your wish is my command

Since this is one of my very favorite pictures of A. It is still framed on our wall.  People always comment on and those same people asked if we were going to do the same thing with K.  Here is the difference between my children:

A. at 6 weeks.  Very unhappy in her pumpkin

K. at 7 months.  He is one with his pumpkin.  He probably sat in there for 15 minutes smiling and looking around.

Now, the fun begins:

 A. decided she also wanted in the pumpkin that is also on top of the art table.  I'm sure you see where this is going... She had her picture taken and then promptly fell off the back of the table.  I think this is the order of the next chain of events...
1. I plopped K. on the floor and ran to her. 
2. K. immediately started screaming because he was scared from A.'s screaming. 
3. B. dropped the camera to run over. 
4. Since I had A. and could tell she was going to be fine, I was trying to direct him to pick up the pumpkin so it didn't get ruined all the while yelling because he dropped the camera. 
5. B. couldn't hear me over the crying so was saying, "what, what, what." 
6. That then made me talk louder so I think our neighbors were thinking they should call the cops because someone was dying or that we were putting on a haunted house. 
7. A. stopped crying and asked us if we were alright and if she could please have some ice.

All for the sake of a picture!

Here are some beauties of the pumpkin carving adventure...
 

yell "fish"

I have a confession... I am cheap.  I LOVE yard sales and consignment sales.  My kids have mostly used toys and clothes, and they don't know any different.  So, when my friend Emily found A. this puppet show stage for A. at a yard sale, I was really excited.  It will foster creativity, its recycling, and it was cheap.  To boot, this particular puppet stage also came with some puppets. Now, here comes the problem with used toys.  The finger puppets are a knight, a dinosaur, a dog, a shrek like monster, 2 long haired girls, and then a dog hand puppet.  Interesting...  We got out this stage today to put on a show outside.  I challenged A. to put on a show with all of the puppets.  I was really interested to see what she could come up with.  Here is her show












Let me set the scene:  a lizard finger puppet and dog hand puppet are held up on the stage.  A.'s head is fully visable as well.

A. When you see a fish, yell "fish."

long pause....
Me as I realize she is waiting for me to yell:  I don't see a fish.
A. When you see a fish, yell "fish"
Me:  you have a lot of puppets and none are a fish.  I won't see a fish
A. Just yell fish
Me: fish
A. (no puppets have moved) when you see a cow, yell "cow"

yelling "cow"  I still don't see one!!

Me (laughing yet looking at her like she's crazy): Again, you don't have a cow.  I won't see one
A:(yelling at the top of her lungs) "cow", "horse", "boy"
Me: Is this the puppet show because no puppet is moving?

Well, that was the end of the performance because she then decided she wanted to be a puppet and climb into the stage.  So, she still has some time for her acting and play writing to develop before I send her to Hollywood.  See now, I am thankful that it was a used toy.

yep, we're doing it

K. checking out a pumpkin his own size

"One of the marks of a certain type of bad man is that he cannot give up a thing himself without wanting every one else to give it up. That is not the Christian way. An individual Christian may see fit to give up all sorts of things for special reasons--marriage, or meat, or beer, or the cinema; but the moment he starts saying the things are bad in themselves, or looking down his nose at other people who use them, he has taken the wrong turning."- C.S. Lewis

I like Halloween for kids.  I haven't been a fan as an adult, I feel like an idiot in a costume and I'm a loser that likes to go to bed early rather than drink away the fact that I feel like an idiot.  But, I like it for my children.  I love how excited that A. is to wear one of her costumes day after day for the weeks leading up to Halloween.  I like little snickers bars and mounds bars, I like pumpkins, and I like meeting more of our neighbors.  To me, it was never a question. I never researched Halloween, I never tried to "make the decision"  It wasn't a decision to be made.  But, I was actually asked the question this week by one of the parents of a kid that I treat.  We decided not to hold our cooking group from 3:30-4:30 since I'm sure some of my kiddos would rather be at home donning their fairy wings and super hero capes. She said, "I'm surprised you are cancelling group next week since you are a Christian."  I was VERY caught off guard since 1) I was at work where I am very guarded about my faith with the exception of the cross I sometimes wear around my neck 2) in my mind, one has nothing to do with the other.  Why does everything have to be such a decision instead of a fun time?    


I guess it did make me question the basis of the holiday though I still never questioned if A. could wear her pink leopard costume and still love Jesus.  So, here is what I learned (this is a summary from www.history.com, I'm not an expert nor claiming to be) 
 Origin- The first celebrations started as the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain on Nov. 1, the end of the harvest season.   The Celts believed that on the night before the new year, our land and the after life blurred together and people who died returned to earth.  It was believed that these ghosts would cause trouble to the crops but would also allow the priests to make predictions about the future. They built bonfires to burn crops and sacrifice animals all while wearing costumes and telling each other's fortunes. 

