Happy Leap Day!

We went to the zoo today to see the frogs, since it's leap day and frogs leap. It was Emma's idea. Anyway, the reptile house (which sort of wigs me out - confined space with REALLY big snakes that could eat people) was totally empty so we could take our time and really look at the reptiles. The frogs were cool, we saw some purple ones and some bright green tree frogs that were actually hanging out in trees. The toads were a bit anti-climactic since they looked just like the rocks they were sitting on. We saw several aforementioned really big snakes and lots of lizards. Emma thought that, overall, the reptile house was pretty cool. We made our way around to the flamingos, who were all sleeping while standing on one foot, except one who was kneeling. Does everyone realize that flamingo knees bend opposite of ours? Cause I'm not sure I knew, and frankly it's weird to see. Really weird. The snow leopards were out, much to Grant's delight, as were the tigers. We did our usual snack on the bench in front of the monkey house and watched them swing all around. Emma was taking notes since she is currently trying to master the monkey bars at preschool before she turns 4. We rounded out our trip with zebra bums (seriously, their bums. We never see zebra heads, just bums), penguins, and then another swing by the flamingos. Overall, it was a good trip, and I'm excited to make good use of our membership all spring and summer. Although I learned that it is hard for me to manage both kids by myself if Grant wants to walk. I can't quite manage Emma, the empty stroller, and Grant who insists on stopping to inspect and then pick up just about every stick we walk by. Which at the zoo, and in particular outside the reptile house, is a lot of sticks.

Duh, I did have a story

As soon as I posted, I realized I had a funny/ cute story from this morning. So lucky you, two posts today.

Grant is totally cool with the vacuum cleaner if he is being held or if he is in his high chair. But if you turn it on while he's on the floor in the room you're trying to vacuum, he gets this panicked look on his face and starts to scream bloody murder. It's like he thinks you're going to vacuum him up. So, to remedy this problem, I carry him on my back in my mei tai carrier that I got last year after selling every last thing I could on ebay to be able to afford it. He LOVES it. He blows blubbers on my back, he giggles, he leans to the side to see over my shoulder, he's totally content as I vacuum away.

Well today, I get him up there and tell Emma I'm going to vacuum. She grabs her play vacuum and starts to vacuum with me. Now, she thinks she's actually vacuuming and gets a bit worked up if I vacuum where she already has, so vacuuming has gone from a basic chore to a mind game around here in order to avoid the tantrum. She's off vacuuming a different room when I see her go running by me and into her room. She's in there for a few minutes, then comes running out to me with her back pack on. She turns around, and her baby doll's head is poking out of the backpack. She's says to me:

E: Baby was crying so I put her in my carrier.
M: That was thoughtful of you. Baby looks comfy.
E: Ya, she's scared of the vacuum like Granty.
M: Oh, well, that was a good idea to put her in her carrier.
E: Yeps. (her new little word)

And off she goes to continue vacuuming. Baby must have been feeling fussy for the whole morning because Emma carried her around in that backpack all morning, even after I had taken Grant out of my carrier.

Insert witty title here

First, I need to say:

Happy Birthday Emerson!!! Yesterday she turned one! I didn't blog yesterday so birthday greetings needed to be save for today.

Second, I have no witty thoughts right now. I've been really enjoying the sunshine and really enjoying the kids. Emma has been too funny lately with all she has to say (this morning she asked Hubs a question, and then said "Did you hear me put in the question mark?" Because she had asked a question, get it?) and Grant is a bundle of curious energy. We can't go anywhere right now without him wanting to walk, and as a result, bend over and inspect each plant, weed, leaf, stick, dirt clod, bug that we walk by. He's perfected his little boy squat and can often be found walking around outside with a stick or a rock in his hand. I think I'll need to start checking his pockets soon.

