Winnie the Pooh

Anticipation

I was just remember the day I stood in line, at the bookstore waiting to see Winnie the Pooh. My older daughter, who was 4 years old at the time, learned about the visit from her preschool 2 weeks prior. WHY DO THEY ANNOUNCE THESE THINGS 2 WEEKS PRIOR TO THE EVENT AND TO A SMALL CHILD... I would never know! Everyday prior to the "Stuffed with Fluff" bear visiting our town, she made sure I know he was coming. She watched her Winnie the Pooh videos daily and insisted I read the Pooh stories at bedtime. So, you can imagine my relief, finally, standing in line waiting to see this bear.

The Line
We arrived at the small bookstore 10 minutes before Pooh's appearance and stood in a long line. The line end outside the door, weaved around the book stacks and ended at a platform set-up, similar to the kind you see at the mall for Santa. However, with the shelves high, and the crowd so dense, it was difficult for an adult to see Pooh on their tiptoes. So, my daughter only had the view of legs, purses and other children. She spent her time talking to me and children around her about her excitement of seeing Pooh. I spent my time trying to breath and fanning myself in hopes I wouldn't faint. However, I was assured, if I did faint, I would not hit the floor. I would of remained on my feet, held up by the people pushing against me. I am not exaggerating... if the fire marshal showed, that bookstore would of being shut down.

The Grand Finale
After being in line for 2 hrs (again, not exaggerating) and trying to bribe my daughter to leave, I can now see Winnie. Only 4 more kids to go! I can breath again, and hopes of lunch was in my future. I lifted my daughter up so she can see him too. However, the wait ended there and then in my arms. She looked at Pooh... her eyes widened... and I could read her mind - that bear was hugh! The Winnie the Pooh we know, is smaller than Christopher Robin and Christopher Robin, should be the size of a normal small child... right? This bear was NOT POOH! As soon as I put her down, she started making her way back through the line and out the door. I heard, "Excuse me... excuse me...." and saw the line parting, but no daughter. Thank goodness a friend recognized her and held onto her until I was able to catch up.

No tears, no discussion she just said, "I'm hungry". And we left.

Lessons learned:
1. I will not introduce Disney to my toddler until she is a teenage
2. I will ignore my child's pleads to stand in long lines to see humans in suits
3. Next time I will pack a lunch and send my husband

Mom left, but I "have to...."

Mom left earlier this week. Now it is back to my regular routine.

After the bra incident with mom, things here were pretty uneventful for the duration of her stay. That is if I don't count that her mothering aggressiveness was increasing day by day along with her verbal "have to" lists. I congratulate my husband for keeping his bloodied tongue between his teeth, give or take a couple of slips. However, I didn't do so well. Don't worry I behaved on the most part, just reminded myself, she will soon be busy again with my brother and sister's lives (HA-HA-HA!).

Since, mom has left I have talked to her on the phone almost daily. Each time receiving a list of "have to..." Sometimes, I hear them, sometimes I don't, most of the time, I just get frustrated for even listening to her. I guess this is what it is like for my teenager.

Anyway, there was one "have to" she mentioned a couple of weeks before she left. Prune the roses. Now, I thought those roses were my neighbor's, since they are on the property border along with the rest of her beautiful garden. She did talk to me last year about the roses, our first summer in this house, but I can't remember what she said. I think I still had postpartum mush brain (hmmm, can I still use that excuse).

One day, mother set out to prune the bushes. Before she did, I asked her to talk to the neighbor and make sure those were our bushes. So, she did and started in on the task of pruning the bushes. Now, I was feeling guilty for not pruning the bushes last year. If I understood them to be our rose bushes, I would have taken better care not to have unruly bushes beside the neighbors beautiful flowers.

Before leaving, my mother reminded me to finish pruning the rose bush, along with a few other things "you almost need a bigger clipper to take out all those dead branches..." So, yesterday, I set out to finish the job. Said,"hello" to the neighbor and her visiting friends before going about my business of chopping up the rose bush. If I could, I would just pull it up, but there was still some life inside the thick, dead thorny branches. After, I had a few thorns in bedded in my skin and a pile of dead branches up to my knees, the neighbor call out,

Are you going to take my whole rose bush out?
Your bush?! But my mother told me.... Ah my mother!
Your mother!
We will talk later

The neighbor laughed and went back to talking to her friends. I quickly cleaned up my mess and went into the house to call my mother.

