Bedtimes since Em completed her "get a fish" chart have been a bit dodgy around here. Lots of talking back, lots of tears, lots of fake "but I have to pee." The girl has been driving us batty and tonight I finally realized the kid simply needs a GOAL. Something to keep her in bed so I can do the dishes / clean the penthouse uninterrupted. So, I whipped up a new sticker chart - this one with 21 squares culminating in the Rapunzel dress she has been begging me for. It seems to have worked - fingers crossed - not just for tonight. She got out of bed a few times to pee, but there were no tears, no fighting me to lay down, and no wants of juice / cheese / a snack...
We had a good day filled with lots of activities. We started the morning at the mini-zoo, then hit the playground, then BJs where we grabbed a slice of pizza (kids not me - I have now lost 19 pounds!! WOOT!), home for a break, over to Rocketship park for an afternoon of sunny goodness, back home for a dip in the kiddie pool, dinner, Max and Ruby then bed for the kids...
Sleepy time for me!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Random children-isms
Ben continues to 'jibber-jabber throw in a word we understand' to get his point across. His word of the week is "school bus" which sounds like "Bool bus!" when he says it. LOVE IT.
In the car the other day, Em and I were talking about whatever and she randomly said, "Mom, you're freaking me out!" Where does she pick up this stuff??
Then at the park Em walked up to me and said, "Mom, can you put this in the garbage?" I asked her what it is and she replied, "It's a booger from my nose." NICE.
I went to the library solo the other afternoon as Daddy was home playing with the children. As I was "wasting" time - i.e. enjoying ME TIME! - I noticed a whole heck of a lot of other people's children running amok and creating loud disturbances inside the quiet sanctuary. I wondered to myself if I have never noticed them before because it is usually MY CHILDREN running amok and creating disturbances... hmmmm, indeed.
And just to show you children are INFLUENCED by what they watch on tv/dvds... The other day when disciplining Emma over some infraction of the house LAW that I cannot even recall now, she said, "Mother, you are ruining my life! You have got to be kidding me. Get out of town!" She ever so eloquently strung these sentences together in the proper context that I could not help but cave and laugh at her ridiculousness... Fail on my discipline part - but COME ON! She'll be four next week!! and she is already telling me, thank you Rapunzel, that I am "ruining her life" !!!
Needless to say, I am enjoying my children... : )
In the car the other day, Em and I were talking about whatever and she randomly said, "Mom, you're freaking me out!" Where does she pick up this stuff??
Then at the park Em walked up to me and said, "Mom, can you put this in the garbage?" I asked her what it is and she replied, "It's a booger from my nose." NICE.
I went to the library solo the other afternoon as Daddy was home playing with the children. As I was "wasting" time - i.e. enjoying ME TIME! - I noticed a whole heck of a lot of other people's children running amok and creating loud disturbances inside the quiet sanctuary. I wondered to myself if I have never noticed them before because it is usually MY CHILDREN running amok and creating disturbances... hmmmm, indeed.
And just to show you children are INFLUENCED by what they watch on tv/dvds... The other day when disciplining Emma over some infraction of the house LAW that I cannot even recall now, she said, "Mother, you are ruining my life! You have got to be kidding me. Get out of town!" She ever so eloquently strung these sentences together in the proper context that I could not help but cave and laugh at her ridiculousness... Fail on my discipline part - but COME ON! She'll be four next week!! and she is already telling me, thank you Rapunzel, that I am "ruining her life" !!!
Needless to say, I am enjoying my children... : )
hmmmmm
Monday was the first official "the parks are now loaded with kids of all ages because it is Summer vs. kids my kids ages because they are not in school yet." I have realized I am not fond of kids older than my kids because they teach my young'uns stuff I am not ready for them to learn yet.
I am not a "hover mother" or "helicopter mom" as the saying goes - I want my kids to be "free range" which I believe builds self confidence and independence - but Monday at New Park (still my favorite park...but maybe just off season...) some older boys were playing with Emma and I heard one say to the other, "Hey, that was my weiner!" as if one kid had accidentally elbowed the other in his privates. Emma was all, "What's a weiner?" and I cringed as the conversation developed. Luckily, she is still too happy go lucky young to understand the boy's silliness and she quickly changed the conversation to, "Hey, I am a princess in a tower. Who wants to rescue me? Or, wait! (pause for dramatic effect) Are you a bad witch?" The boys replied with, "No! I am not a witch, but a warlock..." blah blah blah and the subject was diverted, but you feel my pain, no?
