mommypalooza™ ~ a daily dose of mommy mayhem.

Sick kid, semi-insane mom

Nathan came home today from preschool just fine. Then he ate lunch, took a nap and then woke up with a 101 degree fever. UGH! Between trying to get him to calm down so that he wouldn't wake Will from his nearly 3 hour nap and me trying to spruce up the place, I have to tell you I was at the edge. On the brink. I finally managed to get N8 to take his dose of Motrin to bring his fever down by threatening him. He was making a bid deal about not wanting to take medicine. Bubble gum flavored medicine, people! We adults should BE so lucky as to have such luxuries, right? So anyway I kindly stated that either he down the pink stuff or we could tote right off to Dr. Tyson's office and he could have it in shot format in his upper thigh. I've never seen him drink medicine so fast! Guess now we know what works!

So here we are now watching episode after episode of Curious George (thank goodness I've been DVRing every episode) and drinking apple juice. I am sure aside from the pink stuff, being sick - at least for Nathan - is somewhat of a treat. Will has been a little trooper just quitely playing sitting next to his sick big brother. We'll see how long this crazy mama can hold up!

MY music

I was thinking as I was driving over to Kindermusik this morning with Will how much I'd missed being able to listen to my own music in MY car. I guess one great thing about driving sans Nathan is the fact that I can pop in my own CD and not worry too much about the language (heaven help me if Will starts reciting any of the lyrics in my music!)

It was so nice to listen to several of my favorite TLC songs - one of my all-time favorite groups - on the 15 minute drive to KM this morning. Unfortunately since I don't want to bust Will's eardrums I was forced to keep the music at an acceptable volume. I love listening to TLC because it makes me feel like I am in high school again. Then I look in my rearview mirror and see the dimply grin staring back at me and I am suddenly reminded of my place in life now!

Nathan’s first trip to see the dentist

We'd been talking it up for the past few days - that N8 was going to get to see the dentist and he has been most excited! We started out today with brushing (as usual) then N8 started talking about how he was going to tell the dentist that he loves to brush his teeth especially with his cool Spiderman spin brush and how he doesn't swallow the toothpaste.

So, we arrive at the dentist's office (which was lovely - you can definitely tell this is a pediatric dentist office by Madagascar playing on TV and the abundance of toys and play area). We wait a few minutes before "Nathan" is called and we proceed to follow the dental hygenist, Connie. We are escorted into a room with all the fixings of a dental office. The scary brown chair, all kinds of gadgets and gizmos at the chairside, a sink, stickers, toothbrushes and this scary looking cow puppet with a complete set of dentures. Her name was Molly and I guess she's supposed to make the kids laugh or something but really she was kinda creepy with her teeth and all.

So anyway Connie proceeds to engage in conversation with Nathan asking him about his cool fire truck t-shirt, what kinds of things he likes to play, if he brushes his teeth well, what his brother's name is, etc. You know, just the basic get-to-know-you questions. Which by the way, I am shocked that he remembered William is 5 months and not 4 anymore. Someone asked him last month how old Will was and he replied "four months" which I was shocked about too, but him remembering that he just turned 5 is really great! You can really tell that Connie is building on her trust level with Nathan because then she starts to ask him if he'd like to help her with some of the equipment. She pulls out the polishing gadget and stretches it over to where he's standing and starts to tell him that it spins just like his spinning toothbrush and asked if he wanted to feel it on the tips of his fingers. He replied, "no" but after I volunteered that I would try it first just to make sure it's okay then he decided he would try it out after me. The spinning action tickled his little fingers and a smile emerged.

Then she moved on to introducing "Mr. Thirsty", a.k.a., the spit suction thingy. She handed Nathan a paper cup and asked if he wanted to see how thirsty Mr. Thirsty was. She then took the water sprayer gadget, sprayed some water into the cup and suctioned it out with Mr. Thirsty. She then asked in a surprised manner, "Oh! Where'd the water go?" I think it took Nathan a second or two to catch on but he finally realized that Mr. Thirsty was guzzling it down. Then he actually got to hold Mr. Thirsty while Connie sprayed the water into the cup and he got to suction it out. They did this about a dozen times before she finally said, "okay....last time!" and then she asked if she could spray a little water into his mouth if he wanted a drink. He said, "no." So then, you guessed it, mommy decided to give it a try. Connie gave me a quick squirt of water and I swallowed it and showed Nathan that it was okay. He finally tried it.

