:29:00.003-05:00

I'm beginning to realize just how lucky I was...

Monkey has been a GREAT sleeper! Really, I've had very, very few complaints. He started sleeping through the night right around 4 months, and I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've had to get up during the night with him since. Oh, he'll wake up from time to time, and sometimes he'll even cry, but it's amazing how often it only lasts for a minute or two and he goes right back to sleep.

He's been a great napper too. For as long as I can remember now, we've had the same schedule, more or less - two naps a day, one from about 10:30 - noon, and the other for 1 1/2 - 2 hours sometime between 2:30 and 6pm. It's been awesome - Mommy could shower during the morning nap, and get other stuff done, including work, in the afternoon.

And, perhaps best of all, we could brag to our family and friends about how well he went to bed. Almost as if on cue, Monkey would say "night night?", at which point I'd say "night night?" and he'd either (a) run to the bottom of the stairs and wait to be taken up, or (b) run to me to carry him up. We'd say night-night to Daddy, any visitors, etc., and Monkey would lay his head on my shoulder and give me a sweet hug as we went upstairs. I'd set him in his crib, where he'd take his paci, and then off with the lights and off to sleep - no fuss.

Well, needless to say, there's a reason this is all written in the past tense. Tor almost a week now, all schedules and routines have gone out the window. Monkey has decided to change up the game plan, only he's not telling us what the new one is...

We had a bit of a preview over the holidays, when we were traveling and his sleep got disrupted, but upon returning home, all was seemingly back to normal. Until last Wednesday - New Year's Eve. It's as if he wanted to do something significant to mark the start of a new year... It started with fussiness going down for naps, turned into refusing to take some naps at all, branched into fussiness at bedtime, and, most recently, took a whole new turn with an early 4am wake-up call. Mommy is TIRED.

I realize that the two-nap schedule couldn't last forever, and I'm willing to accept that, even if it does mean finding a new time to shower, possibly before I'd like to otherwise get myself out of bed in the morning... But isn't the remaining one nap supposed to become LONGER to make up for some of the lost sleep? Instead, it's gotten shorter, maybe an hour, if we're lucky, and often not without much protesting. When I say "night night?", Monkey now shakes his head at me, saying "no." When I put him in his crib, he immediately gets up on his feet and starts yelling. If I'm lucky, it lasts less than five minutes. If I'm not, it lasts until I'm afraid he's going to burst something, and we get up and wait to see if we can try again later.

This has to be temporary, right??? Surely my awesome sleeper can't have developed an overnight aversion to or lack of need for sleep?

ISO a comeback

2008-12-17T15:02:00.005-05:00

"MINE!"

Yep, it's started already. Somewhere, somehow, Monkey learned to say the word "mine." And I can guarantee you it was not from me or my husband!

So I casually raised the question at day care this week.... "So, I'm just curious... have the older kids been saying 'mine' a lot lately? Because we noticed Monkey saying it at home, and aren't sure where he picked it up..."

GUILTY!

On the downside, not only is this apparently the word du jour with the one-year-old set, but their teachers taught it to them! In their defense, their thought was to give the kids a word to use when another child took a toy from them. Apparently they didn't consider that the children would naturally start declaring everything to be theirs. Plan backfired.

On the one hand, I can see their thinking. But on the other hand, there's this little voice in the back of my head (actually, two voices, sounding remarkably like Seth Myers and Amy Poehler), aaying "Really? You didn't think that teaching toddlers to say 'mine' could backfire on you?? Really???" But, alas, what's done is done.

What I really want to know now is this: What, exactly, is the succinct, fail-proof comeback that a parent uses to respond to a child who declares that an object is "mine," while maintaining a death-grip on said object and refusing to turn it over (let's say, just for a crazy example, a toothbrush that said child has been sucking on for over five minutes without actually "brushing" his teeth)? Acknowledging that the object is, in fact, theirs doesn't seem to do the trick. And denying it would seem to be (a) lying, in many cases, and (b) likely to lead to a lovely debate along the lines of "is not," "is too," etc., etc.

So please, if any of you have come up with a snappy comeback to respond to this adamant declaration, the comment section is below - please use it!!

My name is klalaw, and I'm an addict...

2008-12-17T11:20:00.003-05:00

Wow, you must be thinking, this is a pretty serious post for a relatively non-serious blog!

It's true, I'm an addict. I received official notification of it yesterday.

What kind of addict, you ask, and how does she care for Monkey in her condition?

A posting addict.

Yep, that's right - as of yesterday, I have officially received "posting addict" status on a pregnancy and parenting bulletin board that I frequent. Well, I guess I more than "frequent" it, under the circumstances - I pretty much live there! :-)

What this means is that I have made a ridiculous number of posts since shortly after learning that I was pregnant with Monkay (or about two years ago). I have to stop and wonder, do I really have THAT much to say??

Of course, some of these posts are a simple "thanks" or "oh, he/she is adorable," whereas others are mini-novels with my theories of various aspects of child-rearing, and others are dumb questions that are best asked in a semi-anonymous forum. And it's not as if I'm posting in a vacuum - there are a lot of great ladies on my board, many of whom are addicts like me, and others who are well on their way.

I doubt there's a 12-step program to cure this addiction, but that's OK, because I love my board. I'll admit, there was a bit of excitement as I neared "addict" status, but now that I'm there, I've reached the end of the line, as far as status is concerned. Once an addict, how much farther can you really go? A "serious posting addict," a "posting addict who seriously doesn't know when to stop," or perhaps a "former posting addict who is seeking help and thus doesn't really post very much anymore"? It gets kind of depressing at that point, doesn't it? So, I'll have to just be happy with my addict status, and try to live up to the name, without neglecting my real-life family and friends in the process. :-)

Hello, Goodbye...

2008-12-17T11:05:00.003-05:00

I posted a while back about Monkey's speech development (or my concerns about the potential lack thereof), and thought it was time for an update...

Monkey is still a HUGE fan of the word "uh oh," although he refuses to recognize that it does NOT apply when he drops things on the floor on purpose. :-) In the past few weeks, however, he has definitely added a few new words to his vocabulary, words that are very clear and spoken with purpose, so that's encouraging.

Yes, Monkey has become a greeter, and also the guy in our house most likely to show you to the door. These days it's all about "hi!" and "bye-bye."

The "hi"s are adorable - they're usually spoken at a loud, enthusiastic volume, such as when I first go in to get him up in the morning, and you can't help but smile and shout "hi!" back...

The "bye-bye"s are pretty funny. Sometimes they're right on cue, like when I show up to pick Monkey up from day care, and he turns to his teacher, waves, and says "bye-bye," as in "it's been fun, but I'm outta here!"

