Why you shouldn't leave boys alone

When I get home from work, I find that I am always looking for something to do.  It's like I have missed so much during the day that I find myself with a constant "to-do" list.  I let the dogs out, wipe noses, get snacks and dinner ready, clean up toys and messes, get the mail, gather up bills, and on and on and on.  Yesterday when I got home we all went up to my room so I could change my clothes.  The sun was streaming in and it felt warm and cozy and the bed was made and looked fresh and clean.  I looked around and the kids were happily playing with toys.  I sighed and decided to do the unthinkable...I laid down on the bed on my stomach with a magazine!!!  I luxuriated in this feeling of total relaxation....until I realized I hadn't heard a word from Little Buddy.  I turned around and found....


Little Buddy found some bubble bath in our cabinet and was happily pouring it all over the carpet.  He really did look happy and almost proud of his art.

And that is why you never turn your back on an 18 month old boy.  No matter how inviting the bed is and how interesting the article is on Brad Pitt.

Luckily, God invented the vaccuum.  Well, maybe not God, but someone very smart.

Blog contest for all Mommy Bloggers

Okay all you fellow "Mom" bloggers...I'm announcing a Blog contest.  Submit your best blog story to me and I will pick the winner and post the entire article, along with your Bio and a link to your blog. 

It can be something that was really embarrassing.  It can be something your kid ruined.  It can be stories about your kid eating bugs like this (my kid really did try to eat this bug, see the story behind this bug...:)




It can be stories about your son wearing earrings like this.  Check out his finger...doesn't it look like he's flipping me off?  I feel confident that he'll appreciate this picture later in life.  I did not plan this picture in any way.  I swear. (see the story behind this picture)



The rules are simple:

1.  Join my site by becoming a follower or signing up for email alerts
2.  Send me an email with your story to mommywithselectivememory@gmail.com.  The story should be 250-500 words and should be well-written and funny.  Pictures are optional, but probably helpful.
3.  It can be something you already posted to your blog, it doesn't have to be new.  Just make sure you join the site and keep it under 500 words (Or at least close to 500, I won't be that strict)

I will announce the winner and post the winning entry on Sunday, October 16th.  If you are the winner, I will contact you for a Bio and will include it along with links to your blog and will also post the winner on my Twitter and Facebook accounts to give maximum exposure. 

Good luck!  Can't wait to read your stories!!

Bedtime routines and strange OCD behavior

It's 5:45am and I was just beckoned to Munchkin Girl's room to search for the "hippo" that had fallen off the bed.  My husband really wants me to find out if we are the only ones who have this problem.  Munchkin Girl is three years old and this is what her bed looks like every night.  And by every night I mean EVERY night.  No exceptions.  Even the placement of every item is crucial.   Tinkerbell on the right side.  Cinderella on the left  Then you will notice the purse (Yes, it's still the fake Prada from the doctor visit.  The purse also has specific items inside and if anything is forgotten, it can be a major tradegy, even at 2am when she tends to take inventory of what is missing
. 


Hubby is gone at bedtime a lot, which means that I alone have to:

1.  Locate all the items, which can be a major chore because she plays with them all day.  I found the small teddy bear inside the oven in the play kitchen last night
2.  Pick up all the items and carry her and the items up the stairs
3.  Arrange all items correctly in bed
4.  Read 1 book
5.  Tell her one story of when I was a little girl and one story about when Daddy was a little boy
6.  Give her a kiss in exactly the right spot on the cheek

The problem is, she doesn't want to leave these items in the bed.  Every single morning, she wants me to carry all of these, plus her blankie, plus her down the stairs.  That's not even to mention my 18 month old.  Luckily all he needs is milk and some food.

We did ask my doctor about all this.  He claims it is normal and we should just try to keep her as comfortable as possible.  She better grow out of this phase soon.  Keep in mind that she already has a full bed, not a twin, and yet the other day she said, "Mommy, I need a bigger bed.  Tinkerbell keeps falling out."

