ALL THE TOYS ARE MINE!

My son and daughter were having a difficult time playing together yesterday.   For instance, my son laid out some pillows on the floor to make a letter X and play some game involving the floor being water so you had to step on the pillows.   His sister liked the game, but then she decided she wanted to hold one of the pillows.   An argument ensued.

My daughter wanted to play with the sit-on train and because she wanted it, suddenly her brother wanted it too.   The train breaks into two pieces, the engine, and the car (on which you can sit).  I broke it apart saying they could each have one half.   Angry yells followed.  

Imagine about three more episodes of the game, "No One Gets Along" over the next ten minutes and someone named Mommy lost her temper.   I did that iYell thing again, declaring that since they couldn't share the toys, I had decided all the toys were mine.   Every single toy.    They couldn't play with or even touch any of the toys on that floor because they were all mine.

What they could do is go upstairs, where the majority of the toys are.   They could walk right up there and have fun with all those other toys.   Did they budge?  No.  Did they complain?  Then a funny thing happened: my son decided to make sure his sister knew the toys were mine and that she couldn't touch them (she was eating some yogurt and was over it by then).  

I told my son if he was willing to share with me, that I would share my toys with him since he had calmed down and was using his quiet voice.   He protested, "no mommy, they're your toys."   "Okay", I said, let me know if you'd like to share my toys and I'll consider it."

Later that day and again today, I reminded the children that if they weren't able to share, all the toys would be mine again; did they remember when that happened?   They did, and things seemed to be more harmonious for a while after those reminders.

The Big Boy Update:  Kinstructions.  My son was helping me with some toys and puzzles yesterday.  We were cleaning out the closet.  He found one game, opened it up and told me, "mom, here are the kinstructions."   He wanted me to read them and teach him how to play.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:   Lin-num-maid.    That's the phonetic pronunciation of how my daughter says, 'lemonade'.  She can said certain sounds just fine, but I think she likes to say them the way she wants to anyway.

Fitness Update:  My trainer asked me if I was doing okay today, as in could I hack it, could I manage it, was I going to make it through the workout.   I know, it's been a while, I told him.   If I passed out, I'd just pick up on the next round, I told him.

Candy and Chocolate Popsicles

My children are getting more independent every month.  This is good, it means I can get things done without worrying where there are every second.   This is bad, it means they can get into trouble while I'm busy not worrying about them.

For the most part,  my children are good kids and don't mess with things they know they're not suppose to get into.  They don't have a fascination with the knife block, the oven burners or the gasoline can in the garage.   They don't try to destroy furniture, damage the walls or jump off the deck.   But they're toddlers, and toddlers invariably get into trouble just by being themselves.

Today was a challenging day for my son.  He had "strong feelings", as they call it in Montessori school, about pretty much everything and everyone.   As a result, I had some strong feelings myself which resulted in this thing I do called iYell.

Trying to keep my children in the same room of the house resulted in dramatic conflicts, mostly instigated by my son.   I was having to separate them, negotiate conflict resolutions between them and  eventually they just didn't want to be in the same place together.   Or maybe I told my son he had to go elsewhere, I can't remember.

Two toddlers in two places can be a recipe for mischief though.   At one point I discovered my son had left the house and I didn't see him in the back yard.   He had decided he wanted to, "go and play with Ryan and Kiera" (who live two houses over) and was wandering across their back yard.   So I spent some time outside shouting at him from the deck that 1) he hadn't been invited, 2) Ryan and Kiera were still at school so could he please come back home.

During this time, my daughter had gone into the pantry.  She's good at getting her stool out and climbing up on the shelves, perusing the various items and selecting things she's not allowed to have.  If the items are in containers she can't open, say like a Nutrigrain bar, she smashes the pouch around until the bar is mush.  

This time, she's found the bowl of candy packets with things like gummy bears, sour worms and Mike & Ikes.   Through a leap of toddler discovery, she figured out how to open the pouches and was on candy packet number three when I came back into the kitchen.   She was very pleased.  She showed me her handiwork.   As a result, that candy bowl is now somewhere very high up away from the pantry.

Later in the day I realized I didn't hear my son making noise in the living room any more.  He had been playing with a parking garage toy for a while and I had hoped he was still there.   When I called down asking what he was doing, he casually said, "I was just having a chocolate popsicle."

