So ... on one of those super crazy days, I fed the kids but didn't have time to eat. So while they were taking a bath, I took my dinner in to the bathroom and ate while they were in the bath. I was eating carrots, celery, snow peas, red pepper strips, etc. when Sam said that he wanted one. I gave him a couple and then he said, "Mom, pretend I'm a little fish!" So I broke little pieces off and threw them into the tub. And he gobbled them up.
I can't decide if this makes me a bad mom with all those germs floating around or a good mom because my kids eat their vegies. On the other hand, no matter what I do, they both drink the bath water anyway, and now at least they're getting their "5 by 5"!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Sam's Last Trip
One of my favorite parenting books is called Piggyback Rides and Slippery Slides. It's all about play--how it helps kids to develop, why it's important, what they use it for, how to do it, etc. It's full of useful tips, like pretending that you are animals as you go to bed. So when I say it's bedtime, and Sam says that he doesn't want to, then I say, "do you want to go as a polar bear or a possum?" and inevitably, it's a possum and I carry him hanging upside down from my waist to his bed.
One of the major points in the book is that kids use play to deal with stress. So if a kid is in the hospital or has a serious injury, he will play doctor to try to manage his feelings, etc. Since Ivan has been traveling for his job for the last three years, often gone for 3 weeks at a time, 8-10 months out of the year, one of Sam's favorite games is to go on trips. He pulls all the suitcases out of the basement and packs them up, and goes to the pretend taxi (often I am the taxi driver), drives to the pretend airport, and then he flies to Pretend Spain or Pretend China or Pretend Mexico or Pretend France. Whenever he can, he recruits friends to go with him, so here's a picture from a few weeks ago.
His best friend moved last month and now he's pretend moving, so it is infuriating to me because I'm constantly unpacking, moving his boxes, putting everything away, and once I found a can of corn and some rotten bananas in Ivan's lunchbag that Sam had packed for his trip. Since Ivan was in Korea, no one opened it until I noticed a bunch of fruit flies hovering in that direction. When Ivan was home for December and January, Sam stopped playing this game, but as soon as Ivan left again, so did Sam. Understanding why he's doing it and how it is helping him helps me to be a little more tolerant when I trip over all of his suitcases.
So now for our exciting news ... Ivan just got a new job with a company called Energy Conversion Devices. He will still be doing auditing, but almost all of the work will be from the home office in Rochester Hills, MI (another suburb of Detroit, so we won't have to move). ECD is in the alternative energy field. Right now, they mainly manufacture Solar Panels, but they are in an expansion phase and are branching out to alternative energy products. Ivan is excited about the industry, the people he'll be working with, the potential for growth and mostly the chance to be home.
I think that one of the most interesting things is the founder of ECD, Stan Ovshinsky. He invented an environmentally friendly nickle metal hydride batteries, the technologies that led to R/W CDs and DVDs, amorphous silicon semiconductors, LCD screens and a whole bunch of other things. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_R._Ovshinsky#In_popular_culture)
Anyway, all of us are super excited and are incredibly happy about this good news. And hopefully I'll have less mess to clean up as Sam stops traveling too.
One of the major points in the book is that kids use play to deal with stress. So if a kid is in the hospital or has a serious injury, he will play doctor to try to manage his feelings, etc. Since Ivan has been traveling for his job for the last three years, often gone for 3 weeks at a time, 8-10 months out of the year, one of Sam's favorite games is to go on trips. He pulls all the suitcases out of the basement and packs them up, and goes to the pretend taxi (often I am the taxi driver), drives to the pretend airport, and then he flies to Pretend Spain or Pretend China or Pretend Mexico or Pretend France. Whenever he can, he recruits friends to go with him, so here's a picture from a few weeks ago.
His best friend moved last month and now he's pretend moving, so it is infuriating to me because I'm constantly unpacking, moving his boxes, putting everything away, and once I found a can of corn and some rotten bananas in Ivan's lunchbag that Sam had packed for his trip. Since Ivan was in Korea, no one opened it until I noticed a bunch of fruit flies hovering in that direction. When Ivan was home for December and January, Sam stopped playing this game, but as soon as Ivan left again, so did Sam. Understanding why he's doing it and how it is helping him helps me to be a little more tolerant when I trip over all of his suitcases.
So now for our exciting news ... Ivan just got a new job with a company called Energy Conversion Devices. He will still be doing auditing, but almost all of the work will be from the home office in Rochester Hills, MI (another suburb of Detroit, so we won't have to move). ECD is in the alternative energy field. Right now, they mainly manufacture Solar Panels, but they are in an expansion phase and are branching out to alternative energy products. Ivan is excited about the industry, the people he'll be working with, the potential for growth and mostly the chance to be home.