5 Embarrassing Mom Moments this week

1.  Little Buddy tried to shove me off the toilet this week.  He kept pointing and grunting at the Dora potty seat.  It was really stressing him out that I was on the toilet without it and he wanted me to get up and put it on.  The problem is that he's getting very strong and my ass is far too large to use the Dora potty seat.  It was quite a struggle to stay seated.
2.  Munchkin Girl suddenly stopped walking in Target.  She looked at me and said, "Mommy, I smell something bad.  Did you peep?"  Damn kid and her perceptive nose.  She's like the smell police.
3.  Little Buddy wouldn't stay in the circle at our first (and last) Gymboree Class.  He kept getting up and wanting to run around the room and play with everything.  In his defense, the kooky teachers really expected an 18 month old boy to sit in a tiny circle and play with puppets when there was a huge room full of balls and things to climb on.  I mean, he's only human.
4.  I filled up my grocery cart to the brim, bought everything, and ended up at home somehow with an empty car.  This is the 2nd time I have left my groceries at the store.  In a month.
5.  Munchkin Girl looked wistfully out the window one night during sunset.  All kinds of wispy clouds were in the sky.  She said, "Mommy, I think I saw a falling star.  Don't you just love summer?"  (Okay, you got me.  That was a Fun one, not an embarassing one.  They redeemed themselves)

I also started a new Facebook page, called Embarrassing Mom Moments.  Feel free to join up there and add your own embarrassing Mom Moments. 

Yoga + Toddlers = Bad Idea

Lipstick and a Kiss

Craft project on a rainy day

Hubby had to work this weekend and it was raining, so I decided to finally get around to a craft idea I'd been wanting to try out for awhile. 

This project is kind of like painting, but with a twist.  The idea at the end is to allow the kids to sort of paint, but have a paint "mixture" come out of squeeze bottles.  Stick with me, you'll see.  For it, we mixed equal parts of salt, flour and water.  I used 2/3 cup of each and ended up with two bottles with plenty of mixture.  At first I hated wasting so much of my salt, but I realized that an entire cannister of salt is only $.53 from the store so it's a really cheap project. 



Munchkin Girl loves to help me cook, but I'm a bit of a germ freak, so it's nice to have a project that we won't have to eat later. I let her do all the pouring and stirring.  


Once everything is mixed up, you pour it into plastic squeeze bottles.  I found some at Walmart for just a few bucks.  Then you have plastic bottles with this sort of gooey mixture and you can add Tempura paint so they have several color options.  Then you cut up some cardboard squares and she can now squeeze colored goo onto cardboard!  I used a cardboard box from some yummy dried fruit I get from Costco


Finally we were ready and voila!  Almost a full hour of fun of squeezing "paint".  She loved it and really like the final product.  This whole thing sounds like a lot of work, but only took about 10 minutes to prep and was definitely worth it!

Inspiration for Moms

I love people who don't complain.  When I start thinking how tough my life is, I think about the stories I have heard about my great-grandma.  She didn't have baby swings, pacifiers, baby-wipes, or even indoor plumbing.  When she wanted to make dinner, she didn't pull something from the fridge and put it in a microwave.  She went out in the backyard and cut the head off a chicken, skinned it, and proceeded to cook it.  I'm not making this up.  It's a very vivid memory of my Dad's chilldhood.  She also cut several of her fingers off in a combine so when she chased around a chicken with her giant hatchet or knife or whatever it was apparently quite a sight.  My Dad said she never complained and always just moved forward.

