get it together

Yesterday was a bad day. Like, a really, really bad day. Seth went out of town for the week the day we decided swaddling Evie is no longer an option. Needless to say, Tuesday night involved very little sleeping for the three Burrow ladies. Lila is a child whose temperament depends on sleep. If she gets none the next day is horrendous. But these days if she gets enough the "terrible twos" seem to be slipping away. Yesterday was the worst day we have in a long time.

Carson and Lila are also going through some very opposite changes which makes my job as constant referee a little harder. Carson is entering the combative two year old world where her need for control and independence are growing. Lila is entering the stage of less parallel play and more PLAY WITH ME NOW with other kids. So here's how that looks:

L: Carson let's dance!
C: NO!
L: Carson PLEASE let's dance!
C: No thank you.
L: (entering meltdown mode and in Carson's face) Carson dance now!!!!!
C: NOOOOOO! (shoves Lila)
L: (screaming and crying like someone just shredded her blanket) Mommy Carson won't dance!!!!
.....I diffuse Lila's hysteria....Lila calms down....
C: Lila dance?
L: Ok!
.....and off they go into a blissful thirty minute running around dance fest that ends in a similar situation mentioned above about the use of a stroller, doll, magnet, or any other item in my house.

This all becomes magnified by the fact that they both can't sleep due to the snot and coughing extravaganza that has now become everyday life for them.

Most days I can diffuse most things and the times of chaos are few and far between. Yesterday just wasn't one of those days. And because Evie thinks that sleeping is something other people's kids do she starts screaming and crying just to fit in. Or because she's EXHAUSTED.

After Carson left yesterday Evie finally took a nap and Lila and I had a video chat with Sara. This part of the day was nice. Then Evie slept a little longer so Lila and I perused the Super Readers website. If you don't know, Super Readers is a fantastic little cartoon that Lila is obsessed with. She actually thought her Wonder Woman Halloween costume made her a Super Reader. Anyway, we did that for a while and then Evie woke up around dinnertime. We have no food and I desperately needed to get out of the house. I decided we would go drive through somewhere. Lila decided she hates me because I turned off the computer and put her in the car. She hasn't had an all out screaming-so-much-in-the-car-meltdown-mommy-wants-to-run-into-oncoming-traffic kind of episode in a really long time.  I had actually forgotten how miserable those can be. I'm not proud, but I had had enough. So I screamed back. I'm not a screaming parent. But she was getting Evie riled up too and I just couldn't do it. After I screamed Lila went silent. After we drove through to get food and I gave her lemonade it was like the whole thing never happened. Don't you just love that about toddlers?

Needless to say, last night ended the day with a bang. Evie went to sleep just long enough for me to read and sing to Lila only to wake up and take over an hour for me to get her back to sleep. So both children were asleep somewhere around 10:30.

I'm not telling you all of this so you feel sorry for me. I'm not telling you all of this to be your birth control if you don't have kids. I'm telling you all of this to now tell you something else....

I was in the car taking Lila to school this morning and Evie fell asleep as she usually does. So I drove around to hopefully get a good nap in for her. While doing so I started listening to Dave FM and they are at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta doing a fundraiser. It seems that CHOA is in desperate need of funds. Anyway, they are calling it the Big Show for Little Voices I believe. They have families talking about how much CHOA means to them and why. I am listening to the stories of children who spent the first two years of their lives in the hospital. I am listening to moms who have bad days every day because they spend their lives watching their child suffer.  And of course, I'm crying. I'm crying because I have two amazingly healthy and happy kids. I am crying because my bad day overwhelmed me to no end when it's one bad day among hundreds of good ones. I'm crying because I need to cut myself some slack. A two year olds everyday tantrum (or ten) is probably something one of those moms at CHOA would welcome with a big smile.

I know I'm allowed to be upset by our bad day. But God just wanted to make sure I knew how lucky I am to have that kind of a bad day.  So God, if you're listening, I heard you loud and clear.

Want to know what I've been doing?

Read this first...