Third, I have to share the best buy of the month. Hefty zoopals funtensils. They are forks, knifes, and spoons with animals on the top. So cute, and Emma adores them! Her fav right now is the pink fork with a flamingo on it. She's always been a bit obsessed with flamingos, so how lucky for her that now she gets to eat with a flamingo fork! They were a total impulse buy at Target, I think.

Who needs a college fund

when private schools like Harvard and Stanford are offering free tuition to middle class families? That's right free. At Stanford. I know, how scandalous is that? Cal has no such offer, I'd like to point out.

Anyway, the details I read are this. Families who make less that $100,000 get free tuition to Stanford. Families that make less than $150,000 get free tuition to Harvard. So spend your college fund money on extra curricular activities for your kidlets since less than 10% of all applicants get accepted to these two colleges and your kid is going to have to be a superstar to be that 10%.

There's some other private schools that have huge endowments that are offering similar programs, I just can't remember which ones they are.

Future Careers

Since Emma was born, I love to look at the things the kids are interested in or the habits they have and wonder if it will lead them into particular careers as adults. So here's the most recent musings on future jobs.

Emma: Besides Social Director, I can see her as a newscaster since she loves to report every detail of her life to anyone who will listen. Or maybe a college professor since she loves to learn right now, and occasionally loves to teach Grant how to do things. She loves to bake with me, so maybe a chef. She also loves to jump (she jumping jacked all around the grocery store today, arms above her head and all) so maybe she'll be an Olympian in track and field. Or maybe we'll see her on Dancing With The Stars since whenever we put upbeat music on the stereo she runs to get her slippery socks on so she can dance. The girl has no fear about dancing in public either. At Wigglin Worship (choir for 3-4 year olds at church) if the beat moves her, she gets her body moving, whether other kids are dancing or not.

Grant: The boy is going to be a musician. His current favorite musical instrument is the drums. He drums whatever he can - his belly when he's naked, the trash can lid in the church nursery, his diaper, the wall of the shower, his high chair tray, anything overturned (like the laundry basket, the plastic stools in Emma's room, a plastic bowl), and the kitchen counter while I'm cooking. If not a drummer, then a comedian. Grant lives to make us laugh. He'll put his paci in his mouth backwards so the nipple part is sticking out, and make this little noise to get your attention. He'll do the same thing with little toys - put them in his mouth silly then make a noise to get your attention. He loves to laugh, and loves it even more if you're laughing along with him. I can see Grant as a stuntman too, he loves to do scary and daring things right now, including climbing as high as he possibly can while I sprint across the room. Yesterday at church he walked around the snack table sampling one goldfish cracker from everyone's pile which made me wonder if he has a future in quality control for a food company.

I broke my blog

I know, how does one break their blog? Well I tried to change the template to this pretty girly roses one and things I don't understand happened and I ended up with a whole lot of code whenever I opened up the blog. So this is a standard blogger.com template. Pretty yes, but it's no roses template. And I don't know why some of the type is huge and some is not. Maybe that will resolve itself as we blog along. Maybe not, we'll find out together.

Can we have a moment of silence for the loss of the family picture? I can't find it when I do a google search and it got erased during the template changing mishap. That'll teach me to try and get fancy.

Doing the Happy Dance!

We managed a poop free bath today! Woo-hoo!

Emma had some PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) around it, every time Grant made a funny noise she yelled "Get me out get me out Grant is pooping Grant is pooping!" It was pretty funny, once I had determined that in fact he was NOT pooping.

So hopefully the poop in the bath cycle has been broken and we can revert back to our old bath ways.

Special Emma & Dad time

Emma goes through phases where she is all about Hubs. She only wants to play with him, she only wants him to put her to bed, she only wants him to fix her food, help her with things, you get the picture.

She's in one of those phases right now. So this morning, after helping him make blueberry pancakes, Emma is munching away and I walk into the room to announce we were going to go to gymnastics as a family today! She looks dismayed, runs to Hubs, gives him a BIG hug and says,

"But gymnastics is special Emma and Dad time."

Awwwwwww. How precious is that?