Other times, they're a bit, um, rude? Like when my mother-in-law shows up, Monkey realizes that probably means that Daddy and I are going somewhere, and so he brings her her shoes and tells her "bye-bye," as in "take a hint - I'd rather hang with Mommy and Daddy, thanks." And our poor dog... Every time he goes out to do his business in the back yard, Monkey runs over to the open door, where either my husband or I is standing, and tries to slam the door, saying a loud "bye-bye" to the dog! He also says good bye to trash when he throws it away, food in the pantry and/or the fridge when he closes the door, clothes in the dryer when he's "helping" with laundry... you get the idea.

But he's also getting smart about when it's time to go bye-bye - if I so much as reacch for my coat, scarf, or purse, Monkey starts asking "bye-bye?" and trying to figure out if he gets to go along for the trip, or if he's going to be left behind. If he's lucky enough to go with us, he races to the freezer, where we keep our special treats for the dog when he has to be crated, and he loves carrying it over and throwing it in the crate, and then closing the door. He's also a huge fan of working the garage door opener, and is the first to race to the dog's crate and let him out when we get home (which sounds sweet, but is a bit less so when he promptly steals the dog's chew toy and begins to taunt him with it...)

Such a little personality - It's amazing!

I've got a clever one on my hands...

2008-12-16T15:44:00.004-05:00

I'm beginning to think Monkey is a bit too smart for his own good...

Take this example from this weekend:

My mother-in-law was watching Monkey while my husband and I were out running some errands. They were playing in the family room, and Monkey would periodically go around the corner into the hallway, where we have this giant cigar-store Indian statue thing (a pre-me purchase by my husband), and would touch the statue. My mother-in-law was worried that he would knock it over and get hurt (little did she realize at the time, but that thing ways about a ton and is almost impossible to budget), so she started telling Monkey "no." Well, a simple "no" doesn't accomplish anything with Monkey anymore, so she started gently swatting him on the hand as she said it, hoping this would have more of a deterrent effect. Not so much... So on it went, with Monkey touching the statue, and Grandma telling him "no" with a little swat. Until...

Monkey reached out to touch the statue, and then, without missing a beat, held out his hand for Grandma to smack it! :-o

Needless to say, Grandma had quite a time hiding her laughter from Monkey! And I suspect we're in for a world of trouble with this little guy!

It was fun while it lasted!

2008-12-08T15:21:00.004-05:00

I am sorry to report that my fantasy football season is over...

I blame it on my cockiness and gloating around week 4 - it seems like that's when things started going downhill. My good, high scoring players started being totally unreliable. A few players got injured, and I had to trade them for other players, when the pickings were slim. I managed to stay in the top 4 based on my record, but, sadly, I think that's only because I got the luck of the draw each week and managed to play the few teams worse than mine!

This week was the playoffs, and I got about HALF the score of my opponent. Quite sad... And, unfortunately, unless there's a miracle tonight, my husband is about to lose as well, so we won't be sharing any prize money.

Ah, well - fun while it lasted. We'll see if I decide to give it another shot next year...

My Christmas Wish... The Gift of Patience!

2008-12-02T14:20:00.003-05:00

Anyone who knows me would NOT list patience as one of my traits. I suppose I'm not the most IMpatient person in the world, but I tend to get annoyed pretty easily - more easily than I would like.

Thus, you can imagine that I am being put to the test right now as the mother of a toddler! Moreso than at any point until now, Monkey is testing my nerves on a daily basis, and I know it's not his fault, but it's hard not to get frustrated and short with him. :-(

For starters, Monkey knows what the word "no" means, but refuses to listen to it if it is spoken just once. There's some evidence that three is the magic number, but sometimes even that doesn't seem to do the trick, and he requires physical movement in his direction to get the desired behavior. Thus, he is constantly standing on his chair, standing on his Leapfrog table (which is now legless, because of prior climbing attempts), climbing on the dog's cage, running around the dining room table, shaking the stair gates, and countless other taboo, potentially unsafe activities. I'm becoming that mommy that sounds like a broken record, saying "no," "stop," "Mommy said no," and "did you hear me?" until I'm blue in the face.

Mealtimes are still a challenge as well. If I were to list every food that Monkey will eat, he'd seem like a pretty well-rounded eater (although still with his quirks). But the thing is that I can't depend on him to eat any one of them on a given day - his appetite, likes, and dislikes seem to change on a daily, if not hourly basis, and some foods are apparently ONLY appetizing if they are served on MY plate, not his...

I think my frustration has been exacerbated a bit because we've been "off" our routine for about two weeks now. We took a trip out of town, then less than a week later had family here for Thanksgiving. We've done our best to stay close to mealtimes, naptimes, and bedtime, but I think Monkey is just plain overstimulated at this point, and we need to get back into a more consistent, less overwhelming daily routine. Sadly, that won't happen this week, as we're back on the road on Thursday. But maybe the week after that, although that's only two weeks before Christmas, and more travel.... Sigh.

So, if anyone knows where I can pick up some extra patience, it would sure come in handy over the next few weeks, months, and years!! :-)

I might need to issue a retraction...

2008-11-14T12:24:00.003-05:00

So, you may recall a few posts ago me saying The Wiggles were magical...

I may need to change that statement. The Wiggles, in fact, may be evil. They're kind of like kiddie crack.

Case in point: Monkey has decided that he MUST have a nightly does of The Wiggles. And not just ANY video - no, it must be the SAME one. Specifically, "Toot Toot."

Now, I kind of like this video. It has a couple of catchy songs and dances, and, as I've mentioned, it does a WONDERFUL job of keeping Monkey entertained, particularly when he gets fussy. And it also stops him from racing around the house, and helps calm him down before bed.

But after having him watch it several evenings in a row, I realized we were definitely creating a habit, one I wasn't sure we wanted to develop. So I decided to put my foot down. Last night, after eating dinner and playing in the family room for a while, Monkey started pointing towards the cabinet under our TV, asking for "more" and saying "I do," which is generally his way of telling me he wants to do something. And yes, he knows full well what's inside that cabinet - it's the portable DVD player with the Wiggles in it. Geez, who knew kids would have such good memories at this age??

So I said "no," and tried to induce him to do something else - find his football, bring me a book, ride his fire truck. Nope. Monkey wanted "more," and started pointing more deliberately at the cabinet. After several more rounds of this, he was in tears, banging on the cabinet door. Oy! We ended up going round and round for about 10-15 minutes, before I FINALLY distracted him with something else before giving him a bath and putting him to bed.

The thing is, I don't think I've won the battle yet. I think he's going to do the exact same thing this afternoon or tonight, and I'm not sure what to do! It's not like The Wiggles are evil (despite my opening statements), but I want him to watch them when I say so, not every time he asks. I think it's great that he knows how to tell me what he wants, but that doesn't mean he should always get his way... So, yeah, right now The Wiggles are kind of like a drug. Maybe not crack. Something good for you, but in small doses - Tylenol, maybe??

