Toast 2 Mom

Welcome to The Land of Imagination

I have been having an identity crisis lately. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be "Mommy," "a mermaid," "a princess," "a deer" or a "witch". We have entered the land of imagination big time in our household. It begins at sun-up and does not end until sun-down.

I love all of the extra time I have with my girls. It has provided me with so many opportunities to interact with them. I love to read to them. I love to color with them. I love to do puzzles with them. I love to swing, dance, chase, hide, twirl, wrestle, laugh and veg. However this new activity of constant role-playing is really, really annoying me. I don't have another word for it.

What is strange is I enjoy acting. I've taken some acting classes. I've done a bit (wee bit) of amateur acting. I have read scripts, received direction and redone scenes over and over again. But when it comes time for Mommy to turn into a deer, resting in the grass, waiting for the baby deer to bring her flowers and then wake up and say, "ohhh what pretty flowers".... I just can't get into character.

I'm not sure if it's the timing of day (or that it's all day!). I feel like I always have some other task I am trying to juggle at the moment when I am asked to put on my mermaid face by my three year old.

We have been off schedule a couple weeks with vacation and such. Syd just had her dance class yesterday, and it had been a couple weeks. It was a good thing for her. When I used to hear about moms putting their kids in this class and that class, I thought to myself, "sheesh, give the kids a break. Let them just play." Some kids, though, I think really need that class, structure, activity to look forward to in order to keep them moving.

In a little over a month my Syd is going to be starting pre-school. It's just twice a week, but I get misty at the thought of it already. However, I think she is ready! She really thrived when she was in school before. School time will allow her to use that little whipper-snapper brain of hers in a variety of ways, in a new setting.

I just hope when it's imagination time at school, that whoever is role-playing with Syd, they know she gets to hold flowers. The baby deer always gets to hold the flowers, the other deer just smells them.

Snacks, yes please!

I can't believe I've never talked about snacks before and the obsession my girls have with snacks. Maybe I have talked about snacks before. Even if so, they are such a major aspect of our days that it is worth mentioning again. In fact even Cheekers marches around the house barking the word, "schnacksss" at me!

I'm not quite sure what is so powerful about that word, "snack," but I can prepare lunch and say, "let's eat lunch," and my girls (especially Sydney) will not be interested. I can prepare the same lunch and say, "let's have a snack," and it will be gobbled up.

I often struggle to find a way to creatively and nutritiously prepare three meals a day for my children. I get so trapped in the "kid menu" that I feel like I'm not providing good variety or using any creativity. In fact, I've put together numerous menu plans to try and shake things up, but I always fall back on the basics mainly due to time and because kids like what they like (my kids anyway).

Snacks, I guess, are the way to break that boredom with the day in, day out breakfast, lunch, dinner menus. For some reason I feel like snack food is cuter and therefore more interesting to kids.

The biggest key to our snack success is variety. Ironically they will eat the same breakfast every day but I have a pantry full of multiple snack options. And the place that provides all of these options.....drum roll....Costco. I basically have a membership to Costco to fill my pantry like a multiple option snack vending machine.

So this week I've been with challenged by making sure I have enough snacks packed for our trip. We're taking a little (long actually) road trip. And with car boredom comes passing of the Ziplock bag filled with yummy goodness. Let's hope we can make it out of the state of Texas before my supply runs dry. It's a big state, you know.

By the way, if you have any snack ideas (or meal ideas for that matter), please share! I'm always willing to have more options!!

A Thoughtful Interview

OK I'm no Barbara Walters, but I have been wanting to interview my three year old recently and see what are her favorites and interests. This would be WAY more interesting to have this conversation video-taped. However, Mama needs a new camcorder to make that happen. Because the thoughts of a three year old go by very, very quickly, the following is not verbatim - not a chance I could capture it all. However, here's a glimpse at the interests of my Sweet Syd...today anyway.

What is your favorite thing to eat? Ice cream - strawberry, chocolate chip and chocolate with sprinkles and marshmallows.

What's your favorite color? Pink marshmallow.

What is your favorite show? Ariel.

Who is your favorite princess? Ariel the mermaid (Duh, I know, dumb question, Mommy).

What do you want to be when you grow up? A mermaid....no, a fairy.

What is your favorite animal? A cat.

What do you like to do for fun? Work on the computer and do lots of fun stuff with Mommy like sing and work on my letters and play ball and go to the park.

What is your favorite number? Counting to 10 with my Daddy.

What is the best thing about having a sister? Loving her and watching shows with her.

What is your favorite thing to do? Swim in the pool.

What is your favorite thing to drink? Juice.

Do you like dresses or skirts? Dresses.

Do you like headbands or clippies? Clippies with hearts on them.

Do you like pizza or hot dogs? Hot dogs.

Do you like swinging or sliding? Swinging.

And then the interview abruptly ended because she was done. :)

Sweat and baggage

The girls and I have successfully landed at our midwestern destination. The day began at 5:00 a.m. The good news, we got our seats, it was a sunny and clear day, everything was on time and nobody cried (much). The other part of the day involved a whole lot of sweating though. 

No matter how hard you prepare and plan and produce checklists to create a perfect packing (do I have anymore "p" words?) situation, nothing prepares you more than the real experience of carrying all of your luggage on the actual day. Between my girls and myself, I checked one bag (one very, very heavy bag). On the plane came two girls, one double stroller (which was checked at the airplane door), one diaper bag, one purse, one carry-on and one child's sized backpack. Luckily we managed to not take any heads off the aisle passengers when we widely made our way to row 19.

