Ella is in fact wearing underwear in this photo.
Her reason? So she doesn't get a splinter in her bottom.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Water play
I have come up with another activity to quiet the 5:00 whining and fussing. This one is better for their brains than my Food Network solution but considerably messier. Ella calls it water play and that pretty much sums it up. A giant pitcher of water, a big bowl of ice, several bowls and measuring spoons. Two nearly naked kids out on the porch. It is amazing how much fun they both have pouring the water from bowl to bowl. It is also amazing how quickly they are soaked from top to bottom. Toward the end last night, I found Ella "washing" Dash's hair and him giggling uncontrollably. But they sure do love it and it gives me 20 minutes to cook dinner in relative peace (not counting the dozen interruptions for new water and ice).
New words
Dash is 16 months now (just writing that, I can't believe it) and while he is still not walking, his language is continuing to impress us. His new favorite word is nicely exemplified in this picture:
Yes, hat is a popular word around our house these days. Dash likes to point out when we are wearing hats and likes to wear them himself, some of the time. He never wants to wear a hat, say, at the park on a sunny day. But a plastic hard hat during dinner? That he definitely wants. It's pretty adorable to hear him saying "Hat! Hat!"
His other new words include shoe, water (wawa), toast, apple, bubble, help, up, and down. He is trying to sign help when he says it which is mighty cute and we hope will soon replace the "Eh! Eh!" grunting he usually does when he needs help and doesn't know the right words.
He has also come up with a loud Vrrrroooom sound that he applies to all manner of vehicles, from garbage truck to tricycle.
His other favorite word is "pup" which seems to mean poop, and he can be counted on to crawl into the bathroom while you are using it, pull up on you, and say "pup! pup!" with great glee.
Yes, hat is a popular word around our house these days. Dash likes to point out when we are wearing hats and likes to wear them himself, some of the time. He never wants to wear a hat, say, at the park on a sunny day. But a plastic hard hat during dinner? That he definitely wants. It's pretty adorable to hear him saying "Hat! Hat!"
His other new words include shoe, water (wawa), toast, apple, bubble, help, up, and down. He is trying to sign help when he says it which is mighty cute and we hope will soon replace the "Eh! Eh!" grunting he usually does when he needs help and doesn't know the right words.
He has also come up with a loud Vrrrroooom sound that he applies to all manner of vehicles, from garbage truck to tricycle.
His other favorite word is "pup" which seems to mean poop, and he can be counted on to crawl into the bathroom while you are using it, pull up on you, and say "pup! pup!" with great glee.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Calgon, take me away/I miss them already!
It is has been an inordinately busy week around here, and next week is going to be even worse. In between, I'm going out of town for the weekend (for fun, so I'm really not complaining). I realized earlier today that I will not tuck my kids into bed for seven of the next eight nights. That's a lot of sweet, sleepy kisses to miss out on. Of course that's also a lot of bedtime drama that I get to skip.
Tonight I was feeding the kids an early dinner before I went out and as often happens to me in the 5:00 hour, the weight of the busy day was starting to wear on me. I was annoyed that my clean floor was suddenly covered in olive oil-y pasta and smushed berries. I was tired of arguing with Ella about eating two measly slices of apple so she could have a piece of Easter candy. I was over Dash insisting on being held and screaming as soon as I put him down to do something like give his sister a cup of milk. Then Josh walked in the door and I realized I had to hightail it out of there to get to my engagement, then get back home to pack, and head off to the airport very early tomorrow morning. And in that instant, I forgot all about being annoyed that I was covered in Cheerio spit-up and felt instantly heartbroken that I wouldn't see my babies again until Monday morning. I suddenly didn't want to leave the kitchen to change my shirt. I didn't mind picking up Dash for the 400th time. I wanted to hear Ella sing "Clickety Clack" for the twelfth time. I missed them already.
