How to make sure they remember you

Wanna hear a funny story about the dentist?

I thought that I could bring Noah to Lily's dentist appointment. (I'll wait while you stop laughing.)

I could leave it at that.. but I won't. Because, really it's so elaborate.

Noah fell asleep in the car on the way there. And I thought.. ohmygoodness.. what if he stays asleep? What if he just sleeps through the whole thing?!

I didn't really believe it, but then when he stayed asleep while I got him out of the car and snuggled up to me, completely out, in the waiting room.. I was so excited. He was going to sleep through the whole thing! It was going to be fantastic! And everyone would comment about it. And blah blah blah.

Funny.

The second Lily sat down in the exam chair and I sat down in the other chair... BANG awake. Totally awake and not happy about being in some crazy alien spaceship. Dentist's office I mean.

I tried to sit on the floor with him, but he wanted no part of that. Looking out the window was interesting. Nope, not anymore- that 2 seconds is over. Oh, a mirror! That person is interesting. Wait, it's me.. and mommy.. something else NOW. Didn't want to watch My Little Pony with Lily (yeah, that's right, tv in the dentist's chair). Didn't want the iPad. Didn't want the juice. But guess what he did want..

..to walk the length of the exam rooms back and forth. Causing us to accidentally eavesdrop on every other patient in the building. Lily's hygienist let Noah play with the office fish. Which was a stuffed fish with a full set of human teeth. And a toothbrush of course.

But Noah didn't really care. Until I started tickling him with it. And that was sort of interesting. But walking the hall was more interesting. And more interesting equals less screaming. So, on we walked. As I "sorry"ed and "excuse us"d every time he tried to check out what the other patients were doing.

One dentist at the end of the hall smiled and said hi to Noah every time we got up to him and his patient- and I thought, geez these people are pleasant.. and tolerant.

The hygienist would try to make a comment to me here and then (or I'd make one to Lily to let her know I was still there) as we'd zoom by, but essentially I missed her entire appointment. She just watched her My Little Pony, got her teeth cleaned, and fluorided.. and whatever else. And then it was over. Thankfully.

She got her new toothbrush (with dolphins on it) and toothpaste. Then she got to pick out her toy for being a good patient. No, seriously.. not a sticker.. or a 1 cent ring.. a full blown toy. Out of a treasure chest. And then just for good measure, a healthy juice box thing from the fridge. It's like Disneyland.

Like, if you had the all resources to create your ideal dental office and experience.. this place would still be better. I feel like I'm dreaming every time I go there.

And then we went to Target. Where BOTH of my children sat in a shopping cart. Just sat there like totally normal people. WITHOUT an iPad in front of their faces even! I almost said something to them. I really, really did.. like.. no, seriously, where are my children?

They slept on the way home. Both of them. And once there..

Lily fell back asleep and Noah had a snack. Then he ran around like a maniac. And puked all over the clean laundry I hadn't put away yet. Which I got all over me when I carried him to the bathroom.

The good news was he got his "bath" over with. The bad news was that when I went back to use the bathroom myself, he ripped his diaper off and peed on a blanket on the couch. I grabbed him, put a diaper back on him, and took away the blanket. As I was trying to put the puked on laundry in the wash, I went back to check on him.. only to see he'd ripped his diaper off again.. and peed on the couch again. And I hadn't even cleaned the puke out of the carpet yet.

He was 4 disasters in front of me. A metaphor for my life.

so far, i am an efficient sleeper

I can't believe it's over. Christmas. And only another 364 days or so until next time.

The toy store exploded in our living room as it tends to do this time of year. Almost everything that Lily opened was "just what I always wanted!" and Noah couldn't have cared any less about actually unwrapping anything. And he actually didn't even unwrap anything. Everyone else did it for him, including Lily- who had absolutely no patience for his lack of interest in opening his own presents. Can you imagine being 5 and related to someone that doesn't want to open their presents?!

Jason kept bringing home candy all week, baked a bunch of things full of sugar on Tuesday, and then gave me a fitbit for Christmas. So.. you know..

It's an interesting gadget. It tracks you. Your steps. Your sleep. If you go up a flight of stairs. It can keep track of other things as well.. if you input the information on your own. And it tells you how many calories you've probably burned etc.

According to the fitbit, I've taken over 14,000 steps since on put it on almost 48 hours ago. Semi-scary when you realize that's mostly around the house. (I did get up at 6am today to go to Target, but that another story for another day.)

But.. one of the most interesting things is that I get to see the stats on my sleep..

I've only used it one night, but even just the one night is scarily accurate. Twelve minutes to fall asleep, four and a half hours of sleeping, and, apparently, waking up constantly. I say "apparently", but honestly, I do already know that. It just looks for must worse in blue and red.

the parts of christmas i'm looking forward to

1. more Christmas music
2. the end of shopping season
3. wrapping presents
4. being done with wrapping presents
5. Lily and Noah's Christmas morning
6. a new Doctor Who on Christmas night
7. Target's December 26th clearance sales

i've been..

