I love TV. Seriously. My DVR subscription and I have been together since December of 2004 and we are still blissfully in love. (Except that Charter's service pales in comparison to Cox, but I still love it). I know I'm supposed to keep my kids away from the evilness that is TV, kids that watch TV are obese, have brain rot, have developmental delays, social delays, aren't very smart, have short attention spans, I could go on. I grew up watching TV and playing outside. So do my kids. I am not a Mom that declares TV off limits, and sometimes, they probably watch too much TV. But I'm not a hypocrite. I know lots of Moms that say their kids only watch TV for an hour or so a day. Then how in the world do they know every character on Nick Jr, Noggin or Cartoon Network? (Side note, I've known kids that couldn't watch TV or eat sugar or play like kids and they were odd deprived kids) Be the best Mom you can be, but be real. Sometimes I forget to brush the kid's teeth, they drink too much juice and probably eat too much candy, we talk about ghosts and shoot each other and fall down dead, they play in the mud and splash in puddles in the rain, we jump off the couch onto pillow piles, and I let my kids play in the backyard by themselves (I do hover near the window). Gasp! How terrible am I? We also eat lots of fruits, veggies and milk, floss our teeth, play school and do workbooks (Gracie too), watch documentaries, go to the park, ride bikes, talk about heaven and God and Jesus and death, if any of that makes me a bad Mom, then so be it, but my kids are awesome! (As I type this, The Loud One comes in to ask if they can have some almonds for a snack) Now that I'm off my soapbox...
It didn't really occur to me that cartoons were violent, I mean I watched them as a kid, but I didn't get that takeaway so I assumed Bugs Bunny, The Peanuts and Pink Panther were fine. Much better than the grossness of ones I see today like Chowder or even Spongebob sometimes.(Which does not deter me from letting the kids watch them) The Loud One likes to play "shooters," he doesn't even know they're called guns. I wondered where the shooter thing came from and realized Elmer Fudd shoots at Bugs in every episode, and Sylvester tries to eat Tweety, Tom tried to eat Jerry and Jerry beats the crap out of him. My kids loooove these! We like Dora and Diego and can speak a little Spanish, even Chinese from Kai Lan, but nothing compares to the beatdown of our cartoons.
(Keep in mind that Kitty really likes Charlie Brown) Kitty does not like me to sing her name in songs, so I do it all the time. I was in the bathroom on the potty and she poked her head in and said, "Stop sin-in' my name song or I'm a gonna slug you!" (I laughed and told her it's not nice when Lucy says it, so it's not nice for Kitty to say it) She then turned around and looked at me in the eye and said, "Ok, but if you sin my name song again, I'm a gonna slug you off the potty!" and left. I laughed harder (what a funny image) and missed my teaching moment because I couldn't stop laughing. Damn, I guess she told me.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
He's 5? Really?
Seems like just yesterday that I found the stick with two pink lines and I started crying and didn't stop until my boyfriend of 6 months came home.
The Loud One turned 5 on the 28th. He is distancing from me, already? A couple of weeks before his birthday, he didn't want to go grocery shopping with me. Seriously, I can't go get the mail without him running for his shoes. So, Gracie and I went alone. Daddy couldn't come to the Chuck E Cheese party on the 27th so we stayed with cousin Sir-Breaks-A-Lot the night before as a sleepover. Now, we've done this Chuck E thing since they were 3, and I was dreading being Mommy alone with both of them. He didn't even want to be around me, it was him and Sir-Breaks-A-Lot all day. If I got near him, he tried to dart away as if my presence would ruin his big boy fun (except when he needed tokens). I have to admit, it was nice only dealing with one whiner at a time, but where was my boy? We were BFF, we have a handshake, a fist bump and we like to snuggle back to back.
The next day was his birthday and we were going to CiCi's (we really don't usually eat this much pizza) and he didn't even want me to go. He said he wanted to hang out with his Daddy and sister on his birthday. Poor Mommy, but I love a buffet so I went anyway. Haha, and I made Daddy take them to the arcade room. I know he wasn't trying to hurt my feelings, but, wow. It was all so sudden, I had visions of him going to Kindergarten, graduating high school, moving to college and getting married.....
The next night he was up with a cold. Who did he want? Yep, Mommy. We snuggled in the chair with a blanket, a snack and our DVR. As he was about to fall asleep, he said, "Mommy, you make my life happy." I smiled, but in my head I said, "Oh, yeah? Then why couldn't I hang out with you at Chuck E Cheese? You didn't even want me to go to CiCi's, you should wake up your Daddy.....wait, haha, I'm back in! Triumph, Mommy!!!"
