Party Pic

This is the Moo and her friend G, taken at a costume/birthday party we attended yesterday before heading off to the pumpkin patch. Not sure why the Moo is so serious! She is wearing the medal she won in the candy toss the game -- she tossed the candy into the pumpkin from furthest away and was extremely proud of herself. Maybe she feels that frivolity is unbecoming in a medal winner . . .

On Autonomy and Economy

It was my morning to wake up with the girls today, so we were up, brushed, and down the stairs by 7 am as per usual. We made breakfast -- french toast (the Moo likes hers with extra vanilla in it) -- as per usual, but after breakfast was when things got out of the ordinary. I put on a "little-one" show, which is my tried and true method of keeping them within eye sight while I am otherwise occupied, and set to work cleaning up the kitchen. About 20 minutes into it (I am ashamed to admit that despite the fact the cleaning service came on Tuesday, the kitchen still required a LOT of work) I realized that I had been deserted by my little ones. I went looking for them, and found them both in the computer/craft room. The Moo was playing on Webkinz World and the Bean was drawing pictures of bats, ghosts, and witches.

So why is this strange? I am the type of Mom who has a hard time letting my children out of my sight. I don't feel the need to completely dictate what they are doing at all times, but I like to have a clear line of sight while they are doing it. This is rooted in a rule our pediatrician told us when Molly was about five months old -- Dad has asked the doctor about the relative merits and pitfalls about getting her a walker in addition to her exersaucer. Dr. Segura told us, "Look, nine times out of ten, nothing bad will happen to her with a walker. If you are willing to live with the consequences of whatever happens that tenth time, then go ahead and get her one." (He was a bit more diplomatic than that, but that was the general thrust of what he said). I was unwilling to except responsibility for those consequences, and the "nine out of ten" rule has kind of dominated my approach ever since then.

The girls are getting older though, as illustrated by their behavior at the dentist last week and other examples, such as the fact that my role at birthday parties lately is to let them run off while I sit back and chat with other parents. I am having a hard time accepting their new found autonomy -- or is it mine?? -- as much as I am really excited about it! This morning was kind of a test. I went back to cleaning the kitchen and kept my ears open for the sounds of screaming due to either accidental or sister inflicted injury, but they never came! My only interruptions were when the Bean came in and proudly demanded that her art be hung on the refrigerator (the bat was particularly well done -- if I can ever locate the camera I will take a picture). I'm still very nervous about the whole thing, as I flash back to the Bean's close call with her dresser every time I hear a thump or a cry, but I definitely think I can used to this! Maybe I will even be able to take up a hobby, if I could only figure out what I like doing . . .

I used some of my new found autonomy to read the Sunday paper. The Post has a supplemental series on Thursdays and Sundays on Loudoun county, filled with local news from reporters and local bloggers. I read some very sad news about the local economy here. It is very depressing to see businesses that we have patronized since we moved into the area fail - it feels like something horrible happening to a close friend of the family, even though we don't know any of the business owners personally. The little Morning Glory store sold stationary and gifts imported from Asia, and will be particularly missed by the Moo and Bean, who loved the little anime inspired characters.

On a more positive note, we are very happy to have Dad back from Hawaii, although he appears to have been stricken by jetlag because it is past 10 am and he still is not up. Time to sic the Moo and Bean on him!!

Adventures in Dentistry

Yesterday was time for the girls' six month check ups at the dentist's office. The Moo has been a model dentist patient since she was 18 months old, so she got called in first. The Bean is always great but apprehensive, and in the past it has taken her some time to relax amid all the noises and different instruments. This time, when the hygienist came out and called her name, I got up to go back with her, and the Bean turned to me and said, "No Mommy, I want to be a big girl and go in by myself." So, for the first time in my maternal life, I spent my time at the dentist's office alone in the waiting room, flipping through outdated issues of Us magazine and waiting to hear screaming from the patient area. When the girls were done, they came to get me, and the hygienist commented: "You have the sweetest and smartest little girls." Wow . . .

Unfortunately Molly was about the have a breakdown when I got to her room, as the dentist had just finished telling her that she had a small cavity that would have to be filled. This filled her little mind with thoughts of shots, but the dentist assured this would not be necessary. I took her back in today to get her filling done, and despite her apprehension she was awesome. She got a little concerned at the sheer amount of different instruments going back and forth into her mouth, and shewas not at all pleased with the cotton gauze, but she was a trooper who sat perfectly still and let the dentist do his job. We were done in 15 minutes.

So, both the girls as always rose to the occasion. We celebrated with a trip to Go Bananas and dinner at Emilio's Brick Oven Pizza. Along the way, we picked up things to "Boo" our neighbors -- we got "booed" this morning when an unknown neighbor left a bag of Halloween goodies on our doorstep with a note admonishing us to keep the Boo on the run and pass it along to three other neighbors, so we took care of that when we got home. The Bean and Moo loved being sneaky and leaving the goodies for the girls up the street, the boys across the street, and the retired couple next door. The Bean, of course, had stripped down naked the minute we got home and wanted to know if she could go out with just her coat on when it came time to deliver the bags. I persevered in my argument that she could not go out essentially naked, but she made it clear she was just humoring me and was not really buying any of it.