..knitting things a lot lately. It has to, mostly, do with Christmas. But also, you know.. winter. I made myself a pair of mittens. The first pair I've ever made in my life. And.. they came out pretty awesome if I do say so myself.

No, I didn't use a pattern. I just kind of thought.. okay, I know how to knit a hat (probably in my sleep too) and I get the idea behind socks, cables, etc.. so mittens are probably fairly easy.

They were.

I started with my double pointed needles and once I got past the (ribbed) cuff (and added enough extra stitches) I switched over to my circular needles. Until I got to the thumb, then I left those on a double-pointed needle until I finished the rest of the mitten. Of course, once I set aside the stitches for the thumb I had to switch back to the double-pointed needles, but.. I lived.

I made a few new things, as well as finally completed two unfinished projects. One had only been waiting since the beginning of the year, but the other was something I have worked on for the past 3 (4?) Christmases and just never finished.

Right now, I'm working on a hat. For myself. Because although I've made endless hats.. most of them have been for Lily. (I hate measuring anything out first.) It'd be nice if it was done before it gets cold again. Or it snows. Or Christmas. Or some kind of significance.

Not a Sunday

Something about today that's making it seem like a Sunday. I don't know..

It snowed again today. Actually it's still snowing. Lily, Noah, and I finally got out into it this time. I wanted to take them out over the weekend when it was snowing, but by the time there was really anything to play in it was bedtime. Beyond bedtime really. And then it rained. And the next day everything was just a skating rink.

So out we went today. Really, I guess it was more like "tonight," but who's keeping track..

It was already dark out, but I could practically say the same about three o'clock these days. At first Noah wanted to play with Grandma's dog and was hysterical that I was taking him outside instead. He didn't want his mittens on. He just wanted to cry because I took him away from the dog and out into the.. Wait a minute. Snow? Outside? With snow to play in? Oh. Alright, I see where you're going with this mommy, you aren't not the most terrible person in the world after all.

The poor thing was mostly thrilled as he shuffled around in non-snow boots, a jacket one size too big, and snow pants that were 2 sizes to big.

In my defense: 1) didn't buy him a new jacket this year because the one from last year seemed to fit okay. I was about to buy him a new one, but then I realized I had bought him a new one for this year at the end of last winter. But it's huge on him. 2) I could have SWORN he had snow boots for this year. I mean, I have a 5 year old.. what happened to the snow boots she had when she was his age? Were they pink? Is that why I never unpacked them from her stuff? I finally decided that must be it, so I tried to get him a pair. In December. Under a million dollars. So funny. Not really. Eventually I ordered a pair of booties that you can where over shoes. They arrived and were too small. So I ordered another pair. I also tried to find a pair in stores. So funny. There was a pair of Lily's old rain boots that were really huge and I didn't want him falling down like he did the last time he wore them. His ankle-height shoe-boots were the only option. 3) Lily wore her size 2T snow pants for 3 winters.. that's how big they were.. and now Noah gets to "feel her pain."

Aaaanyway.. we tromped around outside in the semi-dark. Lily threw snow. Noah walked around. Lily made snow angels. And Noah wanted to make one too. So he did. And then didn't see the fun of it and wandered on.

Then it was time to go inside. And Noah hated that idea. Because what else is there to do when you aren't even 2 yet except to constantly change your mind about what is okay and what isn't?

It will all still be there tomorrow morning. And then it will start to melt. And melt and melt and melt. Until it's all gone. Leaving us to have to wait until next time.

what we did

1. Lily went as Fionna from Adventure Time for Halloween. Noah was also a character from AT- Science, Princess Bubblegum's candy corn mouse. It would have made more sense if I had made my costume (Princess Bubblegum in sciencey mode), but I wad too busy constructing costumes for my children. So instead..
2. This was the extent of my Halloween festivity. Orange socks.
3. Fall sunsets are some of the best
4. And the foliage
5. Our fridge broke. Did you hear? We were without one for over a week and got to borrow a tiny one for a few days. It was so awesome. (No, it wasn't.)
6. Lily and I (mostly I) got into the Thanksgiving spirit. She was out of school this week and missed out on whatever Thanksgiving-y festivities that were going, so I thought she'd want to do something at home. Eh, she didn't really care.

and only ten days later..

Oops.

So.. my ordered-online, sight-unseen refrigerator arrived. (An hour before the earliest time in the time window I was supposed to expect it to arrive.) The neighbors were moving and when I saw the nondescript truck near our driveway I thought it was for them. And then it started backing down our driveway. And.. oh shit..

I hadn't even brushed my teeth yet. But.. it was fine. They took off a couple of doors. We took down a baby gate. The fridge fit in its allotted space perfectly and the rest is history. Ish. There are pros and cons to it. But.. it's fine. It keeps the food cold.

I decided on a car. And it is now in my driveway.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Lily and I made a paper turkey. Well, mostly I made a paper turkey. I thought she would want to do it because she missed out on school this week.. being sick and playing hookey today so I could pick up my car. She probably would have been fine, but we wouldn't have been able to go back and get her if she needed to come home. And guess what? She totally didn't care she didn't go.