Wait, what?   I knew he could open the freezer, but I didn't think he could get to the shelf where the chocolate popsicles were.  I didn't think he would know how to open the wrapper either.   So I came downstairs and looked at him.   Chocolate marks were all around his mouth.  It appeared he had been successful.   But where was this popsicle and the stick and was it all over my oriental rug melting now?

He told me it was in the trash.   It wasn't, but what he had done was great (aside from not being allowed to just free snack on chocolate popsicles in the middle of the afternoon).  He had gotten a single popsicle, closed the freezer, taken it out to the porch, eaten it and left the stick and wrapper outside.  He came back in, made sure the dog came in with him and closed the door behind him.

We will be working on asking for snack and not helping yourself in the weeks to come it appears.

The Big Boy Update:  Several quotes from my son over the past few days:
- Dad asks, "do you want more dinner?"  My son replies, "no I'm way too dessert hungry."
- I said out loud that we'd lost the dog, meaning that she had gone outside and not returned quickly.  My son said, "does that mean we don't have a dog anymore?"
- At dinner at a sushi restaurant tonight, my son stood up on the booth seat and looked into the check out area at the front of the restaurant and said, "I see Pahmer."   Both Uncle Jonathan and I craned our necks, but we still couldn't figure out who Pahmer was.   My son was helpful enough to pick up some rice a few minutes later, saying, "this is Pahmer."

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter was in a store with me yesterday.  As we walked through the aisles of the big store she said, "hey mom, I found a bathroom."   I went to where she was and sure enough, it was a bathroom.   She recognized the sign beside the door.

deadmau5

If you don't know how to pronounce the title, it's "dead mouse".   My son likes deadmau5, and I'm not even that surprised.   It's been interesting how we got there...

During spring break and Easter holiday, we went to visit my in-laws at their home in Florida.   During that time, my husband and I took a secondary trip with my brother- and sister-in-law to Key West.   We had a great time during both parts of the trip.

While we were in Key West, we looked for something to get Uncle Jonathan, who was taking care of our house and canine at home.   There were many things, but one thing that stuck out (and had absolutely nothing to do with Key West) was a t-shirt with deadmau5's logo on it.   Uncle Jonathan loves deadmau5, the shirt was cool looking, done deal.

We got home and gave Uncle Jonathan the shirt and from time to time he wears it when he comes to visit.  Here's the thing about deadmaus (did I mention he was a musician?)  His logo looks like the rather famous Mickey Mouse, but only to a child.    My son is a child...so he asked Uncle Jonathan if that was Mickey Mouse on his shirt.   Uncle Jonathan said that no, this was deadmau5.

The next time the shirt came to visit, my son remembered.  "It's deadmau5!" he cried.   We decided he might want hear some of deadmau5's music.   For those of you in the business of knowing all the niches and varieties of music, don't yell at me when I'm not technically accurate in my classification of deadmau5's work, but it's cool EDM to me.

EDM is "Electronic DanceMusic", and his music does, in fact, make me want to nod my head around (regardless of how much it may bother my cranky neck) and do that terribly unsophisticated dancing thing I do.

My son thought his music was great.   I'm not surprised by that either because for his favorite song this past year's classroom CD, he picked Martin Garrix's, Animals, which is also a serious beat-tastic song with very little words.

Today my son specifically asked me to put on deadmau5.  I pulled up Pandora and created a genre station based on deadmau5, just for him.    He really liked it.   He seriously can't dance.   He is definitely related to me on that front.

The Big Boy Update:  My son, after asking me to put on deadmau5 music, asked me, "What does deadmau5's Mickey Mouse dance look like?"   I did not know.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Into the wall she ran.   My daughter has inherited my, "complete lack of paying attention to hard things".   This is sometimes known as, "being clumsy".  This morning she was happily singing and walking into the kitchen, looking forward to breakfast when she looked to the right and ran straight into the cabinet, head hitting the granite.   That was only one of three times she hit her head today due to not paying attention.

Fitness Update:  Six mile success.   I ran again today.  Wheeeehaw, I am out of shape, but it wasn't like yesterday.  I was able to run the entire time, so my bonking yesterday was most probably due to a lack of calories and hydration.   I ate a huge meal last night and drank liquids before going out this morning and didn't have problems.  I did, though, still lose three pounds of water-weight just from the run in the hot, humid weather.