Evolution #1- year 740- The Pope decided to move the feast of All Martyrs Day from May to November 1, probably to replace the Celtic festival with a related but church- sanctioned holiday. The combination holiday was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils.
Evolution #2- mid 19th century- Halloween comes to America- Celebrations were public events to celebrate the harvest.  Neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each other's fortunes, dance and sing.
Evolution #3- mid 1900's- Immigrants were coming from everywhere but many from Ireland to flee the potato famine.  People would dress up and ask for food or money.-- so begins trick or treating
Evolution #4- 1950's- Trick or treating was revived and changed to give small treats to ward off the mischief that had started to surround the holiday.

So, my more educated decision to the nonquestion is this community holiday is pretty far from its origins though it has been influenced by people of faith.  I recognize that I got all of my information from 1 source going against a strict rule by my 10th grade English teacher, but I am more convinced that I can hand out candy and still be a Christian.  So, we will go to the fall festival hosted by the church down the street, go to trunk or treat hosted by our church, go to A.'s parade at her school, and then finish it off with trick or treating.  Then we'll come home on a sugar high and say our prayers before we go to bed.    

A. painting her pumpkins that she got from bible school today

K.'s reaction to being told he can't go trick- or treating... or his response to spinach... hhhmmm

and the winner is....

Thanks to the true random generator at www.random.org, the 4th entry won.  So, Kelly Briggs, you are it!  Email stacey@getcapturedinclay.com to start your pendant.  Once its all done, email me a picture of your pendant and I'll post it.  The rest of you, order from www.getcapturedinclay.com  I can't say enough about it!!

I was a fan of having giveaways so we'll see what else I can find to reward my lovely readers. Though, I still maintain that this blog is primarily so I don't forget all of the wonderfulness that is being a mom of 2 little ones!

first giveaway

I started this blog as a way to remember the good, the bad and the ugly as a mom of young kids.  Somewhere along the way, people started reading it.  I'm not sure who you all are, but now you can be rewarded...  My friend Stacey is a very talented artist.  Since having her 2 children, she has started her own line of jewelry using Precious Metal Clay as the medium, as well as personalized ceramic plates! Kids are the inspiration for all of her work! The beautiful jewelry is easy to create. A molding compound can be mailed to you. Once the mold is created and you mail it back to her, she uses her amazing talent to design it, then fire it, and turn it into a charm or pendant of your choice.  Multiple charms and pendants can be created from one mold! Every grandmother and great grandmother in my family got A's thumbprint necklace on her first Christmas.  They were by far my favorite gift to give that year.  Now, every time I see one of them wearing their charms it brings a smile to my face knowing we have her captured at that age.

Here are some examples below. There are MANY more at her website: www.getcapturedinclay.com

If jewlery isn't your thing, Stacey also makes ceramic plates.

Last but definately not least, Stacey donates her time to make jewelry for families that have lost their children.  This memoir allows family members to keep their child close to their hearts at all times.  She donates the time but needs donations for the supplies.  So, if a donation is on your mind, this is a unique yet fantastic opportunity.

Drumroll... for my first giveaway on this lovely mommy blog, my lucky friends, you can be the recipient of a free necklace.  Here is how it will go.
For one entry- write a comment on this blog with your name and what you would purchase from her website www.getcapturedinclay.com
For an additional entry- Like her page Captured in Clay on facebook then come back and write your name in a comment
For another additional entry- Write about this contest on facebook or tweet about it and then tell me about it in a comment
For 3 additional entries- Make a donation to her website to help her provide her jewelry as a gift to families that have lost their children.
Finally, for unlimited entries- Purchase something today on her website www.getcapturedinclay.com and get one entry for every 5 dollars you spend.

All entries must be received by Tuesday night at midnight.  I'll post the winner on Wednesday (I'm extending it because so many people had a hard time commenting)  For some reason it only works if you use "name/url" and then type your name. 
Happy Shopping

apple red happiness

Today could not have been more different than yesterday.  So much better that B. asked me if A. was bipolar.  We all slept in a little, well until 6:20,  had breakfast on the deck and then got ready for church.  It was A.'s first time singing in the choir.  There was no crying, no wanting mommy, no fear at all.  This time she had an audience of over 100 people.  I know that I am biased, but I think she was awesome.   Well, minus the bow but we had no choice in that matter. My favorite part was the almost fall or maybe the fantastic moves at the end. 

 
A. is the youngest one up there.  She moved up to "big girl choir" a few weeks ago and despite not getting a treat every time, she loves it.  She is supposed to be in this choir until age 6.  That's 3 years of big bow wearing songs.  Don't worry, I won't post every one, just the first.

