What Can You Do With Stale Froot Loops?

So the kids and I tried an art activity we saw in one of our High Five magazines. (I really like these magazines. Definitely worth checking them out if you're at all interested.) First we sorted froot loops by color. I had a child on each side of me and I sent the orange, green and blue ones in Michael's direction and he sorted those while Ava sorted the purple, yellow, and red I sent her way. When we were done the table looked like this:

I then dumped each color of froot loop into its own baggie. The idea was to let the children crush the froot loops to dust inside the baggies. I learned that it is very difficult to crush froot loops into dust - possibly because ours were very stale. Also, I recommend freezer bags rather than the regular type. Ours began leaking dust before we were done. First we tried just crushing by hand without much success. Then I let them bang on them with the baby food jars. That worked to some extent. Then we tried a play dough rolling pin also without much success. Finally I got out a mortar and pestle and finished it up. So, after much effort and letting the kids play a little after they got bored, we finally ended up with this very pretty result:

After gathering everyone back at the table I let the children spoon the "colored cheerio dust", as they called it, into baby food jars to create a decorative end product. They liked the activity and the jars are actually quite pretty. I just need to figure out some way to top them off. I'm thinking a square of scrap cloth held on with a rubber band but I haven't gotten that far yet.

We all had fun with the process which is more important than the product anyway. I'm trying to decide what to do with the leftover supply. I am thinking I'll put some glue on paper and let them sprinkle the dust on. We'll let that dry and see how it comes out.

Miscellany

Thank you to all of you who come by regularly to check in or who are subscribed to this blog through your email or a feed reader. I enjoy knowing that there are people out there who enjoy reading about our family and and find the informational articles and card sets useful.

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Michael has had (relatively mild) eczema since he was a baby. It's better now, but occasionally in the winter he still gets flare ups. I've been noticing an area on his chest that's been rough the past couple of weeks, but suddenly it has spread all over his chest and over to his arms, he is actively complaining about being itchy, and we're having trouble keeping him from scratching. I am beginning to wonder what chicken pox looks like if it is caught by a child who has had the vaccine. Anyone have any thoughts? If he really does have chicken pox I probably shouldn't send him to school on Tuesday. Boy it would be a shame for him to miss his first day.

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I fine tuned my idea about slipping worksheets under glass to use as repeatable dry erase activities. Now I'm slipping them into sheet protectors which I've taped to the top of the glass. Taping them down prevents them from sliding around when the children draw on them and erase them. Having the worksheets on top of the glass in sheet protectors lets me switch them out much more easily.

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Our new kittens continue to be wonderful. They are actually pretty good about taking their medicine and it seems to be helping. They are each getting four syringes of oral liquid medications a day. One of the medications tastes so bad they foam at the mouth. And yet they still come when I call. I am amazed and grateful.

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We live in a house where our back yard is connected to five other back yards. Every other house has dogs. We frequently hear lots of barking at rather annoying hours which bothers my husband more than it bothers me. The children often don't seem to notice either. However, this weekend my parents are out of town celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary and we're dog sitting their two chihuahuas. This evening when we were in the backyard (my husband working on the deck, the children in the sand table, and the dogs playing relatively appropriately and quietly) one of our neighbors let out their dogs. Much chaos and barking ensued. I managed to chase our two guests to the other side of the yard and keep them there quietly, but the neighbor's dogs continued to bark very loudly for at least the next 20 minutes. Finally, my husband walked over and politely asked them to bring their dogs inside because their barking was scaring the children (which it was). Ahh, neighbor relations are always so much fun.

Snapshots From a Day

Yesterday I got a little creative. Just a little. I printed out some worksheets from some teacher ebooks I've had on the computer for a while. I colored them to make them a little more eye catching. Then I slid them under some glass on a low coffee table we've been using as an art table for the kids.

Re-reading my last sentence, I realized that I made that last part sound easy. It's a long table and a heavy piece of glass that sits in the table top so that you can't get your fingers under it. I had the brilliant idea that I'd just tip the table over a bit so the glass would lean out and then I'd grab it. Let's just say I'm lucky the floor was carpeted. I then laid the pictures on the wood and sat and stared at the piece of glass for a good ten minutes trying to decide if I wanted to try to get that thing back on the table by myself. It's almost as tall as I am. Well, I did eventually get it back in there, but I'm hoping that the crack was there before I started the project and I just hadn't noticed it before...

