Coffee and fair trade...best of both wolds

I have always enjoyed good coffee.  I like my coffee to be strong, rich and robust, with a splash of milk and one ice cube.  Prior to having kids, I loved a certain über expensive Kona coffee from Hawaii.  However, when we chose to become a one income family, certain luxuries had to be let go.  My coffee was one of these luxuries.
A year ago, I got a Keurig and have been purchasing kcup from the target clearance endcaps and scratch and dent stores around here.  I have had some good ones, and some that were down right icky.
However, I never had any that were outstanding and would send me to the full price aisle to seek it out.  That has all changed.
I participated in the Green Mountain Fair Trade BzzAgent campaign and was sent the Three Continent variety of coffee to try.  Needless to say, I was excited to try free coffee!  I learned about Fair Trade and viewed a video featuring Kelly Clarkson visiting farmers involved in the process.  Fair Trade secures a fair wage for the growers.  This enables them to have a better way of life with fresh water and many other basic human rights we take for granted.  The growers can put more time and "love" into their crop and the end result is fabulous.  I like the thought of helping out the selfless growers that help me wake up every morning and keep up with my kiddies.  I have known many farmers in my life, and it know the countless hardships and challenges they face.  It is a job of dedication, not an easy paycheck.
When I tried the first sample, I was struck by the strong, full bodied smell that filled my kitchen.  This coffee is not for the weak.  It has a rich robust flavor that is reminiscent to the Kona of my past.  I'm no longer going to be happy with the clearance varieties.  This is worth venturing into the full price aisle.  My fancy coffee days have returned.  The fact that it is Fair Trade makes it even better.

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Last minute Halloween fun!

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For the past few months, I have sampled several products as a BzzAgent.  One of the most recent products was TruMoo milk.  
I have never been a fan of milk.  In fact, prior to this, I have not imbibed in a glass of dairy since 1989, when I headed off to college.  This milk is different.  The 2% chocolate tastes like a milkshake in a carton.  It also is hormone free and has less fat and sugar than other chocolate milks out there.  For Halloween, they have a limited edition orange colored vanilla milk.  My three year old absolutely loves the vanilla milk, but the rest of us find it a little too sweet.  Between the chocolate and vanilla flavors, we have drank more milk in the past month than we did for at least three months.  It is that good!  Definitely worth a try!  
The Halloween fun doesn't stop with the disney colors though...
TruMoo has a great Goosebumps campaign going on right now.  Visit TruMoo to enter to win a Haunted Hollywood vacation for the family and get a coupon good for a Goosebumps DVD just in time for Halloween.  

New cream for all the faces in the family

I was recently selected to review a few products for BzzAgent.  One of these products was Curel Intensive Healing Cream.  This cream is designed for all skin types and safe for all ages.  It uses advanced cremide therapy to repair skin and provide long lasting relief and protection.  In my house, my son and I both suffer from super sensitive and dry skin.  I was very excited to try this out to see if it could help.  In my decades of dry skin, I have probably tried over 100 creams with results ranging from successfully glowing healthy skin to pulling a blanket over my sore and splotchy face and going back to bed!  However, I haven't strayed from the pediatrician recommended thick greasy cream for my little guy before this point.  When I first applied this new cream to his delicate face, he was super happy.  This applies easier and absorbs quickly into his skin.  For me, anything that makes our night less tearful and less stressful is wonderful!  On my skin, I have noticed great improvements on some problem areas.  I would recommend this product for anyone to try.  It is great to have a product safe for all sensitive faces in the house, and works well on problem dry areas that appear on so many of us when the weather gets colder.   It is easy to apply, is not greasy, and comes without the high price tag.

