Poli-ticking me off

I must be full of rants because here comes another one!  I am so sick of politics.  Like so sick of it that I am unfriending people over it. During the election I let it slide because “’tis the season.” But for people to still be wallowing in hate is disdain over the outcome of the election is completely unhealthy if you ask me, the non-professional.

News Flash: the election is over.  Your stupid, often, misinformed (and biased) memes and literature cannot change the election nor is it going to persuade anyone to change their mind for next election.  If you aren’t up-to-date on presidential election rules, he can’t go more than two terms. So, we have fresh blood coming up in 2016. And, not surprisingly, your all consuming distaste for the opposite party will surface again. Rinse and repeat every four years.  Does it feel good to carry such heavy opinions all of the time?

Please, don’t read this and assume I am a democrat or that I agree with everything President Obama is trying to implement. But I am open-minded, courteous, and respectful enough to share my opinions with only those interested in what I have to say, and I think I am pretty damn good and keeping it civil.  And, I am, by no means, a political genius nor do I want to be.  Frankly, politics are not something I enjoy at all. Which is why I am tired of seeing them everywhere.  According to some people, tripping over your own feet is somehow the fault of the despised politician somewhere. It’s time to take some personal responsibility.

It seems we’ve become lazy and are hastily passing the buck instead of claiming responsibility for our situations. I’m not trying to say that no one is immune to the effects of the economic down turn, but there are many, many people who just don’t want to accept that there is something they can do for themselves and want someone else to fix their problems. It’s time to get up, accept the situation, and do something positive. As Charles Swindoll said, “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”  Are your current reactions the flavor you want your life to be?

And honestly, I’m going to break this down to a more familiar level. Is the way you are reacting to the election setting a good example for your children? Do they hear, see, or join you in your jeering of our top public official?  What if they decided to react the same way to you when you tried to implement new rules, budgets, and etc?  We, as a country, elected him to office because the majority (Electoral College) of us felt he was able to run our country. What if 1 of your 3 children resisted, heckled, and deliberately disregarded the decisions that you are making on their behalf, trying to take their best interests at heart.  All we can ask is that he do the best job he is able.  Would you want to do his job?  I wouldn’t.

So, just stop. Move on. I'd rather hear you complain about the weather. Complaining isn't fixing anything, it's just making it worse.

I'm a better mom than you...

I’m a better mom than you.

Don’t like someone bluntly saying that? Then stop implying it all of the damn time.  No, I don’t think that I am a better mom than anyone.  I am the best mom possible to my Otter. But it doesn’t mean that I am a better mom than any other mom out there.

One of my BIGGEST pet peeves and mom gripes is all of these moms out there on social media or out and about in the real world making snarky comments and passing judgmental stares.  Parenting is hard enough as it is.  We don’t need to make it a competition.  I hate the car seat issue. YES, please follow the APA suggestions and restrain your child as appropriate.  But squirmy children are hard to restrain and even harder as they grow older and their little fingers can figure out their buckles. Parents shouldn’t be afraid to post photos of their sleeping beauties in their car seats for fear of the Car Seat Nazis calling them out publicly and making them feel incompetent. Recently on my Facebook feed I saw a status generally stating car seat rules and ending it with “It’s not that hard.”  F*ck you.  It IS hard.  Parenting is hard work.  Have you ever made a mistake? Have you ever forgotten to check something before moving on to the next task on your never ending to-do list? GET OVER YOURSELF!!!  We care about our kids and their safety and we don’t purposely put them in their car seat incorrectly.  How about a PM explaining your concern and offering to help if there are still questions?

Oh, and how about this Attachment Parenting? I get it.  In many aspects, I am an “attached” parent. But I have also heard “Gentle” parenting used.  What, those parents who don’t follow your parenting guidelines are aggressive, mean, or detached parents? My son didn’t sleep through the night until he was over 1 year old.  He cried it out of 2 nights and has slept amazingly since.  Don’t judge.  It worked for us. And guess what?!  He’s happy and healthy and doesn’t think I’m the worst parent in the world.  I know, you are mind blown. My parenting comes from what feels natural and right to me not because I want to fit a mold.

I could go on and on.  Breastfeeding vs formula feeding, vaccinating.  It’s not a competition.  I don’t lose points or the “game” if I wasn’t able to or decided not to breastfeed.  It’s what works for us- YOU and YOUR family.  Stay out of mine unless all you have is love and support.  I’m incredibly tired of talking to other mothers to find that they’ve been beaten down based on their decisions for parenting.  It’s not fair to anyone and it definitely doesn’t set a good example for your children.  So, think about offering support instead of judgment next time.

