A lot can change in a year. Or not.

Last year, in the month of March, I wrote a grand total of four posts.  Four.  Guess I wasn’t inspired very much.  Although toddlers have a tendency to drive you crazy with the exact. same. things. every single day over and over, so wisely I knew you’d probably only want to read about each of these things once.  No sense in us both being crazy. 

This year isn’t that much different.  Same problems, different toddler. 

My first post was about temper tantrums.  It’s amazing the amount of rage a little body can be filled with.  One minute they’re happily playing along, the next their on the floor kicking, screaming, yelling and rolling around.  And it doesn’t matter where they are, home, car, stores, parking lot- they’ll throw a fit anywhere.  Toddlers aren’t self-conscience, they don’t care that everyone around them is looking at them like their crazy.  Actually, toddlers are pretty smart, they’re probably very well aware that everyone isn't looking at them but looking at us.  So embarrassing. 

My second post was probably my favorite post I’ve ever written.  Everything was written from a two year old’s point of view.  I need to remember to do this more often, when you really think about it, there’s a lot of things that are tough about being two.  Imagine how frustrating it must be to KNOW what you want to say, but not being able to say it.  All the thoughts are right there in your head, but no one understands what your saying.  It must be a lot like being in a foreign country where no one speaks your language.  All you want is a glass of milk, and everyone keeps saying “Oh, sorry, I don’t understand what your saying.”  I’d get frustrated a lot too. 

Or imagine if people just started randomly picking you up throughout the day and bringing you somewhere else.  You’re sitting on the couch watching TV and someone comes along and carries you up to bed.  Or your happily playing with a group of toys and someone comes and carries you to another room.  Or you see something really cool in the street  and someone grabs you as you run off and straps you into the car.  It’d be frustrating, wouldn’t it?  YOU know where you want to go and where you want to be, but you keep being brought elsewhere.  And your too small to do a darn thing about it. 

I wrote about potty training CamCam. 

A year ago. 

A whole year.

Still not potty trained. 

And lastly I wrote about how CamCam was confusing me by asking for one thing and then as I was about to get it, switching to another.  He still does this, but his newest phrase is “actually.”  No matter what it is I’m doing, CamCam pipes up with “actuallllllyyyy, no.”

CamCam, do you want some milk?
Yes (I pour it)  Actuallllyyy, no.  I want juice. 

CamCam, do you want to go outside and play?
Yes  (I get him all dressed up)  Actuallllyyy, no.  I want to stay inside.

CamCam do you want goldfish for a snack?
Yes.  (I give him goldfish)  Actuallllyyy, no.  I want pretzels.  (I get pretzels)  Actualllyyy, yes, I want goldfish.   

I guess we know who the sucker is in this relationship.

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This post was written in response to Mama Kat’s writing prompt #3: What were you blogging about last year at this time? What has changed?

The Day My Creativity Was At Its Peak

Potty training is in full swing here!!!  Horray!  Woo-hoo!!!  Yes! Yes! YES!!!!

Can you tell I’m excited???  Yesterday it was as if a switch flipped in CamCam, he came upstairs and said he had to go potty.  And he did have to go!  Then he said no diapers, he wanted to wear Mickey Mouse pants.  So yesterday he was in underwear all day, and today as well.  And I have carpet, and couches, and my sanity to protect which means that I have to watch him like a hawk and hardly ever leave his side.  I have to be on the alert for any sign that it’s time to go.  So once again, I’m putting up an old post here following today’s SITS B2B writing prompt:  A Post Title You Are Particularly Proud Of.  Here’s my fave:

The One In Which A Cow Is Killed

Originally published April 30, 2010

Yesterday “Little Miss” had a chorus concert at her school.  Sitting for a long period of time in the middle of a crowd full of people with my 3 little boys to watch something that probably would bore them, yeah, I was pretty excited to take them to this.  I knew her part was last, so I didn’t get there early, I drove up as it was starting. 

And then I drove around the school looking for parking.

And again.

Why did they make a school without a parking lot?  There also was construction on the street, which made it that much better.  Finally I found a spot at the very end of the street, about 1/2 a mile from the school.  I parked and took a moment to figure out how to best get my crew to the school.  The school has stairs to get into it, so I couldn’t even pull out the big stroller.  While I’m trying to figure out if it would be possible to walk that far with them, “Mr. Trouble” pipes up and says: “We can’t park here, it’s too far!  What if my legs get tired?”

You know what?  He’s right.  I know that right in front of the school door was a bus only spot, and I decided that for once I wasn’t going to play by the rules and instead I’d make it easy on myself.  So up we went.  Thanks for the advice “Mr. Trouble.”

