Pop Quiz

Life with a 4 year old is a constant stream of questions. What used to be "why?" after "why?" has become much more complicated. And she expects real answers. On the spot. Do I look like an encyclopedia?

Here are some of the latest...

"Who is in charge of the whole world?"
"What animals eat octopuses?"
"Why can't you rewind the radio?"
"Why do babies have more bones than grown ups?"

I do my best to try to answer her, or ask her what she thinks the answers are. Sometimes we have to discuss it later, after I have time to find out an answer or a book that we can read on the topic. I love her curiosity and hope she never loses her inquisitive nature, but I could use a little warning to study the topic I am being quizzed on!

Here is a recent news story on "Why Kids Ask Why"

Food Visions

When the tabloids have a slow news day (when there was such a thing, before the days of Jon & Kate and Tiger) they report on people who see images of Elvis in a pancake or a potato that looks like Nixon. Someday I think that eccentric person who sees shapes in their food will be the Dandelion.

Lately it seems like he is always eating his food into shapes. It started back in the summer when he ate a piece of toast into the shape of a car, held it up and said "A keen" (McQueen). Since then he has eaten pizza into "slides", pepperoni into "moons" and today, a pop tart into a "waterfall" (which the Tumbleweed proclaimed looked "just like Honeoye Falls!")

I struggle with what to make of this "talent"... is it "playing with food" or "artistic expression"?


Headline: Child Eats Toast into Shape of his Favorite Movie Star

Whites?

The Dandelion has been very excited to see the "whites" (lights) around town, so imagine his excitement when we were able to put our spiral trees out this evening. It was a balmy 60 degree day here in Massachusetts, so it seemed like the perfect day to spend some time outside decorating "before the snow flies".

Meanwhile, on the inside, the house is not very festive yet (much to the Tumbleweed's dismay) but I did finally put away the Halloween decorations. There's a lot to be done this weekend!

Elfie

Mommy: "Tell your brother about the Elf on the Shelf"
Tumbleweed: "Well, she makes sure you don't get rocks"


Since the threat of "Santa's watching" is seeming less effective with the Tumbleweed this year, I decided to call in reinforcements and brought home "Elf on the Shelf". So, last night we read the story and welcomed "Elfie" into our family. She is one of Santa's helper elves who visits our house before Christmas and each night "goes to the North Pole to tell Santa about the good & bad things the kids have done that day".

I can't say if it is working yet, but the Tumbleweed enjoyed going to the website to name our family elf and check out the interactive North Pole complete with Santa's Workshop and Reindeer Barn.

Now if I could just get the kids to start behaving so "Santa" doesn't have to go find a place to buy "rocks"!

Counting the Days

It is officially December and the countdown has begun. Yesterday the Tumbleweed came home from school with a cute countdown chart and this morning we glued the first cotton ball on Santa's beard. For another cute way to Countdown to Santa, check out the NORAD Tracks Santa website throughout the month of December --- and especially on Christmas Eve when they track Santa's journey all over the globe.

While the shopping is almost done, I can't say the house is looking very festive yet. Some of the outdoor lights are up and I took the first three boxes out of the attic, but that's about it so far. Maybe I'll have more done by the end of the day...

Second Coat: Room Redo, Part 2

Do-it-Yourself Lesson #2 - Rushing only makes the process longer

Well, as much as I had hoped that one coat of paint in the Dandelion's room would be enough, I was wrong. It probably would have been enough if I had done a better job the first time, but I was pressed for time and missed a few spots. So this afternoon I had to re-tape everything and put a second coat of paint on the two big walls. This set back the clean up process several hours, but before the Dandelion went to bed tonight we were able to move everything back into his room.



The room looks a little plain right now, but there are many more changes to come. The wallpaper removal and painting part of the project is finally done and that was by far the most disruptive.

The Nutcracker

The Tumbleweed and I had the awesome opportunity to attend the Boston Ballet Nutcracker last night when Auntie invited us to join her during one of the performances she was working at.