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, I still haven't formed a definitive position on the Imagination Movers!

Blizzards and Lattes

2008-10-30T11:36:00.003-04:00

These are my two major cravings right now.

First, a bit of background. I have been seriously dieting since Labor Day. As my 40th birthday looms ever closer, I have finally, I believe, found the resolve to lose all this extra weight that keeps finding me. I lost 60 pounds about 6 years ago, and despite swearing I would never, ever, gain it back, I regained 50 of the pounds before getting pregnant, and hit a weight during my pregnancy that I thought I would never see (but pregnancy pounds don't count, right? So I never "actually" weighed that much...)

After Monkey was born, I quickly dropped a little over half of the pregnancy weight. But a few months later, I was still 15 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight. Over the next year, I yo-yo'd a bit, and managed to lose those pounds, as well as five more, but then I just sort of got stuck. Until Labor Day, when my husband and I resolved to eat healthier and drop the extra weight. (My husband, sweetheart that he is, had graciously gained some "sympathy weight" with me during my pregnancy, which, he learned to his dismay, does not drop quite as quickly and with as little effort due to the fact that he did not produce a child from his body at the end of nine months).

And it's working. My husband has lost close to 30 pounds, and I cam coming up on a 20-pound milestone, hopefully very soon. I hope to lose another 10 before year-end, and ideally another 30 (although I'll settle for 15) in the first few months of next year, before the big birthday.

But I can't say I'm entirely happy... I LOVE that my clothes are big on me, that I actually FEEL thinner, and all that good stuff. But MAN do I miss food! And that brings me to the subject of this post. Not a day goes by where I don't drive by Dairy Queen and/or Starbucks, and I can just hear those Blizzards and Lattes calling out to me, inviting me to just pull my car into the handy drive-thru lane and have a little taste. With Blizzards, it's the Oreo, Heath bar, and Reese's varieties that are calling to me. As for lattes, I'm partial to the white chocolate mocha, although it's getting to be that time of year when peppermint and peppermint white chocolate will be on the menu "for a limited time only" to make me drool.

Now, I'm doing the Weight Watchers plan, so these foods aren't totally forbidden to me. But if you know anything about WW, you know they use the "points" system, where you can only consume so many points per day (based on age, height, weight, and activity level), and once they're gone, you're out of luck (with exceptions, but I've found that the best way to lose weight is not to use those exceptions too often). In my case, I get 23 points a day. Well, my friends, a DQ Oreo Blizzard is 13 points - yep - well over half of my daily allotment. A tall white chocolate mocha isn't nearly as bad - I think 5 or 6 points? But did I mention how good it tastes with a cinnamon scone? Yeah, I think you get the picture...

And so, I now consider it a personal victory to drive past these establishments almost every day - on my way to Stroller Strides class, taking Monkey to and from preschool, traveling to and from the grocery store, Target, you name it. I'll give their real estate folks credit - they sure know how to place their stores!

Computer Overload

2008-10-30T11:10:00.005-04:00

Maybe it's just me...

I'm new to the whole Facebook/MySpace phenomena. Sure, I'd heard of them, but I didn't see what the big deal was all about, and I didn't think that anyone I knew was using them. But eventually curiosity got the best of me, and I had to go see what it was all about...

So, I pulled together a bare-bones MySpace profile, and then basically let it sit there for a while. In the meantime, I found a bunch of on-line friends, as well as real ones, on Facebook, and I found myself checking my page constantly. It's been a cool way to check in on people, to reconnect with others, and to generally goof around. But, to be honest, some of the applications are starting to wear me down.

Today, for example, I received "good karma" from a friend of mine back home. Nice thougt - the first five times she gave it to me. Now I'm starting to feel guilty - is it rude if I don't give it back and pass it on to ten other people? Each application is starting to feel like a chain letter - I'm not being threatened with bad luck if I don't "pass it on," yet I'm constantly having to choose "skip" to move on to other things, as if my computer WANTS me to carry on the good karma/l'il green patch/gift/pumpkin patch/Christmas tree/you name it!

And then there's the matter of etiquette - how often is appropriate to post on another person's wall without seeming like a stalker? How often must one update one's status? And what is an acceptable number of pieces of flair? So many questions, so few answers...

In the meantime, I decided to revisit MySpace, as I started to hear some people express a preference for that application. I've found a few friends, but I haven't had much of a chance to dive in yet. My site is still under construction, and says very little about myself. And it contains a blog feature, presenting the question of what should go on that blog and what should go on here? Suddenly, I'm getting overwhelmed with options - bulletin boards, private messages, e-mails, text messages, blogs, Facebook, MySpace - Soon I fear I'll be spending more time trying to keep everyone adequately up-to-date on my life that I won't have time to live it!

I think I need to come up with a plan to tackle these multiple forums - a special purpose for each. And I will.... just as soon as I update my Facebook status, upload some pics to my MySpace page, check my three favorite Bulletin Boards, read a few friends' blogs, and ... what am I forgetting?? Oh yeah - WORK!

The Wiggles are magical!

2008-10-28T18:53:00.003-04:00

OK, so I feel a tiny bit guilty...

Monkey was in day care today, so I haven't spent a lot of time with him.

But when he got home, after only a single one-hour nap, I got the benefit of his fussy time... It feels so unfair sometimes that he has so much fun at school, and then I get the crankiness to finish off the day.

So we've played a bit, and I've made him laugh, but he's definitely in "high-maintenance" mode this evening. So what did I do? Turned on a Wiggles DVD (specifically, "Toot Toot," if you're taking notes...) And Monkey is completely mesmerized. I'm not sure he's even moved since I turned it on ten minutes ago!

Now, this isn't something I do all the time - I don't want him to turn into a brainwashed Wiggles zombie. But there is something about the Wiggles in particular that he just LOVES! He really enjoys a combination of music and dancing, and when he watches cartoons, he tends to tune out the narrative part of the show, and only watch the opening, closing, and other musical numbers. But with the Wiggles, it's all song and dance, almost ALL the time - It's Monkey heaven!

And I have a confession - The songs are kind of catchy, and I often catch myself singing "Fruit Salad" and other songs in random moments. :-) But I'm partial to the original Wiggles, and can't seem to accept that Greg had to quit and be replaced - the new guy just doesn't seem like a real Wiggle to me. :-( Lucky for me we have the older DVDs, so I can watch selectively.

And speaking of The Wiggles - Have any of you seen Disney's relatively new offering, The Imagination Movers? Maybe it's just me, but they seem like such a blatant Wiggles knockoff. Four guys, each of whom sings (or plays an instrument) and has some unique characteristic or quirk. On the one hand, I can't blame them for trying to piggy-back off The Wiggles success, but on the other hand, it just seems wrong. I like the history of The Wiggles - guys who wanted to be teachers and put together an act as part of their schooling. The Imagination Movers strike me more as wanna-be actor/musicians.

