AREASONABLEVOLUME.COM

Funny Kids

2010-03-09T15:03:00Z

A quick story for your entertainment: Last night, E and I discovered Baby Duck "making a cookie trail" on the floor with pieces of cookie. Ladybug was following the trail quite perfectly. She even had the cartoon-like stooped-over stance all the way along! Of course, the grownup reaction was to be upset that Baby Duck was making a mess with food on the floor for Ladybug to eat. Baby Duck's heart broke at that because she was "just trying to play nicely" with her sister. It was then that I realized that through a child's eyes, this was simply a fun game with no real harm being done. That coupled with the image that popped into my head of James Woods on an episode of 'Family Guy' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUPgqqIuno0-- there are other videos that have more than just audio, but seem pretty illegal, so I stuck with this one). Instead of giving a lecture about why that was a bad idea, I just laughed. The end.

CL

Hallucinating In My Sleep

2010-03-05T13:59:00Z

    All the little things in life are seriously catching up with me. My grandfather has been in the hospital for weeks now with little to no answers or resolutions in sight. E had to go out of town with no notice TWICE this week-- to the middle of nowhere, which means cell phone reception sucks. Put a twelve hour day at work on top of that and you get a body so tired that your eyes begin to twitch!
    Once I finally got to sleep after all that, my brain played its favorite trick: absurd, senseless dreams that leave me feeling completely unrested. Let's see if I can lay out the basics of this one so you can laugh at the oddity that is my psyche:
    My very sweet, very young boss was making a tie-dyed blanket. She used a wax crayon to draw on some turtles before she dyed it so that the turtles would remain white. It turned out very cute and there were lots of extra supplies left. A girl I went to high school with (who was a couple years older and extremely popular) made a tie-dyed shrug and looked as trendsettingly fashionable as ever. Another guy I work with very rarely made a blanket of his own. I decided to make one of my own. Mine was going to have flowers on it. When I found the wax crayon, it was limp as a noodle and feathery on the end. It was like trying to draw with chenille. I was hard at work trying to draw my flowers when my boss saw me and got very mad. She decided I was a big copy cat and she hated me for it. However, she was fine with the stuff the other people had done. I got my feelings very hurt and went to go finish on the other end of the parking lot. As I continued to make my flowers-- which I now discovered had become repeating lines of the number 14????-- I noticed my boss coming toward me again.
    That's when my phone rang and reality set in. I have no idea what that mess was.

CL

Every Family Is Different, But We All Love Food!

2010-03-01T14:30:00Z

    I'm not sure who really reads this, so I'm not sure who knows about some of the more major things going on in our life and who doesn't. Therefore, I apologize in advance to anyone that this seems redundant to...
    E has an older daughter that he had not seen in many years. When the mother got married, the decision was made to have her husband adopt Teeny Bear in the best interest of her happy and stable upbringing. We thought about her often and prayed for her more than she could ever know. It's so hard to know if decisions made were the right ones until the outcome shows up.
    Last fall I was contacted by her mother on my social networking site.  Teeny Bear was curious about her biological father and none of us were sure what we were getting ourselves into. After the adults got a feel for how much the other had grown and changed over the years, we felt prepared (well, not really, but who ever got anywhere by standing still?) to see how things would progress. We set up a meeting at a Starbucks and prayed our hearts out!
    Since that day, we have continued to see Teeny Bear a couple of times a month. She is a fantastic, well-adjusted 15 year old with a good head on her shoulders and a great sense of humor. Baby Duck and Ladybug think she hung the moon and know that she is their sister. I thank the Lord for their unconditional acceptance of that fact with no question of how or why. We even had the awesome opportunity of reuniting Teeny Bear with The Munchkin when she was in town for the holidays! When I want to complain about the small disappointments of normal life, I need to remember how truly blessed my family is.
    You all should know by now how much I love to tinker in the kitchen. I had really enjoyed preparing some of my favorite recipes for Teeny Bear when she came to visit. Yesterday, however was a milestone: I opened up my massive book of recipes, including a couple hundred I had torn out of magazines but not attempted yet, and handed it over to E and Teeny Bear. They chose one of the many that I had not attempted yet. This was my ultimate test of how truly comfortable I was with everything: was I really ready to risk such epic failure in front of this addition to our family who I wanted to please so much? Was it even about the food, or was it a metaphor for my fears of us not being what she expected? Well, I decided to go for it.
    And that is the story of the birth of "Teeny Bear Wraps".

