Katie and her first Cubbies experience

Katie went to Cubbies last night. Grandpa took her so John could stay with Jake and mom and I could go to this food tasting (food I did NOT write down because it was too varied and... well, about 20 minutes after we left I had already forgotten what all I ate).

We stopped by the church after our thing was over and looked in on them.

The kids were sitting on the floor and the adults (including dad) were sitting on tiny red chairs. Katie and grandpa were on the outside fringes but that was okay... Katie was paying attention.

Then I heard her (from across the room) say "Grandpa, I can't sit on the floor anymore. Why can't I sit in one of those chairs?" And she pointed to the multitude of tiny chairs set against the wall. I held my breath. Hoping grandpa wouldn't get her a chair when the rest of the kids were sitting on the floor... because this is a good time to teach conformity (ick) to prepare her for school.

Grandpa didn't get her a chair...


He gave her his.


Katie did well though. She stood up to sing and colored with the rest of the 3 year olds. I was very proud of her. A little sad when she didn't really react to seeing me once I stepped in the room (she ignored me for the glitz and glam of the toy food and play lunch trays) but I was proud of her for being such a big girl.

When we got home she showed me the picture she colored. She drew circles with long sticks attached to them. She pointed to one and said it was Cubby (the bear mascot) and then said "Oh no! I forgot his ears!" I never did learn who/what the other 3 were... I offered her a pen to add ears and she started to color, ears forgotten, on the other side of the paper.

Katie and the strange assortment of toys

Katie's grandma got home on Tuesday night to find Katie standing by the door ready to go downstairs holding:

an empty formula container
an empty bowl of some sort
a play spatula
a play fork
a play spoon
(possibly other play utensils)
part of a box with numbers and letters cut out of the sides
a cover to a knex box
a few knex sticks
AND finally,
a play plastic measuring cup she was holding on to with her teeth because none of the toys were in the formula container or bowl so she ran out of hands.

Before grandma came in, I heard Katie say "I ready to go down now Mommy" and when I looked at her, she had the measuring cup in her teeth and was slouched over holding onto all of her stuff.

I laughed. I laughed. I laughed.

I was laughing when Grandma came in and trying to explain to Katie that she hadn't been invited to go downstairs and maybe grandma was tired... but it was broken up with lots of me, laughing.

Then grandma started to laugh and she said "How can I say no now!" so I helped Katie put toys into the empty formula can and got her all sorted out (while still laughing) and she got to go downstairs with grandma.

Jake was standing holding on to the recliner the whole time this was going on. Just looking at us. Or maybe me. Like I was a little bit crazy.

Inches update...

I'm starting to think I should just write down "20 THOUsand chocolate chips" on my food list each day. (I'm keeping a list of what I ate in case you missed my two previous posts. Feel free to go back and read them... I'll just wait here...)

I love chocolate chips. They are my tiny and delicious downfall and now I have a huge bag of them sitting in the freezer.

The huge bag I got at Costco. Now I don't bake cookies on a regular basis so I'm sure you're asking yourselves, "WHY would she need a huge bag of chocolate chips if she doesn't plan to bake cookies?" and my answer is... I don't know.

It seemed like a good idea at the time since I needed chocolate chips and the price at Cub is so high I always feel guilty adding them to my cart and the price at Costco is still high but you get enough chocolate chips to make 5,000 cookies... which I don't bake anyway... And they freeze well and they are a good little treat/bribe for Katie and well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

So I dropped the bag into the cart and off I went. It didn't look too big sitting in that huge Costco cart... and when I got it home it fit in the freezer but was the same size as my 3 lb package of ravioli, I realized I might have a tiny chocolatey problem. I'll have to think about need vs. want once my pack is gone and I'm faced with the dilemma of Cub vs. Costco again. Maybe I'll have shaken this habit... maybe not.

So anyway, each day I do pretty well with a few exceptions... like pot luck days, birthday cake days, bake sale days, and weekend days. Which, come to think of it have been happening often in the past week.

Still though, I'm doing okay. I find that when I eat a big meal, I don't eat a lot for the other meals and I've really cut back on snacks!

I still have to remind myself to leave Katie's plate alone because some days she leaves half of her food on her plate and I graze. Then when I realize I've eaten more than I should have, I need to calm myself down with an ice cream cone. With some chocolate chips on top.

With love...

On Saturday and Sunday I would give Katie her sippy cup and say "here's your sippy, with love!" or "here's your lunch, with love".

