Play time!

D has been needing a ton of attention lately, so after dinner we busted out the play dough. He surprised me by naming a heart and a star, so I tried circle too. He seemed to get it. It's amazing what a little tactile learning will do. :)

Daniel wanted green play dough, so we made some after we were done. Here is our favorite recipe:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 salt
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp oil
• food coloring

Combine, stir over medium heat until it forms into a ball. Cool and place in airtight container.

Next we made some crayons. Well, really I did. D was fighting with his daddy and not wanting to sleep. His contributions came much earlier in the form of munching all his crayons. I decided to melt them down and to make crayons that didn't look like they had been through a blender.

This one is EASY. Preheat oven to 250. I used mini silicon muffin pans and didn't bother to line them. It took about 20 mins to melt them. Viola, we have shiny new crayons perfect for toddler hands.

How we spent our NYE

Don't be jealous!
(Oh and don't judge the room too hastily, we are in the middle of painting and putting up new base)


We got D the Cars Geo Trax set for Christmas and apparently missed one of the track packs. It didn't go together right and Christmas was ruined (ok, not really, but I was pissed at myself). We found the missing track pack at Target yesterday and had a grand time playing.



We stuck his Geo Trax airport in there too. Why not?


Poor Sally got lodged in Flo's Cafe. She seems ok with it though.


Like always, he wasn't really up for pictures. One day maybe...

Where'd he go?

My sweet son. He's missing. In his stead there is this whiny, screaming jerk-face that destroys everything in his path.

He popped up a few days ago. Monday in fact. Monday was bad. Tuesday completely sucked. Wednesday was so awful I was pretty sure I was going to throw him in a box and ship him off far far away. Today his father was home and got to see it too (he though I was being dramatic). And tonight I am on my second drink. And I totally forgot it was New Years Eve...because the kid has me that stressed.

There's no glimmer of hope either. All moms tell me (purveyors of doom that we are) that three is even worse. It leaves me wondering a) how it could get worse than being screamed at, having food thrown at you and being punched; b) why on earth people continue to procreate. Mostly b though. Seriously.

I love the kid with every cell in my body (especially when he isn't scratching my eyes out), but how do people intentionally get pregnant at this stage of toddler-hood? It seems masochistic.

OK, so maybe* I am being a little dramatic, but things are different. He's very frequently unpleasant to be around and he is putting me on edge. Maybe I will develop some kind of toddler amnesia in a year and forget the constant struggle to get my kid to not act like a cave-tot. Until then, one day at a time is our speed.

*most likely

New Blog Pledge

I read a lot of blogs. A lot. Most of them are written by parents and talk about parenting. While this make me feel a wee bit pathetic, I am willing to admit that my parenting is where I need the most help. D likes to throw curve ball after curve ball at me. Unfortunately, most of these blogs paint beautiful pictures of parenting, immaculate homes and adorable kiddos who smile for the camera.
I love reading these blogs though. I really do. I love peeks into other people's lives. They make me feel hopelessly inadequate, but I read every day often jealous that they have so much to talk about. I haven't written here for nearly two months and the small amount I have just written has taken me close to an hour (Daniel demanded crackers, then wouldn't eat them. Then he wanted juice, but it wasn't in the right cup. So I pretty much had to shove it in his mouth and force him to drink. Then he tantrumed because he wanted "Choo Choos!" and "Monkey" was on).

He's a constant challenge and a joy, but I feel kind of alone sometimes in my parenting journey. Like I have already messed this kid up because I don't lead a perfect life. He's hilarious and stubborn, so very curious and infuriating. I have in my head that I shouldn't have any negative thoughts at all about him. You rarely read about a mom who felt like choking her kid that day. And if she did, there's no way she'd write about it.

So here is my pledge. I am going to be real. I'll be real with my love and real with my frustrations. I am going to shamelessly brag about my triumphs and make fun of my defeats. Oh and dear reader (or two) could you please spam me with your favorite mommy blogs?

Here's my first attempt at being real. No make up. First thing in the morning. NIIIIIICE big bags under the ol' eyes. Enjoy. :)

Halloween

Tie Dye How To

I'm sure there are many ways to do this...here is the way that I know and what I do.
Oh, and be smarter than me and WEAR GLOVES. That soda ash can burn like an SOB.