Teeny Bear Wraps:

6 T. mayonnaise
4 t. sugar
2 t. Sriracha
juice of 1 lime
...............................
1/2 c. carrots, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 c. cucumber, seeded, thinly sliced into half-moons
1/2 c. fresh bean sprouts
4 T. rice vinegar
2 t. sugar
4 t. minced fresh cilantro (or to taste)
salt and sesame oil to taste
...............................
2 T. vegetable oil
16 oz. ground pork
4 T. fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 whole scallions, thinly sliced
................................
6-8 burrito size flour tortillas
1 egg
1 T. milk
1 T. minced fresh cilantro
2 T. vegetable oil, divided
................................
6-8 oz. thinly sliced ham (approx. 18-20 slices)

Combine first segment of ingredients (mayonnaise, sugar, Sriracha and lime juice) in a bowl; set aside.

Toss second segment of ingredients (carrots, cucumber, sprouts, vinegar, sugar, cilantro, salt and sesame oil) in a large bowl; set aside.

Stir-fry pork in 2 T. vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up large chunks with a spoon. When cooked through, add ginger, garlic and scallions; stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer pork mixture to a bowl and cover. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel and return pan to the burner over medium heat.

Beat together 1 egg with 1 T. milk and 1 T. cilantro. Dip both sides of a tortilla in the egg mixture to coat, then fry in oil in the skillet until golden, about 1 minute. Flip tortilla over, fry another minute and transfer to a cutting board; dip and fry remaining tortillas in the same manner.

Assemble wraps by spreading mayonnaise mixture over each of the tortillas, then top each with 2-3 slices of ham. Divide the pork mixture between the tortillas, then top with the vegetable salad. Roll tortillas like a burrito, then cut in half on a bias. Serve immediately.

CL

There's Always A Bright Spot

2010-02-22T02:46:00Z

I'm feeling a bit emotionally taxed right now. My grandfather is in the hospital right now. As far as I know it is nothing life-threatening, but he is having some health issues. My girls are recovering from colds, and I don't want to risk passing a virus to my already ailing grandpa (or anyone else at the hospital that can't afford to catch anything). This means that I have been unable to go visit him. Any of you who know me are well aware that I am not coping well with this. I feel helpless and out of the loop. I don't like it.
But I don't write that kind of blog, so...
Baby Duck has been begging for months to rent "Santa Buddies" and I finally gave in today. I let her watch it while she was eating her dinner. Near the end, I asked her if she was liking the movie. While devouring a piece of Italian bread, she said, "Yes. It's very puppyish... and chewy."
Ladybug was walking around tonight saying, "Happy Halloween!" out of nowhere, which was not quite as funny as her singing 'The Hairbrush Song': "Oh wheeeeere is my hairbrush? Oh whereohwhereohwhereohwhereohwheeeeeere.... is my hairbrush?" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtHr7gluh08 if you're not familiar with it.)

CL

A Strange Morning Indeed

2010-02-19T16:06:00Z

    The girls slept much later than usual today. I assume that was due to the colds they have been fighting (or would that just be, "the cold they have been fighting," since it is the same cold? Anyway...). I didn't know what to do with myself because I didn't want to make too much noise cleaning, thinking they probably need the rest to get well.
    That wasn't the strange part. When Baby Duck finally woke up, she told me that she was just going to stay in bed all day. Hmm. I didn't think that would last long. About ten minutes later, she politely asked me to bring her some breakfast. Curious to see how long this would last, I obliged. After she finished her yogurt, she asked me what people do when they stay in bed all day. I told her I like to read books. She was concerned that she didn't have any books at hand, so I offered to go get her a few. As it stands right now, she is still in bed reading. I chose carefully, selecting a couple of easy readers to challenge her to actually read the books as well as an 'I Spy' book for her too look at so she wouldn't get too frustrated.
    And what has Ladybug been doing all this time, you may ask? Well, she stripped completely bare naked proudly and urgently. She still will not tell me why.

