Please enjoy The Munchkin's first experience with Playdoh.
Say what you will, but at least he thinks out of the box. Oh, and he has LITERALLY been doing this all day. I've hardly seen him. And evidently, this activity requires too much concentration for talking.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Did You Know...
...that when you freeze leftover soup, there is a major space-saving option?
Instead of putting it in bulky tupperwear, freeze it lying down in a freezer bag. After the first night, you can stand it up in your freezer to make space!
You knew that already? Just checking....
Instead of putting it in bulky tupperwear, freeze it lying down in a freezer bag. After the first night, you can stand it up in your freezer to make space!
You knew that already? Just checking....
Thursday, October 8, 2009
A Good Day
Today was a good day. No, it was a great day. The Munchkin and I just had a really, truly wonderful time together today. One minor meltdown in music that can be overlooked is par for the course, at this juncture.
Once again, I notice that I spend too much time trying to multi-task at the computer/sink/washer while he is on the floor playing with toys. Or I am so daunted at the idea of four hours to fill before bedtime that we run needless errands that frustrate us both. So today, after music, we came home and just played.
What's funny is that we actually played together. Like, he would bring me Legos and we would take turns building them (me) and tearing them down (him). He would give me the hard instruments to play (kazoo, harmonica), while he played the sticks and jingle bells. We looked a dozens of pictures in books today. Ooh! Funny story. So, he opened a book to a page with cartoon balloons on them, and said his usual, "Whsssat?" "Balloons." (Repeat times 20.) Then, after a while, he pointed to the balloons and said, "Baa-mmm." Two distinct syllables. Naturally, I thought, hey! he knows a sort of word for balloon! Well, for the rest of the afternoon, he pointed to everything and said, "Baa-mmm," so I guess we can strike that.
Anyway. We played with trains, and balls, and listened to music, and danced, and made up dialogue for his stuffed animals (me) and threw them around the room (him). At one point, I was laying on the floor in his room and put my head down on my arms. A few moments later, he snuggled right up against me with his head on my back and said, "Ahhh," in that toddler sing-songy voice.
AND...he ate three servings of green vegetables that were not disguised by butter and/or cheese.
It was good day.
(Add to the Things He Can (Sort of) Say list: "All gone.")
Once again, I notice that I spend too much time trying to multi-task at the computer/sink/washer while he is on the floor playing with toys. Or I am so daunted at the idea of four hours to fill before bedtime that we run needless errands that frustrate us both. So today, after music, we came home and just played.
What's funny is that we actually played together. Like, he would bring me Legos and we would take turns building them (me) and tearing them down (him). He would give me the hard instruments to play (kazoo, harmonica), while he played the sticks and jingle bells. We looked a dozens of pictures in books today. Ooh! Funny story. So, he opened a book to a page with cartoon balloons on them, and said his usual, "Whsssat?" "Balloons." (Repeat times 20.) Then, after a while, he pointed to the balloons and said, "Baa-mmm." Two distinct syllables. Naturally, I thought, hey! he knows a sort of word for balloon! Well, for the rest of the afternoon, he pointed to everything and said, "Baa-mmm," so I guess we can strike that.
Anyway. We played with trains, and balls, and listened to music, and danced, and made up dialogue for his stuffed animals (me) and threw them around the room (him). At one point, I was laying on the floor in his room and put my head down on my arms. A few moments later, he snuggled right up against me with his head on my back and said, "Ahhh," in that toddler sing-songy voice.
AND...he ate three servings of green vegetables that were not disguised by butter and/or cheese.
It was good day.
(Add to the Things He Can (Sort of) Say list: "All gone.")
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
"Hey! It's Kathy Lee Gifford!" *
(* If you don't get the joke, too bad for you, and you might as well just skip this whole post.)
Kathy Griffin came to town on her book tour, and I went--with some fabulous friends--to meet her and get a signed copy.
Here she is making her infamous "Suck It" face, by request. And I'm supposed to be making it, too, except I was all nervous and stuff, so now in my one and only photo with Kathy Griffin, I look like I'm sucking a lemon through a straw. At least it's more interesting than the cliche "pose and smile" photo:
Tom:
Holy High Heels, Batman!
Just missed another....er....infamous pose:
I was 15th in line. Which is why you can actually read her signature:
Ooh! So! There was a completely crazy/crazed fan who was first in line. We'll call her "Pink Lady." While we were waiting, she was going on and on (to the Border's staff, who also thought she was nuts) about the fact that they had put the signing table up on a tall stage, so when they took her picture you wouldn't be able to see her (Pink Lady) because she's so short, and maybe Kathy would show up "in a mood" and demand to have the stage removed, or "maybe Tom and Tiffany would be, like, ix-nay on the age-stay." She also announced to the group that this was the "biggest day of her life," and I wondered what her husband would have thought of that, were he there to hear it. (Wedding band. I notice these things.) Anyway, she was worth the price of admission, so to speak.
