Buying Talent

As I have stated before, I am not exactly Martha Stewart when it comes to arts and crafts projects (remember the great pudding fiasco of 2007?) and decor. I have my talents and I recognize my shortcomings. Which makes me all the more appreciative of someone with artistic talent.

A colleague forwarded me information on BIG WALL GRAPHICS. Eco-friendly, beautiful and able to be moved and re-used multiple times (crucial for someone like me who will likely mess it up the first few times) they seem like the ideal way to spruce up a kid's room.

BIG WALL GRAPHICS are printed with eco-solvent digital inks on state-of-the-art self-adhesive fabric paper, resulting in a gorgeous AND durable final product. They can be stuck on any surface and re-positioned countless times, while still retaining adhesion AND without leaving a residue. Unlike repositionable vinyl (which is difficult to remove after it has been mounted on a surface, and which tends to lose adhesion after even a single re-positioning), BIG WALL GRAPHICS can be moved hundreds of times without losing their effectiveness or tack. - they are actually safe to apply over wallpaper and will even stick to most brick or concrete walls!

They come in blue, orange, pink/chocolate, and purple. Check it out. And, each set also comes with a cool laptop cover graphic - so you can be cool outside of your kid's room too!

The Daily Report

A preface to the post: My kids are doing very well at day care. LP is very smart and talkative and AK is healthy and happy. They are both learning.

But still...below is the "notes" portion of LP's daily report:
________
LP had a good day. Today LP had circle time with Miss Shauna while they was on the rug they talked about the weather which LP was the weather person which she told us it was a (sunny Today) they also talk about the changes in the weather and things they are going to see in spring!
_________

With the exception of her name this is a verbatim rewrite. So sad.

Different Strokes

Over the last few weeks, the Hoos, the girls and I have had the opportunity to hang out with four other families for events and activities. We feel very fortunate to have started to develop a network of other people that we genuinely enjoy spending time with. It helps that we all:

• Have two kids
• Spaced our kids 2-3 years apart
• Are two-income families
• Almost all (4 out of 5) attended college with our spouse
• Have similar values in terms of family coming first

The clincher is that we all have kids. It does make a difference in terms of expectations and planning. We all know about eating dinner early and working around nap time, none of us are phased by a meltdown, and none of us expect to actually eat a meal in silence or stay up/out too late.

For perspective, married friends without children came over for dinner on a Sunday night a few weeks ago and stayed past 10. The Hoos and I almost passed out from exhaustion.

Also interesting is that no matter how similar we are, everyone has their nuanced way of parenting. A way that works for them. All of the people we have been hanging out with are great parents and they have wonderful children. I couldn't raise their kids and they couldn't raise mine (nor would they likely want to after experiencing a tantrum courtesy of LP or listening to AK shriek with joy while eating).

What do I mean by all this? I mean don't ever buy another parenting book. There is no one-size-fits all way to parent. Starting with a base of good,strong values and lots of love, chances are things will work themselves out making for a less stressful, more enjoyable life. And happier, healthier kids.

Our little Newsgirl

I got AK a new hat. I had to bribe her with an animal cracker in order to try to take a picture. It was worth it.

Sign of the Times

The Hoos and I have been quite fortunate in regards to the current economic situation. We both feel pretty secure in our jobs and we don't know anyone personally that has been severely impacted. Of course, anxiety is high among our friends and family, and everyone is watching (or trying to ignore) the diminishing size of their pensions and 401Ks, but for the most part we have (so far!) been insulated.

Besides the newspapers and the television news, the place I notice the effects of the "financial crisis" is on the roads. Three days a week I commute 25 miles from our home in Norwalk to Westchester County, NY. It used to take me about 35 minutes to get to work and about 45 minutes to get home. Recently my drive time has been reduced by at least 10 minutes in each direction.

I am not complaining. It was ridiculous to sit in traffic for over an hour on occasion and be nervous about being able to pick the girls up by 6 (when I leave work at 4:30!). But it does make me think. Where have all of those people gone? What are they doing? What would I be doing were the situation reversed?

A lot of my errands and daily activities revolve around spending money. I go to the grocery store, WalMart, Stew's; rainy days might be spent browsing the mall or IKEA. Even if we don't by a lot of stuff, the potential is still there. If money was tight, how would I pass my days?