Here's my version catered to my child:

1. MUST suck my thumb right now.
2. Molly thinks it's funny when I pull her tail.
3. I wanna eat a banana.
4. I wanna eat all of the bananas.
5. WHY ARE YOU NOT GIVING ME A BANANA?
6. That toy is mine.
7. I'm gonna take that toy from Carson.
8. I HATE TIME OUT.
9. I wanna run away from time out.
10. Mommy is funny.
11. I wanna run away from time out.
12. Mommy is funny but why isn't she laughing when I run?
13. When is the dingy going to go off?
14. I wanna take that toy from Carson again.
15. I love my guitar.
16. I am the best singer ever.
17. Can my voice get louder?
18. I wanna chase Molly with my guitar.
19. Molly is so funny.
20. I wanna take baby Evie's pacifier.
21. Baby Evie's pacifier is mine.
22. I HATE TIME OUT.
23. Mommy's phone is mine.
24. The TV is mine.
25. I wanna watch Sesame Street.
26. Why won't mommy turn on Sesame Street?
27. The remote is mine.
28. I think mommy's phone goes in my microwave.
29. No I did not poop.
30. But now that you mention it I'm going to stick my hand in my diaper and make sure.
31. Oh I did poop.
32. Get this crap off my hands!!!
33. No I don't want to wash my hands.
34. Get this crap off my hands!!!
35. I wanna grab the faucet.
36. Why am I all wet?
37. Get my wet clothes off!!!!
38. I don't want a new diaper.
39. Where is Go Do Go?
40. I NEED to read Go Dog Go.
41. I bet Carson stole Go Dog Go.
42. I only want to eat bananas.
43. Why can't I have another banana????
44. That banana Carson has is MINEEEEEEEE!!!!
45. I love story time.
46. I love my blanket.
47. I love sucking my thumb.
48. I love Go Dog Go.
49. No thank you. I do not want to take a nap.
50. I don't care if Carson and Evie are sleeping. I am the best, loudest singer ever.
51. I want Carson to wake up.
52. I love Go Dog Go.
53. Beds are for reading and singing....not sleeping.
54. No mommy I am not tired.
55. I AM NOT TIRED.
56. I just want another banana.
57. I love sucking my thumb.
58. Is baby Evie crying? Why does she get to be up?
59. Where is Carson? Where is mommy? Where is Molly?
60. When did I go to sleep? Mommy I AM HERE!!!!

SIDE NOTE- I am way behind on the new header. I am way behind on blogging in general. You should see the state of my house. And we leave to go to the beach again tomorrow! Have a good weekend and maybe, just maybe, I can get my act together next week.

The navigation continues...

On a daily basis I try very hard to really appreciate the fact that I have a daughter who knows what she wants. I realize she's only almost two, but I hope she never becomes as indecisive as her mommy. We have scaled down the tantrums (even in regards to clothing) but scaled up the hint of bossiness I had seen in the past few weeks. It seems like every day her language builds at a speed that I have a hard time keeping up with. This means that she knows more and more how to get what she wants. She also knows that I have a VERY hard time saying no when she says please. Overall, we are navigating turning two on a constant basis...

* Lila has always loved music but she only recently realized that it quite often comes from this thing called a radio. Unfortunately, she refers to the radio as "TV". When we are in the car if I turn the radio down for even a second she is chirping "TV on! TV on! TV on!".  I tell her it's called a radio and she thinks it's funny to argue with me and says TV over and over again. Also, I am a Dave fm fan, but she prefers Q100. I know this because today we were in the car and I switched from Q100 (which was on commercial) to Dave fm (which was playing Rain King by the Counting Crows) and she promptly said "don't touch the buttons!". So, in the end we need to work on the demanding nature of her opinions and we may need to work on her music choices as well.  Last week she got mad over the exact same thing when I went from Britney Spears (Q100) to Kings of Leon (Dave fm).

* The term scoot, or in Lila's world "scoop", has become her way of getting you to move her or move yourself. I got her a little table to sit at in the playroom at a consignment sale not too long ago. She gets herself into the chairs but can't seem to then get the chair to the table. The same thing goes for the chair at the piano. Before I even have a chance to help her she is yelling "scoop mommy! scoop!". She has also commanded me to scoop myself out of my own chair. I mean, I will be the first to admit that I sit. A lot. She now tries to put her arm around my back and move me out of the chair. Have I mentioned I'm ready to have this baby?

* This is kind of random, but it's a testament to how concrete the world is at this age. When we are in the car and Lila sees a car just like Seth's she starts screaming "daddy!". I guess the silver Chevrolet Traverse is super popular these days. She gets mad if the car pulls away. She even started crying yesterday and seemed genuinely mad at me for not taking chase after the car.