Oh, and someone brought a box of wine for Kathy's mom. Awesome.
Monday, October 5, 2009
LOL.
Evidently, we can now add another word to our ever-growing list of Words that End with "K."
Oliver has an affinity for tearing apart babies. Um, what I mean is, we buy him stuffed dog toys (at a zillion dollars a pop) and he tears them apart--literally limb from limb. Yesterday he spent a good majority of the morning walking around with a moose leg between his teeth.
Anyway, the fluff from these "babies" ends up strewn ALL OVER THE $%&# HOUSE. Well, The Munch, in his quest to conquer the length of the living room in two seconds flat, gathered a mound of fluff on his jammies in the process. Recalling that my dear, sweet child has a few tactile issues (remember the cotton candy?), you will not be surprised to learn that he was less than impressed with his new accessory. He plucked it gingerly from his jammies, using only his pincer grasp, tossed it delicately on the floor and said, "Yuck." *
Here, here, buddy. Mommy feels your pain. Now where is the $%&# dustbuster?
* (Alright, alright, he actually said, "Uck," but the meaning was definitely "Yuck.")
Oliver has an affinity for tearing apart babies. Um, what I mean is, we buy him stuffed dog toys (at a zillion dollars a pop) and he tears them apart--literally limb from limb. Yesterday he spent a good majority of the morning walking around with a moose leg between his teeth.
Anyway, the fluff from these "babies" ends up strewn ALL OVER THE $%&# HOUSE. Well, The Munch, in his quest to conquer the length of the living room in two seconds flat, gathered a mound of fluff on his jammies in the process. Recalling that my dear, sweet child has a few tactile issues (remember the cotton candy?), you will not be surprised to learn that he was less than impressed with his new accessory. He plucked it gingerly from his jammies, using only his pincer grasp, tossed it delicately on the floor and said, "Yuck." *
Here, here, buddy. Mommy feels your pain. Now where is the $%&# dustbuster?
* (Alright, alright, he actually said, "Uck," but the meaning was definitely "Yuck.")
Friday, October 2, 2009
Words that End with "K"
That's the name of the game, today. The little man gets a little obsessive about certain things, and today's thing is the K sound.
Milk
Truck
Walk
Talk
Duck
Quack
Dack? (Not a word, but it's what he said today instead of his usual, "Dat?")
He opened a book about farms, turned to the page with a photo of the dairy truck, pointed to it and CLEAR AS DAY said, "Truck?" This was after we watched the garbage truck munch a mattress and box springs in its muncher. Way cool. "Truck?"
While we're playing the Tricks My Kid Can Do game, I should also mention that he says, "Choo choo!" every time he sees OR JUST HEARS a train. He can also identify lots of different types of trains (Thomas the Tank, his wooden train, his plastic ride-on train, the Metra train) as trains, which seems impressive to me--transfer of learning, and all that. He will now hold out his arms in anticipation of catching a ball (thank you, Mimi); he is an adept Climber of Stairs; he can tell you what the elephant, monkey, Oliver and train "say;" he can point to his ear, nose and toes. We're planning to send him to college next week.
Week. Add that to the list.
Milk
Truck
Walk
Talk
Duck
Quack
Dack? (Not a word, but it's what he said today instead of his usual, "Dat?")
He opened a book about farms, turned to the page with a photo of the dairy truck, pointed to it and CLEAR AS DAY said, "Truck?" This was after we watched the garbage truck munch a mattress and box springs in its muncher. Way cool. "Truck?"
While we're playing the Tricks My Kid Can Do game, I should also mention that he says, "Choo choo!" every time he sees OR JUST HEARS a train. He can also identify lots of different types of trains (Thomas the Tank, his wooden train, his plastic ride-on train, the Metra train) as trains, which seems impressive to me--transfer of learning, and all that. He will now hold out his arms in anticipation of catching a ball (thank you, Mimi); he is an adept Climber of Stairs; he can tell you what the elephant, monkey, Oliver and train "say;" he can point to his ear, nose and toes. We're planning to send him to college next week.
Week. Add that to the list.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Singer Island, FL
Okay, you crazy kids, I'm trying my darndest to get caught up here, but I'm feeling a little blocked and less creative than normal. Hence the title. Oh, also, I'm trying to multi-task by blogging and watching DVRed episodes of last week's premieres. So, um, apologies if my writing is accidentally interrupted by an order for a head CT and IV push or commentary about how surprisingly well spoken I find Heidi Montag.
(Side note: I LOVE television. (It's a problem.) And I LOVE premiere season because it's got that "back to school" feeling of reunion, after having been away from all your friends for the summer. So, Meredith, Addison, Jeff Probst, Barney, Cat, Jim and Pam...welcome back. Missed ya.)
Ahem.