Connie then moved on to getting Nathan interested in how many teeth he had. She told him that today we were going to count his teeth and polish them and asked if she could go ahead and count them. When he replied "no", she asked if she could start by counting his fingers instead. He was game. With his hands spread, she began couting each finger one by one and touched each tip as she counted. She asked him again if she could now count his teeth in his mouth. Again he replied, "no". With that we moved on.

Connie then pointed out the lovely brown chair and showed him how it went up and down and reclined back all while were standing next to it. I asked Nathan if it reminded him of Jim's chair (who's the barber that cuts his hair) and he agreed it did. Connie then showed us the little pillow connected to the chair for patients to lean their heads on and the bright light above the chair and how they had to use that because people's mouths are dark inside. She then asked Nathan if he wanted to go for a ride in the chair. Reluctantly, he said "yes". I was so proud when he climbed up on that big chair all by himself and I could tell he was nervous but trying to be brave as she moved it up and down a few times. She then asked if it would be okay if she leaned the chair back so she could take a look inside his mouth and he was fine with it. She asked him if he wanted to wear the sunglasses she had for him since the light would be really bright but he declined. The rest is history! He was a fabulous patient!

When it came time to polish his teeth he got a choice of flavors for the polish: bubble gum, grape, cherry, or cookie dough. He chose cookie dough which I thought was odd. I thought for sure the bubble gum was going to win. She then asked permission if she could polish just one tooth. She let him pick out which tooth it was and she polished it. He opened wide and seemed as though he'd been to the dentist a hundred times before. (Hmmm....he must get his enthusiasm from me as I LOVE going to the dentist!) She continued to ask if she could polish each tooth at a time until he seemed completely comfortable with it. After the polishing was over she went over each tooth to count it. Incidentally, he has 10 on bottom and 10 on top although his molars are not all yet completely in. One is two-thirds of the way in and the other is nearly completely in.

After all was said and done, he received great marks for his teeth being so clean and Connie also told me that his teeth layout was also really nice - I have no idea what that means! The dentist then came in to check everything out and talk to Nathan a bit but by this time he was really tired and I could tell he was dying to play with all of his goodies from their office. Connie had given him stickers, a new toothbrush, floss, a little round mirror thing that they use to look at your teeth with, a pencil with soccer balls all over it, and a little toy in the shape of a person that sticks to the wall with suction I think. We walked out of that place with a bag full of stuff!

The whole ordeal really wore him out because he fell asleep on the way home from the appointment and it wasn't even lunchtime yet! I was so proud of my baby though! His teeth were sparkling white after the appointment and he was proud of himself too!

(incidentally I forgot my camera in the car so I was forced to use my crappy camera phone!)

Purging feels SO good!

Mom and I made another attempt to have a garage sale today. 80 bucks well worth the few hours it took to get rid of a TON! I was wheelin' and dealin' making some MAJOR deals today. I let things go for super low bucks! People were certainly digging it. We closed up about 1 pm to go and have lunch at Bravo (hee, hee...i know my sis is jealous reading this!) with Season for her birthday today. (Ironically since her birthday is on Diez y Seis, we tend to end up at least making note of the traditional Mexican holiday. I think the holiday is really just another excuse for we Mexicans to have festivals and drink beer.) What really sucked is that neither Season nor I could get the usual Tortelloni Florentine because of the whole Spinach/e-coli issue. We were both bummed. But, the margherita pizza I settled on was to die for! Season finally decided on the Penne Mediterranean sans spinach.

So anyway, after closing up shop I decided to bag everything then and there and haul it off to Goodwill. My garage is SO much more organized now! I still have some things to put away, mostly seasonal stuff, but it feels so good to walk in there and not see just useless junk that I was trying to get rid of. Goodwill was great. I opened up the back of my car and they quickly emptied every last trash bag that was filled to the max with clothing, housewares, shoes, old toys, purses, etc. I was in and out of their dropoff lane in like 2 minutes flat!

So what to do with my 80 bucks? Well, buy some new junk, I suppose.

Protected: Will: 5 months

Two cool, funny dudes.

Will gettin’ his jump on.

Yes I am doing it again.

Why am I procrastinating putting the laundry to wash right now?? I am sitting here on my computer staring at the bag of laundry I brought downstairs and know FULL well that I need to get going on it. I just keep saying to myself "five more minutes of me time" I guess.