I decided it would be best to stand up back with my boys, it would give them a little freedom at least.  They did pretty well, we made it through half of the songs and then the snacks I brought ran out. 

Seriously boys, you gotta learn to pace yourselves!  They look at the size of the bag of snacks, and then look at how many people are sharing, and from that ratio decide how quickly they should shove pretzels into their mouth.  This was a 3 to 1 snack bag ratio so the little hands were grabbing overtime and cramming food in as their little eyes darted back and forth from the bag to each other. 

But once “Mr. Trouble” yelled out that this was boring and he wanted to go home, and CamCam chimed in with a loud YEAH!, I decided it was time to take them into the hall. 

One of my kids past teachers was out there, and her and I started talking about kids.  She mentioned how she had 3 girls and 1 boy, and how boys were so much easier then girls.  How her boy was so calm and mild.

Hah!

Then she offered to watch mine so that I could watch the rest of the concert.  All I could think about was how she’s raised this one calm boy, and what on earth would she do if I left her alone with my 3 little monsters.  So I politely declined.  She went into her room and came out with these little animal finger puppets for my boys.  They eagerly grabbed 3 each, and she puts one on her hand and kneels down to play with them, “Hi Mr. Cow, how are you today?”

And at the same time, both my boys reach out with their little puppets and start hitting hers, “die, die, pew, pew, pew!”  I saw a shocked look that she quickly tried to conceal appear on her face.

I wanted to die from embarrassment.

 

In case you missed it the first time around

As a parent, how many times do you walk into a room, shake your head and think: I cannot believe what I’m seeing.  With a two year old, this is almost a daily occurrence.  I try as best as I can to describe these scenarios to you.  But nothing beats a good picture.  That’s why I always keep my camera on hand.  Because with 3 preschoolers in the house, I have LOTS of great head-shaking moments to capture. 

One of my favorite pictures of CamCam in the past year was in the following post, it’s the 2nd picture down.  The expression on his face is priceless. 

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The Cost of Toddlers

Originally posted September 5, 2009

There's no denying it, kids cost a lot of money. When you find out your pregnant, you start a list of all the baby items you'll need to get. It's amazing how much 'stuff' such a tiny person needs! And it's not a one-shop deal, as they grow they'll need even more 'stuff.' A lot of it is obvious: clothes, toys, books, bedding, etc. But there are a few things that you may not know you'll be needing for your toddler, so I thought I'd give you a heads-up.

Invest in a second set of play makeup. Even if you have a boy. Especially if you have a boy. Because every time you're doing your makeup, little hands will find their way into it. Worse, when you're not doing your makeup, little hands will find their way into it. I've had to throw out countless lipsticks because CamCam has shoved his finger into the tube to get at the color and rub it on his face. He loves to use the make-up brushes to brush his hair. He pushes really hard though, so they end up all smooshed down and unusable. Kinda like when I was in elementary school art class and the art teacher told us to put the brushes in the jar with their bristles up, because if we did it with the bristles down, the brush would be ruined and then he showed us one. All my makeup brushes look like that. All of my eye shadows have deep ridges across them from where he has scrapped them with his fingernails. I cannot buy compact face powder because he opens it and bangs it on the floor to get it to break apart and come out. I cannot buy loose powder because he opens it and shakes it everywhere like this:

You're toddler will be needing a pair of high heels to go with all that pretty makeup:

I am not joking, he is ALWAYS wearing my shoes! He loves all shoes but his own. He'll just randomly be walking around the house in different people's shoes, even company's.

You should be prepared to invest in a set of new keys for your keyboard:

You'll need a second set of accessories for your vacuum because the first set is actually pirate swords.

Every time I go to vacuum, I have to spend at least 15 minutes hunting down all the pieces. Everyday "Mr. Trouble" and CamCam use them to have pirate sword fights. "Mr. Trouble" always gets the big sword and CamCam gets the little one, but he doesn't complain. The funny thing is that I'll ask them where are my vacuum parts and they look at me like I have 2 heads, but if I ask them where's my sword- they bring me right to them. It's also very weird that I cannot find these vacuum pieces without their help, but no matter where I put these or try to hide them, "Mr. Trouble" and CamCam always find them without my help.

Lastly, I can't imagine why my electric bill is so high???

 

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Once I had time to think about it, I realized there were plenty of unnecessary things I wasted my money on.  That list is here.

As my husband puts it, I am being boring and recycling my old posts in response to the SITS writing prompt for today:  “Re-upload a post you wish more people had read and explain why it was important to you.”