Anyway, I gave the kids some washable dry erase crayons and let them color directly on the glass. They get to color and do the worksheets and then use a wet washcloth to clean it off and start all over again. They love it. They spent at least 30 minutes straight playing with it the first time and went back to it several more times during the day.

We also had a playdate yesterday. A friend of mine came over for the morning with her four year old daughter. The children were wonderful and played fairly independently with few conflicts all morning. That's pretty good for a two, three, and four year old. At one point I walked into the playroom and saw this:

The children were having an elaborate tea party. I'm guessing the idea was our guest's because my two had never played tea party on their own before. All three children were involved. They spread out a blanket, set everyone up with a teacup and saucer, and emptied the contents of the play kitchen so they would have food to "eat". I even filled the teapot with milk and let them pour and drink "tea". It was adorable and I thoroughly enjoyed spying on them a bit from around the corner.

All in all, yesterday was a good day.

Imminent Transition

Two mornings a week I drop the children off at a very nice local daycare at 7:30 in the morning. They feed the children breakfast, alternate indoor activities with outdoor ones (weather permitting), and feed them lunch. I pick the children up at 12:30 pm. I get five blessed hours of time to myself. During that time I schedule appointments when necessary, but mostly I just work on independent pursuits. I work on this blog, or the book. I love those ten child-free hours a week. They keep me balanced.

This is Michael's last week at daycare. This fall he is eligible to enter our local school district's preschool program and the first day is next Tuesday. We're still sending him two mornings a week, but now the program is from 8:30-11:00 am. Breakfast and lunch are not served.

As of next week, I will have to serve one child, but not the other, breakfast and lunch. I have to drop children off and pick them up in different places at different times. And let's not forget that the wonderful 10 hours of keep-me-balanced time to myself will suddenly be cut in half. Now, I'm not complaining exactly (Ok. Fine. I am complaining a little.) I know that we are lucky to be able to send the children to school two mornings a week. I know that we are lucky to have multiple programs that are high quality and have openings for the children part time. I know that even five hours a week is more alone time than many moms get. I know that many moms are doing multiple drop-offs and pick-ups a day. However, it is still a transition for me right now and I'm allowed to point out the changes.

Michael is excited I think. And I actually believe that a shorter school day might be better for him. He hasn't been as excited about school since he was moved to a different room with new teachers and a slightly different mix of children. I am hoping that the shorter school day will be good for him. Also, his friend from up the street will be going too on the same days.

Also, my recently retired mother (who lives only about 5 minutes away from us) has offered to pick Michael up from school and watch him and feed him lunch so that I don't have to coordinate two children in the afternoon. I am so grateful for the offer and I think it is a win for everyone involved. My mom and Michael get some special bonding time and I get a little extra quiet time myself.

And so that transition is right around the corner for all of us. Let the schooling years begin.

Parenting Slump

I've been in a parenting slump for the past couple of weeks. Don't misunderstand me. My children are loved. They have food to eat, clean clothes and bodies, a roof over their heads, and toys to play with. They get tickled and listen to stories and songs before nap and bedtime. We've been on family outings recently and we have two new kittens that are a joy to have around.

And yet I just haven't been myself. I've been tired and cranky. I'm depending on television a little more than I'd like and I'm more disengaged than usual. I'm letting perfectly normal child behavior irritate me disproportionately. I am building fewer "special activities" (art project, silly dances, special games that are usually put away) into our days at home.

I am aware of the shift and I know that I want to make a change, but I haven't quite figured out how to yet. I'm not sure what the underlying problem is. It could simply be fatigue. I adore the kittens, but they do cause interrupted sleep on a nightly basis. I can start by trying to get more sleep, eat better and perhaps add in a little exercise. Those things certainly can't hurt. Maybe we just need a change in routine. Shift our daily activities around and try to plan some fun things during the day. The busier we are with some fun activities we all enjoy, the less time that is left over for irritating each other.

If anyone has some suggestions for some fun indoor activities (it is just too hot outside for much outside time), please share some ideas.

Thanks!