The free tickets and the newest Star Trek fan

As a SAHM, I have mastered a few tricks at getting bargains.  Freebies are one of my best friends, especially tickets for family fun activities.  I have learned that a local am radio station frequently gives out tickets for movies, festivals, and expos in my area.  Last week, I won three movie passes for the IMAX theater in town, and today we took our 9 yr old to see a Star Trek movie.  I chose this movie not because I am a fan of Star Trek, but because this was the IMAX 3d choice, and I am too cheap to ever pay for the IMAX choice on my own. The first time I tried to see a Star Trek film in college I fell asleep about 15 minutes in.  I hoped for different results this time, and my wish was granted.  It was a blast.  The effects and visuals were absolutely enthralling and I even managed to blindly follow the plot.  Perhaps the most amazing thing was watching my daughter transform throughout the experience.  In the beginning, she was horrified with the movie I chose to see.  I think she only agreed to get some popcorn and some one on one time with mom and dad.  After the first few minutes, she was hooked.  I wasn't quite sure what to think when she googled everything she could about Star Trek from the moment we got home until she went to bed.  Even as I write this, she is in bed watching something Star Trek related as she falls asleep.  I think I might have to contact a few of the guys I hung out with in college that were huge  sci-fi fans.  The last I heard, she was looking up conventions coming to the greater Philadelphia area....I think I might be a little over my head!  This freebie might have been more than I bargained for!

The things men teach their sons.

I was raised in a family with little to no interest in the wide world of sports.  I remember listening to the radio in the morning before getting on the school bus to find out who won the Super Bowl the previous night because watching  it simply wasn't an option in our house.  My hubby is a passive fan of some sports, and a loud, enthusiastic (bordering on ear splitting) one on others.  He happens to have been an avid Islander fan of the 80's.  Our son appears to love all sports, and has a slight volume control issue.  Now a few weeks go, dear hubby decided to watch hockey with little man and recognized an old favorite player, Butch Goring.  Hubby yelled Butch! at the tv and the mini mockingbird tried to repeat it.  Unfortunately, his u sounds like an i.  Now, over the past few weeks, my little man has since taken to screeching his rendition of Butch! at various different times.  Today it was first released in the bread aisle of Target, as we were passing a proper looking elderly woman.  She took the time to ooh and ahh over his cute smile.  When she turned away, little man gave out a huge grin and screamed, "B*tch!" at full volume and with the upmost pride.  I immediately tried to explain it to her.  She just quickly left the aisle as a few more "B*tch!'s" followed her. For the next 10 minutes, little guy must have screamed B*tch at least 20 more times...always in earshot of others, including the previously traumatized woman when we met up again at the checkout.  All I can hope is that most of the people in Target today have had experience with the never boring lives of toddlers!

The Prednisolone nightmare. The bark is so much better than this bite!

Both of my children have had sleepless nights from the dreaded croup.  The first time, my daughter scared me half to death.  I immediately googled this condition and, in a state of sheer panic, followed its advice to my closest er.  She received a shot, got a nebulizer treatment in the dr's office the next day, and life continued with no major changes.  As the years passed, I became an expert at humidifiers, hot steamy bathrooms, and stargazing in the chilly night air to help subside the relentless barking cough.  A few times were worse than others, and we would go to the dr in the morning for Prednisolone that would just make her eat nonstop for a week. Prednesolone is a steroid used to treat many illnesses including croup in small children.  My daughter used it many times, with no ill effects.  Anytime the temperature changed more than 20 degrees in a 24 hour time period, croup would come back.  I don't have any idea how she always came in contact with the virus that leads to it, but it happened until she turned 8.  For one blissful year, we were a croup free home.  Nothing I learned from my daughter could prepare me for what little man had in store.......
Last week, the dreadful noise returned to interrupt our quiet spring evening.  Immediately, and confidently, I entered his room with another pillow.  I turned up his humidifier, and took him into a steamy bathroom.  This time nothing seemed to help.  I spent hours that night watching him get worse.  Cold sweats, chills, rasping and whistling with every labored intake of air, his tiny body seemed to literally cave in with every breath.  I lost my confidence.  First thing in the morning, I took him to the dr.  We left with the familiar prescription, and I stocked up on his favorite foods.   That night, he woke up every 20 minutes.  We went through the treatment routine throughout the night and were exhausted, grumpy, but functioning somewhat ok the next day. That night, he went to bed early, and appeared to pass out almost instantly.  When he woke up four hours later, he had turned into a complete stranger.  Even his high pitched scream sounded foreign.  His eyes looked crazed like he wasn't sure who I was or where he was.  He literally screamed at this earth shattering pitch from 10 pm until 3:30 am.  In the moments he paused, his entire body would stiffen and he would become violent, grabbing everything and anything he could and throw it, hit it, or pull it as hard as he could.  Looking back, I can equate it to the difference between Gizmo and his Gremlin counterparts.  I considered taking him to the er, and still don't fully know why I didn't except to say I was simply trying to calm him and handle this latest turn of events.  I tried everything I could think of, and nothing could comfort him.  At 3:30, he simply collapsed, and slept for an hour.  He woke up at 4:30 and we went through a 30 minute rage.  At 5, I was a wreck.  I woke up hubby and tried to fill him in to the latest turn of events.  I am amazed and can't understand how he and my daughter slept through all of the night's chaos.  I think it would have woken me up a mile away.  Hubby stayed home and little man seemed to improve. He was tired, a little grumpy, and seemed to lose most of his appetite, but overall his demeanor made me doubt my recollection of the previous night's nightmare.  My doubt went away when he woke up after a brief nap.  Now hubby could see a brief reenactment of the rage and utter terror that seemed to overtake our poor toddler.  We called the dr, and went in for a reevaluation.  By this point, I began to question if this was a side effect of the medication.  I was told to look for hyperactivity, increased appetite, and perhaps insomnia.  After a lengthy visit, it was decided that Prednisolone could be to blame.  Steroids have been known to infamously cause rage in adults, depression to many, as well as other troubling side effects.  Usually, lengthy use is needed to cause these bad side effects.  We only used it for two days.  After going through this, I did some research and found numerous other reports describing this toddler "roid rage."  The dr we saw told me that many have told her about experiencing horrible vivid nightmares.  Perhaps this is what terrorized my son so badly.  I just know that it was heart wrenching and terrifying to watch these unknown demons take him over.  After stopping the medication, he seems to sleep better with each passing day.  It has now been a week, and last night he only woke up four times.  He managed to calm himself within a few minutes for three of those four. I am grateful beyond words to see him returning to his normal, mischievous, lovable self...and hope that I never experience the flip side again!