I think that one of the most interesting things is the founder of ECD, Stan Ovshinsky. He invented an environmentally friendly nickle metal hydride batteries, the technologies that led to R/W CDs and DVDs, amorphous silicon semiconductors, LCD screens and a whole bunch of other things. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_R._Ovshinsky#In_popular_culture)
Anyway, all of us are super excited and are incredibly happy about this good news. And hopefully I'll have less mess to clean up as Sam stops traveling too.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Getting Things Done
Sometime in March, it started to get warm and I mentioned to Sam that we could start to plant our garden. He was soooooo excited! I explained to him that we had to prepare our EarthBoxes, plan out our garden, figure out when to plant everything, make sure we had all the right seeds, fertilizer, etc. He did not understand why it had to be so complicated.
Later that week, we took the earth out of our earthboxes because it had fallen below the screen and the water would not be able to get out (leading to moldy plants). Ivan's dad and the boys took all the dirt out, put it on a tarp, let it air out for a few days and put it back in.
Meanwhile, I found that the average last frost in Michigan was 5 weeks from that week, and peas weren't supposed to be planted until the next week. I told Sam we would have to wait a week. Sam, who still doesn't have a good concept of time kept saying, "Mom, can I go plant our peas now? One day, he came in and said, "Mom. I planted the peas." He had put them in the dirt in the tarp. I though, "Oh well, we have plenty of pea seeds." Later they loaded the dirt back into the Earthboxes.
The next week was really bad weather, so we didn't get the peas planted. Then I kept forgetting to soak them to germinate them. Once I did soak them, but took them out to plant them, forgot about them and they dried out. Then I lost the seeds. So here we are, at Michigan's average last frost, and I have yet to plant any peas. But one day, I was going out to the garage and noticed tiny green shoots. Some of Sam's peas had made it, and we will soon have delicious peas :)
I feel like my life is like that sometimes. I wait and plan and try to get everything done perfectly and worry that it won't be right when what I really need to do is just have that childlike faith, jump in and do what I can and trust that I'll end up with some peas.
Later that week, we took the earth out of our earthboxes because it had fallen below the screen and the water would not be able to get out (leading to moldy plants). Ivan's dad and the boys took all the dirt out, put it on a tarp, let it air out for a few days and put it back in.
Meanwhile, I found that the average last frost in Michigan was 5 weeks from that week, and peas weren't supposed to be planted until the next week. I told Sam we would have to wait a week. Sam, who still doesn't have a good concept of time kept saying, "Mom, can I go plant our peas now? One day, he came in and said, "Mom. I planted the peas." He had put them in the dirt in the tarp. I though, "Oh well, we have plenty of pea seeds." Later they loaded the dirt back into the Earthboxes.
The next week was really bad weather, so we didn't get the peas planted. Then I kept forgetting to soak them to germinate them. Once I did soak them, but took them out to plant them, forgot about them and they dried out. Then I lost the seeds. So here we are, at Michigan's average last frost, and I have yet to plant any peas. But one day, I was going out to the garage and noticed tiny green shoots. Some of Sam's peas had made it, and we will soon have delicious peas :)
I feel like my life is like that sometimes. I wait and plan and try to get everything done perfectly and worry that it won't be right when what I really need to do is just have that childlike faith, jump in and do what I can and trust that I'll end up with some peas.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Eric's Hobbies
Sam loved to play with this firetruck, but always has the animals from the Little People ark or zoo driving around. Eric's drivers are always inanimate objects such as marbles, other cars, or his beloved binkies.
Eric loves his little brother.
Eric loves to eat red peppers.
Eric decided that the fireplace grate was his "chair". At first I tried to keep him out, but after a while, all of the ashes had already rubbed off on his clothes and body, and since we don't use it much, I didn't care. Until one day, when he pulled the entire frame off trying to get in. He doesn't try to get in anymore.
Finally, Eric's dancing obsession. Now that he's speaking, he's also singing a lot. Here, he is dancing and singing to Inside Out's version of Once There Was a Snowman, while chewing gum and wearing glasses.
Eric loves his little brother.
Eric loves to eat red peppers.
Eric decided that the fireplace grate was his "chair". At first I tried to keep him out, but after a while, all of the ashes had already rubbed off on his clothes and body, and since we don't use it much, I didn't care. Until one day, when he pulled the entire frame off trying to get in. He doesn't try to get in anymore.