Children's Picture Book Review - Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site

I wanted to share this picture book with you. Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site written by Sherri Duskey Rinker and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld is a wonderful read. The gentle rhymes tell a delightful bedtime story. The story takes you through the last job of the day for Crane Truck, Cement Mixer, Dump Truck, Bulldozer, and Excavator and then puts each truck to sleep. The illustrations are beautiful and the details in the pictures provide discussion material independent from the story. Both my three year old son and my two year old daughter love this book and join me in whispering, "Goodnight" to each truck in turn. This book is a treasure.

Weekend Update

We had an extremely busy weekend around here. Friday night we went to a local children's museum. As it turned out, we spent the entire evening in their courtyard first in the sand pit, then playing with the little stream and boats, and finally playing with the huge set of foam building blocks they have outside. Some of the blocks were as big as the children. We got home past bedtime, but it was completely worth it.

As is perfectly normal for our children, they did not sleep in even a little because they were up late and so Saturday morning began before 7am. We spent the entire morning in our own backyard. We played in the water and on the playset. My husband continued to work on the deck. He's about 60% done laying the floorboards. After afternoon nap we went to the grocery store. So, an at-home day, but it felt busy anyway.

Sunday morning we rushed out of the house so we could get to the zoo by their opening time of 8am. Entrance to our zoo is free, but between 8am and 9am many of the pay attractions are free as well. We rode the carousel three times in a row which was lovely. We could have gotten into the children's zoo section for free during that hour as well, but we didn't make it. The zoo train didn't start running until 9am, so we wandered a bit. We saw the penguins and bears and went into the bird house. This was really our first visit to the zoo where the children actually seemed interested in the animals. Usually it is just like a big park to them. After the zoo we went to lunch and then back home for afternoon nap.

Sunday evening we drove 45 minutes to a small frozen custard store that occasionally has live bands. Everyone brings lawn or camping chairs and sits in the parking lot listening to the band and eating frozen custard. This week was a Cajun band and we all had a good time. My parents came with us and a friend of the family met us there. The children danced in the parking lot entertaining everyone around them. We got home past bedtime again.

As I am essentially a homebody, I found the whole weekend to be a bit exhausting and I'm quite looking forward to spending all of Monday at home. At the same time, I loved the family time and outings. Building memories. As always, I wish I had taken more pictures.

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On a completely different note, Sunday was my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. I love them both and I'm looking forward to helping them celebrate many more anniversaries.

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On another completely different note, I know I have several comments and at least one email to respond to. I love comments and want to respond to them all. Thank you for writing them. As soon as I get a chance to catch my breath and the children give me some uninterrupted time I will respond to all of you.

Minor (I hope) Health Crisis - Update

We arrived for our appointment 10 minutes early. We were seen relatively quickly, probably no more than 10-15 minutes past our appointment time. Michael's temperature was normal and his oxygen levels were fine. Of course, his temp was down because I gave him acetaminophen this morning and it hadn't worn off yet.

Our pediatrician came in and agreed that Michael sounded croupy but was obviously bothered by the fact that he got a fever first and the croup second. Apparently that's not the usual order of operations. So she did order that chest x-ray. She also added in an upper airway x-ray too. She didn't tell me this at the time, but she was worried he had some kind of abscess in his upper airway.

Now, our pediatrician's office is in a building attached to a hospital so we just went down an elevator and traveled a long corridor to radiology. We sat in a waiting room and waited our turn to give them our order papers and then sat back down to wait for the x-rays. The children were so good. First we used the coloring books and markers. Then we used the paper and stickers. Then we used the popsicle sticks and fuzzy yarn to make (Hmm, can't think of what they're called...little diamond shaped things...very pretty....off on an internet search to find name...really? That's what they're called?) God's Eyes. Then I pulled out a book and we did nursery rhymes and songs. Now the natives were really restless so my husband pulled out the iPad and let them watch a little television.

I wasn't really paying attention to the time because I was so focused on keeping the children entertained, but my husband tells me an hour and a half passed by. Then someone came in and said, "There you are, you're supposed to be in the other waiting room. We've been looking for you guys." Seriously!!!!! Turns out the other waiting room was a 5 second walk down the hall. They couldn't have checked the front waiting room a little sooner?

So, we go down to the other waiting room and wait some more. Finally it is Michael's turn. He was a trooper. By now it was past his usual nap time. He's sick and hungry and his fever had returned so his patience and bravery were a little low. He got through the first two (front and side of chest) like a champion following all the directions and in a fairly good mood, but by the time they did the second two (back? and side of the neck) his patience was a little low for the constant directions to lift his chin just a little more. We got through though. Then we had to wait to make sure they all came out well. Ten minutes later we needed to go back for another chest x-ray.