Crystallization

I spent a good hour messing with my jar of honey today.   Have you had honey crystalize on you?  One single crystal in it and slowly, over months of time, the contents of the entire jar will turn into crystals of honey.

My mother told me some years ago that all you need do was pop the container  into the microwave for a minute or two and the crystals would melt.   They will, it's true.  However, if the container you're storing your honey in is plastic, there is a chance it will do that melty, droopy thing non-microwave safe plastics will do.  

You could remove the honey from the cute bear-shaped or small-necked container, if only it hadn't turned into a lump of crystallized honey.  The best thing to do is apply heat in another way and keep the honey in it's container—in a non-melting kind of way.

We have one of those hot water taps at our sink for hot tea or coco or warming baby formula or even for dissolving pesky honey crystals.   I put the honey container  in a larger plastic container and filled the larger container up with hot water.   I waited and after a while I turned the container upside down to get the parts up top.

I repeated this, changing the hot water from time to time, for the next hour, waiting for all the crystals to dissolve.   While I did this, my daughter and I made mojito sorbet by zesting and squeezing limes and lemons, clipping sprigs of mint from the back yard and plucking all the green leaves off them and doing several other adult steps in the process and ultimately watching the ice cream maker churn for thirty minutes until it was done.  

By then, the honey was crystal-free.

The Big Boy Update:  My son woke up in the middle of the night and came downstairs, telling me, "the sun was in my bed."   He said it was very bright.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter was watching pictures on my in-law's digital frame when one came up of my husband's motorcycle.   She cried out, "daddy's butter cycle!"

Fitness Update:  Run fail.   I haven't run in a while, but today I had a terrible time running.  I think I was dehydrated or possibly I hadn't eaten enough.  I got all the typical signs of "bonking", including narrowed vision, cramps and difficulty focusing for the latter half of the eight miles.   I had to walk a collation of times.  I was looking forward to a lot of water at the water fountain, only to find it was under significant repairs.   Tomorrow I may try to run again.   Maybe I'll have remembered how by then.

Paddington

We're visiting my in-law's this weekend as my husband and his father are in a member/guest golf tournament.  During this time, my mother-in-law and I are spending time with the children together.   My son has been very occupied with some of the toys that his father had from when he was a child.   We are talking about trucks, cars and flying machines.  There have been lots of, "emergencies" and people have been saved while he plays quietly in the basement.

My daughter has been working on her singing and dancing.   At several points, we weren't sure she was going to stop singing and dancing.    But eventually, they get tired and it's time to get ready for bed.

My mother-in-law has many things from when my husband was a child, including books he loved and remembers.  I was cleaning up the toys and clothes when I heard the story in the next room that had begun.   It was one of the Paddington books.  Paddington is a bear who lives in London and loves marmalade sandwiches.    I had forgotten about Paddington.    I loved Paddington.

He was named for Paddington Station, one of the main Tube stations in London, and the location where he was found.   I spent the entire summer of my eighth year in England with my parents and a large group of college students.   During that time, my parents got me a collection of the Paddington books.

I loved those books.  When I was older and attending that same college that hosted the group I had gone to England with over a decade before, I moved into my first home, a small townhouse.   I became friends with my neighbor and her three children and I shared my Paddington books with them.

I had assumed they knew it was something I wanted back, but later when I asked, they had no idea where the books were.   I told myself someday I'd get another copy of the books.    This was long before the internet, eBay and Amazon, but I was going to find those books again some day.

I largely forgot about them, remembering from time to time but not having a need to find them.   Now, with children who are getting more interested in stories, I'm going to make sure we have the Paddington books so we can read them together.

The Big Boy Update:  When the children went to bed last night my daughter wasn't settling well.   My husband waited outside of the room, listening to her say, "I wanna go home" for six minutes (he was watching his watch.)   When he went back in the room to check on her after she had quieted down, my son said to him, "Reese did it.  That crying was Reese."