Mom, you told me the neighbor said those were my rose bushes
She did... She said, those bushes are yours to prune as you like.
Mom, I don't think that means they are mine, I think she was referring to Little Bean's safety... now we know.

Eventually, I am going "to have" to face the neighbor. Yet, even more so, I am going to "have to" face my mother on her "have to" lists.
Or do I have to?

Nap time accomplishments

Whew, yesterday was a good day for getting a lot done during nap time!

1. Mowed the lawn (pat on the back)
2. Dug up dirt in front lawn and planted flowers
3. Watered flowers and plants
4. Ate chocolate
5. Bathed
6. Paid 2 bills

I think I have bragging rights, especially after mowing the lawn and not waking Little Bean.

and I thought buying a bra with my mother in my teens was bad

Ok, is it just me or am I the only one that doesn't like having their Mother in the dressing room with them?

Personally, I really, really do not want my mother in there. She make comments on my butt, my stomach and even my chest.

Today, she topped herself while bra shopping.

AHHHHHH!

While I was trying on bras, my mother waited outside the dressing room (where she should be!). This was the one time, I should of insisted she come into the dressing room with me .
I heard her say to one of the sales ladies
"My daughter needs help, can you go in her dressing room and help her out please?" .
What! did I ever say I needed help! I already carefully sized myself at home and used
this program to make sure I was accurate... and I was!

So the sales lady knocked on the door.
"Your mother says you need help."
"No, I don't"
"I can make sure you are finding the right size bra"
"No, I am fine"
Just as I finished my last statement, Little Bean opens the door and said,
"Come on in"
Oh no she didn't!

At this point, I was furious with my mother and I tried hard not to take it out on the sales lady who was standing in front of me with a measuring tape.

I just stood there while my head spun inside... trying to find a coping mechanism, like screaming, or fainting or better yet going to a tropical island to make this whole scene disappear.
...please, please be a dream.

Nothing worked, so, I let her measure me and confirm I was in the right size, but maybe not quite the right style. So, she picked up a few different bras for me and I tried them on.

In the end, she did an awesome job of finding me great fitting bras, but that doesn't excuse my mother nor Little Bean's hospitality.

As I thanked the sales lady, I let her know,
"Ten years ago, you wouldn't of gotten through that door" (who am I kidding... 2 yrs ago, there would of been no little hands opening that door.... 10 yrs ago, #1 daughter probably would of shown the same hospitality as Little Bean did today). Thats with the assumption that my mother wasn't in the dressing room with me, pushing the button for help.



Side note: ladies try out the bra sizer it worked out well for me :).

Give me a food item..any food

Give me any food item, with the exception of fruit and vegetables, and my family will find research that says it is or it can be harmful to your body.

Background:

If you haven't guessed, my mother is visiting.

As the main cook in the house, I have 5 people to feed right now. No problem. Except, I have to consider everyones preferences.

Not to mention, 4 out of 5 eat a vegetarian diet and no eggs. 1 out of 5 is diabetic and has to have well balanced meals (and desires lots of sugar).

#1 Daughter is not a fan of tomatoes, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese food. Also, her body can't handle overly processed foods and should eat foods made from scratch. Figure this out when she was around 5 or 6.

My mother can't handle spicy food, regular milk and cucumbers. She doesn't like soy burgers, artichokes, soggy, baked French fries and radishes.

My husband is not a fan of too much garlic, bland, processed and sweet food. Has problems with uncooked spices and loves salty, spicy and sometimes fried food.

Little Bean doesn't like onions and tofu. She prefers lentils, beans, spicy food, most green vegetables and most fruit.

As for me, I can't handle too much corn, oil and potato chips. There are probably more, however, I do most of the cooking, so it doesn't really matter.

The Issue:

If someone ask, "What's for dinner" , I usually say, "I don't know". This is mostly an honest statement. If I know what I am making for dinner, a lot of times it turns into something else.

However, if I decide to answer the question honestly, someone has something to say about it.