Then she was borderline bratty for the rest of the day. Including trying to kill her brother. So.. you know..

I'll blink again and it will be Christmas.

failed, failing, fail

For the second month in a row I failed to my personal blogging goal. Life just got the better of me. And not in any type of good way.

Oh well.

Our fridge couldn't be repaired. We had to buy a new one. I looked a little bit online and in two physical stores. I saw one that cost over three thousand dollars. It didn't look like anything special, but I also didn't dare get too close to it. And then I went home and ordered my new refrigerator online- site unseen. So.. I'm sure nothing will go wrong there..

I also don't have a new car yet. I had basically decided on one. Even a specific one. At a specific dealer. With a specific salesperson. But then I decided to do a web search for "what's wrong with (insert car x make/model here)" and I learned all about unintended acceleration. I thought I was going to be sick. (Although on the upside, I found this video with a Toyota Highlander crashing into a house.. and I couldn't stop laughing.)

So.. what choice did I have? I started over..

an ending

I watched a dove die today.

The thunk it made when it hit the window was the loudest one I've ever heard- a loudness that was telling of non-survival. I jumped, then got up to see what it was. There was a good-sized, white bird print on the window. Oh no, I thought.

Down on the ground below was the dove, just barely moving. There was no way it was going to survive that. Was I going to have to go out and..

I didn't even want to think about it. After a few seconds it stopped. And seven other doves gathered around it. (Seven.. an odd number. Doves mate for life you know.) Just sitting there on the walkway. Every few minutes I'd look out again.. and they would all be there. Just sitting. More doves came. Other birds came. It was awful and beautiful to see at the same time.

you don't know what you've got. till it's gone

Still no working fridge. And I am starting to realize how much it's taken for granted. Honestly. Try going an entire day without getting out of or putting anything into your fridge (AND not having takeout). Then try two days. With kids.

We've had things like oatmeal, flavored breads, and apples for breakfast (okay, and crackers). The coffee creamer I got is actually not too bad and I did have my coffee today. Which only prevented morning meltdowns. By the afternoon I was so sick of eating nonsense (and my body was lacking a lot of nutrients) that I.. well, ya know.. may have perhaps had a lack of patience with my children.

Lily and Noah had gross microwave lunches and I had.. I don't know.. a Clif bar I guess. And apples.

Just before dinner, I dragged them out to the grocery store and bought just enough to make the one meal for them. Which is super cost effective of course (no, no it's not).

this day, i'm done with it

It started last night. When the entire refrigerator broke. As in ceased to continue to create a cold environment for food.

And it continued this morning at 7am when I was throwing out hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of food. The actual amount makes me too sick to think about, so I'll leave it at that.

Then it went on when there was nothing for breakfast. Oatmeal? I forgot to buy it. Cereal? No milk. Eggs? Gone. What do other people eat? Fine I'll eat another Clif bar. Coffee? No half & half. Oh no.. no coffee!?

The fridge died. I was up til 2am dealing with that and children that couldn't sleep because of us dealing with the fridge. I woke up at 7am to clean out the fridge for trash day. (Actual, I woke up to Jason cleaning out the fridge instead of getting ready for work, so I mean..) And then I had no coffee.

Which didn't create any happiness. I even tried to warn my children. Gave them the entire story of tiredness and absence of coffee. They pretended that sure, sure they understood. (They lied.) Sure, we'll get ready to leave so mommy can get coffee. (They double lied.) And not kill anyone. Lily mentioned that I shouldn't do that because it was bad. I agreed and yet explained that I wasn't responsible for my own actions sans coffee and avec children (see what I did there?). I'm sure there must be a law about that somewhere.

Do you know what I was forced to buy? Some type of coffee creamer. In little tiny, single use containers they don't have to be refrigerated. Because..

The part that will theoretically fix the refrigerator isn't going to be here for 3 days. Oh. Pff. Sure. That's totally fine. What the heck do I need a fridge for anyway. I mean.. it's not like the kids require a constant supply of chilled juice flowing through them at all times or anything.

Upside? One, all the money we're saving without a fridge running for 100 hours or so. Two, I didn't have to put the groceries away when I came home for a couple of hours.. when I "felt like it."

And.. the children can actually continue to have their juice because it's pretty cold out here now- to the extent that it even snowed today. (The former window garden now makes an excellent temporary fridge.)

not on the list

I looked at the paperwork from Lily's school three times before today.. regarding today. Just to make sure there was indeed school. Veterans Day was NOT listed as a holiday that her school was closed. Well alright then..

But I'm sure you can imagine where this is going.

I asked Jason to check on his way to work. He said it looked like there wasn't school. But I thought maybe it was just early. We were already half ready and were actually fully ready on time.. which hasn't happened in months. So.. that alone should have been the biggest tip off of what we were to find at her school.

No cars. No parent cars. No teacher cars. Of course.

Originally I had told her if there was no school we would go to the playground instead, but I was too tired and it was too cold. So instead I drove on and to a fast food restaurant (and as I pulled into the parking lot I commented to myself that I couldn't believe I was doing this voluntarily). I purchased Lily an overpriced breakfast sandwich. And myself an even more overpriced breakfast sandwich (pretty sure I was charged the same amount as if there had been meat on it). She loved hers because it had bacon. I didn't care for mine. And Noah wasn't interested in any of it. Smart man.

