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Lilypie Trying to Conceive Event tickers

Lilypie Trying to Conceive Event tickers

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Things that make you go, "Hmmm..."

Today was just a typical Wednesday - get up and let the puppies outside to go potty, get RP out of bed and started on her day, then hurry, hurry, hurry to make it to pre-school on time since every road between our house and the pre-school seems to be under summertime construction.

RP had a blast today at pre-school. All summer they are doing day camp activities, and every Wednesday in June is "Water Day" for her class, which is her favorite thing to do. I'm not exactly sure what "Water Day" entails, but what I do know is that every time I go to pick her up after "Water Day," she is the wettest child in the room (they change into bathing suits for water time, then back into their regular clothes for the rest of the day) and she is sporting the biggest grin. Her teacher also is laughing each time, telling me that while RP is the youngest and smallest child in the room, when they pull the bathing suits out for the kids my child practically dives over everyone else to get ready, is the first one out the door, and is the first one who is soaking wet from head to toe - literally. Hmmm... perhaps we should have started with swimming lessons for her and not gymnastics...

After pre-school I took RP to the bank where she had her first interaction with the change counter (which she loved), made her first deposit into her savings account (which I loved!), and got her first sucker from the teller (again, which she loved). After popping her into the van to enjoy her sucker and a brief ride home, she promptly fell asleep right after finishing the sucker, and was sleeping so soundly that she barely budged when I removed her "Minnie's" and replaced them with a pull-up since she still isn't quite potty-trained while she is sleeping. "Water Day" certainly wore her out, because she slept for almost two hours, which these days is almost unheard of for her.

After her nap I told RP that we could go outside and play and that I would set up her "big blue whale" sprinkler for her to play in, and with that I changed her back into the swimsuit that she had worn at school that day (which literally had just finished drying on the patio - what great timing!). Despite the fact that she told me that she only wanted to play in the sandbox, she got great use out of the swimsuit as she ran back and forth between the water and the sand. Hmmm... good thing I didn't listen to those protests about putting the swimsuit on.

RP has been doing really well with potty-training lately but had an "accident" today as we were heading outside to play. She told me that she pottied in her swimmie diaper (actually swimmie pull-up, but diaper is much easier to type, hence the reference to "diaper" throughout the rest of this story...) because she was just too busy getting her shoes on to go outside that she didn't feel she needed to go and sit on the potty. Needless to say Mommy wasn't too happy because I discovered that swimmie diapers don't really hold the same as regular pull-ups do and as such RP had to sit inside and wait an extra 10 minutes before heading outside to play. Nope - NOT a happy camper, but she sucked it up and waited (im)patiently for the 10 minutes to lapse, then ran outside like a crazy person.

The relevance of that last part of the story? After RP was soaked head to toe, and covered in sand, she told me she had to go potty. Hmmm... traipse all through the house in that condition? Mommy just cleaned up one mess, and is not feeling like cleaning up another, so I told her to just go ahead and wet the diaper. You would think this child won the lottery - her whole face lit up and she screamed "T'ank you Mommy!" as she patted my cheek and gave me a huge kiss. Now, between standing under the sprinkler for a long time and wetting in the diaper this diaper was now about hanging down to her knees and she was literally waddling through the backyard yelling, "Help me Mommy! Help me!" to the point I was in tears laughing. We had to find a secluded spot in the yard where I could pull her suit back and flip the diaper inside out, then right side in again. The relief on her face was priceless, as was the fact that every 20 minutes or so she told me she had to pee-pee in her diaper as she proceeded to squat in the middle of the yard, laughing the entire time. Considering the child has a bladder of steel and pretty much only sits on the potty 3-4 times a day, this was a lot of drama and fun for her but I'm 99.98% convinced that she wasn't doing anything but pretending - and having a lot of fun at that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know - not the greatest mothering move I could have made, especially since she got in trouble for doing exactly the same thing earlier in the day, but I'm pretty sure that she isn't scarred for life because of it, and she had fun with the drama of it all. The look on her face when told she could go potty in the swimmie diaper was almost as priceless as the look on her face today when I set up the Cinderella tent that she got for her birthday (which I almost forgot that we had) and gave her the baking set for the sandbox that she got for her birthday (which I DID forget that we had - it was still sitting in the garage in the original bag!). Her squeals of delight and the "T'ANKS MOMMY!" screams made my day, probably more than the toys made hers. Hmmm.....

