Lesson #1: Pay Attention

As a mom of two young children, I learn new things every day. I want to try to relay my lessons in a funny way because I was probably not laughing the first time around.

Lesson #1 is Pay Attention. This seems obvious. Pay attention and watch what your kids are doing, otherwise you're going to end up with a toddler-sized shopping cart rammed into your heels so hard that you want to cry. But you can't cry, because you're standing in the middle of the frozen foods aisle with a toddler looking about to cry herself. So, you suck it up and walk it off and after about 5 minutes, it doesn't hurt so much anymore. Remember to breathe deeply and try not to talk.

I have many more lessons to come after they've been processed through my slow moving head. Maybe I'll post one weekly or more or less - we'll see.

Buzzworthy Oscar Party

Josh and I were extremely excited last night. Finally, the hour was upon us and it was time. We had our signature cocktails mixed. We were dressed in our most formal attire, as were our guests. The glitz and glamour was glaringly bright. We settled down to enjoy the party, to watch the Academy Awards in all our shining splendor.....

Okay, so maybe we did not do any of that. Maybe I'm wrong, but does anyone in the real world really care about this? I guess perhaps if you know a celebrity or want to be a celebrity or are a celebrity stalker, maybe it's prevalent? It takes over the TV for weeks in anticipation and several of the channels are transformed to red carpet interviews. The only one that really bothers me is the TV Guide Channel. As it is no more a TV Guide, the coverage takes over the entire screen and it slowly scrolls what's on the other channels in two very tiny lines at the bottom of the screen.

Krista and I did watch the pre-show at 7PM as I rocked her and showed her the "princess" dresses. About 2 dresses into it, she was snoring. I got both kids to bed and watched about 10 minutes of presentations. I realized quickly that I only watched about 2 of the movies nominated for any of the categories presented. This happens every year. Most of the movies nominated are not what the general populous has seen. But, perhaps, I'm just out of the loop?

Secretly, I wish I could attend in person. I would wear a fabulous dress and borrowed diamonds. I could smile and be a celebrity for a day. I still probably wouldn't have watched any of the movies nominated and all the clapping would hurt my hands... So, in reality, during Oscar Night, I put the kids to bed and ran an errand to the grocery store while Josh played video games downstairs. Now that's Oscarworthy!

My Little Lady

My little lady turns 3 tomorrow. She has been ready for her birthday for the last two months. Every single day she asks if we can have a party, several times a day. She asks for a "pink" cake and a Max and Ruby party. She has stated she wants a Barbie car, a jewelry box, a wand, roller skates and a scooter. She is a true princess and loves to dress up and wear her crown. Her favorite color is pink and she loves shoes. She also loves to be the "mom" and tells me to eat my breakfast and not to spill syrup on my shirt.

She is awesome at sharing and being "nice". Sometimes she has to be reminded to share with her brother, but she constantly amazes me when she selflessly gives him something that is special to her. Even when other kids are not so nice to her, she shows her true colors. Even after toys are taken from her in a harsh manner, she picks up a new toy and tries to share it with her adversary (there was an incident at the children's museum).

My laid-back, tiny, baby girl turns 3 tomorrow. She is a wonder and I love her dearly. Have a wonderful birthday, sweetheart!

Repeats

Krista's adept skills as a mimic can have shocking and also funny results at times.

K: What the hell? (repeated after hearing this on TV - not to be confused with, "She's going down to hell!" She's actually saying "hill" instead of "hell", but it's too close to tell most of the time.)

K: Come on, dude! (repeated after hearing Papa say these words while driving.)

K: I'll beat you! (repeated after Josh or I have said it to each other as a joke, but she says it to her brother later in a serious tone.)

Gabriel repeats single words, which is common for his age.

G: Good!

G: Juice?!

G: Ball!

On a side note, as I wrote this blog entry the kids enjoyed their lunch. Well, Krista enjoyed hers and Gabriel ate his banana and fell asleep at his table - that's a first! I hope he doesn't have a cold, that's usually the only scenario where my kids fall asleep randomly.

Days Schedule

Our current daily schedule goes like this:

7:15AM: Josh's alarm goes off and I hit the snooze.

7:20AM: Josh gets up to get ready for work as I roll over to go back to sleep for just a few more moments...