Egg hunts

Easter egg hunts are a fairly new experience to me.  For some reason, I have no memory of ever going to one as a kid. My mom says I went to a few, but she was afraid I would end up eggless, so she didn't want to take me. I have a different attitude, and make sure the kiddies get to go to one every year. As a toddler, my daughter was a true princess primadonna.  She would select an egg color she wanted, go out and look at the eggs before deciding whether or not it was perfect enough to grace her basket.  Her first hunt ended after selecting one egg with a nosedive on the tennis court used for the 0-2 age group.  She managed to skin her entire forehead and left a pitiful, bloody wailing mess.  She cheered up a little after eating the candy she found and recovered much more quickly than her traumatized parents and grandparents.  This was not what I was expecting but I refused to give up.  My child was going to experience this, and hopefully have fun doing so.  The following week, I dragged her to another hunt ( this time on a grassy field) and tried again.  I came prepared with an egg filled with m&m's in my pocket just in case she left with an empty basket.  The bunny started the hunt, and off she toddled.  She made a beeline for a certain peach colored egg and grabbed it.  After that, she wandered around, gathered a few dandelions and picked up a green top half of an egg. Relieved and amused by her successful adventure we examined her choice of egg. Amazingly enough, the sole egg she selected was the top prize egg for her division, and she proudly claimed the huge lime green bunny for her own.  Now we were preparing for little man's first hunt.  The night before this coming of age event, I presented him with his Jake bucket.  I sprinkled a few plastic eggs on the living room floor and told him to put them in his bucket.  Delighted, he scampered around and tossed them in his bucket.  When he finished, he sat down, dumped them out on his head, and started over again.  This continued over and over again  to Daddy and sister's delight.  By the time he was finished, he was saying "I am speed...fast" in his serious Lightning McQueen voice and having a marvelous time.  I was just happy he knew to put them in the bucket...regardless of color.  The next day was a blustery, cold day.  Armed with his bucket, he struggled to free himself from my firm grasp.  "I fast!" he muttered over and over.  Since parents were supposed to accompany his age group, I told him that I would carry his bucket.  He looked up at me with his innocent blue eyes and said, "yes I FAST Mommy!"  I had little reason to doubt this, but since there were so few eggs, so many kids, and 4 year olds mixed in with the 2 year olds, I checked that the filled "security" egg was still safe in my pocket.  When the time came, he bounded off, finally freed from my hand, and dashed for the first two eggs he could see.  He grabbed one in each hand, tossed them in the bucket and dashed for the next two.  In the thirty seconds that the hunt lasted, he managed to scoop up eight eggs.  He was absolutely thrilled to pieces.  There were no little slips of paper or age appropriate candy in any of his treasures, but he proudly carried his eggs to the car.  He held onto the empty plastic, mismatched eggs like they were gold.   To him, it was just the joy of the hunt and the plastic eggs were his treasure.  He didn't want a prize or even candy.  Each had their own victory to remember, she has her bunny, and he has his eggs.