I am not a "hover mother" or "helicopter mom" as the saying goes - I want my kids to be "free range" which I believe builds self confidence and independence - but Monday at New Park (still my favorite park...but maybe just off season...) some older boys were playing with Emma and I heard one say to the other, "Hey, that was my weiner!" as if one kid had accidentally elbowed the other in his privates. Emma was all, "What's a weiner?" and I cringed as the conversation developed. Luckily, she is still too happy go lucky young to understand the boy's silliness and she quickly changed the conversation to, "Hey, I am a princess in a tower. Who wants to rescue me? Or, wait! (pause for dramatic effect) Are you a bad witch?" The boys replied with, "No! I am not a witch, but a warlock..." blah blah blah and the subject was diverted, but you feel my pain, no?
Sunday FUNday
From there we walked through the farmer's market, out onto the pier to see the new boats that had docked for the Summer, then up around East Main Street then over through the high school softball fields before heading back up the hill to the Penthouse. As we got home we wondered why we don't make this a habit. It is such a nice walk and the kids love that we do it as a family!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
♪♫ "You live, you learn." ♪♫
So I was going to use this time to tell you how angelic my kiddos were at the theatrical viewing of Cars 2 this afternoon but, knowing how well you know my kiddos, you would have figured I was lying and, yes, you would have been correct...
Our choice for the viewing was the 3:55pm show. We decided to go for it KNOWING that Ben didn't get in a nap and that both kids played the morning away at our buddy's house while we were working (i.e. potential crankiness). That coupled with the idea that it is opening weekend for the flick and we should probably get there early enough to procure tickets and the seats of our choice made our chances for a successful outing slim to nil.
If I was a betting woman I would have NOT gone against the odds and I would have won - not a lot - but a bit of ca$h, because here is what went down:
1) We left the house at 3:00.
2) Arrived at the theater at 3:20.
3) We got our seats at 3:22, THIRTY THREE minutes before the movies was to start. (I know, I know, rookie mistake! IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN - because we will not go to the movies again until the children graduate from high school...)
4) 3:23-3:50 Ben plays with iphone Thomas the Train app perfectly content (Have I mentioned how much these 99¢ apps have SAVED me on too many occasions?). Emma uses the restroom twice to pee.
5) 3:55 the previews begin, both kids seem engaged.
6) 4:02 a Toy Story mini-cartoon short (six minutes maybe) amuses the heck out of us all - thank goodness - because we paid $15 to be there!!
7) 4:10 CARS 2 begins! Both kids are BORED because Lightening and Mater are NOT in the first 5 minutes of the movie.
8) 4:15 Emma needs to pee.
9) 4:25 Emma needs to pee.
10) 4:41 Emma needs to pee. (I AM NOT JOKING! This kid has a pee problem... Or maybe it was all the watermelon and juice before the show. DOH!)
11) 4:47 Ben doesn't want to sit on Daddy's lap anymore and only wants Mommy.
12) 4:51 Emma has to POOP! Daddy takes her, then comes back to say that there is a boy in the Men's bathroom and I need to take her. Ben won't let go of me so I tell Daddy to stand outside Ladies room and let her do her thing. (Small town movie theatre, I truly believe there was no threat.)
13) 4:59 Ben is BORED and squirming and yelling and pointing to the doors, "Outside. Outside, Mommy, outside." I grab the bag and out we go.
14) 4:59 and 1/2, Daddy is standing outside ladies room as Emma finally comes out. No poop, she got stage fright...
15) 5:01 after short discussion Daddy and Emma return to the movie, Benny and I play around on steps outside the theatre.
16) 5:09 Daddy and Emma exit the theater a full 50 minutes before the movie is done.
17) 5:11 We pile into the minivan and drive home slightly defeated but proud of ourselves for trying...
Note to self: Pay attention when reviewers say the plot of the film is really geared toward older kids even when your 2 year old is Mater crazy and Mater is the star of the show... In the immortal singing words of my gal, Alanis Morrissette, "You live, you learn."
Our choice for the viewing was the 3:55pm show. We decided to go for it KNOWING that Ben didn't get in a nap and that both kids played the morning away at our buddy's house while we were working (i.e. potential crankiness). That coupled with the idea that it is opening weekend for the flick and we should probably get there early enough to procure tickets and the seats of our choice made our chances for a successful outing slim to nil.
