*~*Holy Moly, they're THREE!! May 2004 Mamas in MAY '07!*~* - Page 12

[emmalola]

saving us from page two!

jstar- I'm glad the itchiness is gone. You're almost there! And the playstructure size thing is an issue with our yard too- they say to have six feet of clearance on each side, which we definitely don't have. Too bad, I say. That kid is not going to hang off my arms any longer. Or off the table, or the nightstand, or the legs on the folding table, or the refrigerator, or the cabinet doors. I swear, we have a monkey in our house. He doesn't need six feet of clearance so he can hang there.

Ahhh.. the guys are off for the day, the lentil has no sign of diarrhea, and I'm feeling pretty good. Hip pain a little, but other than that everything's good. The lentil's birthday party is shaping up- we have two yes RSVP's, one maybe that I hope will turn to a yes, and we bought all the stuff for the pinata yesterday. We have party favors (little plastic animals and gift certs to baskin robbins), we have a shopping list, and we have some decorations. now to clean the house and make the cupcakes, and that can wait until Sunday. My birthday is on Saturday, so we have a pretty busy weekend coming up.

How's your day?

[orangecanoe]

We met C's new OT this morning and I think she will be a lot more helpful for her specific issues. Phew. Now if it weren't for all the driving to/from.

Pitt/Ohio delivered the boxes o' swingset today and hopefully that will be assembled Monday w/o too much swearing.

Many errands to run if naps don't run too late. Have no clue about dinner. Oops. Pass the bad housewife award. Some days I'm like, "What? I'm in charge of everything?....wahhh!" : Haven't started packing for the trip. Need to put together C's chair tonight as that is the "wrapping" to hide her little smaller gifts. She got a card from my Dad today and was stoked that there was a "ten-teen dollar" in side....ten-teen is her 20.

/end randomness

[jstar]

ten-teen sounds like isaac's 'you stay half hour minutes!'

i'm with elsanne that we're still on the chopped up cole slaw sentence program over here. i laughed this weekend because he was saying 'actually....' and i know a lot of our may babies were doing that....oh a year ago but it *is* hilarious to see a little person going 'actually....'


noooooooooo baby yet. increasingly frequent rock hard belly braxton hicks. my mom arrives tonight. methinks maybe my mom arriving might do the trick. it did last time...but then again i was waaay due by the time she came up last time and i'm not right now. so maybe she'll miss the baby. or maybe she'll get to attend birth #2. no way to know i really don't want isaac's big day on saturday to be messed with though. it really has been fun doing the countdown to his birthday with him now that he gets the concept


hmmm what's for lunch????? *ponders*

[Mama Faery]

Shh...I'm secretly taking WAY too long to eat my lunch (tamales from the freezer...TOTALLY not vegetarian but they need to get eaten, right?? ) and procrastinating getting Rowan down from his "rest time"...he went up there with an EPIC tantrum but he's quiet now, I patted his back for a half hour minutes ( SO cute!) and he didn't sleep, but he was chill, so I left him with his water and toy snake and came down here to work out and shower.
And eat pork tamales.

All we have for a gift for Rowan so far is his little guitar. I dunno what else if anything, we're giving him. A party next week! Hahaha.
I need to count down for his birthday. So far we just haven't talked much about it. We have told him he'll be THREE Saturday, but then I think he'll be comfused when his PARTY is NEXT Saturday! Hmm. Oh well.

Gotta go get the Pooperton. I can hear him "Maaaaaaammmmmaaaaaa!! I'm AWAKE!!!!"

Have a great day everyone!

[KKmama]

Just here to whine.

Z had his WCC this a.m. (the rescheduled one). I knew it might be tight getting out on time to get T from kindy, so my agreement with dh was that he'd call me at 11 (just before going into a meeting) to check if it looked liked he'd have to pop out and get him. No call. So I call, but he's already in the meeting. So I call the receptionist a few minutes later (waiting to see if he'd call), and explain the sitch, ask her to relay the message to him personally and quickly--because he's in a meeting, not at his desk (I told her this)--that he needs to pick T up from school in less than 15 minutes. She doesn't say no, so I think everything is copacetic. Of course, it's the ped, so we're still sitting there over half an hour later, when the school calls me and asks why no one has picked up T. Grr. I explain to them what's going on, tell them I can't reach my dh, don't know why he isn't there, that as the last resort, I'll be there as quickly as I can. I finally get out, try calling dh again (not there, probably lunch meeting by this point). Try calling the receptionist (as I'm walking to the bike trailer). She told me that she sent him an *EMAIL*! When I told her that he was in a meeting! And that T had to be picked up from school very soon! Grr. She said, "Well you know, I can't just go and deliver a message in person." I told her that at the very least, she could have *told* me that she wasn't going to do that. The thing that scares me is that if there were a true emergency and dh was in a meeting, what would happen? (A colleague in grad school lost his wife through a freak emergency falling through the cracks sitch just like this--she was at the hospital, didn't speak English, he was in a meeting, the dept secretary wouldn't interrupt...) Dh is probably going to want to kill me, but I wrote a very polite email, sent it off (hopefully to hr), asking that they review and change this "policy" (if it is indeed co. policy). I know dh wouldn't ask about it, anyway (wouldn't want to rock the boat), and damm!t, I want to be able to get ahold of him in a pinch. (Ug. Might be time for a 2nd cell phone.)
/whine