The Tumbleweed was super excited about the whole experience - taking the train to Boston, seeing the ballet, going backstage and staying up very late - and it did not disappoint. Auntie met us at the T and took us right in the back door, walked us past the costumes and dancers, and snuck us onto the stage before the show! Such a neat experience for both of us. Thanks Auntie!


The Tumbleweed on the stage in front of the sled used in the show

Dedication & Determination

This morning I set out early for one of my favorite days of the year... Black Friday. I got up well before the break of dawn to be in line @ 3:40. Some years the Eagle & I go together, but today the best strategy was to split up - so while I got in my car and turned on 103.3 and sang along to Feliz Navidad at 3:05am, the Eagle "slept in" until 3:35 before heading in a different direction, and probably not listening to Christmas music.

As has been the tradition in recent years (the ones with kids), my first stop is Kohl's. I love Kohl's when they are having a sale - and I loved it even more this year because they sent me a coupon for an additional 15% off my entire purchase. Now, at regular price most things at Kohl's cost more than they do elsewhere, but when they have a sale they have some good deals. I checked lots of things off my list - Imaginext Toys, Leapster Games & clothes for the kids and gifts for several of my other family members (who are able to read and I don't want to blow the surprise). Awesome deals and an additional discount and Kohl's Cash to spend next week --- what could be better?!?

Better - the Eagle's success at Target. We will now have in-car entertainment again! We have been waiting for several months to replace our portable DVD player, and today the opportunity presented itself. Thankfully for me the Eagle was rewarded for his time standing in line in the rain with a unit or I might never have convinced him to go out on Black Friday again. And to sweeten the success a little more, I had an additional 10% off coupon off our entire purchase and Target gave us a $10 gift card and a free reusable shopping bag. And it was only 6:30am.

By the time I wrapped up at 9:30, I had heard Feliz Navidad on the radio 4 separate times while driving from store to store, purchased flannel sheets for Cameron's new bed, gotten new pants and a free watch for myself at NY & Company, bought the kids their annual matching sweaters at the 25% off sale at Children's Place, saved 25% off stocking stuffers at Michael's and braved Toys R Us and Walmart. I only missed out on a couple of "nice to have" deals by going to Toys R Us and Walmart after 8:00am, but otherwise I got everything else I had intended to - from Christmas presents to classmate birthday gifts to household items.

I would definitely say it was a good day for competitive bargain hunting. Ah, the thrill of a good deal!

Too Quick

Two months ago I reported on the Dandelion's first day of Pre-Pre-school. We found a great toddler program which allowed him to be dropped off for an hour and a half each week for "school". Most of the time was free play, but there was also craft time, snack & story which allowed the kids to experience what preschool will be like - without parents.

The Dandelion did great. All but one or two times he allowed us to leave without incident, and even those times he only cried at the door for a couple of minutes. He never had a bad report from the teacher. He sat for snack and even drank out of a regular cup without spilling. He loved finger painting and came home with messy shirts almost every time. He enjoyed riding the tricycles, jumping on trampolines and playing with Gordon (from Thomas the Tank Engine), in fact we started calling it "Gordon School" every week on our way there.

Sadly, the school, which opened in May, is closing at the end of November. Today was the Dandelion's last class. He has come so far in the past two months, I am disappointed that he won't get to continue. Plus, we will miss our friends at Bounce, especially Miss Dina and Miss Heather.


"I had fun at 'cool"

"C is for Cookie"

I finally got a portion of the Dandelion singing "C is for Cookie". I am still working on getting a recording of "Grand Old Flag" but he only seems to do it when the camera is no where in sight.

Best Laid Plans: Room Redo, Part 1

Do-It-Yourself Lesson #1: Your project will take longer than planned.

Home Depot should have a flashing neon sign at their front door with these words, because it is always true and always a surprise. So as usual we planned out our wallpaper stripping & painting project timeline with lots of cushion.

Plan A (written Friday)

Sat AM-PM: Use steamer to remove wall paper
Sat after dinner: sand rough spots, tape
Sunday, first thing: prime
Sunday, after lunch: paint
Sunday, after dinner: move all furniture back, project completed.