If I was a betting woman I would have NOT gone against the odds and I would have won - not a lot - but a bit of ca$h, because here is what went down:
1) We left the house at 3:00.
2) Arrived at the theater at 3:20.
3) We got our seats at 3:22, THIRTY THREE minutes before the movies was to start. (I know, I know, rookie mistake! IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN - because we will not go to the movies again until the children graduate from high school...)
4) 3:23-3:50 Ben plays with iphone Thomas the Train app perfectly content (Have I mentioned how much these 99¢ apps have SAVED me on too many occasions?). Emma uses the restroom twice to pee.
5) 3:55 the previews begin, both kids seem engaged.
6) 4:02 a Toy Story mini-cartoon short (six minutes maybe) amuses the heck out of us all - thank goodness - because we paid $15 to be there!!
7) 4:10 CARS 2 begins! Both kids are BORED because Lightening and Mater are NOT in the first 5 minutes of the movie.
8) 4:15 Emma needs to pee.
9) 4:25 Emma needs to pee.
10) 4:41 Emma needs to pee. (I AM NOT JOKING! This kid has a pee problem... Or maybe it was all the watermelon and juice before the show. DOH!)
11) 4:47 Ben doesn't want to sit on Daddy's lap anymore and only wants Mommy.
12) 4:51 Emma has to POOP! Daddy takes her, then comes back to say that there is a boy in the Men's bathroom and I need to take her. Ben won't let go of me so I tell Daddy to stand outside Ladies room and let her do her thing. (Small town movie theatre, I truly believe there was no threat.)
13) 4:59 Ben is BORED and squirming and yelling and pointing to the doors, "Outside. Outside, Mommy, outside." I grab the bag and out we go.
14) 4:59 and 1/2, Daddy is standing outside ladies room as Emma finally comes out. No poop, she got stage fright...
15) 5:01 after short discussion Daddy and Emma return to the movie, Benny and I play around on steps outside the theatre.
16) 5:09 Daddy and Emma exit the theater a full 50 minutes before the movie is done.
17) 5:11 We pile into the minivan and drive home slightly defeated but proud of ourselves for trying...
Note to self: Pay attention when reviewers say the plot of the film is really geared toward older kids even when your 2 year old is Mater crazy and Mater is the star of the show... In the immortal singing words of my gal, Alanis Morrissette, "You live, you learn."
Friday, June 24, 2011
Perhaps Mother Gothel had it right?
You know, lock 'em up in a tower and...
I took the kids bowling today. Yep, bowling with a 2 and 4 year old. We were with a group of about 16 young kids sharing a lane with our pals Georgie and Christian. Luckily their Mommy and I have been hanging out quite a bit recently and know each others kids and their quirks - 'cuz let me tell you, my kids have got some quirks - but that is what makes them so damn loveable. Right?
Quirk #1) Benjamin cries hysterically upon arriving at a new location for 10 minutes then settles down and has a blast. Today was no different. And put on kids bowling shoes? Not a chance! He kicked and screamed and nearly brought the roof down with his tantrum. I put his regular sneakers back on, gave him some milk and he finally settled down.
Quirk #2) Emma does not listen. I kept telling her to WAIT until the pins were set up before releasing the ball. The first few frames she bowled right into the lifting bar. It is amazing that they let us finish out the game...
Quirk #3) If Benjamin does not have a toy in his hands, his hand will go into his diaper and find his built in toy. This usually results in his winkie being pointed straight up and him peeing all over himself (or my sofa, or his bed, or the carseat) or the BOWLING ALLEY LANES! Yep, he stood up saying, "Oh, NO! Water. Water!" pointing to the giant pool.
(Seriously, they probably have our picture up on the wall by now so the clerks can identify us and deny us future entrance.)
It took us exactly 50 minutes to bowl one game (4 kids) and we were out the door in 60 minutes. It felt like an entire morning and I came home needing a nap!
When the above quirks weren't quirking, we did have a great time. I definitely laughed a lot (he peed on the lanes!), sweated a lot (chasing Ben), and really just tried to go with it... What else could I do?
Some proof:
I took the kids bowling today. Yep, bowling with a 2 and 4 year old. We were with a group of about 16 young kids sharing a lane with our pals Georgie and Christian. Luckily their Mommy and I have been hanging out quite a bit recently and know each others kids and their quirks - 'cuz let me tell you, my kids have got some quirks - but that is what makes them so damn loveable. Right?