Oh yeah, Z was charming, is gaining weight steadily , and I think they mismeasured his height. He even sang for them. :

[KKmama]

Just about time for a QT, but I thought I'd let y'all know that I finally talked to dh (and it was a 2 hr meeting *without* lunch, sounds like fun). He admits that he really screwed up. *And* he says that he really doesn't like this new receptionist (which is a lot coming out of him--he's very easy going and generally likes everyone). He thought I did the right thing with my email trying to contact someone about the "policy" (which he thought was basically BS that she made up), and he's going to forward it to the appropriate person to make sure it gets addressed. Whew. I'm not just some hothead.

[jstar]

you're not a hothead. a receptionist walking into a meeting to deliver a note/message to someone is really not odd or out of line AT ALL. sounds like she just didn't want to.

go Z! i'm not doing the wcc this time because our insurance doesn't pay. gotta admit i'm going to miss the height/weight checkins and just generally seeing our ped. although we'll be seeing her soon enough quite a few times

ugh. they just sent me some big thang to do at work although they haven't sent the mapping yet. i would really rather hang out with my mom and go shopping all day tomorrow noooooooooo work! hah.

[TurboClaudia]

ooh tamales!!! i just remembered we have some homemade tamales in the freezer that my sis and her partner made with her partner's aunt & uncle and we have to eat them! mmm.... tamales...

back to reading...

eleven-teen is eleven here. "and one and one toooo-gedder is eleven-teen."

KK: ooooh... grrr... that would irk me so bad. yay for Z growing and for communication with dh and T getting picked up.

television grumble coming: so i tivoed the american idol results show last night, and damn fox was all tricky and such and let the show run long for the first time the whoooooooooooooooooooole season and so the tivo didn't actually get the announcement/gratuitous singing by the winner section. but i found it on youtube this morning and watched and i knew i could find the winner info in the idol thread over in the television forum, but i was just like wtf fox?

/end television grumble

stefan is officially crawling now. started with inchworming a couple of days ago and last night he definitively took arm steps and knee/foot steps. loves to go for marek's toys much more than his own, so i see much frustration from marek "no, that's my toy, stefan! nooooooooo!!!" (whine) coming more frequently now. and small toys relegated to the kitchen table. but i'm excited because he's been working on it for sooooooooooo long. 8 months old and crawling. crazy. and he will pull himself up if he's sitting and i hold his hands. even crazier.

tea & cookies break...

~claudia

[emmalola]

Wow, mommas. I just survived the most amazing public tantrum I think I've ever had to deal with. The lentil has tantrumed in the car before, but never out and out screaming in public. At least not for as long as he did today.

I picked him up from his daycare and was told by the teacher that he had skipped his nap and was pretty tired. He perked up when he got in the car, so we went to visit his Tia Maggie (an old friend) and he had a great time. On the way home we needed to stop to get printer paper and food for dinner, so we did. I put his hoodie on him but didn't zip it and he just freaked out. I didn't want to stop in the middle of a busy parking lot (at 5:00, at a supermarket, no less), so I ran him to the sidewalk and tried to zip him up. But the damage was done. For the next hour (hour!) he screamed. He screamed in front of office max for about 15 minutes, he screamed through Office Max (I never realized how well things echoed in those big box stores!), then he screamed in front of the supermarket for another 20 minutes. I was able to drag him to the side of the store where he screamed for another 20 minutes. Finally I picked him up and carried him back to the car, where he screamed again for a few minutes. Then he just calmed down and told me he was ready for that hot drink now. So we went into the supermarket and got a steamed milk from the starbucks counter, but they made it first too cold(screaming) and then too hot (serious screaming). It took me an hour and a half to purchase a ream of printer paper and a steamed milk from Starbucks. Then he dared try fall asleep in the car on the way home. And the best part? My husband, who had come to the supermarket and gotten the food things we needed while I played Lentil Rodeo and then beat us home, was mad at me. ME!?! I told him off too- I told him I needed him to be supportive and not cranky because I didn't need two cranky children right now, thank you.