Finally we headed back up to the pediatrician's office where we waited 15-20 more minutes to see our pediatrician again. They told us that they had to call down to radiology to ask about us and that was the only reason they came looking for us. Wow.

So, after all of this..... The x-rays showed he has croup. Which we already knew. It only took 4 hours at the hospital with two children under the age of four to confirm. Sigh.

The children were so exhausted. By the time we got home it was two hours past their usual nap time. They did well though. I'm proud of them. And I'm thankful that my husband left work and came to help with Ava while I focused on Michael. And I suppose I am also grateful that it is nothing worse.

End of story.

Minor (I hope) Health Crisis

The fact that I've used the word crisis twice in post titles tells you what kind of week I'm having.

So, Sunday night it became apparent that Michael had a fever. I figured it was your typical summer cold and it behaved that way. Monday morning he had a cough and still the fever, but no runny nose or anything. His behavior was pretty normal.

Michael often gets the croup when he has a cold, and as I was getting him ready for bed Monday night I made him laugh and I could hear the stridor when he inhaled. We know the drill. We got out two humidifiers and closed all the downstairs A/C vents to redirect as much cool air upstairs (and therefore into his bedroom) as possible. We could hear the barking cough all night long, but no crisis. Tuesday morning the fever broke and he seemed on the mend. We put him to bed last night with the humidifiers just because they were already out, and why not be careful?

So, this morning the fever is back. He had full on stridor for an hour after he woke up and that has never happened before. His nose is running constantly. He's lethargic and extremely overly-sensitive. Any time he gets upset the stridor comes back.

I called his pediatrician to ask how concerned I should be about this. She is fitting him in on her lunch hour and is pretty sure she's going to be sending him for a chest x-ray.

I have a bag packed full of snacks and activities for a 2 and 3 year old. I have their clothes laid out. I'm feeding them a snack of apples and carrots/dip. I'll dress them right before we go. Everything is ready, now just to wait until the appointment time rolls around.

A Tragic Love Story: The Perfect Cookies and Growth

Let's completely digress into the personal arena today.

Over the past 2-3 months I have gained 15 pounds! Prior to this adventure in weight gain I weighed about 5-10 pounds more than when I got pregnant the first time. Back then, at only +5-10, I figured that wasn't too bad for having two babies in two years. I decided that I wasn't going to be morose and self deprecatory about the weight and instead I was going to take a healthy lifestyle approach to (hopefully) a gradual weight loss.

Then, to place the blame where it belongs, my husband went on the hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. (I love you, sweetheart!) It really was a wonderful hunt. We started with the generic cookie recipes on the back of the chocolate chip bags and were disappointed. That didn't stop the two of us from consuming each batch, mind you.

Then we moved on to a recipe my aunt kindly sent me in response to my post asking for recipe contributions. Her recipe was really good actually. We ate that entire batch as well.

But one fateful day we remembered that about three years ago the New York Times had published something on the perfect chocolate chip cookie. He went searching online and found it. The recipe was terribly complicated. It requires two kinds of flour neither of which are all-purpose. It requires a sifter. Most importantly, it requires patience. According to the article you need to stick the dough into the refrigerator for 36 hours before cooking. Really, you make cookie dough and then don't cook it? But he was determined. He bought all the ingredients and made the dough.

Now, we didn't wait. We baked two cookies that first night. They were very good, but not exceptional. Then we put the rest of the dough in the refrigerator and baked two more the next night. Wow!! They were even better. That still was only 24 hours and we wanted the full effect so we waited one more night to bake the rest. Oh my goodness were these cookies wonderful. Seriously, best cookies ever. You need to try the recipe and really do put the dough in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours. It makes an amazing difference.

At this point I had eaten half of several batches of cookies, but my husband wasn't done yet. He needed to find the perfect chips for his cookies. He started working his way through every kind of chocolate chips found in our local grocery store. That's at least 4 kinds.

And then I stepped on a scale to confirm my suspicion that the feeling that my wedding rings were getting tight was not in my imagination. And our love affair with the New York Times cookies came to an end. It is very sad. Very, very sad. I didn't even let him try the last bag of chips he had bought. The bag is sitting forlornly in the pantry calling to us.

