Conversation with Paige

Coming home from daycare today Paige noticed something on the windshield.

Paige: "Is that bird poop on your window?"

Mommy: "Yep."

Paige: "Why?"

Mommy: "I guess you didn't find the bird and put a diaper on it."

Paige: "Well, this time I'll find the bird and shoot it."

Mommy: "Why would you shoot the bird?"

Paige: "So it doesn't poop on your window again.  That wasn't nice."

Mommy: "What will you do with the bird after you shoot it?"

Paige: "Bury it so no one can find it."

Hmmm.  I'm wondering if the bird is in the witness protection program so we have to make sure it's never found.  Her original idea, several months ago, was to catch all birds and put diapers on them.

The Easter Bunny Rocks!

I love Easter.  It's usually close to my birthday, and has my favorite candy of all time: Peeps.  I know, I know, you can get Peeps all year round now basically, but the Halloween Peeps aren't the same as the yellow chicken Peeps.  A real Peeps lover understands that.

I, excuse me, the Easter Bunny, has been picking up items here and there when they are on sale.  Aqua Sand, Moon Sand, Pixos, Princess Crazy Bands bracelets, Tinkerbell wings, pajamas, lots of stuff.  Toys R Us has had some buy one get one free sales, I had a really good coupon for The Disney Store, things just add up.  I've got stuff hidden under the bed just saving it.  The Bunny found some cool plastic eggs at Walmart of all places.  They look like cupcakes. And they aren't the usual really cheap flimsy eggs you usually get either. These are a harder plastic that should hold up for a little longer than usual.  They will be great for playing tea party and in her kitchen.  Plastic Easter eggs tend to stick around for months of playing afterwards.  I'm still stepping on some from last year.  At least this way they'll be cute and have a purpose.

The ultimate part of the Easter basket is usually the chocolate bunny.  Not this year.  This year the Bunny went all out.  When Mommy lived in Germany I got hooked on something called a Kinder Egg.  They are amazing.  The description on Wikipedia doesn't do them justice.  Imagine a thin layer of milk chocolate delicately lined with white chocolate, and a cool toy hidden inside.  How much better can it get than that?  They are so delicate that they melt easily and can only be made during the colder months, even in Germany.  At least that's what I was told by my German friends.  They aren't sold in the US.  Something about the pieces of the toy being so small and a choking hazard.  Oh well.  There are still companies willing to ship them in.  Even better, at Christmas and Easter, they make something called Kinder Egg Maxi.  The regular eggs are only 2 1/2 inches, these bad boys are 7 1/2 inches tall and have an even bigger toy inside.  I ordered two, one for me, one for Paige.  Hey, if the Bunny can get one delivered from Canada, he better get two, cuz Mommy isn't sharing!  They arrived in the mail today. I ordered from this site a few weeks ago.  I can't wait to see what Paige says.  And I really can't wait to dig into my egg to see if it's as amazing as I remember.

Don't worry, the Bunny didn't forget Daddy.  I just can't mention what Daddy is getting since he reads my blog.

Reunions

The past few weeks have seen several reunions for us.  First, I'm not sure it counts as a reunion if you have never meet in person, but I did meet several ladies from my Mommy board.  The circumstances, the death of a 21 month old child, were horrible.  The chance to meet in person MinneMom, Sandy and Erin was great.  Seeing Jessica again was nice, if heartbreaking.  I consider it to be my reunion of friends I hadn't meet in person.

Last weekend we were over in the town where Ronnie & I grew up.  We stopped by a grocery store to pick up a few things to go with our dinner.  As we were looking in produce we ran into Jason.  We hadn't seen Jason since 1992 I think it was.  I had found him several years ago, then both of us kinda dropped off.  We reconnected on Facebook a few months ago.  He was back in our hometown, and Ronnie & I are 45 minutes away. We talked about getting our families together when things calmed down work wise for all of us.  We didn't get to meet his wife and kids, but at least we got to see Jason.  I always laugh at those people in Walmart having the reunions and blocking the aisles.  Suddenly I was one of them.  Only Rouses isn't as busy and has larger aisles so we didn't block anyone.

Tonight we spend our evening with Dana, Jim and their girls Emily and Sami.  You've read about my BFF Kim on here.  She and I were joined at the hip through junior high and high school.  Ronnie and Dana were the same way.  I haven't seen Dana since 1991 when I graduated from high school.  It's OK, I'll wait while you do the math.  Got it figured out?  Good.  They live in Texas and aren't really close enough for dropping by.  But, stopping back on the way home from a vacation in Florida, it was perfect.  Ronnie had last seen them about 8 years ago.  I had never met her husband Jim, and neither of us had met her girls.  Our three girls played so well together.  We all made homemade pizzas, played with Moon Sand, and caught up.  It was wonderful.  Then, before they left, we got a group picture of the girls in their pajamas.

It was so wonderful to see our kids playing together.  Especially since we didn't know if this day would happen.  See that cute little hear no evil on the left?  That 6 year old is tougher than a lot of adults I know.  She's already beaten cancer.

