Today we had toddler gymnastics. At the end of class they let the toddlers come down to the main gym & jump into the foam pit. The other two children in Little Man's class are content to jump from the mats that the instructor, Miss Amanda, puts IN the foam pit. Little Man likes this, but really wants to jump from the tall crash mat that sits on the edge of the foam pit. We're talking about a 3 ft tall crash mat, plus a 1.5-2ft drop into the pit. Finally today we asked Miss Amanda if he could jump from it. Hesitantly, she said yes. She made Little Man's day! (Diesel made the video in slow-mo at the end, so it plays twice)
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Finding a Virtual Home
Before I had Little Man I could never understand the people who formed friendships with people in an on-line chat room or board. In fact, prior to Little Man I'd have put "friendship" in quotes, scoffing at the idea that you could be friends with people you didn't even know.
When I got pregnant, I joined the May 08 birth board on Babycenter. I'd post here & there, but mostly I gathered information about child birth, rolled my eyes at the militant mamas and the clueless first-time moms, but in general I felt detached from it. It was more like a rapidly updating, occasionally hysterical Wikipedia for the expectant mother. Even as other moms were posting their birth stories, I refrained from posting mine. I didn't see a reason. My "real" friends knew my story.
Then, about 8 weeks after Little Man's birth, I was unhappily facing the prospect of returning to work in a few weeks. I was browsing through the May 08 board and noticed a post asking about other moms who were going to be pumping at work. I went in and posted, because here was a group of women who were agonizing over going (or being) back to work and trying to figure out how to squeeze (no pun intended) in time to pump at work so we could continue to keep feeding our babies breastmilk. It was like our own Milk Memos.
In the beginning our posts were largely about Amedas and Medelas and how to keep our supply up and the best methods for storing milk. We also tackled other issues facing new moms-- the sadness of not being home with our babies and how to get our babies on a nap schedule and the trials and tribulations of getting infants to sleep through the night.
Then as time passed, we started really talking-- about husbands and body image and funny things that happened to us at the grocery store. About health scares and pregnancy scares and speeding tickets and the crazy things our babies did.
Over the past two years this amazing group of moms has become a close-knit group of FRIENDS. Friends who know the minutae of the day-to-day; friends who send each other Christmas cards; friends who have comforted one another through losses; friends who celebrated new babies and new houses. We text each other, IM with each other, talk on a daily basis. Not friends in quotation marks, but real friends.
I don't know if I can even put into words how much these ladies mean to me, but they have become such an amazing source of love and support that I cannot thank them enough. So PAW mamas, thank you for everything!
When I got pregnant, I joined the May 08 birth board on Babycenter. I'd post here & there, but mostly I gathered information about child birth, rolled my eyes at the militant mamas and the clueless first-time moms, but in general I felt detached from it. It was more like a rapidly updating, occasionally hysterical Wikipedia for the expectant mother. Even as other moms were posting their birth stories, I refrained from posting mine. I didn't see a reason. My "real" friends knew my story.
Then, about 8 weeks after Little Man's birth, I was unhappily facing the prospect of returning to work in a few weeks. I was browsing through the May 08 board and noticed a post asking about other moms who were going to be pumping at work. I went in and posted, because here was a group of women who were agonizing over going (or being) back to work and trying to figure out how to squeeze (no pun intended) in time to pump at work so we could continue to keep feeding our babies breastmilk. It was like our own Milk Memos.
In the beginning our posts were largely about Amedas and Medelas and how to keep our supply up and the best methods for storing milk. We also tackled other issues facing new moms-- the sadness of not being home with our babies and how to get our babies on a nap schedule and the trials and tribulations of getting infants to sleep through the night.
Then as time passed, we started really talking-- about husbands and body image and funny things that happened to us at the grocery store. About health scares and pregnancy scares and speeding tickets and the crazy things our babies did.
Over the past two years this amazing group of moms has become a close-knit group of FRIENDS. Friends who know the minutae of the day-to-day; friends who send each other Christmas cards; friends who have comforted one another through losses; friends who celebrated new babies and new houses. We text each other, IM with each other, talk on a daily basis. Not friends in quotation marks, but real friends.
I don't know if I can even put into words how much these ladies mean to me, but they have become such an amazing source of love and support that I cannot thank them enough. So PAW mamas, thank you for everything!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Sleep Ninja
My mom is here for the week to watch Little Man. YAY!