CL

Our Most Successful Dinner Yet

2010-02-17T01:12:00Z

    Tonight's dinner menu:
~Chicken (roasted with lemon, onion and parsley; skin rubbed with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper)
~Baby carrots (with a butter and brown sugar glaze)
~Stuffing (from a box. Who do you think I am-- Wonder Woman?)
    Although it hadn't been any longer than usual since either child had eaten, Baby Duck managed to teach Ladybug to say, "I'm starving!!"
    I think this actually worked to my advantage. Baby Duck loves this particular meal and kept begging for it to be done so she could eat. Ladybug (who eats virtually nothing but peanut butter sandwiches and chicken nuggets, if you remember) did not want to be left out of the begging. By the time the food was ready, the girls were very excited. For the first time ever, Ladybug tried two of the three items on her plate! She had tried stuffing during a recent dinner, which I believe I wrote about, so she didn't have much interest in trying it again. But she tried the carrots almost immediately. She decided she needed to spit those out, but didn't seem to think I was trying to torture her by putting them on her plate. Maybe those will even grow on her! Next came the chicken, which she chewed, swallowed and deemed tasty... then refused to have another bite. She was ready for milk instead.
    I told her what a big girl she was and how proud I was of her for trying her dinner. Hopefully we can recreate the magic tomorrow night!

CL

I'm So Glad My Girls Like The Dentist

2010-02-12T15:31:00Z

My girls are getting so big. Today marked Ladybug's first trip to the dentist. It was time for Baby Duck's cleaning/checkup, so I went ahead and scheduled Ladybug since she has long been a teeth grinder and has even chipped a bit of her front tooth. I got a bit nervous when, out of the blue, Ladybug said, "I not go doctor," on the way in the door of the dentist's office. Things quickly improved when she got to play a bit in the waiting room and look at the Nemo and Dory fish in the fish tank. She was ready to go when it was time to head back to the chair. I should also mention that we have the most fantastic pediatric dentist with the most wonderful staff. Everyone there seems to truly love children and be very good at dealing with them. The results were mixed: Baby Duck is apparently a bit cavity prone. She has previously had two fillings and now needs two more. She gets too independent and wants to brush her teeth on her own. In the interest of time (and already being worn out from struggling with Ladybug over the toothbrush) I cave in too often and let her do it herself. She also is at a disadvantage genetically: I am very cavity prone myself. Ladybug, however, seems to take after her dad: not a cavity in sight. Let's hope she stays filling-free just like E. I just need to step up my game to make sure neither of them gets lost in the shuffle. I was also surprised to hear that Baby Duck has two teeth that are starting to wiggle a bit already! Who knows how long it will take the permanent teeth to push through, but I just wasn't even thinking about that just yet! I was still freaking out about going to kindergarten roundup next month!

CL

Breakfast Of Champions

2010-02-09T15:53:00Z

    You would think I was crazy or had a death wish by the decision I made this morning. I questioned my sanity myself when Baby Duck asked for breakfast and I told her to get her coat on. That's right: I actually decided to brave the chaos of the post-Super Bowl Free Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny's. My nearest Denny's is located in close proximity to both an IHOP and a McDonald's, so I had a backup plan for eating in a reasonable amount of time if there was a line out the door.
    We arrived to a pretty full parking lot, but no one was standing outside. I decided to find a spot and check out the situation inside. We were surprised by the handful of people in the lobby. The only wait we experienced was the length of time it took for the three or four parties in front of us to get seated. Apparently 8:55 is the breakfast lull. I was a bit confused when we got seated without menus because I expected to need to order from the children's menu for my girls. How surprised I was when the waitress came by to get our drink order and let me know that they had a Junior Grand Slam available for the kids! Triple bonus! I was only expecting my own breakfast to be free.
    A brief rabbit trail: Ladybug is a well-known picky eater. I thought we were in for it when I offered her bacon (which she has recently taken a liking to) and she refused it. She also did not want her pancake at first. I figured both of them just looked to different from what she was used to and she wouldn't be eating, so I prepared to have to eat like I was in the military before she got bored and wanted to leave. You could have knocked me over with a feather when she picked up her sausage link and started to munch! All in all she ate 3 sausage links and 2 child-sized pancakes! A banner day!
    Back to Denny's itself: the waitress was nice. The food came out fast even though the restaurant was full (and had a wait in the lobby just moments after I was seated). The food was also hot and fresh-- with no obvious signs of everything being pre-cooked like I expected. The bacon was nothing like I make at home, but that was just a product-quality issue. It had nothing to do with a lack of effort on the part of the kitchen staff. My daughters ate like machines and were thrilled, which means I was thrilled. The restaurant was well organized and well prepared for the level of business they were doing. I had pretty low expectations when I walked in-- I mean, Denny's has always been kind of hit-or-miss on a regular business day. It's not a place I frequent. I think I've only been there twice in my life in the daylight. I always considered it a place to go when you're hungry at 11:30 at night. With the bar set so low in my head, they really knocked my socks off today. I just might go back another day when the food isn't free-- which means the company has accomplished what it set out to do with this marketing scheme. Now that's what I call a 'Grand Slam'.