Sydney was a dream passenger. She was in Ariel sticker la-la land practically the whole trip. The only fuss was when Cheekers tried to swipe her Flounder sticker. And guess who has the bigger scream? Yeah, Cheekers got the sticker. Considering Natty Kat woke up early and had to keep her extra wiggly body still for over two hours, she was a brilliant traveler.

Here are a few of the obstacles we did face though (just so I have my drama documented).

• We arrived at the airport with no assigned seats. The online process when I bought the tickets wouldn't let us pick seats for the first leg. When I checked in, the guy said, "umm, I don't think you're going to get on this flight." Sweat part 1. Luckily two stops later, and still on time to pre-board, we got our seats assigned - together.
• On our second connection flight today, we board the plane, get all settled - snacks out, coloring books out, seat belts on, wait for the doors to close... Sniff, sniff, what's that smell. Yes, Cheekers decides to poo right before take off. I race to the back of the plane and ask the cranky flight attendant (more on that later) if I can change her diaper. She says, "well, you better make it fast" (crank tone, crank tone). If only Guinness had been there to time me!
• About an hour into our flight and three bags of snacks gone, one DVD watched, stickers in my hair and hands, Cheekers has had enough and decides to try out her Tai Bo kicks on the seat in front of us. I got several of those whip-around looks ...you know those. Sorry dude, I'm doing my best here.
• It's my blog and I'm going to say it...American Airlines has cranky flight attendants. OK, maybe not the whole AA family, but this flight - mean! First the poo comment, then they made us turn off our DVD player because my sixteen month old wouldn't wear headphones to mask the sound. Then they told me to "watch her foot" so it wouldn't get in the way of their cart. Not, "oh, be careful so we don't hurt those little piggies." By the looks of these ladies wrinkles, frowns and two inch thick foundation, they should have retired years ago.
• Lastly, I thought the airline lost our stroller. Instead of it waiting right off the airplane, it was waiting up by the airport. We waited and waited and waited until a kind passenger informed us where it was - and not any staff of the airport or airline.

So there you have it. Overall, no major travel nightmares. Just a lot of bags and a lot of sweat; but thanks to my peeps at Secret...a shout out for helping me stay dry.

List and Lost

That has been my theme this week - list and lost.

The girls and I take off on Friday morning bright and early to head to Illinois to visit the family for a week. This will be Natalie's first airplane ride. Most of our trips to Illinois, in fact probably all, have been via driving. Driving has allowed more freedom to pack as much as you can fit in. Traveling via airplane this time has limited us. I'vebrought out my planning skills extraordinaire this week. I've got snack lists, toy lists, clothes lists, yada. Despite my plan to keep it all together, I've unfortunately had this problem of losing things lately too. First we "lost" all of Sydney's jewelry - most of it anyway. We have no idea where the half-dozen bracelets and fun necklaces have disappeared to. Then I lost a critical Snack Trap cup this week. Do you have one of these? They're awesome. A friend bought one for us. They are the perfect container to keep snacks tidy on the go. Anyway, I had to make an extra trip this week to Babies R Us to score another one for the plane. Meh!

So tomorrow is pull the stuff all together and make sure my lists align with what's in the minimal baggage we're allowedto take (for an extra charge now - drats!).

I'll try my best to keep the updates coming for our Girls Only Adventure.

It's a given...

It's now approaching my bedtime. I go to sleep later than I used to. My day with the kids and most house chores (as many as I care to do anyway) roughly ends around 9:30 p.m. I tend to do a bit of work on the computer, like a blog for instance, or emails. Then I resign to the couch. 

When I was working outside of the home, I went to bed around 10:30 at the latest. Now I end up staying up getting sucked into whatever is on television to "clear my mind". This results in me staying up until probably 11:30, sometimes midnight or after. This is all fine and dandy until my morning wake-up call.

Every morning. come 7:12 a.m., I hear the door open, then thump, thump, thump down the hall and into our room. First Sydney goes to Daddio's side of the bed. Some mornings she crawls in for about five minutes. Most mornings she crawls in for two minutes. Then I hear, "I'm going to go talk to Mommy now."

Around to my side, a lift of the pillow that is placed nicely over my head to block out the light and the same question every single morning, "Mommy I'm thirsty and hungry. Can you go downstairs and get me some juice and some Cheerios and then can you put on a little show for me....please...."

Every day, the same time, the same order, the same question... it's a given.

Mommy's Knees, Not the Bees Knees

It's a toss up in this household who has the worst looking legs - Daddio (who climbs rocks on a regular basis), Sydney (the three year old who continually throws herself to the ground, falls on concrete and runs into walls) or Mommy. My legs seem to have just as many bruises and red marks without playing Geronimo off the stairs. Granted I bruise like a banana, but what in the world am I doing all day to result in these beat up stems? I'll tell you... I spend most of my day crawling around on the ground!

It begins in the morning when I crawl around the bathroom floor picking up the lotion bottles, Q-tips, tampons and hairbrushes that my baby Cheekers has flung from the bathroom cabinets to entertain herself while I get dressed. Then I spend my late morning, lunch time and afternoon crawling around the tiled kitchen floor wiping up sticky noodles, animal cookie crumbs and smooshed cooked carrots leftover from meals and snacks. Then around bedtime, I crawl around the carpeted floor in the playroom to pick up books, puzzle pieces, animal figurines and flashcards.

Why, you ask, must I be down on the ground creating these calluses on my poor knees? Why not just bend over and pick up these messes? Because my back has been shot for far longer than my knees due to the birthing of these two bundles of clutter joy. :)

Do they have a treatment at the spa for removing calluses on your knees?! Mama needs a knee makeover!