Overall a fail of a day. So far anyway.

inspired #9

to MAKE..

tzatziki sauce @nikki dinki cooking

I really need to try making my own tzatziki sauce- as it is one of my favorite things to add to as many dishes as I can. This recipe makes it looks pretty simple.

to MAKE..

how to prepare boba pearls @a beautiful mess

Another thing I need to do is get some boba pearls. Bubble tea with these boba pearls is one my absolute favorites things.

to MAKE..

fried potato cheese puffs @jane doe cooks

Something else to make. Fried mashed potatoes, basically. And can you imagine if one were to add blue cheese to it? Mmm..

to MAKE..

fabric wrapped bracelets @creme de la craft

These bracelets look so simple to make and are as cute as the fabric you wrap them with. Really, you could use almost anything for the base of the bracelet.. even another bracelet.

don't tell anyone but..

I test drove a car today. And not only did I not hate it, but I'm pretty sure I found the make and model that we will ultimately purchase.

Tomorrow we will go out again because next comes the most difficult step: what color?

this was our halloween

Now that Halloween is very safely over (and I have pretty much recovered).. I will tell you how ours went this year.

I had the great idea, very late into the game, that I would make costumes for everyone. Everyone. Lily finally decided that she wanted to be Fionna (from Adventure Time). Originally she was telling me she wanted to dress up as costumes she already had (strawberry, cowgirl on a horse, etc) until I thoroughly explained that she could be anything she wanted.. and I would make her costume for her.

So, she decided on Raven from Teen Titans Go. Which I was thrilled about. Cape- easy to make. I could buy a black long-sleeved mock-turtle leotard, some beige/tan leggings, and short black boots. Add in a few small details and it would be done. Then she changed her mind.

Thankfully I hadn't purchased anything for a Raven costume yet. I asked her over and over and over what she wanted to be for about a week just to make sure she was still saying "Fionna".. and I began the costume assemblage.

She already had three shirts that she could choose from so I figured I'd just buy a blue skirt, black shoes, blue striped tube socks, etc etc. Haha.

The perfect shoes were quickly found at Payless, but the skirt? I looked absolutely everywhere I could think of online for a blue skirt. There were a few possibilities, but "surprisingly" mid-October is not a good time for buying anything close to blue bicycle shorts for preschoolers. So... I made her a skirt.. with shorts attached underneath. I traced a pair of her leggings and improvised the rest.

I also designed and made her backpack, painted blue stripes on the tops of her knee socks (after the attempt with ribbon failed), and added yellow "hair" onto the hat we bought her. Jason and I repainted a foam sword for her.. and she was pretty much in heaven over all of it.

Noah on the other hand had absolutely no say in his costume.  Just like last year, poor thing.

I had planned to create a Princess Bubblegum (from the same show) in her science gear costume for myself, but spent so much time on Lily and Noah's costumes that I knew I'd never even have a chance at half-completing it.. so I didn't even start. But, Noah's costume was more to match my own.. with his being Science, her candy corn mouse/rat lab assistant.

I partially used a pattern for his costume, but made a lot of changes to the basic lion/pig/whatever form. I also made a pair of pants to go under it and a hat with ears I knew he'd never wear.

Although time consuming, everything was fairly easy and came out really cute. Proof during our one "real" trick or treating stop after sort of bizarre mall trick or treating..

It was the only time that night Noah had his mouse ears hat on. Or would allow it I should say. All my pictures of him are either from the back or a blurred streak. Constant motion that one is. Really, both of them.

Next year I need to start earlier, because I'm not sure who was more disappointed that I was dressed up, me or Lily..

welcome to day seven

November. Day 7. I am struggling for something to say, because there's not much good to say about today.

Well, actually.. the tooth fairy visited Lily for the first time last night. She left a $5 bill and a lengthy note. Do you know what I got for a lost tooth when I was her age? A quarter. Boy, that inflation..

We didn't go anywhere today- which was just as well because it was raining. Lily and Noah colored some pictures for me today. Together. On the same paper. For the first time ever.

But that wasn't even the highlight of my day. Nope. That came when Noah took off his diaper and pants in one swift motion, took a step back, and peed on them. There are a variety of meanings that could have- and I don't care for any of them.

And ya know what? That's all the quantity I've got today..

tooth fairy night

So after a couple of weeks of wiggly teeth, Lily finally lost her first one today. At school.

Of course at school. She spends hours and hours and hours and days with me. And her first loose tooth comes out during the few seconds she's at school.

It popped out during snack time and one of her teachers plunked it into a baggy for her to take home at the end of the day. Of course it's all very awesome (and I'm only slightly crushed that I missed it) and she's so excited for the tooth fairy to come tonight.

Which brings on a whole new level of panic and responsibility for me. What does the tooth fairy bring these days? Money? Elaborate notes? Promises of exciting adventures with mommy and daddy?