Our vacation was incredibly wonderful. I hesitate to mention this, given my readership, but Florida isn't my favorite state. Humidity and I (okay, my hair) don't exactly get along. But! When you are a Starwood Preferred Member, you go where you can redeem points. They upgraded us to a ridiculous 2-bedroom suite, complete with granite/stainless kitchen, washer/dryer, two bathrooms with fancy showers and tub, living room and a balcony. Seriously, I could have invited my cousin, her husband, and her three (almost four) kids, and we would have had plenty of room.
We kept our activities to a minimum, but did venture outside The Resort at Singer Island for a day of scootering. Yyyyeah. It's been a long time since I thought, "You know, this is actually really dangerous and I might die." I had that thought more than once that day. In fact, I kept thinking of The Munchkin, and that dangerous activities should really be outlawed for parents. Turned out, though, I was my own biggest hazard. The practice rounds in the parking lot were actually a lot harder than out on the open road. Once my confidence was restored (about 20 minutes after leaving the lot), I felt much better.
During that adventure, we "shopped" on Worth Avenue (think Rodeo Drive). Picture us parking our little rent-a-scooters next to BMWs and Porsches, and heading into these fancy-schmancy shops dressed in our shorts and sandals. I felt pretty uncomfortably out of place. (Side note: What's with the plethora white pants in the middle of September? Does the "Don't Wear White after Labor Day" rule not apply to Floridians? Just wondering. I mean, it was 90 degrees there, but still--EVERY WOMAN I saw on that street was in white pants!)
We also made it into the town of West Palm for an evening of Mexican food and street music, and a random stop for gelato. But beyond that, we baked in the sun, swam, rode the waterslide in the pool, and relaxed. We both made it through two books and several magazines, which definitely is a rarity in our lives, these days. And, if I may say so, the best part of the week was that we fell a little more in love. Okay, a lot. Vacations without kids are good for marriages. :o)
Meanwhile, in MI, the Munch (and Oliver) was hangin' with his Mimi, Papa, and Auntie Omi, having a grand old time! Evidently I should give up hope for him becoming a world-renowned musician, since he'll be too busy with his Olympic swimming career. Muchas gracias (again) to the three of you for taking such good care of our babies.
Glad to be back. Much to do. Off to do it.
http://gallery.me.com/hannahrae#100421
(Side note: I LOVE television. (It's a problem.) And I LOVE premiere season because it's got that "back to school" feeling of reunion, after having been away from all your friends for the summer. So, Meredith, Addison, Jeff Probst, Barney, Cat, Jim and Pam...welcome back. Missed ya.)
Ahem.
Our vacation was incredibly wonderful. I hesitate to mention this, given my readership, but Florida isn't my favorite state. Humidity and I (okay, my hair) don't exactly get along. But! When you are a Starwood Preferred Member, you go where you can redeem points. They upgraded us to a ridiculous 2-bedroom suite, complete with granite/stainless kitchen, washer/dryer, two bathrooms with fancy showers and tub, living room and a balcony. Seriously, I could have invited my cousin, her husband, and her three (almost four) kids, and we would have had plenty of room.
We kept our activities to a minimum, but did venture outside The Resort at Singer Island for a day of scootering. Yyyyeah. It's been a long time since I thought, "You know, this is actually really dangerous and I might die." I had that thought more than once that day. In fact, I kept thinking of The Munchkin, and that dangerous activities should really be outlawed for parents. Turned out, though, I was my own biggest hazard. The practice rounds in the parking lot were actually a lot harder than out on the open road. Once my confidence was restored (about 20 minutes after leaving the lot), I felt much better.
During that adventure, we "shopped" on Worth Avenue (think Rodeo Drive). Picture us parking our little rent-a-scooters next to BMWs and Porsches, and heading into these fancy-schmancy shops dressed in our shorts and sandals. I felt pretty uncomfortably out of place. (Side note: What's with the plethora white pants in the middle of September? Does the "Don't Wear White after Labor Day" rule not apply to Floridians? Just wondering. I mean, it was 90 degrees there, but still--EVERY WOMAN I saw on that street was in white pants!)
We also made it into the town of West Palm for an evening of Mexican food and street music, and a random stop for gelato. But beyond that, we baked in the sun, swam, rode the waterslide in the pool, and relaxed. We both made it through two books and several magazines, which definitely is a rarity in our lives, these days. And, if I may say so, the best part of the week was that we fell a little more in love. Okay, a lot. Vacations without kids are good for marriages. :o)
Meanwhile, in MI, the Munch (and Oliver) was hangin' with his Mimi, Papa, and Auntie Omi, having a grand old time! Evidently I should give up hope for him becoming a world-renowned musician, since he'll be too busy with his Olympic swimming career. Muchas gracias (again) to the three of you for taking such good care of our babies.
Glad to be back. Much to do. Off to do it.
http://gallery.me.com/hannahrae#100421
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