The thought of her inspires me.  I like to think about how lucky I am to have all these things like microwaves and breastpumps.  I also love being inspired and I was recently inspired by a great book, "Half Broke Horses" by Jeannette Walls.  The book takes place back in the days of my great-grandma.  The main character in the book never complains and I love her attitude.  Life back then was rough for kids.  At age four, instead of watching Dora and going to pre-school, they were collecting chicken eggs and watching after younger siblings and this book follows the life of a girl from childhood.  The main character lives through the depression and all kinds of things it is hard for us to even imagine.  Yet, she never looks for the negative in her situation.  She just always figures it out and goes on with life.  One of the situations that stuck out the most in my mind is one scene where they must go around and fortify their land when a flood is coming.  She takes her toddlers with her in the car and puts one of them in a carboard box to keep him from sliding around the truck.  I have a hard time even letting my kids stay up past 8pm so this kind of "go with the flow" attitude was revolutionary for me.  I found my own attitude really changing for the better as I read about this magnificent lady.
Jeannette Walls also wrote "The Glass Castle", which is also a great book and was on the bestseller list for a long time.  However, I liked this book better and the bottom line is, if you're looking for some inspiration at the end of a long day, read "Half Broke Horses".

Working Mom woes

I would really say one of my faults is being too early.  Well, that was a fault before I had kids.  When I first started my sales job 6 years ago, I wasted so much time because I got to every appointment almost an hour early.  I would sit in my car and watch the clock and wonder how early I could be without irritating the doctor or nurse or whoever I was meeting with. 

I don't have that problem anymore.

Every morning is hectic, no question.  But yesterday was one for the scrapbook (that is, if I had a scrapbook.  I gave that up a long time ago on account of that my scrapbook looked like it was made by a fifth-grader.)  Anyway, Munchkin Girl and I got home from our trip at 7pm and the very next morning both kids started their first day of school (They still have the nanny.  Munchkin Girl is starting pre-school and Little Buddy is doing one day of MDO at the same school).  Poor planning, I know. 

After we got the kids to bed, the real work began.  You know what it's like when you get home from a trip.  Bags everywhere.  Dirty laundry.  Plus I had to put the car seat back in the car and read through all the school paperwork.  The school gave precise instructions on what to bring: extra pair of clothes, extra diapers, crib sheets, etc.  Everything had to be marked with their names and all neatly placed in their backpacks.

So the next morning Hubby was able to get off work to help me drop them at school.  Little Buddy was almost too excited for school if you ask me.  I was really worried he would cling to us and cry and cry and I would have to go back and pick him up from school.  Not so much.  He barely glanced back at us before he dove for a ball and started throwing it around the room.  Munchkin Girl did well too.  She kept telling me she didn't want to go to school, but she forgot about her own fears as she put her arm around Little Buddy.

"Don't worry, you'll meet lots of new friends and the teachers will be very nice," she told her little brother.  Definitely a blissful family moment.  Until I looked at my watch.  9:20.  I was due at my customer meeting at 10:30 and it was over an hour drive.  Again, poor planning.

So, I went from doting Mom to sprinting career woman.  I gave Hubby a quick kiss and raced out the car.  No problem.  I should still make it as long as I drove fast.  Don't panic.  Road construction!  Speed reduced to 55.  Damnit!!  Seriously don't panic now.  I tried to tell myself and I needed to give myself a break.  I'm always early.  Usually everyone is late anyway.  I pulled in at 10:25 and ran down the stairs in my heels.  I was panting as I gave the receptionist my name.  And slightly sweating if I'm being honest.  The time was 10:32.  Only two minutes late.  Not bad. 

The lady took me down a hall and gestured toward the room.  At first it looked empty and I sighed in relief.  I walked through the door and was met with a conference table where there were already 10 people sitting.  They had started the meeting without me.  For someone who is ALWAYS early, there is nothing more excruciating than the feeling that you're very, very late.  And everyone is mad at you.  I'm a people pleaser, I can't help it.

The good news is that in the end, no one was mad and we got the sale.  And the kids loved school and Little Buddy even nodded at me when I asked him if he wanted to go back.   Probably couldn't have been a more hectic day, but it turned out fine.  Except for that nightmare I'm sure to have about being late to another meeting.