/End Rant/

Birthday and Babies

And we’ve survived our first Blizzard.  Thank you, Nemo!  By the way, who in the heck decided to name a winter storm after a cute little clown fish with a “little fin”? Poor Otter was confused hearing “Nemo” over and over, waiting for me to pop in the DVD. But he loved the snow!

Otter playing with Nemo.

Anyways, I’ve recently celebrated another year of life.  Which, I am forever appreciative of any and every year I get to spend with my loved ones. But this one hit me kind of hard. For some reason 27 seems really official.  I am no longer in my early twenties. Mid-twenties seemed so comfortable, but I am edging ever closer to the big 3-OH. I’m not afraid of turning thirty, but I fear the aging process, somewhat.  Namely, fertility.  I am emotionally ready for another baby. Doc isn’t quite there with me, yet. I hope he will get there eventually.  However, I feel that waiting another year or two would be good for Otter. I am still trying to get this parenting thing down.  He’s still trying to get his toddler attitude down.  He’s getting pretty good at being two.  But, despite my practical side telling me to wait, I have this fear, fear of the unknown, that if I wait too long, perhaps I won’t be able to have another. As unfounded as it is to have these feelings, I can’t push them aside.

While I was pregnant with Otter and for a while after he was born, I was convinced that I only wanted him. But every day that I see him grow older and do new and more grown up boy things my heart aches for the teeny tiny little baby that he used to be.  And when I see him play and interact out in public I see him do so well with other kids and ADORE babies and I know in my hear t that he can’t be an only child.  He needs a brother or a sister to share his life with. But how soon is too soon.  How long is too long to wait?  I battle these thoughts daily.  And don’t get me started on Doc.  I think he’s petrified of not sleeping again for another year.  Otter did some irreparable damage, I think.

Back to the point at hand, I am getting older and I wonder what my (our) future holds in terms of additional children.  I wish that I could peer into the future and see what is in store for us.  I promise I won’t peek at anything else, I would be content just knowing what’s in the cards. Just a quick peek, pretty please.   I know these are completely normal fears/thoughts for many, many women my age (and older and younger). Especially to take the leap from 1 child to 2.  We have those fears that we can’t love more than one or that the older will be jealous.  So.many.thoughts.

Well, I thought I was finished writing this post and then I popped on Facebook for a moment, and I see a bazillion posts about babies.  BABIES. Everywhere I turn, someone is pregnant, giving birth, or posting photos of their squishy little infant. I am incredibly happy for each and every one of these women and their families. I love seeing all of these moments.  I recently started following a new parenting page on Facebook and there are constantly birth photos beings posted.  I love it.  Every photo takes my breath away and brings tears to my eyes.  I need to do it again.  I want another birth experience. I can’t even begin to remember the pain from my first labor and delivery.  Isn’t it funny how nature works?

Moving on before I can’t focus the rest of the day because I’m daydreaming about my “someday baby”. I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s day.  Single or not, it’s about celebrating love- any kind of love.  Love for your child(ren), parents, friends, or significant other.  Otter came home from daycare with an indescribable amount of swag and sweets. The only way to describe it is with a photo.

Mommy, WOW! I'm a big kid now.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!!  I'm home with Otter today since his daycare is closed.  It's nice.  I love being home with him. Which got me thinking back to this summer when I was home for three months looking for a job. I was miserable.  A combination of feeling unworthy of any job and feeling like I wasn't contributing to the family as I should make it a really, really long three months. I am able to work, so why wouldn't I work?- That is rhetorical, I don't really need or want to hear why I should be staying home. But, now, there are days where I just want to be home and I love being home when I get the chance.  I wish I could find a perfect medium.  Maybe where I could work from home 2-3 days a week and at the office the other days.  It's the going to work that makes me realize that I love both and would like a better balance.  I'm not sure if I'll ever find a job that will let me do both.  Definitely not during Otter's toddler days.  However, he is learning so much at daycare and the socialization is doing really well. 

