Not Going to be A Roofer
The Big One is not a real girlie girl. She does love to ballet dance and put on her dress-up clothes, but I would not consider her all that girlie.
She loves to play with trucks, dig in the dirt and drive her Jeep erratically in the back yard.
We’ve always told her that she can be or do anything when she grows up. Usually she says she wants to be a firefighter, astronaut, or train driver when she grows up. She has never said she wants to be a princess or a ballerina. And I am okay with that.
Today when I dropped her off at preschool, we watched the construction crew that is working on the new building at the church. They have started roofing the new addition. There was a man standing on the tippy-top of the new roof hammering.
I asked the Big One if she could see the man up there on top of the roof.
She said yes, I asked her what she thought of that and the conversation when like this:
The Big One: “He’s way up there in the sky on top.”
FixItMommy: “I don’t think I would want that job.”
The Big One: “Me neither. “
FixItMommy: “That’s a little too high up for mommy.”
The Big One: “Yeah! You’ll never see me up there.”
So whatever she does decide to be when she grows up, I think I can rest assured she won’t be a roofer. Which again, I am fine with.
A Major First, A Little Later Than Most
Life has been getting in the way of this blogging thing. Humor me, pretend you noticed and missed me, okay.
We had a major first a couple weeks ago and though some of you already know this because you have seen the Big One, this will be news to many of you.
We finally cut the Big One’s hair. She’d never had a haircut in all her four years of life. Not even a trim. And being the bad mom that I am I didn’t even save one little lock of her precious baby hair.
Instead we sent all 12 inches (yes you read that right!) to Locks of Love. As the Big One’s hair got longer we began talking to her about Locks of Love and how there are a lot of kids just like her who don’t have any hair. We told her that sometimes kids get sick and the medicine to make them better makes their hair fall out. And we told her that some kids are born with different conditions that make their hair not grow.
So she decided she wanted to share her hair with other kids. “I want to donanate it,” she’d say when we asked her about her hair.
So after several false starts and hemming and hamming over whether she truly wanted to cut and donate it or continue to let it grow long like her Aunt Jen-Jen’s, she decided she was finally ready.
So we jumped in the car and headed to Fantastic Sam’s for the big cut.
First I of course took lots of pictures of her long hair.
… 
Once we got there, we talked to, Sarah, the stylist and told her the plan. The Big One climbed up into the big chair, like a champ, and sat stoically as the ponytail was cut off. She then posed for a couple pictures with it.
…. 
I think she was a bit shell shocked and really didn’t know what to think about the whole thing. She was excited, but nervous at the same time. She set perfectly still and didn’t fuss a bit as her hair was sprayed, twisted, clipped and cut. She watched it all, taking in every detail.
She finally cracked a smile when the big cape came off and she caught a glimpse of herself. Then much to our joy, she was caught checking herself out in the mirror several more times while the FixItMommy got a trim.
Anatomy of A Road Trip
So we planned to come down to San Diego yesterday. It’s a bit of challenge to get everyone packed loaded and in the car ready to go before the designated time, but it usually gets a little easier each time. Prior to preschool, it was fairly easy because we would get up at our regular time and hit the road around 9 a.m.
Now that the Big One is in preschool it’s a bit more challenging. We usually leave Thursday after preschool so that we can do something fun on Friday (usually we go to the Zoo). The challenge with leaving after preschool is the traffic factor. Leaving anytime after noon can be disastrous. First we hit afternoon traffic in Corona and then it’s the beginning of rush hour by the time we get to San Diego.
Yesterday was even more challenging because the Little One is taking Toddler University, a cool little class series on base. It’s from 10 – 10:45 a.m.. It’s lots of fun, but puts a definite crimp in my pack-the-car-time.
So yesterday was supposed to go like this:
7 a.m. FixItMommy up and showered. One cup of coffee in my system
7:30 a.m. Big One up dressed and eating breakfast (a little snack before the Father’s Day breakfast at preschool was the plan)
8 a.m. The Husband and the Big One go to Father’s Day breakfast and The Little One up, dressed and eating breakfast
8 ~ 9:45a.m. FixItMommy packs the car
9:45 ~ 11:30 a.m. FixItMommy and Little One travel to and attend class.