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Hopefully God has a sense of humor

Today I decided to take RP to the 7 p.m. Mass. Yesterday was eventful in that things with my next door neighbors finally came to a head, and I was a basket case, with RP doing everything in her power to stay up late and "help" the situation (which, cutely enough, warranted her "reading" to me from her Big Book of Animals). I have been woefully remiss in attending Mass regularly and knew that RP and I needed to get our butts to church, so this seemed to be the perfect solution.

All in all we had a great day today - a nice long walk through the forest preserve this morning, followed by some highly anticipated fun with Play-Doh, lunch, and a brief nap - which was followed by a great dinner with Nana and Papa, and Mass with Nana. I knew that going to church later in the evening would pose a risk for RP - she is normally in bed at 7 p.m., although most nights she doesn't actually fall asleep until close to 9 - but I was willing to take it.

I have to say that for the most part she was very well behaved in church, especially considering they didn't have the "Crying Room" open and we had to sit in what I affectionately call "General Population." She was fascinated with the Mass books/hymnals and flipped through page after page. She loved saying "Amen" with everyone every time she heard it, and was interested in watching the priest and everything going on during the Mass.

That being said, two things about Mass tonight stand out for me. First, RP also LOVES to sing. It doesn't matter if she knows the words, she just makes up her own and sings her little heart out, no matter what genre the song. The more she likes it, the louder she sings. From the sounds of things tonight, she LOVED "Joyful, Joyful," which was the closing song for Mass. She LOVED that song a LOT, and sang it loudly. VERY loudly. Off-key, wrong words, and all. Have I mentioned how LOUD she was? It wasn't even being naughty for the sake of being naughty loud either - it was a genuine "I want to sing with the rest of you because this is a cool song" type of singing, coming from her heart. I almost bit my tongue off trying not to laugh, and Nana wasn't so lucky - she was shaking and crying from laughing so hard at the poor kid (although I'm not sure others around us felt the same way!).

The second memorable event at Mass tonight was RP insisting that she needed to "eat" in line with everyone else - i.e., take Communion. She tried to run away from me to the priest when she saw him handing out Communion, her little hand up in the air like everyone else's, ready to receive the host. Luckily I grabbed her and folded her arms across her chest for the blessing, then took Communion of my own. When she realized that no host was forthcoming for her, she stopped dead in her tracks, looked up at the Eucharistic Minister, and cried, "HEY!!!" Yep, I hustled her little tushie back down the aisle as fast as our legs would carry us, then tried to explain to a three-year old that she couldn't have Communion yet, and that it would be a very special celebration on the day she finally could. When that didn't work, I gave her some yogurt-melts, which seemed to do the trick. Ahhh...

Our adventure at Church tonight ended when we all got in the car, Nana and I still chuckling over RP's rendition of "Joyful, Joyful." As we waited in line with all the other cars to leave the parking lot, a tiny voice perked up from the back seat and cried out, "Let's GO people!" Nana and I busted out laughing, as we both knew all too well exactly where she got THAT from, and Nana remarked, "Yep - she does spend WAY too much time with you!" Yes Nana, that's true - she is truly a chip off the old block!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Fight or flight...

Today was unseasonably chilly for June in this part of the country, and while we never got any rain today, it looked ominous to say the least all day long. RP let me sleep in this morning, after waking me up at 2:15 a.m. for a random " 'nuggle," and then again at 6 a.m. when she thought the sun should be up (luckily I convinced her that since the sun was still sleeping, and Mickey Mouse wasn't on TV yet, she should go back to bed - she must have been tired too because I didn't see her again, or hear her playing in her room, for another 2 1/2 hours!). Since it was cold and crappy out, I struggled with what we would do today, then decided that after a leisurely morning of cleaning the kitchen I would surprise RP with a trip to the carnival portion of our local "Taste of ---."

I told RP to grab her shoes and sweatshirt and that Mommy had a surprise for her, and after she convinced me that our trip to the gas station was just NOT a surprise meant for her (smart girl!), she was beside herself excited when she saw all the rides and what she thought was a blow-up jumpie as we pulled into the parking lot. She could hardly contain her excitement as she pulled on my hand and practically ran to the gate of the carnival, jammering excitedly on about going on the jumpie (which wasn't there, but hold that thought) and seeing everything else she could.

That ALL changed about 15 steps into the carnival. RP discovered that the giant gorilla she had seen from the back was just a big blow-up "monkey" - not a jumpie after all, and needless to say she was disappointed. However, nothing could prepare either of us for her reaction when she saw the blow-up that was 20 feet away from the gorilla - a giant, inflatable, red T-Rex dinosaur with huge teeth. My normally fearless child took one look at that balloon and came unhinged. She started screaming and crying that she did NOT like the dinosaur and that she wanted to go home - now. I remembered that a few weeks ago they had a Dino Jump at school and the teacher told me that she was afraid of it until she got closer and got to go IN the Dino Jump, after which time they had a hard time getting her out, so I tried to use the same tactics. I showed her that it was just a "balloon" and that it was tied down - it wasn't going anywhere, it wasn't real, and it wasn't going to get her. She shook her head at me as I carried her closer and closer, and then refused to look at it, crying the whole time.

