Too Stunned to Take A Picture

It's always an adventure with Benjamin around. He's gotten in the habit of picking Isabella up and taking her where he'd like her to be whenever it suits him. I've tried to get him to stop since she's far too close to his own weight for this to be safe. However, the other day he did it again, and I warned him to put her down, but he ignored me and immediately thereafter accidentally dropped her on her head. So, he went straight into time-out while I calmed her down. While I was holding her I heard a lot of banging in his room. This is not unusual when he's upset about being in time-out, but the strange thing is that I recently cleared his room of all hard, breakable objects which he was in the habit of hurling in anger. So I listened carefully in an attempt to identify the source of the sound. BAM! It went again. BAM! again. After another bam, I heard Benjamin say, "Another hole!" That's when I set Bella down and threw open his door. He had turned the glider's footstool upside-down and was smashing the leg of it, systematically, down the length of the wall. "What are you doing?!" I shrieked in horror. There were already 6 or 7 holes, evenly spaced in a line and he was gearing up for the next one. "I'm making a smiley face," he calmly responded, "See?" (pointing to the holes), "Can you see it?" Needless to say what happened next need not be recorded for posterity.

So, what we're left with now is the question of how do we get him to fix that without turning it into a terrible mess and a lot of fun? I mean, it's putty and paint - that's supposed to be a punishment?

And as a follow-up, a more harmless adventure - I got out of the shower, to see a toilet paper trail that started in his room, went down the hall, into the living room, and so forth, throughout the whole house, including the basement. The entire roll was empty. "Why did you do this?" I asked. Why do we as parents always ask why? Do we really expect a good answer?? This time the answer actually made me laugh, though. He said, "I asked you if I could do it. I said please." (Of course, I'd been in the shower at the time and never heard him utter a single word.) "What did I answer?" "You didn't say anything. I don't know why." How convenient. Again, I forgot the camera at the time. I'm sure there will be more opportunities.

Window Art

One of my favorite things lately are our window crayons. So much fun and so easy to clean up. However, you have to keep a careful eye on Isabella whenever they're out. Coloring on the windows is just too similar to coloring on the walls, the furniture, and the floor. Before we began tonight, I knelt down in front of her and said very clearly, "Only widows (pointing to the window), not walls, not chairs, not floor (pointing to each in turn and violently shaking my head). Only windows. Promise?" She gravely nodded her head and then reached for the crayon in my hand. Sadly, I got distracted during the creation of the masterpiece, and I had apparently neglected to specify one other key location. Must be more specific next time.

Superwoman to the Rescue!

What a great birthday/Halloween we had! So busy and so fun. We were almost never home all day between swim lessons, church parties, Halloween story time at the library, and of course, trick-or-treating! It was a great day. Isabella looked so cute that I had complete strangers asking if they could take pictures of her. Except for the random dad who corrected his daughter's, "What a cute girl" comment by saying, "That's not a girl, that's a boy." Her hair is growing! Just be patient!


However, boy or girl, Superwoman could almost never be photographed without her thumb in her mouth. I think it really adds to the look. :)

Pumpkin Overload

We had a little bit of down time on the 30th and I wanted to throw in one more pumpkin activity before the big day. So, I got the kids excited to make a craft and after all the supplies were gathered and both were sitting anxiously at the table, I said, "We're going to make a special jack-o-lantern craft now." Happy faces gone. Benjamin leaned over to Isabella and quietly said, "I don't think this is going to be very fun." "What did you say?" I asked. "I wasn't talking to you, mom, I was talking to Isabella. I said I don't think this is going to be very fun." "Why not?" "I really want to make a cat." I had to laugh. Not everyone is as obsessed with Halloween as I am, apparently. In the end we decided to make purple cat masks and everyone was happy.

I Love Halloween

I'm particularly biased, since I was born on the 31st, but I love Halloween and autumn, especially in Michigan - so beautiful. So, we've been enjoying our lead up to Halloween - making Jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin bread, getting our costumes, etc. We've also been making some fun Halloween crafts. My kids love crafts. It's just so fun to see how excited they get about it. Paint, markers, glue, glitter, and fuzzy balls get used up as quickly as breakfast cereal around here. Here are a few cute pics from our festivities and some of our crafts.

