Helping me remake the guest bed!!
Month: February 2011
Phew!
{RANT} I just spilled a huge glass of water all over me, the couch, a table, two magazines, and the floor but {RAVE} it completely missed the laptop, the iPhone, the camera, and the Harmony remote.
Phew.
I like it when potential nightmares have a happy ending.
Frecklebox deal at Plum District today!
https://www.plumdistrict.com/?ref=ub74d7667d83
I posted about Frecklebox way back on April 16, 2010 so I was thrilled when I saw them as today’s deal at Plum District!! I plan on ordering Owen a lunchbox to keep all his cars in when traveling!
An “I love being a mom” moment!
I was sitting here on the couch minding my own business and Owen was watching The Backyardigans…when suddenly I had a burpie blanket tossed over my head and a little boy attacking me and laughing.
That was an “I love being a mom” moment for sure. 🙂
More new words!
Here’s some new words since the last list…
(bana)na
(butter)fly
bye
chair
circle
corn
(dino)saur
eek
eye
football
gone
hand
horse
kite
machine
mine
moon
octagon
oh no
ouch
owl
(piz)za
plane
rock
scoop
shark
square
stuck
teeth
watch
Some words are getting better. Balloons—or, noons—is now more like b’noons. And circle is VERY clear.
He is also getting better with context—if he empties his plate or sees your empty plate, it’s gone; lots of things are stuck (the lid on a jar, a kite in a tree on a TV show, you sitting on his B, him trying to move something); when he wants to watch TV he says watch; and lots of things are now mine!
And he’s still finding letters and shapes in everything. A wooden fried egg with the round yolk in the middle? I can’t get him to say egg because it’s a circle. 😀
And he knows the tunes of the shows we watch and you can see him trying to sing along—soooooo cute!
Fishies and EEK!
We generally play this hide and peek game on a daily basis. And EEK is one of his new words!
Happy Bank Account
We got our Escrow Analysis for the next year…and hmmm, I see that they’re scheduled to pay our Hazard Insurance in January 2012…which makes me think that they paid it THIS year, too. Which is funny because I sent in a payment [to our insurance company, not the mortgage company] for the same thing in December. I did this because [for some reason I can’t quite remember] when we first started renting our house, I had to pay the insurance myself—it couldn’t come out of escrow. And I guess I just assumed that it would continue that way and no one told me otherwise (i.e. I was billed for it from my insurance company).
So I called Wells Fargo and all they could tell me was they paid it in January 2011. Then I call my insurance company and after some back and forth…they tell me I am getting a refund because I overpaid!
So I should be getting $1168 back this week. Our bank account will be VERY happy.
A Letter to My Family :: scarymommy
http://www.scarymommy.com/a-letter-to-my-family/
Charity is a mommy to a houseful of five adorable kiddos. Her days are as crazy, busy and fun as you’d expect. She currently feels as though she’s drowning in the toddler phase and uses her blog, Surviving A Two Year Old, to keep her sane.
Dear Family:
I did not get married and have kids to spend my day cleaning and picking up after people. Other then The Baby, EVERYONE else in this house is old enough to take on some degree of responsibility when it comes to picking up after themselves and pitching in on family responsibilities. I am completely overwhelmed and disgusted with the state of this house. Every room is dirty and messy. The laundry is out of control- I am one person and am expected to keep up with clean clothes, towels and bedding for 7 people. I have to fight to even get everyone to bring their clothes to the bathroom. It is ridiculous that the towels are not used more then once; we NEVER have clean towels in the bathroom, despite the fact that I do them every other day. The dirty dishes have been like an assembly line, there’s a constant backup at the dishwasher and I cannot remember what the bottom of my sink looks like. You have no problem making yourselves breakfast, lunch, snacks and then leaving all the mess out for me to clean. No one ever bothers to put their dishes in the dishwasher unless I specifically remind them. The entry way is never picked up- put your coats and shoes away! Everything has a specific home where it belongs; I should not have to pick up your stuff every morning, afternoon and evening. The bathroom is repulsive. When you’re done in there, rinse out the sink. If you get pee on the toilet, wipe it off. If you’re a boy, that means you should be wiping the rim EVERY time you pee. Trust me, it splatters.