She's right, it is. Gymnastics has been their together thing since she started taking classes. So Grant and I chilled at home while they had their special Emma and Dad time.

Spirited Child

At the strong suggestion of a friend, I'm reading "Raising Your Spirited Child". I'm two sentences into it and already hooked on the book.

"The word that distinguishes spirited children from other children is more. They are normal children who are more intense, persistent, sensitive, perceptive, and uncomfortable with change than other children."

Emma maybe?

Cleanest tub in town

Why is that?

Because Grant pooped in the bath again today. I know. "You've got to be kidding me" came out of my mouth too.

There were a few similarities and differences this time. I'll share them with you:

Similarities: Well, poop was in the tub again thanks to Grant. Emma freaked out again at the idea of poop getting on the bath toys. Grant freaked out too. I stayed calm at the whole incident.

Difference: Thanks to some grunting on Grant's part, I caught him mid-poop so poop was dangling from his bum when I lifted him up. That was awesome in the most sarcastic way possible. Emma only screamed for a few seconds, then she was super excited because she thought she was going to take a shower. I wised up and just scrubbed the tub, plopped them in with just water to wash them, then after all the bath shanigins were over, took a shower by.my.self. Oh yea, and I got poop on my sweatshirt. That was different than last time.

So the tub has been scrubbed again. The toys are soaking in bleach water again. Can't wait for the next bathtime.

On a slightly different topic, although still dealing with poop, Grant has been banned from eating raisins. He had a raisin roll out of his poopy diaper yesterday while I was changing him, so I've decided until his little gut can start digesting them, he's banned.

Enough of the poop talk, right?

Bargains

So I figure I should use this blog for good too, not just entertainment/ rantings. So here are some bargains for this week:

First, there is a Morningstar coupon at target.com. Scroll all the way down and find the link for coupons. The coupon is for $2 and the Morningstar corndogs was $2.99 at my Target. If you print them at the kiosk in the store where you print out registries, you can print unlimited copies. Mine printed out 28. That's right 28. The security guard had to unplug it to get it to stop printing. The coupon is on the website through Saturday, but the coupon doesn't expire until March 15. Plenty of time to use 28 coupons, right?

Second, Walgreens has Venus Embrace razors for $9.99 with a $9.99 mail in rebate. Mine were behind the cosmetics counter. If you still have Sunday's paper, there is a $2 coupon in there. That's right, they are paying you $2 to buy the razor. Email me for info on how to mail in rebates. Limit one on the rebates so don't get greedy!

Third, Speedstick 24/7 deodorant for men is the same deal at Walgreens - it's $3.99 and the rebate is $3.99. There's a $1 coupon from Sunday's paper.

Fourth, at Rite Aid, the Electrasol dishwasher tablets are on sale for $2.49 and there is a $1.50 mail in rebate. So $.99 for dishwasher tablets that are usually $4.99. Plus, Rite Aids rebates are so simple because it is all online!!!

Alrighty, there's your PSA (public service announcement) for the day. Happy shopping!

What a day, what a day

And it's only 2 pm.

Emma woke up on the cranky side of the bed today. By 8:15 am she'd had no less than 4 hysterical fits over such drama inducing issues as me handing her milk to drink for breakfast, whether I fixed her toast before I cut up Grant's waffle, and Grant walking into her room while she was changing.

Grant fell off our very high bed because he tried to sit down where there was no bed. Hubs lunged the length of the bed and caught Grant's heels a mere milisecond before Grant hit the floor head first. This led to hysterical scared screams by Grant, more hysterical screams from Emma (along with some running the length of the house screaming MOOOOOOOOOOOM!), and heart palpitations for Hubs. Hubs has decided he doesn't need to exercise today since that event caused him to break out in a sweat, elevate his heart rate, and increase his breathing. I decided maybe Grant shouldn't be on our bed anymore.

After all of these varied hysterics, I felt a bath was in order for the kids. A nice calming bath. They'd happily play, I'd sip my coffee. It would be dreamy.