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  Singing and dancing.  My daughter has been singing and dancing in the kitchen at my in-law's house for the past forty-five minutes, non-stop.  She has a hand towel she keeps putting on the floor, placing just so, standing on top of it and then singing something (very loudly) that we can't quite understand, accompanied by a marching-type of dance.   When she's done we clap, she smiles, and then starts again.   I think, but I'm not sure, that the towel represents the "movement space" they have in the classroom at school.    The dancing and singing is all her.  One time when she was done she asked us, "guys, do you know that song?"   The only thing we could identify were the bits where she would repeat, "let it go, let it go" from the movie Frozen.

Pictures Versus Words

I have a Facebook account and a Twitter account.  I have web pages for each of my children on which I post pictures on a regular basis; and I have this blog.   Of all the mediums I choose to communicate socially, internet-wise, this blog seems to work the best for me.

I like taking pictures of the children, but for some reason I just can't bring myself to post, "cute pictures" of my kids on Facebook.   Twitter is more of a text message, single thought kind of medium (by original design, but that's been expanded), but I seem to think in longer thoughts.

When I write here, I don't really post pictures either.  Unless I need to show something that's not easily explained in words, I avoid pictures.   I'm fairy certain I've never posted a single picture of my children here on this blog.

Pictures work well for some people and are their preferred way to express their thoughts.   Words seem to work better for me.

The Big Boy Update:  My son still calls people, "Pahmer" all the time.   Pahmer means lots of things, mostly pronouns for other people from what we can tell.   If there is more than one pahmer-worthy person, my son might call out, "over here, pahmer's".   He called someone a, "silly pahmer".   The other night in the tub, apparently one of my children was pahmer, because his/her/it's name kept getting repeated in the bathroom while they splashed around and I folded the laundry.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  I'm not sure how my daughter knew what to do to work a jump rope with someone else.  There aren't jump ropes available at school and the ones we have at home have only been used to "hook and tie" things up by my son.  However, yesterday my daughter and Uncle Jonathan worked the jump rope in the living room and my daughter told him, "Pahmer is jumping rope."   The Pahmer mystery continues...

Let's Make a Reservation

At the parent orientation on Monday for my daughter's class, we learned about their snack routine, and I've just got to say, I am impressed with what little children and young minds come up with.

My children come from two years of. "Toddler House" where the entire class of twelve enjoys snack time together.  The portions and selection is made by one of the teachers, although the children help prepare things, like cutting up fruit or peeling a vegetable.   In Children's House, snack is handled differently.

The older children, most commonly the five-year-olds, plan a "menu" for the week.  The items coming in from the snack shopping each family does in rotation is mostly the same, but they still decide on what's going to be served each day.

Then, at the start of the morning, snack is prepared and sits in a corner of the kitchen, available to children for when they want to have snack later in the morning.    When you would like to have snack, you find a friend you want to have snack with.   You and your friend go and get your napkin (each child has their own cloth napkin), they get their cups that are labeled with a shape they recognize (since most children aren't reading yet).   The children get a plate, serve themselves some snack, sit down and eat together.

When they're done, they clean up the table, put their dish, cup and napkin away and the table is now available for anyone else who would like to have snack next.   But what if more than one group of children wants to have snack together?   My daughter's teacher said they were wanting to reserve a place in line and for a while, she was putting two napkins (indicating the two friends who wanted to snack together) in one pocket of her apron.  If a second set of children wanted to wait in line, she would put their napkins in her other apron pocket.  

Then, they came up with a solution together.   There is a three-slotted glass napkin holder in the kitchen area.  If you want to make a reservation for snack because the table is full, you put your napkins in the first slot.  The second and third slots can be filled as needed.   When the table becomes available, the first children in line take their napkins and begin their snack.   The children figured out on their own that if you're second in line, this is the time to move your napkins up one slot.  

Apparently the reservation method for snack time is appreciated by everyone, including the teachers.

The Big Boy Update:  When I took my son to the pediatrician last week to get an allergy form updated, he was pretty excited to be going.  We have a great doctor and he likes to see her.   We were in the waiting room, waiting to be called back when he decided he couldn't wait any more and said, "I'm ready to go back and see my doctor now."  As he walked out the door and down the hall, thankfully the nurse called his name to come on back.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter got new shoes today.   These shoes look more like the types of sneakers/running shoes/tennis shoes adults wear.   I didn't realize she'd made the connection until we got home.  She jumped out of the car and said, "Now I can run like Jon does!"   She ran into the house to find Uncle Jonathan and show him her, "running shoes".