I tried another tactic. I hid her head in my shoulder as we moved into the carnival area and tried to show her all the rides she could ride - the merry-go-round, the choo-choo train, etc. Everything she normally would have LOVED and begged me to ride over and over and over. Nothing. She kept glancing back toward the dinosaur and begging me to leave. When I put her down so that we could talk it over again, the child literally BOLTED away from me - thank goodness for her monkey harness that I had wisely put on her before we left the van! She was screaming and crying, and literally running for her life, with me in tow not three feet behind her! When we finally got to a fence, I picked her up again and she was shaking and crying, sobbing that the dinosaur was going to get her and that she wanted to go home - now.

Needless to say we left, although I did try to ply her with carnival games where she won her first two stuffed animal prizes ever (we, however, came home with THREE new stuffed animals because one of the carnies felt so sorry for how pitiful she looked crying and carrying on that he threw in an extra one to try to make her feel better - what a nice guy!) but nothing dissuaded her from leaving. We went out to lunch afterward, and all through lunch she kept asking me where the dinosaur was now and was it going to get her. I must have convinced her that the dinosaur wasn't coming anywhere near her, because she finally seemed to relax and stopped asking about the dinosaur, enjoying her lunch and the ice cream that followed.

As "Plan B" for the day we visited the local library for the first time ever, and RP now has her very own library card! She had a BALL in the library (I'm not sure if it was all the books, or her ability to incessantly tell me to "Shhhh" in the library every time I tried to tell her something!) and came home with SIX books, all of which we HAD to read immediately. I am so happy that she has a love of reading already and had such a great time at the library, especially since the day really didn't pan out as I had anticipated, although I now see at least weekly, if not bi-weekly trips, to the library in our near future as she gobbles up all the books she can off those shelves!

I honestly don't know what prompted her recent fear of dinosaurs, or her violent reaction to seeing it today. When I asked her where she was running to when she tried to take off on me, she looked at me like I was an idiot and said simply, "Home, Mommy. I needed to go home." She didn't seem to know, or care, that I was running behind her at the time - all her little body and mind knew was that she needed to get back to the safety of her home and away from that dinosaur, and I anticipate that we will have several more dinosaur-related discussions here in the near future.

Whew - for a slow-starting day, what an eventful Friday it turned out to be!!!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Sassy pants

I have to say that overall today RP was in a great mood, and was fairly well behaved. She showed up in my room before the crack of dawn this morning, and considering I was up until 2 a.m. starting to clean out drawers in my bedroom dressers (I have been watching too many episodes of "Hoarders" lately and feel compelled to get rid of crap around here and decided to go with some "low-hanging fruit" if you will...) I was none to thrilled with this, and sent her back to her room to go back to bed. She re-appeared a couple of hours later, big grin on her face, letting me know that the sun was now out and that she NEEDED to watch Mickey Mouse (who knew he was on at 8 a.m.? Not this chick!), so I flipped my TV on to the Disney Channel and got about 45 more minutes of sleep while she was in her Disney-coma.

She fell asleep around 11:30 a.m., which was only a problem because we were on our way to get her hair cut - with an 11:45 a.m. appointment - so I had to wake her up once we got to the salon, but once again she woke with a huge grin and was very good for Miss H to trim her hair. After being such a good girl, I decided that we should go and get pizza for lunch, and again - well behaved in the restaurant and listened very well to Mommy. This should have all clued me in...

... that things were NOT going to stay the same. Fast forward to nap time, when I had to YELL up the stairs not once but twice that she needed to lay down and take her nap. Two hours later she emerged from her room, telling me she REALLY needed that nap (and yes, Mommy did too!). At dinner, however, RP decided that she was "large and in-charge" and became all sorts of sassy for reasons unknown to anyone but her. After several requests from me to stop kicking the table, and a final ultimatum that if she continued she was DONE with dinner, she looked right at me and kicked away - again. I grabbed her plate, dumped the food in the garbage, and wiped her hands and face up, telling her she was done with her meal. She started in on a "mini-tantrum" - sitting on the floor crying (noise that got progressively louder, but no tears) and stomping her feet, especially when she learned that no dinner meant no dessert. I told her that if she kept getting louder and stomping she was going to spend some time in the "Naughty Corner" but to no avail, so she got to spend the longest three minutes of MY life in the "Naughty Corner" while I tried to finish my dinner and not bust out laughing at the drama (it was laugh or be ridiculously mad - I chose to find the drama funny, which is not always the case. Go figure.). After her "release" from the naughty corner she came up to me, apologized, and then merrily went on her way, playing with a small beach ball she got at daycare.