Toys that inspire imagination

Over the summer, I had the opportunity to take my son to FAO Schwartz.  This toy store holds many happy memories from my childhood.  Whenever we traveled to New York City, we would explore this fantasyland.  I couldn't wait to take a picture of my children with the toy guard at the door like a typical tourist.  My daughter couldn't wait to see the unique toys inside.  My son was simply glad to get out of the oppressive heat.  When we finally made it to the toddler toys, he had almost fallen asleep.  Suddenly he sat up and reached out eagerly for these unique, bright red and yellow boxes.  He was completely fascinated with these toys from England by a company named Wow.  I took down a box and started to read about these toys that I had never heard of.  I was impressed that they actually do SOMETHING without batteries!  At this stage, little man was insistent that toys had to move, make noise or light up.  I liked the sturdy construction of the toys, so we decided to purchase a Fireball Frankie.  This was the beginning of an addiction.  Hours were joyfully spent watching Frankie race across the room to win race after imaginary race.  I noticed that Amazon had quite a selection of these hard to find toys.  This allowed Ronnie and his rocket to fly to our home for his birthday.  Once again, I found a toy that was constantly and repeatedly being played with.  Soon we started amassing quite the collection.  Halloween brought Stanley Sweeper, guaranteed to be cavity free.  As Christmas approached, I added several more and even convinced others to try these captivating toys.  There was a tragic day over the winter when George and Lucy fell down a vent to their sad demise.  I sent the company an email about the situation.  A week passed with no response, and I had pretty much forgotten the entire situation when we received a small package in the mail with replacement people.  Instantly Fred was brought back to top billing for toy in the house.  All in all, we have acquired ten of these classics and have hit toy gold with each one.  These are quality toys by a company that stands behind their product.  I tell all of my friends with little ones to check them out on Amazon.  I only wish that we could find more toys like this on our toy shelves in the store.  If there is a preschooler in your life, check them out at www.wowtoys.com. You will be glad you did.

Portrait adventures!

Several times a year, I become a glutton for punishment.  I return for every holiday, birthday, and major occasion.  For some reason, I can never be satisfied with the countless snapshots I take of my children.  I want the portraits on "fancy" matte paper taken by someone other than myself.  I put days of planning into these excursions, ensuring that clothes, accessories, nails and hair are as good as they can be.  I try to predict what roadblocks my kiddies might put up on the road to picture perfection and ways to bypass the problems.  I come prepared with favorite toys, snacks and other small bribes to ease the situation.  Yes, I have pictures of smiling faces with m&ms or Swedish fish visible to the trained eyes.  I think this little quirk simply adds to the memory.  I don't want perfection, but I do want nice, happy pictures to remember these moments of childhood.  Today we were briskly greeted at the door and presented with a long, specific list of required shots for today's session.  I resisted the urge to laugh in her face and say good luck.  Instead, I  advised her to be flexible with her order in order to get more cooperation.  I admitted that my little angel might not remain an angel. These are my kids and I do have some insight to their behavior and quirks.  I looked at the chairs and told her that "thinking chairs" could save the day.  She ignored me, obviously irritated by my interference because she knew best.  Chairs did not belong her Easter shots!  I was told to stay far to the side as to not interfere with the lighting.  I visually confirmed his safety in the room, stepped aside as ordered, and let the show begin.  She would tell him to stand somewhere, place him where she envisioned, walk away to take the shot and realize that he had not only moved, but was trying to flee the room by that point.  Once I thought she might get a shot, but she ignored his cooperation to tell princess to cross her ankles.  Priorities! The moment was lost, as little man ran for the hallway.  She tried repeatedly to get him to stand with his feet perfect next to his sister.  It was hopeless, and by now he sensed her frustration and viewed it as a game, gleefully running off the background when she moved away. We had passed the point of  success.  Finally, she relented and used a "thinking chair."  She was stunned as she watched his demeanor change.  He eagerly raced over, climbed up, and beamed at the camera.  Now I watched her gather chairs from various nooks and crannies to add variation to the shots.  Perhaps this interfering, controlling mother might know something.  The session rapidly concluded and was quite successful.  It also followed the exact order that I had tried to suggest in the beginning.  Imagine that!  Fortunately, no blood or tears were shed at today's session...only laughs and scampering feet.  It is possible that the managing forces behind these required shots should rethink their rigid requirements and allow parents to help when able.  It might alleviate frustration and allow them to actually function on their schedule.  I am sure that many say that it is my fault that my two year old will not stand still upon command, perhaps it is.  Or perhaps we should all try to learn to live more freely and express our own individuality.  Maybe we would all be happier in a thinking chair instead of standing on a little taped square because that is what others think is best.  Best might be a little different for some.