Quirk #1) Benjamin cries hysterically upon arriving at a new location for 10 minutes then settles down and has a blast. Today was no different. And put on kids bowling shoes? Not a chance! He kicked and screamed and nearly brought the roof down with his tantrum. I put his regular sneakers back on, gave him some milk and he finally settled down.
Quirk #2) Emma does not listen. I kept telling her to WAIT until the pins were set up before releasing the ball. The first few frames she bowled right into the lifting bar. It is amazing that they let us finish out the game...
Quirk #3) If Benjamin does not have a toy in his hands, his hand will go into his diaper and find his built in toy. This usually results in his winkie being pointed straight up and him peeing all over himself (or my sofa, or his bed, or the carseat) or the BOWLING ALLEY LANES! Yep, he stood up saying, "Oh, NO! Water. Water!" pointing to the giant pool.
(Seriously, they probably have our picture up on the wall by now so the clerks can identify us and deny us future entrance.)
It took us exactly 50 minutes to bowl one game (4 kids) and we were out the door in 60 minutes. It felt like an entire morning and I came home needing a nap!
When the above quirks weren't quirking, we did have a great time. I definitely laughed a lot (he peed on the lanes!), sweated a lot (chasing Ben), and really just tried to go with it... What else could I do?
Some proof:
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| She did look cute in the shoes... |
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| "Who needs a bowling ball." |
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| Benjamin! Pee pee belongs in the potty! |
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Farm day!
Despite crawling the walls a few days this week because of the rain, we had some nice out and abouts. Our favorite was to the "Cornell Cooperative Farm" of Suffolk County. I am always in search of a good "free" thing to do so when our preschool friend invited us to tag along we were excited to join in!
This place is a monstrous working farm - fields were full of growing yumminess, farm animals everywhere, and lots of "equipment" for the kids to pretend on. We saw tons of piglets suckling on Mama, baby chicks galore, lots of baby goats, and cows, and horses, and turkeys, and peacocks, and even a llama or two - because what farm doesn't have a llama wandering around...
Here are a few pics to visualize the goodness, compliments of my friend, Christine.
This place is a monstrous working farm - fields were full of growing yumminess, farm animals everywhere, and lots of "equipment" for the kids to pretend on. We saw tons of piglets suckling on Mama, baby chicks galore, lots of baby goats, and cows, and horses, and turkeys, and peacocks, and even a llama or two - because what farm doesn't have a llama wandering around...
Here are a few pics to visualize the goodness, compliments of my friend, Christine.
Father's Day, Part 2
We took an overnight trip to PA this past weekend as my Aunt and Uncle from TX were visiting my mom and we hadn't seen them since our wedding years ago. We lucked out that it was Father's Day weekend and also had amazing weather and got to spend the entire Sunday outdoors with all the Dads. Ben and Grandpa bonded the afternoon away wrestling and fooling around. Ben was so wiped out that he passed out 3 minutes into our trip home late Sunday afternoon! I doubt Grandpa made it much longer...
The traffic wasn't too bad in either direction and thankfully the dvd player kept the kiddos happy... another successful weekend!
 |
| this happened ALL afternoon... |
Happy Father's Day, Part 1
At preschool, Emma made an awesome card for her Daddy for Father's Day. You can see that it is a head with a necktie and a bunch of fill in the blank sentences.
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| My Dad is 15,000 tall. He weighs 100. He has brown eyes and brown hair. He likes to eat brussel sprouts. My Dad's favorite thing to do is to play lacrosse. I love my Dad because he wrestles with me. |
Monday, June 20, 2011
Hysteria Lane
Benjamin's now predictable crying every time he has time he has to get out of the car is starting to wear on my psyche. We may become shut-ins this Summer as I don't know how many more 20 minute tantrums I can handle every time we have a change of venue...
Take this morning for example. We arrive at the rainbow park (the equipment is very colorful...) at 9:50am, Ben cries hysterically until 10:07 then has an awesome time playing. We leave rainbow park at 11:00, arrive at BJs at 11:10, Ben cries OBNOXIOUSLY for a good ten minutes making us "that family" racing around the store trying to get everything on my list. As soon as we hit the check out counter, he ceases crying... We are home by 11:45, he tantrums in our driveway, I carry him up to the penthouse as he kicks and screams. I literally DROP him on the floor of the living room where he cries wildly until about 5 minutes ago... My head is pounding and I need some serious R&R from the morning!
