Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Meet Chuck

World, I would like to introduce you to my youngest daughter, "Chuck". We've decided to name her that because ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING THE CHILD TOUCHES ENDS UP ON THE FLOOR. There is no ill will or ill intent. Just the ol' "hold and throw". The fork in the picture - on the floor. The peas in her plate - on the floor. The cup in the car - on the floor. The book in her room - on the floor. People laugh out loud at us as they walk by our table in restaurants because of the pile under her highchair (don't worry - I try to clean it up before we leave). It's gotten a little ridiculous. The best part is when she looks at you and says, "No, no, no" as she does it. So until this so called phase passes, Fiona will hereby be referred to as Chuck.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Stop Titan and save my Babies!



So I'm really excited to be more involved in a group that I have been supporting for years now - Citizens Against Titan. I have been taking the girls to protests, community events and writing to every polititcian who I can get an email address for. Titan America(a cement company) wants to set up shop near our community and without a doubt (with tons of scientific data to prove it), will completely contaminate our air and environment with toxic pollutants. As a mother, as a community member, as someone who cares about the environment, and lastly, as someone who will be breathing this air, I cannot tolerate this. So I have become involved with the new Parents Against Titan group and am excited for the education and inspiration we can bring to families in our area. I hope that I can convince some more parents to fight the good fight because not fighting this particular fight is the passive equivalent of poisoning your own children. Join our group on Facebook to show your support -
http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_210672762279814&ap=1

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

Is that a hole in a tree or a fairy house?

Santa, leprechans, fairies, talking cartoon dogs, magicians....
All the things that make childhood different than adulthood (and way better!).
Pushing your sister, not cleaning your room, not washing your hands...
All the things that you lie about when you are a child and what your parents frown upon.
So when is a lie OK? When it's convenient? When it makes someone else feel better? When it's a white lie? A grey lie? Where do we draw the line? I know I don't tolerate lying from anyone in my life - my husband, my family, my friends....or even myself. I am brutally honest - to the point of uncomfortable sometimes. I assumed I would be the same with my children. But then Zoe was old enough to know about Santa...and that was so fun! And the Easter Bunny... and now Leprechans and on and on. "Mommy, how does Santa get here?" Why does the Easter Bunny hide eggs?" "I learned about Leprechauns at school today". Yes, I could tell the truth and say that it is all pretend. She is starting to grasp the concept of "pretend". But there is nothing magical about that...and that is truly what I loved the most about my childhood. I was one of that last holdouts in the world of make believe and I believed in everything magical with all my heart. I believed that my dolls came to life at night and played while I was sleeping. I believed that Santa did get my 6 page wish list and considered each choice with care. I believed that there were fairies in the trees and that my dog could understand me. I had a wonderful, happy, magical childhood. No, believing in Santa was not the only reason for that, but that mindset was a big part of making being happy with the world so easy. So I guess i answered my own question. We tell stories to make childhood a wonderful place. When we stop telling those stories, life becomes boring and ugly. So here's to keeping the magic going until you can't anymore and at that point may the truth in life be a place that you can live because your heart is still filled with magic. And sometimes, just sometimes, you look twice under that leaf because you swear you saw pixie dust.



Monday, March 7, 2011

Rare family photo


We rarely get the four of us in a picture these days, so I'm happy when I can grab a quick one - even if it's not fancy photo shoot style!

Get the sugars out


For some reason, since I started helping Zoe brush her teeth over two years ago, I call it "getting the sugars out". I have no idea why other than I'm trying to impart that sugar is bad for your teeth and will give you cavitites, so you have to get them out every day. Fiona has gotten to the age where we are trying to teach her to brush her own teeth(we still go behind and do it for both of them). I came across these really cool toothbrushes with suction cups on the bottom and if you look closely at the picture you can see how Fiona likes to brush her teeth - with the brush suctioned to the sink!

I guess sometimes I'm just going to feel like a crappy Mom...


See these two little angels? Usually the epitomy of cuteness. Today, not so much. We had a playdate at the house (two kids about the same age) and my little cherubs proceded to spend the entire three and a half hours attacking our guests. Now Fiona was being sweet about it and only wanted to be near the other baby, but ended up just harrassing the crap out of her until said baby would end up crying. Zoe , on the other hand, had a master plan. Since she has a history of being a little too "hands on" with this particular sweet girl, I tried talking about it ahead of time. I focused on the positive about keeping hands to ourselves, being a nice friend, etc, but apparently I sealed the deal when I mentioned "no pushing". Immediately Zoe decided "yes, pushing" was going to be the theme of the playdate. She proceded to push this child at every opportunity - even when they were sitting down eating lunch! I tried talking about it, time outs, suggesting maybe she needed some quiet time by herself, and even to the point of telling her no one would want to be her friend if she was not nice. I know it's a stage and developmentally it's normal, blah blah blah. But I have to admit, it's a little embarassing being the parent of a kid who is aggressive. I know I get pissed when another kid is aggressive to my child, age appropriate or not. So anyway, I totally was stressed out during the entire playdate and just felt crappy for the rest of the day because I couldn't get it out of my head that I must be a bad mom. To me, that is the worst thing I could be. So, yeah, I know tomorrow is a new day and I'm sure they'll do something to totally warm my heart a million times, but today was just not that kind of day.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Happy 3rd Birthday Zoe Pearl!


We had Zoe's birthday at home this year and it was blast! First of all, I love the fact that we can stick to a basic "birthday party" birthday theme because she has never really had a "theme" before and she totally loves the concept of balloons and cake! Add our trampoline,swingset, tunnels, sand and water table and a few balls and you have the entertainment for every kid aged 1-12 at the party! The parents got mimosas which went over just as well! There was a great turnout because now Zoe has more friends because of school and it was just craziness galore. We booked the ice cream man as a surprise because she LOVES the ice cream man and that was huge hit, too. I would like to thank my friend Holly (who is an awesome party planner) for accidentally guilting me into making this party a special event. It was actually fun to plan and it turned out pretty good for someone with very little party planning experience - I might have to try something bigger and better next year! I am very excited to say that 90% of the party was purchased from the dollar store and I don't think anyone was the wiser. The goodie bags were even pretty decent (i think that is the funnest part for me to plan!). The important thing is that Zoe really seemed to have a great time. Most of her favorite people were all in her backyard playing with her at the same time and that was the best present she could have asked for! Love you Zoe, our biggest girl! You are the best!

PS A special thanks to Uncle Dave and Daddy for really helping get this party great!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

March of Kindness


I posted a link on the side of the blog about doing at least one kind thing per day for the month of March. I really like this idea, and I think we all could use the reminder. I am really tryng to teach Zoe and Fiona the importance of kindness - and if I had one goal for their life, it would be for them to learn to be kind. For true kindness leads to peace, inner health, happiness and an intersting life which are all of the other things I wish for them as well! Through teaching them, I am refocusing on my own kindness and trying to rekindle that focus in my life. I recently read somewhere that teaching something to someone makes it really become a part of you. Here's to us all being a better person!