This morning I went over Little Man's schedule with her and told her that I didn't care where she went with him, just as long as he got a nap around 1-2pm. I told her that he doesn't nap out & about, so they'd probably have to come home for naptime so he could nap in his bed.
At 12:30pm I get this text:
Are you KIDDING me???
I swear that he's like a little sleep ninja. Just when I think I know all there is to know about his sleep habits.. WHAM! Sleep Ninja strikes!!!
This morning I went over Little Man's schedule with her and told her that I didn't care where she went with him, just as long as he got a nap around 1-2pm. I told her that he doesn't nap out & about, so they'd probably have to come home for naptime so he could nap in his bed.
At 12:30pm I get this text:
"Little Man says sleepy time"
Are you KIDDING me???
I swear that he's like a little sleep ninja. Just when I think I know all there is to know about his sleep habits.. WHAM! Sleep Ninja strikes!!!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Bribery works!
I am not too proud to admit that we totally bribed our son to stay in bed yesterday! We promised him a trip to Target, complete with pretzel, lemonade and a toy, but only if he stayed in his bed the whole night. And he did, mostly.
He got up twice, but Diesel & I decided they were both good enough reasons so they didn't count against him. First, he came into our bedroom and said "Mama, room too hot. Jamas wet." His room was, in fact, VERY warm and his pajamas were, in fact, wet (he had spilled his water on them somehow). So I changed his pajamas, arranged the A/C to blow in his room, put him back in bed & reminded him of the deal.
30 minutes later I hear little feet. "Mama?" asked a little voice "Me go potty?" Any potty training parent knows you can't argue with that request, even when you know they're playing you, so up on the potty he went, did his business, new diaper and into bed.
I didn't see him again until 5 am! I call that a success!!!
As we were getting ready, Diesel thanked Little Man for sleeping so well and Little Man very matter of factly replied "Pretzel. Lemmyade. Toy."
He got up twice, but Diesel & I decided they were both good enough reasons so they didn't count against him. First, he came into our bedroom and said "Mama, room too hot. Jamas wet." His room was, in fact, VERY warm and his pajamas were, in fact, wet (he had spilled his water on them somehow). So I changed his pajamas, arranged the A/C to blow in his room, put him back in bed & reminded him of the deal.
30 minutes later I hear little feet. "Mama?" asked a little voice "Me go potty?" Any potty training parent knows you can't argue with that request, even when you know they're playing you, so up on the potty he went, did his business, new diaper and into bed.
I didn't see him again until 5 am! I call that a success!!!
As we were getting ready, Diesel thanked Little Man for sleeping so well and Little Man very matter of factly replied "Pretzel. Lemmyade. Toy."
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
For the Love of All Things Holy, GO TO SLEEP!!!!!!
So Diesel & I had the audacity to go on a 3 day weekend to Vegas & leave Little Man with his grandparents. I am now sure that he is punishing us for this.
For the last week and a half, my formerly easy to put to bed son has refused to sleep. REFUSED. Bedtime rolls around. The first sign of trouble looming on the horizon is when we get the request for "one more Georgie?" Repeated several times until hysteria sets in. "No, we watched one Curious George, it is bedtime. Time to sleep. We're going to read books."
So we sit in the glider, in dim light, and read a few books. We sing the bedtime lullaby & into bed Little Man goes. Every night the same thing happens.
"Mama. Wah-tuh?"
"Daddy put your water in your bed. Here is Baby & Cozy."
"Daddy KISS!"
"Ok. You stay in bed and Daddy will come give you a kiss."
Diesel enters, gives kiss, says "Good night Buddy, I love you." and leaves. I say "Good night, I love you more than anything" and leave.
Usually this marks the beginning of quiet Mommy & Daddy time while our darling boy slumbers... NOW, it means in 5 or so minutes we'll hear little feet creeping through our bedroom. A tiny, grinning face then appears in the doorway.
"Ni hao Mama. I wake up."
"No, sir, you did not wake up. You haven't gone to bed."
So I scoop him up, put him back into bed. Say good night & leave.
As I'm leaving, I see his little legs swing out of bed and he runs for the door. I scoop him up and wordlessly put him in his bed. Before I can step away, his little legs swing out of bed again and he's off. Again, I scoop him up and wordlessly put him in bed and start to leave.
Repeat this 4 million times for the next hour, but add in a screaming & crying two year old and a mama who is trying to keep from losing her temper. Eventually, I give up and say "ok. Mama will sit in the chair if you stay in bed." Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't.