Speaking of learning things, Otter is pretty much potty trained.  Except number two...if you know what I mean. It all started when he saw some other kids at daycare using the potty and being able to join the potty parade. Then, I picked him up one day and he was covered in stickers for each time he used the potty.  He was still wearing diapers at that time. After a few days of that and having no luck getting him to use the potty at home, his teacher and I decided to start sending him in underwear.  He had a few days of accidents and then all of the sudden no accidents all.  But he was still having troubles at home.  Mainly because we'd get home in the evenings and I'd start cooking dinner and he'd start chugging milk/water and playing and doing his chores.  We'd all get side-tracked because this was new to us all.  But after a few days he stopped having accidents in the evening.  So, he only wears diapers to bed at night and for naps.  We are still working on "poopies".  But I am dang proud.  It wasn't and painful or drawn out as I had fears.  Seriously, I was dreading it and putting it off.  But, it is, yet, another reminder that my little guy isn't so "little" anymore.

For anyone who is about to undertake the potty training adventure, I found that stickers are a greats (and cheap) motivator/reward. Also, for the days that we are completely accident free, he is able to pick a reward out of the reward basket.  It is filled with goodies from the Dollar Spot from Target!  Take your little guy or gal to the potty every 20-30 minutes whether they thing they have to go or not. We use the potty seats that fit right onto the actual toilet. A step-stool is good for those "I can do it!" kiddos. And not to mention, the though of cleaning a portable potty seat makes me want to puke.  Isn't that why I am transitioning away from diapers?

Do you have successful potty training tips you'd like to share? Questions or difficulties? Share them!

FOMO

It's really nice to have a weekend of doing nothing. Really, really nice. We celebrated Doc's birthday but other than that we had no obligations or commitments. Otter and I ran some errands on Saturday and then we came home and took down all of the Christmas decorations. I even decided I wanted to watch a movie that I have wanted to watch. So, I rented Trouble with the Curve. I enjoyed it. Mainly because I was in my pajamas in my own bed with Otter surrounded by air popped popcorn, banana chips, gold fish, pistachios, and diet coke. But, in all seriousness, it was yet another feel good movie. I love Amy Adams and won't turn down Justin Timberlake, either.

On Sunday, Doc headed into work for a little bit and Otter and I just hung out at home. We watched a few too many movies and built our first snow man that Otter named "Me". As twilight approached, Otter started to become concerned about "Me" asking if he was okay and if he would go to sleep. What a sweet boy.

Although I love spending time with my boy, I can't leave the room with out him freaking out. It doesn't always seem like he is screaming for me, but rather because he is being "left out". This kid is definitely my kid. Like me, he seems to have a mild case of FOMO (fear of missing out). I have never been a particularly popular person, especially in high school, but I always need to know what is going on. Not because I am necessarily nosey but because I don't want to miss out on something. My mom and step-dad even affectionately called me "Radar" for a while. I just want to be included in everything. Perhaps this is because I wasn't popular or maybe it is because I had two older step-sisters who were close to me in age but old enough to do things I couldn't, at the same time. It doesn't matter why, but I have this personality trait that makes me want to know and be involved. As I have gotten older I have learned to manage this feeling but I am not always successful. I really hope Otter doesn't grow up feeling this way. Hopefully some of his father's characteristics rub off ans his is the perfect mix of social and antisocial.  I make sure that when it is appropriate to include him he is included.  I also explain to him when he's not included why and what he can do instead. For example when the neighbors are outside playing with their guests, Otter wants to go over.  I explain that they are playing with their friends right now and that he hasn't been asked to come over.  He's not allowed to invite himself, but instead, we can go do ______ together. I hope it works. With all of the technology we currently have and the technology his generation will likely have they will be connected all of the time and the FOMO will only intesify. We don't need a million Scott Disicks running around.

It's Twenty Thirteen!

Well, I took a little hiatus.  I was working on something and then the Sandy Hook tragedy happened and what I was working on felt meaningless. Then, I decided I would write my thoughts and feelings on that.  But I couldn’t.  It hurt too damn bad to acknowledge that someone could be that cold. Instead, I hand wrote a letter to my son. Maybe I’ll post that someday.

So, now, it is the second day of Twenty Thirteen and I didn’t make a New Year’s resolution. We didn’t even “celebrate” the New Year. We got home from our trip to the Midwest visiting our family on New Year’s Eve. After hauling everything out of the vehicle and into the house, Christmas had officially thrown up all over the kitchen- where everything was dumped.  I had to run to the local market to get milk and essentials and I saw a sign on the door that said they were closing at 6:00 pm.  WHY?! Oh, yeah, it’s that holiday that I haven’t celebrated for years.

I don’t know why I don’t celebrate. Perhaps it’s that I was a waitress and by the time I got off work it was too late to do anything which slowly evolved to sitting on the couch in pajamas and watching the ball drop at home, to having a baby and not being able to physically keep myself awake long enough to even find a station what was broadcasting the events, to life has taken over and I just don’t care anymore. For whatever reason, I don’t stay up late, drinking and partying. I wake up the next morning, life as normal, and head to Target for groceries before many people have even gotten a few hours of sleep. Which is fine.