The chore chart

For the past several months, the princess has been hinting that she wants an allowance.  I guess this is a right of passage for all kids.  I remember receiving an allowance in 6th grade.  Those two dollars a week gave me such a feeling of wealth and independence.  But, how much does today's child receive?  I felt $5 a week was good, but hubby wanted $10.  I decided to make a chore chart for her that will enable her to decide.  $5 will be easily earned,$10 will require extra thought and effort.  She will be paid for what she does.  Every day, she can receive a check for basic things: making her bed, picking up after herself, reading, practicing her guitar, completing her homework, and respectful behavior.  If she gets 7 checks in a week, she will earn $5.  Every check she loses will deduct $1 from her possible $5.  She can also earn stickers for going above and beyond her expectations.  All day, I was cross examined about if she was getting a check mark and how could she get a sticker. There was no concrete answer for stickers.  Sometimes we will ask her for help with things, other times she can step in when she sees a need.   For example, tonight little man had a meltdown in bed.  I was oblivious on the treadmill.  By the time hubby got me, little guy had calmed down and sounded fine.  When I got to his room, she was sitting next to his toddler bed, holding his hand and reading him a story.  Once I had managed to cherish the moment for a second, I took her place reading and settling him down.  I thanked her for helping, and waited to be asked if she would get a sticker for it.  Happily, the quetion never came which made the gesture and kindness all the more heartwarming.  That definitely earned a sticker!  I'm curious to see what this chart will become.  Will it become a reinforcement for good behavior, or will it be forgotten in a month or two?  Let me know what you think.  Should kids have to earn their allowance?  How much should a child get in 2013?

The return of the hot wheels!

Now that I have a son, I have finally discovered the greatest toy for a single dollar.  This timeless toy has been around for over fifty years and has cost around a dollar for as long as I can remember.  It is the hot wheels.  These 97cent cars have held up better to the terrors of toddlerhood than their much more expensive toddler aged counterparts.  Fortunately, this child does not put foreign objects in his mouth because I do have quite a few spare tires found with hubby's childhood collection that proves they are destructible.  Little man loves to spend the entire day telling me about these cars and racing them on any surface in the house.
One day, the car aisle was in shambles as a baby boomer searched desperately around the freshly stocked cars for the few needed to complete THAT year's collection.  When he was done, he showed me his printed check list and pictures of all the cars he had amassed since the creation of hot wheels.   It was mind boggling! I had never fully comprehended the sheer number of different cars created in a year.  This created a small, nagging fear in the back of my mind which I promptly tried to dismissed.  After  all, little man couldn't possibly realize all the differences yet, could he?
 My son's obsession with cars began around the age of six months.  Now I have become quite the toy car expert.  My father has been grooming me for this my entire life.  He literally has thousands of model cars ranging from matchbox to Franklin Mint.  My amazon wish list even has dad's only remaining desired car toy; a Yat Ming 1:18 1961 Chrysler Crown Imperial listed in hopes that someday it will be reduced from the $80 it lists for.  I know my car toys.  When I visit dad, the guest room is little man's fantasy....and mommy's  nightmare.  Walls of bookcases, completely covered from floor to ceiling with some of my dad's  prized collection.  My little climber is in pure heaven, and I have visions of crashes and concussions followed by broken limbs, rear view mirrors, bumpers, and fenders dancing through my head all night.  So far, casualties have been limited, but little man is only two.  Thankfully for the budget, hotwheels have managed to almost equal the boy's hero...Lightning McQueen and friends.
Traveling up the car toy aisle got progressively easier and cheaper as the year progressed.  Somehow, he could remember which ones we had, and which he thought he needed to have.  Most of the desperately needed cars were at home, waiting by the train (or car in this case) table a friend graciously gave us.  The days of peace have reached an end.  Now there are, according to the hotwheels website, 250 new cars available.  These seemed have finally reached our shelves.  Yesterday in the car aisle, little man's eyes lit up Christmas morning when he saw all of this year's creations.  It was a cute, if not imminently expensive, Kodak moment.  I should have known.  Any company that has been in business for so long, knows what they are doing.  What they are losing in initial cost, they are making up for in sheer volume and quantity.  I guess the new 2013 hunt has finally begun.