Here's Benjamin in his costume before his school Halloween party today. He was too interested in what the other kids were wearing to look at the camera.


At home we were mummies and witches. We do the mummy thing every year and then I have a big bag of ripped up toilet paper that sits by the toilet from October until January!



Here are some of the crafts. I try to keep the best ones, but mostly I document them and then I don't feel bad when I 'unclutter.' So, that's why he's wearing the same thing in each picture - we took all the pics on one day before we cleaned out the closet.

The kids had so much fun picking stickers to put on their bags, although Bella immediately started ripping them off again and sticking them in her mouth. My kids outgrow that phase so late, it seems.



This craft is fun and uses some of that ripped up toilet paper! Wrap it around an empty toilet paper roll (there are many of those around now too) and then staple or glue the arms, legs, and head on.


Don't you love how excited he looks to be wearing this? I promise, he LOVED this headband. He wore it the whole rest of the day when we first made it. By the way, the bat's face was Benjamin's artistry.



Here are a few other non-Halloween crafts we enjoyed.

These are magnets we made out of clay. Benjamin has been really into space and planets lately, so we made some space-themed fridge magnets. It's children's clay so it hardens without baking. We molded them one day and pushed magnets onto the backs before they hardened and then painted them a week later - two crafts in one! His were the rocket ship and the alien space ship. I made a shooting star and Bella's....well, they're up for interpretation. But she sure loved the process! She was the last one to leave the table, both on molding day and painting day! I kept asking her "are you done?" and she'd vigorously shake her head and keep working away.


We made the frog headband and the raccoon puppet during story time at the library. They do great stuff with the kids there.




After Halloween, I'll post pics of Bella in her WonderWoman costume that she chose herself. So cute!!

Gettin' Domestic

We've been expanding our horizons at our house lately. It started with Bella. The other day she came into the kitchen and without any word from me, took out a pot, a can of soup, and a spoon and brought them all over to the stove. Then she pulled up the step stool, climbed up, and started to 'cook.' She put the pot on the stove, vigorously shook the can upside-down over the pot, and then stirred the imaginary contents. Then she took a taste. I just stared in slack-jawed amazement. She's 17 months old! When did she ever pay such close attention as to learn all that?? She even seemed miffed that no soup actually came out of the can. I think she really intended to cook, not just pretend. Such a big girl she's becoming.

So, she started the trend for learning new domestic skills and we, her devoted fans, followed suit. I signed up to bring a cake to Benjamin's preschool's cake raffle fundraiser. When I signed up, I thought, "How hard can it be? Just throw a mix in the oven." Then they made the announcement that no cake should be over $25. That's when I knew I was in trouble. No mix, no matter how moist and fluffy it promised to be, ever cost that much, so there must be more to this. I found out that most often they are lavishly decorated. So, here was my chance to learn a new skill. I bought a butterfly cake pan, frosting tips and bags, etc., and I made a cute, amateurish cake.


I did it from around 10pm - 1am, since that's the only time I have free but I had a blast. It was fun to mix the colors and consistencies and see something actually take shape. Costco could do a much better job, but I was proud of my little creation.



Finally it was Kelly's turn. He went gung-ho and got bags and bags of peaches, plums, and crab-apples and turned our kitchen into a disaster area making jam. In the end, considering the cost of all the supplies - pectin, jars, lids, fruit, etc. - we probably could have gotten it cheaper from Smucker's. However, once again the point was we learned new skills and wow - that's good jam! So, we have been having fun in our kitchen and all becoming little domestic goddesses.

What's Benjamin done, you ask? Well, besides supervising, he tried something new recently too. We went to a nearby town's Oktoberfest and they had free pony rides for kids. Last summer he was too freaked to ride a pony, but this year he was so excited. I was proud of him for doing it and he couldn't get over the thrill of having ridden a 'horse.'

This is Modern Medicine?