 

 

 

A Blog Is Born

Getting Things Started

Originally posted: Wednesday, August 5, 2009

CamCam will be two on August 23. I'm not sure who coined the phrase "terrible twos", but experience has taught me that this does not actually refer to a two year old child. The so-called terrible twos seem to start around 18 months, and continue until 3 1/2 years. So it should actually be called the "terrible two years". I'm currently drowning in this phase. Nothing on this planet can match the determination of a toddler who's made up his mind to do something. Never again will rage and anger be expressed so physically without any regard to the consequences. The world has suddenly opened up to this curious little mind, and they have no fear.
Everything was going ok until about 2 weeks ago. That's when CamCam taught himself how to climb out of his crib. Up until this point, I at least had a 3 hour break mid-day while he took his nap. Not anymore. Now he doesn't nap, he trashes his room instead. He will not go to sleep at bedtime, he trashes his room instead. He doesn't sleep in, his brother wakes him up. I feel like a tornado has entered my home and I'm running around after it trying to pick up it's wake of destruction.

He's actually quite adorable though. His smile embraces his entire face, and has a bit of mischievousness mixed in. You can't help but smile when looking at him. I love this little boy to pieces, but he sure is driving me crazy!

So here's the closet he and his brother share. Everyday he pulls down all their clothes onto the floor. Everyday I refold all the clothes and put them back on the shelves. I tried putting them up on the higher shelves, but he just climbed up the shelves to get to them. I can't shut the door because he taught himself to open doors. I had baby-proofing knobs on them, but he learnt that if he put his thumb in the hole and pulled down, it pops right off. His almost 4 year old brother can't get through a door with a baby-proof knob on it, but he can.

Results of nap time. If he didn't share a room with his brother, I'd just take all the toys and books out. But they do share, and that wouldn't be fair to his brother. However, I'd like to know why everyone seems to think stuffed animals make a great gift? They must have 20 or more stuffed animals in their room. I never see them playing with them. I try putting them on shelves to look cute, but they both just take them down and throw them everywhere.

Is this the point of stuffed animals???

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This week I’m following the weeks worth of writing prompts during SITS Back To Blogging Event.  Today’s prompt was “Re-upload the first post you ever wrote on your blog.”  I like today’s prompt, nice and easy! And, bonus, I got to correct all the spelling mistakes I made the first time around.

This event is sponsored by Standards of Excellence, Westar Kitchen and Bath, and Florida Builder Appliances,

Where Did The Time Go?

Today I’m feeling all nostalgic.  It’s one of those bittersweet mommy days. 

Today CamCam turns 3.

I look at him and I’m so proud of the little boy he’s becoming.  And I feel sad about how quickly he’s growing up.  Being a mommy is hard and confusing. 

Last night he was two.  Today he is three.  Nothing really changed in the night.  And yet, somehow, everything changed. 

Here’s a quick look at the past three years:

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me introduce you to my little hurricane

Remember this?

Ah yes, the good old days of my laundry being thrown down the stairs.  It’s been awhile since I’ve had to deal with this frustration.  Not sure what I finally did or said that got through to CamCam, but he hasn’t done this in quite some time.  Probably it’s nothing I said or did, probably he just got tired of it.

Then today I walk by my stairs and see this:

Relapse?  Backtracking?  Is it time to retrain?

Nope, it’s not who you think.  Here’s the guilty party:

There’s a new tornado in our home, and he’s growing by the day.  I’m this close to being able to breath a little, CamCam has definitely grown up a bit- I’m almost there- I can see the finish line.  But my kids like to keep me on my toes so “The Baby”, who I may have to start calling “Little Hurricane”, is stepping up his game. 

Take that mama!

 

  

It’s Summer, Cut Me Some Slack Part 2

Here we go again, seeing how much an early two year old changes from an almost three year old.  This time? 

Makeup

CamCam has always LOVED getting into things.  But especially my makeup.  He is fascinated with it all.  He loves to open the little containers, see what’s inside.  Color with what’s inside.

I’m really hoping this is just a phase and not a way-of-life.

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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

HAHA, I Told You!

I think our house may just be a little bit too small. I really like my house, but it's becoming a bit tight. The biggest issue is that we all are sharing one bathroom. It wasn't such a big deal when we first built our home. The "Leader of the FabFive" and "Little Miss" were just little kids at the time. Preschoolers. It was convenient to have us all right next to each other and sharing the same bathroom.

But now they are older and need privacy. And then there's also the fact that there are a lot more kids. The Dada and I are now outnumbered. The drawers are being taken over by kids toothbrushes. "Little Miss" has an entire drawer devoted to her hair stuff. All the adult stuff is being pushed aside to make room.