I miss Dad and am very anxious for him to get back so he can handle these philosophical arguments.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR WONDERFUL DAD!! Thanks to all who sent Dad birthday wishes -- we are spending the day at the Moo's Fall Fun Fair, and then taking Dad out shopping (he wants to pick out his present) and to dinner. Mom tried brainstorming with the girls about presents for Daddy and here is the list they came up with: new clothes, a wig, pink and blue flowers, and a frog. Daddy very wisely passed on all of those, although he appreciated the thought that the girls put into it. He also loved the homemade "love cards" that the girls made for him. Tomorrow he will be off to Hawaii, for work purposes or so he claims . . . Dad will be gone for a week and we will really really really really miss him. We love you Daddy!!

We are relieved to hear that Grandma L is home from the hospital and resting comfortable. Get well soon, Grandma; we love you!!!!

AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

Little bit of frustration here. One of the benefits of my new work schedule is that I now get home with enough time to make the girls an actual meal, as opposed to the old standby of grilled cheese and tomato soup, or "who wants BREAKFAST for dinner???!!" (well, let's face it, that's dad's standby; mine is "who wants to go to Pei Wei???"). So, now I have more time to cook, the girls are more able to help, and given that the economy is what it is, I have been determined to eat more at home, and to eat well. I have been implementing this over the past two weeks, and have been consistently rewarded by the Bean exclaiming, "Mommy, you make the best meals ever!!" Here, however, is the Moo's reaction to a sampling of some of our menu items:

• Last Monday: Sausage stuffed French loaf. Sausage+bread, with cheese thrown in JUST IN CASE it was not artery clogging enough. Moo reaction: two bites, "Mommy I don't like it," eats the bread and leaves the innards.
• Last Wednesday: Upside Down Pizza. Ground beef, CHEESE, tomato sauce, CHEESE, OK a few onions, and crescent rolls on top. Moo's reaction: see sausage stuffed french loaf.
• This Monday: Monte Cristo sandwiches. Bread, cheese, turkey, ham, mayo all covered in pancake mix and fried, then dusted with powdered sugar. Moo's reaction: "Too hammy." Picks sandwich apart and eats only the ham.
• Today: Spaghetti carbonara. Fresh pasta, BACON, CHEESE, OK a few green onions and mushrooms but BACON AND PASTA AND CHEESE. Bean's reaction: "Mama, these noodles are a delicious sensation!" Moo's reaction: "I don't like it." Mom's reaction: "Please try it again, I really think if you give it a chance you will like it." Moo's reaction: "I'll just eat the bacon. The noodles are too cheesey." Mom's reaction: "Moo I am getting very frustrated here. You are not eating anything." Moo's reaction: "Mom, I have a very sensitive appetite." Mom: "Please try it again." Moo: "Can I have an apple?" Mom: "AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Moo: "Do I get dessert?"

Birthday Party Anxiety

In my continued efforts to be crowned psycho-mom, I have been stressing over the Moo's birthday party. Yes, the party that will be held in March of next year. In my defense, things fill up REALLY quickly in this area, where there are too few venues and too many parents with too much money. Plus, I have recurring dreams of my kids on some psychiatrist's couch confessing that all of their problems started with the incredibly lame birthday party that their good for nothing mom threw them when they were five. The Bean (whose December party I booked in August -- yes, I know, pyscho) has thus far been really easy: she loves all the usual places that parties are held, so we did Tumbles gym last year for her third and will be heading to Pump it Up this year for her fourth. We don't have much family in the area, so the family parties will be quiet ones at home or in Annapolis with Mom, Dad, girls, and Grandpa S.

The Moo, however, has never liked anything ordinary. For her third birthday (we didn't do any big parties prior to age three, see note on lack of family in area above) we did a dinosaur party at our community club house which I mistakenly thought would be both easy and economical. Once you add in all the stress of planning, booze and snacks for the parents, booze and snacks for the stressed out party planner and hiring of the teenage daughter of a friend to help out, that did not end up being the case. Plus, I had to clean up afterward. No gracias! So the next year we used Curiosity Zone for an ocean explorer's party, and the year after we were off to the National Zoo, as previously chronicled in the Moo Bean Blog. So, this year for her sixth birthday she told me she wanted her party at the Baltimore Aquarium. I checked into that, which was a no go (they only do private tours, beginning at $1500 -- sorry Moo). So, next she asked for the Museum of Natural History or the Air and Space Museum, but it turns out the the Smithsonian does not do birthday parties (with the notable exception of the Zoo). So, in desperation, I turned to Google, and came up with the National Building Museum. We are doing the design a city program (for 6 to 10 year olds) and we will let you know how it goes. Wish us luck!

