See ya!

Say "adios" to the binky! Today was Carly's first dentist appointment, during which we learned that Carly has beautiful teeth. Also during the visit, as prompted by the "what can we do for you today" portion of the patient intake form that I carefully completed, the dentist mentioned to Carly that she should stop using her binky. Carly nodded in agreement, perhaps encouraged by the glistening coin that the dentist gave her to retrieve a prize from the prize machine, and we left the office happy as clams.



The rest of the day went something like this: We arrived home. Carly ran to tell Greg the good news that it was time to throw away the binkies (I should note here that she rejected the idea of mailing them to needy children, so we really need to get on the wagon as far as attending mass more regularly). She ran upstairs, retrieved the 4 binkies from her binky bucket and threw them in the trash can. We left and went to an activity-filled playgroup. Upon returning home at naptime, she promptly headed upstairs, grabbed Ga, and had a total all-systems failure binky meltdown. We quickly went through the 5 stages of grieving (again, that Death & Dying class from Marian comes in handy!):

Denial - "I am not a big girl, I am a baby!!!"
Anger - "I will not take my nap. No nononononononononononononono mommy!"
Bargaining - "You stay here mommy, I'm going to get my binkies out of the trash." "Pleeeeaaaaase mommy, I neeeeeeeeeed my binky!"
Depression - hysterical sobbing
Acceptance - "Okay, I'm happy mommy, you can leave." This was a fake-out, since she never went to sleep and continued the previous 4 steps for about an hour and a half.

I was prepared for a similar experience this evening, so I armed myself with two very, very useful tools.

1.


(This was for me, not Carly.)

2.


Some may say this was an unfair scare tactic. Dr. Dentist might not approve of me using her brochure about tooth decay to falsely convince my toddler that binkies will rot her teeth and make them fall out. They are both right, but sometimes you just have to do what works. I had my little talk with Carly and you can be damned sure that that picture had her asleep without the binky in less than 5 minutes.

Ta da!

Happy Easter

I spent a lot of time and energy today trying to relax and enjoy the day, so naturally I'm exhausted. Happy Easter everyone!!

35

I had a fantastic birthday. Teddy was sick, we are still unemployed, and we have a new "white picket fence" (not the good kind), but the day was still great. Greg outdid himself with the birthday gifts this year after turning up empty handed last year. I got two bottles of tequila ("one for margaritas, one for sipping"). Hey, this is from a guy who once bought me a box of Duraflame logs for Christmas. Not bad! Carly helped bake the cake, as evidenced by her handprint in the chocolate frosting and a really guilty look on her face when I noticed it. We all thought it was delicious.

So here it goes. Things I've learned this year.
1) Miracles do happen. In a word: Teddy.
2) I should not feel guilty about booking a three week trip to the Rock. It always goes by too quickly.
3) It was a bad idea to show Greg that I can get ready in 14 minutes or less.
4) Even though friends move away, they are always in my thoughts.
5) The 24 hour stomach flu lasts more than 24 hours, even if it's Christmas Eve.
6) If you build it, they will come. People cannot resist our sweet guest quarters (a pullout couch). Visitors this past 12 mos have included: Nana, Grammy & Papa, Michelle & Dan & Jack, Julie & Katie, Duffy & Katie, Scott, Bridget & Kevin & Colin, Ten Frame, and BI & Melissa. (Keep 'em coming!)
7) Enrolling Carly in preschool at age two was brilliant.
8) You should always check to make sure the new eyebrow pencil you are about to use is not dark blue.
9) Because I renewed my 5 year-old driver's license online, I will not need to get a new driver's license photo for 8 years. I will look 30 until I'm 43. Better than Creme de la Mer!
10) Happiness comes from within.

Cheers!

Who sucks more?

You be the judge. Whose attempt sucks more:


Greg's pork & (flavorless) couscous dinner. Keep in mind, this was exactly how it was presented to me at dinner last week.



My attempt at Easter treats for preschoolers. Preschoolers. And, not to make excuses or anything, but the grocery store was out of peeps and jelly beans.

T Diggity Dog

Why we end up calling him this, or T-Dog or Teeny Tiny Teddy, I have no idea. These names just come out of my mouth in the most chaotic of times when the phone is ringing, I'm trying to watch some random clip on the Today Show, Teddy is screaming, Carly is TALKING LOUDLY ABOVE EVERYONE ELSE telling me that Ga's birthday is coming up and he would like a chocolate cake and Sully is sniffing dangerously around the peanut butter jar left open on the counter. Teddy takes priority when I am in triage mode during these daily events. (Of course, triage is another one of those skills that stay-home-moms all have on their imaginary up-to-date resumes, you know, the ones that they swear they will fire off to 100 employers the next time someone screams or throws food on the floor). As I scoop him up, and try to find humor in the situation, I find myself singing the wrong lyrics to any tune that comes to mind or, in the case of Teddy, calling him some ridiculous name. I'm explaining this so that, one day, when he is 12 or something and he can't shake one of these ridiculous nicknames, he will understand.

Spring Break 2009 - PS

A quick follow-up to share what I learned on our flight home.

Here's a quiz: see what you can find wrong in these pictures:



1) When you are traveling with a child on your lap, do NOT ORDER COFFEE. It will spill on you and your child. It may also create an unsightly large brown spot on the burp cloth, completely alarming fellow passengers who did not see the aforementioned coffee and who assume it is something else.

2) Do not assume that strategically seating your husband next to your toddler will mean that he will entertain her, especially if you are flying home during March Madness.

Spring Break 2009

We are back from Spring Break 2009. You may wonder, with Greg unemployed and me a stay-home mom, what the hell were we breaking from this year? I guess we were escaping our miserable lawn, Greg's job search (some may say this was ill advised), and the gray weather. To say that we enjoyed ourselves on our vacation is to put it mildly. And, hey, one broken flat screen tv and one duvet cover adorned with purple crayon add up to just a small price for fun, right?

It took Carly all of 3 minutes to acclimate herself to Nana's spring break world: the tough decision of beach, big pool or little pool; tons of new friends just waiting to play; and ice cream and pina coladas on demand from the pool cafe.





At just 11 weeks, Teddy also caught on to the spring break lifestyle quite fast.





Greg working on his job search:



All-in-all, Nana took very good care of us. Thanks Mom!