And of course there's also THIS problem. The problem where I will walk into the bathroom and find this:

(To continue reading this post, click here )

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The other day I tried to put CamCam in for a nap.  He still needs naps, but he still is fighting them.  I thought this time we succeeded, as he had been in his room for quite a while and I hadn’t heard anything from him. 

I was in the hallway outside his room, when this little face peeks out at me:

Here we go again.

 

CamCam shares a room with “Little Miss”, and instead of napping he had been playing in her makeup. 

Specifically, a tube of rather dark lipstick.  To a two year old, lipstick is the BEST tube of finger-paint imaginable.  Every time CamCam’s played with makeup, I am surprised at how difficult it is to remove.  This time I had to remove it from CamCam, his clothing, Little Miss’ bedding, a wool rug and CamCam’s bed. 

This toddler bed was bought for our oldest son.  After him, I gave it to my cousin who used it for two of her sons.  My cousin leant it out to a friend of hers.  It found it’s way back to me for CamCam.  This bed survived 4 boys and none of them did anything to this bed that couldn’t be undone.  It took CamCam to paint it pink with lipstick and leave his mark on this bed forever.   I was able to remove most of the lipstick, but it’s pink hue remains all over the side of the bed.

    

The part in all this that made me really chuckle occurred when I was scrubbing the rug.  I looked over and saw the baby Mickey Mouse that “Mr. Trouble” and CamCam carry all over my house and take care of as if it was their own baby.  CamCam had smeared chunks of lipstick all over baby Mickey’s mouth. 

So, once again, for the official tally:
Getting into makeup a year ago
vs. Getting into makeup today:
No Change

It’s Summer, Cut Me Some Slack

In just under a month, I will be having my little blog will be having it’s 1 year anniversary.  It’s been almost a year since I was driven by frustration to start this thing.  And in just over a month, CamCam will be turning 3.  Yup, I will have survived a two year old.  Again.  I thought, over the next month, it would be interesting to see how much has changed in the past year.  I’m going to find some old posts from the early days, back when I had only like 2 people reading my blog, and repost them now that I have oodles and oodles of people visiting me daily.  Well, not quite oodles, but 10 at least. 

Yeah, reposting- how lazy can I get right?  But, ^^^ahem, read the title. 

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Thursday, August 6, 2009

Considering a Ban on Markers

Today "Little Miss Chatterbox" broke her eyeglasses, so I had to take her and the three little guys to the eye doctor to get her prescription. Somehow we ended up there without CamCam's shoes, so I had to carry him the whole time. He was sitting in my lap, and I looked down at his legs and saw they were covered in red and green marker.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Boo-Boos," CamCam replied.

"How did he get at markers?" I asked noone in particular. "And if they're all over his legs, where else did he write?!?!?!" …………….(Click here to continue reading)

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One of my biggest frustrations a year ago were writing utensils.  CamCam LOVES to draw, and wrote on everything.  He ruined our couch by drawing all over it, he wrote on the kitchen cabinets, walls, floors, furniture, toys- if it was less then 2 1/2 feet from the ground, you better believe he drew his fabulous scribbles all over it. 

Here’s an excerpt of a post I wrote back on August 23, 2009, CamCam’s 2nd birthday as a matter of fact. 

Ages Three And Up
#5- Writing Utensils!!!- This is the worst! Nothing is safe from CamCam wielding a marker. There's always the tell-tale sign of him coming to me with his legs or arms covered in marker. Then I have to go on a hunt throughout the house to figure out what he drew on. He's draw on my couch, the hardwood floor in 3 separate rooms, the majority of the stairs, our dining room table, the exposed side of our kitchen pantry, the kitchen cabinets, carpet, windowsills, countless walls and I'm certain many other places and things I have yet to discover. I have no idea how he is getting at all these markers and pens and pencils. I keep them ALL very well put away. He must have a secret stash I have yet to discover.

I tried hiding all our writing utensils, but no matter how many I gathered, CamCam always found more.  Over the past year, I’ve slowly started throwing them away.  First went all the markers.  Then the crayons.  Now we are down to just a small amount of pens and 1 pencil that I keep in the kitchen. 

Problem solved, right?

Wrong.

The other day I was in the kitchen cooking and looked over at our dining room table to see CamCam sitting at it with a pen, scribbling ALL over it ferociously.  Big wide circles, around and around and around. 

So for the official tally: 
Drawing on things 1 year ago vs. Drawing on things now: 
No Improvement