On Sunday evening I was humming/whistling "God made me" and Katie called out to me from the dining room, "Mommy... God made me... with love, right?" And I said "He sure did!"

This was a sweet moment.

Much better than the times she's in the bathroom washing her hands and I tell her "two squirts of soap only" (because if I don't tell her, I'll come back and there will be purple soap all over the sink and counter... one time I looked and she had gotten it all over one of our hand towels. Arg!) and she tells me "Mommy, go into the living room now." That's kind of a giveaway that she's going to use 3 squirts... or 30. Depending on how long she's left in the bathroom with the sink running.

Cinderella or Stripes?

So on Sunday morning Katie got up and I helped her pull an outfit together. She had a blue top, blue shorts, and Cinderella underpants. I helped with the shirt and left her to handle the rest.

Later in the day as I was helping her after a bathroom break, I pulled up her underpants and was puzzled to find her Saturday stripey underpants instead of the new Cinderella ones I had put out for her to wear.

I was only surprised for a second. Till I looked and saw another waistband next to her blue shorts.

She must have thought it would save time to put her new clothes on over the existing underpants.

I laughed so hard it took me a minute to get everything sorted out.

Katie fixed the "kitchen sink"

Katie was having some trouble with her kitchen this weekend. She had to pull out her tools and she spent some time laying on the floor working on it. (It kind of reminded me of a few months ago when our sink broke and her grandpa fixed spent some time laying on the floor working on it.)

It was cute. Jake was next to her chewing on the door and just hanging out. Katie told me that he was helping to hold the door open.

Katie is such a good sister. She's gotten better about sharing toys (especially Jakes toys) with him and this weekend she even brought him a bin of blocks to play with.

Slow down... you move too fast!

Jake, this is your mommy.

I'm telling you to slow down. You move too fast when you want to get to where you want to go.

Mommy would love it if she had more than 30 seconds to herself in the bathroom before you a) start to bang on the door or b) push the door open and start to crawl in (which icks mommy out because... it's the bathroom floor.)

** Katie, this is a shout out to you too... if the bathroom door is closed, it might mean that mommy is having some personal time. I know you like to chat (with a captive audience) but it's really just not such a good time. Especially when you leave the bathroom door open. I know, I know, you try to help by shutting it once mommy reminds you but by the time Jake has an arm in the door, it's too late.

Back to you Jacob...

I'm telling you to stop trying to move the baby gates by pushing and pulling them. Usually while they are supporting your standing weight. The baby gates mommy and daddy put up are to keep you in and it kind of defeats the purpose when you manage to pull them down. Onto yourself.

Also... Katie's kitchen is not a baby gate. Pushing and pulling it usually ends with you covered in... well, hard, plastic kitchen. There is no door or opening behind it to go through or explore, just wall. Maybe some dust. So, I would really appreciate it if you could cease and desist. Mommy is tired of panicking and doing a tooth check every time said kitchen falls down. Onto you.

Also, you're super cute. Love your smiles!

But PS, the grinding teeth isn't so cute. It makes mommy's head hurt and sounds icky.

Thanks Jake!

Think again...

The other day we were talking and Katie asked me what "Mom, what color is the Toy Fairy's bag?" And I said I thought it was purple. Katie said "Think again!" So after a little laugh at that, I said "Orange" and Katie agreed. And I chuckled again.

So,last night me, mom, dad, Katie, and Jacob went to the park. Mom and Katie came upstairs ready to go at about 7:45 or so and mom was very surprised to find that it had gotten dark!

The plan was going to change to a walk around the block until Katie said "I have an idea..." and she waits for our attention. Then she said "Let's go for a walk... to the park."

Mom did her best to explain that it was too dark to go to the park but I think Katie is getting that "selective hearing" because she kept repeating that she wanted to go to the park. So, after trying, and failing, to get her to understand that you can't see in the dark so it's hard to play at the park when you can't see, we all headed to the park. She didn't have any doubt it seems that we would go.

There was just enough light for her to pull out her little pail and shovel and dig in the sand. I think this is her favorite, and maybe only, reason she wants to go to the park because that's all she did the whole time. We could put a sandbox in our back yard and save the 15 minute walk if that's what lures her to the park in the first place!

But the walk was good excersize and she had fun.