And so, here I am 15 pounds heavier and still trying to keep a positive, healthy attitude about the situation. I have started by eliminating treats (cookies) and soda. I am watching portion control closely. Finally, I am increasing vegetables in my diet considerably. I like vegetables, but they're so much more work than the carbs that I love. So far, after about one week of the new plan, I am already 4-5 pounds down. I'm not sure exactly how that happened, but I'll take it. Now to continue the effort when the novelty and rate of weight loss decreases will be the real trick. That and resisting that last bag of chips.

Crisis

Before I tell you about the introduction of kittens to children and vice versa I need to share another story.

Yesterday I decided it was time to let the kittens out of the two room area they had been confined to, but the floor plan of our house is pretty open so after that it was difficult to do another gradual change. I tried. I took scrap material and blocked off the upstairs "balcony" and closed the child gate at the top of the stairs. I hoped that would be good enough to keep the kittens upstairs. They would be able to hear the children and I playing on the first floor and get used to those sounds a little before diving in. At least, that was the plan.

Two hours later two kittens appeared at the foot of the stairs. They figured out how to get under the material and just jump onto the stairs. I just went with it. I followed them around for an hour or so and they seemed fine. I blockaded the doorway to the basement with a few laundry baskets hoping that would keep them on the main floor. Then I started making lunch for the kids.

An hour later I noticed I hadn't heard from the kittens for a while. Unusual because they are kittens. They're usually running around underfoot. I just figured they had gone back upstairs for food, water, and a nap. After lunch I went up to check on them but couldn't find them. While the kids wandered, I searched the entire upstairs and main floor. I searched the basement in case they had squeezed past, or climbed over the laundry basket blockade. I searched all those areas again but couldn't find them.

I hoped that they were just hiding because the kids are kind of noisy and they'd come back out once the kids went down for nap. I rushed the children to bed, gave it a half hour and began searching again. No luck. I was really panicking and upset at this point. I noticed the basement door was unlocked and wondered if Michael had let them outside. I wondered if they were trapped somewhere. I just couldn't figure out how I had managed to lose not one but two active kittens in my own house. One, two, three, and then four hours went by. They hadn't been quiet for that long in the two days they'd been here.

A hint of a thought appeared in the back of my mind and without even thinking I wandered to the laundry room. I didn't see anything there either. Absentmindedly I picked up some clothes that had fallen off a pile next to the washer. Then I wondered why the pile had fallen. Then I started trying to peer behind the washer and dryer. Now, I'm pretty short and so getting a look behind there was going to be difficult, but just then I saw Sophie sticking her head around the corner. They managed to get back there, but couldn't get back out.

I was so relieved. I had been just sick with worry. And is it strange that I kept thinking how disappointed the shelter would be with me for losing the kittens they had entrusted me with?

Anyway, crisis averted. Thank goodness.

Sophie and Grace

Meet Sophie.

Meet Grace.

They are sisters born Wednesday May 4, 2011. They were adopted into our family on Saturday July 16, 2011 from an amazing no-kill shelter in our area. They are 10 weeks old.

The shelter had 300!! cats for adoption. (They also had 100 dogs.) I wish I had taken a picture of the room these two were living in. It was kitty heaven. It was extremely clean and full of kitty toys, beds, climbing posts and kitties. We spent a couple of hours there picking out which kittens we wanted to take home, and then waiting for the shelter to send someone to drive by our house to check it out (apparently part of their check before letting people adopt their pets).

The cats are allowed to roam freely in their room during the day when staff and volunteers are there to care for them and show them to potential adopters. Then, at night they are kenneled in very nice crates. Because the kittens are out and playing with each other and people all day, seven days a week they are extremely well socialized.

They already have their kitten shots and a microchip. The adoption fee includes pre-paying to bring them back when they are four months old to have them spayed. At that time they will get their final kitten shot and at that point they will be up to date on their shots for a year. They sent us home with two kitten sized litter boxes and a scoop, a bag of the food they had been feeding the kittens, two collars, and two toys. If we hadn't brought our own carrier they would have had a cardboard carrier for us too. I really was impressed.

I'll share more details about their introduction to the children later. For now I have two kittens to go play with.

Baby Kitty

This is Baby Kitty.