I have had the cough of death for nearly 5 weeks now and I finally broke down and went to the doctor yesterday. I hate my doctor. He and his office are such a disaster that it would make a great comedy act. I literally have to be beyond all hope of independent recovery before I'll go see him. And that was where I was at. I was awakened 3 times the night prior with coughing fits lasting anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. I'd had enough. So I went there (with the kids, unfortunately, because my mom is gone and I hate to ask anyone else short notice). I got there at 1:15 and I was the only patient in the waiting room, and the last patient to sign in had done so at 10:30am. The receptionist/nurse was filing some things and didn't even notice me come in. The doctor was standing to the side of her at the counter where you pay your co-pays, doing seemingly nothing. I went to sign in and there was no pen. 'There's no pen," I said. The doctor looked at me with a blank stare. No motion to get me one. The nurse didn't even react. So, I sat down, got the kids settled and then attempted again to sign in. "There's still no pen," I said, a little louder. The nurse still didn't react. The doctor continued to stare, but then after a long pause he called the nurse's name and said, "Can you get her a pen?" "What?!" the startled nurse said as she was awoken from her filing reverie. She turned and startled again at the sight of me standing there. She gave me the pen from her pocket and went back to filing. So I signed in and sat down, expecting to, I don't know, be called in. Isn't that what one does at a doctor's office?? Apparently not. I spent the next 45 minutes in the empty waiting room, while my kids rolled around in the wheel chairs, played with the water fountain, ran along the couches, threw magazines around, spilled piles of drug brochures, ate and crumbled every snack I'd brought, went to the bathroom, and repeatedly demanded, "Can we go home now?" The whole time no other patient came in, the doctor continued to stand at the counter alternately chatting with the nurse and perusing through file folders. The nurse answered several phone calls and sifted through even more file folders and even called my name once - getting my hopes up of actually being taken care of. But no, she just wanted to confirm my address and insurance provider. Finally after I started pacing the floor and loudly complaining to my children about the "ridiculously long wait" and "what is going on here?" they called my name. When the doctor came in, he acted like he'd never seen me before. He cordially introduced himself and asked me what brought me in to see him. I wanted to say, "Are you serious?? You know that loud, barking cough you've been hearing in the waiting room for nearly an hour now? That was me. You know, the girl who needed a pen." Instead I said, "I have a sinus infection. I need an antibiotic." I won't bore you with the details of the exam, but suffice it to say, he diagnosed me with a sinus infection and prescribed me an antibiotic. This is modern medicine? I think being bled by leaches would be equally painful.

Pediatrics 101

If your child has this type of rash all over her body, she may have an ear infection.


I don't know how well you can see it in the picture, but Bella has had a rash for 5 days now, but it wasn't your normal rash. This was a crazy chameleon-type rash. It changed color, pattern, location, etc. all throughout the day. At its peak it was all over from scalp to toes. However, some times it would disappear completely and then magically reappear a few hours later, just as I thought she was over it. She didn't have a fever, the rash didn't seem to bother her at all, she slept fine, she ate fine, so what was it? I restricted dairy for a whole day - the drama of that about killed us both! But the next day it was still there. Finally after two days of not being able to take her to the gym with me due to her frightening appearance, I took her to the doctor. Sad that the breaking point for me was my own inconvenience, not hers, huh? Bad mom. The doctor looked at her rash and then looked in her ears. "This ear is full of puss," was her diagnosis. The doctor said that Bella's body is likely having an allergic reaction to the bacteria that is causing her ear infection. The reaction is manifesting itself as a rash that changes as her body fights the infection. It's like a biological ticker board - 'this just in! making progress around the stapes! struggling in the area of the malleus'. I would never have known she had an ear infection. She seemed fine! This is her first ear infection and she showed no signs. Thank goodness her body created a big, obvious way to get my attention! Also, I'm so glad that the rash came now rather than after we'd started treating the infection or we'd have assumed the rash was a reaction to the anti-biotic! The human body really is amazing. And another amazing thing, after one day of anti-biotics, she went to bed tonight rash free. Let's hope it stays away for good this time.

By the way, for those who have asked about her hair - it is finally growing back a bit - slowly but surely. Benjamin's only took 6 weeks to nearly fill back in to normal after his disastrous cut, whereas Bella is still at the peachfuzz stage after 3 months. But it's coming! She no longer pulls on it, so it's just a matter of time now.

Why...

No matter how many waffles I make, only 1-2 ever make it to the table for me to eat.

