Monday, May 20, 2013

The neighborhood kids

Things have really been on the up and up around here as far as the neighborhood goes. We are lucky that there are 3 houses in a row with kids and many afternoons, the kids play together as one big pack, moving from house to house. One neighbor has a big trampoline in the backyard where the kids jump, and our house is coming to be known as the crafts and activity house. Even though the kids range from 3 to 10, they enjoy spending time together and at our house I keep them busy with chalk, the water table, and beading. I am really surprised at how much they all love the Ikea Pyssla beads and making beaded jewelry - even the boys.

Pyssla beads

Little hands working hard

Another day of beading
Many days, Anna and I will be at home when there is a knock at the door and one of the neighborhood kids asks "can Anna play?" and then "can you put out the beads?" It's so cute. Lately they have all been sporting their handmade necklaces and bracelets. A couple of days ago I had three kids beading and Anna wasn't even at home - she was with the other younger girl bouncing on the trampoline two doors down.

I can't tell you how much easier and better this has made our lives. Anna adores all of the neighborhood kids and they are so sweet and polite - I love that they accept her as one of the group. Last night, Anna was jumping on the trampoline with them and the parents even fed her pizza for dinner. Uri and I took advantage of the occasion and ate a nice dinner alone together in the backyard. Free date night! I like that it's reciprocal - sometimes the kids are all over here and then the pack runs off to another house and I get a break. But even when they are all here - it's so much easier than when Anna is here with me alone. She gets so much out of their companionship and they all keep each other entertained. They look out for one another too - always keeping track of where each one is.

So I have a question for you - what are some other activities I can keep around the house for the kids to do? They love the water table, chalk on the cement, and bead art. What else could be fun? I don't know if 10 year olds are over color books and crayons? I bought a pack of jars of bubbles - haven't taken that out yet. Have any of you done any successful crafts with a varied age group?

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Grandpa Robert's Farm

On Saturday, we woke up early and drove out to Montgomery Creek, where Grandpa Robert lives. We had a great day visiting his place.


The Cafe Grandpa Robert built

Lots of farm animal action - Beulah the burro was my favorite

Baby cows like tortillas


Carrots for Tara

Grandpa Robert has 30 goats

No really Uri, it's okay, you go in there and I'll take the pictures


Throwing rocks in the creek


She loves throwing rocks


Father and son enjoying the beautiful day


We spent the night in Sacramento to break up the drive home and on Sunday morning I got to have breakfast with these ladies:

Elizabeth & Holly
Always fabulous to meet up with wonderful ladies of the Internet. I wish Sacramento was closer to me. It was a great weekend! Today and Monday are about unpacking, laundry and packing because on Tuesday morning we are off for Maui. Oh goodness I can't wait.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Nursery is finished!

I am so pleased with how the nursery came out, I feel like I've come a long way since we first decorated Anna's. I thought dragons would be a really fun theme and it kind of goes along with the unicorn/horse theme in Anna's room now.

Here are the results!


Walking in

Most of the room

Dragon decal set


Dragon mobile


I love this painting the most out of everything


This shelf will be for the music player and possibly clock


Unicorn testing out my chair


Little wardrobe


I love how everything looks together. We're reusing the dresser and crib we originally bought for Anna - they have really held up well and look just as good for a boy as for a girl. For a nursing chair, I went with a recommendation from my good friend Diana. I like this one because it rocks but it's not on big rockers so it won't slide around on the floor like a traditional rocker would. Also, I went ahead and sprung for a full automatic recliner, which is great. I love the little table next to the rocker, I thought it would be helpful to have things close for when I'm nursing - another Ikea find.

I still have little things to get like a waterproof crib sheet, iPod and player, trash can, etc. but I have plenty of time. Having the nursery done though - it makes everything seem so much more real! I'm in the third trimester now, the home stretch. I feel pretty good about everything - I hope I'm ready for this big change!