Maybe I should Google it.. because if I ruin first tooth fairy night.. I'll probably have to give back my good mommy certificate.

the last of my 2013 window garden

I guess it's time to accept that gardening season is over. I even started to clean up what was left outside. I brought in a few flowery plants that were still alive- as well as my lettuce and green onion plants.

I had a good run this year though.. for only being able to have enough plants to fit just outside one of my windows. At first it was frustrating to have such a little space, but as the summer went on, it was nice to be able to have it right at eye level and be able to see what it was doing and who was visiting it.

 

In all my decades, I don't believe I had ever seen a praying mantis in person, let alone be able to reach out and touch one. Or two.

 

The cucumbers had some of the best flowers. Which is good, because none of the flowers I planted ever bloomed.

 

It seemed like the tomatoes took forever to arrive, but when they did.. they took over. And grew and grew and grew.. even into November.

 

One of the best parts of having a garden is not having to go to the grocery store for lettuce, or onion, or tomato, or whatever other extra ingredient your meal needs.

 

Today, I brought in the last of what was left of all the dead or nearly dead plants- so perhaps I will finally get to try fried green tomatoes.

The final garden total (not including this final mess above) for the year was.. 8 green beans, 49 purple beans, 6 full and 3 half grown cucumbers, 20 lettuce leaves, 21 tomatoes, and some amount of green onion.

Nope, no hindrances here.

I spent a lot of time on the internet last night and into this morning (oh, 2:30am or so) looking at cars online and revising my "list" based on what I did and did not see yesterday. And I actually found cars to look at that didn't involve driving hundreds of miles.. in fact they were in the next town over. But..

Four and a half hours of sleep plus 35 degree weather plus a completely zonked out toddler.. didn't lend well to car lot exploration this morning. But, that's fine.. plenty of time.

Or not.

Driving, driving. Without driving.

I drove around and looked at cars today. A lot of driving.. a few cars. It was pretty fun. Hmm.. no it actually was the opposite of that.

The first place didn't have the car I saw online. The second place was stupidly out of the way (and closed) so I didn't bother with it. (And I wasn't sure there wasn't an outrageous toll somewhere on the way.) The third place was overly complex and frustrating to get to. One of the cars didn't have what I thought it would (my fault) and the other one was actually a possibility, but I was cold and frustrated and hungry and totally not in the mood to deal with a salesperson. So I left and got something to eat instead.

Then I went to a fourth place that was supposed to be closed, but it wasn't. I wasn't going to get out of the car because I was still eating, buuuut it didn't even matter because there seemed to be no way to drive into the actual lot look at the cars for sale. And since it was even colder than it had been the hour before, I wasn't about to make a hike out of it- so I left.

The fifth place was closed, which was fine. But it was also gated. And that wasn't fine because there was nowhere else to park to even look at the cars.

There was no sixth place because I was tried of driving my own car at that point.. nevermind any cars that could potentially be mine. The end.

what we did

1. Noah has been getting into the crayons more and more lately. Very surprisingly he hasn't gone for the walls yet though.
2. More beans and tomatoes from the garden.
3. Early signs of autumn.
4. My favorite fall mushrooms. They look like candy corn when they first sprout up, turn all orange, and then eventually brown.
5 - 7. More and more tomatoes, beans, lettuce, and green onions from the garden. Even in October.
8. Sugar cookies made. They were from a package.. but heck, I still get credit for baking. Don't I?
9. Thought the garden was done? Nope. Even at the end of October and beginning of November I'm still getting tomatoes, beans, and green onions. It's now November 2 and there is still more to come.

in November

November? How is it November? I don't think that's right. It seems like summer was just starting and now I'm already being bombarded with Christmas. I don't like it.

My unofficial blogging goal for the year was that each month I would blog at least as much as the same month the previous year. And I did.. until last month. There was just too much going on. Recovering from Lily's birthday at the end of September, endless car nonsense, preparing for Halloween..

And I failed- with only 6 entries instead of at least 10. But, now that it's November (and NaBloPoMo) I have the challenge of attempting to blog every day of the month. Last year was the first year I succeeded with that.

The up side is that I write more. The down side is that it is clearly quantity over quality. Is it worth it?

cars. so many cars.

I've been spending so much time looking for a new car the past few weeks that everything, including blogging, has been taking a back seat. And I so hate shopping for cars. I hate the entire process- the research, the salespeople, the narrowing down, the decision making, the test driving, the photocopying of my license, the calls and emails from dealers afterwards, the money.. all of it.

We encountered some nice salespeople, some pushy salespeople, some rude ones, etc. Unfortunately even stuff like that has a place in the the decision of where and which car to buy. There was one salesman that took two calls while he was on the test drive with us and then talked Jason's ear off about his job. The gas light was on the entire drive, I never got to above about 35 mph because of all the traffic, and the drive was over before I knew it.

And I actually genuinely detest have the salesperson in the car while I'm driving it.. especially when they are directing me turn by turn. Like a driving test. Like a horrible, nerve-wracking drive test in a car that you've never been in before. And I'm paying more attention to what they are saying about where to go than I am to the car I may or may not buy. So, hint.. I'm probably not going to buy it then.