On this second day of the New Year comes the realization that the “holidays” are over for the next 11-ish months. Well, 10 because I feel like Halloween should really be included since it is less than a month before Thanksgiving, but I’m sure people would throw a fit- haters gonna hate, right?! Otter had a lovely Christmas.  His Nana sure did spoil him rotten.  I guess that’s a benefit of being the only grandchild. Otter, Doc, and I spent a lot of time in the car together. And Chip went back to the North Pole. Otter was surprisingly okay with this.  His 7 and 8 year-old cousins, however, did not appreciate it as much.  Maybe it was because they only got to see the Elf for a few days. But, I loved spending the time with family and reconnecting.  I wish we could do it more often.  I never thought I would be the one living across the country from everyone I know and love.  But I (we) are and it’s alright.  It’s a feeling of independence that I love.  We three are in this together and we have each other to lean on.

I will work on preparing a post of all of Chip’s shenanigans.  I have to admit that I lost steam towards the end of the season.

Here’s to a Happy and Healthy New Year!

For the love of Pinterest

Why do the best ideas come at moments where you can’t do anything about them…like write them down? I had a magnificent idea for my next entry-something totally different than what I had been doing.  It hit me right as I was driving down the highway during rush hour. Kinda bad timing to whip out my Nexus and make some notes, ya think?  So, you are going to have to live with these random thoughts and blabberings about my obsession with Pinterest.

Anyways, I’m a huge Pinerest fanatic.  I love pinning things that I’m capable of doing and things that I’ll never get to in a million years but they look good on my boards. One of my favorite things to do is to make wreaths.  I saw a pin about using plumbing tubing from Lowe's to make your wreath base instead of buying the expensive wreath foam from the craft stores. Well, I’m here to tell you, I will just buy to expensive stuff, because clearly I’m doing something wrong.  When I cut my tube to the length I wanted to make the size of wreath I wanted and taped it together it wasn’t quite round. Convinced that I could disguise the wreath’s shape with the Christmas ornaments I’d bought to embellish the beautiful wreath I’d envisioned in my head, I proceeded with the time-consuming process of wrapping my wreath with the thin yarn you see adorning the beautiful wreaths all over Pinterest.  It became even more evident when the wreath was wrapped that it, definitely, wasn’t round. Intent on fixing the shape my Doc tried to help me re-tape the wreath and I wrapped over the new tape. Meh. Still not so hot. But I got my hot glue gun out and started gluing the decorations to the wreath.  Here is my final product.



Christmas Wreath Fail



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First of all, the wreath isn’t thick enough. And it doesn’t hang properly.  This is actually a GOOD photo of the thing.  But I’ll show you that I can really make a wreath.  Here is one of my favorites.

Pretty Fall/All Seasons Wreath

But, to make up for the meek Holiday cheer the wreath gives, we decided to make and decorate sugar cones as trees…as seen on Pinterest. I didn’t go all out on supplies and decorations because I figured at Otter’s age, he was going to eat everything.  And as I suspected, he did. I just bought a box of sugar cones, red and green m&m’s, and a jar of frosting. I already had green food coloring at home.  Here’s how they turned out:

My Trees

 

 

 

 

 



Otter's Trees



 

 

 

 

 

 

On Display

 

What are some of your favorite Pinterest projects to do, with or without the kids?

NO!

“No! Mommy!” and “No, Mommy!” have become very regular phrases in our household. But they are driving me bat-crap crazy, as I mentioned in my last post. Accompanied with aggression towards Daddy and it is the biggest headache, EVER. Although, I have been reassured that this is very normal for a two year old, it didn’t ease my concern at all.

It all started when our Buzz kitty died.  Right after, Otter started screaming and pushing away Doc when he’d get home from work. Of course, after a long day, this hurt his feelings.  Otter just wanted me and me only (C’mon, kid! Can’t you see I’m cooking?!). After doing some reading online Doc explained that is normal and that the burden is on me to redirect Otter to show affection to his Daddy, again. So, I would show more affection to Doc and encourage Otter to do the same.  I’d have talks with Otter to explain to him how awesome Daddy is and that he can help him do anything that I can do, too. But, I think the biggest thing to redirect Otter was several events or evenings alone with Doc. He’s doing much better, now.  When Doc gets home he’ll occasionally shy away or try to push his daddy away but he is much more willing to go play with him while I cook dinner rather than attaching himself to me. But we are still working on the telling us “no” part.