Finally, Eric's dancing obsession. Now that he's speaking, he's also singing a lot. Here, he is dancing and singing to Inside Out's version of Once There Was a Snowman, while chewing gum and wearing glasses.
Last day of winter
March 30 was the last day of winter here in Michigan. Actually, anyone who lives here will tell you that just when you think that winter is over, you will get another snowstorm. But since the temps have been in the 60s, 70s and even 80, I choose to believe that spring is here! So this was Mike's first (and last) day in this hat, and I thought it was cute.
Mike just had his two-month checkup. He's 90th percentile for head and length and 97th for weight. Since our other two were quite a bit smaller, we love having a baby with such cute cheeks.
Mike just had his two-month checkup. He's 90th percentile for head and length and 97th for weight. Since our other two were quite a bit smaller, we love having a baby with such cute cheeks.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
My Little Sugar Addict
Things have been pretty busy around here. I really miss my mom. But, things have been pretty busy. Please forgive the stream-of-conciousness posts. This is the only attempt I am making to keep in touch with my scattered family and friends, and to record some of the events and personalities of my kids. I have a friend who writes in her journal and in each of her kids' journals every day. Amazing. She only gets 4-5 hours of sleep at night. I applaud her. I need a solid 8 hours (I've been getting 6-8).
Sam
Sam is a Sugar Addict. All my kids are. (I think most kids are, actually.) The other day I was reading scriptures and it was talking about how the Lord wanted the children of Israel to keep his commandments and he would give them anything and everything. I told Sam this, and he said, "Oh! Maybe he could give us some sugar."
A few weeks ago, it snowed. It was such a huge snow storm, but the perfect packing snow. Sam went out to play while I snowblowed. I got out the snowblower and got it going and then headed down the driveway toward a big chunk in the middle of the driveway. Sam got a horrified look on his face and said, "Mom! My snowman!" I picked up his chunk and put it on the porch. Later, Sam and his grandpa built another snowman.
Other Samisms (that I want to remember) --
After singing Home on the Range I mentioned that cowboys ride horses. Sam rolled his eyes and said, "Cowboys don't ride horses." Me: "What do they ride?" Sam: "Cows of course." Oh, to be four where life is so simple and cowboys ride cows.
Last night the boys were playing on a climbing thing in our backyard. Sam ran in. "Mom! Eric was climbing up and I was trying to help him, but he wasn't so talented and he fell." I thought the "wasn't so talented" was a funny way to put things.
Eric
Eric's language skills are really improving. He copies everything we say and repeats words of things he wants over and over (and over). This week, he said his first prayer on the food (which he does with a really high pitched mouse voice). And I've noticed him saying "thank you" a lot and even "please" when he really wants something (like gum).
Eric also LOVES a bath. He gets in the bath and jumps around, lays down, goes under, drinks bathwater, etc.
Mikey
Mikey also loves a bath. He will stay up and stop crying no matter how tired he is for a bath. I can't believe he is six weeks old. It seems like a blur. He is smiling at us now. Oh, what a sweet reward everytime we see one. And he has become very efficient at eating, especially at night. He wakes up once or twice, gulps down some food in 10 minutes or so, and goes right back to sleep. Needless to say, I am very glad about this.
And finally ... All the boys on a Saturday morning ...
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Annual update
Sam is a funny kid—so creative. One day this week, he told me that he was going to have to stay up really late that night so that he could brush his teeth for a really long time. Here’s our conversation (me in italics):
Oh?
Yes. Because in order to go into airports you have to have really minty breath.
Is that right?
Yep. My puppies told me that. You have to have really fresh (comes out sounding more like “frosh”) breath. One of them was going on a trip to China and he stopped at pretend McDonalds Burger King for a hamburger. So his breath was very hamburgery. And when he tried to get in, they said, “Your breath is hamburgery. You can’t come in here.”
And Sam proceeded to tell me all about airports, trips, puppies, and hamburger breath. The thing I really love about this age is that all of this stuff is real to him. It reminds me of the Siamese cat (Skippyjon Jones) who thinks he is a Chihuahua. If you haven’t read those books, it’s worth the 10 minutes the next time you are at a library or a bookstore. The prose is melodic and the stories will put a smile on your face.
Sam and Eric really love their brother. If he's crying and I can't get to him immediately, I often find both of them trying to console him. Eric likes to give him things ... his beloved hippo, other stuffed animals, and once even half of a banana.