CL

Irony Is My Favorite Form Of Humor

2010-02-07T14:09:00Z

Yesterday I saw a most curious thing. A couple came into the restaurant I work in and sat in the bar for lunch. When I seated them, I noticed the woman was carrying a rather large volume entitled "Cooking Light". I wondered as I walked away how many questions the server would have to answer about what we marinate our chicken in or what we use to sauté our green beans.
Much to the delight of my twisted sense of humor, I walked by their table later and got to see what they ordered: our stuffed mushrooms-- which are full of cream cheese and deep fried-- and a chicken finger platter complete with fries. If ever I have experienced a moment when I wished I had the guts to whip out my cell phone and take a picture, that was it. I would love for all of you to share in the full enjoyment of the scene by having a grainy visual aid. Alas, I am a chicken. But at least I'm not a deep fat fried chicken masquerading as a salad.

CL

Martha Stewart Would Absolutely Flog Me

2010-02-06T00:44:00Z

    I was well on my way to an A+ for my work in the kitchen this afternoon/evening. Wouldn't you know it: I botched the ending. Frak. I had been on a roll with getting Baby Duck to eat like a champ when I made roast chicken, so that was tonight's entrée. I had planned ahead and procured all the necessary ingredients (I like to make mine with parsley, onion and lemon in the bird) in a timely fashion. I had even averted disaster when I realized that although I had run out of extra virgin olive oil (a kitchen staple in my house as well as my preferred coating for the chicken skin), I could branch out and use butter just this once. No problem. I even decided to go with some homemade mashed potatoes and make gravy from the chicken drippings.
    The chicken: moist and delicious. The peas: were peas. If you love them as I do, they were delectable. If you're my aunt Kathy, you would have requested a chain mail tunic and a battle axe to keep them from inflicting any harm. The mashed potatoes: smooth and creamy, with just enough butter. The gravy: well, that's where it fell apart.
    The gravy had really nice flavor and wonderful potential. I should be proud of my effort. But I am not. I have become a pretty decent cook over the years, and this was just an elementary mistake. I waited too long to start the gravy, so a reasonable amount of cornstarch was just not enough to thicken the gravy in time for the dinner bell. I faced a choice: Serve runny gravy with dinner or put a hold on mealtime until the gravy was ready. I showed that I would never make a respectable chef; my family was hungry. I went with the runny gravy.
    I hate it when I get tripped up on some mundane detail. Like when Michael Bolton put a decimal point in the wrong place in Office Space. At least I don't have to pester a former crack addict for information on how to launder money after my error...

CL

If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother

2010-02-04T00:25:00Z

     Actually, my mom did absolutely nothing wrong. In fact, she was very helpful the other night when she brought my kids all the way home to my husband when he got off work late and couldn't meet her. She even stopped to grab them dinner on the way.
     Unfortunately, since the routine was changed, something got forgotten-- the car seats. I discovered this at the end of a relatively uneventful morning of getting the kids ready. I got them out to the garage, only to realize that the backseat was completely bare! So much for running errands (which, ironically, included a stop at my dad's to borrow his computer and put in all these handwritten blog entries)!
     So, as usual, things are not going according to my plans. Should be used to it by now...

CL

American Idol's Poker Face

2010-02-03T00:22:00Z

My biggest beef with American Idol so far this season? When they all say yes to a contestant, the judges keep calling it a "Full House". For the record, a full house is three of one and two of another-- something not only completely different than what they have (which is actually four of a kind), but impossible to achieve with only four votes.
It bugs me.