I have to wonder why I care about this, but there you have it.

Busy busy

2008-10-28T14:51:00.003-04:00

I've been bad about posting lately. :-( I'm frustrated, because blogging is something I really want to do, but other things just seem to keep taking up all of my time.

On the plus side, I've started going to Stroller Strides three times a week, in an effort to keep exercising (and thus losing weight) now that the weather is turning significantly cooler, after a surprisingly warm September and early October. I don't always make it there all three days, but I'm averaging twice a week, which is definitely better than what I might otherwise do on my own! Monkey seems to enjoy it, although his favorite part is when we do ab work at the end, and the kids generally get out of their strollers and run around. Unfortunately, my ab exercises are lagging behind the rest of the group, as I have to keep jumping up and chasing Monkey, asking him to give back another little one's sippy cup, etc... He loves to run laps around the fitness center - perhaps I have a little runner in training? If so, he sure didn't get it from me!!

Work has been slow for the past couple weeks, which means I'm feeling poor this month, although that hasn't stopped me from shopping. Losing weight has several benefits, one of which is the need for some new clothes! My jeans were on the verge of falling off of me, and while that was kind of cool as a reinforcement of how I'm doing, it wasn't making a particularly impressive fashion statement. :-) And, there's the Monkey - now that we've finally worked our way through ALL of the shower and early baby gifts, most of which ended around 6 months, but a few which stretched into 9 and 12 month gear from a few forward-thinkers, we're stuck buying all of the Monkey's clothes on our own. It's such a guessing game... How fast will he outgrow the 12-month pants, and do I need to buy him a bunch of 18-month stuff? Or has his growth slowed down enough that I should hold off buying more 18-month stuff until I know whether he's gonna need it mostly in winter or spring? So, of course, I buy too much - the perfect solution.

One would think that the downturn in billable hours would allow me to catch up on some home projects - Monkey's scrapbook, my desire to do another DVD montage of Monkey's first year, printing off some of my 2 million photos and actually starting an album, or perhaps trying Publisher and making a book as a Christmas book... all still on my to-do list, untouched. And don't even get me started on Christmas shopping - I've barely given it a thought, other than to pick up a few impulse items for Monkey.

I have also had trouble making a dent in my DVD backlog, and I've had to give up on a few shows already. Probably for the best, given my couch potato tendencies, but still a little sad in the sense that I feel I have less and less time to myself. I gave up on Heroes, as it was always near the bottom of my list in terms of priorities to watch, and I felt like I was just watching it to make more room for other shows, not because I was particularly enjoying it. I'm still trying to catch some of my favorite shows on-line, given the fact that my cable company and local CBS affiliate reached a deadlock in contract negotiations almost a MONTH ago, having the nerve to deprive ME, the almighty customer, of the ability to DVR shows like Survivor, The Amazing Race, How I Met Your Mother, and Big Bang Theory - How dare they!! (And yes, I am aware that for the price of a pair of rabbit ears, I could watch these shows, but it's the principal of the thing - how can a cable company take away a major network??)

And now, with work finally picking up again, I'm actually resenting the workload, even though the money will be needed for the holidays. I have to make to trips back home for continuing legal education, which will reduce the number of days I have available to work, and will keep things hopping right around the holidays. I guess it's time to step back, take a deep breath, and get organized!

Playing Tag...

2008-10-11T20:53:00.007-04:00

And here I was thinking I haven't had any ideas lately for an update to this blog...

Kristen [Grr, the link function doesn't appear to be working, but you can find her blog at http://talesofatiredmommy.blogspot.com] "tagged" me to play a blog game. I'm new to this, but willing to play along. So, to pretty much cut and paste the rules: I tell you six random things about myself, and then tag six more people to do the same. Sadly, however, two of the people I would tag are Kristen and Beverly, who Kristen has already tagged, so I'm not sure how far this will go...

OK, six random things.... Thinking, thinking... OK, here goes:

1. I was a drama geek in high school, and had hoped to get involved in community theater as an adult (not entirely out of the question yet, maybe when Monkey is a little older).
2. I took piano lessons for 8 years, and now don't even own a piano. I gave it away (along with a lot of other stuff I wish I still had) when I moved cross-country to be with my now-husband.
3. I met my husband on Match.com (but he'll deny it if you ask him)
4. I'm a terrible procrastinator.
5. I had weird seizures as an infant, and one doctor told my parents I would probably have to be institutionalized. Instead, I graduated #1 in my class at law school. Not trying to brag, but that's a pretty exciting way to defy their predictions, no?
6. I still bite my nails and pick at my cuticles incessantly - the only time my hands looked REALLY good was when I was pregnant. Maybe I should take those prenatal vitamins just for the heck of it??

So, here's the part where I'm supposed to tag six more people. Hmmmm... I'll get back to you on that part, and in the meantime, I'm accepting volunteers if I actually have any readers out there!!

And, FYI, here are the rules, for what it's worth:

1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random facts about yourself.
4.Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

It was inevitable...

2008-09-30T09:53:00.003-04:00

Well, I'm sad to say that my fantasy football gloating has had to take a time out...

I had a pretty bad week, points-wise, but managed to win one of my two matchups. That makes me 7-1 for the season, and back to being tied for first place. Unfortunately, the guy I'm tied with had a better week points-wise, so he's now in the overall lead. The good news, however, is that it's only a 6-point lead. So there's still hope. And this week was hopefully my low point - a bunch of my players were on a bye week, so I had to put in a bunch of subs, who just didn't play particularly well. Hopefully once I get my "first string" back next week, I'll be back on fire again!

What is it they say about pride before a fall?

2008-09-23T09:44:00.003-04:00

Yeah, so I'm pretty sure I just jinxed my fantasy football team...

But I could NOT help it - I just HAD to gloat!

I'm in first place - the only team that has an undefeated season after three weeks, and I'm 60 points ahead in overall points!

I'm pretty sure it can't last, and by bragging, I have probably just caused my luck to take a turn for the worse. But I just know that all the "boys" are cursing under the breath, or perhaps even out loud, when they're checking the standings this week, and I had to rub it in a little bit.

I wasn't TOO bad. I just asked them how it felt, let them know that I was thinking of them and their bruised male egos, and reminded them that it's OK to cry.

:-) It's been fun while it's lasted...

It's a matter of perspective

2008-09-22T20:37:00.004-04:00

As Monkey's next well-child visit approaches (a bit on the early side, since the doctor decided to combine an ear infection follow up with an early 15-month visit), I've been a bit anxious about the fact that he still doesn't have much of a vocabulary. In my mind, he says exactly one word clearly - "uh oh" (and boy does he love that word!). He also does lots of dadada and mamama, but the former only sometimes appears to relate to my husband, and the latter is actually a string of requests for "more." He also says "baba," which I've recently figured out is his request for his sippy cup, probably a carry over from his bottle.