11:30 ~ 11:45 a.m. Pack cooler and laptops, cameras, etc. All the stuff I didn’t want in my car all morning.
11:45 a.m. Leave to pick-up Big One from preschool
12:05 p.m. Pick up Gracie Lou from home and hit the road.
What actually happened is this:
7 a.m. FixItMommy up and showered. One cup of coffee in my system
8 a.m. Big One up and attempting to get dressed and crying because she couldn’t find the arm holes in her shirt
8:15a.m. The FixItMommy is taking orders for McDonald’s for breakfast for the one niece and her boyfriend
8:25 a.m. Both kids loaded in Mom-Mobile to head to preschool, The Husband follows in his car so that I can come home and pack my car without having to change car seats.
8:45 a.m. Niece and boyfriend eating breakfast. Niece #2 on Farm Town. FixItMommy making pancakes because my children will not eat normal lunch foods in car on the way down to San Diego.
9:15 a.m. Pancakes done, start packing car.
9:30 a.m. The Husband cannot get tickets to Magic Mountain that were purchased online to print (nieces, boyfriend and Husband are going to Magic Mountain while I drive the troops down to San Diego)
9:30 – 9:45 a.m. Fight with printer to get it to work. One would think between three teenagers and one engineer someone else could have fought with the computer and printer, but nope it was the FixItMommy. Meanwhile, the Husband is afraid to press on with packing the car because he knows he will do it wrong.
9:45 a.m. FixItMommy gives up on computer and printer because Little One is supposed to be at class in 15 minutes, it’s a 25 minute drive to the Base.
10:15-10:45 a.m. FixItMommy and Little One in class.
10:50a.m. FixItMommy talks to the Husband on the phone. He informs me that while trying to lock Gracie Lou in our bedroom, she peed all over the carpet. (it was too hot to lock her outside, she has not earned free reign of my house and her crate was already packed in my car. So our bedroom is the best option)
11:25 a.m. Let Gracie Lou out and check that there is no more dog pee in my bedroom and that the Husband did a sufficient job cleaning up.
11:30 a.m. FixItMommy once again resumes packing the Mom-Mobile.
11:45 a.m. Car is packed and it’s time to pick Big One up from preschool. Go on a search mission to find Little One’s shoes and socks that she took off while I was packing the car.
11:50 a.m. Try to find Little One to get her shoes and socks on to go pick up Big One.
11:53 a.m. Find Little One butt naked in the bathroom, saying “I need to go potty!”
11:55 a.m. Coax the Little One to get clothes, shoes and socks on so that we can get Big One.
12:10 p.m. Pick up Big One (10 minutes late). Head home to get the dog.
12:20 p.m. Everyone is in the car. I realized I forgot the girls’ swimming suits. So I go back to get them.
12:30 p.m. I decide to go to Jack in the Box for a burger for the road. So did everyone else in town, apparently.
12:45 p.m. Get burger and ready to hit the road when I hear, “Is this McDonald’s? Are you getting us a cookie?”
12:47 p.m. Figure out that I always bribe the girls to be good with chocolate chip cookies from McDonald’s (it’s 200 miles, okay!).
12:50 p.m. Get in the Drive-Thru line at McD’s to get cookies.
1 p.m. Finally start heading south on the freeway, knowing full well when we hit Corona at 2:30 p.m. I am toast. And then when I hit San Diego at 4 p.m. I am in bigger trouble.
It never quite goes as planned. But the girls, dog and I made it just fine.
The husband and three teenagers still are not here … on Friday morning. One would think that the Husband would balance out the three teenagers and all would be okay. That is unless the Husband loses his car key somewhere inside Magic Mountain… UGH! What a day.