Boy was I wrong.

I fill up the bathtub, plop Emma in, turn to take Grant to his room to undress him, hear "Mom, I have to go potty", turn back around to get her back out and see a nice yellow cloud all around her bum. Gross.

So I haul Emma out, drain the bath, listen to more hysterics around the bathtub toys getting sucked down the drain, refill the bath, plop Emma back in with a stern warning not to pee in the bath again, get Grant undressed, and plop him in. The kids play happily, I sip my coffee.

While he's playing, Grant reaches his hand up to hand me a toy. It takes me one second to look at it and think "We don't have any brown toys". It takes me two seconds to realize he's handing me poop and there is a brown cloud of water circling his bum. It takes me three seconds to realize he has bits of poop on his FACE!

I haul out Emma, who is hysterical again for no known reason because I'm reacting to the poop in the tub rather calmly. I haul Grant out, who is hysterical, probably because he's having to deal with the issue that he's now ingested fecal matter. I wrap both kids up in towels, drain the tub, clean up the toys, rinse out the tub, and declare we are taking a group shower.

Emma stops screaming because in her world, a shower is a dream come true. We troop back to the shower, Grant still in hysterics around eating poop, Emma dancing with excitement, me slightly apprehensive at how clean I'm going to get with two wiggle worms and a shower that doesn't have a door.

I was right, I didn't get very clean. I had to hold slippery little Grant the entire time. The one time I attempted to put him down in order to shampoo my hair he got hysterical and tried to run out of the shower. Remember, no door on the shower. And running on wet tile, not so safe. So I showered one handed. I wouldn't recommend it. Fortunately for me and those who have to share space with me today, I had showered last night after my run. Emma adored the shower and couldn't get enough of rinsing her hair out under the shower head. It was actually pretty cute.

At Granny's, we had to park a block away on the other side of the street in the rain on a crazy busy street, but really, that was easy peasy compared to the morning's drama.

So here I sit, blogging instead of bleaching and scrubbing the tub, tub mat, and every last bath toy we own.

I don't get paid enough.

Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.

I have a dream, a dream that one day
-I'll finish a meal while it is still warm
-I won't have to sweep after every meal Grant eats
-I will sleep through the night without getting up to find a paci or calm a night terror
-I will live through a day without asking Emma to stop screaming in the house, or telling Grant that we don't play in the toilet
-I will do my grocery shopping without pushing the jumbo sized car cart all through the store, ramming into display cases, and getting stuck in the too small check out line
-I will have a shower that doesn't involve Grant throwing a toy at me, Emma needing her poopy bum wiped, and the washing machine making my water ice cold
-I will have the time to read more than one chapter of a book, that I will sip my coffee instead of applying a coffee IV in the morning, and that Grant will use his words to tell me he's full instead of throwing his food across the room.

I have a dream that
-the dishes will clean themselves, the carpet will vacuum itself, the toilet will become self cleaning, and the laundry will put itself away.

I have a dream that
-in 15 years state college will be free to residents
-someone will create a bubble my children can live in to keep them safe from the scary things in the world
-my children will choose to live and raise their families in the same city I live in so I can love and hug and kiss those precious grandchildren of mine. And then give them back when they cry or poop or scream in the house or throw food to indicate they are done eating.

Indigo Girls

Two chicks with guitars pretty much sums them up. I love them. And my kids are slowly starting to love them too.

My love for the Indigo Girls began in 2000 when I heard one of their newer songs on the radio in the big hip city we lived in then. They were playing live, and the female dj on the morning show was so enamored with them that the song brought her to tears. I loved the song too so I got the cd. And rocked out to it for weeks. And weeks. And weeks. Hubs grew weary of listening to it in the car, but hey, fair is fair. Goodness knows my ears were totally over his Sublime fascination.