Playing with the beach ball was fun UNTIL she whipped it at the dog's head. Yes, on purpose. Yes, after I told her several times to be careful with the ball in the house and absolutely NOT to throw it at either of the dogs, Mommy, OR the TV. You guessed it - the ball went into a 10-minute time out, so more drama. Ugh. This is turning out to be one long day.

After the ball drama, I asked RP if she wanted to talk to Nana. She was upset the night before that she didn't get to talk to her, and I had promised her that she could, and she was excited to talk on the land line, because for some reason she felt that this required standing on her princess step stool to do so, which is always great fun! I called Nana and Papa, and she talked to Papa first. I ignored her the first time she turned around to me and said, "Quiet - I am on the phone," and she proceeded to tell Papa all about not getting to finish her dinner because she was naughty. I ignored her when she got on the phone with Nana and proceeded to turn around and say, "Shhh - I am ON the phone," but I was more annoyed than the first time she said it (and, if I were to need a defense, I hadn't uttered a peep during either of her conversations at this point - she was totally mimicking me when I am on the phone and she feels the need to interrupt). When Mommy finally lost her patience was when I told her she needed to say good-byes and "I love you's" to Nana and she whipped her little head around, looked me dead in the eye with a completely annoyed look on her face, and shouted in MY face, "I AM ON THE PHONE - BE. QUIET!!!!!!!" Yeah, that didn't go so well... for her. Back to the "Naughty Corner" and I got to explain to Nana what that was all about.

After RP spent her time in the "Naughty Corner" for being sassy we discussed her sassiness and tone of voice. Hopefully she now has a more "full" understanding of why she got in trouble and how she is NOT to talk to me any more. If not, she is going to be spending lots more time in that "Naughty Corner," and Mommy is going to need to invest in more Advil...

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Out of the blue...

Last night was a pretty crazy night for RP and I. I knew that there were storm watches in the area, but lo and behold some weird storm popped up and wreaked havoc on our entire area, and the storm predictions were so bad that I corralled the cat, puppies, RP, and myself and headed to the basement to ride it out. I've been in this house for over seven years now and this is only the second time I've ever had to do that, so it's a bit unsettling for me.

That being said, I really tried to stay calm and have RP think that it was this was no big deal - the weather outside was getting nasty and that when sirens go off like that the safest place for us is in the basement. Turns out, I needn't have worried - she LOVED the entire experience. Was it the fact that she got to stay up past her bedtime? Could be. Was it that she still has toys in the basement from when I moved them there before her birthday party in April and she got to play with "new stuff?" Quite possibly. It could be those, and any number of other factors, I'll never really know.

What sticks out for me in the experience is what she said to me in the midst of the storm. I was sitting on the floor listening to "The Weather Channel" and watching her play on her Sit 'n Spin, when out of the blue she comes running over to me with a big grin on her face, throws her arms around my neck and gives me the biggest hug ever. She looked into my eyes and said, "I don't want any other Mommy ever Momma - I just want you forever and 'eva and 'eva and 'eva. She then kissed me on the cheek, hugged me again, then ran back to her Sit 'n Spin.

I choked up at this, because while it's cute and utterly sweet and adorable, I know where this comment came from. A couple of weeks ago RP was having a particularly "rough" afternoon. She refused to listen and cooperate and spent a bit of time in the "Naughty Corner" in her room, which seemed to be of no help whatsoever. Exasperated with her tantrums and naughtiness, I finally said to her, "RP, I'm not sure what the problem is today, but you definitely don't seem happy to be here with Mommy. You have been out of pocket all day and it's frustrating for both of us - perhaps you would like to go live with another Mommy, since you don't seem happy with anything I say or do. Is that what you would like?" Her response at that point was an emphatic, "Yes Mommy." I was crushed, and asked her again, "So, you'd like a new Mommy - is that what you're telling me?" Her response again was, "Yes Mommy - you are mean. I need a new Mommy." Yep - crushed.