You make my life happy too, bud. :)
The Loud One turned 5 on the 28th. He is distancing from me, already? A couple of weeks before his birthday, he didn't want to go grocery shopping with me. Seriously, I can't go get the mail without him running for his shoes. So, Gracie and I went alone. Daddy couldn't come to the Chuck E Cheese party on the 27th so we stayed with cousin Sir-Breaks-A-Lot the night before as a sleepover. Now, we've done this Chuck E thing since they were 3, and I was dreading being Mommy alone with both of them. He didn't even want to be around me, it was him and Sir-Breaks-A-Lot all day. If I got near him, he tried to dart away as if my presence would ruin his big boy fun (except when he needed tokens). I have to admit, it was nice only dealing with one whiner at a time, but where was my boy? We were BFF, we have a handshake, a fist bump and we like to snuggle back to back.
The next day was his birthday and we were going to CiCi's (we really don't usually eat this much pizza) and he didn't even want me to go. He said he wanted to hang out with his Daddy and sister on his birthday. Poor Mommy, but I love a buffet so I went anyway. Haha, and I made Daddy take them to the arcade room. I know he wasn't trying to hurt my feelings, but, wow. It was all so sudden, I had visions of him going to Kindergarten, graduating high school, moving to college and getting married.....
The next night he was up with a cold. Who did he want? Yep, Mommy. We snuggled in the chair with a blanket, a snack and our DVR. As he was about to fall asleep, he said, "Mommy, you make my life happy." I smiled, but in my head I said, "Oh, yeah? Then why couldn't I hang out with you at Chuck E Cheese? You didn't even want me to go to CiCi's, you should wake up your Daddy.....wait, haha, I'm back in! Triumph, Mommy!!!"
You make my life happy too, bud. :)
Friday, March 5, 2010
Take a road trip with your kids, I dare you!
So, it's been about a month since the kids and I roadtriped. It's taken me that long to get over the trauma of it all. (Just kidding, kind of)
My college suite mate is pregnant and needy and suggested we come up to keep her company. I laughed. Then, I thought, why not? We could stretch the trip out, just me and the kids (John would stay home, someone had to work, and as a bonus he could drink beer and play with his friends for a week). I started to form a plan, we could stop in Winston-Salem to spend the night with cousin Scarlett, spend a couple of nights with Dana and stay at a hotel on the way back. Perfect. I bought snacks, ice, juice, rounded up change for the vending machines and packed and repacked. I decided the yard sale funds would be our fun money (way over shot that budget, but we'll get to that). Then the storm rolled in, it blanketed my route with ice and snow, then did it all over again. Maybe it was a sign, I didn't take it. We left 2 days later.
Whoo-hoo! On the road, we took our Dramamine and the kids fell asleep before I hit the interstate. Cool. Overall, the kids were warriors, they wanted to keep going, just to get there. I was sick of eating at places with playlands, but happy for the outlet of screaming and running. We discovered the joy of velcro vegetables that could be 'cut' with a plastic knife, got Scarlett to play hooky from school and got to sled down a hill of melted and refrozen snow in W-S. Oh, and I locked my keys in the trunk. We made $112 from the yard sale and that locksmith cost me $45. Then we headed to VA. I found Dana's quickly on the cul-de-sac, there way a Georgia flag on the door. The Loud One jumped out of the car and ran right up to her like they were old friends. She gave them a snack (cheese, they love cheese, she was making fast friends), the Kitty does what she always does. Shoved her mouth too full, activated her overly sensitive gag reflex and puked on Dana's carpet. Did I mention we had just gotten there?
Dana had an upstairs, napkins made out of different colored shirts (cloth napkins), and dogs!!! However, there was not a TV in the bedroom. The Loud One expressed his frustration by looking at me and sighing, "I KNEW you should have brought your TV!!" We had hot dogs, cinnamon rolls and noodles. Perfect. We went to the museum, the aquarament (aquarium), out to dinner and on the last night, we went to a ho-en-tell (hotel--what a vacation really is.)