But.. thankfully, I'm pretty sure the whole nonsense is almost over. As in, I've decided on the make and model.. I just have to find "the one" now. I think.

Pocoyo Boo! giveaway (closed)

A Pocoyo dvd just in time for Halloween.. Pocoyo Boo!

Pocoyo airs daily on NickJr and on Univision and is perfect for preschool age children. Pocoyo is a little boy who is figuring out the world around him with his friends. The show is bright, colorful, easy to understand, engaging, and all ages are entertained by the clever humor and adorable animation. 

Whether it's playing a new game called Boo!, enjoying a monster mash party or pretending to be Godzilla & King Kong, every day is fun & engaging with Pocoyo and his friends!

The stories on Pocoyo Boo! include: Boo!, Scary Noises, Detective Pocoyo, Lost in Space, Poczilla, Monster Mystery, and Angry Alien.

And my daughter could not wait to watch them. She is so excited for Halloween this year, constantly asking me how many days until it's here. So when the new Pocoyo dvd arrived at our house, she could barely contain her excitement. Okay- she's 5, she really couldn't contain it at all.

We watched it right away and she loved it. It's Halloween-y, but not so much so that you couldn't watch it any other time of the year.. it's more monsters, aliens, and coming up with silly ways to scare each other than it is specifically about the holiday. Just another great Pocoyo dvd to add to our collection we think.

You can enter to win your own copy of Pocoyo Boo! by entering now through Tuesday, October 22, 2013 at 11:59pm EST. Make one comment below (only one per household please). Open to U.S. addresses only. One winner will be randomly selected and notified by email- they will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be selected. Please make sure your email address is in your comment or blogger profile.

(Giveaway prize provided by NCircle Entertainment.)

winner: #1 dailymom

Pointer Smith

Last week, Lily was so talkative about school and we had a really long conversation about her entire day, including..

S and Pointer were crying at lunch..

Pointer?

Pointer..

Pointer?? (Like pointer finger? German Short-haired Pointer?)

Pointer.

There's a kid named Pointer?

Well.. I think his name is Parker.

Oh, okay. (big difference.)

what we did

1. The biggest (purple) beans didn't start coming until September.
2. We have 6 turkeys that have been walking around the neighborhood. One day I just happened to be looking out the window when they were taking a stroll through our yard. Each one is about as big as Noah.
3. I sewed a cape for Lily- made it up as I went out along. It's reversible- red flannel on one side and black with small circles on the other. In some ways it was fun, it some ways it was not. I may end up having to do it again since now she wants to be Raven from Teen Titans Go for Halloween. Aaaand of course Raven has a purple cape.
4. We went to a family event where there was a K-9 demonstration. Lily and Noah didn't care that much.. but I was pretty impressed. I know dogs can be fast.. but I wasn't expecting how fast this one was.
5. I have officially starting drinking hot coffee for the season. Sort of. The weather keeps going back and forth between hot and cold.. so I have been having to do the same with my coffee.
6. Another 6 purple beans. I thought that I got such a good start on my garden this year, but the fact that it's October and I'm getting more beans than ever makes me wonder.
7. Lettuce.. and still more growing.
8. I don't drive a VW, but I improvised a flower holder anyway.. never know when my children will present me with gifts.
9. I bribed Lily to leave the house with a promise of a cake pop on my pretend holiday (Pumpkin Spice Day). It is the official start to my pumpkin spice coffee drinking season. It is my favorite flavored coffee and I force myself to wait until October 1st every year.. otherwise I'd drink it all the time and probably hate it by the end of the year.

Pocoyo's Circus Giveaway (closed)

A few years ago we started seeing Pocoyo in little segments in between our "regular" shows. I thought it was so cute, but since he was just randomly stuck in as time allowed after other shows, we never knew when we'd catch his antics.

I really wished that he would have his own half-hour time slots so we'd know when to catch him.. and also so there would be more than just a few minutes of him. And then.. he finally did. Now we can program the DVR for Pocoyo and even watch the dvds, one of the newest being Pocoyo's Circus (which was watched on repeat for days on end in our house).

Pocoyo airs daily on NickJr and on Univision and is perfect for preschool age children. Pocoyo is a little boy who is figuring out the world around him with his friends. The show is bright, colorful, easy to understand, engaging, and all ages are entertained by the clever humor and adorable animation. In Pocoyo’s Circus, Pocoyo and his friends go on a new fun-filled circus adventure! One day a group of curious aliens arrive in Pocoyo's world. Pocoyo soon realizes that these new friends are not just any aliens; in fact, they are circus aliens! Their new friends treat Pocoyo and the gang to a free day at the circus, where Pocoyo and his friends must work together to help save the show! 

I don't know what it is about him that even I, as the parent, like watching. Pocoyo doesn't say much, but the physical comedy is so appealing and kid friendly. Anything that he can't express himself- the narrator helps him out.

You can enter to win your own copy of Pocoyo's Circus by entering now through Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at 11:59pm EST. Make one comment below (only one per household please). Open to U.S. addresses only. One winner will be randomly selected and notified by email- they will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be selected. Please make sure your email address is in your comment or blogger profile.