I remember a similar situation with my own mom as a child (although I believe I was a bit older than RP at the time) and my mom actually packed a bag and brought it to the stairs for me, telling me I could go at any time, and those were the things I could take. I tried a similar tactic with RP, taking her to her room, pulling out her pink travel bag, and telling her she could take whatever fit in that bag to find her new Mommy, but that everything else, including the puppies, was staying here. I'll admit to being choked up during the entire process, and at first she cheerfully went about putting toys and books in the bag - until she realized that I would NOT be going with her. THEN the waterworks started, along with cries of, "No, no Mommy - me no go. Me no go!!!" We sat down and had a long talk about what it meant to be a family and how respect in the family works, and I left it at that (well, that and telling her she had to put all her stuff away if she was truly staying), and we hadn't talked about it since. Apparently SHE still remembers the conversation and wanted to reiterate for me that she has no intention of going anywhere and that I'm the Mommy for her.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love that little munchkin?

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day!

Sometimes I go into Father's Day weekend with a twinge - I love celebrating my dad and all he has done for me, but it makes me somewhat sad that RP doesn't have that same thing in her life. I am EXTREMELY lucky that she has a great group of men in her life to act as role models, and she loves them all dearly - her Papa (of course), her "Uncle Crick," and her godfather, "Uncle Cake" (what can I say, we're still working on language development - they know who they are!). She knows who Daddy's "are," and can identify them in a television program or in a book, but she has never asked why she doesn't have one, but I'm sure that day is coming. As it is, last Thursday RP told me that we NEEDED to have a baby at home - baby brother or sister, it didn't matter - then an hour later told me that she did NOT want a baby at home and that she liked being an only child. Whew - sidestepped a landmine on that one!

Today I give thanks to everyone in my life who has made being a single mom easier, both for me and for RP, and especially all you special guys who love RP like your own and make her feel warm, secure, and special - both she and I are eternally grateful for your love and support!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Catching up...


It's been a while since I've posted, and for good reason. RP and I took our first official "road trip" to visit relatives in another state, about 6 hours away. I have to say that I was dreading the prospect of spending six hours in the car with RP, only because while she does well on 1-2 hour trips, this is WAY longer than she's ever had to spend in the car, and I wasn't sure how she'd do. I'm pleasantly pleased to announce that she did FANTASTIC - the only "glitch" we ran into is that about 20 minutes from our destination she lost her mind in the back seat and started crying and screaming that her tummy hurt and she needed to get out... now. Yes, I thought she was going to get car sick and yes, those were the LONGEST 20 minutes of my life, but we made it, she DIDN'T get sick, and we both had a blast - me visiting relatives I haven't seen in almost 6 years, and she meeting those relatives for the first time.


RP also started gymnastics class last week, so once a week she now attends gymnastics in addition to being in pre-school once a week. I am thankful right now that I am a SAHM because there is a LOT of running around that has been happening recently, and I have to say that while I'm looking forward to gainful employment (or school) in the near future, I am enjoying the here and now. RP is doing well in gymnastics and seems to enjoy it immensely, and unlike last week when she bolted for the middle of the gym, today she stayed with the group despite being tired and crabby for part of the class (our idiot neighbors are doing construction in their basement and have a knack for not starting the hammering until she is almost asleep, which has made for some long nights when they repeatedly wake her up with all their noise!).



It also seems, to me anyway, that RP's speech is getting better by the day. This could be because I am spending so much time with her that I just understand her more, but I think it's getting more clear and coherent every day, which is one less worry for me. She still sounds really garbled when she's being silly and playing, or when she is super-excited about something, but for the most part she is getting more and more understandable and using a bigger vocabulary each and every day (the new word of the day: disgusting. Previous word of the day: "idiot," as in "what are those idiots doing NOW Mommy?" Yes, I need to stop calling the neighbors idiots.).


I am also happy to announce that RP has FINALLY learned to pedal a bike! We stopped off at her cousins' on the way home from our road trip and my brother had a tiny Power Wheels that she could finally reach the pedals on, and after a few false starts she was off and running with the rest of the crew - riding bikes like champs! Sunday I found a tiny Radio Flyer tricycle that she can reach the pedals on as well, and now all she wants to do is "ride, ride, ride!" her bike. She is so proud of herself for being able to ride a bike like the rest of the kids her age, and that smile and sense of accomplishment more than makes up for the monetary cost of the bike. I had to laugh, though, when I put her new bike in the garage next to her Barbie Power Wheels ATV and her Barbie Hot Wheels (the one she can only ride like Fred Flintstone since she still can't reach the pedals on that one yet!) - every bike she has is pink and purple!!! Good thing I have a two-car garage because with her collection of vehicles she needs that space to park all of HER vehicles in!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Laying on the guilt...