I have found that ignoring him during this time seems to make the crying jags shorter. If I tempt to love on him or give him a drink / toy / snack he whips it and gets even more frustrated. I know this is a phase. I know he will grow out of it. I am hoping writing about it gives me some relief. : )
That being said, the kid is a serious Entomologist. He loves watching bugs and picking them up and squishing them between his fingers. He has no fear! On Friday we were playing out in our front yard and he got his hands on a worm. By the time we noticed what he was doing, the one worm was turned into three. YUCK! The funny part about this was, Henry had a friend over about Emma's age who was fearless when it came to worms. Emma saw the biggest worm I had ever seen trying to wiggle across the sidewalk. She freaked out for about 5 seconds until the girl simply picked up the worm and tossed it in the bushes. Em looked at her like she had 3 heads, then something fired in her brain and she said, "I wanna pick up a worm, too!" Ahhhhhh, peer pressure!
To add to this mornings drama was Emzilla who requested to go to the rock wall park by the water. I had no clue where she meant and I wanted to go to BJs afterwards, so we went to the park of MY choice. When we pulled into the park she informed me this wasn't the park she wanted to go to and she wasn't about to get out of the car and play there. As I was already dealing with a screaming Benjamin, I just left her sitting on the curb to figure it out for herself. (Rainbow park is always deserted because it it tucked back off the road and very few people probably even know of it's existence so I wasn't worried about her too much...) She walked a good 50 yards down a pathway as if she was running away, sat herself down and howled. About 10 minutes later she came running up to me and I asked her where she had been as I "couldn't find her and missed her so much". We then played happily away...
I may need a nap this afternoon...
Take this morning for example. We arrive at the rainbow park (the equipment is very colorful...) at 9:50am, Ben cries hysterically until 10:07 then has an awesome time playing. We leave rainbow park at 11:00, arrive at BJs at 11:10, Ben cries OBNOXIOUSLY for a good ten minutes making us "that family" racing around the store trying to get everything on my list. As soon as we hit the check out counter, he ceases crying... We are home by 11:45, he tantrums in our driveway, I carry him up to the penthouse as he kicks and screams. I literally DROP him on the floor of the living room where he cries wildly until about 5 minutes ago... My head is pounding and I need some serious R&R from the morning!
I have found that ignoring him during this time seems to make the crying jags shorter. If I tempt to love on him or give him a drink / toy / snack he whips it and gets even more frustrated. I know this is a phase. I know he will grow out of it. I am hoping writing about it gives me some relief. : )
That being said, the kid is a serious Entomologist. He loves watching bugs and picking them up and squishing them between his fingers. He has no fear! On Friday we were playing out in our front yard and he got his hands on a worm. By the time we noticed what he was doing, the one worm was turned into three. YUCK! The funny part about this was, Henry had a friend over about Emma's age who was fearless when it came to worms. Emma saw the biggest worm I had ever seen trying to wiggle across the sidewalk. She freaked out for about 5 seconds until the girl simply picked up the worm and tossed it in the bushes. Em looked at her like she had 3 heads, then something fired in her brain and she said, "I wanna pick up a worm, too!" Ahhhhhh, peer pressure!
To add to this mornings drama was Emzilla who requested to go to the rock wall park by the water. I had no clue where she meant and I wanted to go to BJs afterwards, so we went to the park of MY choice. When we pulled into the park she informed me this wasn't the park she wanted to go to and she wasn't about to get out of the car and play there. As I was already dealing with a screaming Benjamin, I just left her sitting on the curb to figure it out for herself. (Rainbow park is always deserted because it it tucked back off the road and very few people probably even know of it's existence so I wasn't worried about her too much...) She walked a good 50 yards down a pathway as if she was running away, sat herself down and howled. About 10 minutes later she came running up to me and I asked her where she had been as I "couldn't find her and missed her so much". We then played happily away...
I may need a nap this afternoon...
Thursday, June 16, 2011
"New" park goodness
Once again pulling into the parking lot of a playground, Benjamin BURST into tears and starting crying, "Oh, NO!" over and over again. I am beginning to think he met his demise in a park in a previous life... 2 minutes after getting into the park he was all happy go lucky, but I have no explanation for his ginormous tears.