CL

Picky, Picky

2010-02-02T00:15:00Z

   The other day, in a not-so-stellar Mommy Moment, I got fed up with Ladybug's refusal to ingest anything nutritious shy of chicken (in nugget form) or peanut butter (in sandwich form). So, I forced her to take a bite of her dinner, punished her when she spit it out, then made her chew and swallow a bite. I felt terrible, but I was at the end of my rope with her not even tasting anything new.
   The next night, I went back to my more traditional method of fixing her a dinner plate and leaving her to it while I ate my food. To my surprise, after playing with her silverware for a while, Ladybug voluntarily put a bite of stuffing in her mouth! She made an awful face and looked at me, but she swallowed it. I was so ridiculously excited. I did the silliest " Big Girl Took A Bite Of Her Dinner" song and dance.
   I guess the regular way of doing things seemed a more appealing test environment for her than the alternative: a crazy lady shoving food down her throat! So much for my Perfect Mommy score-- Oh, wait... I wasn't even close to begin with...

CL

Night & Day

2010-02-01T00:08:00Z

     So I've been noticing for a while now that Baby Duck makes me absolutely batty every day-- specifically around 3:00-4:00 in the afternoon. I began to realize what the issue is when I thought about how tired I've been every afternoon around 3:00-4:00! Combine that with the burst of energy she seems to get at that time and you have a recipe for a Mommy Meltdown! If only I had that delicious ability to nap instead of waking up grouchier and groggier than I was in the beginning...
     So now that I've figured out the problem, it's on to the next step: SOLUTION! So far, I've come up with: Caffeine for me or tranquilizer darts for her. Not sure I can ingest more caffeine than I already do. Pretty certain tranquilizing would be more fitting to those "TOO HEAVY" Bud Light commercials.
     Back to the ol' drawing board.

CL

The Dark Ages

2010-01-30T23:55:00Z

   A week into my cable-free existence, some things are going better than others. Surprisingly, my kids have adjusted beautifully thanks to PBS and Qubo. We still have a child-oriented show available any time they turn on the television, so they aren't suffering too much without Mickey or Dora. Plus, Baby Duck was so thrilled to know we still get "Ask This Old House" and "Antiques Roadshow". I love that.
    As for E and me, we're pleasantly surprised by how little we miss it as well. What is more relaxing when you're watching a little TV before bed than Bob Ross painting his happy little trees?
    The trouble is coming from lack of internet. I wonder if this is related to the fact that we plan on selecting a new internet service provider soon, whereas the cable is an attempt at a lifestyle change meant to go on indefinitely. I feel insanely disconnected from the world, unable to answer any question in five clicks or less. I tried to get my fix on my mom's computer, but all the enjoyment was sucked out of it when I couldn't get my blog site to load so I could type up an entry I had written several days before. She lives on a few acres outside of town, so "high-speed internet" means something entirely different at her house!
    Baby Duck is thoroughly confused by not being able to play games online like PBS Kids or Webkinz. She sees that the computer works and just doesn't get that the internet is a separate subscription service. I am realizing what a major difference that is from when I was growing up. Internet was something you paid for by the minute when I was in high school. I imagine myself telling my kids, "When I was little, we didn't have internet or cell phones. As I got older, they came around but were only used for emergencies or things of high importance. The term 'unlimited use' was not even on the radar!"
    Then, they'll say, "Wow, Mom! Did you have to walk to school uphill both ways barefoot in the snow, too?!"
But all is not lost. You will all see these entries I'm hand-writing in a little notebook soon enough-- I just have to go borrow my dad's computer!

CL

A Cable-Free Life

2010-01-29T23:48:00Z

   So I'm setting up my antenna on my TV the day we cancelled our cable service. First try out of the gate, the channel scan found one channel. Was it a local news station? Of course not. Public television, so we can watch Sesame Street and Antiques Roadshow? No way! The one channel I have been able to tune in is the Home Shopping Network! Great. Who needs the weather report or some educational programming for the rugrats when this beautiful, rare lapis ring the size of a soup can could be mine if I call in the next four minutes and fifty three seconds... fifty two... fifty one...
    So, back to the store for an amplified antenna after a call to the manufacturer suggested it (due to all the trees in my area). The new one still yielded the same results until I dug deep into the TV settings, finding something deep in the menu that was set on cable instead of antenna. I'm now the proud owner of 17 FREE channels! Yippee!