In 2001 I met Stacey, and among other things, we realized we both love the Indigo Girls. My first groupie friend. And a groupie friend she is. We refer to the Indigo Girls by first name, like they are our friends. Back in the day when we traveled in the car together without kids we'd crank up the radio and sing our little hearts out. We've traveled out of town to see them. We saw them in town two weeks after Grant was born. One of their concert dvds is on our Netflix queue. Now if that isn't the sign of a true fan, then what is?

An Indigo Girls cd has been in the car all of Emma's life. When I had a say over what played on the radio, I often played that cd. Then we had about 18 months of me not being the one who chose the music where we became intimately acquainted with Signing Times, Alex and Leah. Now, Emma is requesting specific Indigo Girls songs. And when Grant was a newbie, he'd calm down if I played a specific cd in the car. I attribute that to being newly pregnant during one concert. Embryos have ears too, right? Now, he just squeals in delight and claps his hands if that cd comes on.

It's awesome. And the best part is Hubs has no idea!

"Get out the map,
get the map and lay your finger anywhere now.
We'll leave the figuring to those we pass
on the way out of town.
Don't drink the water, there seems to be something
ailing everyone.
I'm going to clear my head
I'm going to drink that sun.
I'm going to love you good and long
while our love is good and strong"

Great mommy moment

About a week ago, I helped Emma get her tennis shoes on and they seemed a bit snug. I asked her if they hurt her toes and she said no. Well since then, she's told me off and on that her toes are squished. So today we head up to Stride Rite to get her some new shoes. They measure her feet and tell me she needs a size 8 1/2.

She'd been wearing a 7.

Awesome.

Okaaaaay.....

During nap time, Emma calls me in and says:

You couldn't hear me yelling because I had my head under my covers. There were gorillas all over my comforter.

The Social Director

We got to preschool a little early yesterday (early ensures a parking spot in the main lot, which is like gold if you're on time). We were outside the classroom, waiting for the teachers to open up the door. Emma had already chatted up a dad walking through the parking lot with his daughter on the topic of bringing books to school that day, she had shared the title of the book she brought, and the fact it was in her backpack. It wasn't a kid in her class, just a friendly dad who made eye contact as we were getting out of the car.

As we were standing outside the classroom, Emma's classmates started to arrive. She greeted each one of them, noticed something about them, and then shared something about her. For example:
E: Hi Lauren! Sorry you not feeling good yesterday (she means Tuesday).
L: I had a cold. And my ear hurts.
E: I had an ear infection last week (really, it was last month). I saw Dr. Chin
L: Ya.
E: Hi ANNA!!! I have a pink shirt too.
A: Smiles and waves
E: NINA! (Turns to me) Nina has ponytails too. I usually have ponytails but not today.
E: Hi Ryan. OOOOOhhhhh, I like your green umbrella. I have an umbrella too but it's Curious George. It's in the car. I wore my raincoat instead. My rain coat has dots on it. Not like Owen's (who has now arrived). Owens is yellow. Mine has polka dots.
R: Mine is blue.

Emma's teacher opens the doors, and as is usual, the kids swarm her. Emma shows her that she is wearing a polka dot raincoat, points out Owen's is yellow, and Ryan's is blue. Her teacher is so kind, and also points out that Anna has an umbrella. Emma shows her teacher that Grant is mad he's in my arms instead of walking, but he can't walk because he just has slippers on. Not shoes. Just slippers. This is all occurring as the kids are walking into the classroom.

I'm standing back a bit, letting the swarm of kids dissipate, and just shaking my head at Emma. Nina's mom walks over to me and says "She's like the classroom Social Director". Anna's mom and I just laugh. She's right, she's totally the Social Director, like on a cruise line. She notices what everyone has on, she reports back on who peed their pants and what kind of underwear they put on, who was the special helper of the day, who wasn't there. She greets everyone as they walk in. On Pajama Day, she squealed with delight each time one of her classmates walked in because she was so excited to see what pj's they had on. She even complimented each of them with "I like your pajamas ______".

Do you think Princess Cruise Lines will give me a discount if my daughter is their Social Director?