About a Boy

I was scrolling through my blog and realized that if you are new here, and didn't see my sidebar, you might think I have one kid. My recent posts have been adorned with pictures of my pretty baby girl and the one recent post about the boy was about something negative that happened. I'm a bad mom. Ok, maybe not bad, but Nate deserves a little face time too....and a little update since I have been lacking in that department.

 I talked recently about my indecision about sending him to pre-school. I know he needs it, but something was just holding me back. I decided to listen to my mother's intuition and make a compromise. I will be starting him in January instead of now or waiting until next year. I felt it would be enough time for him to get a little older and more ready to handle a big school like atmosphere. I know he looks so grown up, but I felt like he needed a little more time to mature first....and stop saying "poopy". Does that ever stop with boys? Please say yes.

 He is my little comedian. The things he says and the faces he makes are hilarious. I see so much of myself as a kid in him. I probably drove my mother insane now that I think about it. He is spunky and imaginative and the things he's been coming up with lately have me laughing out loud, even if it's sometimes inappropriate and my laughing only encourages it!

 His hair was getting a bit unruly so we took him for a "trim". I'm pretty sure kid's hair stylists (can they even be called that???) have no clue what a trim means. She started cutting and he had a mullet. She cut the sides short but left the back long and it looked ridiculous. So we did it. I had her cut the back and sides even shorter. He officially had his first real "boys cut". It will grow back, so no tears or reprimands over the loss of the curls please. He looks so different with it short that I almost didn't recognize him when I went to pick him up yesterday!

 So there you have it. A little taste of Natey. If you want a bigger taste you can totally come over and babysit. Mama needs a night out!

Arielle at 10 months

Some baby...

...is 10/12, no make that 5/6 of a year old. That's 10 months to you and me!

...smiles every chance she gets.

...has started eating more table food like cut up fruit, soft veggies & pasta.

...still has 6 teeth even though I swear she's been working on 2 more for over a month!

...sucks her thumb and hold her ear when she is hungry or tired.

...cuddles with me and is content to just sit on my lap for long periods of time.

...is starting to become a mama's girl, screeching when I leave the room.

...has started to make the funniest faces, sometimes even on cue.

...is saying mama more and more, but never on cue.

...has just started clapping

...is really good at cruising along the furniture, but not showing any signs of walking on her own.

...can stand for a few seconds at a time before falling on her bum.

...is a tough cookie, considering the rough and tumble way her brother handles her.

...is the master finder of all things gross and puts them right into her mouth.

...loves to babble and repeat sounds that we make.

...just might have reddish hair after all; only time will tell.

Out of the mouth of Nate

Normally, I find myself laughing at much of what comes out of Nate's mouth. He's 3. He's funny, smart and amazingly clever for his age. This cleverness, however, has its down side too. He is so fresh sometimes. He will talk back and make some of the most bratty faces I have ever seen. Ever. When he has one of these moments, I think to myself, "I have that kid." You know, the one you see in public and think their parents must never discipline them. The fact is I do discipline, maybe a bit too much. It seems my 3yo spends more time sitting in timeout some days than he does standing! When he says something timeout worthy, I have no problem parking him there, but what do you do when they do something you don't expect?

Both of my kids are at a home day care. She takes care of her own 3 kids and mine. She takes them to the park, to the zoo, and over to her mother's to go swimming. (Brave, isn't she?!) Sadly, she spends more time with my kids than I do. On the flip side, she has to deal with things that have never happened when the kids are at home with me. Nate taking his diaper off after nap and getting poop everywhere, twice, never happened to me! I can't say that I mind not having to deal with some of these things, but what happened at the zoo yesterday really got to me.

The kids were all doing well, walking along and behaving, when they neared a man who had a facial deformity. The man smiled at the kids and kept on his way. Apparently Nate pointed at him and said, "His face is all red. Ha! Ha!".  When she relayed the story to me I could see her reliving the embarrassment of the moment. I wonder if she could tell how embarrassed I was. My child, my 3 year old boy, taunted a grown man. I wanted to die, to crawl under a rock. I could just imagine how she felt as she stood there taking in the man's reaction to the cruelty of this small child.

