big kid

Let me set the scene: my cousin's two kids are visiting, ages 8 & 2.  It's morning and Owen and Emily are playing "Go Fish".  Donny wants to play too.  Aaand action:

Donny: I want to play.

Donny: I want to play too.

Donny: Ooowwwweeeennnnn, I want to plaaaaay.

Owen: you can't.  You're not a big kid.

Donny: yes I am. 

Donny: Ooowweennn, yes, I'm big kid too.

Owen: how old are you?

Donny: two.

Owen: That's not old enough to be a big kid.  Now don't come back until you're big.

Pithy

The other day we were at the park and Liam was on the slide. As I stood with my arms out guarding him to make sure he doesn't fall off I thought:

This is what it's about - letting him learn how to do it himself, but keeping my arms out to catch him if he falls.

a glimpse into my purse

Front and center - calendar, wallet, and a book about kids.

Karenlynn's been cooking again

This was a dish I made for my darlings today, April 1st. Sushi? Are you surprised?


Why? It's April Fool's Day!
By the way, my family loved the rice crispy treats :-) I found this idea from the April issue of Parents magazine. I'm not normally a crafty person (I want to be but that's another blog) but this was too cute to pass up. I made rice crispy treats and wrapped them in fruitaboos. Fruitaboos are basically fruit roll ups but they are made with organic fruit and less sugar. Owen loves them and thinks of them as a treat, and so do I.

Sunday, happy Sunday

How do babies know to wake up right when Mommy sits down to finish the newsletter? To use teen-speak, brb....

worst mommy moment of 2009 (so far anyway)

On Thursdays Owen goes to school. Last Thursday I dressed Owen in plaid shorts and a t-shirt (it was supposed to be hot). Owen decided he didn't like what he was wearing and changed into fleece sweats and a sweater, oh and snow boots. After much battling we compromised on the sweats and a different t-shirt. When he came out with an Iron Man t-shirt, I groaned inwardly. Owen's school frowns on superhero clothes (because boys act like superheros when they see them. As if they didn't act like superheros anyway). That's when I made a bad choice. I decided to shift the burden to his teacher. When we got to school I asked the teacher if she could tell him that superhero shirts weren't allowed. I figured she'd pull him aside and ask him to change. Not exactly. She told him in front of all the kids that superhero clothes were not allowed and would he rather turn his shirt inside out, or change. I knew immediately that I had made a mistake. I should've taken care of it myself. As it was, he got so embarassed and started crying. I never should've asked someone else to parent my child. We would've battled some more but at least I would have saved him that moment of embarassment and being upset. Lesson learned.

No complaints here

I have two boys who are good eaters. I bought the Deceptively Delicious cookbook in preparation for hiding veggies, but the boys eat broccoli, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, and tons of fruit. However, I would like to branch out even farther into, say...tofu, or hummus, or papaya and kiwi. Big O won't eat mango. How can you not like mango?! It's like candy. From what I can understand, it's not the taste he objects to, it's the texture. He's always been a texture-picky eater. He doesn't like mashed potatoes (I know, weird) because of the texture. Any ideas to incorporate tofu?