Bumps and Berries

No one told me that 9 year old girls can be moodier than a woman 9 months pregnant and ready to pop. In retrospect, perhaps I should have picked up one of those Chicken Noodle Soup parenting books.

The past few days have been particularly trying. GG has been walking around with a holier than thou attitude, then reverts to a pouting 2 year old when she is told to do something for the 50th time, ie. putting her shoes on the shoe rack instead of in the middle of the floor.

Sunday night was a very rough night for both of us. It was one of those nights where I could hear the words loudly leaving my mouth and I knew in my head I did not like how I sounded. I vowed Monday would be a better day. We hit a few road bumps Monday, but overall things were smooth like butter. Until.....


GG has a strawberry plant. Her seeds we planted earlier in the summer didn't seem to take, so Little Dude and I bought her a new plant. We transferred it to a new pot and hoped for the best. Us girls kept a watchful eye on the strawberry plant. We'd smile at every berry as it began to turn red, only to be disappointed as each one would rot. A friend suggested the plant was not getting enough water, so we became vigilant about watering every night.

Soon the leaves doubled in size. Yet no flowers were t be seen. Until last week. We spotted 2 flowers with a tiny berry in the middle. I noticed one berry disappeared within a few days. I chalked t up to yet another berry rotting. But the second berry began to grow. As it grew, it also began to turn red.

Last night, GG wanted to finally pick her first berry. I told her to give the berry one more day to make sure it was fully red and ready to eat. Not even an hour later, Little Dude and I walked past her beloved strawberry plant as we were taking the garbage to the curb. The one and only berry was gone. It was not in the pot. It was not in the grass. It was not in the cracks of the sidewalk. Gone.

I can only assume a chipmunk, squirrel, or rabbit found itself a nice red snack. GG, who was finally emerging from her foul mood, was pushed back into her funk.

The good mom that I am, I turned to the Google for help. What I learned was the vines growing from her plant are called runners. On each runner are baby plants. These can be placed in pots so next year we have more than one plant. I also learned how to care for strawberry plants during the winter months, which can be brutal here.

I shared my findings with GG and I watched a smile finally cross her face. We were able to end the night on a good note, and that makes me very happy.

Now we just all need to pray that my thumb stays green long enough to yield some fresh strawberries in the Spring.



Until next time...



Why I Became a Mom

I honestly don't know.

Some days I think I have it all together. Other days... far from it!


As a thank you for attending PTA meetings and helping out where I could last year, I was given a desk calendar from the officers. Thank you ladies! I know at least one of you reads!

This calendar is set to the school year so I had to wait until August to use it. I came up with a brilliant idea to keep everyone straight. Each person would be assigned a color. GG is purple, Little Dude is red, the husband and I are blue. I can now easily see who has scouts when, what days GG needs to take her flute to school, and where I need to be on certain days.

However, this plan is not fool proof.

The shower is a great place for me to think, assuming little people don't barge in on me because of a pee emergency. Sunday night I was in the shower. As I was washing Garnier suds out of my hair, I starting thinking about what I needed to do in the upcoming week. My mind wandered to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese earlier in the day that I opted out of taking Little Dude to. I really didn't feel like dealing with that place. Also, Sundays are our days at my in-laws house. Opting for the in-laws tells you how much I dislike Chuck E. Cheese!

I started feeling pretty good about not having to deal with that giant rodent when it hit me. Little Dude was supposed to go to a birthday party on Saturday as well. I told the mom we would probably be there, but I forgot to write in on my calendar with the red pen. Oops!

"Probably" makes it ok that I forgot to take my boy, right?



Someone please remind me of this post if I ever start to think about another child. I can't even keep the ones I have straight!


Until next time...



The horse goes...

Sometimes you think you score an awesome deal. Sometimes you're wrong.


Last week was a bi-annual kids consignment sale in my area. Since I am a consignor in this event, I have the privilege of shopping before the general public.

I don't go crazy buying up clothes left and right at the sale because we are blessed to have family who love to buy our kids clothes. I hate dealing with the never ending Mt. Clothesmore, but it's one less thing for us to worry about buying. I snagged a few good outfits for each of the kids, and then I worked my way over to the toys. They certainly don't need anymore toys, but when you see something originally $50 and it's $12.50 at the sale, you just can't say no. This is why we now have a "new" sandbox that looks like a ladybug!

I also purchased something that Little Dude has been begging for ever since he saw one at a friend's house. I bought the cheapest one because it's wasn't girly looking and I assumed cheaper meant it made no noise.

We all know what happens when we assume, right? Watch and see just how wrong I was...


excuse the half nakedness
you should just feel lucky he has pants on!


Yes, Little Dude rides his beloved horse around the house ALL.THE.TIME!

Perhaps when I go back for the half price sale at the end of the event, I should look for some ear plugs?



Until next time...



A camera can't always capture magic moments

In my nine years of being a mom, I have had the joy of experiencing countless magic moments.