(Giveaway prize provided by NCircle Entertainment.)

winner: #11 Ashley

flying people

On the way home from Lily's swimming class last week, I took a different route than normal so that I could stop at the post office. As I drove along I noticed two teenage kids coming towards me on a bike. Even though they were on the other of the street (and on the sidewalk) they caught my eye anyway. The boy was peddling and the girl was standing on the back of it, but as they started down the hill I could see the front of the bike starting to wobble around.

For a second, just one, I thought maybe the boy was doing it, but then the girl started screaming- and I just knew it wasn't going to end well.

With the bike shaking, they picked up speed, hit the curb on the corner of the sidewalk at the bottom of the hill and both of them launched up off the bike. They flew, in what seemed like slow motion (the girl screaming the entire time), up over the handlebars and all the way onto the other side of the street- landing, crumpled, next to a large pole. From my angle I couldn't see if they actually hit it or not, but it seemed like they did.

I slammed on my brakes and pulled over. Neither one of them moved for a few seconds. Had Lily not been in the back of the car and us on the other side of the street I would have been over there instantly, but I just waited a second to see if they got up. They did. Slowly- just as another car on their side of the street stopped by them as well. The woman jumped out and ran towards them as the kids sat down on the curb.

I couldn't hear what any of them were saying, but as the woman turned back towards her car, I called out to her- asking if they were alright. She sounded doubtful, but shrugged and replied "they said they are."

I looked over at the two of them, just sitting on the curb, not talking or even looking at each other. Just sitting- in shock. And I thought, what am I going to do? Other than offer to call someone for them. (But, two teenagers? I'm sure at least one of them had a phone.) I had two car seats and a jogging stroller in my car.. I couldn't have taken them to the hospital. And there was another adult person right there with them, so.. I looked back at them one more time and drove on.

But I couldn't stop shaking, thinking about what I had seen- flying human beings. And the mom in me just had to make sure they really were okay.

After I went to the post office, I turned around and went back. They were gone. But as I drove on down the street, I finally saw them. With the bike. Walking.

a new conversation to add to the list..

As my child has officially been in school for over a year now.. I've had all sorts of conversations with her teachers. About timeouts (and who did what), about how she got hurt, about her listening skills (or lack thereof), about not wanting to eat her lunch, about what they think I need to do, about what I think they need to do, blah blah blah.

But, one conversation that, so far, I have not had though is the "your child bit someone" conversation. And I know at least one parent has had to hear it, because I heard the "biting" happen, heard the bitee (which I guess isn't a word?) screaming, and saw the biter get in trouble.

However.. I have now had the "your child was bitten" conversation. Which wasn't so much a conversation where I had to say much- mostly just listen to the facts and be shown the little teeth marks on Lily's hand. But, of course, Lily kind of got in trouble too.

She and her friend, A, were fighting over a bike that A was already riding. A didn't take it well that Lily wanted to ride it.. and bit her. So A got in trouble for "not using her words" (and biting).. and Lily got in semi-trouble for not waiting her turn. After I got the whole story from her teacher, she walked away and I gathered up Lily's things to leave.

Then I thought back to about 5 minutes before that, when I walked into the school. I passed behind A, her mom, and little brother as the same teacher was talking to her. I heard A's mom say of A's little brother.. "he just started doing that." But, of course, at the time, it meant nothing.. just the one bit of sentence I happen to catch.

When she turned around to realize another parent was passing behind her, I'm sure she was, at least a little bit, embarrassed to see it was the mother of the child that hers had bitten- and she was still in the middle of hearing the details about.

Had the situation been reversed, I know I would have wanted to find the nearest hole to crawl in and hide.

almost mugged by a 4 year old

Lily was recently being her energetic self- bouncing around on the couch, chattering away. Then she stopped, came right up next to me, and whispered something in my ear.

(I couldn't make out what she said, but replied anyway.) Oh ya?

 (Mumble mumble) I was mugging you!

You were?! That's not nice. Mugging? You were robbing me? Threatening me with a gun or knife or something? And taking all my money? That's like what mugging someone is.

No! I was mwogging you.

Mogging? What's that, like a mommy hug?

No.. I was repeating you.

Oh! Mocking! You were mocking me?

Ya..

Oh.. well, that's not very nice either, but at least you weren't mugging me.

from the preschool lunch trenches..

Lily doesn't seem to lie about school stuff and so far I have, eventually, gotten pretty much every incident out of her- like when she gets time outs.. and what they were for. So, on the drive home today, I went through the usual 'how was your day?,' 'what did you do?,' etc. She chatted about this and that.. told me she got a time out for sticking her tongue out at one of her friends. I rolled my eyes and told her that geesh, I thought that was a little silly.

When we got home I opened her lunch bag and asked how her lunch was and what she ate. She drank her milk, she ate her sandwich, and she had some fish crackers. Yup, I could see that. And.. something along the lines of she couldn't have the fruit snacks I had given her.