But my mom and sister were in town this weekend, and according to them, he's saying TONS of stuff. Am I just not hearing it? Has constant exposure caused me only to hear a string of undifferentiated babble? Are my standards for what constitutes a "word" a bit too exacting for a kid who just turned 14 months old last week?

So we talked about some of the words, and I tried to catch them when I could. It's really all in the intonation. I couldn't tell you exactly WHAT he said when I handed him his sippy cup, but the number of syllables and the intonation have mom and sis convinced he said thank you. They also heard "hi," "bye bye," "night night," "peek-a-boo," "mommy," and several others that I can't remember right now. Yet if you look Monkey in the eye and say "can you say bye?", he will most likely just smile and say nothing at all, or perhaps he'll say dadada or something else entirely. While he's big on mimicking actions, he's clearly not so much into verbal repetition yet (which I guess is something of a blessing as my husband and I struggle to clean up our language a bit!).

I guess the important lesson for me is that he's making progress, and I suspect (and hope) that the doctor will tell me on Friday that Monkey is doing just fine in terms of those milestones we all worry about. In the meantime, would it be wrong if I keep trying to coach him to repeat just one or two more words by the end of the week??

Cool Nature Lesson

2008-09-22T20:15:00.004-04:00

My husband and I were out taking Monkey and our dog out for a walk around the neighborhood this evening, when we noticed a bunch of geese. Not an unusual sighting - they like to hang out in the various ponds spread throughout the neighborhood (and leave their droppings all over the streets and sidewalk - thanks!) As we walked past, hoping our dog wouldn't freak out, we started to notice that they were all looking in the same direction, and almost starting to get in a line, although not single file or anything, yet very deliberate looking nonetheless. Just as it occurred to me and I asked my husband - "do they have to line up to get realy to fly in formation?" - they all took off, going right into their trademark "v." Funny how I never thought about HOW they get into that arrangement, but I guess it makes perfect sense. I just found it amusing to see them all lining up, and wonder if they were complaining amongst themselves that one of the geese was holding them up as he was checking out my dog or something. :-)

Mwahahaha...

2008-09-17T13:26:00.003-04:00

This is so awesome...

I am in FIRST PLACE in my Fantasy Football league!

Now, granted, it IS only week two. Which means I have a LOT of time to fall.

But I am one of only two teams to be undefeated, and I am beating out the other team in total points. And I just know it is killing all the guys in the league that they're being beat by a "chick." :-)

And yet, perfectionist that I can be, I'm kicking myself for not playing a different kicker and tight end, which would have netted me about 11 additional points. My husband things I'm greedy.

Now the question is - Do I send out an e-mail to the boys, doing a little trash talking? Or will that jinx it? Hmmm....

Taking a moment to remember...

2008-09-11T11:43:00.009-04:00

It took until about 11:00 this morning for me to realize/remember that it was September 11th today. Well, maybe I knew from looking at the calendar what day it was, but I didn't immediatey remember it was 9/11, and the significance of that day.

It's amazing what seven years can do. A day that consumed our lives as a nation for so long, I feel is actually beginning to fade. Not that I'll ever forget - I can't. I lived in Pittsburgh at the time, about an hour from Shanksville, the crash site of Flight 93. That flight in particular has touched me, perhaps because it was so close to home, but also because of the incredible strenth and heroism of the passengers on that flight. I often wonder if I would have had the courage to do what they did, or if, terrified as I might be, I would have clung desperately to the ever-slimming hope that the terrorists would not do what seemed inevitable. I don't think you can ever know what you'd do until put to the test - and what a horrendous test it is.

Yet in the past seven years, so much else has happened in my life. I met my husband, got married, had Monkey. I've moved across the country and back again. And two years ago, my sister-in-law gave birth to one of my nephews on this day. I now know two 9/11 babies, one born before, and one after, and it is their birthdays I have written on my calendar, not any reminder about the national significance of this day. In a way, I think that's a form of healing.

Nevertheless, I did want to take a moment from a busy workday to stop and remember. Our nation has suffered many tragedies, as have so many other nations, but this one will always be burned in my memory.

Baby, I'm Amazed

2008-09-10T15:21:00.005-04:00

I can never remember if the name of that song by Paul McCartney is Maybe I'm Amazed or Baby I'm Amazed... I just looked it up, and it's Maybe, which kind of kills the title of this post. Although I'm pretty sure the lyrics to that Lonestar song are "baby I'm amazed by you." So let's go with that.

But I digress. The Monkey - he never ceases to amaze me.

I don't know when, and I don't know where, but Monkey has learned how to go down the stairs. I'm thinking maybe day care, but it's a one-story building. They do have steps on some of the things on the playground, so maybe that's it.

Maybe it's just intuitive. But he is SO deliberate. It's like someone taught him a process and he's following it step by step (no pun intended).

I discovered this trick last night. I took Monkey out back with me so our puppy could do his business. Monkey and I were on the deck, which is only three steps from the yard, but there's a big flagstone pad on the bottom step, so I obviously don't want him to go faling down the steps. So there I was, letting Monkey play with his water table on the deck and strategically blocking him from an accidental fall down the steps, when suddenly he got down on his hands and knees and started deliberatey backing up slowly towards the edge... I continued to spot him, but watched, facsinated, as he lowered one leg down, then the other, then moved on to the next step, backed up a bit more for the final step, and then stood up and went toddling through the grass to his car! Seriously - how did he do that without ANY prompting whatsoever from me??

Now, of course, going up and down steps is all he wants to do. Sigh... So I'm being the devoted spotter, helping him work up his confidence, since it can only make things safer for him.

I'm just so tickled that he manages to continue to find ways to surprise me like this.

Hold your babies close...

2008-09-09T11:27:00.006-04:00

Brace yourselves, for this is not an amusing or happy post...

I read this morning that a woman who posts on my birth bulletin board lost her son last night in a tragic drowning accident.

I don't know this woman, and have only communicated with her via indirect posts on our board. But I am simply gutted right now, and the tears keep coming, even after I think I've gotten them back under control. I've read stories of this woman's pregnancy, her son's birth, and the joys and trials of his first year. I feel like I know these people, and yet there is nothing I can do for them other than share my condolences, which I have done.

I cannot imagine what her family is going through right now. To lose a child at ANY age, let alone so young...? How does one cope? I don't know how a parent begins to deal with something like that - I just don't.

And part of my sadness is my own renewed fear. It's a selfish thought, but what if something like this were to happen to my family? Ever since Monkey entered our lives, my husband and I have become so much more sensitive to tragic news involving children. It's not like stories of this kind didn't touch us before - they did. But we just didn't know... We hadn't experienced the joys of parenthood, the all-encompassing love for a child, and we hadn't had to contemplate such a loss. And the mere thought alone is devastating, enough to reduce me to tears. The actuality? Simply unimaginable.

