Archive for the ‘Toddler Lessons’ Category

Surviving with Toddlers

Jan 25th, 13 / 1 Comment

Toddlers, man. They’ll break you if you’re ill prepared. You can’t just wake up in the morning filled with anticipations of a day filled with cupcakes and unicorn farts. Because when you do, you’re guaranteed to end up with a day that could rival one in the deepest pits of hell.

Now, this isn’t at all saying that all days are hellish and that there are no cupcakes and unicorn fart days, you just can’t count on one or the  other. You just have to go with the flow and see how the day progresses.

Since I started my leave back in December (sad side note – exactly 2 months from today is my first day back to work) I’ve spent A LOT of time with Aric getting to know the ins and outs of his everyday routine. It’s not that I didn’t know it before, but really, I spend only 2 full days a week with him (ah the plight of a working mom). And five days a week he was out of the house, with his friends in a highly structured environment which made weekends with a loosey goosey schedule OK. But now that it’s him and me (and Abby) most of the time, I’ve started to see what works to keep him happy and occupied, and me from losing my ever loving mind.

Here are some things that have made life with a newborn easier for me and Aric:

1. STRUCTURE

I cannot emphasize enough how important this is. We eat breakfast at almost the exact same time every day. We watch the same TV shows at the same time. Lunch is the same time. Nap/quiet time is the same time. If we leave the house, we leave and come back during the same hours. Even our bedtime routine is the same and happens at the same time.

2. The Target Dollar Section

This area is filled with cheapy craft items, toys, and all kinds of little chotchkies. I even made a Pinterest inspired craft project with Aric the other day using some stuff we got in the dollar section. I might take another trip through so we can make Valentines cards for his grandparents. Aric loves craft projects and they can eat up a decent chunk of time. Although, as Murphy and his laws would have it, whenever we sit down to start a craft, Abby needs to be fed. Oh well!

3. Memberships

We only have one membership and that’s to the zoo, but if I stayed home full time I’d definitely be getting a membership to the Children’s Museum as well. It’s a great way to get us out of the house for a “free” day out. The last time we went to the zoo we even packed a picnic lunch and ate it in the tropical section of the zoo. Nice and warm and happy!

4. Electronics

When I’m feeding Abby or just need a Mommy Time Out, I just hand Aric his LeapPad tablet or flip on the TV. Yes, yes. I melting his brain. Plopping him in front of the electronic babysitter. Whatever. It works. It keeps him out of trouble when I can’t run after him.

5. Daycare

I know. It’s odd to say that daycare is helping me stay home with him, but work with me here. I still send him twice a week to get him out of the house, to play with his friends, and to keep him up with his daycare routine so it’s not a huge shock when he goes back in April. Plus it gives me time with just Abby and time to run errands, etc.

I really REALLY wish it wasn’t winter, because we’d work in a daily trip to the park or spend LOTS of time running around outside. But sadly, it is BITTER cold (as in, below zero, yuck). But for now, we’re doing what we can with what we’ve got. I just wish it would warm up a TAD so I could at least take the kids out to the car so we could go somewhere. All the structure, cheap craft items, and TV shows only go so far when you’ve all been stuck inside for 5 straight days.

What do you do with your toddler/infant to stay busy/sane?

advice, Toddler Lessons

Hello Understanding, Goodbye Innocence

Sep 7th, 12 / 5 Comments

I used to love that Aric was still young enough where Tim and I could talk about literally everything in front of him and it wouldn’t even phase him. He only very recently starting remembering and recalling conversations we have directly with him. (For example, when I ask Aric what he wants to do today, he either responds “Bounce House!!” or “New York!!”)

But last night, that all went out the window.

As we were eating our processed, fast-food grease fest delicious, homemade, organic vegetarian dinner, I was relaying a scene that happened between Aric and I that afternoon. I was telling Tim how I caught Aric bringing his entire bucket of blocks into the kitchen and dumping them on the table to play.

Here’s how it went in my mind: I heard Aric playing in the kitchen when I heard the sound that all parents fear – something/one was breaking/falling/getting hurt. So I ran into the kitchen, saw the block massacre on the kitchen table and said (a bit stern, I admit, but NOT yelling) “No no no!! We do NOT dump our blocks on the kitchen table!” I proceeded to clean them up and I brought them back to his playroom. In his playroom, he looked at me with his sad puppy dog eyes. We talked about what happened and why he needs to keep the blocks off the table. Then I gave him and hug and a kiss, and we spent the next 30 minutes snuggling on the couch watching The Simpsons.

But.

Here’s how the conversation at dinner went:

Me – That’s when I heard the big CRASH and saw him dump his blocks on the table!!

Aric – Momma dared me.

Me – What, honey? Momma dared you?

Aric – No. Momma scared me.