Magic moments

hosted by Shell



The first words from my child's mouth. The first steps of their tiny feet. The first time my youngest tried to say his sister's name. Coincidentally, my boy is why I call my daughter "GG" on this blog.

As my children got older, I realized that the magic moments continue.


The fist time my daughter learned to ride her skateboard


skateboard


The street fair where my son experienced a moment in time with a fire fighter.


fire fighter


The moment my children realized they had limitations


cake at Gullifty's



I often try to capture these moments on "film", but sometimes things happen that a camera can't quite capture.


This past weekend I was hosting a Tupperware party at my mom's house. The husband was out of town which meant I had to take the kids with me to the party. We packed up some of their favorite toys before we left home and I hoped for the best. We had a busy day and I knew their ability to get a long would only last so long.

The party went well, however it was much longer than any of us planned for. Our consultant was a talker. Four hours after the party had started, my friends began to make their way home while my mom and I cleaned up. While we were helping the consultant pack her stuff away, she mentioned how well behaved my kids were. My children did bicker, I won't lie. It is impossible for siblings to get along all of the time. The three of us all being moms, we knew some disagreements were to be expected. But in general, my kids played well all night and kept their noses out of the party. The four hour long party!!

Many days I have my doubts about how well I manage this thing called parenthood. Hearing someone I have only met twice compliment my children like that boosted my confidence in myself. It also made me very proud of my children.







Until next time...



Baby, bye bye bye

I get my haircut once a year. Maybe twice if I'm so inspired. Perhaps this is why GG was so inclined to grow her hair as long as she possibly could. Up until a few days ago, she wanted it long enough to sit on. I was afraid I was going to have to change her name to Rapunzel!

Luckily the impossible knot quickly changed her mind.

GG is getting to be very independent. There are some definite benefits to this, but there is also a downside. She wanted to brush her hair herself. The other morning after she claimed to brush her hair, I did an inspection. I could see a knot the size of her fist smack dab in the middle of her neck. I picked up her brush. She began to cry. Even before I touched her golden hair.

That is when I knew she needed her hair cut and fast.

The Before
taken a few weeks ago


I knew that if I called my salon, there was a chance I would have to wait a few days for an appointment. I figured Borics was our only option since they accept walk-ins. I dreaded going there. They butchered both GG's hair and mine in the past. Twice. I swore I would never set foot in that place again.

This week I ate those words.


I cringed along with my baby as the knots wer combed from her hair. I held back my tears as I watched her golden locks fall to the floor.

When the stylist was done, GG walked over to me so I could inspect. As I was about to freak out over a missed piece of hair, the stylist caught it and promptly trimmed it.



In the end, my peace sign loving girl is happy with her new 'do. Her long bangs, that she now wants to dye pink, can be swept to the side to frame her perfect face. Her fingers can now touch the ends of her hair. Something she hasn't been able to do for a very long time.




After we returned home to show off her hair to the boys, I pulled out my tape measurer to get the numbers. She lost 7 inches of hair!






GG's hair bounces when she walks and she can run a brush through all by herself to get all the knots out. I think this is a style we are definitely going to keep.

The pink streak is still debatable!



Until next time...



Fly by

Last year, Little Dude and I went to the air show with my sister-from-another-mister and her daughter. Except for sitting in traffic for close to four hours, we had a phenomenal time. By the way, it's a 30 minute trip any other day. I guess that what happens when you go to a military base for an air show on 9/11.

I knew as soon as we walked through the gates that we had to go back and take GG with us. So this past weekend that's exactly what we did.

I packed up the kids and we were out the door by 9:30am. It is quite a feat to get me ready to anywhere before noon on the weekends!

By the end of our four hours at the base, the kids pretended to be pilots.


Wings over Pittsburgh
Wings over PittsburghI promise he's happy
It was insanely hot in that cockpit!


We also found out that it takes 2 years, start to finish, to learn to fly a plane.



We stood in front of planes that reflected our Pittsburgh pride.


Wings over Pittsburgh


And we walked through planes bigger than any we have ever seen.


Wings over Pittsburgh


We saw combat helicopters perform scary, yet awesome tricks. We saw a little red plane do flips in the sky as easily as a child doing a somersault in the grass. We were given a fly by from an F-16, followed by a sonic boom, GG's favorite part of the day.

I'm not sure of the dates for next year's show, but I can guarantee that we will return.



Until next time...



I'm a gummy bear

Because I have this stuck in my head

You should, too




You

Are

Welcome



Until next time...



Case of the missing...

A shining moment in this job known as motherhood is the day you can close the bathroom door. And have it remain closed.


At 6 and 9, my kids are certainly not old enough to be home by themselves, but they are old enough to fend for themselves for the 10 minutes I need to shower. SpongeBob may also have a role in this.

When nature calls, I can sit down, close the door, and pee in peace. When monthly Mother Nature calls (bitch!), I no longer have to worry about little people barging in asking what I am doing. I've already skirted that conversation with the 6 year old boy and have no plans to discuss it again any time soon!