Tattletales

I never liked tattletales.  I have a vivid memory of when I was in first grade and the guy in front of me was taking too long to get a drink from the drinking fountain.  I called him a jerk.  He told the teacher on me and I got my name on the board.  For the first and only time the entire year (well, I'm pretty sure that was the only time.  I don't remember any others, but might be having selective memory on that one). 

Anyway, I've always encouraged Munchkin Girl not to tattle on others.  I am realizing this is a fine line.  The other day I was making breakfast and they were on the other side of the kitchen island from me so I couldn't see them.  Munchkin Girl was kind of whining and I figured they were fighting over a toy.  I kept cooking.  I figured they would work it out.  Little Buddy was screeching with delight and I finally peeked over the counter.  He had a brush in his hand and was pummeling poor Little Munchkin Girl over the head with the hard brush.  Repeatedly. 

I practically jumped over the counter and yanked the brush out of his hand.  "You poor thing, why didn't you tell me he was hitting you?"  I gathered her in my arms and she was really pretty tough about the whole thing. 

"Mommy, you said not to tattle." 

Oops.  I guess it's a fine line.  My Mom is a PE teacher at an elementary school and she says it's the difference between tattling and reporting.  I guess I need to learn the difference so Little Munchkin won't end up with black eyes from her "little" brother who happens to weigh more than she does!

Incidentally I think this whole incident was pretty funny because she does actually tattle on him a lot and sometimes it's useful.  For example she tells me when he's eating bugs or getting in the mud.  I'm not sure why she chose this particular incident to avoid tattling, but I clearly need some help figuring this one out!

Apology to family

I'm going to borrow a saying from my Dad.  I feel like a real heel.  In other words, Insert foot in mouth. 

I need to explain a few things because I afraid that I have hurt the feelings of people that are very special to me and my kiddos.  My best friend told me recently that she was trying to decide which jogging stroller to buy but she didn't know which one to get.  That gave me the idea to write about products I like and dislike, because if I am going to spend money on something, I really like to talk to someone before who has used it.  However, I may have hurt some feeling in the process of this.  Keep in mind this blog is truly intended for other Moms, to try to bring a little humor to others and try to share some of the few things I have learned.  The thing is, I hate it when I personally buy something that the kids don't like and it makes me feel bad when I know that someone goes to a lot of trouble to buy something for the kids and they don't get much use out of it.  For example, one time my Dad was traveling and in the airport he found a laughing, rolling monkey that was $50.  He bought it and was so excited to show to Munchkin Girl.  She was 18 months at the time and was scared to DEATH about it.  She cried and cried until we put it away.  My Mom still teases him about the gift and he's a good sport, but it provides some insight into the intent of the this page.  I hated to see him spend $50 and he was so excited about it. 

I am blessed with a loving family who buy lots of gifts for the kids.  They are so generous and wonderful to give gifts to the kids.  MOST of them the kids have LOVED.  There were a select few that just didn't provide as much fun as I thought they would.  My sole intention was to provide honest, helpful information to other Moms.  I posted my honest opinion.  However, I inadvertedly and unintentionally hurt some feelings of people that our family loves and I feel absolutely TERRIBLE. 

The bottom line is that my kiddos adore their aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. and in retrospect it was not a good thing to do.  I learned my lesson!

Beach fun

So this morning we were out playing in ths sand.  Munchkin Girl is having a blast with her uncles, jumping in an out of the waves, collecting shells, and building sandcastles. 



Suddenly she stops and looks at me.  "Mommiiiiiiiie, I have to pottiiiiiiiiiiiiiie," she says. 

Hmm...I have a dilemna on my hands.    She and I are both covered with sand.  Almost head to toe.  I should take her back to our place.  I know that's what I really should do.  I'm sure that's what most good Moms would do.  But if we do that, we'll get our place covered with sand.  Or we could go wash ourselves off completely, but that would take forever with Munchkin Girl because the outside shower is far away.  I look back at our place.  And then I start heading for the ocean.