Our reunions weren't really planned.  They just sort of happened.  Some were bitter sweet, and others, like our 3 little monkeys, were just what I needed.

Growing up too fast?

Every generation seems to think the one below it is growing up too fast.  And for the most part, I do agree that kids tend to grow up faster with each generation.  Advances in technology make it seem that way.  Some of our parents are just now learning to use computers.  We started using them years ago in the work place.  Our children were on them by the age of 2.  So yes, it appears they are growing up faster.  Paige can play a computer game, the Wii, and my iPhone really well.  She knows how to send a text message and what games there are on my phone to play.  (Thank you, Steve Jobs, for building in a lock feature which prevents her from calling Chine on my phone.)

I don't think Paige is growing up faster than I did.  Or at least not dramatically growing up faster.  I also don't think she's behind in her peers.  At least, I didn't.  She's 4.  She doesn't know who Hannah Montana or iCarly are.  She knows Phineas & Ferb, Spongebob, Dora and Wonder Pets.  She picks out her own clothes in the morning and usually puts her black pirate rain boots with whatever she's wearing.  Her clothes cover her body.  No bare stomach shirts, shorts cover her little bum.  You would think this would be the norm for kids her age.  But I'm learning it's not.

Over the past few weekends we've been to birthday parties at local parks.  Kids there, also around the 3 or 4 age group, are dressing in little midriff showing shirts.  Usually with Hannah Montana on them, or at least something else from her on their clothes. They are talking to their parents in rather nasty voices and expecting to get away with it.  Probably because they do.  I don't have anything against Miley Cyrus.  I'm not a fan of her music, but at least she wears clothes and isn't a horrible role model for young girls.  Paige just doesn't find her show interesting to watch.  I saw girls at Toys R Us dressed like small versions of their Mom, complete with the little dress and tiny heels.  Do our 4 year olds really need that?

I don't think Paige is sheltered.  She is just having fun and being a little girl.  She picks out her clothes, and for the most part wants jeans or shorts.  She likes dresses, but says she can't play as well on the playground in a dress.  She may go 2 weeks wearing nothing but shorts, then go a month wearing all dresses.  It all depends on her mood.  I see nothing wrong with some kids having their own cell, depending on the situation.  Not all guidelines apply to each situation.  I try not to look at kids at the playground and make snap judgments.  I will say that sometimes, that can be rather hard.

Board Games

A friend complimented me after Christmas saying she liked how we did so much Old School.  Well, Ronnie and I are older than most first time parents.  I'll be 37 next month, and Ronnie will be 38 in August.  We've bought Paige the toys we liked playing with as kids, and some of the ones we wished we had.  Sit and Spin?  Loved it.  In our house it's called the Sit and Spew.  Lite Brite?  Totally love that one.  She got it for Christmas this year.  We have updated some of our favorites from childhood.  Paige doesn't come home in the afternoons to play Atari, she plays Wii.  Forget playing the a black & white Gameboy; Paige can pick from the Nintendo DS or my iPhone.

Some things are just plain fun. They don't need to be updated.  All they need is a clear spot on the floor and maybe some popcorn if you're lucky.  Paige has had some board games like Candyland and Chutes and Ladders.  Today we were in Toys R Us to pick up a birthday gift, and found it was the last day of a great sale.  I picked up Hi Ho Cherry-O and Don't Break the Ice for $4.99 each (usually $12.99 and $9.99 each), plus Hasbro has a mail in rebate for another $2 off each one.  I remember playing Hi Ho Cherry-O for what seemed like hours with my cousin Steven as a child. It was his absolute most favorite game.  Even if I never send in the rebate, that was a great price for the games.

Tonight seems like a good night for family game night.  I feel the need to skip a bath, and spend that extra time playing games with Paige.  No batteries required.  All we need is to move the coffee table next to the wall, toss some pillows on the floor, and maybe pop some popcorn.  Sounds like a good evening to me.

Mommy is So Proud

We all hope that we'll raise kids who are like us.  We want them to be good kids who enjoy the same things we do.  Somehow I managed to get a little girl who loves pink and can be the ultimate girly girl in her ballet clothes.  I love lime green and my biggest girly indulgence is my pedicures.  We both love shoes, but that's to be expected, right?

First I'm proud that the washing her own hair concept is getting better.  That could be because of the bribe I offered, but I'm not positive.  Well, I am positive that's why, but I'll take what I can get.  If Paige can listen to us, and wash her own hair for a week with no screaming fits, we'll take her to Chuck E Cheese.  She's been begging to go for a few months now.  We've managed to put it off until now, so I think we did good.

Second, I'm so proud that she's starting to be like little versions of Mommy and Daddy.  I'm seeing some of our likes coming out in her.  What I'm seeing now makes me think she'll be a pretty cool kid to hang out with in a few years.  Yesterday we were driving home from daycare.  I had the radio on to a station that plays what they want.  It's mostly 70's, 80's, and 90's rock.  Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train came on.  I looked in the rearview mirror to catch Paige head banging.  She's been working on her head banging here and there, and it's the first time I've seen her do it to the right music.  Although, I will say that watching her bang her little head to Rascal Flatts is hilarious!