PS - The Spy Museum does parties but the children have be at least nine! And they are also a minimum of $1500. I am thinking by the time the girls are nine I may be so far into the abyss that this will actually look sensible to me . . .

Sunday Morning Delight

I have to go in to work today and was upstairs in my room getting ready, unaware of what was going on outside of the master bathroom. Here is the scene I encountered when I left my room to come downstairs:

The first thing I heard was the the Sugar Hill Gang's Rapper's Delight which Dad had downloaded from You Tube and was broadcasting at top volume from the downstairs. Then I heard the hysterical giggles of the girls as they ran up and down the stairs, trying to avoid the plush balls and webkinz that Dad was catapulting up the stairs by launching them from the head of a hobby horse. The girls were returning fire from the upstairs.

This is why we love Dad so much. And it is also why I am now terrified to leave these three alone in the house to go to work (I'm also terrified of the upcoming parent teacher conferences and having to explain why my kids know the words to "Rapper's delight").

Odds and Ends

The Moo lately has been having a rough go of it. I am a big fan of Brazelton, and he writes that for every age up until six, you get about six months of sunshine (good behavior) and six months of rain (not so great). The Bean is finally coming into her sunshine phase, and the Moo is moving into what will hopefully be her last hurricane season -- at least until she hits adolescence. She has been dealing with the stress of so many changes in her life, and the toll is starting to show. She is still a little joy most of the time, though! Here are some some things that I want to write down before I forget them, so that I can pass them on to the Moo and the Bean:

• Like most three year olds, the Bean loves to "read" books. We make it a practice when we read at night to read the title page, and talk about the author and the illustrator. When the Bean reads on her own, she opens the book, says the title, and then ALWAYS says, "by Eric Carle." Who knew he was that prolific?

• The Bean and the Moo love to make up songs. The Bean lately has been singing a song whose refrain is "Daddy likes to smell stinky cats," which of course makes Daddy laugh. He asked her on Monday why she has been singing that so much lately, and the Bean said, "When Daddy is stressed out and sad I sing the stinky cat song and Daddy feels better."
  
• The Bean seems to be focused on stress lately, because today when I asked her if she played with "Reesie-Peesie" (her friends Reese) she told me, "Mommy, don't give my friends nicknames, it stresses them out."
• The Moo is a total reader now. She is amazing. She reads things on signs and in books that I am supposedly reading to her.
  
• The Moo LOVES to surprise me every week by picking out an unusual library book and making me guess what is it about. She gets the cutest look on her face when we go through our weekly ritual of me asking what she got, and she loves the fact that I can never guess.
  
• The Moo is a model of perseverance and we are so proud of her for it. She is the youngest one on swim team, and she is always the last one to finish her laps, but she keeps going and she keeps smiling and she keeps getting better and better every week.
  
• She is such a big girl -- people who have not seen her lately can not really comprehend what an old soul she is and how she is really a big girl beyond her five years of age. Last night, however, she needed all the patience and all the love that Mom could give her as she had a meltdown to end all meltdowns. And as frustrating and trying as it was to deal with her, Mom loved being able to hold her and comfort her again like when she was my little tiny girl.
  

In Memorium

Some sad news I heard this morning. Not sure if Aunt B will remember him, but Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt T will. I was a teenager when we were in Madrid, but I remember being teased by Ken all summer long after, as a dependent summer hire in the health unit, I shipped one family's health records to Panama City when they were supposed to go to Manama.

Am I crazy?

So, we get home from a playdate with one of the Moo's friends today to find yet another of what Dad would call nasty grams in our mailbox. For those who don't know, we live on the corner of a crowded neighborhood where a) people frequently park in front of our house and b) there is often no room to leave the total of 60 feet of clear space the USPS demands in front of each mailbox, given the multiple cars owned by everyone on our block. This time, we called the post office. Dad started to explain the situation and that we were tired of getting these notices over something we had no control over. The woman on the phone said "well, I'll just tell my supervisor to suspend your mail then" and hung up on him. They would not answer the phone every time we called back after that. So, Mom called the USPS customer service line. The extremely unhelpful person on the phone said, "you have to tell your neighbors not to park near your house." I explained that this is a public street and I have absolutely no recourse over anyone who parks in front of my house, nor are my immediate neighbors the problem. She said they could suspend our mail anyway. Heaven forbid the postal carrier have to get out of the little car.

So I am feeling very frustrated and oppressed by the Orwellian bureaucracy that is the USPS. Am I crazy, or have they gone just a little overboard on the rigidity front? At any rate, if they choose to punish us by not delivering the offers for new credit cards, political campaign fliers, and catalogs I never ordered to begin with, then I guess so be it . . .