I might:

• Make more elaborate meals, researching ways to use ingredients I already have on hand but don't have any ideas on how to incorporate into a meal
• Renew my efforts to make homemade bread
• Hang out at the library
• Read more
• Spend more time on Facebook
• Clean out the basement
• FreeCycle more items from my home and browse FreeCycle for items we need/want

I wrote the list above and then I realized that if I lost my job and money was a serious consideration, my girls would not longer be going to day care. My list instead would look like this:

• With even less time to prep eat lots of pasta-centric meals
• Hang out at the library
• Read more of the same children's books over and over
• Constantly clean up one mess before moving on to create another
• Arrange lots and lots of playdates
• Drive to LI to visit my parents at least one week day each week
• Discover every playground within driving distance of my home (once the weather improves)
• Clean the house if and when the girls ever nap (no more cleaning lady!)
• Figure out some way to take walks in the neighborhood with both girls

To be honest, I am trying to do a lot of the things on both lists anyway, as it is never a bad time to improve my spending habits and discover new ways to spend quality time with the kids. What are some positive changes you have made in your life to shore up your family's finances?

My FAQ

Since I think I have picked up a few new readers over the past couple of weeks (and I have nothing else interesting to write about) I figured I would put together a handy-dandy FAQ to help those new to View catch up.

1. Who (and why) is 'the Hoos'?
2. Who is LP? My first born. The one who talks a lot. And is silly. And is awesome (most of the time)
3. Are those really her initials? Nope, not her initials. A nickname she has had since birth. After we stopped calling her Bump, her gestational name.
4. Who is AK? Obviously, my second born. Gestationally she was referred to as Bun. For the first few months she was Dee on the blog, which became AK.
5. Do you like being a working mom? Yes.
6. Any potty training advice? Not, really. We totally sucked at it. LP won.
7. Are you going to have another kid? We have to get used to having two first.

I think those are the highlights - am I missing any of the big ones?

(After writing this I realized this is the second time I have done this. I am so lame.)

A Lost Hour

You know those times in your life when something happens (e.g., traffic) or doesn't happen (e.g., waiting for the cable guy who never shows up) and afterward all you can do is shrug and think, "Another hour of my life...wasted."

Today was one of those days.

I spent more than an hour squatting in a restroom in the pediatrician office, a cup poised in my right hand under LP's tush.

An hour, waiting to be peed on.

When she finally did pee I wanted to shout, "Thank you Jebbus!" Actually, at first I thought I had missed my chance (along with the pee), but I managed to catch enough for the doctor to determine that LP was fine.

This entire experience lasted more than an hour and a half actually. Most of that time the nurse felt bad for me and carried AK with her while she completed paperwork. AK was an angel, never making a peep. But everyone has their limits. Especially for other people's kids.

And I learned where my limit is for my kid.

I reached it when we walked in the door from the pediatrician's office (a five minute drive) and LP yelled out, "I HAVE TO PEE!!!" and took off running to the bathroom.

It would only have been worse if she hadn't made it in time and I had to clean pee off of my hands for the second time in an hour.

All Relative

Like every parent out there, the Hoos and I think that our kid is pretty darn smart.

For instance, just a few minutes ago the Hoos was upstairs getting her ready for bed. He called down to me, "Hey Aim! Is D-O-G down there?" "Dog" is LP's pink floppy dog that she has taken to sleeping with.

Before I could respond there are footsteps over my head and LP calls out, "Mom, D-O-G isn't up here!"

Now, I don't really know why the Hoos felt the need to spell out "dog". But it was pretty funny to hear LP yell it back. Even if D-O-G was in her room and she just didn't know what it meant.

And for every breakthrough moment like that, there are some moments that make you go, "huh?"

Earlier this evening we were all in the car. LP was chatting away about her cousins, which some how segued into this conversation about her friend, JM:

LP: Mommy, what do JM's cousins look like?
Me: I don't know.
LP: MOM! WHAT. DO. JM'S. COUSINS. LOOK. LIKE.?!
Me: I guess like JM.
LP: No, mom. What color are their faces? Are they green?
Me: Umm...no. I think it is safe to say they aren't green.
LP: Are they yellow?
Me: They are probably the same color as JM.
LP: They are black?
Me: No, the same color as JM.
LP: Okay, black.
Me: Is JM black?
LP: He has blue eyes.

Well, at least some of her facts are straight. Here she is with JM.

The Fashion Plate

Calling All Elves

Where have all the little elves gone?

You know, the ones that do my dishes while I am sleeping?

Or how about the ones that comfort my 9-month old so I don't have to get out of bed FOUR times between 4:15 and 6:30?

I know that elves exist. How?, you ask.

Because they are frequently working their magic making my laundry multiply.