"Pizza?!... you know how bad the cheese on pizza is...? "
hmm, you mean the same cheese you put on your tacos last night?
Later that week, I get an email about how bad pizza is for your health. Pizza I make from scratch, with a 1/4 of a cup of cheese (rather than 2 cups) and cover with vegetables.

I have also received emails on Msg, soy, importance of protein, E.coli in spinach, E. coli is strawberries(I take back my previous statement about vegetables and fruit. No food is innocent, were my family is concerned), to name just a few.

You get the picture?

Conclusion:

It is almost impossible to cook in this house! However....

I Am the Cook! I will take your preferences into consideration, scream in my head, and continue making what I planned to make.

If I listen to everyone, we would just have home made bread, water and a side of green beans every night for dinner.

Birthday Girl!

Speaking of party animals...

Little Bean is passed out after her birthday party this bright and sunny afternoon. She didn't touch her cake, so it's not from sugar withdrawal, but from dancing hard with her friends in their toddler mosh pit. I have always wanted to dance in the mosh pit, but today, I was equally intimidated by the roughness and tackling of 3 super cute, two year old girls. They would start off running in a fast circle, then one would stop and turn to hug the toddler behind her and fall to the floor. The 3rd would pile on top of them. Then they would roll back and forth running in to each other and laughing. See what I mean? Pretty scary.

I bombed miserably with being ready on time, with finger foods and cupcakes. I just put too much expectation on myself. However, I am frustrated that I didn't meet my own expectations. Planning and executing a simple toddler party is not hard and I have done it in the past. So what happened? I could blame my Mother for not helping, dirtying up dishes and watching t.v. while I washed her clothes so she can have something to wear (her luggage hasn't arrived yet). Or my husband was at work, Little Bean refused to let me do her hair, #1 daughter forgot her lunch and needed her homework emailed to her...etc. That said, I have no one to blame but myself.

Now, if either one of my best friends were here to help (or in my shoes) this would of been done with style and grace. Chef B, a pastry chef (hence the name), would of already had the house set-up and the food "product" chilling in the fridge before she went to bed the previous evening. HH is a perfect republican, who always wears the best perfume, and looks great under pressure.... need I say more? (Side note: we rarely talk politics and we don't attack the other with our point of views.Right HH?) I on the other hand had nothing ready, as far as food, but the plain cupcakes that needed to be frosted, before my 1st guest arrived. So, I spent the first 30 mins. of the party scrambling while the mothers talked and the kids played.

My mother hosted, while I prayed in my head, "Lord tie her tongue...take the words out of her mouth and muffle them so no one hears her..."

I should of given up on the finger food or put together cheese and crackers and called it a day. The most appetizing food on the table was the fish crackers, cupcakes and animal cookies.
I tried making new, simple vegetarian recipes that both toddlers and adults would enjoy. But quickly learned that was a big mistake. Only the one mother, born west of the Mississippi River (maybe a little farther west) understood and enjoyed the food.

On the bright side, and in the end

• Little Bean and her friends had a blast!
  
• The mommies will probably have interesting facts about me to tell their hubbies and friends.
  
• I learned that cranberry cream cheese is not a crowd pleaser.
• I will never do this again, without one of my best friends. So, put it on your calendars Chef B and HH.
  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BEAN!

Toddler Fashion

Motherhood Lesson #64,000:

There is a right way and then there is a toddler way.



Bindis

-------------------------------------Toddler fashion tip - If you can't find a bindi, use raisins




Sunglasses

Potlucks?

Lesson:

Talking about being a sucker.

Never attend a potluck that is sponsored by a College student organization. You are guaranteed the food will be gone by the time you reach the table.

I was so looking forward to eating other peoples cooking at the annual holiday potluck, that I exercised an extra day. I spent most of the week contemplating what I was going to make and deciding what I was going to wear. However, once we were there, the host made an apology that they forgot to inform everyone that this was a potluck "so please view the food as a snack." ....hmmm.

Standing at the back of a long line, my husband nudged me a few times as I stared at students with their loaded down plates (I should say, loaded-up-to-the-ceiling-plates). The same student's who went up when they invited "all kids" to get their food first.

Did I say, I was looking forward to this event? I know, the students don't get good home cooking too often, so this was a big treat for them. However, I felt like this was a set-up... a scam!