"Where are we going Mommy?" 

"Guess what honey?  You get to potty in the ocean," I say. 

Now, I know this is probably wrong.  I shouldn't let her do it.  But I remember doing it as a kid and what can it really hurt?  I take her out as far as I can and tell her to squat down and go ahead.  She looks pretty nervous but starts to squat.  The problem is that she doesn't squat very far.  In fact, she barely bends her legs and to my surprise, she has nor problema at all with this plan and just starts going.  And going.  The waves suddenly go out at this point so she has no cover at all and she also decides to bend over and watch her potty stream.  My family is laughing hysterically at the site of her bending over and peeing and watching it and I don't have the heart to make her stop and take her deeper in the water.  For anyone walking by, there is no doubt what she is doing. She watches her stream the entire time.   

She finally gets finished, looks up and says, "Okay Mom, let's go finish the sand castle.  That was fun!"

They did finish the sandcastle and I have to say, it was quite a masterpiece!

And the winner is...

Congratulations to Jennifer (aka Fab Coffee Mom).  She is the winner of the $50 Amazon gift card!  I just emailed it to her and I hope she will enjoy it!  She also writes a cool blog called http://www.fabulousfinds.ca/

Thanks to everyone for participating!! 

Airplane and Traveling

Well we're off!  It's really against all my Mommy instincts to wake up Munchkin Girl at 5:30am and pull her out of bed, but that's exactly what I did.  And she was thrilled!  All went well until the plane took off.  She was cuddling her baby when the head suddenly fell off.  She started SCREAMING!  I don't blame her.  I imagine it's scary when your treasured dollie is decaptitated.  The problem was that it rolled to the lady behind us and she wasn't too keen on getting it for her, especially since there was turbulence and she had to reach down and feel around and try to find the doll head.  In the meantime, Munchkin Girl couldn't stop crying and wouldn't listen to reason at all.  I tried to assure her that it was fine, but she was seriously terrified.

The lady finally sucked it up and bent over and found the doll and that crisis was over.  Changing planes went fine and thank goodness for portable DVD players!  The travel after that was great with Munchkin Girl, but my parents are with us since we're visiting my brother and they sometimes they remind me a lot of the Seinfelds.  Our bags were coming off at baggage claim and my Mom pulled her bag down.  The handle wouldn't come up and she started panicking.  And I mean panicking.

"My bag is broken.  It's broken!  It won't work."  She was yanking it with all her strength, over and over again and sure enough, nothing was happening.  I'm not sure why it was a reason to panic, but she's my Mom.  I help her, that's what I do.  I quickly realized that the levers were both down so the handle was simply locked in place.  She doesn't travel much, but still.  Mrs. Seinfeld needs to calm down.

We did get to see the beach after we arrived and Munchkin Girl loved every second. 



She collected shells, ran out into the surf and giggled, and even buried her legs in the sand.  We found a bunch of shells in one place.

"Jackpot!" I said.

Munchkin Girl laughed and kept collecing an entire bucket-full of shells.  Later, my Dad came over and said, "Watcha got there?  What are you collecting?"

"We're looking for Jackpots Papa!  Here's a Jackpot for you!"  she replied and handed him a seashell.



Then, when I was putting her to bed and we were gathering up all her stuff, she said, "Mommy, let's not take Lucy to bed.  Her head might fall off."
Smart kid.  It's going to be a fun weekend.

Pesticides and toxins in household products, even baby shampoo

I'm not exactly a "green" type.  Anyone who knows me would definitely not call me a tree hugger of any kind.  I'm the lady at the grocery store who requests plastic bags.  And every week, everyone glares at me and I want to yell, "Sorry!  I forgot my green bags, okay?  The kids are dressed and wearing matching shoes and that's as much as I can remember!"

