My little people chatter all day long. Some of them never stop talking- not while they eat, while they play, or while they're in bed- right up until they fall asleep mid-sentence. I like to talk too. Most of the time this works out nicely. They tell me things, I ask more questions, and life carries on. Other times I'm in the middle of something and not paying 100% attention so they trail along behind me talking and talking.
Today I was trying to get dinner going. It takes all day and I forgot to rinse the beans last night so I was setting them up for a quick soak. I had help.
"Kelli? Whatcha doing? Those are beans? What beans? Pin- TOE beans? Oh. You put water? You cook them? Is that a clock? oh, a scale? You get beans? I have nipple!"
At that point I did a double take and stopped my bean patter. Sure enough, she's standing there pointing at it.
"Actually, you have two of them." I mean really, what else is there to say at that point?
"Oh! Yes! I have two nipples! I cook beans with you?"
And we're off and running again.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Friday Focus: Lady
Lady is my oldest kid! I know I say all the time how quickly it flies by, but it's so true. She's getting ready to graduate and it seems like just yesterday that she was a new baby.
I have trouble getting good pictures of her because she usually lunges forward and wants to look at the picture on my phone before I've finished taking it, so I get big chunks of nose and forehead, or else her eyes are closed. This one turned out really well though, finally!
She's not one of my more adventurous eaters. This was Green Eggs and Ham day. Note the clean spoon and untouched food. Milk maid at work. She'd probably drink a gallon a day if I let her!
The story of this picture makes me laugh- she was fixing breakfast with various plastic peppers and asked Mater to come sit down by her. He did. And then she gave me this look, like "you see what I have to work with here?" I'm not sure if she thought he should sit in a different place or what, but he did exactly what she asked and then it made her mad.
This one happened this morning- it's not really a great picture of her, although it's more representative of the type of shots I generally get. She was engineering a "let's hide from Kelli" game and had everybody bring the chairs in. They were all lining them up in a row and then they stood behind them. They didn't sit or crouch or anything. But their legs were behind chairs and I guess that meant I wasn't supposed to see them at all.
Then they yelled, "We hiding!!" at me for about ten minutes while they laughed.
She likes to be the queen bee, but if somebody else comes up with an idea, she's a good team player too. I think she has a good balance there. She plays really well with Girl Friday, who is about four months older and is getting into actual play with friends, rather than just the parallel play that a lot of the kids here do. She's going to have an amazing time when she gets to her new school and is one of the younger ones- she'll have no trouble keeping up with the older kids and will LOVE all the new stuff she gets to do. I'm excited for her!!
I have trouble getting good pictures of her because she usually lunges forward and wants to look at the picture on my phone before I've finished taking it, so I get big chunks of nose and forehead, or else her eyes are closed. This one turned out really well though, finally!
She's not one of my more adventurous eaters. This was Green Eggs and Ham day. Note the clean spoon and untouched food. Milk maid at work. She'd probably drink a gallon a day if I let her!
The story of this picture makes me laugh- she was fixing breakfast with various plastic peppers and asked Mater to come sit down by her. He did. And then she gave me this look, like "you see what I have to work with here?" I'm not sure if she thought he should sit in a different place or what, but he did exactly what she asked and then it made her mad.
This one happened this morning- it's not really a great picture of her, although it's more representative of the type of shots I generally get. She was engineering a "let's hide from Kelli" game and had everybody bring the chairs in. They were all lining them up in a row and then they stood behind them. They didn't sit or crouch or anything. But their legs were behind chairs and I guess that meant I wasn't supposed to see them at all.
Then they yelled, "We hiding!!" at me for about ten minutes while they laughed.
She likes to be the queen bee, but if somebody else comes up with an idea, she's a good team player too. I think she has a good balance there. She plays really well with Girl Friday, who is about four months older and is getting into actual play with friends, rather than just the parallel play that a lot of the kids here do. She's going to have an amazing time when she gets to her new school and is one of the younger ones- she'll have no trouble keeping up with the older kids and will LOVE all the new stuff she gets to do. I'm excited for her!!