We had a great time running around, this is one of my favorite parks. There is no sand (!) and it has one of those rubber semi-bouncy surfaces so when Ben wipes out it doesn't cause scraped up knees. And, what a difference a year makes. Last Summer Em needed help climbing most of the monkey making contraptions at this park. This Summer, "Peace out, MOM. I don't need you anymore!"
Ben loves all the steering wheels and spinning wheels this park has, too.
The best part of the day was this completely by chance video of Ben. I was trying to get his love of all things spinny on video but instead I got this 10 second fabulousness:
(Can you view this? Firefox is not playing it. Safari is okay, though.) And, yes, he had pooped in his diaper. This is the first time he has ever told me and I LOVE that I got it on tape. Now if only I could get him to tell me before he goes... In time, Mama-jama, in time.
Today I finally remembered to wear the straw hat I got for myself to keep Mr. Sun off my face - specifically my delicate nose. I felt kind of silly in it and conked my head at least 4 times hard because it apparently messes up my peripheral overhead vision. What is worse? A concussion or skin cancer. Owie.
We had a great time running around, this is one of my favorite parks. There is no sand (!) and it has one of those rubber semi-bouncy surfaces so when Ben wipes out it doesn't cause scraped up knees. And, what a difference a year makes. Last Summer Em needed help climbing most of the monkey making contraptions at this park. This Summer, "Peace out, MOM. I don't need you anymore!"
Ben loves all the steering wheels and spinning wheels this park has, too.
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| Evidence of spinning LOVE. |
The best part of the day was this completely by chance video of Ben. I was trying to get his love of all things spinny on video but instead I got this 10 second fabulousness:
(Can you view this? Firefox is not playing it. Safari is okay, though.) And, yes, he had pooped in his diaper. This is the first time he has ever told me and I LOVE that I got it on tape. Now if only I could get him to tell me before he goes... In time, Mama-jama, in time.
Today I finally remembered to wear the straw hat I got for myself to keep Mr. Sun off my face - specifically my delicate nose. I felt kind of silly in it and conked my head at least 4 times hard because it apparently messes up my peripheral overhead vision. What is worse? A concussion or skin cancer. Owie.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
What day is today?
Now that we are in Summer break mode, I have to find "something" to do Mon-Fri vs. just 3 days a week. I keep reminding myself that when Em starts 5 day a week free Pre-K come September, my life will become easier / more difficult real quick. Easier because I only need to find something to do for one kid, but more difficult because Em will be on a real schedule with specific drop off and pick up times 5 days a week.
That being said, I always try to be out the door by 10am so I can be home for lunch and then Ben's nap. Some days I succeed. Today I did not.
Because I didn't get out the door until 10:20, the park I wanted to go play at 15 minutes away travel time-wise would have eaten into our it's-a-beautiful-day-and-we-really-should-get-as-much-outside-time-as-possible time. So, as we were pulling down our driveway I was thinking we should just go to Rocketship park because it is close - it is also sand, and I HATE SAND. Then Emma announced from the back seat, "Mom, we should just go to Rocketship park." Decision made.
As we pulled into the parking lot my sensitive / emotional little 2 year old's bottom lip jutted out and giant tears started spilling down his cute little cheeks. "Whatsamatter, buddy?" Sadly he could not put into words just yet why he randomly feels sad, but within a few minutes of digging in the sand he was as happy as a clam again...
Em, as per usual, quickly made friends with the kids already playing. Ben, as per usual, quickly buried his matchbox and I could not find it. That also warranted a bunch of, "Oh, NO's!!" until a nice 6 year old discovered Ben's buried treasure and returned it to him, thank you very much.
Em is now fascinated with the monkey bars. Trouble is, she starts out, gets immediately stuck, cries for help, I grab her, she fakes her way across the bars with me holding her, then demands at the end I let her go so she can hang and then drop to the ground... Happened at least 8 times today.
We made it home for lunch with no more tears, but filthy from head to toe. Have I mentioned I dislike sand DUST more than sand?
Tonight I kidsat my friend's kiddos. 4 kids four and under wreaking havoc on the penthouse. I apologize to the lovely ladies who live below us... OI!
That being said, I always try to be out the door by 10am so I can be home for lunch and then Ben's nap. Some days I succeed. Today I did not.
Because I didn't get out the door until 10:20, the park I wanted to go play at 15 minutes away travel time-wise would have eaten into our it's-a-beautiful-day-and-we-really-should-get-as-much-outside-time-as-possible time. So, as we were pulling down our driveway I was thinking we should just go to Rocketship park because it is close - it is also sand, and I HATE SAND. Then Emma announced from the back seat, "Mom, we should just go to Rocketship park." Decision made.