Complete Lockdown Initiated

Benjamin has wowed me again with his ability to repeatedly defy even the clearest of rules. A friend I haven't spoken to in many months called me Wednesday afternoon and I was really excited to talk to her. However, as is always the case, the instant I got on the phone, the kids went berserk. They were screaming, jumping on me, pounding on the piano, grabbing at the phone, etc. They had been calmly reading books only moments before. This is why I pretty much NEVER speak on the phone - everything is email. However, this was a special situation and I really wanted a moment of peace. So, after asking them several times to calm down, all with no result, I went into my room and closed the door. This was immediately followed by hysterical screaming, pounding, pleadings to be let in, promises to be quiet, etc. After many minutes, there was silence. I assumed they'd given up and resumed their book reading or maybe they went into the basement to play. After about 10 minutes of blessed silence, the doorbell rang. I wasn't expecting anyone, so I waited for the usual sound of the kids running to the door to see who it was. No sounds of running. Only another more insistent doorbell ring. I went to the window, still on the phone, and saw there was no car in front. Who could it be and where are the kids?! Now I'm starting to panic. More fast, hard doorbell rings. I opened the door to see my next door neighbor with a look of complete fury on her face, with a barefoot child in each hand. Without a hello or greeting of any kind, she snaps, "I watched Benjamin open the back gate and lead Bella down the street! They were clear down the street at Al's place!" (I have no idea who Al is, but I assume he lives far from me.) I was so embarrassed to be standing there with the phone in my hand and without any excuse worthy of such a mishap. I thanked my neighbor for bringing them home and locked them both in their rooms until I could calm down and formulate a plan. I have never been more grateful to have a watchful neighbor! :) How do I make clear to Benjamin that wandering away from home is not okay? I thought we'd cleared this up last week when he took Bella for a stroller ride! He had promised me he'd never do that again, but after my neighbor left and I let him out of his room, he showed absolutely no remorse and refused to acknowledge that what he'd done was against the rules. I realized then that he cannot be trusted. So, these last few days it's been total lockdown at our house - every door is dead bolted closed at all times and no ones leaves the house before I do. I really shouldn't have to do this, should I? It's terrible that I can't trust him, but as he told me yesterday, "I know all things right, but sometimes I forget." Well, my little Alzheimer's patient, then you will be on 24 hour surveillance. Alas, it feels like more of a punishment for me than for him. Keeping him inside more only leads to moments like this:


He couldn't decide which game he wanted to play. And of course we had huge tantrum issues when I asked him to clean it up.

On a happier note, I did an activity I found at No Time for Flash Cards using number and letter recognition combined with one of Benjamin's favorite things - pretend play. So, I got out our passports and made up fake boarding passes. Then we arranged our chairs in rows, recruited additional 'passengers' and played airplane, complete with a safety demonstration and in-flight snacks - no budget cuts here! The kids had to hand me their documents before boarding and then had to find their correct seat row and number according to the pink tags I'd put on the back. Of course, as soon as Benjamin found his seat, he insisted on moving up to pilot, complete with cool shades. So he did the flying from then on, but we had a lot of fun and played it on multiple days.



Bella's newest favorite thing is music. She will regularly pull herself up on the piano bench and start playing notes while singing along. She also does the same thing when she's playing Benjamin's ukulele or when we went to the Detroit Science Center last week and she got to play the drums.


The cutest is to hear her singing along to hymns during church or Family Home Evening or to see her dance to the radio. She's really growing up. Only 4 more Sundays until she's in nursery! (Not that I'm counting the days or anything!) :)

Too Smart

School Day 2 complete and he is still very excited. He went inside without so much as a goodbye or even a backward glance. I managed to slow the tornado down enough to snap a couple pictures of him today, though.


I love that he's going too school, but I think he's already too smart for is own good in some ways. We went to a little buddy's 4th birthday today and so I sent the kids out to the car while I grabbed my bag and got my shoes on. In that time, Benjamin popped the trunk, got out the stroller, got Bella in it, and took her down the street to our neighbor's house (2 doors down) who was redoing his driveway. I came out to find him chatting away with him while Bella sat contentedly sucking her thumb. I didn't know whether to be proud or terrified. You really have to keep that kid in your sight at all times!