This, to me, is humiliating. Normal but humiliating. There is nothing are few things worse than standing in the middle of Target and asking your child to stand up or stay with mommy and have him shout “No!” back at you. I can just feel the stares of disapproving strangers who think he’s probably nothing more than a snot-nosed brat who gets away with misbehaving (and there’s me who’s thinking “Are you kidding me, Kid?”). Not true. My little boy is sweet and caring. He just so happens to be testing his language and boundaries.  After fighting my initial urge of yelling, “NO! Don’t use that word with Mommy” I calmly get on his level, repeat my request and help him follow through. Let’s face it, telling a toddler “no” to get him to stop saying “no” really isn’t going to help things and it’s probably going to confuse it.  Sure, this tactic doesn’t always work and I often find myself wanting to wallow around on the floor with him, crying, because neither of us are understanding each other in that moment, but I pick us both up and head out of the store.

I know this is going to continue being an uphill battle.  What will probably happen is we will head out for the holidays with a nice, sweet boy who doesn’t use the naughty “no” and once we reach the grandparent’s houses “no” will appear again in the vocabulary, making us both look like wretched parents. But we love him!

Anways, we went and saw Santa and Mrs. Clause. Otter was pretty excited and even pulled me by the hand to go see them.  Now that I think of it, I don’t think Otter asked for anything. It’s a good thing we can tell Chip, our Elf on the Shelf, what he’d like for Christmas!

Don't you be a turkey

Hey there!  I hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving!  This is the first year in a quite a long time that we didn’t travel. Papaw visited and I prepared my first ever Thanksgiving feast. We had a good day.  Otter really enjoyed a visit from Papaw and is still taking about it several days later.

We also had a visit from a special Elf on the Shelf named Chip- as in Chocolate Chip.  The elf has been up to a few shenanigans. Otter doesn’t quite understand WHY Chip is here but he welcomes his company all the same.  I’ll post a few sneak peak photos, but will follow up the Christmas season with all the Chip has done.

We did our first Holiday related events, picked up our very first live Christmas tree which was promptly decorated.  Otter was really in to it.  However, he was having troubles placing the ornaments on the tree so he had a really good time handing me ornaments to put on the tree. We then went to a quick and chilly Fire Truck parade in a nearby village.  Otter loves fire trucks and was pretty thrilled by the experience, but if you asked him if he saw trucks or Santa, he will tell you “no”.

That leads me to the terrible two’s we are dealing with. Otter, has taken to telling us “no” always. This is incredibly frustrating. I understand that this is normal phase of a two year old, but Doc and I can’t help but be irritated when we ask our son to pick up his shoes and he yells “no” with a smile on his face. This, usually, leads to a time out because even when I offer another opportunity to do what we’ve asked he doesn’t budge and uses the naughty word, again. Seriously frustrating. Why do toddlers have to be so stubborn?!

Anyways, any suggestions on how to deal with phase would be openly welcomed.  We’ve got a nice weekend planned with a visit to Santa and maybe Otter will make a few Christmas presents for some of his grandparents.

The tree-partially decorated.

Chip with his milk and cookies

Chip in the tree

Dealing with Death

Wow, it’s been a really long time.  I bet you didn’t think I was even coming back. But, I did. 

A lot has changed since I last blogged to you about my crazy life as a mother. We have moved across the country to New England!  Yay!  It’s beautiful here.  Our little town seemed to survive Superstorm Sandy just fine.  But my thoughts are with those who are still recovering and rebuilding. Doc and I have new jobs, obviously, since we left the mid-west. And we bought a big OLD colonial home that we are trying to morph into our dream home.  Doc has come in handy in that aspect.  I don’t know how I managed to marry such a multi-talented man, but he’s doing a damn good job on the house.

Sadly, my first post back is going to touch a sad subject and something that we’ve recently had to deal with recently- death.  Otter, about 4 weeks ago, was given a kitten that we named Buzz. Sweet little orange tabby cat who somehow managed to survive everything our 2 year old had to offer. However, Buzz got out of the house the other night while I was making a trip out to the garage to get something. My hands were full when I got back to the house and I wasn’t able to scoop him up.  When I returned, I couldn’t find him.  He had always stuck close to the house and usually danced around when I called for him.  So, Otter and I donned our coats and shoes, grabbed a flashlight and went looking for him.  We looked for a while and then I finally heard a weak mew from under our front porch. Buzz stuck his sleepy little head out and I snatched him up to carry him inside. 

