Category Archives: play

I’m a Little Teapot…

I don’t recall exactly what brought up the subject of tea parties, but while I was playing with Phoebe and her Calico Critters she announced that Mama Koala was going to have a tea party. It was then that I asked her if she would like to have a real tea party. The look of joy on her face as she (in very girly fashion) squealed with delight was magical. However, as is the norm with 3 year olds, she said she wanted to do it then and there. I explained that we should do a little planning and go shopping so we could go all out for her first tea party.

So to Target we went and I pulled out my tea set and appetizer tower. Phoebe invited Josh and Enzo (who was at first uncertain as to whether he wanted to go or not), however, she told them in no uncertain terms that they could come only if they didn’t spill anything. Enzo brought his rabbit as his plus one and Phoebe brought her rabbit and Liliana her doll. Phoebe had said she wanted something orange for her tea party, so I suggested we go with tea that had orange peel and she picked out a heavenly earl grey with orange peel and vanilla. We obviously had to get some fancy cookies, which she also picked out and I made little sandwiches with what I could find in the cupboard along with some fruit. Oh, and of course cupcakes.

It was a blast. The kids are excited about having a big fancy tea party at least once a month and I’m sure we’ll do more simple parties more frequently. It was so much fun to watch them set up plates and cups for their dolls and help them eat their food and watch them add a little sugar to their own tea. I’m looking forward to many more gatherings.

Don’t you just love the fake smiles? They really were having fun…. I swear!

Yeah… still struggling with the looks of joy.

Just Keep Swimming…

I probably should be repeating this over and over this week. I figure it’s fitting since we just watched Finding Dory and this week has been a rough one, so I should probably remind myself to breathe more and Let It Go. If Josh was here he’d probably help me with more Disney puns. It’s been a stressful past week and the kids were thrown off by a few things, as well as Josh and I. I think we all just want everything to get back to normal.

Two weekends ago we pulled the bouncy house outside, which thrilled the kids for about 15 minutes. It was pretty hot, though, so I’m not surprised they didn’t last too long. I wish all days they could play as well together, but they have two very different personalities and they’re each going through various developmental stages.

Quite often there is fussing and whining and “Enzo hit me” or “Phoebe took my toy” which is what I’m guessing he’s saying since really all I hear is high-pitched screaming. We’re really working on the yelling/screaming lately. Enzo’s first response to frustration or outrage or embarrassment is to scream and yell and now Phoebe is starting to do the same. There are some days when I think my ear drums will burst.

His moods are rather like the tide. He’ll have several good days or a great week and then suddenly something sets him off and it can be hard to get through the rough days and back on track. Phoebe’s shenanigans are no help either as she’ll do things that are naughty and laugh at the negative reaction (like her brother freaking out). Parenting is so exhausting.

There are some days where we are able to just laugh the chaos off because some things are just so absurd and ridiculous and exasperating and I’m trying more and more to laugh rather than cry. I don’t know if I’ve told this story yet… but Phoebe can’t be trusted to be left alone – at all. I left her in the bathroom on the toilet for maybe 15 seconds and came back to find that she had unrolled half the roll of toilet paper. There was just this massive pile of toilet paper on the ground. I got her off and then Enzo came in saying he needed to pee, so I got her out of there and told Enzo if he needed toilet paper to just grab some from the pile since I needed a minute. Well… I walk back in to find him with the huge wad of toilet paper in his hand blotting himself and not stopping him in time before he dropped it all into the toilet. I was pretty much speechless… it had been a long day and Josh legitimately thought I had lost my mind when I walked out of the bathroom and just threw my hands up in the air and started laughing hysterically.

They do have moments of sweetness, which are so hard to remember during those rough times when they try your patience and push every single button they can. I’m trying to really respond to these moments, though. Josh spent two nights in the hospital and Enzo cleaned up his floor a bit without asking for which I praised him greatly and he told me he’d take keep me safe while Josh was gone.

I guess we’ll just have to keep each other safe and do our best to get through each day. I call a do-over on this past week, and the great thing is that like I tell Enzo we can choose to start-over and try to have a better day. We choose how we react and we can choose to be mad/sad/frustrated all day or we can choose to accept that what’s done is done. I may have “failed” in my mind as a parent this week, but I can do my best to turn that around. I always make sure that I tell my kids I love them and apologize when I make a mistake as a parent. Tonight my plan is to start over.

Hot and Steamy (weather, that is).

Oh that time of year when it’s so hot and humid outside that stepping into an air conditioned room or car feels like its freezing and you put on a sweater even though it’s over 70 degrees. I remember the first year we were here and I was completely unaccustomed to humidity of any kind coming from southern Colorado and the dry desert heat. On the plus side, it means the kids can go outside as early as they want to because it’s actually pleasant out.