The point is, I'm usually very ANTI-organic, natural, blah blah.  However, I recently got to listen to someone talk about toxins in our household products.  Even though I can be a bit stubborn about green products, she told me one thing that really shocked and angered me.  Did you know there is formaldehyde in Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo?  I had no idea.  Formaldehyde can cause cancer and I hate the idea that I've been washing my kids' naked little bodies in formaldehyde all this time.  Apparently the FDA regulates food but not personal products. 

As a result of this lack of governmental oversight, there is actually a lot of bad stuff in the products we use every day.  When you think about pesticides, you probably think of fruits and veggies.  However, 80% of the pesticides we ingest are actually found in our homes and in all kinds of cleaning products, NOT fruits and veggies.  Since since this strange trend began of using pesticides in cleaning products, childhood cancer has increased by 28% and there is research out there linking pesticides to childhood cancer!   Bleach is a really bad one.  Did you know that it can cause childhood asthma?   Some schools have even banned the use of bleach.  Even though I think green products are often just a big racket and a waste of money, if I could do something to prevent the kids from getting asthma I definitely would.

So, my friend introduced me to this company, http://www.melaluca.com/ .  They make products that don't have pesticides.  They have a cleaning solution that is a good alternative to a 401-type spray that has been shown to kill all the bad bugs, even H1N1, flu, etc.  However, it doesn't have bleach so it won't cause asthma!  They have baby shampoo and soap that doesn't contain formaldehyde.  Even though I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing, I'm definitely going to try it because:

1.  I really trust my friend and she's a big believer in this
2.  It's actually cheaper than the stuff you would get at Target.  I have no idea how, but I compared the prices
3.  I feel like I owe it to my kids to at least try to prevent cancer and asthma.  I have to buy shampoo, cleaners, vitamins, anyway.  Why not buy them without pesticides??

This company is kind of like Costco in that you do have to belong to buy the products.  Yes, I joined.  I still wouldn't call myself a tree hugger, but you can now picture me in an akward half-hug with a tree.  It's definitely the hips out, one-armed hug that makes you cringe, but a hug nonetheless.

If you're interested, you can contact me and I'll get in touch with my friend.  Keep in mind I get NO compensation from this at all.  I just really do think it's worth trying. 
PS...let me know what you think of this!  Are you surprised by this or do you think it's all hooey??

The Mystery of Boys

Munchkin Girl practically came out of the womb with a purse slung over her shoulder, so I wasn't exactly prepared for the mystery of boys.  Here are a few things that mystify me:

1.  The obsession with dirt.  And mud.  And anything that makes a giant mess:



2.  The desire to dissasemble all toys.  And mutilate them.

Still working

Today (Labor Day) is Day three of being home alone with kiddos.  Hubby is gone again for the next 24 hour shift.  He does come home when there's no surgery happening, but it usually isn't long before his pager goes off again.  I have the day off and I went to a brunch this morning with the kids, and since today is a Holiday for most people, I was yet again the only person there without a spouse. 

I'm very excited though because this weekend I am taking Munchkin Girl to Charleston to visit my brother!  Hubby couldn't get the time off so he's staying home with Little Buddy!  Hooray!!  Ever since Little Buddy was born, I feel like I end up catering to his every need.  First, it was breastfeeding.  I was the only one who could do it.  Then he decided he didn't want anyone else so he was always glued to my hip.  Thus, I am super excited to spend some quality time with just Munchkin Girl!  So, on my schedule for today:

1.  Start packing for my trip
2.  Act as running coach for Hubby's barefoot running study

Number 2 probably needs slightly more explanation.  Hubby is doing an 8 week trial on barefoot running.  He has about 30 people participating and he is measuring to see if their foot strength changes over 8 weeks.  Hopefully if all goes well his research will be published.  At 6am, 12 noon, and 6pm someone has to go guide the paricipants through the study.  I've been filling in here and there when he can't find anyone else.  Usually it's Hubby who does all of them, but today is working so it's up to me.  I, Katie, who has never run barefoot and didn't even run high school track, is going to meet a bunch of people at the park, with my whistle and stopwatch.  I'm a little confused about what they're doing, something about Run for 60, rest for 60, run for 50, rest for 50, etc and on down and then back up.  I have it written down.  I'm sure it'll be fine...