CL

I Always Did Enjoy A Challenge

2010-01-20T04:41:19Z

    Starting tomorrow, I will be attempting to maintain a reasonable posting frequency without the luxury of home internet access. My cable company took a stab at trying to see just how much I would fork over per month once our contract expired. Let's just say they overshot it by quite a lot. So I will bid them farewell in the morning, knowing full well that in a month's time I will be inundated with "Win Back" offers at a much better rate. Or someone else will catch our eye. Either way, we have to play the game, and it's time to fold 'em for right now.
    During our last night enjoying the DVR, E was attempting to find the "DioGuardi Button". He described this as a type of smart chip in the remote that knows your preferences-- like his preference for not hearing Kara DioGuardi speak on American Idol. Alas, this button seems to be missing from our remote. I guess a combination of the mute button and quick fingers will just have to do.
    I'm hoping this will be a shining opportunity to wean my 2-year-old TV junkie from her Nick Jr. dependency. I do have a steady supply of toddler methadone, including Cinderella, Up, Wubb Idol and HBO's Classical Baby series. We'll see how she does.
    Baby Duck is going to have a hard time understanding why she can't play with her Webkinz online, as she has never gone without internet and therefore must just think that website is part of our computer. My back up plan for her? Full distraction with books and crafts, which will hopefully entice Ladybug to step away from the screen as well.
    All in all, I think this will be a fantastic opportunity to reorganize our priorities. I'm looking forward to having a renewed appreciation for many things in life. Especially daily access to www.peopleof walmart.com.

CL

p.s. Two more funny words that my Spellcheck does not recognize: "online" and "internet".

Sweet & Salty

2010-01-15T21:51:00Z

    First, the sweet:

    Yesterday morning I was getting ready for work when I heard Baby Duck get up and go out to the kitchen without saying a word. I started hearing lots of cabinet-opening sounds, but I kept myself from going out to check on her. I remembered that she is at the age where she likes to try to surprise me, but has no idea how to be quiet in order to keep the surprise a secret. I knew I was risking a broken dish, but I chose to see how it played out. I got very nervous when I heard her get the 97% full gallon of milk out of the refrigerator, but never did hear any "Uh, oh!" or "Oh, no!" from the kitchen. Finally, she came to get me and proudly showed me the bowl of cereal on the countertop. But when I congratulated her on making her own breakfast, she said, "No, Mommy. See the glass bowl? It's for you!" How thoughtful can a 4 1/2 year-old be first thing in the morning?!?

    Now, the salty:


    Today I put Ladybug down for a nap, but she was in no hurry to sleep. While making my bed in the next room about 20 minutes later, I could still hear her babbling. It turned into her calling my name over and over, with varying levels of intensity: "Mommy....... Mommy!... Mommy? MOMMY!!?!? mommy??.... momMY!!!!!" Then, she threw me a curve: "Hey!!! Wisten! WISTEN!!!!! Mommy, wisten! Come here!! Now!" Apparently she put her bossy pants on when I wasn't looking! I just kept making the bed and laughed at how funny she sounded. She's quiet now, so I must have done the right thing by not going in there.  She will be in a much better mood this evening now that the nap won the battle.