* Last, but certainly not least, Lila's affection towards my belly is growing by the minute. Usually if she pays attention to it at all I have either asked her where mommy's baby is or mentioned that she should give the baby some love. But in the past few days she has randomly come up and kissed my belly or gently patted and talked to the baby. I know she can't possibly understand what's about to happen. However, I do feel like her little heart is feeling a big sister pull :-)

DUH

Do you ever have one of those moments where the light bulb goes off and you feel like a crazy person?  This happens when the light bulb contains information you knew all along and somehow just misplaced in the depths of your brain.

This parenting thing is a very humbling experience. I spend so much time contemplating how fantastic and yet nuts it all is.

Anyway, my friend Patty turned me on to this website called bloglovin. It's a place to organize and manage the blogs you read. I love organizing. I love blogs. Match made in Jana world heaven.  As I'm organizing and reading (because I totally have nothing else to do right?) I stumble across a blog that references another blog concerning the unnerving world of navigating toddlerhood. I am reading one post and then reading the next on the next blog and very quickly I start to realize I am a complete moron. Here's why.

I have a degree in child development. I did a Child Life internship that revolved around distracting children in tough medical situations. I have a master's degree in early childhood education and spent three years teaching second graders where transition time can make or break your day. Keeping all of this in mind, here is what I read:

1) Marlie and Me....

"I never considered it a disruption of Marlie's time as I attempted to usher her from task to task. I was only focused on getting the job at hand done, sticking to our routine and getting through the day without the house burning down. I've been trying this method of giving Marlie a heads up when it's time to transition to a new task. It's going to take lots of practice before we can reach a truce."


2) Via Marlie and Me I continued reading this post from another blogger...


"I am a busy person, too. And a multitasker. So I don't really have any excuse as to why it's taken me this long to really internalize the fact that someone who is busy completing multiple tasks might not like it when another person comes along and declares "Stop what you're doing, because we're doing this now." To add insult to injury, that person then bodily forces the transition between activities."


HOLY CRAP. This is the key to toddlerhood. This is the answer I have been looking for. THIS is genious.


I read all of this yesterday during nap time. I decided from then on that every time we needed to transition to something I would do a whole lot of talking about it before we did. The top three things Lila has been having all out hysterics with me about are diaper changes, getting in the car, and sitting down to eat. Now when I know one of those things may be coming (or really anything that requires transition) I start talking about it. It's funny because at first she just looks at me and says "no". The more I remind her that it's coming the less of a response she has. Then, when we go to do it she just follows me and she does it. Well, she did it for the second half of the day yesterday anyway :-). 


Somehow I led myself to believe that my child would just do what came next and not worry about it. And then I sat dumbfounded by her massive meltdowns. As Lila would say "silly mommy".

Had enough

I've always said I want to be candid about motherhood here. I'm sure I'm more candid than I should be, but today may take the cake.

I bought this book on Amazon to read on my Kindle app for the Ipad. It's called Emotional Muscle. I read a glowing review of it here:


http://thestir.cafemom.com/toddler/116582/antitiger_mom_advice_for_the

Basically, I wanted strategies and ideas about how to handle the times where you have no idea what to do, and you are at your rope's end. I don't mean this is the first time this or other situations like this have happened in a day...it's more like the fifth or sixth. I have only read a few chapters of the book. So far I am not impressed. Maybe I just need to keep reading.  I will keep you posted.

I feel a disclaimer may or may not be needed here. I often wonder if I would feel this exhausted, frustrated, and overwhelmed by this "phase" if I wasn't pregnant. Part of me thinks the difficulty would still be just as unnerving. Another part of me thinks I would have a clearer head and a more capable approach. A third part of me thinks....wait, in a few months this will all be happening with a newborn in the background. I mean, Carson is here today. But Carson is at that super, fantastic, just-turned-one stage where she just watches and listens to everything with awe and/or concern. She watches Lila lose her mind like she's some wild animal at the zoo.

Today has been particularly difficult. I look at those big, blue eyes and that shiny, blonde hair and I try so hard to see the little girl and her feelings. Instead I see the screaming, kicking, red faced tantrum in all it's glory. I have said this before, but when I was a teacher there was one phrase that ran through my head many times a day..."don't let the inner voice out". Someone in my master's program said that to me once and it stuck. I have tried to apply that to parenting too. Don't let them see you lose your cool...don't let them know that you are about to break and scream too....don't act exactly the way you would prefer to be acting.

