Bean Angels

In lieu of a written post, I present to you a video.

 Bean Angels

Wait for the end, it's worth it.

Aren't you glad you aren't at my house right now?

(2 weeks later...)

In response to several emails regarding the bean event at the house, I feel I must explain:  The weather here in CT has been less than ideal, rain, snow, mud at the park, and just plain cold temperatures.  With little ones cooped up, I had to be creative.

What could they do and not get hurt?  What could they play with and still have a bit of educational impact?  What would let them be physical and get off my back???

Yes, I thought, beans.  They could sort them, count them, place then in size order, pour them, dump them, and manipulate them - sounds good right?

Well, as you saw in the video, things got a bit out of hand.  I didn't stop it because I knew I would have a lot to clean up, so why not just play it out? They were safe, and they were having fun.

I would like to add that I am still finding beans in corners, and under couches...  fun times!

Winter Storm Nemo - 2013

So... we got back-slapped with Winter Storm Nemo.

When I say "back-slapped" I suppose I could have said whipped, inundated, slammed, smacked or any other forceful descriptor.

Three feet.  We got 3' of snow in less than 24 hours.

The roads are closed.  Even if we could get our cars out, there is a total driving ban on all streets in the entire state.  The best thing I can say about this is that we didn't lose power.

Also, the shear beauty of the untouched clean, white, snow that blanketed everything was enough to put a content smile in anyone's soul.

 At least until they have to start shoveling.

Here are some photos from the early morning, then a couple once the sun came out so we could shovel a bit more:

Then, I started to shovel out:

And the kids were able to play in the tight, shovel width path,

and in the street for the first time.  There was nowhere to go, I wasn't worried...for them.

Perhaps I wasn't as prepared as I should have been on the glove/mitten front.  Perhaps next year I'll learn how to knit.

Don't you wish you were here?

Resolutions

Hello 2013, Goodbye 2012.

If I didn't know better, I'd say that 2012 lasted 5 times as long as it should have...maybe longer.  Days with little ones creep by.  The seconds tick away like an old Hitchcock thriller.  The minutes pass like watching a skydiver deploy his shoot and float to the ground, but the wind just picked up and there just happens to be a jagged outcropping of rocks nearby.  The hours..well...like hours.

But the year - man, the year flew by!  I have two toddlers. One is now having conversations and telling jokes, and the other is climbing and jumping, and learning new words, everyday.

All this, and if I learned anything, it was that I have a lot to learn.  I would sell everything I own for a small dose of additional patience.  I should really work on that this year.

Speaking of working on things in the coming year, guess who's going to be 40 this year? Oh yeah, this old fart mom.  With that number looming, I've decided to make a couple of resolutions this year.  I don't normally do this and just let the new year come and go, and usually by April or May I remember to write the correct date on my checks.  Since I worked on the building (one times square) that the ball drops every year, seeing it on TV seems a bit anti-climactic.  However, if it's on, and I'm awake, I suppose I'll leave it on.

This year, we brought in the new year in a TV free environment surrounded by good friends, and lots of food - I even made it to midnight playing "Cards Against Humanity." Fun times.

Wait, I lost my train of though...resolutions.  The whole reason for this post is to put out in the internet world my New Years Resolution for 2013.

This year, 2013, the year in which I will turn 40, I resolve to make the outside of me look the best it can, and make the inside of me match the sentiment. 

My birthday isn't until September.  I have a full 8.5 months in which to accomplish it, and make the habits it will create good ones to last a lifetime. 

Now, I don't want to scare you with any pictures of this, but I promise to post some in September.  The regular posts throughout this year should reflect the inner portion of this resolution.

I'm sending good thoughts for a healthy, safe, new year for all of you.

Happy New Year!

Not what it looks like...

You would think that the pharmaceutical companies would realize that making medicine the color of blood was a bad idea.

Unless of course, they have a sick, twisted sense of humor and think that kids look funny when they spit out their medicine and it runs all down their faces and bodies.

There is a part of me that gets a kick out of the look knowing that it is only tylenol... the other part of me screams on the inside at the thought of this...

What do you think?

ps I should really keep my camera handy, because this old iphone 3GS I have is just not cutting it.

When arts & crafts get out of hand

There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to do fun artsy projects with your kids.  It is encouraged.  If you need ideas, There is a lifetimes worth of options on pinterest.

Someone out there is the Mary Poppins of all arts & crafts projects.

I am not that mom.

This afternoon I attempted to do a simple ( I thought it was supposed to be simple) arts & crafts project with their hand and foot prints.  We had some extra time together since Amelia was home sick, and the woman watching Daniel got sick as well, so he was sent home early.

I pulled out some ink pads and paper...

...then I got the towel.