Eric has had a rough week. For the past two weeks, he has been crabby, clingy, and miserable. It coincided with my waking up from the postpartum stupor, so I just attributed it to not spending enough time with him over the past month and a half. But he’s also had a bad cold, and it wasn’t until I caught it and realized how bad I felt that I realized that something else might be going on. Since it had been at least 10 days, I took him to the doctor, who thought he might have a sinus infection. Some motrin and antibiotics and the next day, he was like a new child … back to his adorable self.
Eric’s hippo also had a tough day this week. One morning, Sam yelled, “Mom—Eric took off his diaper.” Eric only takes off his diaper when he has pooped, so I ran into the room where Eric was running around with poop on his bum and his diaper on the other side of the room. I chased him around and he ran around and then sat on his best friend, his hippo. I caught Eric to clean him up and Sam took the hippo to the laundry. We washed him on hot, and put him in the dryer. It was then time for Eric’s nap and he wanted his not-quite-dry hippo, so I pulled it out of the dryer. My mom and I were finishing something up, and then I picked up Eric and his hippo. The hippo was pretty wet on the bottom and I thought it was odd that it would have dried so unevenly. My mom investigated and, sure enough, there was a tell-tale line of drips from the toilet to where Eric was playing.
Eric also love to wear glasses and we finally found a pair that he can’t break
Mikey is a very sweet baby. At four weeks old, he pretty much likes to eat, sleep, take a bath, get his diaper changed, look at the picture of the beautiful women in our living room, and be held. Unless he’s swaddled, sucking on his pacifier, and trying to put himself to sleep, he wants to be held constantly. And he’s been really lucky to have his grandma here to hold him, tickle his feet, and give him baths (in between doing all the laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning, and generally saving my life). We’ll miss you, mom!
Oh?
Yes. Because in order to go into airports you have to have really minty breath.
Is that right?
Yep. My puppies told me that. You have to have really fresh (comes out sounding more like “frosh”) breath. One of them was going on a trip to China and he stopped at pretend McDonalds Burger King for a hamburger. So his breath was very hamburgery. And when he tried to get in, they said, “Your breath is hamburgery. You can’t come in here.”
And Sam proceeded to tell me all about airports, trips, puppies, and hamburger breath. The thing I really love about this age is that all of this stuff is real to him. It reminds me of the Siamese cat (Skippyjon Jones) who thinks he is a Chihuahua. If you haven’t read those books, it’s worth the 10 minutes the next time you are at a library or a bookstore. The prose is melodic and the stories will put a smile on your face.
Sam and Eric really love their brother. If he's crying and I can't get to him immediately, I often find both of them trying to console him. Eric likes to give him things ... his beloved hippo, other stuffed animals, and once even half of a banana.
Eric has had a rough week. For the past two weeks, he has been crabby, clingy, and miserable. It coincided with my waking up from the postpartum stupor, so I just attributed it to not spending enough time with him over the past month and a half. But he’s also had a bad cold, and it wasn’t until I caught it and realized how bad I felt that I realized that something else might be going on. Since it had been at least 10 days, I took him to the doctor, who thought he might have a sinus infection. Some motrin and antibiotics and the next day, he was like a new child … back to his adorable self.
Eric’s hippo also had a tough day this week. One morning, Sam yelled, “Mom—Eric took off his diaper.” Eric only takes off his diaper when he has pooped, so I ran into the room where Eric was running around with poop on his bum and his diaper on the other side of the room. I chased him around and he ran around and then sat on his best friend, his hippo. I caught Eric to clean him up and Sam took the hippo to the laundry. We washed him on hot, and put him in the dryer. It was then time for Eric’s nap and he wanted his not-quite-dry hippo, so I pulled it out of the dryer. My mom and I were finishing something up, and then I picked up Eric and his hippo. The hippo was pretty wet on the bottom and I thought it was odd that it would have dried so unevenly. My mom investigated and, sure enough, there was a tell-tale line of drips from the toilet to where Eric was playing.
Eric also love to wear glasses and we finally found a pair that he can’t break
Mikey is a very sweet baby. At four weeks old, he pretty much likes to eat, sleep, take a bath, get his diaper changed, look at the picture of the beautiful women in our living room, and be held. Unless he’s swaddled, sucking on his pacifier, and trying to put himself to sleep, he wants to be held constantly. And he’s been really lucky to have his grandma here to hold him, tickle his feet, and give him baths (in between doing all the laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning, and generally saving my life). We’ll miss you, mom!
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