As we pulled into the parking lot my sensitive / emotional little 2 year old's bottom lip jutted out and giant tears started spilling down his cute little cheeks. "Whatsamatter, buddy?" Sadly he could not put into words just yet why he randomly feels sad, but within a few minutes of digging in the sand he was as happy as a clam again...
Em, as per usual, quickly made friends with the kids already playing. Ben, as per usual, quickly buried his matchbox and I could not find it. That also warranted a bunch of, "Oh, NO's!!" until a nice 6 year old discovered Ben's buried treasure and returned it to him, thank you very much.
Em is now fascinated with the monkey bars. Trouble is, she starts out, gets immediately stuck, cries for help, I grab her, she fakes her way across the bars with me holding her, then demands at the end I let her go so she can hang and then drop to the ground... Happened at least 8 times today.
We made it home for lunch with no more tears, but filthy from head to toe. Have I mentioned I dislike sand DUST more than sand?
Tonight I kidsat my friend's kiddos. 4 kids four and under wreaking havoc on the penthouse. I apologize to the lovely ladies who live below us... OI!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Peek - a - ZOO!
Sooooo, our zoo trip yesterday was NOTHING like our zoo trip 10 days ago. 10 days ago I decided I didn't like the Bronx Zoo because it had too many school field tripping children there. On that visit as we were leaving I asked a staff member, "When is the best time to come to avoid so many elementary school kids?" She explained that Monday and Tuesday were the best days. Wednesday was free admission day so all the riffraff come, Thursday and Friday were school kid / summer camp kid crazy, and Saturday and Sunday were busy with families from all over enjoying the space.
Therefore, when Daddy suggested we pick him up at his office at 11:00, drive into the Bronx, have a quick picnic lunch in the car, spend the afternoon wandering around the zoo, and then drop Daddy back off at the office for his evening appointments I thought, "Yes, let's give that a whirl."
Sooooo glad we did! I now LOVE the Bronx Zoo again! We used the umbrella stroller (as opposed to the double that the kids weigh too much for), they traded riding in it nicely and we had a blast seeing all the animals sans NYC school kids. Last time I complained about my kids being a pain, but after yesterday I realized, "It's not my kids, it's all the other ones." Hahaha. Okay so maybe it's 50/50?
But really, the only drama we encountered is when some DUMB family with a 2 year old had a toy Lightening McQueen car that they were playing with IN THE MIDDLE OF A WALK WAY IN THE ZOO and Ben freaked out because it was the exact replica of his toy and he thought it was his and cried for a solid 20 minutes through the Butterfly garden exhibit AND the Bug Carousal! Picture this, my handsome 2 year old screaming over and over and over, "Oh, NO!" cry cry cry, "Oh, NO!" cry cry cry. (Repeat 100 times x infinity.) It was endearing, then annoying, then I am gonna slash toy bringing to the zoo's family's tires NOW.
Therefore, when Daddy suggested we pick him up at his office at 11:00, drive into the Bronx, have a quick picnic lunch in the car, spend the afternoon wandering around the zoo, and then drop Daddy back off at the office for his evening appointments I thought, "Yes, let's give that a whirl."
Sooooo glad we did! I now LOVE the Bronx Zoo again! We used the umbrella stroller (as opposed to the double that the kids weigh too much for), they traded riding in it nicely and we had a blast seeing all the animals sans NYC school kids. Last time I complained about my kids being a pain, but after yesterday I realized, "It's not my kids, it's all the other ones." Hahaha. Okay so maybe it's 50/50?
But really, the only drama we encountered is when some DUMB family with a 2 year old had a toy Lightening McQueen car that they were playing with IN THE MIDDLE OF A WALK WAY IN THE ZOO and Ben freaked out because it was the exact replica of his toy and he thought it was his and cried for a solid 20 minutes through the Butterfly garden exhibit AND the Bug Carousal! Picture this, my handsome 2 year old screaming over and over and over, "Oh, NO!" cry cry cry, "Oh, NO!" cry cry cry. (Repeat 100 times x infinity.) It was endearing, then annoying, then I am gonna slash toy bringing to the zoo's family's tires NOW.
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| Super happy Emma and Daddy!! |
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| Quintessential Benjamin. WE LOVE THIS KID. |
Monday, June 13, 2011
Today was GOOD.
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