These pictures are from a few weeks ago when we filled up the little pool on the deck. We need to do that again… the kids (and I) had a blast. We chased each other around with squirt guns and they gained up on me viciously. The water was ICY cold, but Phoebe didn’t care. Enzo was a little more cautious when it came to getting in the water and I was good with dipping a toe.

They may not always get along, but they will quickly side together against any opposition – which means it was me against them in our water fight. I can’t imagine a better way to spend a morning, though. Sometimes I forget how fun it is to be a kid and having kids will definitely keep you young. I can’t wait to introduce them to water balloons one of these weekends. It’s on!

Potty Training: The update you didn’t ask for, and other random stuff

Oh the joys of potty training. Our bathroom seems to constantly smell like pee – just a warning if you come over and I haven’t had time to clean. It’s apparently not just a little boy problem because little girls also can make a mess when they’re rushing and/or too squirmy. Probably more than you wanted to know, but that’s my life right now. Potty training this time around has gone really well, though. Phoebe is still using pull-ups while sleeping, but has had hardly any accidents during the day time. We all cheer her on and even Enzo gets excited for her when she successfully goes on the potty.

I’m not ashamed to say that we did use some bribing as an incentive to go on the potty. It worked with Enzo, and they reward kids with an M&M at day care, so we figured we’d roll with that. I remember being irritated when we found out they were using candy as an incentive when Enzo was potty training… but now? It’s a battle I’m not going to fight, so yes, here’s your M&M for making it to the potty! Just like with Enzo, we’ll start to phase out the rewards once she’s really doing good and especially once she doesn’t need pull-ups.

These pictures are obviously from before potty training as Phoebe is wearing a swim diaper under her bathing suit, which kept falling off. Thankfully she had her big brother to help her keep them up, though.

While he can certainly be bossy at times, Enzo is also very good at looking after his little sister. He means well, he just forgets at times that he isn’t the parent. It’s moments like this when my heart swells, though. He’ll take her hand to guide her somewhere, or help her get something she can’t reach, or help her keep her swimsuit on when mom buys the wrong size.

I think we’re making up for last year when we didn’t get as much water time, and also because last year we didn’t realize there was a… thingymabobber (technical term) on the outside water spout that messed with the water pressure making it impossible to use a sprinkler. Thankfully Josh managed to get it off this year and now we have normal water pressure for sprinklers and pool filling!

We also discovered a divot in the yard that made the perfect mud puddle. Good thing we had extra grass seed because that patch of grass was destroyed when they were done with it. Next on the list? Water balloons! I got some of those little water balloons that you hook up to the faucet and it fills up a ton at once. Seriously, why can’t I think of the words for anything? Friday brain I suppose.

With the temperatures rising tomorrow, it looks like we’ll be heading to the bigger pool in the morning and hunkering down in the afternoon watching out for hail and wind and all of that fun that comes with summer storms in Minnesota. Happy Weekend!

Sports and things to add to my list of parental “fails”

Did you know that in order to register for things like T-Ball you have to do so really early in the year? Like February early? I did not know that, so apparently we’ll need to find something else to sign Enzo up for and depending on his mood he’s either interested in everything or nothing at all. We keep thinking that swimming would be good for both of them, but I really don’t want to spend a lot of money on lessons and have neither kid actually go in the water. The community center lessons are a lot cheaper, but they fill up quickly or there is never enough interest. So… back to the drawing board!

In the meantime, the kids can still practice a bit at home. Enzo really does have a good arm and seems like a natural. At the very least, maybe this year would be a good year to take the kids to their first ball game. They may not last the entire game, but we can always walk around and the food is good, so there’s also that.

What is it about baseball? I’m not a huge fan, but it’s one of the few sports I’m okay with watching and when I was younger I didn’t mind playing it either. I was awful at it, but it was still kind of fun nonetheless. Football just bores me and basketball is the same… plus the squeaky shoes. I can’t handle the squeaky shoes.

Enzo has always enjoyed sports. One of the very first television programs he watched was the Olympics… diving, I believe. Then has he got older he’d stare at football games and be totally mesmerized. Neither Josh or I played organized sports in school – well, he did for a short period of time, and while I liked running and was told I’d be good at Track & Field, I never joined.

We certainly won’t pressure our kids to join any sports or other extracurricular activities, but I think they might enjoy it. Now if we could just get our acts together and remember that you need to do things like register… well in advance. Hmm, maybe we can still find swimming lessons for them or gymnastics classes. They both like tumbling… mostly off of couches, but still!

Actually, Phoebe could probably use some balance assistance. The poor girl is not super graceful and is constantly tripping over her feet it seems. I have a feeling we’ll try and enroll her in a dance class considering how she loves to dance at home. I’m really just rambling aren’t I?

Okay, here’s hoping we can get these two involved in something or at the very least I guess I’d better start checking when I need to register for Winter programs since it seems like you need about 6 months notice. Add that to the list of things I never thought about before having kids.

Dino and Bunnies

Every day adventures