Till it was time to go home and she wanted me to carry her. 10 blocks away from home. And cried when I wouldn't. I finally distracted her enought that we made it home without a lengthy meltdown. And at home, she was totally fine. We talked and she played till she fell asleep.

Jesus and Truth - something interesting I read today.

You'll have to copy and paste this because I don't know how to link. :( That was a sad face with tears (and I don't know how to do emoticons in blogger either).


http://www.mycharmingkids.net/2009/09/honey-strawberries-and-truth.html

Update to "inches"

Pot luck. At work. Today.

What a great way to start my second day of writing down everything I eat. Not really.

It's awful. I mean, who wants to write down "salad, egg roll, crackers with cream cheese and peper jelly, cookie, sloppy joe, special k bar, tiny wieners" and the pot luck isn't over yet!

Well, apparently I must. Because you may have noticed that I didn't say "who wants to eat" all this stuff because well, it's already down the hatch. And it was yummy. Really good. Maybe I was getting faint from hunger after my light breakfast of pop tarts with butter and a banana. (I'm just kidding about the "light" part, for all of you who want to tell me that two pop tarts have the caloric equivelant of 500 spoonfulls of sugar. I already know... and still I enjoy. With lots of butter.) Hmmm.

Anyway, wish me well as I jump back on the bandwagon... tomorrow. :)

So, I've added a few extra inches to my waistline lately and not because I'm you-know-what... because I'm not... so I can't blame it on that.

Also, Katie is 3 and a half and Jake is 7 months old now so I can't say it's still baby fat.

And unfortunately my clothes are getting a bit tight (and when I say "a bit" I mean, I put them on and want to yell at John because he must have washed them in hot water... and then I remember that he doesn't wash my clothes so...) which means that I either learn how to sew like the people on that show with many children OR I figure something out.

So, I am pleased to announce that I HAVE A PLAN! My plan...



is to write down everything I eat.

What, did you think it would involve excercise??? :)

So I started this morning after I got to work and picked up a delicious breakfast from the cafeteria.

First I had to jot down "two cookies" (what could I do? They were on the kitchen table when I left this morning and I ate them in the car on the way to work) and then I wrote down "sausage croissant breakfast sandwich... with jelly. One pop."

So far I think it's helping because this morning I really wanted some almond M&Ms at about 9:30, then at about 9:46, 10:01, 10:08, 10:17, and finally at 10:25, (then I got really busy so I didn't have a chance to think about it) I really wanted to visit the candy dish (the one with the good candy like KitKats and Almond Joy and peanut M&Ms... mmmm) BUT I stopped myself because really, how bad would it be if I knew I would be writing it down and STILL stuffed myself? Really. Really. Bad.

Now I've got to add "hotdog, cookie, pop, chips" to my list.

Oh, and I might as well add Tootsie Pop to the list now because I'll probably enjoy that this afternoon (or now).

Letter to Katie

Dear Katie,

When you take a bath, it is never acceptable to dunk your large bottle of 3-in-1 shampoo/conditioner/body wash into the tub. Especially if that bottle is open. Especially if you plan on squeeeeeezing it. Lots. Especially if mommy is in the other room changing your sheets (listening for any splashes or silences that may indicate problems) and not watching you with her own two eyes. Really it's not acceptable.

Especially when it's the next morning and mommy has forgotten that the tub was full full full of bubbles and that when the water runs out the slippery bubble film stays.

Especially when mommy is in a rush in the morning and steps into the tub for her shower and notices that it's kind of like standing on a hill... covered in ice... under a waterfall.

Mommy got all the way in before she realized that it might be tough to stand up when her feet are slipping allllll around but soldiered on anyway and started to clean the tub with her foot and well, let's just say that mommy was surprised to still be flexible enough that when one foot went one way and the other foot went the other way... she was able to stay upright. (I'll tell you a little secret... mommy hasn't attempted to do the splits since, well, probably since she was your age so it was a reliefe that she didn't end up on her tushy butt.)

Thanks for understanding.

Much love,
Mommy

Super Duper Juice

So, there are some things that, before I became a mother, I never thought I would use, say, do.

I never thought that after being puked on, a wipey would be an acceptable cleanup tool. (Before kids I would probably have needed actual water with lots of soap.) But it is.

I never thought that pizza for dinner 3 nights in a row would ever happen. But it does.

I never thought I would ever want to tell my kids that I was off duty. But I do. And it works. I'm never off duty for hugs or cuddling or reading a book but I AM off duty for putting clothes on a doll, filling a sippy cup, changing said doll's clothes AGAIN... and many other things.