Here are links to everything:

Crib & dresser (wonderful value, thank you Walmart)
Recliner rocker chair (you have to order from a furniture dealer)
Side table for nursing
Floating shelf
Dragon decal set (don't really recommend this seller but it was the cutest I found)
Dragon mobile
Friendly dragon painting (cannot recommend this seller enough)
Dragon kite (yes, it's an actual kite. I just hooked it up on the wall and we can use it someday if we like)


Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Tantrum

Just recently, two good friends of mine expressed their surprise that their second children threw tantrums because they really hadn't experienced any with their firstborns. I was floored. I can't imagine a life without tantrums; we've gotten quite a healthy dose in our household. I was searching around on the web a bit and I came across this page which had a blurb on tantrums that made me laugh:

At home, there are predictable situations that can be expected to trigger temper tantrums, such as bedtime, suppertime, getting up, getting dressed, bath time, watching TV, parent talking on the phone, visitors at the house, family visiting another house, car rides, public places, family activities involving siblings, interactions with peers, and playtime. 

I can honestly say that we've had a tantrum in most of the above situations, and some of them trigger tantrums on a regular basis. We go through quite a trial most nights when Anna is subjected to the horrors of the trifecta: putting on pajamas, brushing hair & teeth, and going potty. It is really tiring and tends to end the day on a low note. Of course, there are some nights when we just happily go through the motions but there are far too many bad nights for my taste.

When I say tantrum, I don't mean some general crying and disobedience. I mean yelling, crying, kicking, screaming, repetitive phrases, the whole 9 yards. I've finally gotten to the point where I can mostly let the tantrums wash over me, I try not to react too much to them, to just let them pass. I try to be firm on my stance - one the storm has passed, we still go through the routine - pajamas, brush hair & teeth, go potty. It's hard though, it takes a toll on me. I know they take a toll on her too. Usually when they are over she's forgotten about what she was even angry about and I just hold her and rock her. That's hard too - to be the hated mean mother one minute and the savior and comforter the next. But it's what I have to do.

Anna's tantrums are definitely at a more intense level than what I've seen from other kids. She turns it up to 11. I remember recently we were at the mall with my mom on Easter weekend. They were having a little kid party with crafts and music and we showed up towards the end when everything was pretty much over. They were giving out prizes for a raffle drawing and Anna saw another little girl win a prize. Anna started to get really upset because she wanted to win. Before I could find a way around it, her feelings turned into a full blown tantrum and it was a doozy. I had to strap her into her stroller (thank goodness I had it) and even then she was trying to stand up and fling herself out. I had to physically tip the stroller backwards so it was parallel to the ground to keep her from somehow getting out. I kept making progress towards the car while Anna flailed and screamed repetitive phrases at the top of her lungs in a scary "redrum" demon voice. Everywhere people were turning to look at us - I'm sure it's even more hilarious because she looks so cute with her ponytails and bright clothing. I'm used to this kind of attention but I could tell it was rattling my mom. She was pointing out things in store windows and trying to have a conversation with me about the shops. I could tell she was pretty embarrassed. I'm embarrassed when this stuff happens too but I'm just so darned used to it, I guess I'm mostly just thinking of the next step - which is how to get the hell to the car.

Being pregnant has made it more difficult because I don't have as much physical power to control Anna with. We've had two recent explosions at local parks and I had to speak more tersely than I'm used to and threaten things like taking away some of her ponies. I am aware of other parents looking at me and well, there's not much I can do. During today's tantrum, Anna threw a bucket of sand in anger and some of the shrapnel hit a boy. I really couldn't add one more element to what was going on so I didn't insist on an apology to him or anything like that. She even broke the bucket, which I felt badly about, but I just had to focus on dragging her away from the play structure. I know I should have acknowledged the damage and sand situation to the boy and his mother but I was just in removal mode and it was all I could do to soldier on.

I know tantrums are just a phase (god, I hope) and I do think that we are having less as time goes on. Anna is just an extremely intense and willful kid, she always has been. I get the other side of the coin too - she loves me so strongly and tells me all the time. She feels with all her heart and I'm like that too. I get it. It took me many years to get a handle on my temper and not let my emotions get the better of me. I hope I can guide her on the beginning of that path for herself. It's tough, yeah, but this is what I signed up for. Hopefully we'll all make it through to the other side.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Mother's Day Brunch

A beautiful day

Just a splash!


Sparkling cider for Anna


Even Uri went with the pink theme

Our first time at the Plumed Horse - a nice restaurant in our town

Unicorns & horses wanted in on the action

All done with brunch! Time for more family day...