So if you're reading this, I'm posting this not to make you sad, or to make you cry. I'm posting this because I feel myself wanting to express my immense sadness, and also wanting to take some small step to memoriize this young life, ended far too soon. And I want to remind us all to hold our young ones extra close tonight, and every night, and to treasure what we have. We are so fortunate, and we should remind ourselves of this every single day.

Rest in peace, Reed.
6/17/07 - 9/8/08

Fantasy Football Week 1 Results

2008-09-08T20:40:00.005-04:00

Well, the good news is, I didn't humiliate myself!

As much as I would have liked to have come in first place and kicked all those trash-talking anti-feminist butts, I did respectably well, and at least won't be laughed out of the league.

I'm 2-0 in my match-ups, so you can't knock a perfect winning record.

As for the overall points race, it looks like I'll be in 3rd or 4th place, depending on how the Vikings defense handles the second half of tonight's game. Not bad, not bad at all.

And my two sweetest victories?

1. I beat my husband in a head-to-head matchup. Actually, I pretty much wiped the floor with him.

2. Some poor schmuck who drafted before me got Tom Brady as his QB, who I would have picked if given the chance, since he was pretty widely viewed as the #1 fantasy QB pick. Sorry, buddy - looks like you're gonna have to find someone else. Not that I'm sitting pretty - I got Peyton Manning, who looked like he needed a lot more warming up prior to last night's game. Fortunately, he gave me a decent number of points, but nowhere near the killer numbers my husband scored with him a few years ago. And I kind of want to feel sorry for Tom Brady for missing the season, but I just dislike the Patriots so much that I just can't.... sorry.

Tiny Dancer

2008-09-07T12:07:00.007-04:00

The Monkey is finally finding his groove!

I don't know what it is about toddlers dancing that brings a smile to everyone's face, but I just can't get enough of it!

Monkey has become a big fan of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cartoon on Playhouse Disney. Well, let me revise that statement: Monkey has become a big fan of the opening and closing songs of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - the actual cartoon, he could care less about!

If you've seen the show, it starts with Mickey Mouse inviting the kids to come to his playhouse, then cuts to an empty field. Back to Mickey Mouse, who tells the kids that first they have to say the magic words. A couple of Mickey-centric magic words later, and poof! The clubhouse begins to pop out of the ground, and all of the other characters appear. Alex watches the first part intently, right up until the clubhouse begins to appear, at which point, without fail, he turns to me with a big smile, like "here comes the good part!" Then the song starts, and his attention is 100% focused on the TV. But in the past few days, he's added a dance!

Actually, the first time he did it, I wasn't sure he was dancing, as it kind of looked like what he does when he's losing his balance - kind of one foot forward, one foot back. But then he kept going, and added some side steps as well. He's working up to hand movements, but for the most part it's just him stepping around to the music. After the song ends, he tunes out, and goes back to whatever he's doing, up until the closinig "Hot Dog Dance" comes up, at which point it's time for a reprise! I have got to get this on video...

Oh, and he's a bit of a singer, too. I'm a little worried about this, however, as we've yet to determine if he takes after me or my husband in the musical department. You see, I am somewhat musically inclined - I took piano lessons for 8 years, and was active in chorus and musicals during high school and college. My husband, on the other hand? Well, let's just say he's tone deaf and leave it at that - there's no need to get insulting, right?

Anyway, my husband will just do a "ah ah ah ah ah ah ah" sort of singing scale (kind of a "do re mi fa mi re do," minus the pitch), and Monkey has started to imitate it. So far, he's about as on pitch as his Daddy, but what can you expect when he's just mimicking what he hears? Perhaps we're raising a future musician? I may need to intervene before the musical training goes much further, to make sure we keep him on an audibly pleasing path...

In all seriousness, though, I do hope he has inherited my love of music. I'm merely an appreiative listener at this stage of my life, but I couldn't live without it. I listened to it a lot when I was pregnant with him, in the hopes that he would find it as entertaining, calming, and comforting as I do. I even have a "baby" mix on my iPod that I used to play while I waited for him to make his arrival. But I've recently noticed that I listen a lot less than I used to now that Monkey is here. We need to work on changing that, even if for now that just means some quality time listening to the Wiggles or Sesame Street CDs. :-)

Mommy Guilt

2008-09-02T20:18:00.005-04:00

They should warn us about this before we have children...

Not that it would make a difference in the decision, but still, a warning would be nice.

Before I had kids, I used to watch other people with their kids, and think about what I would do differently, better, etc. It was so easy to be a critic when we were just sitting on the sidelines, wasn't it, not having to scrutinize our OWN behavior?

Now that I'm a mother, I always wonder "how am I doing?" Monkey is generally happy and healthy, so those are good indicators, but we all have those days (or at least I hope we all do) where we're tired, frustrated, and maybe we don't enjoy our little ones as much as we think we should, and at the end of the day, after they're asleep, we feel guilty that perhaps we yelled more than we should, we didn't read our little ones a story, we didn't feed them the healthiest food, we didn't teach them anything new, etc., etc., etc.

Just one example - before Monkey was born, I was so excited to teach him sign language. I had a friend who had done it with her daughter, and it was so amazing to see her daughter asking her for milk at a young age - imagine how much easier life will be once we can communicate, the sooner the better, right??

I bought a sign language book. It sits on a shelf, still shiny and new, opened only a few times, glanced at, but not really read... Ah, the best laid plans... I always blame it on there not being enough time, but maybe, just maybe, I'm not making good enough use of our time? Should I be making a better effort to do things like this each day, focus more on trying to "teach" than just playing? Or am I being overly concerned? I do read to Monkey when he'll allow it - I try to do signs when I remember - I'm a smart person, married to another smart person, who will manage to raise a properly educated kid, right?

As luck would have it, however, Monkey has finally learned one sign - "more." He's been doing it for ages, and I didn't even know what it was at first. Turns out, he appears to have picked it up at day care, and started doing it before he even knew what it meant. But we seized on it, and tried to get him to do it with purpose, which has finally happened in the past couple of weeks. He will now reach desperately for that food item out of reach on the table, and when he gets my attention, will make the "more" sign, and even say something that sounds like "mo." And now we're working on the opposite - "all done." It helps, just a bit. When Monkey starts throwing food on the floor (which is inevitable, either as a show of his feelings toward a particular type of food, an attempt to feed the ever-present under his highchair dog, or general playfullness), I can now often stop him mid-toss, and take the food away, quizzing him as to whether he's all done or still wants more. It's a bit of a game for him, and it isn't foolproof (like when he asks for more, only to immediately turn to throw it on the floor!), but it's progress. Baby steps...

Precious moments

2008-08-28T20:28:00.005-04:00

Tonight, I had one of those moments that I know I'll look back on one day, missing the days when Monkey was still my little baby boy...

