9.25.2008

Facebook

How did Facebook become such a time-suck in my life? For a long time I was almost proud of my lack of recent internet savvy - I didn't have or read a blog, I don't own an iPod, Matt and I together have one cell phone, and I had never checked out Facebook. Now, I have the blog (obviously) and I am connected on Facebook. Granted, I still only have like 20 friends on my page, but a bunch of them are people I haven't heard from since high school. Wierd! I know a few people who got sucked into Facebook and they all told me it could be addictive and would lead to spending a lot of time on it. I don't think I've spent as much as many people do (or I might have more than the 20 friends), but I have spent more time there than at any other website lately. How strange for me? I do think Facebook is an interesting phenomenon, but I hope it never takes over my life. Well, I guess with the kids around, they'll be sure to keep my Facebook habit in check! ;-)

A Little Incentive

John loves to swim. But he hesitates when it comes to putting his face in the water and blowing bubbles. Over the summer, with a swim vest on, he swam all over the pool, even jumped in the water and went under the water many many times. But still when he started swim classes again earlier this month, he would not blow bubbles for the teacher. She came over after class one day and suggested we get him to practice in the bathtub. He promptly informed her that now he likes to take showers instead. ;-) Anyway, I was at a loss, since he clearly enjoys swimming, and can do it with confidence as long as it doesn't involve blowing bubbles. Hmmm. What parenting trick do we all turn to in situations like this? Incentives! Yes, I am not above bribing this child to get him to do something. In the spring, I bribed him to get through a soccer program. This week, I suggested that if he could blow bubbles during swim class each time the teacher asks, he would get 6 M&Ms after class. Only 6 pieces, but he was thrilled with this prospect. So on Monday, and again on Wednesday, he blew those bubbles with no hesitation! And we stopped after class in the hall and shared some M&Ms. He was so proud of himself. And I am proud too.

Tossing Artwork

Well, yesterday John surprised, no, shocked me yet again. As I described earlier, he is a crazy artist. He produces an incredible amount of "artwork." Often, he'll start an art project and then will decide to put it aside to finish later, but then never quite comes back to finish it. Then we end up with lots of piles of partly finished projects. For awhile I had gotten him to put them into a box so at least it was contained. Then I hosted a party and put the box away. Recently I found the box and came really close to tossing the whole thing, since he hadn't ever asked about it. But I couldn't quite bring myself to doing it. Not sure why. I desperately am trying to purge some of the clutter in our house and the box epitomizes clutter. For whatever reason, the box lived on.

The other day, John came downstairs and was asking about making yet another art project, this time I think the idea was a house made out of paper for his favorite stuffed animal, Puppy. I suggested that maybe a paper house wouldn't be so sturdy, but maybe we could find a box to use instead...THE box, in fact. John didn't think that the box would be such a good idea, but thought that maybe some of the paper scraps inside the box might be helpful. Well, at least some part of it was going to be used. Then, he proceeded to pull each and every scrap out of the box and decided that most of it was stuff he was done with and thew it in the trash! There were a couple of things that he saved, but 95% of the contents went straight into the trash can without any input from me. I was floored. All this time I have been secretly purging artwork and feeling VERY guilty doing it and had even felt too guilty to trash this box of art scraps, and he just came along and did it himself. It was amazing.

9.23.2008

Recipe - Swiss Chard Patties

Okay, so I'm going to post this one sooner rather than later. Partly because I have some time today during preschool and nap to do it, and partly because it is nearing the end of swiss chard season and for anyone who might want to try the recipe, it's time to do it! So get cooking and see what your kids might think!

Swiss Chard Patties
2 c. swiss chard (about 5-6 stalks)
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
a little diced onion
1 egg, slightly beaten
salt and pepper
1/4 c. olive or salad oil

Microwave the swiss chard with a little water for about 3-4 minutes, until limp. Drain and chop the chard. Mix in the other ingredients, except the oil. Make small patties (about 5 or so) and fry in the oil until crisp.

Enjoy!

9.22.2008

Cooking is Fun!

Well, at least for me it is. Well, at least most of the time it is. Well, I try to make it fun. With two little ones running around me, cooking does become a race to get food on the table before major meltdowns or fights occur. I've learned that cooking most of dinner during Kara's nap, makes the last pre-dinner moments much more relaxed - for all of us. This way, we can stay outdoors and play longer, often right up until dinner time. John also gets to help me in the kitchen, if he's not at school that day. And he LOVES to help in the kitchen. He practically jumps for joy if you need a lime or lemon squeezed. That keeps him occupied for quite awhile and he will get EVERY last drop of juice out of that citrus for you. (Great skills to have when Mommy and Daddy want margaritas!) He also enjoys other kitchen tasks - measuring, stirring, and placing things in casseroles, to name a few. Now, I do admit to having a hard time getting used to having the short person help in the kitchen. I have pretty much always been a solo chef. It's my kitchen and I am the queen of the room. But that's not quite the way it works these days. I have had to adapt a little to my sidekick, and no doubt will have to adapt further before long when Kara's ready to become a helper too. For now I still can enjoy cooking some good meals that occasionally even the kids will eat.