Then tonight on the way home, Paige started talking about a new toy she would like.  She said she really, really needs a pair of vampire teeth.  Paige has announced she likes vampires.  She wants to see a vampire movie now too.  I wonder if I can find a vampire movie she can watch.  I think there was a child vampire movie with the kid from Jerry Maguire.  She's definitely not ready for Bram Stoker's Dracula, or Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire.  Twilight?  I enjoyed the books, but not really the first movie.  I haven't seen the second yet; it doesn't come out on DVD until next week.  Besides, vampires don't sparkle in sunlight, they burn up.  Everyone knows that.

It looks like there are some ways that Paige is like us.  She's enjoying the same music we do, and is showing some interest in our types of movies.  I wonder if this has anything to do with the first book I ever read out loud to her: Stephen King.  What can I say?  She was a newborn and he had a new book that had just come out.

Horrible Parents

We are such horrible, horrible parents.  Someone should probably call child services on us.  We sent Paige to bed at 6:30 tonight.  We told her that would happen if she threw a temper tantrum.  We had this conversation at the dinner table.  Then we repeated it again as I was running the water for her bath.  We were just trying to make sure she knew the rules before we got started.  Tonight was a big occasion.

You see, tonight Paige was going to wash her own hair for the first time.  Yep.  At the age of 4 we've decided to not wash her hair anymore. We've been having these little talks with her about how she's growing up.  It's time she did more things for herself.  Paige can put her own clothes on, but a lot of times she decides she doesn't want to; she wants us to do it for her. We've decided she needs to do these things for herself.  She knows how to do them, she just needs to do them more.

Paige, of course, threw a complete temper tantrum.  She was sent to bed early, kicking and screaming the whole way.  She's now in bed and sleeping peacefully.  She wore herself out from all the screaming.  We turned down the monitor so we couldn't hear her as well.  Then, being the super awesome parents we are, we put in a movie.  Yeah, as my child screamed and cried because she had to wash her own hair, we watched Zombieland.

Heartbroken

When I was pregnant with Paige I joined an online Mommy Board.  I become friends with some of the women on there.  I don't just mean internet friends I've never actually met in person either.  Some of these ladies have been to my home.  I've met up with others on road trips.  I've actually met Beth from C. Beth Blog.  I've never actually met Caroline from Cheaper By the Half Dozen, but I do still miss her blog, and catch up with her regularly on Facebook and email.  Jonah Lisa from The Toby Show?  I would love to meet her in person one day.  One of the women I met in person was Jessica.  After we started to get to know each other online, I found out she's from the town where I live.  She came home to visit with her husband and 4 kids, and we got to meet in person.

I woke up Sunday morning and checked my Facebook.  Jessica's youngest daughter, Ava, only 21 months old was being flown to a large medical center.  She had a bad seizure late Saturday night and the larger hospital was better equipped to handle her case.  I've been closely watching for updates, hoping things would improve.  I was happy when the test for meningitis came back negative.  Ava woke up, said Mommy, and drank some juice.  There were lots of happy posts then.  But as I'm sure you've realized from the title, things went downhill.  And fast.  Yesterday, Jessica's birthday, Ava was diagnosed with encephalitis.  Unfortunately, Ava just couldn't improve.  She passed away today.  I can't even begin to imagine what Jessica and her family are going through.  This isn't the way it's supposed to go.  The child buries the parent.  It's a horrible fact of life, but it's the natural order.  To lose your child must be the worst thing you could go through as a parent.

Ava's funeral will be here in a few days.  We don't have any more information than that.  Some of the Mom's from the board are coming into town for it.  While it will be nice to finally meet these ladies in person, I wish it was under different circumstances.

She was better

Paige was better today.  When I picked her up today I was told she was much better today.  There was no hitting today and she didn't throw one today.  I was informed she needs to work on her listening skills; something I already knew from personal experience.

I had never heard the one minute of time out for one year of age rule.  We have tried time outs, spankings, taking away toys, everything.  This was her first ever grounding.  Granted, she spent the majority of the night playing with the toys in her room. But, she wasn't here with us watching TV and playing.  Paige likes to be in the center of the action.  Keeping her out of that and forcing her to be alone in her room was hard on her.  I'm hoping it was a lesson learned.  

Grounded

Paige is having her first ever grounding as I type this.  I picked her up today to be informed she had hit people and throwing toys.  Either one is not acceptable around here.  I sat her down and talked to her so she knew why we're disappointed in her.  Then I explained why she can't do that, and why she would be spending the evening in her bedroom.

I'm not sure what got into her.  We had a good weekend and for the most part she was good.  There were some sharing issues Saturday, but after she got past that things were good the rest of the weekend.  She made cupcakes with Daddy, played with Grammy, picked out books at the library with Mommy. Life was good.  Don't know why the sudden change in behavior, but hopefully we can get her back on track by tomorrow.