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Reasons My Friends Are Crying
On facebook last night I saw this blog called Reasons My Son is Crying. Basically it's just pictures of him crying, with very straightforward captions underneath. If you've spent any time at all around a toddler, you will recognize these as absolutely true, and the more of them in a row I read, the funnier they get.
Now of course, it would be a bad thing to make your kid cry just to take his picture, or to keep from giving him things he legitimately needs, or do things that are unsafe. But there's really no sense that any of that is going on. It's stuff like "This milk is not juice." "He asked me to butter his rice. I buttered his rice." He probably asked his mom twenty five times to butter the rice, and the instant it was done he changed his mind. It's a very accurate depiction of life with little kids.
And wow, it looks like they're on Good Morning America because of this. On the one hand, I wish I'd thought of doing it first with my kids, and on the other hand, wow, that's a lot of pictures of the poor kid crying. I feel like they need a companion blog where they show him eating cotton candy and running around with unicorns. And I hope it makes them some money, because those boys are gonna be mortified by this whole thing in about 13 years.
Crying kids that don't belong to me are a different story though. Yes, you know intellectually that your child probably has a tantrum or cries at daycare at some point. You don't really need to see pictoral evidence of it though. If Duchess and O'Malley had been in daycare as toddlers, I doubt I'd have wanted pictures of that. Even now, if the kindergarten class did something like this, I'd be sad that O'Malley cried at school. There's too much mom guilt in the world already for that! This blog is for cute things and art and funny anecdotes, not for sad faces. However, I have been captioning some of our little episodes in my head this morning. And like the dad said in the video, this are tiny things that last about seven seconds and then the kids get happy and move on.
Actually, it's made for a very cheerful day so far (at least for me) because crying is not bothering me one little bit. Thinking of interesting captions is a lot more entertaining than getting frustrated by whining. When you break it down to such a small thing, it's actually easier to be sympathetic. You wanted to be naked. Kelli made you put on your pants. Yeah, that's sad. But look! Now you have pants on and we can go play! It makes a lot of things easily fixable and gives me more patience even if it's not fixable. He still can't hold his shoe while he walks around wearing it. But he wants to and I get that. :)
So here's my morning:
Instead of sad, here's this. I've never had a big kid fall asleep upright in a chair before. They used to do it all the time in the little buckle chairs with the tray, but this is a first. Remy was super sleepy this morning!
Of course, as soon as I laid him down in bed he popped right up and was mad. I could have titled another one. "She put me to bed because I fell asleep in my plate." And seven seconds later, back down and asleep in the bed. Love my Remy boy.
Now of course, it would be a bad thing to make your kid cry just to take his picture, or to keep from giving him things he legitimately needs, or do things that are unsafe. But there's really no sense that any of that is going on. It's stuff like "This milk is not juice." "He asked me to butter his rice. I buttered his rice." He probably asked his mom twenty five times to butter the rice, and the instant it was done he changed his mind. It's a very accurate depiction of life with little kids.
And wow, it looks like they're on Good Morning America because of this. On the one hand, I wish I'd thought of doing it first with my kids, and on the other hand, wow, that's a lot of pictures of the poor kid crying. I feel like they need a companion blog where they show him eating cotton candy and running around with unicorns. And I hope it makes them some money, because those boys are gonna be mortified by this whole thing in about 13 years.
Crying kids that don't belong to me are a different story though. Yes, you know intellectually that your child probably has a tantrum or cries at daycare at some point. You don't really need to see pictoral evidence of it though. If Duchess and O'Malley had been in daycare as toddlers, I doubt I'd have wanted pictures of that. Even now, if the kindergarten class did something like this, I'd be sad that O'Malley cried at school. There's too much mom guilt in the world already for that! This blog is for cute things and art and funny anecdotes, not for sad faces. However, I have been captioning some of our little episodes in my head this morning. And like the dad said in the video, this are tiny things that last about seven seconds and then the kids get happy and move on.
Actually, it's made for a very cheerful day so far (at least for me) because crying is not bothering me one little bit. Thinking of interesting captions is a lot more entertaining than getting frustrated by whining. When you break it down to such a small thing, it's actually easier to be sympathetic. You wanted to be naked. Kelli made you put on your pants. Yeah, that's sad. But look! Now you have pants on and we can go play! It makes a lot of things easily fixable and gives me more patience even if it's not fixable. He still can't hold his shoe while he walks around wearing it. But he wants to and I get that. :)
So here's my morning:
- The block I threw up in the air fell down and hit me in the head.