Yup, that seemed good. Plenty of extra time, right? Well, not exactly. Our major flaw was not allowing for time to remove the excess glue. The steamer did a good job taking the wallpaper off, but it still left behind little bits of paper & glue, which took us the entire day Sunday to wash off with vinegar & water.

We also had a little snag when the thermostat in the Dandelion's room stopped working and the heat wouldn't shut off (we think due to the steamer). So in the middle of the project we had to replace the thermostat. Yet another thing we hadn't planned on.

So after a weekend of hard work, the Dandelion's room is still not primed or painted and most of his things are in the living room. Our new goal: to finish before Thanksgiving.

Rochester Sunday

Despite the lack of progress on the Dandelion's room, we all took a break this afternoon for an outing to Abbott's in Needham. This had been the plan for getting the kids some naps (assuming that we had painted and didn't want the Dandelion to nap in paint fumes), as well as treating ourselves for some hard work.

Before we left, I dug out some Rochester shirts for myself and the Tumbleweed because they were doing a promotion where you got a free Turtle if you wore a hometown shirt. Both kids took their much needed naps on the way there (both had been up until 10pm while the Eagle finished stripping the wallpaper and tried to fix the Dandelion's broken thermostat). Actually, the Dandelion slept on the Eagle's shoulder the entire time we were there.

Then we had a few "what was I thinking" moments...

First, I let the Tumbleweed order gum as her topping. She'd never even had gum before, but liked that it was all kinds of bright colors. After we'd gone over the instructions that you chew gum and don't swallow it she said "So, I should stand next to the garbage so I can spit into it?"

Second, we let the Dandelion eat his custard the car. Actually, it was his second dish because the Eagle ate his first one when he wouldn't wake up in Abbott's. Of course as soon as we put him back in the carseat he woke up crying for ice cream.

Third, I didn't take a single picture. Can you imagine?


Anyway, the custard was delicious and I can't wait to eat our free turtles!

Tis better to forget...

Today I learned the hard way that it is better for a preschool child to forget about a birthday invitation than to tell them that they can't go to the party and why, even when why is something they really want to do.

I'm sure this will be long forgotten soon, but for now I am persona non grata in the Tumbleweed's mind.

The Nursery

Once again it is time for a milestone... well, in about a month. We are preparing to move the Dandelion into a "Big Boy Bed". Of course, this is not a simple process - what would be the fun in that?!? We are overhauling his room, including pulling down decade-old wallpaper, and turning it into a little boy room. As I jump into the wall paper stripping process I thought I would reflect on the different phases of the nursery over the past 4 1/2 years.

March 2005: Baby Tumbleweed Comes Home


May 2006: Farewell Old Apartment


June 2006: Hello New House

March 2007: The Tumbleweed's Last Night

July 2007: Baby Dandelion's New Room


October 2009: A Toddler's Room


New things are coming in January 2010!

Jingle Bell Rock

Well, we have come to that time of the year again... you know, the "Halloween is over so we better get ready for Christmas ASAP" part of the year. It's a little over a week until Thanksgiving but the decorations are up at the mall, the music is playing & Santa has arrived. I know people gripe & complain about this but frankly, I kind of like it.

Last year I posted about how I started playing Christmas music on November 13th. I think I started during the first week of November this year... not all the time, just one of the 6 CDs in the car... although as soon as I have time to dig out a few more CDs I'll probably up that to 3 or 4. Knowing how much the kids have been enjoying (unintentionally) making up funny lyrics in the car, I am looking forward to hearing some kid renditions of the Christmas tunes.

I have gotten started with my shopping. Mostly stuff for the kids so far (since toy shopping is fun no matter how old you are!), but I have a few other things taken care of and a plan for almost everyone else on my list. And as I have for the last 10 years, I am planning to go out shopping on Black Friday. This year I have found a cool site that posts the Black Friday Ads early, which will totally streamline the planning process on Thanksgiving Day.

This December is going to be totally crazy - even before we add in the inevitable snow days and sick days - so I need to go into December with most things already taken care of. So, I am glad that Christmas season has extended to include November, it gives me so much more time to get everything done!