Lost in cyberspace! My intro part two!

I have often heard that once something is on the Internet, it will be there forever.  Leave it to me to lose my first post somewhere out in cyberspace.  Since that was my was of introducing myself, I will try to do that again.
I am a stay at home mom in Pennsylvania.  My oldest child, a precocious daughter, is 9 going on 19.  She is in third grade and loves math, science, rollerblading and cheerleading.  One year, she wanted a brother for Christmas, and got her wish...nine months later.  I suffered from empty nest syndrome from the moment the bus had pulled away on the first day of kindergarten.  Now that she wanted a sibling too, there was more incentive to have two children.  My son is a sweet, rambunctious, adventurous little man who loves to cuddle, climb, and play with cars.  He is absolutely in love with everything to do with cars and already has a love for car racing to challenge the most avid of fans.  This amuses and alarms me....I may need help in a few years if he decides to try to race one himself!
So far in life, I have had many jobs.  I have worked a McDonald's drive thru window, printed pictures at the mall and waited on people in department stores.  I have been a student and a teacher.  I taught high school for the school district of Philadelphia and drama at a small school in the country.  I taught summer school, worked as a substitute teacher, and even as a prevention specialist.  All of these jobs never fully prepared me for the moment I would undertake the most difficult, demanding, rewarding, and long lasting job I could imagine...the job of mommy.  Since a rainy December morning in 2003, I have never fully known what to expect next.
As a stay at home mom, please don't ask what I did all day.  Some days we do ambitious activities and others, it is something simple like sitting on the pee-pot, as my son calls it, for over two hours in a day without success.  Both are reasons to celebrate, the second because
1.  I managed to have little man sit ANYWHERE for an extended period of time, and
2.  Someday, it WILL work!
Life is full of adventures and unknown events.  One thing that I do know is that the greatest job I have ever had can also be called, the diaper changer in the house!

Anything can be a toy

My children have become tired of the mountains of toys that they own, so today I decided to pay attention to what they really want to play with.

1.  The heating ducts.  When my daughter was small, I rigged the ducts with a mesh and duct tape to prevent her from throwing more toys down it.  I reinforced them for little man, but he is more determined than a half a roll of duct tape.  While I made lunch today, he broke one loose and proceeded to "feed it" fruit snacks, two race cars, a beanie baby, and one small book.  I think I managed to successfully remove everything, but I can't be sure.

2.  Daddy's shoes....clomping around in his work shoes proves to be timeless as this entertains both until they manage to crash to the ground.

3.  Any cabinet door....opening and slamming one shut can provide countless giggles.  I never realized how sturdy my cabinets were until this point.  

4.  Closing any door that can be found.  If little man ends up on the side of the door that I am not, this  changes to mass pandemonium and panic ensues until he is set free again...only to repeat the process a few minutes later.

5.  Blankets and towels act like Harry Potter's invisibility cloak and allow two year olds to wander around making scary noises and screeching "Boo, I'm a ghost."  Appropriate response is to pretend to be scared.  Lack of proper response will cause volume of boo to become utterly deafening.

