Jumping Rope It’s Not For Toddlers
Have you ever tried to teach an almost four-year-old how to jump rope?
Now have you ever tried to teach a four-year-old how to jump rope while holding on to one end of the rope and having your two-year-old hold the other end?
I don’t recommend it.
It would have made for some pretty entertaining video had I been able to hold the camera with my free hand. Instead my free hand was covering my eyes to avoid the carnage that I was sure was heading our way.
Fortunately there was no blood. There may be a bruise or two, but no blood.
I think we’ll hold off on the jump roping for a while.
She’s Turned Into a 2-Year-Old
And I am sad about it. I’ve told y’all numerous times that the Little One is the sweetest child on the face of the earth. Well, that seems to be changing. And I am very sad about it.
She turned 2 a few weeks ago and suddenly she isn’t so sweet. She has learned the wonders of the word, “NO!” She is starting to get picky about what she eats. And she is finally starting to fight back when the Big One starts picking on her.
Now the defending herself thing is fine. We’ve been warning the Big One that she should be teaching the Little One how to hug and be nice instead of hitting and stealing toys. But she didn’t listen so well. The Little One has figured it out.
If the Big One has a toy or book that the Little One wants, the Little One has taken ripping out chunks of hair. She just walks up to the Big One, grabs a handful of hair and yanks as hard as she can.
It’s driving me crazy. It’s just plain mean and it hurts.
I’ve tried time-out, I’ve tried explaining that it hurts and it’s not nice to hurt. I’ve put her in her room. I’ve resorted to a spank on the bottom. I even tried pulling her own hair to show her how it feels (great mom, huh?). Nothing seems to get through to her. She still pulls the Big One’s hair.
Anyone have a tried and true method to stop the hair pulling? I know this is just the very beginning of the sibling fighting. I remember the knock down drag-out fights my sister and I got into. But I’d really like to minimize it as much as possible!
A Little Vindication
A few months ago, we instituted “Mommy Time.” It’s a recurring special event in which I can do whatever I want after dinner. The Husband is in charge of tubby time, jammies, books, singing, prayers and getting the girls in bed.
It’s supposed to be their special bonding time; a time without the FixItMommy being in the way. With the Husband’s crazy schedule, the girls get used to the way I do things and are sometimes hesitant to let the Husband do anthing for them when I am home. There is a lot of “NOOOOO, Mommy DO IT!!!!” that goes on.
So during Mommy Time I am out of sight and out of mind. Yesterday I had a dentist appointment. The Husband came home from work early so I could get my teeth cleaned. I was actually looking forward to it. Not only would I be alone, I was hoping for the massaging char. Unfortunately, since my appointment had been changed, there was no massaging chair for me, but I was at least alone.
After the dentist, I stopped at the store to pick up a few things. I had been gone two and a half hours when my phone rang. It was the Husband and the conversation went like this:
FixItMommy: “Helllloooooo, no I am not lost I will be there in 5 minutes.”{he has a special ringer so I knew it was him.
The Husband: “Hey! Ummmm, I think you need to stay out until 6 and just do tubby time.”
FixItMommy: “I’ll be home in five minutes.”
The Husband: “They are killing me. They are wound-up. They are crazy. I am exhausted. You need to do tubby tonight.”
FixItMommy: “It’s been 2 and a half hours? I’ll be home soon. And yes, I can do tubby time if you are too tired.”
The Husband: “They are all over me. They are going agro. OH! And it looks like a bomb went off in the playroom. I am just warning you.”
FixItMommy: “I expected as much. I will be there soon.”
The Husband: “Okay. You don’t really have to do tubby. I CAN handle it.”
So I get home and as expected it’s a mess. I get dinner ready and move on with the evening. When tubby time rolls around, he says he can handle it so I can go out to the store to look for something for his mom.
So I head out and he starts the routine. I talk to him about an hour later and he says that we need to re-evaluate the Mommy Time negotiation. He is exhausted. So I say fine we’ll talk about it when I get home.
I took advantage of being out and stopped at a couple stores. When you live where we live, it’s best to combine trips to save about a trillion dollars on gas. So about 45 minutes later – at 8 p.m. – he calls again and sounds utterly defeated. He tells me he is done for the day. He is going to bed.
