The Chronicles Continue

Oh me.  Well, today I discovered that the second type of door knob cover is no match for the J Man.  He sticks his wee little finger through the hole and turns the knob.  That little sneak.  He was opening the closet door as easily as he can pick up a ball.  Unfortunately, a door knob cover is the only thing keeping him from going down into the basement.  And putting him in the family room is of no use as he can easily hop the childproof gate.  So, Double O Daddy pulled out his trusty screwdriver and swapped the basement door knob with one that locks, putting the locking mechanism on the basement side of the door.  Now, we just need one of those little keys to get down there.  Whew.  Crisis averted.  Well, at least that crisis anyway.  Both kids are now proficient at climbing the steps, but only the J Man has any idea of how to get back down.  Do they make kid-sized hamster balls?

Well, here are two more things I never thought I'd say...
1.  Don't vacuum your sister's head!  (The J Man loves to pretend he's vacuuming.)
2.  Stop laughing and punish the boy!  (You know, it really is difficult to dole out any kind of effective punishment when your husband is laughing.)

Beauty Secrets

I suppose it's no secret that I think my kids are great. They're talented, cute, funny, sweet, intelligent, good looking... But of course, I'm a bit biased. :D When Pretty Girl started smiling and laughing (back at week 1 of her life), I told her that she was pretty and that smiling and laughing made her even prettier. I used to say that smiling added at least 10 pretty points and laughing added at least 50. She must have taken that to heart because she does both most of every day. Since she started eating in a high chair (instead of my lap) and eating something other than milk/formula, I've been picking up on her beauty secrets. They're good for just about anyone, so I thought I'd share them with you.

Pretty Girl's Beauty Secrets

1. Smile.  A smiling face is a lot more attractive than a non-smiling face.
2. Eat breakfast.  She is a good eater, and breakfast is no exception.
3. Eat fruit.  Fruit is good for you and helps keep you healthy while helping you maintain a healthy weight.  But Pretty Girl doesn't care about that.  She just likes the way it tastes, so she has it for breakfast and snacks throughout the day.
4. Eat your vegetables.  She wishes this weren't such an important beauty secret, especially when it comes to broccoli, green beans, and peas.
5. Eat whole grains.  They are often crunchy and feel good on the gums.
6. Drink your milk (if you can).  It's good for your bones and teeth.  She likes hers spiked with a touch of prune juice.
7. Get plenty of beauty sleep.  This not only helps the body by giving it time to repair itself, but it also puts you in a better mood.  And the better the mood, the more you smile.  The more you smile, the more pretty points you have.
8. Brush your teeth.  She loves to do this.  And she giggles whenever she flicks water in her face while playing with the bristles.
9. Clean up.  Being healthy and clean are two ways to look attractive in Pretty Girl's book.  Although I must admit, she doesn't like to see the mouth mop coming her direction after mealtime.
10. Exercise.  Fortunately for her she has the J Man to run after and keep her busy when I run out of steam.  They enjoy chasing each other around the house.  It's great.  They both giggle ferociously.  I am so blessed to have such wonderful kids!
11. Be kind, sweet, and loving.  I tell Pretty Girl that her sweet and affectionate attitude is the biggest factor in making her so pretty.  Pretty on the inside counts more than pretty on the outside. 

Well, there you have it.  Now you know all of Pretty Girl's beauty secrets.  May you be as attractive as she is.

He Can Leap Tall Cribs in a Single Bound

Actually, it's more like climbing I think... or I assume since I've never actually seen him do it. Imagine my surprise when, after putting the J Man down for a nap, I went to check on him because he had suddenly stopped screaming and found him outside his crib. The side was still up. Then again this morning, I went to check on him only to find him at the gate playing with his bouncy balls. So in an effort to keep the boy from falling from such a great height, Double O Daddy converted his crib into a toddler bed. Sure, that'll mean bedtime will only be a suggestion anymore (especially since he can easily reach his light switch), and the mattress has already found it's way off of the springs. I know he could hurt himself on the bare springs, but what else can we do? He's already been underneath the crib and scratched himself several times. In fact, one day I heard him yelp, so I went up to check on him. I had trouble finding him until I heard him yelp again. The boy was stuck underneath the crib caught on one of the wires. If anyone out there knows of any way to coat or cover the springs, please let me know. He's not Superman after all. :)

A Moving Foot Gathers No Moss

Look out world! Pretty Girl is one and she's walking!!! She is so cute, her whole body just grooves when she walks. It is so cool, and she gets the biggest smile on her face when you open up your arms to accept her. It just melts my heart. Life is good--for me at least. Her brother on the other hand, has a lot more to handle now because now, wherever he is and whatever he's into, she's right there on his level in the blink of an eye. And she's almost as big as he is!