To My Husband: I know you are working like crazy and so I expected to have to do more around here. However, it irritates me to no end when you do not even bother to pick up your own stuff. You’ve actually had a convention of shaving creams at our bathroom sink because every time you shave you get out a new one, but never put any away. Brush your teeth, comb your hair, do whatever you need to do—and then put it away! Same goes for the kitchen, and your dirty/clean clothes. The doorknobs in our house are not your personal mini-closets, hang up your shirts.
To My Oldest: The state of your room is appalling. We do not live out of U-Haul boxes. If you need shelves or storage space, let us know. You are not 70 years old yet, stop collecting like you are. Take some pride in your personal space and keep it picked up.
To My Daughter: You used to do so well keeping your room picked up, and I know it’s hard because The Baby is sleeping in there, but you never pick up anymore. The dust level is unhealthy.
Little Boys: PICK UP AFTER YOURSELVES!!! Taking things out just for the sake of throwing them around will only get your stuff thrown away. I’m not picking up after you anymore.
I am done setting up chore charts, responsibilities, rewards for work done. Nothing ever sticks or works. It always involves me nagging people to keep up with the current attempt. There are things everyone should be doing on a daily basis with NO reminders. There are things everyone should be responsible for on a regular basis to ease the load on me. Figure it out. Come up with a plan that YOU will make work. Divide out the work. Write it down if need be, but I am NOT coming home until you’ve all figured out a concrete way to make things work better around here.
Call me when you’ve got it figured out then me and the power cords to every electric screen in this house will come home.
Love,
Mom
Sushi?!!?!?!
At our sushi buffet lunch today with Grandma Marsha and Uncle Rob, Owen was intrigued by the stuff on my plate so I let him grab a piece of sushi…which he proceeded to (of course) dip in yogurt and try to take a bite of!!!!!!!111!1!!
He didn’t get much of a bite—and then the roll basically fell apart—but it’s the first time EVER he has reached for something on our plates that was new to him! He then proceeded to eat a few small bites of tempura sweet potato and Korean beef!!
Knock me over with a feather.
Everyone at the table (well, mom and dad especially!) was cheering madly. The other patrons surely thought we were insane. 🙂
Another Craigslist Idiot
So I have a DVD box set listed. Some guy emailed me asking if I would take X and I replied I could take X + $5 and he agreed and gave me his number. I looked it up just for shits and giggles because I didn’t recognize the prefix—and it was from somewhere about an hour away…but I figured maybe he worked in the area and would pick it up next week.
So I called and left a message saying today before 2, tomorrow, or next week. He texts back tomorrow would be better…and oh, can I meet him halfway? Um, NO. My listing clearly says PICKUP ONLY (yes, in all caps and bold). I didn’t let on that I knew where he was (because it doesn’t matter) and I told him, Sorry, no. Then he says “Well I’m two hours away so it would cost me [price of item] to come get it.” I tell him my listing said where it was…so I assume he doesn’t want it now?
IDIOT. :##
Little boy car noises!
Playing with mom’s hair
My Yelp Breakdown
Who doesn’t like fun statistics with colorful charts and graphs? These are various breakdowns of all the [so far] 277 reviews I’ve done at Yelp.
Fruit & Veggie Update
Well, we’ve added a few new things since his appointment, and it seems to be okay so far.
I learned from friends that there are fruit juices that actually have veggie juices in them, so I bought a few varieties of those—and he drinks that mixed with water and likes it. He now also has one smoothie a day (his post-nap lunch/snack) that is made with fresh fruit, the fruit/veggie juice, protein powder, and…spinach! (I tasted it myself and you can’t even taste the spinach!)