I never thought that I would have to hide pens higher than the kitchen junk drawer. But I do.

I never thought that I would pretend not to see something Katie did but wasn't supposed to do, just so I wouldn't have to give her a time out. But I have.

I never thought that I would lie to my kids to make my life easier. But I have. Case in point: The Toy Fairy and telling her Caillou and the other just as annoying characters have gone to sleep so we can't watch them right now.

Oh, and just last night I got a grocery list from John before leaving work. He said we needed super duper juice - that's our name for Sunny D (it's so cute when Katie says it). And I actually wrote down "super duper..." and groaned. Then laughed. Then threw out the post it note I had written it on and wrote "Sunny D, Milk, Ovaltine" because it would be too funny to look at this at the grocery store and see super duper juice. And become the weird lady laughing to herself in the refrigerated section and I don't want to be that lady.

All she needs now is a top hat and cane... ba dum ba.

Katie loves to play games with Jacob. She talks to him in baby talk. I heard her last night and she was saying "Oh, you're such a precious boy. Such a precious baby." and it cracked me up!

And when he's in his hi-chair eating she likes to hide behind him and pop out on one side and say "la la la" and then go to the other side and pop out and say "la la la". He laughs so hard at this. She does too! But mommy doesn't always laugh. Not because it isn't cute, because it is! Super cute.

No, mommy doesn't always laugh because it's very hard to feed a baby when my reflexes aren't great and his head is turning from side to side as fast as Katie can move from one side of his high chair to the other (which is pretty darn fast)!

Sooo, we've come to an agreement, Katie and mommy, that Katie will wait until mommy tells her it's okay to play the "la la la game" as she's so creatively called it! :)

Katie does reserve the right to ask every few seconds if Jakie is done eating... and if he can play now... and to say that she's waiting for me to tell her when he's ready. Which kind of distracts him, resulting in head turning, resulting in applesauce or prunes or berries on his face. Oh well. At least they aren't fighting. Yet.

It's more official. He's a crawler who likes to get around!

Last night Jake was in the living room and I was in the bedroom putting things away with Katie when who do you think made an appearance! Jacob... in the hallway. Jacob who crawled ALLLL the way from the living room, around the recliner, down the hall past the bathroom... all by his little self.

Whew. We're breaking out the baby corral soon since, in addition to being very curious and mobile, he also seems to like outlets and the things that go in them.

It's official... Jacob is a crawler!

It's true! He's done a little crawling in the weeks before but this weekend I had a bag on the floor and it was about 5 feet away from Jake. He must have wanted a closer look and he crawled... did I say he CRAWLED? to it. He didn't throw himself at the bag like he will sometimes do, he didn't get to the bag by sitting then turning then sitting then turning till he works his way over... NO, he crawled. At least 5 little leg movements and there he was. I am so proud of him!

He's trying to grab hold of stuff now and he pulls it toward him. Last night it was a laundry basket. I think he's trying to pull up but he just can't coordinate all of the movements needed to make it work. That's fine with me. And it's fine with Katie. I think she would have a nervous breakdown if Jake could get to her toys at this stage. Really. She even asks me "Will Jakie play with my toys when I go to the store?" It's pretty bad.

That's why I think I'm going to start Mission: Toy Share. We'll see what happens... and I'll post about it (as soon as I get a chance to invent it).

Good Times, Bed Times

Katie is almost three and a half and she STILL won't fall asleep in her bed. Ohhhhhh, nooooo. She won't lay in her comfy bed in her pretty pink room but she *will* fall asleep on the living room floor, or half on the couch or sitting in her pink "comfy" chair. And we've just been carrying her to bed.

We know this is one of those things we've got to train *ourselves* out of but I'm just happy she's settled into an earlier bed time! It used to be 11:30 p.m. and now we're at about 10:00 p.m. I think that once we get Jacob to sleep through most of the night, we'll start tackling this problem... or maybe we'll just leave her in the living room.

Jake however sleeps pretty well in his crib now. The only time I take him to bed with me is when he wants a bottle and I want to close my eyes. I'll feed him in bed and we'll both fall asleep.

I've only woken up a couple of times to find that he's spit out the nipple drifted off and there's milk dripping down his neck and onto my arm. But, that's a small price to pay for a few more zzzzz's.