- Ms Kelli cleaned the smelly poop off my leg. Oh, and my hand now too.
- I just realized that I can't reach the shoe I tossed over the gate half an hour ago.
- I can't find the otoscope. (And yes, she was saying that as she cried)
- I asked him to sit down next to me. Now he is sitting next to me.
- The movie that I asked to watch is on.
- The second helping of breakfast that I asked for repeatedly is in front of me.
- I want to run around naked and Ms Kelli made me put on my pants.
- I just woke up from a long nap and I am starving. Ms Kelli is feeding me.
- I want to hold my shoe while I wear it.
- My friend is sitting beside me, not touching or bothering me in any way.
- I am convinced the cup I left in the playroom is in the fridge.
- This water is not milk.
- This water is not milk.
- This water is not milk.
Instead of sad, here's this. I've never had a big kid fall asleep upright in a chair before. They used to do it all the time in the little buckle chairs with the tray, but this is a first. Remy was super sleepy this morning!
Of course, as soon as I laid him down in bed he popped right up and was mad. I could have titled another one. "She put me to bed because I fell asleep in my plate." And seven seconds later, back down and asleep in the bed. Love my Remy boy.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Playtime
There's not been anything especially new or exciting the past couple weeks- but every day is fun. We've been working with Mr. Potato Head more lately- they are all enjoying it a lot, even Merryweather, who can sit up on her own for a couple minutes now. She's been thinking she's one of the big kids now that I have Merida. It's really amazing how fast kids get skills. She loves to sit in the living room with a bucket of toys to practice her grabbing and sitting.
And really, Mr. Potato Head just never gets old. We spent a large portion of the morning discussing body parts and making real faces and silly ones.
Alice is convinced that she is Doc McStuffins. It pleases her greatly. She wore that stethoscope all morning.
Merryweather watches the boys with wide-eyed interest. They move too fast to even take a clear picture.
I also was able to take them out a couple days last week in the new stroller. I love the view both looking down and looking out. :) My kids are teaching the walking ones what to do. (I used to call my big kids the walkers, but after the Walking Dead I just can't do it.) Only as far as the next mailbox if a big kid is running with you, otherwise stay with the stroller. Freeze your feet when a car comes. Don't touch dogs. All that good stuff....
Alice, on her way back to give me a high five. Mater and O'Malley stomping acorns up ahead. All is right with the world.
One of the most fun things about Mr. Potato Head is trying to wear the glasses on your own head. It never works well, but it continues to be super cool to try.
And really, Mr. Potato Head just never gets old. We spent a large portion of the morning discussing body parts and making real faces and silly ones.
Alice is convinced that she is Doc McStuffins. It pleases her greatly. She wore that stethoscope all morning.
Merryweather watches the boys with wide-eyed interest. They move too fast to even take a clear picture.
I also was able to take them out a couple days last week in the new stroller. I love the view both looking down and looking out. :) My kids are teaching the walking ones what to do. (I used to call my big kids the walkers, but after the Walking Dead I just can't do it.) Only as far as the next mailbox if a big kid is running with you, otherwise stay with the stroller. Freeze your feet when a car comes. Don't touch dogs. All that good stuff....
Alice, on her way back to give me a high five. Mater and O'Malley stomping acorns up ahead. All is right with the world.
Baby toes! Best thing ever.
And as previously mentioned, here's Merryweather hanging out in the living room with her own personal toys. She's getting pretty good at the sitting thing.
One of the most fun things about Mr. Potato Head is trying to wear the glasses on your own head. It never works well, but it continues to be super cool to try.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Smile Like you Mean It
Lots of times when I'm thinking of something, I'll click over to read Mary P. and see it written much more eloquently than I ever could. Like this post about mood, for example. If you don't feel like clicking through, it's about how the adult in the room sets the tone for the day, because toddlers WANT to be happy. As she says, a child stuck in a funk is usually tired and can be fixed with a nap, but almost no kid can stay happy in the face of a grumpy adult.