Me – Momma scared you?

Aric – Yeah.

Me – When did Momma scare you?

Aric – Aric play blocks on the table. Momma scared me.

Me – ::HEART BROKEN!!!!!::

He knew EXACTLY what we we talking about; he remembered that I burst into the kitchen and yeah, I probably did startle him AND HE REMEMBERED IT AND KNEW THE WORD TO USE. He was aware of his feelings enough and aware of the conversation around him to comment on it. AND BREAK MY FREAKING HEART.

Of course I said sorry and that I love him no matter what. And he gave me a greasy half-hug and said “Wuv you too, Momma.”

So there goes being able to talk about anything around him. And there goes my ability to yell at him because OH MY GOD HE’LL REMEMBER AND HOLD IT AGAINST ME FOREVAR!!

Future Aric, just send me the therapy bill.

child development, scary things, things that suck, Toddler Lessons, where did my baby boy go?

Toddlers as Sour Patch Kids

Jul 6th, 12 / 3 Comments

Aric is in this ….. phase …. right now. At least I hope to GOD it’s a phase and not what will be his forever personality. This child? Has turned into a whiny, spoiled, brat.

On our 4th of July day off this week, we didn’t do a thing. I do feel bad about that, keeping Aric cooped up in the house all day, but it was HOT! Over 100 degrees hot! And humid! And I just didn’t even want to put the dog outside. So maybe that had something to do with his attitude. But that day, it was positively awful. I was googling Fed-Ex to see if they were open so I could ship him up to my mom who is up north in the cooler-ish weather lounging in a lake all day.

Jerk.

ANYWAY.

He was AWFUL. When he wasn’t crying about not getting his way, he was whining about not getting his way. We let him stay up late the night before watching Mulan (which he was TOTALLY into for about 30 minutes) and enjoying his first homemade malt. Then he woke up a full hour early. Meaning I was up before 7 on my mid-week day off. And it went downhill from there. He whined all morning about wanting to watch TV (I really try and limit the boob-tube). He whined when I caved and turned on the TV and GOD FORBID MICKEY MOUSE WASN’T ON!!! He whined when we gave him a snack. He whined while we made his lunch. HE THREW HIS ENTIRE LUNCH PLATE ON THE FLOOR.

I was already at the end of a VERY short rope and it was barely noon.

So we put him down for a nap. After 30 minutes of wrangling him BACK into his bed he finally slept. For 45 minutes. And he refused to go back to sleep after that.

Around 3 I’d had enough of everything, so I went to lay down on my bed to try and nap. For 30 STRAIGHT MINUTES, he whined NON-STOP. I snapped. I picked him up, put him in his room, and shut the door without saying a word. I didn’t care what he did in his room as long as he was SILENT FOR 10 FREAKING MINUTES.

And he was. He read books quietly and peacefully in his room for almost 45 minutes while I rested and cried my eyes out at JUST HOW FRUSTRATED he has been making me lately.

Is it my fault he’s this whiny and entitled? He DEMANDS we get up from the couch and “walk” with him to his playroom. When we don’t? Temper tantrum. He DEMANDS specific snacks RIGHTTHISSECOND. If not? Temper tantrum. He used to have good manners, saying please (usually) and thank you (almost always). Now? HAHAHAHA!!!!

Maybe it’s the heat. Maybe it’s the fact that we’ve been cooped up for so long because of the heat. Maybe it’s the changes in his routine this summer rotating between different daycare providers each week. Maybe it’s because I’m a shitty parent who is turning her child into one of those entitled, bratty children that are just starting to enter the workplace assuming that they are going to get everything handed to them and if not OMG THE WORLD IS ENDING!

What’s going to happen when this new baby comes? It will be the dead of winter, which means more being cooped up in the house unless I want to bundle up a new born AND a toddler and haul them to the mall or something ridiculous. Which means more energy from a tot who, quite honestly, needs his running time. And I won’t be able to devote nearly as much time to him as he’ll be used to. And it will be just so much easier to cave in to his demands, thus creating an even MORE spoiled child.

AAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

Please tell me this is a phase. Please tell me this is just the terrible twos. Please tell me that at some point it WILL get better and he WILL sleep again (even if he doesn’t nap, I’m OK with that. I’ll still put him in his room for an hour of quiet reading time. I just need him to sleep at night). Please tell me that I’m not actually creating a monster.

Oh, and the title of the post?

First they’re sour:

Then they’re sweet:


Both videos were shot within 10 minutes of each other. Also, this was shot a week ago. He’s since gotten much, much better at singing and requests demands we listen to this song over and over and over in the car each day. I LOVE when he gets to the “I missed you so bad!” part! So, it’s not ALL terrible. I guess.

Toddler Lessons, Toddlers are demanding, Toddlers are weird, videos