CL

Disappointed In Myself

2010-01-12T13:50:00Z

    I have been doing a less than stellar job of keeping this blog regularly updated. I'm not very happy about that. I am quite certain that many interesting and entertaining things have happened in the last eight days, but I can't remember them. That's why I should have written six days ago! All I've got right now is from yesterday:
    We went to lunch yesterday with my father, two of my aunts and my grandfather. We went to a very quiet little bistro (well, quiet until the Ladybug got tired of waiting. Then it wasn't so quiet). The one advantage to the place in the eyes of my kids? Paper on the tables. Baby Duck drew placemats for everyone, including a spot for their beverage. Then she wrote each of them a little message. Most of us got made up words or nonsense (for example, I got "BUZE BEE BUG"). But my favorite belonged to my 90-year-old grandfather: "MELO DOWN". Yes, that's right. Apparently he was getting a bit too rowdy, because my 4 1/2-year-old told him to mellow down. I liked that one.
    Ladybug was pretty grouchy in general yesterday. Something just wasn't quite right (and was apparently made worse by the luncheon). At bedtime I was ignoring both her and her sister loudly hollering because I know them, so I know that if I had gone in there, the cycle would have reset and we would have never gotten any sleep. When they weren't getting any results, Ladybug played her ace: "Daddy.....Daaaaaaaaaadddy........Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaddyyyyyyyyyyyyyy......" Well, Mr. Squishyspine Meltypants made a puppy dog face at me and went and got her out of bed. He came into our room looking a bit sheepish and laid her down in our bed. Her fussing instantly stopped and she settled in to watch some television. The look on his face when he realized what just happened was priceless!! I told him he might as well go get the other one too because we couldn't be playing favorites-- but didn't even have the full sentence out of my mouth before she was at the foot of our bed. I laughed at E and went to sleep. I actually don't know when or how he resolved the situation, but they weren't in my bed when I woke up this morning.

CL

Combatting Sadness With Hard Work

2010-01-04T20:24:00Z

    The Munchkin (who needs a new name now that she's 5'2") went back home on New Year's Day. We are always very sad when she leaves, so I have a habit of coming up with a special surprise for my girls that I announce to them right after E and The Munchkin get in the car to head to the airport. This time it was a surprise that will benefit The Munchkin when she comes back this summer as well as thrill my two little ones in the meantime. Instead of Baby Duck and Ladybug having their own rooms, with The Munchkin sharing with Baby Duck while she's in town, I came up with an arrangement that most people I told were confused by: I put Baby Duck and Ladybug in one bedroom, reserving the other for a playroom.
    I started planning for this a couple of months ago, but I was trying to mentally work out any kinks before I undertook such a massive furniture swap. A few things had me worried:
1) Would The Munchkin feel like she was being pushed aside to a different room if it wasn't her own idea to move out of Baby Duck's room?
2) Would Ladybug be able to sleep in a room with a radio and a night light going instead of her classical music projector she's had since infancy?
3) Would Baby Duck be able to sleep with Ladybug babbling with excitement over the new surroundings?
4) Would I be able to move all that furniture by myself with two little ones underfoot?
    The solutions presented themselves as follows:
1) On the way to the airport, The Munchkin asked E when we were going to move, seeing as how this visit marked the official age at which Baby Duck and The Munchkin became completely unable to get along for more than five minutes. When E told her of the option of having her own sleeping space in the playroom, she was very pleased.
2) Ladybug is at the right age to start the transition from baby bedtime (kisses and music turned on) to big girl bedtime (story, song and prayers) so she has had no trouble at all.
3) I forgot that Baby Duck likes drama. Of course she has complained about Ladybug keeping her awake a couple of nights. But Baby Duck finds something to fixate on almost every night to avoid going to sleep. I've known this since she was maybe 18 months old. I don't know why I worried. They're going to sleep just as fast as they did across the hall from one another.
4) I have an older post somewhere in this blog about moving a huge leather recliner and a giant dining set by myself when E was out of town. This was much easier than that was.
    You would have thought I had gotten these kids a pony by the way they reacted to the arrangement, especially when I got the bedroom furniture all into one room (with only one disastrous incident involving Ladybug stealing some specialty bolts from the crib while it was disassembled) and the playroom got under way. They were particularly pleased when I decided that the perfect place-saver for The Munchkin's bed-- which I will not keep set up year-round due to my belief that it will be misused as a trampoline in the context of a playroom-- would be the gargantuan Dora tent that E bought for them last year. The tent almost never got used because I couldn't stand it taking up so much of my living room. Now it is their secret hideout (and a perfect hideout for their legion of stuffed animals).
    I noticed as soon as Ladybug got old enough to start to really play that both girls would always be together in one room or the other.  Even knowing that, I could never have anticipated how happy this arrangement would make them-- and their big sister, who is apparently insisting on growing up. If we're not going to move out of our three bedroom house (which is not in the plan anytime soon), then she would rather share a room with Mickey Mouse than Baby Duck. It took a long time, but the age difference has finally set in. I think they will get along much better next summer when they don't have to listen to one another snore.
    So that's where I've been instead of writing on here. Maybe one of these days I'll even get my Christmas tree taken down!

CL