She is precious to Ava. Baby Kitty sleeps with Ava during naps and nighttime. Baby Kitty often accompanies Ava downstairs during the day or on a car ride. She was named Baby Kitty because she was smaller than Mama Kitty (we had Mama Kitty first).

When Ava first became attached to Mama Kitty, we got a couple of backup Mama Kitties just in case... We have needed one or two of those upon occasion (one Mama Kitty spent an accidental night at the mall, another needed a run through the laundry). Baby Kitty was a gift. A very loved gift. However, Baby Kitty has no tag or identifying markings. There was probably some sort of tag that I cut off when she first arrived, but I have no idea what it was. Therefore I cannot order backups for Baby Kitty. That makes me nervous.

Yesterday, at nap time, Baby Kitty could not be located. I managed to distract Ava with a soft snuggly blanket she hadn't seen in a long time, but it was a glimpse of how sad she would be if Baby Kitty disappeared. I found Baby Kitty in a corner after Ava went to sleep, but what if I can't next time? I know she'll survive, but I'm kind of attached to Baby Kitty too.

Glimpses of the Future

Until recently, our house has been full of two babies. Or a baby and a toddler. Or two toddlers. Or a preschooler and a toddler. At all of those stages the children have been very parent focused. At first it was just crying, and then came the "Mommy, Daddy, come play with me stage." It was as if they had no toys or space to play in unless an adult was at their side. They simply didn't seem to know how to play on their own. (Notable exception: Michael can play for over an hour in his room if he is supposed to be falling asleep.)

Recently I am beginning to see glimpses of a more independent future. Michael in particular will occasionally become absorbed in a self-directed activity for 30-45 minutes at a time. When an older playmate comes over, they will all disappear for half an hour at a time. They are beginning to see each other as playmates instead of always depending on me. Michael will "whisper" something to Ava that he doesn't want me to hear. (His whisper needs some work, I can pretty much always hear what he is saying.) They will converse with each other in the car. As long as they are not the one causing the other to cry, they will try to comfort each other when someone is upset. When Ava is away (at her grandparents, taking a nap, off to a therapy session, etc.) and returns home, the first person she looks for is Michael.

It is wonderful watching their independence and relationship as siblings develop simultaneously and in an interconnected way. This is what I was hoping for when I made the completely impractical decision to get pregnant when my first child was only 6 months old.

Difficult in pairs

Ava is experiencing a return of the Mama Phase. See here and here for the original version of the Mama Phase. I'm sure it didn't appear from nowhere, but somehow I didn't notice until it hit critical. Ava now wants me to do everything for her and refuses to accept attention and assistance from anyone else. She doesn't want her Daddy to kiss her hello or goodbye. She doesn't want her Daddy to get her from her room in the morning or after nap. She doesn't want her Daddy to help her go to the bathroom, dress her for bed, read her stories, get her milk, wipe her face, or anything else. "No! Mommy do it!" is the phrase we hear all the time around here.

This time, we know better than to give in. We learned last time that giving in only makes it worse. We also know that the way to fix it is to give her reduced Mama time and extra Daddy time (making it fun) until the phase passes. It is even more "fun" this time around though because she has so much more speech. As she was pitching a huge fit the other day because Daddy happened to be the one carrying her out of Chick-Fil-A instead of Mommy, she tried a variety of tactics to get him to switch. "I need Mommy" didn't work. Then she tried, "I need to pee, I need to go poopy, I need to get down." Sigh. These situations are even more fun in a crowded public setting. So that's Ava right now.

And then there's Michael. It just wouldn't be as much fun if my children didn't experience their difficult phases at the same time. I remember saying the following statement. I remember saying it to multiple people, on multiple occasions, over several months if not years. I really should have known better. I said, "Unlike Ava, Michael is fundamentally a rule follower. He usually pretty much listens to what I say and doesn't question it much."

Oh boy. Little did I know that he was just saving up all his defiance for 3 1/2 instead of for the "terrible twos". You name it, he's trying it right now. Where did my sweet, compliant little boy go? I say, "Don't do X." He immediately responds by doing the forbidden action. Then, in the action specifically designed to increase my temper into the red zone he giggles and runs around in glee at my obvious anger. He's hitting, throwing, and making messes several times a day. In his defense, they're all pretty low level versions of those things and he's obviously just testing, but it is driving me crazy. I need to take a step back and come up with some kind of plan, because I really don't like the amount of yelling I've been doing recently and it isn't working anyway. Ideas?