Mind you he had them for two and a half hours. And actually the Little One was asleep for 60 minutes of that. So he had the two of them alone for 90 minutes. He didn’t cook a meal, do any dishes, do any laundry, nothing. He just had to entertain two kids for 90 minutes. And he about died doing it.
At first, I admit I was a bit mad. He’s been TDY so often and for so many days recently that I rarely get a break it seems. But then I just laughed and figured this will make for a great blog!
{In his defense he does wake-up by 4:30 everyday and works from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. everyday. So he is very tired, very early. But again it’s still pretty close to the last TDY where I am on duty 24 hours a day with no relief so I am not feeling too sorry for him yet!}
Getting Bigger and Smarter
The Little One has always been short. She is still the shortest 2- year-old that I know. But she doesn’t let it stop her from getting into trouble.
The Big One was closer to 3 when she figured out how powerful a tool the step stool can be. After watching her sister and realizing how short she is, the Little One has become very adept at utilizing the step stool.
She climbs on it to reach things in her play kitchen. She climbs on it to retrieve magnets and pictures that I have purposely put up high on the refrigerator. She climbs up on it to reach the “magic soap” and lotion in the bathroom.
Her favorite place to use the step stool is of course the kitchen. She retrieves pretty much whatever is in reach on the countertops. The Big One is getting increasingly more frustrated because she used to be able to “hide” things from the Little One up there. But now the Little One gets a step stool and helps herself.
So while the Big One and the FixItMommy are frustrated by the Little One’s prowess, the Little One and Gracie Lou are loving it. The most recent evidence of their affection for one another came yesterday when the Little One retrieved the open box of Cookie Crisp on the counter and attempted to pour some in a tiny play bowl in her play kitchen. Needless to say, the Little One and Gracie Lou enjoy probably about a 1/3 of the box while I was attempting to pee in peace. Teach me to go to the restroom, huh?
{Don’t judge me… Cookie Crisp is made with whole grains!}
Cause and Effect
We’ve been working with the Big One on the concept of cause and effect. In addition to trying to win the food battle we are working on her little attitude-ness. So we were talking about how different behaviors result in different consequences.
We talked about not listening resulting in time-out. We talked about being polite and getting what you want. Well, she thought it was a great game. So we continued for about 20 minutes making up a “cause” and having her tell us the “effect.”
The Husband and I were running out of ideas, so I asked her what happens when mommy has a headache. I figured she’d say something about taking medicine. Instead she thought a second and then proudly announced, “We go to Starbucks for coffee!”
Smart kid, that Big One.
I Almost Tossed my Cookies Today
As a mom, I have cleaned up countless stinky diapers, puke, pee and other messes made by my lovely children. It takes a lot to make me nauseous. I’m not sure if it was the fact that is was early this morning. Or the anticipation of facing the day without coffee (please, please, please Ms. FedEx lady who delivers to my house brings my K-cups early!)
Or if it was the sheer amount of my child’s blood that I was cleaning up. My dad just retired from 20+ years at the Medical Examiner’s Office, I am really not that squeamish about blood. But this morning when the Big One’s nose seemingly exploded all over her and her bed, I almost lost it.
{Sorry if you are eating breakfast!}
As soon as I turned the water off in the shower, I knew there was a problem. The Big One was screaming hysterically. Annoyed I dried myself as best I could in about 3 second and marched down the hall in nothing but a towel to see what in the world she was freaking out about.
I smelled blood as I opened her door and was perplexed. There is no reason for that much blood. She was screaming, “I have blood in my mouth.” And I was very confused, until I saw that it was pouring from her nose.
“I picked at my nose and now it blooding,” she cried. Not really paying that much attention, I told her to follow me into the bathroom.
Bad idea.
She’s had a couple nose bleeds before, usually she just has some blood on her shirt and that’s the end of it. So I really thought I’d just get her in the bathroom wash her off and start the day.
This was the worst nose bleed ever. I didn’t realize it until I looked at her standing there crying in the bathroom. She looked terrible. Her jammies were covered, her arms and legs were covered and her slippers looked like little red pools. It was really bad.