Going Solo

It is the beginning of a different era: the Tumbleweed went to her first birthday party where parents didn't stay. Of course I did not know this when I arrived. All of the other birthday parties we have been to have been the kind where parents stay, either to help the children or to socialize on the "sidelines".

So, imagine my surprise when we showed up to today's party and none of the other parents were staying. Since the Tumbleweed isn't timid I didn't think that she would mind, I was just worried that she wouldn't behave appropriately. Add to that, I didn't really know the parents (met mom last week at another child's party) and they were going to be driving all of the kids to the local police station for a tour. [Note to self - wash the crumb and glitter covered carseat ASAP!]

Since she was okay with the idea, off I went with 2 hours of freedom. Hmmm.... what to do? Well, I called home and it sounded like a trip to the grocery store was in order, so that's where I went. I can't recall the last time I went to the store by myself, or the last time I went on the weekend. I'm not really sure it was better. I may not have had the kids, but man was the store crowded. I think it will be a long time before I shop on a weekend again - even with the kids it is a lot more pleasant to shop when there are small/no lines.

And the birthday party seemed to go well. It was a small group of kids from her class (mostly boys) and the tour of the police station at the end of the party was pretty cool from all accounts - and according to the mom the tour was free! Neither the parents or the Tumbleweed reported any problems so if there were any, I guess I'll never know.

Another step toward independence!

Homemade Holiday Gift Ideas

Need some gift ideas for the holidays? Today we had a Homemade Gift Idea Playgroup where everyone shared their ideas for things to make for friends and family this Christmas.

From sewing projects like aprons and pillowcases to keepsakes like framed photos and photo books, everyone got some great ideas. Thanks to House Party and Kodak Gallery I had some great samples to show them. I made a fabulous photobook of our Disney Trip. I know, what about the scrapbook? Well, the photobook was so easy to put together and is so easy to make duplicates of (good when you have 3 other families who went on the trip!) that it really saved me a lot of time. But if you know me - I have always been a fan of Kodak :)

Encore

I have to add the version of "God Bless America" that the Dandelion just sang, while not actually listening to the music I might add, just in case I decide to do a scrapbook page on all the funny singing...


"[from the mountains] to the hairies*, to the oceans, wah wah waaaah

Goh best a mericle**, [long pause], my sweeeeeh heart"


*sometimes fairies or prairies
**sometimes marigold

"I on the grand ole flag"

The Tumbleweed's school has been teaching the kids various traditional patriotic songs this year and to help her learn, we have had the "Yankee Doodle Mickey" CD on in the car (not all the time, just one of the 6). The Dandelion has even started to request "I on the grand ole flag", otherwise know as "Grand Old Flag", and has joined the Tumbleweed in singing it during parts of the chorus.

The CD has brought me some good laughs in the car as the Tumbleweed sings along to "This is My Country", "God Bless America" and the National Anthem. Here are some of my favorite lines (that I can remember - there are a lot more)

"from the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans, quite with foam."

"your the emblem of the land I love, the home of the three and the gray"

and of course the Dandelion's best line...

[following "stuck a feather in his cap and"] "call it peckeroni" (his word for pepperoni).

My final patriotic favorite snip-it comes from the Pledge of Allegiance, which the kids have been learning since the first day of school. The Tumbleweed has it down completely except one word. I can't tell if that is her change, or if the school is avoiding the "God" issue. Anyway, her pledge now ends with..

"One nation, under guard, with liberty and justice for all"

Leaves, Leaves & More Leaves

The yard it full of them. Every year the extent of the leaf removal process seems to take us by surprise. The first year we were here we had to hire a crew in the spring to clear the leaves. Each year has improved a little, and this year I think we have done pretty well. Actually Mike did most of the work with the leaf blower, but the kids and I did get out and help (somewhat) as well.























I was also pleased we were able to get some other weekend chores done (like cleaning out my car!) while the kids played with the BounceBack Racer and rode bikes in the garage. I was really pleased with how well the kids played with other (most of the time), saying "Excuse me" and "Sorry" when they bumped into each other. They were not so happy when garage/outside playtime ended, but I guess that just means they enjoyed it.