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Beading for ponies

We are very big fans of My Little Pony around here. This morning Anna was saying that she wanted her ponies to have Elements of Harmony necklaces so that they could defeat Nightmare Moon. Since Uri isn't home (sad panda), I thought it might be fun to go to a bead store and get some stuff to make pony necklaces. It turned out to be a really awesome activity for both of us and Anna focused on it for about 2 hours. We got some grab bags of bead odds and ends and one bag even ended up having a big fake gold necklace in it - Anna used that to bead herself a necklace. So now Anna and her ponies are accessorized and ready to fight darkness.


Very focused

Using a tray - so much genius, wish I had thought of it for prior projects

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy with some Elements

Anna's necklace (a bit hard to see with the busy shirt)


Proud of the finished product

Accessorized ponies

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Let me check my calendar

On Tuesday night, Uri was looking at his calendar for the next couple of weeks. He showed me how on one day, he had been invited to 5 meetings, all held at the exact same time. Clearly, he has been pretty busy. He asked me, "so, what are you going to do tomorrow?" I responded "hmm, let me check my calendar..."

Good thing I keep organized
I told him I had to call the bug people about postponing our ladybug larvae shipment, then we had swimming lessons. (No, it didn't take an hour to call the bug people but that was the default when I put the appt in the calendar.) I think these past few weeks have been a bit rough on Uri - he's had to travel a lot and has been waking up before me and getting home after I've gone to bed. On Monday, he had a day trip to Seattle and yesterday, one to Las Vegas. He will be in LA on Friday. While he enjoys his work, it's been a bit hectic.

It's funny how now the shoe is on the other foot. When we were both bringing home the bacon, my work day usually started earlier than his did so I had to wake up first, get myself ready, get Anna ready, take her to daycare and then get myself to work. He often had time for a workout and then a nice bath before starting the day. After work I had daycare pickup and all that accompanies that: getting all the stuff home, preparing lunch, clothes and whatever else for the next day, bedtime routine. Uri has never been able to help much with our everyday routines because he is often out of town or in client meetings and I can't count on him to be there. I remember feeling so frustrated when I was busting butt to work and take care of Anna and he got to stay in a hotel alone and go out to business dinners. I know business dinners aren't always the most awesome thing but he gets some pretty nice meals and most of the time I scarfed some sad leftovers of whatever I made Anna.

Where my days used to be all about how to get everything done as quickly as possible, now I try to find ways to stretch activities out. I arrive at swimming lessons early so we can watch other kids, then afterwards we take showers and get dressed - taking as long as possible and chatting with everyone around. I don't mind driving 25 minutes to Ikea, in fact I relish it. In my other life, I would NEVER drive that far to visit a store. Everything was Amazon. (I still love Amazon.)

My life now is just so calm, quiet and slow. Of course, even though I only really had one activity yesterday, we still filled our day. I always do the dishwasher at least once and usually process one load of laundry. Then there is making and cleaning up after breakfast, lunch and dinner - always dishes to do.  Also it amazes me how much effort and constant shuffling it takes to keep everything picked up and neat. One day I want to put on a pedometer just for when I'm putting crap away and see how far I walk doing it. I'm guessing it's like a mile. And then Anna and I just do little activities together. We've been working hard on those little patterns of beads you iron together and we do play dough outside or go for fro-yo. The little things that fill up a day.

A friend of mine who is pregnant with her first and planning on going back to work asked if I was planning on going back to work later as well. Of course you can never really know what the future holds but my gut reaction was HELL NO.  I just can't imagine going back to that life of rushing all of the time. I know part of what made it so hard was the way our family is structured and the type of person that I am. I like everything to be done just so and I'm the only one who cares so a lot of the burden falls on me. Uri could care less if he has 5 pairs of shoes strewn all over the house while it drives me insane. So I have two options: pick up his damn shoes all the time or learn to ignore it. I am not the type of person who can ignore it. Multiply that by all of his and Anna's possessions and you can see why I'm picking up all the time. And if any of you are out there thinking that there is an option 3 which is to have Uri pick up his own shoes - I say to you ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Ha. Ha ha ha ha ha. Please. I am not even convinced he can physically see the shoes on the floor. I know it sounds weird but he just has this strange filter where lots of things are not within his realm of consciousness. Clutter is one of those things - it simply does not exist for him. He's not even being lazy about it, he just doesn't notice it.

So anyway. My life - it's pretty simple. And that's the way I like it. (We'll see what I have to say about that after the baby is here.)

27 weeks today - all dressed up for Mother's Day at Anna's school