Here's what I really want to say. This is my child in my house. I am gigantic, not feeling good, and she is pushing it too far today. I am going to cry and I am going to walk away and hope that it just ends. I am going to scoop Carson up and whisper in her ear that Lila should not be her example. I'm going to tell her to sail right past 18-24 months without batting an eye. If I can subliminally spare Katie the daily dose of good old fashioned drama that is taking over my life right now shouldn't I at least try?

I don't like posting these kinds of things. I feel like I am ratting out my own kid and talking badly about her. This too shall pass (please God). It's just another day. She is still an immeasurable source of happiness and joy in my life. Today, I just need her to GET OVER IT.

There. I said it.

Changing diapers and cleaning toilets

It's 11:30 pm. I got home not too long ago from my glamorous second job of cleaning toilets, talked to my fantastic sister/babysitter for a bit, and now here I sit ready to divulge the inner workings of my day. Are you so excited? Here's a glimpse...

I'm not sure why the baby doll bed was in the bathroom. I'm also not sure what prompted getting into it together. Carson doesn't typically love her personal space to be invaded by Lila. I'm sure Carson wasn't thrilled with Lila trying to make out with her either. However, even though Carson wasn't making a fuss about it I took her out because I was afraid she was unhappy and not letting me know. She promptly got back in. 

The struggle to decode the world of sharing during toddlerhood is still a major part of the day. This morning when Carson got here Lila was wonderful. She wanted Carson to help her do the puzzles and she gave Carson random toys out of the blue. Carson took a nap and woke up to a very different Lila that wanted to take toys from her instead. I know Carson's day will come where sharing is just as hard, but right now she has to deal with little miss Jekyl and Hyde. I can tell Lila wants to do the right thing. She just can't sometimes. While this is all very age appropriate, it's pretty exhausting. I try to physically move Lila when she gets grabby because that along with discussing turn taking and such seems to do the trick. Lord knows this is not something that will get worked out in a matter of days. There's a long road ahead I'm sure. But, hopefully all of this work I'm doing now won't be lost when Carson stops coming to our house two days a week :-)

At any rate, it was so nice outside today. I found myself sitting on the swing on the deck watching Lila "ride" the tricycle like the Flintstones drive cars. Carson was busy moving chairs from one side of the deck to the other. I felt very lucky to be a part of their world. Cleaning toilets may not be what I saw myself doing at thirty one years old. But, if it makes things so that I am able to spend the day watching these little girls figure out life there are no complaints here. 

Holla Hump Day

I am using this holla hump day to discuss our recent adventure to Florida.

I want to thank God, the universe, the alignment of the stars, yadda yadda. Whatever you want to call it, I want to thank it. I did not purchase a plane ticket for Lila for this trip simply because I didn't have to. Well, that and they are expensive. She turns two in May. This will almost 100% be the last time she is on an airplane before she turns two and they require her to have a ticket. That being said, on the way to and from West Palm Beach we ended up with a seat for her anyway and she did not have to sit in Sara's lap.

Changing gears a little bit, this post is going to involve some of my ramblings about motherhood as well. Shocker, I know. Anyway, it's not necessary to say this, but I love my child with everything that I am. However, on this trip she tested me beyond what I am usually capable of letting go of.  If you have children older than two I'm guessing you know what I'm talking about. If you have a child (or children) under the age of two I want you to know that when the day comes where you experience this you can call me. And you can cry to me. And you can scream too if you want.

You see, everyone has a breaking point. The problem is, the breaking point that you feel when your sweet, perfect, adorable angel has put you there is completely different. I realize I am pregnant and that may have factored in. I kind of don't think so though. I have been overwhelmed before. I have been stressed and scared and feeling guilty all due to this job of being a parent. But there is usually a clear line for me where I can work my way through it without becoming a mess of tears and frustration. The past couple of weeks that seems to be getting harder to do. I have tried to come up with ways to handle myself and handle my soon to be two year old. Nothing major happened in Florida that hasn't happened at home...other than the clear line becoming blurry for me and the collapse into swirling emotions took over.

The weather was perfect. My dad and his wife Liz did so much to make sure we had a good time. I'm not sure if Lila just got restless or if she was simply acting her age. It doesn't matter really. The fact of the matter is, she had a few massive meltdowns that sent me over the edge. Yesterday she woke up very early, didn't nap for very long, and when she woke up from the nap she was inconsolable. Then I started crying and I just kind of froze up. I didn't want to be anywhere near her and I'm sure that was making it worse. I wanted to lay down and ignore the whole thing. Thank you dad and Sara for whisking her away for a walk so that I could lay down and get myself together. Thank you for not judging me and for loving me (and Lila) as much as you do. Most of all, thank you for understanding.