Anyway, I don't need the extra calories, so it was probably good that the food was almost gone when we finally reached the table. I ended up with a plate full of leafy salad and mixed vegetables. Not enough to please a hungry, tired mother, who cooked all afternoon and only sampled her dish, just a little.

Is this a sign? I was thinking about that on the way home.... until my husband pulled up to Mickey D's and order 3 large french fries to go.

Magazines

Magazines... I love them.

Recently, I noticed I have a subscription to Better Homes Garden up to 2012.
Whoops! How did that happen?

Well, I pay my bills. Thats good. I renew subscriptions of magazines I would like to keep. However, I just need to pay more attention. Especially, with the fact I already renewed the subscription 6 months ago.

Ah! Dang nab it! (My father's favorite cuss words - if you have never heard this before, make sure the "nab it" slurs together)

Last week I received another offer to renew my subscription for another "3 years for the price of one year". Nice offer, but... does these magazine have a stopping point!? Or do they keep offering until the person has a subscription up to the year 3008 and beyond? I can only make that kind of commitment to my husband. Plus, do we really know where we are going to be in 5 year+?

....Well I am not a sucker anymore.

Drastic Purging of Stuff -- Spring Cleaning

So, I got rid of stuff. I can't bring myself to call it junk. However, my husband, thinks most of the stuff in the house is junk. He doesn't know any better. (By the way, do I call his 1970's "Battle Ship" game junk? Noooooo and I didn't even throw it away).

I should say, half of the stuff I am donating and the other half I threw away. The donation is in boxes in the hallway, waiting for the "Mama Val" style drive-by-n-drop-off.
Well at least or so far, I haven't pulled anything out to reclaim it. Thats a good sign don't you thing? ....or maybe thats a good sign that it is probably junk.

I still have a little itch to do something drastic..... so I ate some chocolate. That will hold me over for a day.

I did notice that around the world there are a lot of spring holidays including important birthdays/anniversaries, religious holidays and festivals coming up! I think I will try to participate in as many as I can. You think anyone will notice? It would be a good emotional cleansing as well as educational. Kind of like spiritual spring cleaning.


Doesn't throwing paint on other people sound like fun? Yeah!


Or chasing after Easter eggs? I don't eat eggs unless they are chocolate. I do like the part of running around with a bunch of (big)kids and elbowing them out of the way before they pick up the eggs. Sounds like a good way to get rid of some extra energy.


Oh and don't forget the food (I'm sure you won't if you were fasting)!




With the massive clutter cleaning, I forgot to mention the discovery of a stack of addressed Christmas cards that never made it into the mail. So, if you didn't get your Christmas card from our family....Merry Christmas!

BLOG FART

Yeah thats right! I think I am having a Blog Fart. Usually, I have plenty to say, but right now...

Well, there is one thing. I have this itching feeling to do something drastic. You know like cutting my hair drastically short.... but it's already short. I don't know what I'll do, but I'll figure it out.

If I had magical powers I would end winter right now and have sunny, 75-80 degree weather for the rest of the month. Eat lots of chocolate without gaining a pound. In fact, I would loose weight and look great with a snap of my finger. I would change my wardrobe, buy bright colored outfits, and hip hugging jeans. Get rid of the clutter in my house and make all needed repairs within a heartbeat. I would go visit my friends and family... all of them, in different parts of the world. That would probably take a year. I would make my teenager sweet... my toddler behave and...

.....Now that would be drastic!

Nap time Accomplishments

I have decided to go on a computer diet. Instead of hanging out on the computer at Little Bean's nap time, I will do more productive things. So here is my list from today. I think I did a good job.

Nap time Accomplishments (1 1/2 -2hr duration)

1. Ordered replacement parts for the refrigerator
   
2. 30 minutes of toning exercise with DVD
3. Bathed
4. Ate lunch and watched the View (ate some sour yogurt or does Stonyfield Farm, fat free, Black cherry always taste that way?)
5. Alright had to use the computer on this one - Recorded my meals and exercise (Started the Self Challenge - Self Magazine)
6. From there started writing this Blog until Little Bean woke-up.
   

I think I was pretty productive.

Silly Squirrel.... Tricks are for kids.