Be sure when you attempt anything like this you wrap the entire floor and walls and ceiling and furniture in plastic wrap.  Wrap the kids.  Wrap yourself.  Wrap the cats! Wrap the fish!  Ok, so don't wrap the fish, but everything else is fair game.

This activity went down hill. Fast.  Faster than smart phones were grabbed off the shelves at Wal-mart on Black Friday, fast.  I'm talking fast.  Like running from a zombie in brand new sneakers when the wind is behind you and the doors to the air lock ahead of you are closing, fast.

It went downhill that fast.

Yes those are handprints on his chest and his face.




















"Uh-oh" she says, with the most innocent of precious faces.  Snot running down her face mixed with green ink from her hands.  Peek-a-boo got creepy for minute there.
















There were hands and feet everywhere!  As soon as I tried to wipe one off the other was being coated by a fast fingered ink thief.  I had no time to do out project even as I was trying to keep up with the inked limbs. 

Such poor planning on my part, I really should have known better.

The only thing I could do was abscond with all the ink and paper and whisk the kids up to bath time.  Wait, what? the baby gate lock broke?  Oh yes, so I would be climbing over the gate that forces me on tiptoes and still just grazes the pubic bone.  Tomorrow we remove it.   Today, I ignore hand prints on the carpet the walls and fridge...

Bath time... this was fun:

Like I said, I didnt have time to get the real camera and my phone camera isnt very good.

Fun times.  

And look at that face, he knows...he knows....

He won't come out...

(Deep Breath)

I'm sitting in the living room with Amelia.  I say "sitting," but I really mean is I'm churning inside and it is taking everything in my power not to explode out of my skin.

Daniel is in his room crying.

We are going through a spitting phase.  Not a projectile spitting phase, or a watermelon seed across the room spitting phase, but a "get a mouthful of water and then spill it from your mouth into anything and everything you can reach" spitting phase.

And so, like every good mom, I put him time out after the umpeenth time I asked him to stop spitting.

When he came back out, he continued with fervor.  So...back to time out.  This time, he spit in my face.  I forcefully told him "No Spitting!"  and he did it again.

Back to time out.

This time, I put him in there for a couple of minutes.  I needed to cool down, so I started putting blocks away.

I went to get him, and he refuses to come out.  I brought him out, coaxed him out with juice (which he never gets) and he then took the juice, walked over to the sink and sprayed it all out, smiling.

Back in self imposed timed out, crying.  He went in.  HE closed the door behind him.

He is still crying.

Amelia went to his door to see what was wrong and Daniel ushered her out, and closed the door again.

So now, I breathe.  I listen to him cry and try to figure out what is going on in his brilliant little mind.

Is he figuring out new emotions?  Is he expressing autonomy and choices?  Is he experimenting with pushing my buttons?

I just don't know.

This phase is going to be  rough one...

Sorry, the Mess of the Day is in my Head.  No pictures of that mess.

A day to give thanks

One day a year we all give thanks... thanks for our friends and loved ones, thanks for a our health and that of others, thanks for all we have, and like my brother always said "thanks for my bed."

If we were all thankful everyday, the world would be a better place.  I could just be dreaming, too.

This year we spent Thanksgiving at Mimi and Grandaddio's - it's a nice tradition.  We love seeing friends and family and the food and desserts are delicious, too.

We have a lot to be thankful for this year, many folks were not as fortunate.

Now, those of you with children who who know families with children, going  outside the home for an extended amount of time ( more than three hours) can be trying on everyone involved no matter how well planned everyone is or how "child proof" their houses are.   The kids will find something to get into, under, on top of or inside.  They will be too loud, stay up too late, and get up too early.  This is inevitable.

It was a good year. Nothing was broken!  Cement cats were dragged around, blocks and matchbox cars will be found for weeks, and, as I just learned, will even found in the back of a shelf in the refrigerator - I guess it was just chilling out.


For the first time, the MESS OF THE DAY is not at our house... this occurred after thanksgiving dinner.  Today I bring you two messes in 24 hours:


What, mom?  I'm innocent, I can prove it!

 See, Mom?  Daniel dumped out the bag of cheerios!

 I just ate them.  Nothing wrong with that, right? 

Daniel stomped them...  you know, because he wanted to feel them under his feet.

Then it was dessert time in the dining room.
We heard the kids giggling in TV room and thumping - they do love to jump the one step down into the room.  I suppose we could have checked on them more.  No, we SHOULD have...
...but we didn't.


This is what we walked into:

Caught in mid air, Daniel jumped into the pile and his sister roared in laughter.

Now don't let her age (16 months), her stature or those good looks fool you - Amelia was just as guilty of this mess as her brother.

She is as adventurous and daring as her brother, if not more so. 

Her name fits her perfectly.

Today I am thankful that I have these stories to write about and remember.  What are you thankful for?