Tonight I was feeding the kids an early dinner before I went out and as often happens to me in the 5:00 hour, the weight of the busy day was starting to wear on me. I was annoyed that my clean floor was suddenly covered in olive oil-y pasta and smushed berries. I was tired of arguing with Ella about eating two measly slices of apple so she could have a piece of Easter candy. I was over Dash insisting on being held and screaming as soon as I put him down to do something like give his sister a cup of milk. Then Josh walked in the door and I realized I had to hightail it out of there to get to my engagement, then get back home to pack, and head off to the airport very early tomorrow morning. And in that instant, I forgot all about being annoyed that I was covered in Cheerio spit-up and felt instantly heartbroken that I wouldn't see my babies again until Monday morning. I suddenly didn't want to leave the kitchen to change my shirt. I didn't mind picking up Dash for the 400th time. I wanted to hear Ella sing "Clickety Clack" for the twelfth time. I missed them already.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Still in the day
Ella usually goes to bed sometime between 7 and 8 pm depending on what we're doing and whether she took a nap that day. Tonight, she was in bed a little before 8 but when I walked by her room about 8:45, she called out to me, clearly still awake. I decided to go lay down with her just to soak in her sweetness for a few extra minutes. She said to me "Mama, sometimes these nights, I have trouble falling asleep. I'm in here just thinking about the day still. Yeah, I'm still in the day." I loved her phrase of being "still in the day". I totally get that. I am often "still in the day" when I'm trying to go to sleep, too. Such a wise little gal, my Ella.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
My UPS BFF
One of the things that I do a lot more of these days is online shop. I think this is true of all of us, but I'm pretty sure motherhood has increased my online (and concurrently decreased my in-person) shopping activities to the extreme. I mean, that Amazon app on my phone is amazing. Three clicks and anything I could ever want is on its way to my house in less than 48 hours! I can't even begin to tell you all the things I ordered at 3 a.m. when I was nursing tiny Dash all through the night. These days, at least my shopping is limited to normal awake hours, but I can sure do a lot of damage in that time.
My fears that I maybe do too much online shopping were realized earlier this week. I was walking Ella home from school, and we were about a mile from our house. I was wearing a hat and sunglasses (totally incognito, right?) when the UPS truck came rumbling down the road. Instead of speeding by, the truck slowed down and the driver leaned out to say hello. As he drove off, he said "I'll see you later today!" If your UPS driver knows you a mile from your house, he visits you a little too often.
My fears that I maybe do too much online shopping were realized earlier this week. I was walking Ella home from school, and we were about a mile from our house. I was wearing a hat and sunglasses (totally incognito, right?) when the UPS truck came rumbling down the road. Instead of speeding by, the truck slowed down and the driver leaned out to say hello. As he drove off, he said "I'll see you later today!" If your UPS driver knows you a mile from your house, he visits you a little too often.
Overheard
Ella: "Daddy, let's play a game where you are a slave and have to work all day and you ask me to go do something like see your family and I say 'No no no! I will not let them go' "
In case this sounds extra crazy to you, I should note that Ella has been learning about the Passover story at school this week and an integral part is when the Pharaoh refuses to let Moses and his people go.
At last week's family Shabbat at her preschool, I found the room full of preschoolers shaking their fingers at the teachers and yelling "No no no!" as they acted out the Passover story in song pretty hilarious. Perhaps the teachers think it is less funny than I do, especially if they try that in non-Passover situations.
In case this sounds extra crazy to you, I should note that Ella has been learning about the Passover story at school this week and an integral part is when the Pharaoh refuses to let Moses and his people go.
At last week's family Shabbat at her preschool, I found the room full of preschoolers shaking their fingers at the teachers and yelling "No no no!" as they acted out the Passover story in song pretty hilarious. Perhaps the teachers think it is less funny than I do, especially if they try that in non-Passover situations.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Pre-dinner silence
On a particularly crummy late afternoon recently (remember my great misery during the pre-dinner hour?), I discovered the secret to TOTAL SILENCE while I'm cooking dinner. I'm not proud of the solution but on a day when the whining was just too much and my patience was just too little, I was desperate. Desperate enough to turn on the kitchen television (usually used only for Josh to catch up on SportsCenter while he does dishes) and scan the channels frantically for something to capture their attention. The solution was not Sesame Street or Dora the Explorer or anything else kid-focused. Nope, for my two little ones, the Food Network is where it's at. There was 20 minutes of total silence while both Ella and Dash watched someone else chop and chatter (never mind that I'm usually doing the very same thing, live, in front of them).
This is not actually a new tactic in my parenting playbook. Back when Ella was a toddler, at the end of the day, we would often watch Food Network together while I made dinner. In those days, the 5:00 pm line-up was Ina Garten followed by Giada, two Food Network chefs I actually enjoy watching. In fact, by age 17 months, one of Ella's words was "Ina", and she had mastered "Ada" by 19 months (I just checked her baby book to confirm). These days, the 5:00 hour is the Paula Deen hour. I cannot stand Paula Deen, but it turns out I can tune her out much better than I can the whining and screeching of my own two kids.
Riveted
This is not actually a new tactic in my parenting playbook. Back when Ella was a toddler, at the end of the day, we would often watch Food Network together while I made dinner. In those days, the 5:00 pm line-up was Ina Garten followed by Giada, two Food Network chefs I actually enjoy watching. In fact, by age 17 months, one of Ella's words was "Ina", and she had mastered "Ada" by 19 months (I just checked her baby book to confirm). These days, the 5:00 hour is the Paula Deen hour. I cannot stand Paula Deen, but it turns out I can tune her out much better than I can the whining and screeching of my own two kids.
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