This morning my big kids had some issues that they needed to work through- shoes that wouldn't stay on and painting that should happen NOW instead of later, and I started thinking that if they spent half the energy trying to fix the problem instead of just whining, how much easier would it be?
And then I turned it around on myself and thought, Oh. Right.
So I asked them what would make them happiest for breakfast, and now they're eating baked oatmeal and smiling, and we're going to have a great day today! The babies are milk-drunk and passed out happily and I"ll have some time for big kid curriculum stuff and more box-sliding and all kinds of good things. Even if I started out the day feeling a little crabby, now I'm smiling and I do mean it.
And for real, when you get to hear this kind of laughter at work, HOW could you possibly feel grumpy about anything?
I think this is the easiest first day transition for a two year old that I've ever had. She's sunny and delightful. She ate well and slept well and is happy to come for hugs right away. I mean, listen to the great laugh! I love it.
Had I known beforehand that she was a redhead, I might have waited to name the new baby Merida. But it's done and I do love my Merrybabies so I need to find a new name for this cutie. I haven't used Rapunzel yet, or Tiana.. can't think of what else is new off the top of my head. Oh, Wreck-it Ralph is the newest Disney and I do like the little racer girl character, but I think that spelling Vanellope is going to be tiresome. I had to look it up just now to manage it once. :) We'll see how it shapes up.
I put the box in the playroom yesterday thinking they'd go inside and build a fort or something. I didn't expect them to turn it into a slide. It works well though and they are all really enjoying it!
And here's my cue that breakfast is over. Remy would like some help with his escape! Off to have a fabulour morning! Alice tells me we need to go play library now. :)
This morning my big kids had some issues that they needed to work through- shoes that wouldn't stay on and painting that should happen NOW instead of later, and I started thinking that if they spent half the energy trying to fix the problem instead of just whining, how much easier would it be?
And then I turned it around on myself and thought, Oh. Right.
So I asked them what would make them happiest for breakfast, and now they're eating baked oatmeal and smiling, and we're going to have a great day today! The babies are milk-drunk and passed out happily and I"ll have some time for big kid curriculum stuff and more box-sliding and all kinds of good things. Even if I started out the day feeling a little crabby, now I'm smiling and I do mean it.
And for real, when you get to hear this kind of laughter at work, HOW could you possibly feel grumpy about anything?
I think this is the easiest first day transition for a two year old that I've ever had. She's sunny and delightful. She ate well and slept well and is happy to come for hugs right away. I mean, listen to the great laugh! I love it.
Had I known beforehand that she was a redhead, I might have waited to name the new baby Merida. But it's done and I do love my Merrybabies so I need to find a new name for this cutie. I haven't used Rapunzel yet, or Tiana.. can't think of what else is new off the top of my head. Oh, Wreck-it Ralph is the newest Disney and I do like the little racer girl character, but I think that spelling Vanellope is going to be tiresome. I had to look it up just now to manage it once. :) We'll see how it shapes up.
I put the box in the playroom yesterday thinking they'd go inside and build a fort or something. I didn't expect them to turn it into a slide. It works well though and they are all really enjoying it!
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Painting Fun
I bought pink paint last night! This is reason for rejoicing. I also bought blue, which made Alice super happy and she tried really hard to talk me into using that this morning instead. Girl loves her some blue. However, our paintings go with our book, and we're supposed to use the color they recommend to connect thoughts to what is happening in the story. "I" longed for strawberry ice cream. Not for berry blue. Pink it is.
Remy was the last painter today, which made him sad. He watched the other three paint with his one eye, while he buried his head in my lap and heaved big sighs. When it was finally his turn, he was very pleased. He also got a cheerleading section and some backseat driving.
Perdita kept running commentary the ENTIRE time he held the paintbrush. "REMY!! REMY PAIN! REMY PAIN!!! PAIN AH-KEEM!! AH-KEEM REMY!!" I think she just wanted some sort of acknowledgement from him, but he was focused on his task and ignored her completely. That meant, of course, that she had to keep yelling.
Mater just needed to touch base and make sure it was the same paint he'd used. Also point out spots that needed touch up.