6. Try to fit under the bathroom door to see what might possibly be taking Mommy so long.

7.  Crawling through the open shelf of end tables and getting stuck between the far wall and end table so that one must be pulled out by a panicked, kicking foot.  

And the most entertaining item in the house.......

8.  The coffee table.  It  can be a racetrack, dance floor, trampoline, climbing wall, cabinet to hide in, chair, bed, and sliding board.  The possibilities are endless and attempts to curtail these innovations will be ignored.  Any pretense of acknowledgement will be forgotten when the next idea surfaces, or mommy looks away.  Whichever happens first.  I hope Santa is taking notes for next Christmas!

But mom, everyone else has a phone!

Recently, my daughter has decided that she absolutely must have a phone...for school.  She is in third grade.  I see the desperation in her voice and eyes as she tries to plead her case.  It reminds me of myself in the 80's.  I was in Bloomingdales admiring the new Swatch watches that had just came in.  I wanted the pink watch with a scented band so desperately that it hurt.  I got the watch for my birthday  and I can still feel the excitement that filled me as I proudly strapped the plastic, sweet  smelling band to my arm.  I must have looked ridiculous to the teacher as I sat, proudly sniffing my wrist all day.  While I can relate to her plight, I now am on the other end of the situation...and it isn't fun.  I can't believe that many third graders have phones in our little land of suburbia.  I was fairly certain that this request would come in a few years when she entered middle school.  I remember telling her repeatedly in kindergarten that even though one little girl already had a phone, she had to have "double digits" in her age before she could.  Unfortunately, she will be double digits this year.  I should have learned my lesson with age restrictions with the age I put on gum!  As  a toddler, she knew she had to be four for gum. She woke up before the sun on her fourth birthday to remind me that she had reached the magical gum chewing age.  After breakfast, we had to go and buy some.  She has always had a great memory, especially for things that I would like her to forget.  Am I being too overprotective, or trying to keep her my baby girl too long?  Is she really old enough for her own phone?  Personally, I think I am doing the right thing in saying no.  I still think that she should be playing outside, riding her bike, rollerblading, and drawing chalk pictures on the walk and not sitting in her room texting someone else who should be outside, just being a kid.

My toddler, translated...

When my daughter was about to turn two, friends, family, and even talkative strangers warned me about the "Terrible Twos!"  There were nights that I feared my little princess would change into a unimaginable mess when the fateful day arrived to put another candle on her cake.  They were wrong.    Instead of a terror, I was presented with a funny, creative, mini person that interacted more comprehensively with me as each day passed.  I ADORED that stage...with the exception of the unmentionable trip to Kohls shoe department that resulted in a memory to be shared at another time.  (We still have never returned to that scene seven years later).  I often would just look at her happy face as she started to express, in words I could clearly understand, what she would like to do, see, wear, or eat.  She sometimes would put up a little fuss when her requests were not met, but she saved the real explosions for the age of three.  My little man is now at this magically entertaining age.  It began on the long, one day/one car, almost nonstop, drive to Pennsylvania from southern Florida with my dad, stepmom, myself and my two children.  He decided to sweetly ask for "goofies" when we reached the Georgia border.  By the time we reached North Carolina, he was hysterical and we had frantically offered everything we thought could possibly be goofy.  At a brief stop, he grabbed the lone pack of goldfish crackers wedged out of sight under the seat of the car....goofies.  I will always remember the night I realized the toddlerese he said with a kiss after "I wuv you"at night was " my best friend."  It still makes my heart smile like when he grabbed my hand in a store, kissed it and looked so sweetly and intently at me as he called me "MY mommy."  Yes, he is a charmer at times.  Regrettably, and typical of human behavior, not all translations are so endearing.  As days pass, his toddlerese is clearing up and some other terms are surfacing.  The tirade with foot stomping and shrieks of protest before going up stairs tonight suddenly emerged as  "NO HEATHER, I WON'T DO IT!  I'M NOT GOING UP! NOT DONE YET!"  What happened to my little love bug?    For that matter, what happened to mommy...now I am Heather?  Now that he is tucked in bed, I have to smile because I know that this too will pass, and honestly, he looked darn funny.  I say two is terrific, not terrible! These kiddos still have a lot to learn, and a parent, I am still learning every day too.