The next day, we didn't get too far, the kids were cranky so we stopped at The Carolina Premium Outlets to make ourselves feel better. We got a dinosaur puzzle, a cupcake bake set, some place mats you can practice drawing numbers and letters on, and some new pajamas, that more than took care of the $67 we had left. We never got back on the road, we just found a ho-en-tel that had an indoor pool and checked in. Later, Kitty lost her mind and I was afraid someone would call Child Protective Services because when she she's tired and opposed to sleeping, it gets ugly. (There's a video on my FB page if you don't believe me) I went in the bathroom and cried. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" is all I wanted to say. Then when I came out, The Loud One started crying and saying Kitty ruined his day. She stopped screaming and she was sad, she didn't wanna ruin his day (what about mine?!), so we talked about what a fun day we had, then we watched some Garfield and went to sleep.
We went to a huge discount store (complete with ashtrays at the end of the aisles). Got some more crap, and when I tried to give Kitty her Dramamine, she got mad and thew up. Good thing I have paper towels in my car!!! We stopped at McDonald's for lunch and running, and she threw up all over the lobby right as they were giving us the tray. I went to get napkins, she followed me and had her hand over her mouth, she puked again spewing it thru her fingers. The workers didn't care, so I wiped it up, and put a chair over it. Then Kitty was hungry so we washed our hands and I put her coat on over the pukey shirt and we sat down and ate and played on the outside playland. We went potty before we left and Kitty had pooped, then The Loud One didn't aim so well because he was looking at all the graffiti. I didn't bring a diaper in, wait, I didn't have any diapers. Crap. Aha! There was a swim diaper in the car, I cleaned her up, put on her pants and prayed she didn't pee on the way to the car. I then changed her in the parking lot for the second time that day--and it was only 1pm. We got diapers and back on the road again we went!!
We made it Augusta and stopped at Denny's, they slept most of the way, and apparently the Kitty peed the whole way. We sat down, ordered drinks and food, and as we were about to go to the potty, my leg was wet. It wasn't me. Kitty had sprung a leak. Dammit, I never changed her out of the swim diaper!!! I took her to the bathroom, I had a diaper, put I had to strip her, there was peep (what they call pee-pee) up her back down into her shoes. Her socks were soaked!! WTH happened? So, we got her clean, and I had to carry her out with only a coat and diaper on out to the car for her third wardrobe change. This was getting grosser as time went on. They were all wound up so we stayed at another hotel--I was also afraid of what would happen next. With good reason, she filled a diaper I d set outside the door. This is where The Loud One got the TV to the video game menu and as I came in with the ice, whispered to Kitty to push the orange button. Noooooooooo, I said in slow-mo. Too late, they had bought 60 minutes of video games. A 5 year old and a 2 year old, trying to play Mario Cart and Kirby with one controller.
We slept until 10:50am and rushed for check out. We eventually stopped at Cracker Barrel for brunch and thankfully, it was uneventful. We bought some more crap at the gift shop and then no one wanted to stop again until we got home. Home sweet home!! We got to see Nana and Daddy and tell them all about it. They were happy to be in their beds and so was I. The next day we slept in and as we were unpacking The Loud One wanted to help me pack.
"You mean, UN-pack, that's when you put your stuff away."
"No, I mean pack, let's get on the road again!"
"Really?" I asked incredulously, "Don't you like being home?"
"Yes, but I loved being with you and Kitty all day and all night and all day and all night."
Me too, (mostly), but it'll be a while...
My college suite mate is pregnant and needy and suggested we come up to keep her company. I laughed. Then, I thought, why not? We could stretch the trip out, just me and the kids (John would stay home, someone had to work, and as a bonus he could drink beer and play with his friends for a week). I started to form a plan, we could stop in Winston-Salem to spend the night with cousin Scarlett, spend a couple of nights with Dana and stay at a hotel on the way back. Perfect. I bought snacks, ice, juice, rounded up change for the vending machines and packed and repacked. I decided the yard sale funds would be our fun money (way over shot that budget, but we'll get to that). Then the storm rolled in, it blanketed my route with ice and snow, then did it all over again. Maybe it was a sign, I didn't take it. We left 2 days later.