The First Day

After much anticipation, preschool began today. Benjamin was so excited. He asked me over and over again all morning (not to mention every day the past two months), "Can I go to school now?" When I finally answered yes, he made a mad dash for the door, shoving Bella along too, with an excited, "C'mon, we're going to school!" In all the rush and hub-bub, I forgot to take more pictures. But I did manage to snap one of him sitting by his cubby.


On his first day he got to make decorations for his cubby, learn a new hello song while playing instruments, as well as play with all the new toys. The other kids didn't interest him at all, but he shared well when they came over. He really seemed to enjoy himself and wasn't bothered at all when I left. It didn't really hit me what was happening until I was sitting in the parent's meeting while he was in class. In the meeting the teacher made the comment that kids are often okay the first few times and then some kids will start crying on week 2 or 3. She said it's because they have a mindset of "I can do this a few times," but when they realize that this is forever, they start to freak out. They need time to adjust to the idea that this is going to keep happening for a very long time. That's when a rock landed in my stomach. I realized that on some level, that's how I was handling this too! In my mind this was just a play date or a story time class that lasts 6 weeks and ends. But when I really had to face the fact that this is now life for us - he in school and me without him, I wanted to cry. I immediately became antsy for class to be over! So, I guess we'll both adjust in our own ways, but I hope that Benjamin will always love school as much as I did.

To The Rescue!

Benjamin, having never seen a single show containing batman, spiderman, or superman, has somehow become enamored with them. Each day he proudly dons his dishtowel cape and gallantly comes to my aid. "You need help?" he asks. "Need help find your cat?" "You stuck in the mud?" "Your tummy hurts?" Each day it's a new adventure for our hero. When we seem to be having a lot of fun, Isabella doesn't want to be left out. So she suits up and Superwoman flys through the house behind us.



When our super heroes aren't coming to the aid of helpless mommies, they can usually be found getting mud facials. Rain is no hindrance for them when bound for the playground. Rain or shine, there will be play. When it's done, I strip them down to their undies and drive them home. You'll never see more satisfied kids...er, I mean, superheroes.




Here our intrepid crusaders found a lowly daddy in need of help picking raspberries. We all spent the morning painstakingly picking these delectables one by one. You really take berries for granted when you buy them by the box at the store. But they sure are delicious. Not to mention the peaches we got at the same farm.




And when Batman zonks out on the drive home from an action-packed raspberry picking adventure, Superwoman is right there to sneak into the bat cave and test out the newest gadgets (or newest floating toy boat). Benjamin has been playing with his new toy boat and truck for days and has been jealously guarding it from the reaching hands of little sisters. She wasted no time in finding this treasure and trying it out for herself... and loved every minute of it.




I guess I'm Alfred in all this.


We all know Batman would have been nothing without his butler.

Slowly Recovering

Last week was a doozy. Bella contracted roseola and had a 102 to 103.9 degree fever for 4 days. Of course, on those very same days, I was running a fundraiser at church which required a full-time commitment. So thank goodness for my mother who watched my sick child (and my healthy child) while I was gone. And thank goodness for children's motrin! In the end, Bella survived and we ended up earning over $2,000 during the fundraiser which exceeded everyone's expectations, so it all ended well.

After the fever broke, she had the rash for a couple days and then she was healthy, ostensibly. However, one residual effect of the illness seems to be an intense clingyness. She has never been so needy and so whiny and so dependent on me in all her life. I think she just got really used to being coddled and carried and babied during her sick days that she realized she really enjoys it! So, I've been trying to break her of her constant need to be carried these last couple days. I actually thought about getting out my baby bjorn again because my back is breaking after carrying her 25 pound body all day. But that thought was quickly followed by the thought, 'Am I crazy!? I'm trying to break the habit - not make it easier for her to be my siamese twin!' So, hopefully next week she'll rediscover that her own legs work just as well and I'll have an easier time. Especially because if Benjamin sees me carrying Bella, he wants to be carried too!