Wait, couldn't? Like.. wasn't allowed to? Like.. her teacher told her not to eat them and to put them back in her bag? Apparently, yes.

What? Why?

She said the teacher thought it was candy and wasn't allowed to eat part of the lunch I had given her. (Why she didn't speak up and let them know it wasn't, I'm not sure.) Which.. is not okay with me. I told Lily that I didn't care if I gave her a doughnut and a bowl of ice cream.. that's HER lunch and she can eat it.

At the beginning of September, there was a new posting on the classroom bulletin board.. pictures of some of the kids healthy lunches. And some type of wording to encourage all the kids lunches to be.. you know.. sort of along the same lines.

I think it's great that they are encouraging parents to pack a healthy lunch for their preschoolers. I think it's great that they are encouraging overall healthy eating habits. And blah blah blah. I mean.. I'm a vegetarian, I very rarely drink soda, and my kids don't drink it at all. Candy, cookies, and sugary things are an occasional thing for them.. not an expected constant.

Lily's school lunches are pretty healthy for a picky four-year old. A sandwich with a (100%) juice box or organic milk. And then one or two things like cheese, fruit, crackers, yogurt, or fruit snacks. I've never given her cookies, chips, or candy for school. So.. this happening? So mad.

You know what I did give her today? Two little packets of Florida's Natural Au'some Nuggets- which feature a giant piece of fruit on the front. The first 8 ingredients are different fruit purees, the 9th is pure sugar cane, etc. They even use pectin instead of gelatin! The stupid things are vegetarian.. which is not true of a lot of fruit snacks. (Also interestingly, each one has 3 grams of sugar.. while the Stonyfield YoKids yogurt Squeezers that I've put in her lunch and they have let her eat have nine grams.)

And I'll continue. She told me they were learning about their five senses today.. and to help illustrate some of the points.. they made Jello. And did she have some? Yup.. that would be the taste sense. According to the internet, one serving (half a cup) of the stuff has 19 grams of sugar. Sigh.

Jason wants me to call them. Like.. right now. Address it immediately. Am I going to call the school to tell them her fruit snacks are not candy? No. Is Lily's story true? Probably, but even Lily said it herself, the food was misidentified as candy. So.. I will just say something next time.

I even ran through the theoretical conversation with him so that he'd be satisfied that I would actually address the situation. Which, ug, I am already dreading. I hate having to bring up things like this with them. When I do, I'm sure they must be thinking that's what you're talking to us about? That's the "battle" that you're choosing to fight?

Why can't they just let her eat the damn lunch I made her and stop being the, alleged, sugar police?

Not sure how it happened, but..

On Saturday, I accidentally cleaned almost my entire kitchen. Like.. cleeeaned it. When I started out, I was just going to wipe down a little piece of counter. Then as I was doing that, I realized 'when was the last time anyone even used this Keurig? I think I'll put it away." So I did.

First I had to move a few things around in a cabinet first and almost (almost!) got rid of something- but I didn't, because I didn't want to get too crazy.

With the Keurig safely stored away I cleaned the counter between the stove and fridge, and then.. hmm, the stove was dirty. So I wiped it down- while noticing the burners could use a cleaning, so I took out the coils, removed the things under them (what are those called?!) to soak them and then tried to clean underneath. It was during this I realized I was pretty sure the whole thing lifted up (it does). Yup, I completely disassembled the stove. And cleaned the entire thing. Reassembled it and then..

Oh no, wait wait.. it was during the stove cleaning that my children realized I was doing something and wouldn't stand for it. Kitchen chaos ensued. Which was mostly Lily running around and Noah being unable to leave the garbage can alone. Let me move it. Let me open and close it. Let me stick my hands in it. Hmm, let me stick my hands in it, again. And again. Again!

Rather than kill everyone, I made lunch.

Then I cleaned the convection oven, washed the dish rack drainer, washed all the dishes, cleaned the sink with terrible chemicals, took all the junk off the end of the counter, and cleaned it thoroughly. AND then just to further prove I had lost my mind.. I vacuumed the floor. And then.. wait for it.. washed it!

Jason asked if I was pregnant. I told him, no- this is what people do..

what we did

 1. A praying mantis visited my garden this week. I watered all the plants and was shutting the window, when I looked back for a second.. and there it was.. sitting there the whole time watching me. I've never seen one in person.. they are a lot bigger than I thought they would be.

2. I watched the Apple event on my computer. I knew the new iPhones were coming.. I just didn't know they'd be this cool. I'm pretty sure I want the 5s, but I'm not sure which one.

3. More lettuce leaves from my garden. Almost everything, except the cucumbers, is still going strong.

4. I started playing The Million Second Quiz. It was surprisingly easy to qualify as a "line jumper," and when I did it said only 27% of the players had qualified.. which seemed low.

5. Lily and Noah had their second, and probably last, pool day of the season on Wednesday. It was mostly fine, until it was time to go inside.. and then I remembered why it was only the second time.

6. Lily got out her construction paper, glue stick, and scissors.. sat down at her table.. and just.. made this. All by herself. I had nothing to do with any of it. I don't know.. seems like kinda advanced art for a 4 year old.