It wasn’t until in the light of our home that I could see that Buzz was a mess.  He looked filthy and Doc said he just didn’t look right.  Upon further investigation, Buzz had some major wounds to the underside of his little body and I rushed him to the nearest emergency vet 30 minutes away. After meeting with the vet and discussing the treatment options, costs, and outcomes it was decided that Buzz was to be put to sleep.  It wasn’t an easy decision and one of my first thoughts was of what Otter would do/think when he realized Buzz was gone.  The two of them were inseparable.  

Before I had left to take Buzz to the vet, knowing that this outcome was possible, Otter said “bye-bye” to Buzz and Doc explained Buzz had lots of ouchies. This, it seemed, was our saving grace.  The next morning when Otter woke up and asked for Buzz, tears immediately filled my eyes and I choked on the words as I explained to Otter that Buzz had ouchies and had to go bye-bye. I told Otter that Buzz loved him very much. I grappled with how to explain this to Otter. Did I tell him Buzz went to a special farm, that he’s gone, or that he died?  What words do you use to explain to a 2-year-old that their kitty is gone? 

Well, I’ll tell you that Otter has accepted Buzz’s leaving with amazing grace and resilience. “Bye-bye” seemed to be a good choice of words for him.  He will still say “Buzz go bye-bye” as a statement but a little later will ask if “Daddy go bye-bye” or if Emma (our dog) went bye-bye.  And I explain to him that, no, Daddy is at work and Emma is in the house. Then he will correct himself and say Buzz had ouchies and had to go bye-bye.  Sure, he probably doesn’t understand that Buzz is never coming back and he definitely doesn’t understand what death is, but we approached it in the manner that we did and Otter seems to have handled it well.

As parents, it’s always tough to approach serious topics with our kids and we worry about doing it in an age appropriate matter. How have you handled sensitive issues, like death, with your children?

Oh, and I promise, we have much more light hearted posts coming.  I mean, we have an Elf coming to live with us for the next month. What could be more fun than that?!

Bye Buzz Kitty, we will miss you!

Let him choose

Otter loves to be in control.  I love to offer easy and healthy options.  So, I create (or buy) healthy snack options and portion them out for Otter and toss them in a container.  When Otter wants a snack, we let him choose the snack from the bin.  He loves that HE gets to choose what he wants to snack on. I love that, really, I'm in control.  We offer things like vanilla wafers, graham crackers, peanut butter crackers, and granola bars. These are his snacks and not his meals.  His fruits and veggies come from the meals.  But this also encourages vocabulary.  I will get down to his level and say "Choose 1 *holding up 1 finger* snack." Let him choose.  As his hands glide over all of his options I will say the name of what he's considering.  Then when he chooses, I say, "Oh, you've chosen vanilla wafers!  Those are yummy."

The down side to this, is many shelf stable and easily ready snacks really aren't that healthy (I'm talking sugar).  I wish that I could have cut up grapes or apples ready, but in reality those are best prepared right before being consumed. I am still researching (and open to suggestions) of better options.  I don't want him to never have sweets.  Because consuming them in moderation will help him make better choices growing up, since he won't ever feel deprived of them. But I'd like to have healthier sweet options. 

However, at his age, he's crazy full of energy (when he's not sick) and runs around everywhere.  He's recently been enrolled in a gymnastics-like class and has chosen the rings as his favorite. We may have found his calling, even at his tender age. I hope that he continues to find things that he loves and that we are able to support him in his passions.  The sad truth is, I know nothing about gymnastics or rings, so I don't know how to encourage it other than to offer it as an option and try to learn as much during his class that I can.

Well, that's all for now. What new memories have you made recently?

My kid is a petri dish...

It's been a while since I've posted.  I've been busy, as this post will detail.

We can't seem to win the healthy battle.  Otter is CONSTANTLY sick.  Seriously.  We made it 6 days with out a cold this time. I should buy stock in my pediatrician's office. I've had mini meltdowns in their office about how I feel like this is all my fault and how can I can I fix this.  Truth is, Otter is a "daycare kid" and is going to get sick.  Sure, he seems to catch everything. But, we'll get there.  But there are days where I feel like he's a petri dish and all the germs are testing out their skills on his immune system. 

However, when the cutie is sick, I get a lot of snuggles.  Sometimes they are whiny snuggles, but snuggles all the same.  Some of my favorite things to do when he's not feeling amazing are to throw a fresh towel and his most comfortable pair of jammies in the dryer.  Then we hit the bath.  Once bath time is over, which ever parent that isn't chaperoning bath time brings in the warm snuggly towel and jammies and we dry off and get in the jammies immediately and then head to mommy and daddy's bed with snack and a sippy.  We don't leave the bed unless he wants to.  I love it.