We also now add those fruit squeeze packets (applesauce or squash/apple or strawberry—which he used to eat alone but now basically refuses) or jarred sweet potatoes to his pancakes/waffles…and those were eaten no problem.
It doesn’t feel like a lot, but it’s a start.
Back to USAA!
Well, we’re back with USAA for auto and home insurance.
When we moved to Michigan, our auto rates skyrocketed—so we switched to a local company that was cheaper, then took the home (well, renters) with us to get a multi-policy discount.
However, over the past two years, the cheap insurance has increased by about $600/year so I thought I’d check out USAA again…and long story short, we’re paying about the same but getting better coverage. And the same with the renters policy.
And the CSR was just awesome. And now everything is in the same spot. :up:
Sigh…
Cardboard Tube Fun!
You’ll have to listen closely to hear his contributions!
Post-nap Owen
Brrrrrrrrr!
If the snow squeaks, it’s too damn cold.
Owen’s 2-year well-visit
His current stats:
Height: 39″ (greater than the 97th percentile) — was 37.5″ at 21mo
Weight: 38# (greater than the 97th percentile) — was 35# 7oz at 21mo
Head Circumference: 50cm (between 75th and 90th percentile
Well, there’s nothing like a well-visit with the pediatrician to make you feel like a failure as a parent.
:**:
She’s not really worried about his speech (or lack thereof), but she IS worried about a) his weight and b) his lack of eating fruits and vegetables. He is 39″ and 38#—which is apparently off the chart (100+ percentile). She’s fine with his height, but she would like to see him weigh 33-34#. SERIOUSLY? He’s always been a big kid…but you’re telling me he needs to go on a diet? Of course she didn’t call it a diet but said he needs to be on skim milk (vs. 2%), I should limit the quantity he eats (especially the carbs), and he should get more exercise. Good lord. And she was amazed at what he won’t eat, saying that even though this is the age to be picky, if he’s still this picky in 6 months, she will recommend occupational therapy!! 😮
So I’m supposed to try and get more creative in giving him veggies…which sure sounds nice, but it’s kinda hard when his food options are already so limited. He won’t even let a veggie get near his plate and pushes your hand away (or hands it back to you if you sneak it on his plate)—how can I sneak it in? He loves yogurt and dips everything, but he won’t even eat veggies dunked in yogurt. We’ve tried raw, cooked, microwaved, roasted, etc., and nothing makes the cut. The kid doesn’t even really like french fries! So I’m supposed to give him a V8 or one of the fruit blends to see if he’ll drink that…and I’m supposed to make him yogurt/veggie smoothies and hope he’ll drink those. And I should let him help pick out foods and let him help prepare his food—um, yeah, I think he’s still a little young for that.
And of course, on top of all this, Owen was a screaming hot mess the entire time because he didn’t get his post-nap wake-up period (he took a 3-hour nap and woke up at the last possible minute before I was going to call to reschedule, which meant we had to fly to get out of the house on time). He bawled when we set him on the scale, he screamed when we tried to measure him, he refused to let the nurse or doctor listen to his lungs/heart…in short, it was a nightmare that Word World AND a sucker didn’t help. That’s what I get for forcing the issue and not wanting to reschedule. 😐
I just really hate feeling this way after each well visit, like I’ve failed at major things and now my kid is doomed. I know he’s not, but it sure feels that way after a visit.
🙁
I am not a mind reader.
I’m all about customer service during an ebay auction, but really? You want ME to tell you the differences between MY item and some random one on QVC?! :??:
I am comparing your butler tote to the one that is being advertized on QVC. Granted, yours is larger, but it is also more expensive to ship. I have never seen the “Nelle” organizer tote. I am considering bidding on this. What is the difference? I prefer zip top as opposed to a magnetic clasp.