LAST NIGHT, however, takes the cake! 7:30 bedtime. I read, we sing, I put him in bed. Diesel laid in bed with him while I go on a run. I came back 30 minutes later & Diesel was still in there. I foolishly think "maybe they both fell asleep." In about 5 minutes I know how wrong I am. Little Man starts calling for me. I come in, say good night and leave. Diesel leaves.... Little Man shows up in our room 2 minutes later.
"Ni hao! I wake up"
I put him in bed, and because by now it is way past his bedtime I sit in the glider. Little Man meanwhile flops around on his bed like a fish, jabbering away. I'm doing my best to say nothing. He lays down and gets quiet. I move to sitting on the floor so I can stretch after my run. I hear his breathing getting slower & steadier, so I inch my way out of the room. I make it to the bathroom that adjoins our two bedrooms and Little Man sits bolt upright. "MAMA! I get toys!" he says as he slides out of bed & opens his cupboard & pulls out his steering wheel.
Oh sweet Jesus, give me strength.
I put him in bed, with his steering wheel and leave. For the next few minutes I hear "OH NO! Battery dead! Ah Gon sho li" (this is my, likely incorrect, romanization of my son's Mandarin. It means "Grandpa can fix it"). Then he toddles into our room, climbs into our bed and says "Me sleep Mama, Dada bed?"
Normally, this is a no-no, but it is now 9pm, I'm tired and I NEED him to sleep. I say "fine, but you have to lay down and sleep." For the next 30 minutes Little Man crawls under the pillows, turns on the lights, moos like a cow, takes of his pajamas and occasionally lays still. Finally we give up. It is time for the big guns.
We put him in bed, leave & lock the door behind him. 10 minutes of crying & knocking on the door commence. After that, Diesel goes in, puts him in bed. I come in give him kisses, say good night, Diesel leaves. I stay for a few minutes. Little Man starts snoring... All is right with the world.
Until 2:30 am...
For the last week and a half, my formerly easy to put to bed son has refused to sleep. REFUSED. Bedtime rolls around. The first sign of trouble looming on the horizon is when we get the request for "one more Georgie?" Repeated several times until hysteria sets in. "No, we watched one Curious George, it is bedtime. Time to sleep. We're going to read books."
So we sit in the glider, in dim light, and read a few books. We sing the bedtime lullaby & into bed Little Man goes. Every night the same thing happens.
"Mama. Wah-tuh?"
"Daddy put your water in your bed. Here is Baby & Cozy."
"Daddy KISS!"
"Ok. You stay in bed and Daddy will come give you a kiss."
Diesel enters, gives kiss, says "Good night Buddy, I love you." and leaves. I say "Good night, I love you more than anything" and leave.
Usually this marks the beginning of quiet Mommy & Daddy time while our darling boy slumbers... NOW, it means in 5 or so minutes we'll hear little feet creeping through our bedroom. A tiny, grinning face then appears in the doorway.
"Ni hao Mama. I wake up."
"No, sir, you did not wake up. You haven't gone to bed."
So I scoop him up, put him back into bed. Say good night & leave.
As I'm leaving, I see his little legs swing out of bed and he runs for the door. I scoop him up and wordlessly put him in his bed. Before I can step away, his little legs swing out of bed again and he's off. Again, I scoop him up and wordlessly put him in bed and start to leave.
Repeat this 4 million times for the next hour, but add in a screaming & crying two year old and a mama who is trying to keep from losing her temper. Eventually, I give up and say "ok. Mama will sit in the chair if you stay in bed." Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't.
LAST NIGHT, however, takes the cake! 7:30 bedtime. I read, we sing, I put him in bed. Diesel laid in bed with him while I go on a run. I came back 30 minutes later & Diesel was still in there. I foolishly think "maybe they both fell asleep." In about 5 minutes I know how wrong I am. Little Man starts calling for me. I come in, say good night and leave. Diesel leaves.... Little Man shows up in our room 2 minutes later.
"Ni hao! I wake up"
I put him in bed, and because by now it is way past his bedtime I sit in the glider. Little Man meanwhile flops around on his bed like a fish, jabbering away. I'm doing my best to say nothing. He lays down and gets quiet. I move to sitting on the floor so I can stretch after my run. I hear his breathing getting slower & steadier, so I inch my way out of the room. I make it to the bathroom that adjoins our two bedrooms and Little Man sits bolt upright. "MAMA! I get toys!" he says as he slides out of bed & opens his cupboard & pulls out his steering wheel.