Anyways, in my attempt to keep Otter healthy I've added yet another type of wipe to our house (Huggies for the bottom, Boogie Wipes for the nose): Johnson's hand and face wipes.  Washing our hands, currently, is more like a splash fest and exploration of everything he can reach- soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, medicine cabinet. So, I'm hoping these alcohol free wipes will help out a bit. Wish us luck.

Oh, I think I hear Otter up for his nap.  That's all for now. I hope you are making memories!

Yeah, I was THAT mom...

...with a screaming toddler in the grocery store. 

I so desperately wanted to NEVER be "that mom".  But it happened.  Every logical part of me kept saying, "drop the cart off at the customer service desk and get the f*ck out of here!" But I didn't.  Why?  Because I only had three things left to get.  Three things.

It all started like every other weekly grocery trip we make. We got our cart and went straight to the "snack" section, picked out a box of graham cracker sticks, and then started our shopping trip with the child blissfully snacking away on his treats.  We had made it through the produce, meat, and canned goods with no incident.  But as we rounded the corner to household items and dairy that's when all hell broke loose. 

Otter kept trying to stand up in his seat, despite the fact that he was buckled in, which prompted high pitched screeches of dissatisfaction.  Fine. I decided that since he was a toddler and can walk, now, that he'd follow me through the store like an obedient puppy.  Wrong- I'm a freaking idiot.  He immediately high-tailed it in the opposite direction being as cute as can be while attracting every sweet old lady he could find.  I scooped him back up and tried distracting him with some $6 die-cast car that I had zero intention of buying.  That didn't work so, I showed him that he could help push the cart.  BINGO!  He was amazed at his super-human strength and proceeded to push with all his might.  This was awesome. 

We made it to the milk cooler and I tried to swiftly remove a gallon of milk without letting go or losing control of the cart. Yeah, not so easy.  *Crash*  Yep, that was Super OtterMan pushing the cart into the other section of the milk cooler.  By this point, he's used up all of his super powers is and totally done pushing the cart and proceeds to throw himself onto the super market floor and wallow in his misery while inducing headaches for by-passers.  Embarrassed I scoop him up and think "Omg...let's go" when I look at my list and realize I need only a few more things.  So I try to push my heavy cart with on hand and contain my flailing toddler with the other.  I'm sure I looked like a hot mess.

Anyways, we made it to the cash register and I had to still contain said toddler and try to put my groceries up on the belt.  Not fun.  We finished things up.  I left the store sweating, which, in my opinion, shouldn't happen while grocery shopping, but I'm hoping they've seen worse.  I really don't want to know if they haven't.

So, needless to say, I need to figure out how to entertain Otter while shopping if this is going to keep happening.  And, putting him in his car seat when we finally got to the car is episode enough for a whole new blog post- but I'll save you that embarrassment.

Oh, and I learned this morning, after already getting to work, that not even a wet wipe and lint roller will remove dried on apple sauce from a black sweater. 

Otter=1 Me=0.

So, that was Christmas?!

OH.EM.GEE...so, that was Christmas?  Wow, we're exhausted...and sick. I don't even feel like Christmas even happened.  Sure, we opened a ton (too many- mom!) gifts and saw nearly every family member.  But each of our visits were extremely brief.  I feel like we spent more time in the car than we did with our families.  And on top of it all, there was not a single snow flake to be seen. 

On the bright side, Otter and his cousin, who is 5 months his senior, got to "play" together, finally.  When I say play, I really mean they were excited to see each other and then they started fighting.  Not horribly, but there was definitely some rivalry between them.  Otter became pretty protective of his toys and even pushed her once or twice.  I don't know if it's because she's a girl or if it's because she's smaller than him (she's a teeny tiny little doll :) ) but he wasn't going to let her do anything he didn't want her to do.  I've never seen him act like that.  I know they are toddlers, but I couldn't helped be a little embarrassed  frustrated by his actions toward her.  I'll have to figure out how to work on that.  Any advice (yes, this question is going out to my whopping TWO followers)?

We received many wonderful gifts.  Once again, my brother, "Uncle Allstate" knocked it out of the park with this Vetech kitchen and embroidered chef coat. Otter loves anything and everything kitchen related.  Otter's biggest gift fail was from me and doc.  He got a grill, per the reason just stated, but this thing is janky.  It took me a bajillion years (and some sore muscles the next day) to put it together and I'm really not impressed with the quality or the entertainment factor.  Sure, Otter likes to open and close the lid and doors, but there isn't much else for him to do with it. 