Labor Day

Today is Day 2 of having the kids to myself.  Hubby worked a 24 hour shift Saturday (He is an orthopedic surgeon, but still in his residency training).  He will have to sleep all day so that he can do a 24 hour shift on Monday too.  Yep, that makes all three days of Labor Day weekend and the kids probably won't see him at all!  Well, maybe tonight for a few hours.  Dont worry though...we still have our own fun.  Look what I fished out of Little Buddy's mouth yesterday.  The kids both thought it was pretty hysterical.:



Little Munchkin was screaming, "Mommiiiiiie!!!  He's got a bug in his mouuuuuth!!!"  Then she would clap her hand over her mouth and giggle.  Little Buddy laughed with his mouth open wide enough that I could see what he had, then he ran away and tried to dodge me so I couldn't get it from him.  Don't worry.  He didn't actually eat it and it's not poisonous (I checked).  Anyway, being alone with kiddos doesn't usually bother me except for things like what happened yesterday.  I went up to a college football game with my parents.  We all went to the same University, including Hubby.  I took the kiddos and it was a little hot and rained a little, but the kids loved seeing all the people.  Everything was going swimmingly until we ran into a family friend on our way to get some food. 

"Where is Hubby?" she asks.

"He has to work today," I say.  I suddenly notice the look of pity in her eye.  She doesn't believe me!  I guess she thinks he's sitting at home by himself? 

I launch into an extensive explanation of the surgery he is performing and I reach up to swat away one of the thousands of bugs that keep bothering me.  Crap!  I'm not wearing my ring!  I've been doing these stupid pull-ups for Crossfit and they really bother my hands so I have to take my rings off.  I forgot to put them back on!  Now she probably thinks I'm either not actually married or that I'm separated!  I guess this is a sign that I should stop doing pull-ups.  I hate them anyway.

She hurries away akwardly and I find myself trying to run after her.  However, it doesn't go well because I've got the kids by myself at this point and they are bouncing all around in the grass in their little cars.  I stop and smile at the kids.

"Mommy, can we walk around a little more?" Little Munchkin asks.  "This is fun!" 

Extending deadline for contest and a few other announcements

Don't worry, I am still going to be announcing the winner of the $50 Amazon gift card!  However, I've still had a few stragglers coming in.  Plus, a few people told me they tried to Join and had trouble so I'm going to see if I can work out those details.  In light of this, I'm going to extend the deadline until next Friday, September 9th.  Stay tuned!!

On another topic, you may have noticed the survey posted to the website.  The topic was whether or not we should force our kids to eat.  8 out of 9 people agreed that we should NOT force our kids to eat.  I will be posting a new survey this week.

Lastly, make sure to check out some of the new pages.  I have a section on products I like and products I hate and I would love to get your thoughts on whether you agree.  I also have a new section on birthday ideas for different age groups.  I'd really like to get input on this.  Also, my kids are only 3 and 1, so I need ideas for older kids!  Tell me your thoughts!

Temper Tantrums or Autism??

Pin It Let me paint a picture for you:  I'm standing at the kitchen counter, slicing strawberries for dinner.  Little Buddy comes over and starts tugging at my pants.  "Dinner will be ready soon," I say.  He continues to tug at my pants, getting more and more insistent, even stomping his feet while he whines and points.  I hand him one small strawberry to tide him over.  He smacks my hand away.  He doesn't want strawberries.  He starts genuinely crying now.  Louder.  And louder.