She didn't know what to do in that moment, what to say to him or to Nate. She didn't want to call attention to it for fear that the other 3 kids might say something. She dragged the kids away as fast as she could and had a chat with Nate. When I arrived to pick him up and had to hear this story I was heart broken. Bullying is a topic near and dear to me and I will NOT raise a bully. I tried to talk to him. I let him know that it is never ok to point and laugh at anyone. I asked him how he would feel if I pointed at him, called him a bad name and laughed. He started crying. I don't know if he really even gets what he did, but I felt the need to reiterate that it was not ok. What else can I say to him? What can I do at his age to make him understand? I'm at a loss. A sad, disappointed loss.

Wordless Wednesday -One Yay One Nay

Yay for a baby standing on her own....

Nay for the obvious baby mullet she's rockin'.

Some Saturday Sweetness

The one useful thing I've learned from Rachael Ray

You may think she taught me how to make a delicious and nutritious meal in 30 minutes or less, but she didn't. In fact, I think I've made maybe one or two of her dishes and I wasn't all that impressed. Could it be that she has broadened my vocabulary with the addition of such words as delish, sammy and yummo? Not likely. If I did use them, they would be heavily laden with sarcasm and in the context of making fun of something. Did I discover how to use acronyms, such as EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)? Yeah right. I'm of the belief that you use acronyms instead of the actual words not in conjunction. So what tidbit of knowledge did I gain you ask??

 Behold, the garbage bowl! I realize it is a bit anticlimactic, but it is the best! Dinners at my house are often frantically prepared immediately after we walk in the door at 5:30pm. This frenzy makes for tornado-like messes of items strewn all over the counter. This little tip saves me at least 20 minutes of cleanup and running to and from the trash can while I cook. When I'm done cooking, I pull out anything that needs to be tossed in the recycling (or compost bin if I'm not being lazy) and my cleanup is a snap. Anything that can cut down on my total time spent doing chores is a win in my book! Give it a try. You'll thank me. Or Rachael. If you can stand to be smiled to death.

Letters of Intent

Dearest Natey,

 You are 3. There is no reason YOU, and not your 9 month old sister, should be the cause of my lack of sleep. While I think you "sneakin'" out of your bed the last 2 nights at 9:30pm and hearing you singing AC/DC's TNT at the top of your lungs while you should be sleeping is slightly comical, it needs to end. You go to bed at 8:00 for a reason. You are a whiny, grumpy mess when you don't get adequate sleep. You are also aware of the "No kids in my bed" policy, so please try to comply. No more climbing into my bed at 2am or 5am  and keep me up with your tossing, turning and kicking. You have a super cool bed. Stay in it.

Sincerely,

Your exhausted mom who just wants some freaking rest!!

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Hey Dunkin,

WTF? I order a medium iced Dunkin Dark with 2 cream and 2 splenda. Please tell me why it tastes different Every. Single. Day! I'm not a coffee making master or anything, but it seems a simple, straightforward process to me! It is getting to the point where I may have to go to the dark side and visit Fourbucks instead of your establishment, or better yet start making my own coffee! Also, I do NOT appreciate your efforts to create more waste by sticking my cup inside of a styrofoam cup. I am getting tired of having to tell you NO STYROFOAM every time I drive thru. It is wasteful and I finish my coffee in about 2 seconds flat, so I'm not worried that my ice is going to melt and dilute the 8 gallons of cream you have put in my drink.

Thanks,

The girl who's about to run from Dunkin'

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Dear Earl,

I'm a  California girl with no prior experience with hurricanes. Please be gentle and leave our area in one piece. We just had a 100 year storm in the spring that caused a lot of flooding and I'm a fan of the current dryness of my basement. If you wish, I will sacrifice my garden to your vortex since I am getting tired of weeding it anyway.

Thankyouverymuch,

East coast transplant who would rather deal with earthquakes


Head on over to Julie's place and jump on the bitching bandwagon. It's good for your soul!

Wordless Wednesday

The end!