Again, if you find yourself not sure of how to come back to life in an episode that may be similar give me a shout. I will whisk away your child or sit on the phone with you and I won't judge you.

Lastly, the biggest shout out goes to Sara. The day after we got there she got sick and generally felt crappy. She still found ways to make me feel better and help me out. One day I hope I can repay her for everything she does for us and for all the love she gives. It is simply immeasurable.

Sorry for the heaviness of this post. We did have such a great time lounging in the sun and eating constantly! I'm just not the type to avoid being candid. What good does it do anyone to pretend that these things don't happen right? Pictures are coming soon in the new header...have a good rest of the week ;-)

Only 6 months?

*Disclaimer - there will be an immense amount of whining in this post.

I am fairly sure that my doctor and everyone that works with her lied to me. I am now under the belief that this baby is coming in a month instead of three. Someone screwed up miserably when calculating my due date.

My hot mess of a toddler can point at my belly and say baby, but her patience with me stops there. She doesn't seem at all concerned that I pretty much feel like someone swiped my lower back with a two by four. She also doesn't care that I am sleepy all day but can't seem to go to sleep at night. I am almost certain she is a hot mess these days because I just can't keep up!

All of that aside, I feel right this minute like I remember feeling a few weeks out during pregnancy round one. How on earth am I going to feel when I am actually a few weeks out? I even apologized to Seth for my appearance (or lack of an attempt at a decent appearance) and my whining. He's a good sport, but I am starting to get sick of myself.

Add on the fact that I am finding loose Tums in my purse along with the stray Cheerios and you could say I am a hotter mess than my kid.

Once a day I tell myself that I will miss this when the baby is here. I really missed being pregnant not long after Lila was born. I do take moments to stop and marvel at the fantastic job my body is doing making this baby. My mind just needed me to vent to even the score. I do not want the baby to come in a month. That's just crazy talk. Of course I want it to be plump and completely ready to enter the world! I just can't stop thinking that come month 8 or so I may topple over and not be able to get up.

My day

You know how I wrote that post a few weeks ago about the glorious day I had? Apparently, the universe decided I needed a little humbling. I mean, I realize we had a snow WEEK and all, but Lila completely forgot how to be around Carson.

Let's back up. Yesterday was the start of what I'm assuming is pregnancy symptom number 843...heat rash. Yes, I have a heat rash after a week of being iced in my house. I had my glucose test today and the midwife said it's very normal and yadda yadda. It looks very similar to the heat rash I tend to get in the summer after being in the sun too long. Only this time I am gigantic, not in a bathing suit (THANK GOD), and not enjoying the actual benefits of summer. No, this time I am in my house with a toddler that hates everyone today and another one that is probably thinking her parents are abusing her by making her hang out with the crazy one.

I should say I feel very lucky and fortunate to have a pretty mild tempered and easy going kid. I think that's why days like today hit me so hard. When she starts acting her age by throwing fits and going crazy over nothing I feel like a deer in headlights. Seth came home while I went to my appointment and I felt it only fair to tell him that our child was not our child today. If you can imagine, he looked really excited to be staying for the lunch portion of the day.

So I go to the doctor all whiny and itchy, get my blood drawn, and come home. Seth said the girls wanted nothing to do with him. They just played and he said he was just quietly hanging out. Hmmm...maybe Lila is just out to get me. But, now they are napping and I am still itching (hydrocortisone only works for so long).

Since I am halfway through two books right now anyway I'm thinking I will throw in another one on how to teach an almost two year old how to share...any suggestions?

Pleasantly Surprised

This was one of those days that I think stay at home moms dream about. Everyone loves each other and everything is easy and dreamy and happy. There's lots of learning, lunches are eaten with glee, naps are long, and dogs don't lick children to death. At least in my world that is how one of those days would go...and go it did.

I don't even know how to put it into words. Let me start by saying that I did not get to shower before Carson came this morning. In fact, I did not go to sleep until almost 3 am. Coughing combined with the disastrous decision to have caffeine late in the evening kept me wide eyed and Baby Burrow restless. Therefore, I chose to skip the shower and sleep as late as I could (sorry Katie and Brandon). Due to my lack of sleep I expected it to be a frustrating day. Not because of the girls, but just because of me. I love how you may expect the worst only to be pleasantly surprised.