We were just sitting on the floor in the living room, him playing with some random toys while I played him a new Sesame Street CD (a nostalgia purchase on my part, because many of the songs were on MY Sesame Street record - as in vinyl - as in "yes, I am old"). He gradually started to wind down as bedtime got closer, and walked over to me and sat down just as Kermit started singing "It's Not Easy Being Green." The Monkey leaned back against my legs, and I started playing with his hair. Thinking it might put him to sleep before I got him to his crib, I stopped, only to have him look at me like "hey, keep it coming!" So there we sat, listening to Kermit's wise words, a mother running her fingers through her son's freshly-washed hair, just relaxing and being close. No big deal, right? But at what age will he not let me do that anymore, because it's not "cool," or he's mad at me, or he doesn't have the time? When will he stop wanting to sit in his mommy's lap, or cuddle, or give hugs and kisses? I hope I can teach him to be affectionate, and that there's nothing "girly" about it, but you just never know. All I know is that tonight, it was a special moment for just the two of us, and I treasure that.

It's official...

2008-08-28T15:33:00.005-04:00

Monkey is totally back to loving day care again. Today, after we washed his hands, I set him down on the floor, and whoosh! Off he went over to where the other kids were helping one of the teachers pick up some toys, with nary a look a back! Because we're not supposed to "sneak out" and give our kids abandonment issues, I actually had to call his name two or three times to get him to look at me so I could say goodbye, to which I believe his response, although non-verbal, was "yeah, whatever..."

I consider myself lucky that our transition to this new room really only took about two weeks, and really only about three days in "real" time, since he only goes part-time. But it's still such a weird emotion to feel so unimportant to our little ones. Such independence in a one-year old - It almost makes me teary thinking ahead to his first day of kindergarten. Sniff...

But then I reassure myself that sometime in the next, oh, two days, Monkey will inexplicably become super-clingy, wanting noone but his Momma, and I'll be wondering if there is any such thing as that perfect middle ground. I guess we need to take what we can get, in whatever form it's offered!

And on that note, it's back to work for another hour or so until I find out what today's injury report will be!

Would you rather...

2008-08-26T20:23:00.008-04:00

You know the game, right?

Take two relatively unpleasant alternatives, and debate which one you would rather be faced with: Would you rather eat a cricket or a worm? Would you rather be blind or deaf? Would you rather have a great job but make no money, or have a lousy job and make tons of money? You get the idea...

Today I was faced with a real-life "would you rather" of sorts: Would I rather leave Monkey at day care each day in tears, missing his Mommy and not yet trusting his new teacher, or would I rather leave a happy Monkey, without a care in the world, banging off the walls? This time, however, there was a twist - I didn't get to decide, as Monkey has gone and made the decision for me!

Beginning about three weeks ago, it was all about Option A - Despite being gradually transitioned to his new room, Monkey still didn't have the same sense of security with his new teachers that he'd had in the infant room, and would all but cling to my leg when I tried to leave him for the day, leaving me in tears in the car after I would tear myself away. But then, suddently, last week, he chose Option B.

I didn't fully appreciate the switch at the time - indeed, I didn't know that there was an Option B, so to speak. All I knew was that when I set Monkey down on the floor to play last Thursday, after missing a day of day care due to a weekend trip, he looked for the briefest of moments like he was going to scrunch up his face and cry, but then he got distracted by a toy, and that was that. I was free to leave - see ya later - hasta la vista. It's as if he forgot I was there. My feelings were almost hurt for a moment, but this was what it was like in the infant roomo mere weeks earlier, and I knew, despite my hurt pride, that this was a good thing.

What I didn't know was that it was coming at a price. OK, well perhaps this is all coincidental, but with Monkey's increased happiness and confidence came a sudden string of accident reports. Out of the blue, he got THREE reports in two days, after getting maybe two EVER in the infant room, once when he was crawling around and bonked his head into a mirror, and the other I don't even recall... Now, suddenly, he's walking toys into walls and getting fat lips on the rebound, acquiring mystery bite marks on his arm (self or other-inflicted - it's anybody's guess), and, here's one to really make me proud - climbing on (and then falling off of) the lunch table. And you wonder how he got the name Monkey...

Now, I must reluctantly admit that there has been one other SMALL change during this same time period, which, if you've read my few entries to date, you already know - Monkey recently started walking. So I suspect that his impressive new injury rate is not so much a factor of him choosing Option B as it is him growing up, exploring, and learning (hopefully!) from his mistakes! But as I drove home today, two injury reports in hand, and Monkey happily jabbering away in the back seat, I couldn't help but wonder if, given the choice, I'd have kept Option A for just a wee bit longer...

My imminent addiction...

2008-08-25T20:35:00.004-04:00

Uh oh.

It's almost that time of year again.

Fall premiere season.

You see, I have a problem. I watch WAY too much TV. And now that I have a toddler, this means I DVR way too many programs and then stay up late watching them when I should be catching up on sleep.

I'm not sure yet how bad this round is going to be. I've already started calendaring the premiere dates of some of my favorite returning shows, and I'm really, really trying to avoid finding out anything about any new shows that may inadvertently pull me under their spell. (Although, I confess that I've already heard all I need to know about "Fringe," i.e., J.J. Abrams and Joshua Jackson - yeah, that one's definitely on the list).

What's worse, I have this bizarre inability to drop a show even when I'm complaining that I'm not enjoying it as much anymore. It's like somehow I need to try to recoup my investment or something - "Well, I've already put THIS much time into it..." Huh? Like "Heroes." Last season, it was consistently the last thing I would watch on my DVR - I just couldn't get excited about it, and there was always something more compelling that I wanted to watch first, so it just kept falling to the bottom of the list. Yet eventually I watched every single episode, and I'll probably watch the season premiere as well. Although, in fairness, I did see a review somewhere suggesting that the premiere was going to make a lot of disgruntled fans happy again - how can I not tune in to find out if that's true?

It's even harder now that I'm married - I actually have to take my husband's viewing tastes into consideration, and if there's a show he doesn't like, I'll still DVR it, but then I have to find a time when he's not home or is otherwise occupied to watch it. Luckily for me, he travels for work a fair amount, but this means that I've pulled some late nights playing catch-up after the Monkey is asleep. And often my body is just not up for it, meaning that I fall asleep, wake up, rewind the DVR, find my spot, watch for five minutes, fall asleep again... it's really a vicious, ridiculous cycle. And again, if the show I'm watching isn't keeping me awake, is it really worth it? Hmmm...

Yet, in all honesty, I'm not seeking a cure for this addiction. It's a way for me to relax, and it's a source of entertainment to me. I watch a range of comedies, dramas, and tacky reality shows, each with their different appeal. Hopefully some of you out there share my addiction, and will be willing to endure my occasional critiques, rants, or "OMG did you see that"s. Stay tuned!!