Here are a few cute pictures we managed to take during all this craziness. But before the pics, I want to share a conversation Benjamin and I had in the car this evening.
BENJAMIN: Please mommy, can we go to mars?
ME: How should we get there?
BENJAMIN: We need a rocket ship.
ME: How could we get a rocket ship?
BENJAMIN: We could make one.
ME: How do you make one?
BENJAMIN: It's easy. You just need a big seat, lots of buttons, and some sticks. You put that all together and then you have a rocket ship. Just like that. That's how you make one. We do that now, please?
ME: How about we do that tomorrow, after church?
BENJAMIN: okay.
Can you tell we visited the science museum in Detroit today and looked at their space exhibit?? Side note: at the museum, I parked in meter parking in front of the building and put in 2 hours worth of coins, only to have it suddenly switch from it's 2:00 display to a flashing red out of order, just as I put in my last coin. I was so ticked. I thought about moving to another meter and doing the whole things again but I'm way too stubborn (and cheap) for that, so I wrote a note and put it under my wiper that said, "I put 2 hours worth of coins in this meter and only AFTER that did it show out of order. Please don't give me a ticket. I'll be back in two hours. I promise. Thank you." I came back (1 hour and 55 minutes later) to find the meter still flashing and my car was unticketed. I don't know if the meter-reader never came by or if she/he had pity on me, but either way, I was happy.

We went to Kensington park (playground, farm with animals, etc.) with friends, but it was raining part of the day, so of course, the puddles were the most interesting thing for my kids. Followed closely behind by self-directed rides down the hill on the stroller.



I also took the kids to the hands-on museum in Ann Arbor last week. It was the first time I'd been there since Bella started walking. She had so much fun. Of course, the water table was the highlight of her trip.



Benjamin's new favorite toy lately has been scotch tape. The other day I came in to find he had made a "cast" for his feet.


So, then I suggested we do his hands too. I think I enjoyed doing that more than he did.


By the way, Benjamin's new haircut is courtesy of me. With a few exceptions, I'm always the one that cuts his hair, but it was a bad night for cutting hair - cranky Isabella, dinner cooking/burning on the stove, fidgety Benjamin, and over-tired me shouldn't mix with sharp buzzers. So, when the huge chunk of hair went flying off, I decided to avoid the stress of trying to fix it and just keep right on going. Benjamin's reaction to it was to wail in disbelief, "You cut off all my hair!!" He was depressed for the rest of the night but after I got enough people to compliment him on it, he lightened up. Now he tells people his hair is "scratchy" and lets them rub his head. I also think it's kind of fun to have two bald kids.

We attended a 2 year old friend's birthday party. Here's some cute pics of the kids at dinner and also in line waiting to beat up the piñata.



That kid better watch out - Bella's finished her food and is coming for his.


Random adorable picture of Benjamin in the car.

I'm Not Tired!

The transition away from napping is such a hard one. I was with my mom's club today and every single one of us who has a 3 year old was dealing with the same thing. Classic symptoms - 1. he refuses to nap at nap time 2. he sporadically falls asleep really late in the day or any time he's in the car 3. if he does sleep at all during the day, he won't go to bed at night until hours past normal bed time 4. if he doesn't sleep during the day, he'll go to sleep well, but wake up a few hours later and have a troubled night due to over-tired brain. It was amazing how we all had the exact same issues. I searched on the internet how many hours of sleep, on average, a 3 year old should get and I found between 12-13 hours a day. Wow - Benjamin never gets more than 9 and 1/2. 8pm - 5:30am. Anyone out there have a 13 hours of sleep kid that wants to trade? Anyway, so my experience today fit right in with my friends' stories - here's Benjamin after an hour of driving me crazy with whining and demanding and insisting he wasn't tired:


My only worry was that he would try to roll over in his sleep!



Not much new with Isabella, other than she waved and said "Bye" today to Kelly as he left for work. So cute. She's also gotten really strong. She climbs up ladders and all over playground equipment like a little monkey. She nearly ended up on the roof last week when Kelly forgot to take the ladder away after cleaning the gutters. Thank goodness I was out there with her! Here she is during one of her less-than-shining moments. She found the angel food cake pan but it didn't make as good of a shirt as she was hoping. It was stuck on her so tight I had a real struggle getting it off. She was so upset!