Making Friendships That Last
Y’all know the Big One started preschool a few months ago. One of my concerns was whether or not she would make friends. When she was a toddler, she never seemed interested in playing with other kids. She seems a lot like the FixItMommy, she liked to be around people, but was just as content to be alone.
So each morning when we arrive at preschool and the Big One’s best buddy at preschool happily exclaims her name and runs to give her a hug, it makes my heart smile.
Yesterday as the Big One was getting dressed, she put on a shirt and shorts. I told her it might be a little too chilly for shorts so we should pick some pants to wear. I picked out some blue pants that matched her shirt to which she said the following:
“Ummmm no mommy, I really feel like Judy will be wearing pink today (so I need pink.)”
It took everything I had to not fall over laughing. I said okay, pink it is. So off she went to preschool in a light pink shirt and dark pink pants.
And what do you think Judy was wearing when we got to preschool? Yep, a light pink shirt and dark pink pants.
Who knew?
Just an aside, I have a great group of friends that I’ve been friends with since we were 12. {WOW! Going on 25 years now!} We recently started this “traveling bracelet” based on the movie “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.” We are much older than the girls in the movie and have had more time (and kids) to forever change our body shapes, so we decided a bracelet would be better than pants.
Anyway after the Big One’s matching clothes, it got me all sentimental hoping that she will someday have the same kind of friendships. And will maybe have something similar to the traveling bracelet to share with her friends.
And another aside (I must just be really sentimental for some reason) I also started reading The Girls from Ames, it’s about a group of 11 women who’ve been friends for 40 years. So far it’s an interesting book and has led me to really focus on how blessed I am to have the friends that I do have. You guys rock! (not that you read my blog or anything like that, well Karen does and some times Laura but the rest of you should be ashamed of yourselves! Hee hee, just kidding.)
I Don’t Know Why I Even Try Sometimes
My girls love to play in sand boxes. Yes we live in the desert, no you can’t really play in the dirt on our backyard. I’ve been toying with the idea of getting them a sand box for several months. The Husband is hesitant about the cost of the sand, the idea of moving it someday and the fact that we have lots of dirt on our side yard they can play in (he thinks so at least!)
But I, the FixItMommy, know that a sand box is worth it. I see the Little One make a beeline for the sand box when we go to pick up the Big One at preschool. I know the battles almost everyday to get one or both girls out of the sand box at preschool. I know that often when we go to the park the girls are more interested in playing in the sand than they are the swings or slides.
Basically I know best! (imagine that!)
So yesterday when I randomly decided to look on Craigslist to see what was posted I was pleasantly surprised to find a sand box in great condition at a reasonable price. I rarely go to CL, I find it generally creepy and the recent news coverage hasn’t helped my opinion. {granted I go to the “Baby and Kids” section, not the “ Personal Services” but still the creeps are out there}
So as I weighed the choice of buying it or not, I tried to consider the Husband’s feelings. He is going to be deploying soon for four months and I figure anything to help me entertain the girls is well worth it. So I decided to go get it. {It’s Reserves weekend so he’s not home and was therefore not a part of the decision-making process!}
My niece is visiting for a couple weeks. So I told her I wanted to go get it and asked if she minded staying with the girls so I could surprise them. She said sure.
So I told the Big One I was going to go get a surprise for them, but would be back soon.
She’s four, so she went on a guessing expedition to figure out what I was going to get them….
“Are you getting…. Donuts?”
“…A teeter-totter?”
“…A spinner?”
“What is it?”
“…A slide?”
“ …Ice cream?”
“… Pizza?”
“… A water slide?”
“… A swimming pool?”
And so it went. Of course, many of the things she listed we already have, but not once did the turkey ask for a sand box. I was so excited to find the thing and not once did she even think to ask if that’s what it was. She knows I have been thinking about getting once for months and she had been seemingly excited about it. But not once did she ask for a sand box.
Oh well, at least she was excited when I got home with it. Now to find “safe” sand to fill the thing.