7:45AM: Gabriel wakes up talking and banging on his crib and I continue to lay in bed with my eyes closed.

8-8:15AM: Krista wakes up and talks to Gabriel and I eventually roll out of bed, get their milk and get them out of bed.

8:45AM: Breakfast is made depending on what Krista wants, either frozen waffles, homemade pancakes, fruit&cream oatmeal, or cereal.

12PM: After playing the morning away, I ask Krista what she wants for lunch and her usual response is, "we just ate!" She's never hungry and Gabriel is never full, so it's a funny contrast. We usually end up having chicken nuggets, macaroni & cheese, hot dogs or a sandwich.

1PM: Gabriel goes down for a nap and sleeps for usually 2 solid hours. Krista used to nap, too, but in the last few weeks has given up nap time.. so we end up going downstairs to play in the toy room while Gabriel naps.

3PM: Gabriel wakes up, usually on the dot. We all watch Ellen together and dance.

4-4:30PM: Josh gets home from work and showers.

5PM: We try to figure out what's for dinner and eat.

7:30PM: We read a bedtime story, brush the kids teeth, tuck them snug as bugs in bed and sing the nighttime songs (Frara Jaque, Twinkle Twinkle, and Backpack song from Dora twice).

8PM: Josh and I enjoy nice quiet adult time for the rest of the evening - watching TV, movies, playing games or reading.

10PM: We pray our rosary together and go to bed!

Yes, I Am

Pregnant, again. Soon we will have another little bundle of joy. More late night feedings, baths in the little baby tub, swing time and tummy time. We're hoping for another "easy" little girl like Krista instead of the "normal" roly-poly boy like Gabriel. It is a blessing indeed and I estimate the due date is Oct. 5th, but I'm usually off by a month. Another "suprise" child, so we will need to think of names for each gender again. For some reason we always have more of a problem thinking of boy names. In fact, Haley is on the tops for girl names and we just started. So, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers for another easy pregnancy!

Power of Prayer

As a Catholic, I strongly believe in the power of prayer and faith. Recently, Josh was reading about Our Lady of Fatima and read that Mary, the Mother of God, appeared to three children and asked them to pray more. She specifically told the children to pray the rosary each day and to spread this message.

We, as Catholics, believe that Mary was a human born without sin. She is the Mother of God and though we do not worship her, we do send our prayers to her so that she knows we need her prayers. She then, "pray(s) for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death," like the Hail Mary states.

Based on all of this, Josh and I have started dedicating 15 or more minutes of our night to pray the rosary. We have been dedicating these prayers to others who most need them. So if you have any specific or non-specific intentions that need prayers, let me know and we will dedicate our nightly prayer for you. I really think that prayer helps this world tremendously and have hope that more will begin or continue to have quiet reflection and prayer time with God.

A Day at the Park

Today we had some reprieve from the cold, windy winter weather - a great remedy for a severe case of cabin fever. We decided to take out the new wagon (from Santa) on it's second voyage. We went to UPCO park (the big one, at least near us). I thought this would be a good one as it does have a couple of slides for Krista. Of course, when we got there she climbed the slide ladders and then chickened out each time at the top of the slide. We got to swing, teeter totter, merry-go-round, throw sand, and bounce in the car. Then, surprisingly, Krista cooperated without a fight when it was time to leave and climbed up in the wagon. We headed home, where we are now enjoying a favorite lunch of hot dogs and mac'n cheese. Yum!

Computer Fun

Krista's conversation with "Elmo" on her little Sesame Street Laptop computer.

E: How many blue balloons do you see?
K: One, two, three, four, five....
E: How many blue balloons do you see?
K: I'm counting them! (Pushes the "5" button.)
E: Oops, does not compute. There are 7 blue balloons.
K: (Pulls lever for next question.)
E: How many candles are on the birthday cake?
K: One, two, three, four, five....
E: How many candles are on the birthday cake?
K: I'm COUNTING THEM! (Stops counting.)
E: We can play more later, bye bye!
K: BYE!

And Then He Could Walk...

This afternoon, Gabriel decided he could walk on his own. He does short bursts of wobbly walking jaunts, intermittent with crawling at warp speeds. I know, now he will never stop and that's fine by me! It's cool until he's able to crawl over the top of the crib. I say that now as I am watching him attempt to crawl up the stairs by himself... better get going!