I had to work for a few hours yesterday, so Papa came and picked RP up to spend the day with he and Nana. This worked out nicely because Papa and I were going to a NASCAR race last night, and RP and I, along with the puppies, were planning on spending the night at Nana and Papa's anyway. After work, I raced home to grab all our stuff (it is still AMAZING to me how much stuff I need to pack just to spend the night away from home anymore. I carried no less than three bags of stuff with me for one night, when two years ago I packed a roll-on pilot case which I carried on the plane, and that was for my class at Disney Institute, six days in Orlando, FL!). Anyhoo...

RP was still sleeping when I got there (taking her nap), and apparently had been a bit grumpy all morning long. This was no surprise since I had to wake her up in the morning to get going, and she was still exhausted from a fun day of playing outside the day before. She napped for almost three hours before I woke her up, and even then she had a hard time waking up, preferring to stay cuddled in my lap, eyes half closed and thumb in her mouth for almost a half hour, which for her is a new all-time record. Storms blew in and Papa and I were getting ready to leave, and when RP realized she wasn't coming to the races with us, she was clearly not happy, despite the fact that Nana had a fun evening planned for the two of them. Our discussion about staying home went something like this:

Me: "RP, remember that we talked about tonight - Papa and I are going to go to the racetrack to see the race cars. You are going to stay here and have fun with Nana!"

RP: "No Mommy, me go with you." (Hugs tighter)

Me: "No honey, only Papa and I are going to go. You can watch the beginning on TV and see if you can find Papa and I in the crowd - how 'bout that?!"

RP: "No Mommy, me go with you. I sit on your lap." (Add to this the big brown eyes looking up at me, pleading with me to let her go too - ugh, it's too much!)

Me: "Honey, I would love for you to come and sit on my lap, but we only have two tickets - one for Papa, and one for Mommy. I didn't think you'd want to go, so we didn't get you a ticket this time." (I forgot the cardinal rule - never EVER try to rationalize with a three-year old)

RP: "Mommy, me buy a ticket with me own money. Then me can go with you, otay?" (Add even BIGGER, more pleading brown eyes, and you have one big o'le mess of a Mommy!)

I held and rocked RP for a while longer until she was fully awake and suddenly became interested in running around and playing with her toys. I left with Papa about an hour later for the race, but felt like the Worst Mom in the World, for the second time in as many weeks. At least I can find comfort in the fact that she and Nana had a great "girls-night" last night and RP seemed to forget all about it this morning. She may have, but I haven't - point taken, RP. Point taken.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Let the summertime fun begin!

It appears that FINALLY the weather has broken and we are headed straight for summer from winter weather. I'm not sure whatever happened to spring in the Midwest, but summer is my favorite season so I'll take it anytime I can get it. Considering that about a week ago I still had the HEAT on, and literally switched one day from heat to A/C the next, it's still hard to get used to.

I had to work today, so RP went to Nana and Papa's as usual. It hit a record high of 90 degrees here today, and tomorrow is looking like more of the same, so I brought RP's water table and bike to Nana and Papa's last night when I picked her up, and additionally bought them a cute little ladybug sprinkler for RP to use while she was there, since for some reason her swimming pool from last year seems to be missing. When I got to Nana and Papa's this afternoon, they were all sitting on the back patio and were laughing and having a good old time - with RP holding down court as usual.

I had to laugh last year when one of my friends called RP my "little Bohemian" because she spent almost every weekend in a bathing suit, and it looks like this year will be more of the same. She has a suit for school (water days are popular in the summer there, and it's just easier to have one for school than remembering to check the calendar as we're dashing out the door and packing a bag to bring!), a suit for Nana and Papa's, and two for home. True to form, she was decked out in her bathing suit, soaked from head to toe when I got to Nana and Papa's and she was in such a "playing outside" frenzy that I'm not sure she saw me at first! Apparently RP, Nana, and Papa had been playing outside in the 90 degree heat for at least 90 minutes before I got there, and RP was a flurry of activity - she rode her bike, ran through the sprinkler, played soccer with Papa, splashed in the water table, THEN splashed all over Nana and Papa, etc. etc. etc. Even after I got there, it took another 10 minutes to get her inside and dried off.

RP was being her normal, wiggly, silly little self while I was trying to get her dried and dressed, and in the spirit of being silly, she giggled at me, "I gonna GET you Mommy!" I laughed and said, "Oh really, RP? Oh really?" Then yes, she got me all right. She leaned over and BIT me on the cheek. Out of the blue, just bit me, then giggled and said, "I bite you Mommy."