Are you ready for some (fantasy) football?

2008-08-24T11:41:00.005-04:00

It's that time of year again - my husband is already salivating at the thought of watching football soon. Now, don't get me wrong - I like football. It's one of the only sports I enjoy watching on TV - others, I need to be there to stay interested for long. And, I've been associated with some great football teams. My grandmother is a lifelong resident of Green Bay, and my grandfather, when he was alive, was on the team's Board of Directors. As a result, they got to "hang" with people like Vince Lombardi back in the day - pretty cool! (I'll bite my tongue and refrain from commenting on Brett Favre - plenty has been said, and I'll just say that I'm no longer a fan of his, and leave it at that). Then, in the mid-70s, my family moved to Pittsburgh, just in time to watch the Steelers and their Iron Curtain on a great winning streak. Now, I'm in Indy, where the Colts have recently won the Super Bowl (only one year after the Steelers, even - it's been a good run!). So yeah, I'm a football fan. But I just can't get quite as excited as my husband does.

So why am I spending $100 to play in a fantasy league this year? Hmmm, good question!

My husband has been doing this for a few years, and I've watched his players with interest, asked questions about the scoring, etc. Last year was a rough year for me, because he drafted freakin' Tom Brady, who I despise, and I found myself in a moral dilemma trying to figure out whether to actually cheer for the guy! He actually did well for my husband, who didn't win overall, but came in second place for overall points.

So, a couple of years ago, one of the guys in the league had to travel to China on business on draft day, and needed someone to draft for him. Being the good sport I am, I offered to do it, with a little help from my husband. I must have done OK, because the guy I drafted for WON the whole thing that year! (I know what you're thinking - he had plenty of opportunities to decide which players to play in a given week, to make trades, etc., but can we give me the benefit of the doubt on this one and pretend he couldn't have done it without me??) I am still waiting for my cut of the winnings, however...

This year, the league started to fall apart a bit. The group which was once fairly geographically centered has spread out into multiple time zones, more children have come along to take up time, etc. So with the league in danger of beoming extinct, my husband asked if I'd be willing to take a spot. Again, being a good sport, I said I'd do it. So here I am, the only woman in a league of 12 football-a-holics, and last night was our draft.

To say the chatter in the draft room was off-color is putting in mildly, but I'm a good sport, and hard to offend, so I tried to give as good as I got. I did get a little annoyed with my husband about mid-way through, when he wasn't being particularly helpful in advising me on my picks - isn't it in his best interest to have ONE of us win the big prize, espcially since our household has twice as much at stake as everyone else? But, alas, he has to save face in front of the boys - can't make it look like he's sticking up for wifey, right? Heck, I got most of my heckling in the draft room from him - totally unfair.

So, I'll keep you posted on whether this turns out to be a money maker or a monumental failure. I did manage to snag a good QB pick, and one I can cheer for too - Peyton Manning. I got razzed big time for picking a kicker too early, but I got the top kicker (at east according to the two rankings I was relying on), and a decent backup as well. My running backs may be my great failure - we'll see. The top ten were gone by the time I got my first pick (yeah, I was #12 in the draft - wonder if that was fixed??), so I took one, then grabbed my QB, and tried to get strong guys for other positions. Time will tell. In the meantime, I'm going to try to enjoy the last few weekends where my husband doesn't have his butt glued to the recliner and his arm glued to a beer glass... :-)

My Monkey is officially a Toddler!!

2008-08-22T20:50:00.005-04:00

My little Monkey started walking this week - such a bittersweet milestone! After watching him for what seemed like forever working up to this - pulling up, standing holding on to things, walking holding on to furniture, gradually standing for a few seconds on his own, suddenly my little guy is MOBILE, and man is he making up for lost time! He took his first official steps a week ago on Thursday - three tentative steps, then a stop (balance check), and then three more steps before dropping down onto his bum. I called my husband right away, and hoped, hoped, hoped that he would be able to see a repeat performance soon, as he was just on his way home from work. I feel guilty sometimes because I get to stay at home with the Monkey, and usually see most of the "firsts." Sure enough, there were several repeat performances that night, some a little longer - four, then five steps, but then other attempts barely getting off the ground. Of course, the more tired the Monkey gets, the more he walks like a drunken sailor, so there comes a point where further progress in one day is just NOT going to happen! But it's amazing what a week of practice will do - he's now doing circles around the house, usually heading into forbidden rooms like the dining room, which until now, has held little to no appeal for him. This, of course, means it's time for more babyproofing, or else I'm just going to be saying "no" like a broken record.

There are moments when I wish this milestone had come just a bit later, so that I could appreciate yet another fleeting aspect of babydom. Yet I can't help but just sit back and admire him as he wobbles towards me, arms extended, with the biggest, proudest, smile lighting up his face! What an amazing accomplishment this is, when you stop to think about it. Just a year ago, this little boy could only eat, sleep, and poop. Now, the world is wide open to him - amazing, yet scary at the same time. And the learning process is so fascinating - how is it that our little ones generally learn all of these skills in roughly the same order, at roughly the same time? How incredible is it to watch their brains and bodies at work? And no wonder he sleeps so well at night - he's quite the busy little guy!

An experiment...

2008-08-22T16:42:00.001-04:00

For a while now, I've been reading other people's blogs, on a wide range of subjects, and thinking "hey, I could do that." Supposedly I'm a semi-decent writer (or at least I hope so, since it's kind of important to my career), and my brain is full of all kind of interesting (at least to me) thoughts, observations, and opinions. Plus, I work from home, so unless I want to share these thoughts with my dog or my toddler, I often have a limited audience. Thus, this experiment - putting some of my random thoughts out there for the world to see, should they choose to do so, and to comment on, should they feel so inclined. Worst case, this is a politically correct, technologically advanced way to talk to myself, right? Best case, I may actually find a theme to my thoughts, and find others interested in reading and discussing my thoughts. It's a win-win situation.

I have yet to decide, however, exactly what it is that I want to write about, hence the vague title, at least for now. I am a mother, a wife, a lawyer, a daughter, a sister, a friend... Perhaps at the forefront of my life right now is my role as a relatively new mother, and my efforts to integrate that with my other roles. So I suspect you'll hear much about my son, who I shall affectionately refer to as Monkey. (Am I a wee bit embarrassed that my choice of nickname for my offspring is the same as that chosen by Tori Spelling? Yes, but I swear I thought of it BEFORE I caught any episodes of Tori & Dean, which is another embarrassment altogether...) But I also like to talk about current events, whether it be the latest in celebrity gossip, or perhaps something more newsworthy. TV, movies, local happenings... It's so hard to pick just one. So please stay tuned, and forgive me as I navigate my way through this new medium and the cobwebs in my brain - I'm sure I'll have lots to share with you, and I hope you'll find some of it worth coming back for more.