I stop what I'm doing.  I pick him up and let him reach out for what he wants.  He can't talk yet so he can't tell me what he wants.  He goes straight for the knife.  He's getting so strong and fast that he almost jumps out of my arms.  "You can't have the knife Little Buddy.   It's too dangerous."  I put him down and try to turn to go back to my strawberries.

Unfortunately, Little Buddy is now in full-blown tantrum mode.  He is laying on his stomach, banging hands and feet and crying hysterically.  Now I have a few options that I consider:

1.  Abandon dinner and run around the house frantically trying to find something else that will make him happy.
2.  Wrap a towel around the knife, followed my masking tape so that it's not sharp anymore,and carefully supervise him while he plays with the knife so that he stops crying
3.  Ignore him
But here is what my doctor said:

"Katie, he interacts with you and is playful.  He doesn't have autism, at least at this point.  He is strong-headed, you have a tough one.  Ignore him completely when he has a tantrum.  Go into another room.  Act like you don't even hear him.  After a few weeks, you should start seeing a difference."

Oh, so he's just being a brat!  Lightbulb!!  Sure enough, I did see almost a 180 degree turn-around.  No longer did I have the kid who was kicking his legs and screaming at the top of his lungs in the mall.  He settled down after a few weeks and now I'm not even TEMPTED to let him play with knives!! :-)  Now, here is how is life looks:


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Gender Confusion

Little Buddy LOVES his big sister.  Sometimes she hugs him a little too hard.  Sometimes she pushes him when he tries to get her special toys.  But the the vast majority of the time his eyes lovingly follow her wherever she goes.  When they were younger, this was mostly adorable and we would laugh.  As they've gotten older though, it's become a bit of a problem.

Take yesterday.  Munchkin Girl gets a sticker every time she sleeps all night without waking us up.  She used to wake us up to literally play with her.  Or she'd remember a doll she left downstairs and want us to go get it for her at 2am.  Thus the creation of the sticker program, which has been great!  However, yesterday, I told her it was time to get a sticker.  Little Buddy isn't saying much yet so I keep making the mistake of thinking he doesn't understand quite everything I say.  I'm wrong.  He understands EVERYTHING!!

After Munchkin Girl got to pick out her sticker and put it on the fridge, he came over and started grunting at me and pointing at the stickers.  Even started stomping his feet.  I pulled off a sticker and handed it to him.  He went over the fridge with it, and pointed and grunted at Little Munchkin's sticker chart. 

"Hey Mom, he didn't sleep all night, he doesn't get a sticker, does he???" 

Conundrum.  He DID sleep all night.  In fact, he always sleeps all night.  Is he really getting this?  Does he really want me to put a sticker on the chart for him?  He literally stood there, grunting and whining while holding his sticker and pointing at the fridge.  Out of curiosity, I put it on the chart to see if that was what he wanted.  Sure enough, he grinned ear to ear, smiled at Munchkin Girl in delight, and walked away to find something else to do.  He's 17 months, so this was pretty shocking that understood this much and wanted to emulate Munchkin Girl this much. 

Sooo...., this brings me to the real issue at hand.  He is slightly obssessed with purses.  And earrings.  And teasets.



Don't miss the giant pretend earing he is wearing.  He FORCED me to put it on.  I swear.  Again, a lot of grunting and whining while holding the earing until I caved and clamped that earing on his little ear.  He wore it all during dinner.

Despite all this, he is ALL boy.  He romps in the mud, plays in sprinklers, his first word was "Ball".  Hubby is slighly upset by this whole obsession with Little Munchkin's things.  Everytime he carries a purse around, Hubby gets a little exasperated and starts kicking a ball at him with almost a bit of OCD behanior if you ask me, trying to entice him to drop his purse and start playing soccer.

But my theory is that he just wants to be like his big sister.  He LOVES her and watche her play with these things every day and he thinks that is just what people do.  Don't get me wrong though.  If pink turns out to be his favorite color, we will still loves him just as much!! :-)