Friday, April 27, 2012

April 27, 2012 ~ Fine Dining With Baby

Grandpop took us out to a very fancy dinner tonight. No, actually fancy. Like, the waiter was wearing a tux fancy. Yeah, that fancy.

Billy decided to break out his big boy shoes today and show off. He sat well-behaved at the table (who is this kid?). He drank water from a footed glass (no, seriously...who IS this kid). And he genteely ate his tiramisu (really, Grandpop?) with a fork.

Yes, that's right. No screaming. No getting up from the table, minus a brief stretch of the legs after a 2 hour dinner. He only threw toys a few times and only raised his happy voice a few times. It was unusual.

Maybe it was the outfit. He got to wear a new shirt today. He loved it so much that he whispered "wow" over and over this morning while gently touching the new shirt. And Grandpop gushed over his new shoes. He was definitely feeling dressed up.

Nope. I'm pretty sure an aliene clone went to the restaurant with us. No other way to explain it.
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Thursday, April 26, 2012

April 26, 2012 ~ FML...The Microwave Edition

My microwave died tonight. I could care less about the machine itself, but how am I supposed to live for another week until Daddy has time to go out shopping with me to buy a new one? Yes, I could go get one myself, but Daddy would kill me if I bought something that plugged in without his input.

Look, I know people can live without microwaves. Hell, I was three when we got our first one. BUT... Grandma was used to living without a microwave. She'd never had one before. It falls into the category of living without a car. If you're used to having one, then getting by without it a major life adjustment. Or living without electricity? 100 years ago people did it without any problem. But they were used to life like that and the infrastructure existed to support an energy-free lifestyle. For example, having milk delivered daily. I've only ever heard of a milk man. Do you know how I would bend over backwards to have someone deliver milk to my door? (Yes, I could pay through the nose to have a grocery delivery service- but that's still not fresh milk).

Even without a kid it's going to be a rough go, but I also have an impatient toddler that wants his dinner when he wants it and I mean now. This means having to heat everything in the oven or stovetop AND more dishes for all of the bakeware and pots to do that. FML. That's just what I need. I made popcorn today (the final microwaved item around here for awhile) and had to heat the butter in a saucepan on the stove.

I think I'm just going to pretend that it's 1950. It's no big deal to be without the microwave. I cook dinner all of the time anyway. I'll just have my maid clean up the dishes and the extra pots. And, being 1950 I'm magically a SAHM and didn't have to work today so I have bundles of energy. Oh wait. Crap. I'm exhausted because I did work today. And I don't have a maid. FML.

Drawn In Thursdays: Magic Spoon #1

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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

April 24, 2012 ~ Big Boy Bedtime

Tonight at bedtime I let Billy pick out the stories for me to read to him. He doesn't get stories every night and he doesn't always get to pick them. But he loves it when he gets to pull the books off of the shelf and find he one he wants to here.

First up... "Elmo book!" Actually, it a book about Sesame Street monsters and doesn't include Elmo. I think it might even be from before Elmo moved to Sesame Street. But according to Billy, any muppet-like creature is Elmo, regardless of size, color or monsteriness. He sits down in my lap on the floor, as usual, and I read his book to him. Well, most of it. He got bored 6 pages in to the 10 page book.

Next up... "Truck book!" This would be Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site. It's one of his favorites. But would he sit in Mommy's lap? Oh no. Billy is a big boy. He noisily dragged his Billy-sized rocking chair over next to Mommy and sits down. He waves at me like an old business tycoon used to getting his way. "Read on, Mummy dearest, read on." He's never sat in the rocking chair for a story.

First comes the crane. "Mommy, isha truck truck!" Yes. I keep reading. "Mommy, Pooh!" Yes, the crane has a teddy bear. All stuffed animals are Pooh, regardless of size, color or general poohiness.  Then we read about another truck. "Mommy, Mommy!" he tugs on my arm. "Isha truck truck!" It is a truck truck. You're right.

Ok wait. Hold on. He's awake again. Let me go put him back to bed. Ok I'm back. Whew. Easy Peasy bad to sleepy.