She's not the only one with moving feet though. The J Man has picked up some more dance moves. He is quite the dancer. He has been ever since he was in the womb. Whenever I would listen to music, he would wake up and start moving. There's his "Signature" move of shaking his head back and forth (which he has done since he was just a few months old). He's got the "Yeah" move of throwing his head front and back while saying "Yeah, yeah, yeah" repeatedly. Let's not forget the classic "Spin and Hammer" where he spins and does a hammering motion with both arms. And now, he has added "Fancy Footwork" to his repertoire where he moves his feet a few inches at a time in quick succession.

The boy absolutely loves music. Add video and it's even better. The day my hard drive crashed and I could no longer play music videos for the boy had to be the second longest three day span I've had in a long time. He used to only like Novi Ierusalim, but now he's really taken with Go Fish and Miley Cyrus. You should see the smile he gets on his face when he sees her. I was really hoping he would be a little older than two when he first started to get interested in women. They grow up so fast, don't they?

Hiccups and Other Hilarities

Well, if you've ever wondered just what I sound like, you can now listen to me hiccup on YouTube. That's right for your listening pleasure, you too can listen to me hiccup and gasp for air. Ha ha ha. I giggle every time I think about it.

Speaking of funny memories and thoughts... Do you remember when the J Man called me "slow?" Well, this morning I was in charge of getting both kids up because Double O Daddy has the flu. While I was getting the changing station stocked and Double O his ibuprofin, the J Man was in his crib repeatedly saying, "Mommy's slow. Mommy's slow." Oh me. Everyone's a critic! It got to the point that I replied, "Mommy is NOT slow! For all I have to do, I'm a blooming miracle worker!" Of course I said it with a slight giggle in my voice. Ah kids.

Another thing that makes me giggle is thinking about the nap I tried to take on Monday. Double O Daddy was in bed in the guest room sick, both kids were in their rooms playing, and I was trying to take a much needed nap. Well, as I was nodding off, I awoke to the sound of the J Man saying, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!" And I was blissfully beginning to dream about removing the crusties from the J Man's nose too. Ah well. So much for napping.

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet, More Powerful Than a Locomotive, and Funnier than a Comedian...

Ah, kids do say the darnedest things, don't they? The J Man, now two years old, is beginning to have that linguistic explosion that a friend told me his son recently went through. In a previous post, I mentioned that he has named the vacuum cleaner "I-so-po." Well, he has now named one of his trains "A-pa-ka-zar." How did he come up with that? Any way, when he says words like clock, it comes out like "ka-law" because he hasn't quite mastered following a consonant with an "l" yet, and he often neglects to add the last consonant or he adds a vowel sound after the last consonant. So, dog becomes "dog-uh." Enough linguistics! The other day at dinner, he was saying, "Puh-lough" (rhyming with plow). I could not for the life of me figure out what he was saying. Over the course of the meal, the word transformed into "buh-low" (rhyming with low). Then it hit me. When I give him his first several bites, I blow on the food to cool it off. "Blow!" I exclaimed in triumph. He smiled because I had finally understood. Then I proceeded to apologize. I said, "I'm sorry Honey, sometimes it just takes Mommy a while." The next thing out of his mouth was, "Suh-low" which is how he says "slow." I about lost it. Who knew the boy had such a sense of humor at two?! But he is right. I am suh-low, especially since I am a dabbler in linguistics. I have no problem with so many foreign languages, but give me toddler-speak, and I'm lost.

Ode to a Mom
There once was a woman named Flo
Who kept running around on the go
She had so much to do
'Cause her son just turned two
E'en in fast mode she still was too slow

A Free and Easy Way to Feed the Hungry

My Mother-in-law recently came to visit. While she was here, she told me about a website that gives free food to the hungry. When you visit the site, you click on a button. Once you've clicked, they donate a cup of food to the hungry. You don't have to give your name, email address, postal address or anything--just click the button. It's free, it's easy, and best of all, it gives a cup of food to hungry people. The only caveat is that you can only click the button once per day. So spread the word. Here's the website: thehungersite.com.