Lila and Carson's relationship up to this point has been typical. Carson stays away from Lila usually because Lila takes toys from her and is generally much louder and crazier than her. Lila "talks" to Carson and talks about Carson like she can't live without her. However, as mentioned, when Carson is here Lila is less than friendly. We have practiced and discussed this to death. All day long I am saying "Lila, please be nice" or "Lila do not take" or some variation along those lines. If Lila takes something I move her completely because distracting her no longer works.

Carson was not here for two weeks due to Christmas break. She came on Tuesday and things were a little rocky for Carson getting back into the swing of things whereas Lila was sluggish and sick. There was minimal interaction really. Imagine my surprise today when it seemed like I was with two completely different children.

Let's start with Carson. She was a lot more interactive with Lila than she ever has been. She was constantly touching Lila's hair, trying to tickle her, and following her around. She would stare at her and watch her every move. Sometimes she would even copy what Lila was doing. At one point she full on hugged Lila and twice she put her on Lila's back and just rested there. I felt like I could have taken a video of the whole day.

Lila only took a toy once or twice the entire day. And, when she did she gave it back. She let Carson "help" with whatever she was doing instead of trying to shove her away (see videos). She tickled Carson  and just laughed like they had always been ok with getting in each other's personal space. When we would go from one room to another she would walk slowly and put her hand behind Carson's back if she fell behind.

I'm not making this stuff up. ALL DAY I watched and took in what happens when two little girls suddenly realize they are friends.

My videos will not do this day justice. In fact, the first one is so poorly taken that I hesitated to even use it. I apparently thought it was centered when it totally was not. But if you listen closely Lila says some cute things and Carson is just oozing adorable. Really, none of these videos show you what I'm talking about. Cross your fingers that today was not a fluke and that Tuesday will be another day for me to take more videos :-)  The last one is a WAY overdue video of Lila's obsession with the "puppy" phone app mentioned a while ago.  Have a great weekend everyone!

This one is pretty long, but I love it.


A little more of the same...better angle...


Some singing...



...and a little dancing too!


Lastly, the overdue puppy app video.

Weekend in review

Ah, the world of an eighteen month old. My neighbor recently said something about the "terrible twos" and how they actually start at a year and a half. Our pediatrician alluded to the same thing. Random knowledge from my degree in child development runs through my head eighteen times a day. More specifically, Erikson's stage of autonomy versus shame and doubt is like a broken record in my thoughts. Sorry to get all developmental on you, but sometimes I feel like if I don't think it over and over I won't be patient enough to try and understand my child.  Erikson was one of many child development theorists who identified stages children go through. This particular stage lasts from one to three years of age. Children quickly learn that they can make choices...that they have some control. The idea is that the parent needs to find the fine line between fostering the autonomy while keeping the child safe AND not becoming too overbearing. If you are a parent and you walked that fine line with grace (especially in public) please contact me.

Anyway, we had a nice family weekend. Friday night was uneventful. Saturday was equally as uneventful until we headed to the Wise Family Santa party. I was SURE that Lila would love Santa. She met him at my grandparent's house already AND Saturday morning she met the Santa cow at Chick-Fil-A. On both occasions she wasn't overly impressed, but she was not afraid in the least. Of course, she gets all dolled up and adorable to meet him and clings to me like I am passing her off to the boogie man as I tried to put her on his lap. She wouldn't even sit so that we could attempt to at least get the obligatory "screaming child on Santa's lap" picture.  Therefore, please stay tuned for pictures of Lila later in the week in said adorable outfit/getup that I plan to take at our house.

Today was slated to be the big day of the weekend. We made the decision to try out the aquarium this morning. Bright and early we headed downtown. This is where the developmental stage mentioned above was on exhibit. Lila does one thing in big open spaces. She runs. She has no fear of leaving us or us leaving her. She takes off and doesn't look back (unless she is looking back to give you a sweet, yet devilish little grin that I have seen many times on a certain someone else's face). She liked the areas where the windows into the "ocean world" were at her level. However, if she had to be picked up to see something she became the rag doll, screaming banshee. She throws her head back, her face turns eight shades of red, and she hollers in a way that makes others stare and wonder what you are doing to your child. It was exhausting. We tried not picking her up...we tried putting her in the stroller....we tried running to keep up with her...I even got her to hold on to the side of the stroller for a while. We had been practicing holding hands outside and at stores and she had done so well. Unfortunately, we spent over $50 to chase our own child around.