We have this crazy squirrel in our backyard. My family laughs at me whenever I mention him. I don't think they believed me. I love watching him as I do dishes. He scales our neighbor's wooden fence upside down; jumps tree to tree and bounces around in our yard (kind of like those skunks in the old bugs bunny cartoons).
But what makes him amazing? His ability to do somersaults. He climbs up our compost pile and somersaults down, he does this several times. This squirrel is an animal gymnastic wonder... future Olympic material. However, he always stops by the time I get daughter #1 to the window.

If it wasn't for my neighbor, I think my husband would of had me in a therapist chair or on my way back to the 9-5 work world. Lucky for me, my neighbor at a dinner party told the story of our squirrel in the backyard. He too, saw the squirrel doing somersaults on numerous occasions.
His wife laughed as he told the story. I understood that laugh. Daughter #1's eyes grew bigger as she looked at me with one hand over her mouth and the other pointing at me.
"TOLD YOU!", I exclaimed.
At this point my neighbor turned to me and asked if I had seen this squirrel.
Of course I have!
He looked at his wife smugly and smile. She stopped laughing.

Well, that is... she stopped until I told another story about the squirrel (thats another post, another time).

It is moments like this that I miss my father. He would of believed me from the start. He would of even given my squirrel a name. Dad, himself, had a rabbit named Mr. Nibbles who frequently ate up his garden. Dad at times would be obsessed with finding ways to keep Mr. Nibbles away from his precious vegetables, kind of like "Old Man and the Sea" (oops edit - wrong classic...Moby Dick and Captain Ahab)but his story is "Nibbles". Every year, I heard about Mr. Nibbles from a small child up until last year. Last spring was the last time I heard about Mr. Nibbles before my father died in June. That summer, my father's garden lived on, cared for by my mother and the neighbors (and Mr. Nibbles). Hopefully, this spring, the garden will continue to exist and Mr. Nibbles haunts my mother as he did my father. That would be funny.

Please vote on a name in the right hand column.  Or better yet, make a suggestion!  

A Good Resourse for Getting your Baby/Toddler to Sleep

I am still struggling with getting Little Bean to sleep through the night in her own bed. I don't mind co-sleeping... but lack of sleep is starting to take its toll on Bean, my husband and me. I read this in the Parenting magazine last year and tried it out. It was working for Bean, but unfortunately, traveling put us back at square one x2 (nice math equation). Recently, I decided I will try again... 3rd times a charm right? I couldn't find my magazine but was able to find the "Sleep Quiz" on their website. Take the quiz and it will describe the method that is best for you and your child.

I'll keep you posted on the method and how it works for Little Bean... that is, if it still works on a toddler.

If you have tried and/or trying any method, please comment and let me know how it is going and what you did.

Time for Some Cognitive Development!

Jack-Jack
(click here or the baby cartoon to watch)


One day, daughter #1 made the mistake of showing Little Bean the Jack-Jack short video. Big mistake. Jack-Jack has become her hero.

Don't put that in there!

"Little Bean!"
"...Ernie, Elmo, Vidya (giraffe), and all the rest of your dolls & toys do not belong in the potty!"

(photo is just for effect... I just washed her toys)

Later that evening Little Bean, after her bath, made a verbal list, "I took a bath... Mama took a bath, Papa took a bath., Didi took a bath... Elmo, Ernie, Vidya....etc"

Happy B-day DJ!

My nephew on his 1st Birthday
The cake must of been really good!
Happy Birthday!

Just a few of Little Bean's Antics

Little Bean regarding:

• Hunger

• Most mornings (sometimes as early as 3am), she wakes up and declares she want to go downstairs to eat breakfast. And Lists off foods she wants to eat "...peaches, cheese, blueberries, yogurt, cereal, pizza, toast, bagels, cream cheese, ice cream...."
• Nibbling is good, even if it means pulling all the blueberries out of muffins and yogurt.
  

• Independence
• Independence is important to her and very tiring for me. Much patience is needed for me to watch her climb down a few steps only to climb back up to check to see if her sister is coming downstairs and down and up again to check if her papa is coming.... a few more times for books, paper and clothes...etc.
  