Oh, and as a bonus, when not dealing with all of the above, the Why phase rages on here as well and it is contagious. Now they're both at it. They take turns. This one doesn't bother me as much though. It gets to the point where it is just funny. I enjoy trying to think of the answer to the next why that I know is coming as soon as I finish the last response.

I hope all of your parenting adventures are going more smoothly than mine.

Chipmunk

My parents took Ava Friday night. (Thank you Mom and Dad!) When they brought her home Saturday evening she was clutching a package of crackers in her hand like it was treasure. I'm still not sure what the story behind that was. Since we were about to eat dinner, I quickly confiscated the crackers but lessened the blow by letting her have two. She wandered around carrying them without eating them for a while but was eventually down to half a cracker.

In the meantime, Michael noticed the sudden appearance of crackers in the house and came to beg one for himself. I told him "just one" and was handing it to him when Ava rushed in from the other room apparently having overheard us. She popped her last half cracker in her mouth and held her hand out for more. I told her, "Absolutely not! You've already had your two." She thought about that for a moment, accepted that it was fair, and pulled that last half cracker right back out of her mouth and walked away holding it.

My little chipmunk.

Unsupervised

There were the sounds of three children laughing, giggling, playing, and talking.

There was the sound of macaroni rattling around which was to be expected given that they were playing in our macaroni sensory bin.

There was the moment early on when I peeked around the corner to see two of the three children actually sitting in the bin together - adorable.

There was the half an hour of completely uninterrupted adult conversation I was able to have with a friend.

There was the sound of three pairs of feet thundering up the stairs as they moved on to another activity.

And then I walked back around that corner and found this...

Totally worth it!

Rory's Story Cubes: Review

This is my glowing review of Rory's Story Cubes. I am not affiliated with Rory's Story Cubes or Amazon in any way. I am simply telling you about these because I think they are really cool.

The idea is super simple. The entire game consists of nine dice. Each die has a different picture on every side. You roll the dice and make up a story prompted by the pictures. You'd think this would be way over the head of a two and three year old, but they loved it. They were entranced for at least half an hour. Ok. Fine, my two year old got bored after 15 minutes and then just wanted to hoard some of the die and play with them independently, but still. Together, we made up at least 10 stories during our half hour of play.

This would be a great little tool to have around for therapy. For language it is a great prompt for making up short stories. For speech, you could choose specific pictures that have your target sounds in them and have them make up phrases or sentences using those words. Great for generalization and you can't beat the price.

Why? Why? Why?

Why has arrived in full force around here. In fact, if it weren't so new, and if I weren't so grateful that Ava can talk at all, it might even be a little annoying.

Now I don't mind answering genuine why questions. Ask me why the sky is blue. Fine. Ask me why we need to go to sleep. Fine.

But check these out:

Ava: I need to go pee.
Me: Ok. Let's go potty.
Ava: Why?

(Ava is obviously bored with the television.)
Me: Are you ready to turn the tv off?
Ava: Yep.
Me: Ok. Let's go turn the tv off.
Ava: Why?

(after finishing a meal)
Ava: Come play with me.
Me: Just as soon as I finish cleaning up.
Ava: Why?
Me: Because Mommy has to make sure that the table is all clean for next time.
Ava: Why?
Me: Because we'll need the table to be clean so we can put new food on it at dinner.
Ava: Why?

Me: I'll be right back.
Ava: Where you going Mommy?
Me: To the bathroom.
Ava: Why?
Me: To go potty.
Ava: Why?

I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

Happy 4th of July everyone.

Toddler and Preschool Online Activities

I made a list of some of websites Michael and Ava spend time on when we let them have computer time. Some of the sites have animated songs, some have animated stories, and some have simple games appropriate for young children. With some basic computer skills my kids are even pretty independent with most of these. I usually sit down and watch everything with them or play each game with them once showing them how it works, and they can take it from there in the future. Everything listed has a link that will actually take you to the site, so check them out and let me know if you enjoy visiting them with your little ones.

Toddler and Preschool Online Activities

I'll be adding to the list as I remember ones I've forgotten and as I find more. If you have some favorites I should check out tell me about them in the comments.