Oh sweet Jesus, give me strength.
I put him in bed, with his steering wheel and leave. For the next few minutes I hear "OH NO! Battery dead! Ah Gon sho li" (this is my, likely incorrect, romanization of my son's Mandarin. It means "Grandpa can fix it"). Then he toddles into our room, climbs into our bed and says "Me sleep Mama, Dada bed?"
Normally, this is a no-no, but it is now 9pm, I'm tired and I NEED him to sleep. I say "fine, but you have to lay down and sleep." For the next 30 minutes Little Man crawls under the pillows, turns on the lights, moos like a cow, takes of his pajamas and occasionally lays still. Finally we give up. It is time for the big guns.
We put him in bed, leave & lock the door behind him. 10 minutes of crying & knocking on the door commence. After that, Diesel goes in, puts him in bed. I come in give him kisses, say good night, Diesel leaves. I stay for a few minutes. Little Man starts snoring... All is right with the world.
Until 2:30 am...
Sunday, May 2, 2010
In Memoriam
Today's post is a sad one. Tomorrow, May 3, is the 1 year anniversary of the passing of my sister's best friend, Jill St. Onge. Jill passed away suddenly, and inexplicably, while in Thailand with her fiance, Ryan. This tragedy is further compoounded by the fact that the Thai government has been less than helpful in finding out why Jill and another tourist suddenly died while staying in the same guest house.
For me, the loss of Jill is a sadness I feel on a many levels. First and foremost, a person whom I genuinely cared about has passed away. She passed away far too soon and has left behind so many people who would give anything to have just another minute with her. My heart aches deeply for Jill's family and friends. Every time I think of Jill, I think of how many people truly LOVED her. And how well she loved them all back. I feel absolutely bereft for my sister, who lost her hands-down best friend ever in the world. Shannon wrote this last year and I can barely get through it without bursting into tears. It is absoluetly gut-wrenching to me.
And that brings me to the meat & potatoes of my post. When at a loss for something beautiful and eloquent to say, in true English teacher fashion, I reach into the poetry vault. Today I choose John Donne's poem "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning." Bear with me as I get teachery for a minute, but I have to explain WHY I choose this poem.
In this poem, Donne uses the image of the compass-- think geometry, not navigational-- to explain the way that love continues even after death. The idea that those who remain on earth are like the fixed foot, and the person who has passed is like the unfixed foot; while that foot travels far away, it is still always connected to the fixed foot. I like that Donne presents us with the idea that even death cannot conquer deep and abiding love-- instead it expands it and turns it into something different.
So without further ado:
A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning
by John Donne
As virtuous men pass mildly away,
And whisper to their souls to go,
Whilst some of their sad friends do say,
"The breath goes now," and some say, "No,"
So let us melt, and make no noise,
No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move;
'Twere profanation of our joys
To tell the laity our love.
Moving of the earth brings harms and fears,
Men reckon what it did and meant;
But trepidation of the spheres,
Though greater far, is innocent.
Dull sublunary lovers' love
(Whose soul is sense) cannot admit
Absence, because it doth remove
Those things which elemented it.
But we, by a love so much refined
That our selves know not what it is,
Inter-assured of the mind,
Care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss.
Our two souls therefore, which are one,
Though I must go, endure not yet
A breach, but an expansion.
Like gold to airy thinness beat.
If they be two, they are two so
As stiff twin compasses are two:
Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if the other do;
And though it in the center sit,
Yet when the other far doth roam,
It leans, and hearkens after it,
And grows erect, as that comes home.
Such wilt thou be to me, who must,
Like the other foot, obliquely run;
Thy firmness makes my circle just,
And makes me end where I begun.
And I close with this image of Jill. Travelling onward forever. Rest in peace beautiful girl.
For me, the loss of Jill is a sadness I feel on a many levels. First and foremost, a person whom I genuinely cared about has passed away. She passed away far too soon and has left behind so many people who would give anything to have just another minute with her. My heart aches deeply for Jill's family and friends. Every time I think of Jill, I think of how many people truly LOVED her. And how well she loved them all back. I feel absolutely bereft for my sister, who lost her hands-down best friend ever in the world. Shannon wrote this last year and I can barely get through it without bursting into tears. It is absoluetly gut-wrenching to me.