As soon as I saw the slippers, I knew the walk to the bathroom was a bad idea. I stood her in the tub, rinsed her off and then filled the tub so I could wash her hair. As she chilled in the tub, I went to work on the trail of blood on the carpet.
So again, I ask does anyone else have a recommendation for a steam cleaner? I got a couple responses last time we had a pee trail. Now I really need to start researching them. My birthday is in May remember.
By the way, I’m not sure what caused the nose bleed. She seems fine now. It was obviously, not just that she scratched at her nose until it bled. There was way too much blood for that.
The Great Food Battle
I need help. I am really concerned about the Big One and her weight. Those of you who know her, know she’s a pretty skinny little kid. She’s always been thin, unlike the Little One who seems to have taken more after the FixItMommy and the Husband.
We could all miss a meal or two and nobody would notice, the Big One on the other hand cannot really miss too many meals. Yet that’s exactly what’s happening. I am done with the “It’s yucky!” response to anything put in front of her. So we have once again embarked on the “you eat what we eat” journey. So far it’s not been successful.
She’s gone to bed the last two nights with no dinner. Last night she ate a small handful of freeze-dried strawberries and about 4 croutons. That’s it. I wouldn’t worry too much but she also didn’t eat lunch yesterday. She maybe ate about 300 calories all day yesterday. She had yogurt for breakfast and a handful of Cheerios and that’s it.
It’s not like I am asking her to eat anything outrageous or exotic. Last night the rest of us had orange chicken for dinner. I pulled a couple pieces of chicken out before putting the orange sauce on it because I figured she would balk at it. But she refused the chicken.
This is a kid who literally sustained herself on chicken from the age of about 18 months up until about two months ago. She ate chicken for lunch and dinner literally every day. The suddenly she deemed the chicken “YUCKY!”
Once chicken was on the chopping block, she ate pizza for the last month or so for lunch and dinner. Then suddenly two weeks ago, pizza is “YUCKY!” and she won’t eat it. I’ve tried to force macaroni and cheese on her, but she gags just like with any other pasta. She won’t eat hot dogs, hamburgers, fresh fruit, vegetables, fish or anything else I’ve tried.
She eats bread type stuff: pancakes, waffles, toast, rolls and garlic bread. She eats Orange Crème flavored Yoplait, Cheerios, Cookie Crisp cereal, graham crackers and Cheez-Its. I am not exaggerating at all. Those are the only things the Big One will eat (aside from cookies, chocolate or ice cream, of course)
Anyone been through it to this extreme? I am ready to take her to the doctor in hopes of getting a referral to a nutritionist. I’m not sure what they can do to help me though.
We’ve tried, threats, bribes, having her help me prepare the food, letting her pick what we eat, always making sure there is something she likes on her plate. I just don’t know what to do anymore.
I am going to put her on the scale this morning to see if she’s lost weight yet and then go from there, I guess.
If you’ve been through it or have any other suggestions, please share them!
My PSA Re: 2-Year-Old in the Car
Over the Easter holiday we got my back bumper replaced from the unfortunate incident with the shopping cart return rack at Lowe’s. So I had a nice sparkling new-looking car again.
Well, that was short-lived. I suppose I do have to take some responsible for it, but I’d rather blame the Little One. We stopped at the store the other day after dropping the Big One off at preschool. As I often do, I unbuckled the Little One and proceeded to unload the groceries. Usually the Little One climbs up into the Big One’s seat and tries to buckle herself. It’s fun and relatively safe to let her play while I unload things.
Well on this particular occasion, I walked out of the garage and into the front yard to retrieve the newspaper. As I turned around from picking up the paper and headed back to the car, I heard a familiar noise.
The garage door was closing. I ran as fast as I could to stop the door from closing. No I wasn’t worried a bout being locked out with her inside, rather I was worried about my car.
Remember I was unloading groceries when I made the newspaper detour. So the back hatch of the mom-mobile was open when the Little One managed to climb over the seats and center console, climbed up on top of the passenger seat, stood up on the passenger seat and poked the garage door remote to close the door.