Even though the lentil was tired and on a short fuse, I still felt like I couldn't let his raging tantrum influence my need to get these things from the stores. I don't want to teach my kid that his tantrums will prevent me from doing the basic things I need to do to keep my life moving along. But dang, it was bad. Sweets thought I should have just brought him home, but I don't think I could have gotten him into the car. It was miserable.

Oh carp. :

[orangecanoe]

Stinky, smelly carp indeed! What an afternoon. I'm also in the get errands done or mostly finished camp. For some reason, the PO always does the tantrum trick for C. : The longest she's gone so far w/o naps is three days in a row and then it's a week of : so luckily the naps are back on. Can't believe sweets had the nerve to be so durn sour...we're going to take his moniker away! Happy early birthday!

kk--grrrr on the message not being delivered. I always expect that DH will be available by cell for the random things I need him for during the day. Sorry T had to be left waiting! Grow, Z, grow!

jstar--don't you go having a baby this weekend while I'm not home to stalk for news! ;-)

claudia---eek...how can he be crawling already?? have any new pics for us??

Still only half-packed so I guess the rest will wait til morning. We're not going to rush out too early as check-in isn't til 3 and we're waiting til the rush hour is over....but who am I kidding...everyone and their 10 cousins will be driving this weekend. Ah, well.

[jstar]

those durn carp

ohhh i hate that. it is sooooo frustrating. i've had isaac lay down on the floor in the entrance to fred meyer screaming because i wouldn't get a racecar shopping cart because we *only* needed a pack of chicken. i promptly picked him up and carried him out to the car and drove home where he proceeded to scream for another 40 minutes because we didn't shop. for him the pleasure is in the shopping so it is not his ideal to cut it short and go home

he loves to shop (for anything....he loves just going to stores). he's out right now with my mom running all over town i am unfortunately at work : oh well.

if i could choose i think i'd pick monday to have this baby tomorrow is isaac's big day o fun. and then sunday we're getting his 3yr pictures taken. sunday or monday would be great for birthin though. although i think my doc might not be working sunday.

S is crawling :

[elsanne]

Jstar how fun that he's with your mama. Betcha have this baby tomorrow!!! wouldn't that be weeeeird!!

el I am sooooo soooorrrrryyyyy about that tantrum. What a friggin' NIGHTmare. This age can be so challenging sometimes.

[KKmama]

EL, I bow down to you. Poor mama....

My take on tantrums (of course, YMMV, because our kids are all different)... I've never experienced a public tantrum; T has never had one (he's a quick to flare, quick to cool down kind of guy), and Z has saved his for home. But man, you're brave to do what you did. (And Sweets--dude, *don't* diss the Mama.) I would have hightailed it home (not a criticism at all of what you did). For Z, a low stimulation place (ie home, I guess) and no obstruction (ie, no Mama "aggravating" the kid) is the best place for it to happen. (And I thought of something else--I've tried to comment on your blog ~3x over a period of a few months, and my comments never take. Any idea why?)

I'm so not on top of which May babes' birthdays we're in the midst of (and too busy to check the yg). Luke recently, so mwah to Luke. And Camille? And Isaac? (nice picture thingy, by the way, Heather--how do you do that????) Honestly, I think 3 is so exciting! And being in the midst of birthdays is exciting!

Go Stefan!!! There is nothing in the whole world cuter than a crawling baby.

Jess, if you would just *have* the durned baby, you could get out of the work project.

Oh, carp.

I had a glorious midday/afternoon... we met T's best friend from preschool (who we see on a reg basis--unfortunately, they go to diff. elem. schools) and his mom for lunch at our favorite playground. The weather was great, the kids always get along fabulously, the water play thingy was on (so Z was in heaven), and I just love visiting with this other mama. And then I came home and dinked around in the yard a bit with T and L while Z napped. Doesn't get any better than that.

[emmalola]

KK- I do get the comments, but they aren't automatically posted to the blog. I approve them and then they are published- I've had trouble with spammers in the past so now I'm pretty protective about what goes online. Thanks for the comments though, I really appreciate them.

Tantrums: the lentil has started this whining thing lately where he bursts into tears if he doesn't get his way right away. It's driving us crazy so we're in the midst of a major change in parenting. That's why I stood my ground with the tantrums yesterday- I don't want him to learn that bursting into tears or screaming at a supermarket are going to buy him his every whim. I'm not really as bothered by it as I thought I would be- I would be more embarassed to be the mom yanking her kid around and threatening him than I am as the cool, slightly irritated mom sitting and watching this kid explode. Since I'm the one in this parenting duo who is more likely to have to take him on errands and crap, I just can't have him thinking that he can avoid going to the supermarket by squeezing out a tear or two.