As you have probably already guessed, Mommy was NOT as happy as RP was. She went through a play biting phase last year, and it has resurfaced again this year. Not sure what triggers it - school, boredom, change in season, whatever - but she knows, without a shred of doubt, that we don't bite. Ever. End of discussion. While it was a play bite and didn't hurt (although, I will say this time around it did pinch a bit - EEK!), she knows there is a zero tolerance on our house for biting, hitting, scratching, etc. (you get the idea), so I informed her that she had to head to the naughty corner. The drama that unfolded from that child was Oscar worthy at that point - lots of loud crying and carrying on, with "I torry Mommy, I torry..." over and over and over, but no real tears.

After about 2 minutes in the naughty corner I turned her around and asked if she knew why she was in the naughty corner. "I torry Mommy," was the response I received. I told her I appreciated that, and knew she was sorry, but I was asking why she was in the naughty corner, and now apologizing, in the first place. "I bited you," she replied. Yep, you did kiddo and you know we don't bite, but before I could even respond my little princess proceeded to then give me a dirty look, bring her own hand to her mouth, and bite her own thumb - hard - then gave me ANOTHER dirty look as if this now made things even.

You probably guessed that this earned her ANOTHER two minutes in the naughty corner. At the end of those two minutes she apologized again, gave me a hug and a kiss, and let me finish drying her off and get her dressed without another incident. She was happy, silly, and out and out cheeky with Nana and Papa as we left, and was trying to sing along to the radio in the car, when all of a sudden it became dead quiet in the backseat. I glanced in the mirror and the poor child, who had been so tired that she put her sunglasses on upside down, had literally passed out mid-lyric in her seat. It was 5:30 in the afternoon, and the poor kid was a goner.

Ahhh - let the summertime fun begin!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

"You need to listen, Mommy..."

As you may or may not have picked up from previous posts, RP and I have had several recent discussions on "listening." A hearing test a few weeks ago at school confirmed that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the child's hearing, so when she doesn't do as I have asked of her (usually asked repeatedly, that is) I know it isn't because she can't hear me. It's because she is three and clearly has other things to do before fulfilling my request to stop dancing around and put on her jammies, stop playing with "that" toy and come to the table to eat a meal, or to leave the puppies alone because all three of them (RP and the two puppies that is!) are getting wild and out of control. While it's fun and often funny to watch her blossom into her own individual self, it is often frustrating to have to repeat a request again, and again, and again to get a result, and we therefore have had several discussions on what it means to "listen."

Tonight RP was in rare form. We got a late start leaving Nana and Papa's after I worked today because traffic was bad and I was hoping it would ease some if we waited an extra few minutes or so, which, before I knew it, had turned into probably an extra 30-45 minutes. When we got home RP was SO excited to help Mommy water the flowers in the front of the house with her little watering can, then we ran into my next door neighbor (no, not the loud and obnoxious one, the semi-crazy but overall very nice, and quiet, one on the other side) who talked and talked and talked, so it was very late before we came inside to make dinner. RP took almost 40 minutes to eat a small bowl of rice, some watermelon, and a slushie for dessert, and it was driving me crazy - mostly because the reason she took so long was because she was having too much fun at the table crossing her eyes so she could look at the end of her nose, and she was having even MORE fun with the fact that this sight grossed Mommy out. Completely. Ick!

I finally got RP up into the bath and then prayers said, story read, and tucked into bed for a good night's sleep. Despite RP yawning her way through the story, she fought the valiant fight to keep those big brown eyes open, and started making her usual evening requests, which she knows at this point are for naught, since we have talked (again ad nauseum) about the fact that when Mommy goes downstairs she isn't coming back up unless it's an emergency (this new "rule" was brought on after I spent one evening going up and down the stairs at least 10 times in a one hour time span - no more!!!):

" Mommy, I need more water."
" RP, you know that Mommy can't give you any more water. You had a full sippee cup which is meant to last all night long. If I give you more water you will wet through your nighttime diaper."
" Otay."

Five minutes later:
" Mommy, I have a boo-boo. Me need a nan-daid."
" RP, Mommy put a band-aid on the boo-boo on your thumb before story time. I asked you then if there were any more boo-boos and you told me no. You should be sleeping, so you shouldn't have been doing anything to get any more boo-boos, now should you have?"
" No, Mommy."

Three minutes later:
" Mommy, I need a 'nuggle."
(Ugh. This is the toughest one for me and she knows it.) "RP, Mommy gave you kisses and snuggles before she tucked you in, AND she gives you a snuggle and a kiss every night before she goes to bed. I love you very much, but Mommy cannot come up the stairs right now for a snuggle. I promise that I will give you another snuggle and kiss when I go to bed."
** crickets** No response. Then a weak little, "Otay Mommy."
(Yep, I feel like a complete jerk, and worthy of the "Worst Mommy in the World" title right about now.)