My midgets have also started to grasp the concept of privacy. They also like to pee in peace. This is evident by Little Dude's smashed fingers when he tries to interrupt GG taking care of her business.


As much as I relish this shining moment in motherhood, I fear it needs to come to an end. At least in regards to the boy.

No one warned me that boys have a fascination with the bathroom an everything in it.

A few months ago I bought some Dixie cups for a tasty summer treat. I also bought the coinciding cup dispenser with the hopes it would prevent little should be sleeping children from coming downstairs at bedtime. Why bother mom when they can get a drink themselves. However, instead of reusing one cup for a refill, they use multiple cups.

I have also discovered missing Q-tips. For quite a while Little Dude was swiping them to use for one craft or another. He enjoys art, so at first it wasn't a big deal. However, when I flush the toilet and see a bunch of Q-tips rise to the top, it becomes a big deal.

The most recent item to have gone missing were my makeup remover towelettes.

Around the time I bought the Dixie cups, I also bought a pack of Cottonelle Wipes. I was really tired of wiping asses and I thought this would relieve me of that duty. I'm not entirely positive, but I think Little Dude was using my makeup removing towelettes to wipe his ass. The package claims to remove impurities. I suppose bodily functions would fall into that category.


I think from now on I'll have to relish in a bright moment and not shining since I can only have the bathroom door closed half of the time now.


Until next time...



School paper solution

I don't know about your kids, but mine are always bringing home papers from school. Class work, artwork, upcoming events and fundraisers. Sometimes I wonder how there are any trees left in the world!

Four years ago when GG was in Kindergarten, I started the Wall of Fame. Any papers she brought home with a good grade on them would get hung on the wall. As more papers came home, I would switch out the old with the new. She loved seeing her good work displayed for everyone to see.

But now that I have 2 kids in school, that wall filled up awfully fast. I needed a new way to display their good work. Enter Pinterest. Browsing through tons of pictures I came across this...


School paper hanger
Cute, right?!

I made a trip to the craft store to look for pieces of wood like the one in that picture. Unfortunately our craft store only had one. Since I have 2 kids, that wouldn't work. I had to think of another way to make this. A few days later, an idea hit me out of the blue. This is what I came up with...


School paper hanger

Supplies:

Plastic VHS covers, cut in half with an Exacto knife. You could also use a CD case
Patterned and plain scrapbook paper - 1 of each per hanger
Glue stick
Scissors
Decorative scissors (the ones that cut squiggly lines)
Clothes pins
Yarn or string
Duct tape
Sharpies
Plastic wall hangers


Using the patterned paper, cut it to fit the front of the case.

Cut a 2 inch strip of the plain colored paper. Write your message on this strip. Glue to the top of the patterned paper.

Glue the paper to the front of the case.

Glue a clothes pin on the front, towards the bottom so you don't cover your message.

Cut a piece of string or yarn to your desired length. Duct tape it to the back of the case.

Pick a spot on your wall where you want to display your child's work. Hang you wall hanger. I used the Command brand micro hooks. If you use these, wait at least an hour before you use them.

When your child brings home work worthy of displaying, you can proudly hang it on the wall for everyone to see.




Until next time...



I should go back to school

My midgets returned to school Monday. Can I get an Amen?!

I wasn't expecting any homework for them the first few days. It was me that I was worried about. There's the emergency contact form, the allergy form, the can you sign this after you go through the handbook with your child form, the who is picking your child up after school form, the media release form... need I go on or do you get the picture? Now multiply that by 2.

And add a few more. Sigh...

Along with the standard papers that come home every first day of school for the past 4 years I've been doing this school gig, GG had some additional forms. I was spared going through the handbook with her, but had to go over the policies for not one, but 2 teachers she has this year.

Just when I thought I had every "t" crossed and every "i" dotted, I saw them. The questionnaires. *insert daunting music here*

There was the form from her actual teacher. What subjects does your child excel at? What subject does she struggle with? What are her hobbies? Name 5 things about your child's character. Easy questions and I think my child's teacher should know more about her early in the year so there aren't any surprises along the way.

Then I came to the questions from GG's math teacher. This teacher saw my girl compete in a math competition last year. She knows she excels at math. She even commented to me about GG doing problems above her grade level (actual proud mom moment here). Due to that experience, it probably wasn't necessary for me to fill out those questions, but I did so anyway. They were easy peasy. Until the last one.

That would be the question where I completely blanked out and forgot how to spell. And I wrote in pen. Now GG's math teacher probably wonders how a smart child came from such a dumb parent who can't even spell.



For more Proud Mommy Moments (or "proud)
go check out Emmy and Kmama






Unlike the husband, I actually do know how to spell and rather well, thankyouverymuch. There's just a handful of words that I constantly misspell and one of those ended up on that questionnaire.



Until next time...