Oh, sweets is really working at spending the entire month of may in the doghouse. first was the soured mother's day, and now he's trying to tell me that he does all the "work" around the house. You're not getting off that easy, buddy!

jstar- I'll hold out my hopes for your new babe for Monday. Woop! Monday! May 28! Woop! And way to go, S!

[KKmama]

Interesting re the tantrums. They're all different, and it sure sounds like the lentil's are a different "flavor" than Z's. (Z seems to be out them now, for the most part--knock on wood--they seemed more prevalent around the age of 2, which is way less sophisticated than 3 , and they seemed to totally come out of thin air.) And all I can say is UGH to having to develop new parenting approaches. (We're in the middle of that with T... our very sweet boy is starting up the "next phase", which seems to include mouthiness/sassiness/defiance, and we're kind of at a loss....) Yeah, if the deal is "I throw a tantrum, and then we don't do whatever it is that I don't want to do," I would soldier on, too.

Can we start stalking Jess?

Oh yeah, forgot to say that I relented to the ped's request and allowed him to give Z the the varicella vax yesterday, and of course, Z's got hives/rash/whatever all over his back today (same thing happened to T, except it was all over his body). Grr. I kind of wish that I hadn't done it.

Oh yeah #2... we're thinking of going to Yellowstone in Aug. I've never been there. Are we crazy to think about this with 3 small kids? Anyone?

[Miss Juice]

ah, tantrums. We're currently experiencing both the three-year old kind and the 5.5-year old kind (defiance, sassiness, as described above by KK). I find the 3-year old ones easier to deal with. For public tantrums (fortunately we have few of these) I'm right there with you, EL. You'll frequently find me standing (or kneeling) with a look of calm puzzlement on my face as my toddler flails around on the ground like a ... carp.

Re: playsets in small backyards. We just got a set (gift from my MIL) and our backyard is TINY. It's 13 feet across, so if you left 6 feet of clearance... I'm picturing a 1-square foot tower Anyway here's the space. And here's the set. And, just because she's cute, here's A enjoying it. And it has that nice playhouse underneath, in case your DH finds the doghouse too crowded

KK I don't think you're nuts to go to Yellowstone with the three. I'd be all over it!

[elsanne]

Juice, that is just a great playset. Lucky kids!! Yellowstone with the 3 kids sounds like fun. I almost worked at Yellowstone for a summer, but then got offered another/better job at another National Park. I worked at Nat'l Parks throughout college summers. (Big Bend NP in Texas, and Isle Royale NP in Michigan).

I went OUT last night! It was not as much fun as other memorable escapes from nighttime parenting, but it was still fun and totally worth it. I debated, and debated, and debated internally about leaving the girls with my wife at her house (lots of other kids, lots of arms to hold babies) at night, which I've never done, but she was on board so I tried putting Sol to sleep in the car and she wasn't going for it. Not at all. So, resigned, I went & fetched the baby and we were going home for a nice quiet night (Viet was out with his friend, no help there) when they both fell asleep in the car. Turn around! Dropped off snoozing girls, went and drank and danced a bit, and ditched out very early from the party in the pouring rain to get my girls, transfer from bed-car-bed was NOT BAD! I was prepared for the worst with rain, and being alone with both--but both survived and only a little bit of crying from Sol!

I just hate the small talk at parties, unless I really feel comfortable with the person for some reason, and the only thing that can keep me awake is dancing, which I did for a good bit but then they put on snoozer lounge non-danceable music and I just got sick of hanging out in the smoke waiting for a good song while listening to a middle-aged Gringo talk about himself. The kind that barrels over anything I have to say and somehow I am just not able to make my voice loud enough to be heard.

[Sarah'sMama]

I just have one question, els: was pulque involved?

[elsanne]

'Twas, sherri. 'Twas.

Someone created a concoction of mango juice and pulque, which was quite yummy. Just don't sniff it first, you won't want to drink it.

[TurboClaudia]

juice: love that pic of A grimacing on the playset! so funny, those toddler grimaces...

els: (i just typed else) don't you remember? no pulque for you! and i find that when i WANT the boys to fall asleep while driving, they will take forever or just won't, and then as soon as i mentally develop a plan to go somewhere and start aiming the car towards there, they fall asleep almost immediately.

marek just declared, i wanna have a snack. breakfast it is!

~claudia