And for kicks, here is my boy motoring around during rehearsal.

what to do

I have many a time seen parents in a store or restaurant watched their kids making a scene and thought, "thank you for not letting that be me."  Today, I know that 4 or 5 parents were watching me and thinking the same thing. 

A. has been taking dance now for a little over a month.  Up to this point, she has LOVED it.  She talks about it starting 2 days before class and then the morning of she is so excited that she gets on her own leotard and tights.  Today, was a totally different world.  The morning started out with pumpkin pancakes and a bath.  Then my sweet little girl decided to "surprise" me by taking every single piece of clothing out of her dresser and dump it on her floor.  I'm not sure what mother she thought she had or what mother would love that but lucky me, I was the recipient.  We left, in a bit of a rush and with out cleaning up the mess.  We got to dance and A. ran into the studio.  So far, so good.  5 minutes in, she began crying and reaching for me.  I wasn't watching because I was trying to console a very sleepy baby; I didn't see the precursor.  She came out to get a hug and just kept saying, "I want to go home."  I tried everything from "I love you but go on out" to, "Look at Ella, she looks so pretty pointing her toes, I really want to see you do it too."  Nothing worked.  I finally told her that it wasn't time to sit on my lap so if she wasn't going to go in and dance she needed to go sit in the corner.  She obliged and stayed there for awhile, so that obviously didn't work.  A few minutes later I thought we had success when I told her how lucky she was to get to take dance classes and she headed back out there.... for 3 minutes.  What?  She came back out to get a hug and stayed until everyone came for their tap shoes, about 5 minutes.  I thought the transition would help so I sat back in my chair.  It didn't last.  She was crying through her neat feet and soldier solo, her favorite part.  She just kept telling me she was so tired.  I told her disruptive self that if she was so tired she couldn't sleep then she had to go home and go to bed.  We left and she stayed in her room for an hour.  

I know the other parents were so happy that it wasn't their kid.  I wonder if it was missing dance last week, the rushing out of the house, or how ungrateful that I was for my "surprise" but I had a very unhappy kid. Hopefully, next week will be much better. 

a whole new world

My all time favorite phase of having an infant is the plop and sit phase.  It happens after colic, when everyone is getting a little more sleep.  The baby has more personality, and most importantly, said baby sits safely and can be left for a few minutes with out worry of finding some small obscure object on the floor and choking. As of 10/18/2011, this is the past in my home.  My little guy is not yet crawling, instead, he has the fastest army crawl/ inchworm maneuver that I have ever seen.  On Tuesday, A. and I were making Halloween cookies (more on that later) when I first saw him moving around the house.  He was no longer sitting surrounded happily by his toys.  Instead, he was over by my aloe plant trying to pull it over.  I looked quizzically at him, figured he rolled over there, and replaced him next to his toys.  I went to pour in the sugar with A. and he had traveled 10 feet over to the dog food bowl which he was quickly trying to eat.  On one hand, I am really happy that my little guy is developing like he should, but the other side of me will really miss plop and sit. 
Thanks to my new birthday camera, you can enjoy a flip book of the army crawl...

I have this crinkly bag, but I'd really prefer the couch

I've got my foot ready to go

That's right, this foot can launch me right into that lovely couch

I must use the arm to get this heavy head up off the ground

Almost there.  I can't wait to get to the couch

here I go

And, I made it.  How lucky that my head is now on the couch

That obviously wasn't as good as he had hoped.  So, just roll a little and keep going. 

but I really want it

B.'s least favorite new part of A's vocabulary is "but I REALLY want it."  Here are a few of the most recent things she didn't just want, but REALLY wanted.

1) Last week at choir they introduced a new song and had gum drops to help them remember ** side note, as I'm writing this I can't for the life of me figure out what a gum drop would do to help remember a church song.  I do have the songs on my refrigerator, where they have not moved from their magnet since last week,  but don't recall a gumdropesque song. **  This week, she did not want a sticker as a treat, she wanted a gum drop.  15 minutes later, she still REALLY wanted a gum drop.

2) She REALLY wanted to play in her play house outside this morning as it was pouring down rain.  I probably would not have fought this desire except that the play house is cardboard and I didn't want to have to say no the next 30 times she REALLY wanted to play in the house that was taken by the garbage men.  