I will say she LOVED the penguins, and so did we. That was really the highlight of the trip. They are so playful! One little girl was dancing around and it was almost as if they were dancing with her. Lila was mesmerized. She sweetly called them ducks and/or birds as they played in front of her.  Needless to say, you never know unless you give it a shot right? Now we know that we won't go back until she is at least two (and probably even older than that).

We came home, put her down for her nap, and got ready for our very long date. Seth's cousin, Jessica, had asked him a few weeks ago when she could babysit again. We are not the type to turn down eager babysitters! We planned to go to the mall to finish Christmas shopping, go to dinner, and then go to a movie. It was a glorious half day of togetherness and childless running around. I love my daughter more than I have ever loved anything in my entire life...but, nothing recharges you as a parent like not actively parenting for seven hours.

Christmas shopping is done and I am contemplating taking Lila to the Children's museum tomorrow...wish me luck! Happy Monday ya'll :-)

Weekend in Review

Unfortunately, our weekend started with a very snotty, sick little girl. We had grand plans of tailgating and enjoying the great outdoors. We decided to skip the tailgating for fear of getting there and and being miserable. Friday was a tough day for Lila. She felt really bad and that caused her recent discovery of the tantrum to be heightened to all new levels. She took the shortest nap ever and woke up to spend the next thirty minutes screaming here:

Yes, this is my beautiful child almost under the couch screaming. She wouldn't let me touch her or pick her up until she suddenly decided she was done. She then crawled into my lap for the only thirty minutes of the day where she wasn't upset. That's when I knew tailgating was not an option.

As mentioned before, I use Facebook as my very own Wikipedia type source. I get more suggestions and firsthand information there than I could ever get anywhere else. When I began thinking about taking Lila to a pumpkin patch and realized I had never even been to one myself, I knew where to find an answer. I got multiple recommendations, but one was recommended much more than others.

About halfway through the day on Saturday things started looking up for Lila. She was her super happy self again and I regained hope of a decent weekend. We got up early today and headed to Burt's Farm...

I'm not going to say don't ever go there. I'm not going to say that it wasn't fun to some degree. I am going to say that we won't be going back. Maybe we are the idiots for going on a Sunday. Maybe it's become so commercialized that it's just not worth the trouble. I'm not really sure. All I know is that we left calling it BurtMart because we felt like we had just spent half the day at Walmart. It was very far away and was complete MAYHEM to say the least. The pumpkins were cool because there were so many different kinds to choose from. But, I could have found the same setup in a church parking lot. The line for the hayride was at least an hour, if not two. It amazed me how many moms and dads were standing in line in the heat with very young children screaming.  Trying to take pictures was like playing a game of dodge the crazy kid whose mom isn't watching him. Lila "picked" a pumpkin, we paid, and left. On our way out the line of cars coming in was so long you would have thought this place was Disney World. Craziness. Here are a few pictures...

We may try pumpkin viewing again at Stone Mountain since that is right down the street! 

Tot School - Lesson One

Alright, while both babies are (shockingly) asleep for probably three minutes, I am going to sneak in a quick post about Tot School. I found the website for Tot School and LOVED it. I have taught preschool and elementary school and I have been a nanny. However, I feel like for the past month I have been struggling with trying to find things to do that don't cost a lot of money but are educational and fun for Lila. She isn't quite ready for things like finger paint and Play doh, and she is pretty much uninterested in the mass quantities of toys we have that she sees every day. (Side note - when it comes to toys, I am thinking the more you have the less they care to play with them). Anyway, enter Tot School. If you do not have a toddler (or kids for that matter) I apologize for how boring this post may be to you. But, if you keep reading you might at least find it entertaining because things with a toddler never really go as you planned them to. You can take a look at the website linked but here is a quick synopsis in my own words:


Tot School is time spent each day with your toddler exposing them to different ways of looking at and working with a varied set of items.