{This is the one I got… I paid $30 for it. It’s in great condition!!}
You Think a Toy is Safe…
And then my two-year-old gets a hold of it. Seriously, y’all we have had this Pooh Bear light-up thing since the Big One was itty bitty. Both girls love the thing.
I am a Winnie the Pooh fan, so I admit I dig it. I don’t like most toys that light up or make music. I find them to be rather annoying, but this thing is pretty sweet.
Fortunately the girls tend to rotate who is most attached to the thing so there are no major incidents. Right now it’s the Little One’s turn to carry the thing everywhere she goes, including sleeping with it.
So today has been a rough day. The Big One is not sleeping well. She is not napping either. So she is a big giant grump. It all came to a head tonight and she was sent to bed with no bath, no books, no singing and no rocking.
Not only does this mess up her routine, it messes up the Little One’s too. The Little One was not happy about not reading books in the Big One’s room like we do most nights. So despite the fact that I read to her and rocked her in her room, she was still a bit grumpy when she went to bed too.
A few minutes after putting them both down I was downstairs, preparing to check my farm on Facebook (yes, that is very important!!) when the Little One starts screaming and having a cow.
I stomped up the stairs ready to kick some two-year-old butt (okay, I was just going to tell her to be quiet and go to sleep). As soon as I opened her door, I see her sitting up sobbing and holding her finger in the air.
“I stuck! My finger is stuck!” she is sobbing.
Sure enough her finger was stuck. She got her finger up under the decorative yarn on Pooh Bear’s jammies and then spun it around and around and around until her finger was huge, puffy and turning purple.
Of course, the Big One is now yelling, “What’s wrong with {Little One}? Is she okay? Mommy what’s wrong with {Little One}?”
Meanwhile I am trying to figure out which way to spin the darn Pooh bear to get the finger unstuck. Of course I first turned it the wrong way, further cutting off the circulation. The Little One was sure to let me know I was making it worse. So I spun it the other way, and it honestly took about 40 rotations to get her finger out of the dumb thing.
Needless to say, Pooh Bear no longer has any fancy yarn decorating his jammies and both girls were lectured (again) about not twisting yarn, string, hair or anything else around their fingers.
The Big Questions #7 ~ Sunglasses
Where do they go?
I know you’ve all heard the age-old question of what happens to socks in the washing machine and dryer. Well the answer is they get eaten. Move on. Now that I have cleared that up, y’all can help me with my question…
Where in the world do all the sunglasses go? I honest to goodness have purchased no less than 12 pairs of Dora sunglasses and one pair of Diego sunglasses. The rule is the sunglasses are supposed to stay in the Mom-Mobile. If they stay in the car, then I know where they are when we need them.
For example when we ride bikes or take the Jammin’ Jeep out for a spin, we need our sunglasses so I go to the Mom-Mobile, get my sunglasses (prescription, I am old, ya know) and I can then retrieve the girls’. Well, when they aren’t there, I can’t get them.
A couple weeks ago, I bought two more pairs of glasses. One for each kid and I told them at least 30 times that the sunglasses stay in the car. (Okay, there is one exception, the Big One is allowed to wear them to preschool since they usually play outside).
Just some more information, in addition to the dozen or so Dora sunglasses, there have been countless others pairs of glasses that we have acquired. At one point I am sure there were at least 17 pairs in the Mom-Mobile.
This morning when I went to give the girls each a pair of sunglasses to wear on the three-minute drive to preschool, I kid you not I found two pairs. After several minutes of searching, I found TWO pairs. Where in the world have all the sunglasses gone?
I searched under the seats. I searched the glove box, I searched the 13 cup holders. I searched the diaper bag. And I found TWO pairs of sunglasses.
So who can help me? Where are the sunglasses?????
Another Hallelujah! Moment!
I don’t use the term “Hallelujah!” lightly. These are monumental moments in our household. I am shocked to actually be using it twice in once week! Kids will do that to you. They throw you for a loop at every opportunity.