Next up, the dump truck. He falls asleep and starts to snore. I affect the best zzzzzzzzzzz I can manage. Billy breaks into fits of giggles. Well, I probably looked pretty silly.

Here comes the bulldozer. I read all about it and get to the part where he makes noise. As load as I can without screaming I ROAARRR!!! Billy leaps out of his chair and falls into my lap as fast as he can. He wraps his arm tightly around me and picks his feet up off the floor, tucking them under him as though the floor might just crawl up and bite him. He huddles in a little ball curled against my chest. Better watch out for Mr. Bulldozer. He might just leap off that page and come get you, looking all cute and cuddly as he does.

We read about the last truck while he's still in my lap and then send them all off to bed. And then it's time for him to go to bed too, still cuddled up in my lap.

Maybe he's not quite a big boy yet.

Monday, April 23, 2012

April 23, 2012 ~ Freaking Me Out

I'm not the Mom who calls the doctor after hours. It's just not my thing. I'm a natural worrier, but I work really hard at not freaking out. Okay, I am freaking out.

This afternoon Billy started doing this thing with his eyes. He tracks them over to one side- so far that all I can see are the whites and then shakes his head and looks at me. Then he carries on with whatever he's doing. I've seen him do it before, usually when eating, and very rarely. He's always fine right after so I never bothered to worry before. But he did it all afternoon.

Have you ever stared into your baby's eyes and seen only the whites?

He's fine otherwise. But he's freaking me out. And I relented and called the doctor. I've only ever called the doctor once before after hours and that resulted in a trip to the hospital. You can read all about it in my post A Trip To The Hospital. I waited until after he went to bed. No use freaking him out over nothing- if it is nothing.

The doctor thinks it's probably nothing. At least, not worth a trip to the ER today. I have to try to get video of the behavior to show her, which she would then show to a neurologist if necessary. But she said not to worry. It's probably him trying to purposely freak me out. Awesome. But don't worry.

So I've checked on him every hour because I'm worried. Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?

Sunday, April 22, 2012

April 22, 2012 ~ This Weekend in Photos

I will give ten points to the commentor that tells the best story based on the photos. The points don't actually count for anything, except awesomeness. :)












And yes, he's wearing Caps gear. For Daddy...Go Caps!

The Sunday Post ~ Little Tykes Swing Review

Last year around this time I purchased the Little Tykes 2-1 Swing. Same as the one on this link:

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Tikes-Snug-Secure-Swing/dp/B001G92I04

This is, by far, one of my son's favorite toys. We have it tied into a tree in our back yard. It's a go-to toy for outside play. And this from a kid that hated his baby swing.

Here's why we love it:

~ Easy to clean: We let it live outside all summer long. Besides catching leaves on the seat it stays clean. And because it's plastic, I can just wipe it down and it's ready to go.

~ Easy to attach harness: Seriously, one of the things I hate most about all of the child safety gear are the harnesses. And kiddo doesn't like them either. Some are better than others. This one is a cinch to use and he's snugly in the swing without issue. He even helps, which is great.

~ Well made: We left it outside all spring, summer and fall and it's not discolored and the ropes are in perfect shape. After a cleaning it looked just as it did right out of the box, even after 8 months outside. That's pretty durable.

~ It's a swing...what's not to love?

Ok, seriously, here are some of the downsides:

If you leave it outside, like we do, it catches leaves and other tree debris. It also fills with rainwater to make a nice leaf soup. It can get pretty gross. It's still easy to clean, but when you head out to swing, a toddler doesn't want to wait to wash it down and let it dry. I'm going out on a limb here and say that's going to be a typical problem with a bucket seat. Also, it only comes with the swing and no other hardware for hanging it, which has led Daddy to create some interesting knot arrangements in our tree with a piece of rope. I wish it did come with a hanging pack.

Our son really loves this swing. He spent the afternoon in it, giggling on every upswing. As far as toys go, this one definitely gets a two-thumbs-way-up from me.