• Name calling
• Mama is my usual maternal name, but lately Bean has developed a variety of names to call me depending the situation
• Mom - When she is serious and wants something done fast like. "Play CD Mom... put in Noodlebug Cd Mom"
  
• Mommy - When she is clingy or in a cuddly mood. "Maaameee" usually says this with a big smile and a high pitched voice.
  
• Jenny-Honey (Who calls me Jenny?) - When she is being just plan devious!

Note: She also does this with her Papa-Father-Dad-Honey and Sister-Didi-Honey

• Interior decorating (!)
• Color scheme - She has decided orange crayon would be better for an accent wall and multi colors for our couch. I guess she didn't like beige.
  
• Centerpiece - She thinks the flowers are out of date and she should be the centerpiece on our dining room table. How she got up there? I don't know... you just can't blink with this child.
  
• Other Decor arrangement - This mean arranging her dolls and stuff animals on the multicolored couch.
  

• Social behaviors
  
• Greets everyone... which is pretty typical for a lot of children. However, sometimes she says "Hello Moto"!
  
• When music is playing, insist everyone dances or sings, depending on the beat.
  

• Intellectually
• Enjoys reading most books but specifically enjoys the ones with a little spunk.
  
• Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner (Thanks Amelia at Mommycrowd for the recommendation... I mean it.... really) Bean aspires to be like the frisky kitty by jumping on her bed and coloring walls, calendars and potty chairs. Skippyjon is her inspiration for interior decorating.
  
• Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor. - The prestiges Bean can't resist wearing sunglasses (even smugged and at night) and fancy accessories. This is the time when Jenny-honey is heard the most.
  

In general Little Bean is happy and lets me know, "Mama, [I am] happy" (she also lets me know when she is mad, crying and being funny).

By mid-day she reflects on her morning activities before taking a nap. Well I like to think shes reflecting... but most likely shes planning her afternoon.

Bonus Days!

Daughter #1 has spring vacation this week... no school.... no getting up early to drop her off! What does that mean besides having more time with her? More things can get done around the house! Plus, Little Bean has 2 people to keep her busy or should I say out of trouble.

Today, we went to the craft store, taking the craft idea from Work at Home Mom Revolution who got it from Not Martha, (who in turn posted all her resources) with a beautiful step-by-step on how to make marble magnets. It was quite fun. I made a little charm bracelet for Little Bean using a similar technique. Bean choose all the designs (sorry about the lighting in the photo).


Also, today I hemmed daughter #1's jeans and started crocheting a hat for the fifth time. This one seems like a keeper. The other hats looked good, but didn't fit anyones head, including Little Bean's dolls. So, I pulled the yarn out and started over. Again and again.

...the jeans. Daughter #1 is good at finding bargains with her gift cards. She takes her time and usually comes home with really good deals. Sometimes the deals are pants made for tall people. Not a problem with me ... only takes about 15-30 minutes to hem. I know some family members and friends are moaning right now, remembering their painful shopping experiences with Daughter #1, but I have to say, she is improving. Shopping with her...thats another blog. Even more painful, shopping with her, her grandma and her papa while the innocent bystanders, Little Bean and I soak in the dynamics.

Alright, back to Bonus Days! Tomorrow, I am hoping to get some much needed cleaning done.

10 Reasons Why My Husband ....

... Should Not Cook Dinner

1. He doesn't clean-up after himself while cooking
   
2. His cooking is not as good as his Mother's
3. He uses every pan available
4. He doesn't look at my menu and uses up all the ingredients for the week
5. He thinks he is giving me a break - meanwhile I am running after Little Bean
6. We don't have an air vent
7. He calls me into the kitchen several times to find certain objects
8. There is a chance he will make my least favorite dish
9. Should I wait for dinner or should I go to bed ... is sometimes a toss-up
   
10. We don't own gas masks
    

... Should Cook Dinner (Sometimes)

1. I get a hour break from chasing Little Bean to clean-up the kitchen
   
2. He almost cooks as well as his Mother
3. He cooks better than my Mother
   
4. I get to go to the store again
   
5. We can tell friends/family that we do use the cookware gifts they gave us
6. Windows are opened and the house is aired out (even when it is 2 below 0)
7. I get my exercise running back and forth
   
8. There's a chance he will make my favorite dish
9. He enjoys cooking
10. His cooking clears our sinus'