That's all I've got so far :-) I mean, the woman who does the website has planning sheets and assessment sheets and GOBS of other things that go along with it. I had my fill of those things while teaching and I feel like now, just like I felt while teaching, that filling out forms all day means you aren't spending much time teaching anything. Or, you are staying up till all hours doing paperwork. SO, I am adapting Tot School to suit me and my child. Of course, some might say "well that's what we are doing all day with our toddlers isn't it?". I don't know about other moms, but aside from trying to educate my child I am also running errands, going to the park, cooking dinner, doing laundry, playing, etc. etc. To me, Tot School is just a little bit more structured play. It's also a time where you bring out things and utilize them and then put them away. That way your child is less apt to get bored with them and you can see a progression of their learning.


Ok so I am getting a little too in depth here. Let me just tell/show you, so far, where I'm at.


I read through the website and she gives ideas and suggestions for items to buy and how to do them. I am off to a very slow start. I am trying to only use things I already have. She suggests buying trays (think cafeteria style) for each "activity" you want to do. Activities would be things like pouring, transferring, beading, spooning, sorting, matching, etc. I haven't done the trays yet, but I plan to. Here is what she shows on the website:

Right now I just have the items I want to use in containers on top of the armoire in the playroom so that little hands can't get to them on their own.  It's highly unorganized. I'm thinking baby steps with this. Here are the three things we have tried so far and how they went:

Activity #1 - Stickers - This doesn't really fall under a specific activity, but I have an abundance of stickers leftover from my classroom. I cut a large piece of poster board in half and give her one sticker at a time to apply to the poster. She is very good at this. However, she also fed two stickers to Molly.

Activity #2 - Transferring with pasta - I put a box of pasta in a tupperware container, gave her measuring cups, and started to show her how to move the pasta from one container to another using the cups. She prefers her hands at this point, but she transfers the pasta very well. She LOVES this activity. She also has always loved hiding things in my lap when I am sitting Indian style on the floor. And she also fed Molly some of the pasta.

Activity #3 - Clothespins (sorting or transferring) - I also had a lot of clothespins from my classroom. Some are plastic and different colors and some are the wooden kind. I am trying to show Lila how to clip the pins to things and sort them, but she is still too little for that. She likes playing with them and taking them apart when I attach them to each other. And she didn't have to feed them to Molly because by activity #3 Molly took it upon herself to eat one on her own.

What have we learned? Lila may be a little young still for some of this, but it's a lot of fun and a good start! Molly may have to be expelled from Tot School until Lila learns that we do not feed the dog.

So, somehow I just wrote a much longer post than I planned because both babies are still sleeping! I would say I am just that good, but it's really a result of cause and effect. Lila woke Carson up twenty minutes after Carson went to sleep so I think Carson is making up for the interruption by sleeping longer. I will take it!

I also want to brag about my latest Craigslist find...a double jogger in fabulous condition!

Have a great day!

breakthrough!

I believe we have reached the realm of toddlerhood. The kind where meltdowns over not getting what you want are epic. The oh so glorious time of life where the boundaries are needing to be made and the baby is needing to test them....frequently.  I have been putting off buying/reading some sort of discipline book. I am still convinced I have the perfect child. The thing is, she only sees the same four people every day. She is only around Carson when it comes to other kids and a six month old, unfortunately, bears the brunt of the toddler.

I am sure that Lila is going through a growth spurt this week. She has been sleeping like a maniac (she took two, two hour naps yesterday AND slept through the night). She is eating like we starve her and her temperament is less than friendly. So, some of what's going on is because of that, but some of it is the one year old coming alive in her.

All of this being said, since I have been home this week and Katie has been working I have gotten to see how Lila treats Carson. I have mentioned before that we were working on Lila not taking things away from Carson. Well, today we had a breakthrough (and I totally forgot to tell Katie!). There is crap all over my house from emptying my learning cottage. So Sara, Carson, Lila, and I  are sitting on the floor in the kitchen this morning just hanging out and Carson grabs hold of the nearest item that is clogging up my kitchen. Lila goes over and takes it from her. She looks at me, and then she looks at Sara. Ever so slowly she hands it back to Carson. Of course, Sara and I lose our minds praising her so she does this two or three more times over the course of the day. I am so proud of her!!!

I am still going to go buy a book about how to handle a toddler (if anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them). But, I have to say I am proud of Sara and I too for working towards this one teeny, tiny victory.

We are going to a cabin with my cousin and his family this weekend. They have two boys (3 and 9 months I think). I am interested to see how Lila interacts with them.  Hopefully she will follow Logan's lead and realize she can walk if she just gives it a shot :-)