2) At school, they have been reading Goldilocks and the 3 bears.  I told the story in my own words on the way to the grocery store yesterday.  She wanted to hear it again in the store and again after the store on the way home.  She REALLY wanted to hear it this morning as we got in the car again.  After I declined in response to the 15th REALLY, she told me she would take off her sunglasses because her sunglasses were making her ask me over and over again.  ummm ok.... She did take them off and then said, "lets talk about something else."  So, it worked and the sunglasses will be removed from the premises hoping for no more REALLY wants.

to do or not to do

I have visions of the memories that my children will have.  I want them to remember going to fun events, memories of traveling with their parents, memories of learning and wanting to learn about everything around them.  So, I try to take them places, especially community events.  There is a serious lack of options in our town/ suburb/ street with shopping centers and houses, so I try to take advantage whenever they are around.  However, this weekend, similar to approximately 33/52 other weekends, B. was working. I woke up determined to accomplish everything that we wanted/ had to do with a smile on my face.  We started with a little of this...    

 waiting for her solo in tap class

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then came home for about an hour for K. to take a short nap before his flu shot.  We jetted over to the pediatrician for a quick visit to the flu clinic with 35 of our closest neighbors and friends.  Since the line was forever, I fed K. his baby food sitting in the waiting room.  Surprisingly, it took less than an hour.  So, 11:30 and we were on our way.  In my head, I was thinking, really, do we go to the festival and rush around before getting A. home for a nap and K. to feed him by 1:00.  Unfortunately, I had already told A. that we would go to the firehouse, she was really excited since she had met some of the fireman at bible school on Tuesday.  So, off we went.  We pulled in at 11:55. I was thinking, bounce in the moon bounce, climb on an engine, try on some clothes, and eat in about an hour.  Its doable... So, we get started

my little firelady

We tried on clothes and then got in line for the hot dogs.  As A. was eating/ coating her hands with orange cheese curls, and I was looking for a clock to see how we were on time, I saw the line for child identification.  This free program gave DNA swabs, a sound clip of voices, finger printing, and pictures of the kids in case they go missing.  So, instead of allowing A. to go jump in the moon bounce and then get home in time for nap and K. to eat, I changed the whole plan to "get something else done".  I felt like we NEEDED this in case of emergency.  My poor baby had to stand in line with a stressed out mom, and a crying brother to have her picture taken, finger prints done by some stupid machine that didn't even register hers, get her cheek swabbed and then answer a question in a microphone (that part was actually fun). I even went as far as getting someone to hold our place in line while I took her to the moon bounce while I counted to 10.  REALLY, that is not fun or fair.  I then found myself getting mad at my husband because he wasn't there and if he had a normal job he could stand in line and she could have jumped her little heart out.  Again, REALLY, not fair.  I turned a fun event into something we had to do.  My sweet children actually did great and A. came home and went right to bed.  K. on the other hand was so overtired that he couldn't get to sleep.  He finally fell asleep at 5:30 pm and slept until 4:00 am then again until 7:00 am.  I still am not over my stupidity and all I want to do is take A. to a moonbounce and let her jump her little heart out.  Instead, I have a q tip of cheek in my freezer so be afraid, very afraid.  Nothing can happen to her now....

the long road home

When you are married to a person that works weekends, you spend a lot of time alone with kids.  We also take a lot of trips and weekend getaways by ourselves or with family.  This weekend, I dropped A. and K. off at my parents house while I went to a really good friend's bridal shower (soooo happy that I got to see everyone).  Anyway, both of my kids are pretty good in the car but some days are definitely better than others.  Today, we were taking the 90 minute trip up the road when about 25 minutes into our trip K. started to lose it. I'm talking screaming and thrashing in his car seat.  I pulled over one time to give him a bink and a few toys to no avail.  So, A. and I started singing.  We started with his song, "K. God claims you, God helps you, protects you, and loves you too."  It worked for a few minutes.  That got old for him and for us.  A quick glance at the clock revealed a whopping 5 minutes had passed, that leaves about 1 hour left. We started in on the ABC's, tried "head, shoulders, knees and toes" though was quickly told, "Mommy, that isn't a car song."  OK...  I tried "He's got the whole world in his hands."  I thought it would be good because we could look around us and make up verses.  That worked for about 4 verses, probably 2 minutes.  Then A. said, "He's got Pastor Rebecca in the sky."  What?  Pastor Rebecca is our pastor at church but in the sky?  It doesn't even fit in the verse.  (I know you are singing it in your head right now...) She was insistent.  So, I sang it once and then tried to move on.  Nope, "I want that again, Mommy."  OK, one more time.  3 more times and I refused to sing it again.  As a result, K. started screaming again.  I tried a different song and A. yelled "No, Mommy, I want Pastor Rebecca in the sky again."  So, here's the choice, K. crying or repetitively singing the same 4 verse song over and over.    I chose song and for 10 minutes I was laughing hysterically at the ludicrousness of a preschooler and an infant.  Until, finally, I refused.  I continued with the ridiculous behavior and started a new song; I just sang louder than both kids screaming until A. gave up and joined me and K. just wouldn't stop anyway. Well, that's 45 minutes of my life I won't get back.