And then he touched a little too closely.
And he was perturbed by the pink paint on his fingertip, and I nearly got an eyeball-ful of it.
Happy Thursday!!
Remy was the last painter today, which made him sad. He watched the other three paint with his one eye, while he buried his head in my lap and heaved big sighs. When it was finally his turn, he was very pleased. He also got a cheerleading section and some backseat driving.
Perdita kept running commentary the ENTIRE time he held the paintbrush. "REMY!! REMY PAIN! REMY PAIN!!! PAIN AH-KEEM!! AH-KEEM REMY!!" I think she just wanted some sort of acknowledgement from him, but he was focused on his task and ignored her completely. That meant, of course, that she had to keep yelling.
Mater just needed to touch base and make sure it was the same paint he'd used. Also point out spots that needed touch up.
And then he touched a little too closely.
Happy Thursday!!
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Worky Worky, Busy Bee...
I don't even remember what product that commercial was advertising, but the phrase makes me laugh. So I guess it's a fail since it doesn't make me want to go buy whatever it was, but the writers were clever. Win for them.
But yes! Work! Busy bee! I'm sneaking in a few minutes of writing while the big kids eat their breakfast and the baby sleeps. I have a new baby, and she is delicious. She has cheeks I need to eat with a spoon. I so MUCH enjoy getting new tiny ones. Makes me love my job all over again. I like watching the way they move up the food chain, so to speak, and how the ones who I so clearly remember as my babies are now the big ones. They're always so interested in a new baby- wanting to learn names, asking about feeding, and SO concerned every time there's a cry. OH! Baby crying! You feed her? She poopy? I think there are multiple good lessons to be learned in a family environment with a little bit of age spread.
And then, I am also realizing that right now I have a little bit more age spread than I want, now that I have just me and no more Kanga. I've never really been able to set a firm graduation date because one of us has always had our own kids here. It makes no sense to say you graduate at 2 when there's a 3 year old here who would love playmates. Plus when there are two adults, it's easy to divide and conquer. One can take the care and feeding of the small squishy ones while the other paints and dances and builds block towers. With just me, everything is adequately taken care of, don't get me wrong there, but I just feel like I want to be doing more for the older ones that I don't have the opportunity to do by myself.
For a short time I'm going to be at capacity- next week I have a new two year old starting. She'll only be here for three months and then her mama's deployment is over. After that, my big ones are going to start graduating. Mater and Lady are already set to go in June. My goal (within the next six months to a year) is to get to the point where I am mainly an infant provider and graduate them between 18 months and their second birthday. It makes me feel weird to even say that- like I'm being disloyal to my current two year olds. I'm not trying to kick anyone out or rush people away, and I love all the families I serve. I'm just being honest about where I want my business to go, and doing the very best I can to give all my little people the most in their first few years.
If you think about the way a corporate center is set up, the kids change rooms about every six months. That's because there's such huge developmental changing going on. A six month old is doing very different things than a six week old. I've even found that two years and four months is very different from twenty two months, especially in terms of climbing and motor skills. I just feel like in order to give it my all, I need to focus age a little more closely. And right now I have a fabulous support system of home providers who don't take the kids until they're close to two because they run AMAZING preschool programs. My friend Kathy currently has Silvermist (who will be going to kindergarten this fall!) and also Hercules, and she'll be taking Mater and Lady for sure- maybe some of the others too. She's also got the older sisters of my newborn, so it works well that we can coordinate. If she's full, I have other friends to recommend also. In this area there are not as many who focus on infants, and that is where I want to be.
In the meantime, life here is busy and fun. Merryweather has been in and out lately since they've had a lot of family in town, and I'm getting settled with the new one. OOH. Merida. I haven't used any names from Brave yet, and although she doesn't have triplet brothers who turn into bears, she is fabulous. I'll start teaching her archery as soon as she can hold her own bottle.
I also like having my Merry girls. :) We used to have the Pink Ladies, and now I have my Merry babies.
We're doing The Letters Are Lost right now for our curriculum, which is a book I'd never read before I ordered the work. They really like it. I have a copy for everybody to take home when we're done, as usual, and by then your kid should have it mostly memorized, so no worries on that front. It's very alphabet centered and so we're doing lots and lots of letter work and talking about sounds.