My layout for fun.

I mix up my dye. I like to use a procion dye that doesn't require heat and actually reacts with the fabric. Walmart (yes, yes, I know) sells a reasonable kit with nice dyes. That's actually what made these shirts.


But I use Dharma for the most part. Moving along...
First you soak what you are dying in a solution of washing soda (soda ash) and water. I go about 10 minutes.


Then I take a fork to the center of where you want the swirl and twirl it like the biggest piece of spaghetti ever.


If you are doing a rainbow with 6 colors, then section it like this.


Dye 3 sections yellow


Overlap one section on the yellow with the blue


And the same with the red


Until you get this big messy mess and then flip and repeat.


Wrap it up in plastic wrap or a Ziploc

Let sit overnight (or at least 8 hours) in a cool, dark place. Rinse until water comes clean. Wash ALONE or with other dyed items and look awesome.


PS, you aren't high. I was using pics from two different things: a sheet and a shirt. Some pics just illustrated my point better. :)

Leave me alone

I just stumbled upon a blog of a woman that I kind of used to know. I saw her comment on a different blog and I got to wondering what she was up to. I was poking around and saw we had totally different political views. *shrug* Totally different religious views. *shrug* I went to a section entitled "Rantings of a Bad Mom." It was a tongue in cheek tribute to, uh, well....herself.

She openly mocked mothers that read parenting books, followed OB and pediatrician advice, ate carefully, gave up caffeine, whose kids had a bedtime, had medical interventions during labor, joined a playgroup, bought a Baby Einstein video, didn't co-sleep, choose not to give their kids sugar, pureed their baby's food, etc, etc. She pretty much held in contempt any woman who made a decision that she hadn't made with her kids. These mothers were called "uneducated bandwagon mentality people on internet message boards." She's charming, no?

Normally I could brush all this off, but it really got me tonight. How dare she? How dare she judge women that attempt to do their best? Women that pour over books (like me) to look for answers, theories and thoughts *gasp* outside of ourselves? This learning is somehow ridiculous. Women that turn to other mothers for support in the form of a playgroup are weak? Women that choose to eat healthy while pregnant are foolish? I'm just amazed.

There are many ways that you can discuss your beliefs and passions without ridiculing millions of hard working mothers. She somehow missed each and everyone of them. As did her brown-nosing minions in her comment section.

Maybe this bothered me so much because I have felt this harsh, undeserved judgment. I felt it when I chose to give my tiny son avocado at 4.5 months in a desperate attempt to get him to gain weight. I felt this judgment when I chose to leave my son just as perfect as he was born and not circumcise him. I feel this judgment now when my very exuberant and energy-packed almost two-year-old can't quite make it through dinner at a restaurant.

Alfie Kohn mentioned in Unconditional Parenting (awesome book for any of you idiots looking to better yourself or expand your thinking) that our society isn't friendly to kids, the whole "kids should be seen and not heard" mentality is really pervasive in our culture. I totally agree, but I think our culture is even harsher on moms.

Little dude is a vegetarian and I have been told that I am depriving him. (This is particularly confusing for people that first comment on how healthy/vigorous/or tall he is before finding out. Then they have no where to find fault because he's obviously thriving). I chose to not use bottles and sippies with BPA and I was told that I was being overprotective. I buy organic when I can and I am told that I am wasting my money. Starting at about 6 months people were asking when I was going to wean, you should have seen the looks I got when I said, "when we are done." We skipped the rice cereal and were told that we were doing things wrong. Oh, and the pacifier. Don't get me started on that pacifier. He is not 40, people. He is ONE.

Most of the time I feel like I walk around with a massive target on me that reads: "Hey, ask me about my parenting."

But I swear, I checked and there isn't one. I asked Trey too, and he can't see one either.

I just wish we had a culture where mothers and children were lifted up instead of being torn down continually (I feel like this as an educator too, but that's quite another story). Where I could look to my fellow mother and feel support and kinship and maybe even love. Love for this shared journey we are on and empathy for the difficult task we have all chosen to undertake.