And that brings me to the meat & potatoes of my post. When at a loss for something beautiful and eloquent to say, in true English teacher fashion, I reach into the poetry vault. Today I choose John Donne's poem "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning." Bear with me as I get teachery for a minute, but I have to explain WHY I choose this poem.
In this poem, Donne uses the image of the compass-- think geometry, not navigational-- to explain the way that love continues even after death. The idea that those who remain on earth are like the fixed foot, and the person who has passed is like the unfixed foot; while that foot travels far away, it is still always connected to the fixed foot. I like that Donne presents us with the idea that even death cannot conquer deep and abiding love-- instead it expands it and turns it into something different.
So without further ado:
A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning
by John Donne
As virtuous men pass mildly away,
And whisper to their souls to go,
Whilst some of their sad friends do say,
"The breath goes now," and some say, "No,"
So let us melt, and make no noise,
No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move;
'Twere profanation of our joys
To tell the laity our love.
Moving of the earth brings harms and fears,
Men reckon what it did and meant;
But trepidation of the spheres,
Though greater far, is innocent.
Dull sublunary lovers' love
(Whose soul is sense) cannot admit
Absence, because it doth remove
Those things which elemented it.
But we, by a love so much refined
That our selves know not what it is,
Inter-assured of the mind,
Care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss.
Our two souls therefore, which are one,
Though I must go, endure not yet
A breach, but an expansion.
Like gold to airy thinness beat.
If they be two, they are two so
As stiff twin compasses are two:
Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if the other do;
And though it in the center sit,
Yet when the other far doth roam,
It leans, and hearkens after it,
And grows erect, as that comes home.
Such wilt thou be to me, who must,
Like the other foot, obliquely run;
Thy firmness makes my circle just,
And makes me end where I begun.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Pure Genius!
Back from hiatus…
So Little Man is almost two (in two weeks! I can’t believe it!) and in true 2 year old fashion, he’s decided to exert his blossoming independence in one of the few ways he can… Refusal to eat veggies!
Gone are the days when my little potato would sneak broccoli florets off of my plate and devour them. Gone are the days of peas being consumed with reckless abandon. Siiigh.
After a few months of eating none of the veggies offered to him, I have found a sneaky way to get him eating veggies. No, this isn’t a recipe from Deceptively Delicious, though I do find that cookbook intriguing. Instead, it is far simpler and requires NO cooking on my part. What is this miraculous solution? Well, let me give some back story.
Last year, I stumbled upon a cool company called Revolution Foods. Not only are they an awesome company that is trying to improve the way our kids eat, but they have some awesome products. One of those awesome products are their Mash ups,
which are squeezable fruit packets. Awesome! I can toss one in my bag and give it to Little Man anywhere. He LOVES his “squeezies.”
Fast forward to two weeks ago. I was desperately trying to come up with a way to get Little Man to eat veggies, and I stumbled upon these beauties from Ella’s Kitchen and Plum Organics:
So Little Man is almost two (in two weeks! I can’t believe it!) and in true 2 year old fashion, he’s decided to exert his blossoming independence in one of the few ways he can… Refusal to eat veggies!
Gone are the days when my little potato would sneak broccoli florets off of my plate and devour them. Gone are the days of peas being consumed with reckless abandon. Siiigh.
After a few months of eating none of the veggies offered to him, I have found a sneaky way to get him eating veggies. No, this isn’t a recipe from Deceptively Delicious, though I do find that cookbook intriguing. Instead, it is far simpler and requires NO cooking on my part. What is this miraculous solution? Well, let me give some back story.
Last year, I stumbled upon a cool company called Revolution Foods. Not only are they an awesome company that is trying to improve the way our kids eat, but they have some awesome products. One of those awesome products are their Mash ups,
which are squeezable fruit packets. Awesome! I can toss one in my bag and give it to Little Man anywhere. He LOVES his “squeezies.”
SQUEEZY PACKS OF VEGGIE/FRUIT BLENDS!!!
I’m so enamored of these little beauties. Granted, they are technically stage 1 baby foods, but Little Man doesn't know that! He thinks they are his "squeezies" and has sucked down his veggies like never before!
Thus far, he’s tried almost all the veggie flavors and has only rejected the Broccoli, Peas & Pears by Ella’s Kitchen (I tried it, it was pretty nasty). I’m so beyond excited-- I get a toddler who eats some veggies AND something to bribe him with? "You want some squeezie? you gotta eat some chicken first!"
Sometimes I think I might be a genius!
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