So now my beautiful sparkling new bumper still looks great, however there are two lovely scratches on the back hatch where the garage door tried desperately to close.
So my PSA to you, don’t leave your mischievous 2-year-old in the car alone for even a second. {Now, don’t get lecturing me about leaving kids alone in the car. All the car doors were open and I literally walked 50-yards to the front yard to pick-up the newspaper.}
Can You Help a Friend?
Want to support a great cause and help my friend, Laura, reach her goal? Read on and see what you can do to help.
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Happy Spring!
As I enjoy the pleasure of being a new mom for the 2nd time, I can’t help but be thankful that our 2nd son, Jonathan Andrew, was born healthy and full-term on January 8th. As you know, the same wasn’t true for his big brother 4 years ago, and we consider ourselves lucky that Christopher is now a happy, healthy 4 year old, ready to shower his little brother with hugs and kisses.
Premature birth is the #1 cause of newborn death and the biggest threat to babies’ health today, and through March for Babies, the March of Dimes is funding important research to find out why premature birth happens and what can be done to prevent it.
As in years past, we’re participating this year in the March for Babies, and I ask you to please support my fundraising efforts by sponsoring me for the Sacramento walk on April 25th.
You can get more information on the boys, complete with photos, by clicking here (no requirement to donate just for looking! :-)).
Contributing to the walk online is fast, easy and secure. You can donate directly from my personal web page with a credit/debit card or PayPal. If you prefer, I can also accept cash or check; just click the appropriate box on the website.
With your support, there’s hope. THANK YOU!
Laura
Would you like to see what March for Babies is and why I’m walking?
Click here to see a video.
The March of Dimes mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality
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Thanks for checking out Laura’s page and helping if you can.
Personal Space & A Toddler
I have come to the conclusion that the smaller the child, the larger the bubble of personal space they need.
Seriously, people, yes the Little One is cute. Yes, she has beautiful eyes. Yes, she is usually dressed in very cute clothes with very cute shoes. Yes, she will talk to you if she is in the mood. However when she is not in the mood, please back the fudge off.
She will let you know very quickly if she wants to talk to you or not. If she responds to your first greeting, fine. If she says “NO!” or buries her face in my chest, she doesn’t want to be bothered by you.
So please, please, please, please for the sake of everyone in the Super Wal*Mart, please just leave her alone if she rejects your greeting.
Trust me, grabbing her toes, touching her cheeks, rubbing her arm or getting right in her face are not the ways to win her over.
If you really need to talk to her, try talking to the Big One first. The Big One will talk to just about anyone. She will ask you your name, tell you hers, ask you how old you are, ask what you are buying, etc. Engage the Big One and the Little One will most likely come around.
But again, if the Little One rejects your advances, BACK OFF! LEAVE HER ALONE!
This is for you, “Kathy” {AKA crazy in the Little One’s face lady). Leave her alone. Did I make myself clear? Back away from the child and leave her alone.
It was so bad today that when the Big One asked me why the Little One was crying, I responded like this:
“Well, {Little One} is a little leery of strangers. She gets a little bit afraid when people she doesn’t know talk to her. And she really doesn’t like it when people touch her.”
Do you think that Kathy got the hint? NOPE. Instead she got even closer to the Little One. It was so bad that I was no longer in between the two of them. I had moved to the side of the cart to put our stuff up on the belt and Kathy moved into my spot at the helm of the cart. I tried to get back between the two of them and the woman would not move. She just stood there continuing to try and talk to the Little One.
I pulled the cart as far forward as I could without running over the people in front of me and Kathy stuck right with us. So I admit that I allowed the Little One to scream and sob at the top of her lungs. Normally, I don’t let them scream, they either get threatened or comforted depending on the situation. This time I let her scream and finally Kathy realized that the line was not moving and moved to another line.
As soon as she walked away, guess what? The Little One was just fine.
So please people, have a little respect for little kids. They don’t always want to talk, smile or meet new people. If they reject you, leave them alone. Just back off and go find some other kid to torture, leave mine alone.
{Karen~ I totally thought of you and your Elmo experience when this was happening!}
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