Yesterday we did L is for Ladybug and used fingerprint stamps to give her spots. It was fun.
*Updated to add* -If you're a current parent and this is the first you're hearing of the change, don't panic. :) I'm talking to the parents of the older ones as I feel their kids are ready to graduate, and I'll be instituting the younger graduation date for NEW babies I accept. You guys are grandfathered in and I'll work with you all individually on leave dates as your kids are ready. :)
But yes! Work! Busy bee! I'm sneaking in a few minutes of writing while the big kids eat their breakfast and the baby sleeps. I have a new baby, and she is delicious. She has cheeks I need to eat with a spoon. I so MUCH enjoy getting new tiny ones. Makes me love my job all over again. I like watching the way they move up the food chain, so to speak, and how the ones who I so clearly remember as my babies are now the big ones. They're always so interested in a new baby- wanting to learn names, asking about feeding, and SO concerned every time there's a cry. OH! Baby crying! You feed her? She poopy? I think there are multiple good lessons to be learned in a family environment with a little bit of age spread.
And then, I am also realizing that right now I have a little bit more age spread than I want, now that I have just me and no more Kanga. I've never really been able to set a firm graduation date because one of us has always had our own kids here. It makes no sense to say you graduate at 2 when there's a 3 year old here who would love playmates. Plus when there are two adults, it's easy to divide and conquer. One can take the care and feeding of the small squishy ones while the other paints and dances and builds block towers. With just me, everything is adequately taken care of, don't get me wrong there, but I just feel like I want to be doing more for the older ones that I don't have the opportunity to do by myself.
For a short time I'm going to be at capacity- next week I have a new two year old starting. She'll only be here for three months and then her mama's deployment is over. After that, my big ones are going to start graduating. Mater and Lady are already set to go in June. My goal (within the next six months to a year) is to get to the point where I am mainly an infant provider and graduate them between 18 months and their second birthday. It makes me feel weird to even say that- like I'm being disloyal to my current two year olds. I'm not trying to kick anyone out or rush people away, and I love all the families I serve. I'm just being honest about where I want my business to go, and doing the very best I can to give all my little people the most in their first few years.
If you think about the way a corporate center is set up, the kids change rooms about every six months. That's because there's such huge developmental changing going on. A six month old is doing very different things than a six week old. I've even found that two years and four months is very different from twenty two months, especially in terms of climbing and motor skills. I just feel like in order to give it my all, I need to focus age a little more closely. And right now I have a fabulous support system of home providers who don't take the kids until they're close to two because they run AMAZING preschool programs. My friend Kathy currently has Silvermist (who will be going to kindergarten this fall!) and also Hercules, and she'll be taking Mater and Lady for sure- maybe some of the others too. She's also got the older sisters of my newborn, so it works well that we can coordinate. If she's full, I have other friends to recommend also. In this area there are not as many who focus on infants, and that is where I want to be.
In the meantime, life here is busy and fun. Merryweather has been in and out lately since they've had a lot of family in town, and I'm getting settled with the new one. OOH. Merida. I haven't used any names from Brave yet, and although she doesn't have triplet brothers who turn into bears, she is fabulous. I'll start teaching her archery as soon as she can hold her own bottle.
I also like having my Merry girls. :) We used to have the Pink Ladies, and now I have my Merry babies.
We're doing The Letters Are Lost right now for our curriculum, which is a book I'd never read before I ordered the work. They really like it. I have a copy for everybody to take home when we're done, as usual, and by then your kid should have it mostly memorized, so no worries on that front. It's very alphabet centered and so we're doing lots and lots of letter work and talking about sounds.
Yesterday we did L is for Ladybug and used fingerprint stamps to give her spots. It was fun.
*Updated to add* -If you're a current parent and this is the first you're hearing of the change, don't panic. :) I'm talking to the parents of the older ones as I feel their kids are ready to graduate, and I'll be instituting the younger graduation date for NEW babies I accept. You guys are grandfathered in and I'll work with you all individually on leave dates as your kids are ready. :)
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