About a half hour after this exchange I headed upstairs to take a shower, and lo and behold found RP still awake in her bed. When she saw me she jumped down out of her bed, demanding her " 'nuggle," and of course I gladly complied. She snuggled into my shoulder for a full five minutes, letting me snuggle her and rock her gently while kissing her hair, which she loves. Finally she broke free of the snuggle, grabbed my face in her chubby little hands, and proceeded to tell me:

"Mommy, me needed a 'nuggle to tell you that I wuv you. I wuv you a wot, and I wanted a 'nuggle to tell you this. You need to yisten to me more Mommy - awright? Awright Mommy?" She then proceeded to kiss my cheek, throw her hands around my neck for one more giant hug, then wiggle away to climb up and snuggle back into bed. Wow.

Yes, RP I'm listening - and I "wuv" you "a wot" too. And no, next time she asks for a snuggle she will not be denied or put off for later. Point taken.

When did all this happen?

Yes, as we have determined several times over now, I have been unemployed since January. Well, I guess right now I'm employed part-time so we'll say, "unemployed/under-employed since January." As such, I have spent a great deal of time with RP, and for that I am oh-so grateful, as I know this is a rarity and like all good things, will eventually come to an end.

That being said, over the past few weeks I have noticed the following things about my child that surprise me, and that they surprise me is a surprise in and of itself:

- RP is one funny little girl. She has an amazing sense of humor, and never fails to crack herself up. I love when she throws her head back, mouth wide open, laughing hysterically, then throws a hand back to cover the wide-open mouth, now laughing because of the physical position she has put herself in. She loves to laugh, takes tickling and pillow fights very seriously, and finds anything that you find funny just down-and-out hysterical. Her belly laughs are infectious, and I have found myself these last two weeks doing everything I can to evoke more and more of them, just to hear the rumble and see her shake with glee. It's truly amazing.

- RP is one smart little girl. I didn't notice until a couple of weeks ago how many questions RP was asking already. Perhaps this is because we were in Wal-Mart and I was showing her a fiddler crab they had in the fish section and had been standing there answering questions about the crab for at least 5 minutes when a woman came up to me, pointed out all the questions, then told me that her daughter, who just graduated from medical school was the same way and how "smart" RP was already. Now granted, all the questioning sometimes drives me bonkers, but I've taken some time to really listen to her questions, as well as everything else she says, and I have to say I'm amazed at how much she remembers and how deep her questioning of things goes. It also seems that over these last two weeks she has mastered counting 1-5, is about 50% on 1-10, and today decided that we needed to add the "teens" to her counting abilities, counting as such: "eight, nine, eighteen, nineteen, fiveteen, twoteen, eighteen, nineteen, twelve!" Hey, she's three - cut her some slack! :)

- RP is creative. She doesn't need a toy in-hand all the time, or Mommy playing with her, although those certainly are her preferences. She spent over two hours tonight reading herself to sleep with her books, then proceeded to build a pillow fort in her bed - well, until I caught her and made her take it down and finally go to sleep. She sings and makes up songs and stories for everyday situations, which are funny and adorable at the same time, and she expects you to remember them as much as she does (my favorite is the "brushing my teeth" song which is exactly that - "brushing my teeth" is the ENTIRE song, but god help you if she goes to brush her teeth and you don't sing along!). She alternates between playing fairy princess with her wand from her Princess luncheon at Disney World to hostessing a tea party in the bathtub as Superman.

- RP really is the center of the world. Okay, okay - MY world anyway. I have a lot of decisions to make in a relatively short period of time here, and these decisions are WAY different now than they would have been two years ago. It isn't about me and what I want/need - it's about what's best for her. Wait a minute, what's best for her IS what I want, so I guess in a roundabout way, it still is about me, but you get the idea. I'm not sure when and how someone so tiny garnered so much control here, but she wields it, without knowing, in her little finger - Mommy is a complete goner.

There are so many things I have noticed lately - RP dressing/undressing herself without assistance, putting on shoes without needing me to do it, working on ABC's but knowing all her colors and most of her animals and numbers - that even though I've been around for it all, I've just never noticed before. Perhaps it's because now that I'm home with her, I'm taking for granted all that she is doing and saying, and I've just allowed myself the opportunity to step back, stop talking, and start listening. Perhaps it's because in this same time frame I've started back to working part-time so I notice this stuff more when I have a small break from it day in and day out. I know every parent says/thinks this about their child, and now I truly understand why, but for the record I'm going to say it too, "RP is absolutely an amazing child." And just when I think I can't love her any more than I already do, I find myself doing just that...