Whoo-hoo! On the road, we took our Dramamine and the kids fell asleep before I hit the interstate. Cool. Overall, the kids were warriors, they wanted to keep going, just to get there. I was sick of eating at places with playlands, but happy for the outlet of screaming and running. We discovered the joy of velcro vegetables that could be 'cut' with a plastic knife, got Scarlett to play hooky from school and got to sled down a hill of melted and refrozen snow in W-S. Oh, and I locked my keys in the trunk. We made $112 from the yard sale and that locksmith cost me $45. Then we headed to VA. I found Dana's quickly on the cul-de-sac, there way a Georgia flag on the door. The Loud One jumped out of the car and ran right up to her like they were old friends. She gave them a snack (cheese, they love cheese, she was making fast friends), the Kitty does what she always does. Shoved her mouth too full, activated her overly sensitive gag reflex and puked on Dana's carpet. Did I mention we had just gotten there?
Dana had an upstairs, napkins made out of different colored shirts (cloth napkins), and dogs!!! However, there was not a TV in the bedroom. The Loud One expressed his frustration by looking at me and sighing, "I KNEW you should have brought your TV!!" We had hot dogs, cinnamon rolls and noodles. Perfect. We went to the museum, the aquarament (aquarium), out to dinner and on the last night, we went to a ho-en-tell (hotel--what a vacation really is.)
The next day, we didn't get too far, the kids were cranky so we stopped at The Carolina Premium Outlets to make ourselves feel better. We got a dinosaur puzzle, a cupcake bake set, some place mats you can practice drawing numbers and letters on, and some new pajamas, that more than took care of the $67 we had left. We never got back on the road, we just found a ho-en-tel that had an indoor pool and checked in. Later, Kitty lost her mind and I was afraid someone would call Child Protective Services because when she she's tired and opposed to sleeping, it gets ugly. (There's a video on my FB page if you don't believe me) I went in the bathroom and cried. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" is all I wanted to say. Then when I came out, The Loud One started crying and saying Kitty ruined his day. She stopped screaming and she was sad, she didn't wanna ruin his day (what about mine?!), so we talked about what a fun day we had, then we watched some Garfield and went to sleep.
We went to a huge discount store (complete with ashtrays at the end of the aisles). Got some more crap, and when I tried to give Kitty her Dramamine, she got mad and thew up. Good thing I have paper towels in my car!!! We stopped at McDonald's for lunch and running, and she threw up all over the lobby right as they were giving us the tray. I went to get napkins, she followed me and had her hand over her mouth, she puked again spewing it thru her fingers. The workers didn't care, so I wiped it up, and put a chair over it. Then Kitty was hungry so we washed our hands and I put her coat on over the pukey shirt and we sat down and ate and played on the outside playland. We went potty before we left and Kitty had pooped, then The Loud One didn't aim so well because he was looking at all the graffiti. I didn't bring a diaper in, wait, I didn't have any diapers. Crap. Aha! There was a swim diaper in the car, I cleaned her up, put on her pants and prayed she didn't pee on the way to the car. I then changed her in the parking lot for the second time that day--and it was only 1pm. We got diapers and back on the road again we went!!
We made it Augusta and stopped at Denny's, they slept most of the way, and apparently the Kitty peed the whole way. We sat down, ordered drinks and food, and as we were about to go to the potty, my leg was wet. It wasn't me. Kitty had sprung a leak. Dammit, I never changed her out of the swim diaper!!! I took her to the bathroom, I had a diaper, put I had to strip her, there was peep (what they call pee-pee) up her back down into her shoes. Her socks were soaked!! WTH happened? So, we got her clean, and I had to carry her out with only a coat and diaper on out to the car for her third wardrobe change. This was getting grosser as time went on. They were all wound up so we stayed at another hotel--I was also afraid of what would happen next. With good reason, she filled a diaper I d set outside the door. This is where The Loud One got the TV to the video game menu and as I came in with the ice, whispered to Kitty to push the orange button. Noooooooooo, I said in slow-mo. Too late, they had bought 60 minutes of video games. A 5 year old and a 2 year old, trying to play Mario Cart and Kirby with one controller.
We slept until 10:50am and rushed for check out. We eventually stopped at Cracker Barrel for brunch and thankfully, it was uneventful. We bought some more crap at the gift shop and then no one wanted to stop again until we got home. Home sweet home!! We got to see Nana and Daddy and tell them all about it. They were happy to be in their beds and so was I. The next day we slept in and as we were unpacking The Loud One wanted to help me pack.
"You mean, UN-pack, that's when you put your stuff away."
"No, I mean pack, let's get on the road again!"
"Really?" I asked incredulously, "Don't you like being home?"
"Yes, but I loved being with you and Kitty all day and all night and all day and all night."
Me too, (mostly), but it'll be a while...
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