I did check QVC, and there were three bags, so I was apparently ALSO supposed to be a mindreader. My response:
I’m not sure what bag you were looking at at QVC (they have three Butler Bags currently). Mine does have a magnetic closure, but it works quite well. Unfortunately, it is more expensive for me to ship a purse since I’m not a huge corporation that gets a discount on shipping. Since the auction has ended, let me know if you are interested, and I will list it again. Thank you for looking at my auction!
What do you bet I don’t hear anything back?
Si dow!
This morning Owen was playing with magnets on the fridge and turning them upside down. Of course I told him he was turning them upside down—and then he was saying his version: “si dow.” 🙂 He also repeated heck when Linda said it. We definitely have to start watching our language.
On another note, Owen is not a heavy sleeper in the car. If you brake suddenly or get off the highway or park the car, he’s up immediately. So we planned our departure for an hour before his nap time because we had 30 minutes of driving and then a quick 15 minute stop. So what happens? He falls asleep about 5 minutes into the drive. We figure we’ll still stop because he’ll wake up. Except he didn’t…when we stopped at a stop sign, parked the car, opened his door, and Tom stuck his face in and touched his nose. The boy was out cold! Amazing! So we just got back in the car and skipped the visit. Stinker!
Great Wolf Lodge
Grannie Lin had two free day passes so we bought two extra tickets and we all spent a few hours at the park watching Owen have a complete blast! We didn’t take too many pictures (we didn’t want to carry any cameras around) but we did take a handful right before we left.
Birthday Party!
I was really excited about decorating Owen’s cake as a baseball—I baked part in a round Pyrex bowl and did a flat bottom layer. That part went fine. The frustrating part came when I tried to decorate it—the tiny tube of “cake decorating gel” I bought was basically useless—it was too sticky and didn’t come out of the tube evenly, making the lines and intricate designs of the stitching impossible. So I was bummed.
Owen noticed the gifts on the table and wanted to sit in the chair, so we put him up there and Gramma Marsha gave him a car from one of the bags so then he played with that and the peeked into a bag and found another car. So he was playing with both of them…and making car noises! (He had never done that before!)
Then I decided to give him one of my gifts—a box of 10 Matchbox cars—and this is him seeing them in the box and signing “more!”
Taking a break from playing with his cars.
He loves having Happy Birthday sung to him!
Enjoying the cake!
Everyone who was at the party!
Falling asleep in the car
I didn’t catch it quite early enough (I missed a few head bobs while my camera started up) but what I did get was cute enough to share. 🙂
Snow spray!
A short video I forgot to include in the original birthday day post…but it’s cute, so I had to post it!
I had kicked some snow off a bush, and he saw what it did…so he started throwing snow in the air!
Happy 2nd Birthday, Owen!
Happy birthday, Owen! Smile for your first picture of the day!
I was amazingly proud of him at our play group today. He actually sat in the song circle for the first time EVER…for THREE songs even! And was pretty happy and smiley about it! At the end of song three, he announced loudly “DONE!” 🙂 and then, surprise #2…he went to the playdough table! What? Huh? Awesome! AND THEN…he actually participated in the art project!! He put glue on the paper (and maybe in his mouth) and stuck some stickers on! And he kinda liked his birthday crown! And grandma AND dad were there to see it!
So when we got home, we tried for the “official” birthday photo…and lucked out with this one:
Then he had his nap, and we got to experience this when we got up:
Then since it was pretty warm out (32!) we decided to take Owen outside. I know he doesn’t like to play in the snow, so I didn’t even put his snowpants on him. We gave him a few sled rides and you could see he didn’t really care too much. Grandma Jean coerced him up onto the porch…
…where after a few minutes, he suddenly laid down, crawled toward the bushes, and started playing in the snow between the bushes! He was digging and digging and flinging snow around—his mittens were packed with snow. Then when you thought he might be done, he’d do a low-crawl to the next section of the porch and dig some more. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem to mind the cold at all!
After dinner, it was time for CAKE—and he certainly knows cake when he sees it! 🙂
And then for the day’s big finale…a BAF!