I am hoping that as my blogging habit gets more frequent I'll even start posting a few recipes here. For example, a recipe for swiss chard patties that my neighborhood moms have heard us talk about like crazy this summer with all the swiss chard we've been getting from our various garden sources and my kids love it! I've got a few other goodies that I'm hoping to share with other moms and folks who might be interested. Good, quick, easy, and kid friendly recipes can be challenging, especially when you add in the vegetarian factor as well. Oh vay! Anyway, look for that in future posts...once I can get myself unhooked from Facebook, my other latest technology craze. ;-)

9.17.2008

Preschool Parent

Last week I had the pleasure of working as a Helping Parent in John's preschool classroom. That's one of my favorite things about our preschool, as time consuming as it can feel somedays, it is great fun. John always loves to have me come to school with him, as do all the kids when their parent is there. Each day there is one teacher and three parents in the class with about 17 kids. It sounds a little crazy, and some days it is, but it really flows well, the kids get to do so much, and have a lot of fun in the process. I even learn a few things each time I go. It's a great chance to learn exactly what happens every day in the room, which kids are better friends, which ones are funny, and which ones are shy. It helps when you're not working and you ask your child at pick-up time what they did today. The typical response from John is, "hmmm, I don't remember." But I can ask specific questions to get more information - who had the different jobs in the room, what was the arts & crafts project (which he always does more than once), what toys were out in the block corner, what books were read on the blue rug, and many more. I feel like I can see what his day is like because I've been there with him on other days.

Some days I don't want to go because I have a lot to do at home, and I do enjoy having a break from the kids during the afternoons. But once I'm there, it's so much fun and I always laugh and have a great time. I've been absolutely delighted with our choice to send him to this school. And Kara is already prepared to be a student there as well. She tries to wash her hands when we drop John off and was devastated that she didn't have a nametag on the first day. I explained to her that next year she would be starting school and then would have her own nametag. That didn't help her at all, but it definitely brought a smile to my face knowing that she'll be able to walk right in and feel at home in the school, just the way John and I already do.

9.10.2008

My Pretty Little Girl's a Hitter?

Most people who see Kara see this adorable, sweet, sometimes shy little girl with a beautiful row of blonde curls on her head. And she is all of those things. But there is a devious, slightly dark side to her that has begun to emerge. Maybe it's part of being almost two years old, maybe it's being the second child, maybe it's just being a girl, but it's definitely there...and it's a little scary. John's such a boy that his emotions and motives are pretty much at the surface and always have been. Kara has already started being way more manipulative than John is even now. It's interesting to watch their sibling dynamics at work. Particularly so for me, since although I have a half-brother who is 8+ years older and grew up a universe away from me, I pretty much lived most of my young life as an only child. I have very little of my own experience to draw on when it comes to dealing with sibling issues. It's going to make life very interesting, complicated, and confusing for me down the road, no doubt!

But, back to the hitting thing...Kara has definitely been giving John some good hits lately. Sometimes it's her fist, sometimes it's a toy, sometimes it's a shoe. Whatever she has nearby, if she's miffed at him (or even me, occasionally) for anything she'll walk over and give a good hit. I'm always surprised when she does it, but I guess by now I shouldn't be. I remember that John went through a period of giving us head butts when he was about this age, maybe a little younger. It seemed like we were better at getting that problem under control and eliminated than we have been with Kara. Probably because, even I can admit, sometimes John does deserve to be hit by her! He's constantly provoking her, yelling/screeching at her, and swiping things out of her hands. Which then follows with me constantly telling him to stop, leave her alone, move away from her, share with her, and give her that back. Ugh. It's no wonder she wants to take a swing at him now and again.

But most of the time, she's still my sweet little girl.

9.09.2008

All's Quiet on the Home Front

Today we started John's second year of preschool. He goes to a wonderful co-op school that's less than a mile from home. We enjoyed it so much last year and he was beside himself with excitement all morning today before we left for drop-off. This year he's in a class that will meet four afternoons a week, 12:30-3 pm. He's got a new teacher, but many of the previous classmates will be returning. Last year I was so nervous about leaving him and what he would do, how he would react and he was absolutely fine, didn't even bat an eye on the first day or any other day thereafter. This year was easier on me and he jumped right into the action at the science table before I was ready to even say goodbye.

Next step - home for Kara's nap. When we headed out from the preschool, Kara was already tired. After a short story, she was curled up happily in her crib ready to go to sleep. It's a nice rainy day, so hopefully the nap will last for longer than the hour that it's been the last couple of days.

While she's sleeping and he's at school, the house seems eerily quiet. It's nice, but odd. I'm trying to make myself be productive for as long as the nap lasts, but I'm tempted to go sit on the couch or lay in bed and read a book, do some sudoku, or maybe just find some show on tv to veg out to for a bit. Maybe some popcorn and good daytime tv are just what I need. Hmmmm....

9.03.2008

Just Playing

This morning we are taking things slowly. The kids both slept until 7:30 (very nice!), and it's now 2 hours later and we haven't done much other than eat some breakfast. I'm enjoying this last week before school and swim lessons start up next week and things get a little crazier again. We have a few things that need to get done before Monday, but not too much and it's allowed us to relax and have a slower pace in the mornings than our usual routine. The kids are playing a game together while I'm writing this. I've even managed to have a couple of brief phone calls without too much disruption from the under 5 crowd in my background. The kids seem to be taking advantage of our less hectic time as well. Yesterday John and I made granola bars from a recipe in his Disney cookbook. He was thrilled! And the whole family enjoyed snacking on them after dinner last night. I imagine we'll make those again for our upcoming camping trip later this month, but I digress....

The last week or two have been wonderful weather and slower days for us. Finally, the summer slowdown I was waiting for...but a little later than I wanted it to come. That's okay, I'm glad to have school starting soon. John needs the time away from Kara, and also is very much ready to go and work on new art projects, go on new field trips, and meet some new friends. But we have taken advantage during this wonderful, almost fall-like weather we've had lately to do some fun things, such as going to Great Falls Park, Frying Pan Park, the National Zoo, farmers' markets, boating, and some pool time. All along with just hanging out and playing with our neighborhood friends. It's been a great way to bring the summer to a close.