A little background, the Husband and the FixItMommy may actually be part fish. We both love to swim. Every chance he gets when we are in San Diego, he swims the cove at La Jolla. The FixItMommy coached high school swimming for eight years. The Husband even turned down a job with the San Diego City Lifeguard Service last year. (if you compare a lifeguard salary with an engineer’s you’ll understand why).
In fact, the FixItMommy and the Husband met at the YMCA swimming pool. He was the lifeguard and I was swimming at 5 a.m. (how’s that for dedication to a sport?)
So anyway we had visions of raising the female version of Michael Phelps. Well for those of you who know the Big One, you know that’s not happening. She is petrified of getting water in her eyes. She freaks out in the bathtub if the Little One starts splashing and gets water in her eyes. {I think the Little One may be better suited for a softball-type sporting experience}
Yesterday, I picked up a small inflatable water slide for the girls. Yes I am apparently obsessed with finding an inflatable water toy that actually works the way it’s supposed to! (and one that I can keep safe from Gracie Lou, the attack dog).
I thought this little slide looked fun and for $30 it was a way better deal than the huge $200 ones at Target. I thought maybe, just maybe we could convince the Big One that a little water in her eyes would be okay if she was having fun.
Shock of all shocks, it worked! Check that picture out. That is very clearly water in her face. If you could see her face, you can see pure joy as she happily splashed down the slide! Hallelujah!! Baby steps!
Hallelujah!
Did y’all hear the choirs singing last night? Surely you didn’t miss this momentous occasion. Let’s see it was about 6 p.m. pacific time and you surely should have heard the sounds of praise coming from my house.
No the Little One is not feeling better. In fact she now has double ear infections to go along with her cough, congestion and runny nose. {that she has had for FOUR weeks!}
No the Big One is not feeling great either. In fact she woke up with her eyes crusted shut compliments of pink eye.
So why were the angels singing? Well I’ve talked quite a bit about our challenges getting the Big One to eat much of anything. However when she turned four a few weeks ago, she declared that now that she was four she was going to try new foods. “That’s what four year olds do,” she told me. “They try new foods.”
So at dinner last night as she was whining about not liking lasagna, I gently reminded her that she was four and asked her what four year olds do. A little light when on and she shouted, “they try new foods!”
And with that she ate not just one, but four bites of lasagna. Hallelujah!! This is huge because in the past I admit to forcing her to try a bite of macaroni, she gagged and cried and freaked out as soon as the pasta touched her tongue. She hasn’t touched pasta since that event.
But last night for whatever reason, she tried and admitted she liked the lasagna. WAHOOO! Baby steps is all I am looking for with the food battles and that was a giant leap!
Getting Pelted… by My Two-Year-Old
Despite the Little One being sick (still) and me having a sinus infection, we decided to trek down to San Diego this past weekend. (We received tickets to Spirit West Coast Del Mar, compliments of The Crossing FM, a great radio station for Christian music!)
Having completed the 200-mile drive umpteen times, I thought I had finally figured out the best system to get there in a peaceful manner. I pack each of the girls a “snack bag” with several different snacks and some stickers and a notebook and pencil.
It usually keeps them entertained and helps them to have control over their snacks. We were driving along and once we hit about Corona, I started hearing a strange sound. You know the sound a rock makes when it hits your windshield? It’s a distinctive “tink”-like sound. Well I began hearing a sound like that, only it was most definitely inside my car.
There was stifled giggling in the back as I continued to hear this sound. Then I feel something hit the back of my head. Then again, I get hit in the head. And by now the Big One is about in hysterics.
Finally I asked her what the Little One was throwing. I guess her tummy was full so she decided the next best thing to eating M&M’s and Cheerios was to throw them at the FixItMommy.
So there I am driving 75-mph down the 15 freeway getting pelted in the back of the head by my lovely little two-year-old. Ahhhh the joys of motherhood.
Note to self: No more M&M’s in the car. I am still praying that I found all of them and they are not melting in my mom-mobile.
{She only had a few to begin with, so no comments about feeling my toddler M&M’s, okay? Thanks.}
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