I think my family is really wanting everyone to get into the kitchen and cook...a lot of our gifts were geared toward the kitchen (or play kitchen).  I was really excited to receive the No Whine with Dinner cook book by the Meal Makeover Moms that I had my eye on.  I haven't had a lot of time to flip through it, but I did read through the 50 tips in the back to get your kids to eat.  LOVE THEM.  I can't wait to get my meals planned out for this next week.

Anyways, we are back home and trying to recuperate.  Doc is sick.  Like really sick, so we are happy to not have any huge plans for New Years. I hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday and are all home and safe.  If you had any huge gift hits or flops, please feel free to comment and tell me about them!

It's not Christmas unless someone poops on the floor

Yeah, it's not really Christmas unless someone (not an animal) poops on the floor.  It doesn't happen every year, but I seem to remember that my most favorite (recent) Christmases involved someone pooping on the floor.

This year it happened to be my kid that pooped on the floor.  Since we have to travel for Christmas, I decided, since Otter was young enough that he'd never know the difference, we'd open our gifts the weekend before Christmas so that he could play and we didn't have to worry about transporting our gifts.  Santa understood and obliged to come early. 

Anyways, after a morning of opening gifts and reindeer pancakes, Otter happily took a bath and after getting out of the bath toddled out to his new toys while I gathered a diaper and some clothes for the day.  In a matter of minutes (seriously, two minutes MAX) he had pooped and peed on the living room floor. Honestly, he looked pretty damn impressed with him self when I shrieked in horror. I, my friends, was not impressed, I didn't know what to do.  Obviously it needed cleaned up, but was I to reprimand him? Rub his nose in it like a puppy (c'mon, do you SERIOUSLY think I'd do that!?!).  No, I didn't reprimand him, it was my fault for leaving him bare butt to roam free around his domain.  I did raise my voice once to startle him before he stepped in it.  But we all survived...I with a mental picture that will last a life time and a good prom night story.  Sorry buddy, you don't really think I'll let you live this down do you?

My niece did something similar a few years ago while she was potty training.  The entire family was sitting around my sister-in-law's living room talking and playing with gifts when we noticed that she was missing.  I spotted her behind the tree squatting.  Her parents asked her what she was doing but she wouldn't respond.  So her dad walked around to check on her and promptly returned laughing hysterically.  She had quickly became "your daughter" to my sister-in-law.  We all giggled and she (my niece) was rightfully embarrassed.  And knowing her father, I am sure this will be a prom night story for her, too.

Back to our Christmas, it was nice.  I was super pumped because this was Otter's first semi-coherent Christmas.  He gets how to open gifts and such now.  And since I'm not trying to convince you that I'm super woman, I'll admit that the sugar free peanut butter cookies I made for Santa sucked.  Like really bad, sucked.  But I do adore the reindeer pancakes we had that morning.

Simply make 1 large pancake for the head, a medium pancake for the face, and 2 smaller ones for the ears. Bacon (turkey bacon in our case) for the antlers and your favorite berries (we used blackberries, but if you want a Rudolph use a strawberry or raspberry) for the nose and eyes.  Enjoy!

Silly, Silly ME!

I can't help it, this opening post is going to be cliche as hell. But if you are ever going to get to know me I guess, I should just introduce myself and get it over with.

I'm Jen, the Silly Times Mom, of "Otter", my 1-year old toddler.  I'm happily married to "Doc" who is not really a doctor, yet. And never will be in the medical sense. I'm a full-time mom with a full-time career working out of the home.  I'm not quite sure how I fit it all in.  But above all, I'm dead set on having a silly time.  Okay, enough with the word "silly".  We just like to have fun, okay?   

The purpose of this blog, for me at least, is to document my child's life and all of the fun, crazy, and educational activities we do.  Basically, when my son is 18, I want him to have this blog as evidence that I did, indeed, "try".   

There will be moments where you think, "what was she thinking?!" and others where you are totally jealous- I'm kidding...thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's things, right?  But, if you like the ideas, use them.  Maybe tell your friends where you found them, though. So, really, I may not always be productive or cohesive, I just want to feed my need to be a fun good mom (and document and share it) and to rekindle my love for writing.  I was an English major, by the way (double major in sociology).

I hope you enjoy!  Let's make some memories, folks!