Nathan: Three Years

Dear Nathan,

I can't believe it's been 3 glorious years since the day that i worked for hours trying to push you out of my body. I thought i'd never recover but look at us now! "I love you so much" seems too simple of a way to put it. You've become such a little personality - all your own. You're independent and curious and oh-so affectionate. Where do i start?

Friends, Family, & People

• You are a social creature. You get that from me, I am SURE of it! Not only are you a social creature but you're a warm-fuzzy being. You want to touch everyone you meet. Sometimes that lands you in trouble because you tend to get over excited and gentle touches suddenly become shoves or squeezes. We've been working on letting you know that it's okay to touch others but you just have to be gentle about it. Then, there are those friends of yours who sometimes would rather not be touched so we're working on the whole "respect your friends" concept. I know it breaks your heart when the hugs and kisses sometimes aren't reciprocated by your friends and you can't understand why they'd need privacy or personal space, but we've encouraged you to respect that nonetheless. I know one day you'll grow out of that touchy-feely stage and i'll long to have it back.
  
• You love your family, especially your baby brother. It is so cute how sometimes you'll randomly come up to me and say "Mommy, William's so cute and sweet!" It gives me such a warm feeling and puts a smile on my face at how loving you are.
  
• You'll often times tell me, "Mommy, i want my friends to come here and play with me." You love to be around friends.
  
• You've started talking about family members that live in various other states as you've become interested in the USA puzzle you recently got. You'll recite, "Aunt Betty lives in Georgia" and "my great-grandparents live in California" and "grandpa lives in Texas - I want to go to Texas!!"
  
• You're okay with separating from Mommy & Daddy for lengths of time. You've demonstrated this not only from your first few days at Preschool, but also when going to friends houses.


• You certainly know your place in this family. Once when I called your Daddy "honey bear" instead of "honey", you quickly caught it and said, "HEY, I am honey bear not Daddy!"


• You love to hide from Daddy when he's walking inside the house from being at work. Daddy walks in and asks, "where's Nathan?" and I'll say, "I don't know - he was here a minute ago!" You'll hide behind the rocker in the family room then giggle out loud till he finally comes and finds you.

Learning

• You love to read. You read anything you see especially when we're out and about. Like today, while in the parking lot of Babies R Us you read "Golf" on the sign for the "Golf Galaxy" shop next door. You have amazed us with starting to read books as well as words on different packaging, etc.
  
• You are very interested in Geography. You've begun learning and memorizing states of the US and we've talked about people we know who've lived there and also events that have taken place in various states (i.e., Mommy & Daddy getting married in Maui). You are always saying things like, "I want to go to California," or "I want to go South Carolina".
  
• You're able to carry on very adult-like conversations now with such a HUGE vocabulary! Sometimes when you're asked to do things but you don't really want to you'll surprise me by saying the cutest things. For example, before leaving for preschool I told you to leave your toys and come get your shoes on and you replied, "but I want to play this [cars] - it's favulous!" I responded by agreeing that playing cars is "favulous" but that we could play when you get home from school. I don't have the heart to correct you to say "fabulous"...it's just too cute your way!
  
• Your signature phrase has become "I'm just having fun, but I know how it works!" which started months ago and we're not quite sure how. Overall you've picked up quite a few funny phrases that you seem to say often and make all your own.
  
• You love to sing and sing LOUD! Not only Kindermusik songs but Johnny Cash, various TV jingles and pretty much anything you can get you ears to hear.


• You're not a fan of the board game Operation, which Daddy bought for you a few weeks back. The buzzing sound absolutely terrifies you.


• You are so interested in science and planets and the like. One of your favorite shows to watch has become Little Einsteins which has several episodes about planets and the solar system. You'll often be playing and then randomly shout to me, "Mommy!! I forgot to go back to Earth!"


• You sing better than most grown adults. You not only know complete lyrics to several songs but early on in Kindermusik you were (and still are somewhat) the only kid that sings aloud in class. You love to sing and dance into your microphone and play singing games with Grammy where she calls out to an "audience" to see if anyone knows how to sing a certain song. You invariably always raise your hand and volunteer to sing it for everyone.


• You've learned to spell your first and last name completely. You weren't even three years old when you reached this milestone! You love to type your name on the computer and spell it aloud for everyone. You also know that you live in Overland Park, Kansas which you love to say aloud too.


• You're rhyming EVERYTHING! William - Pilliam, Mommy - Bommy, Pig - Big, Frog - Dog. You also come up with some of your own nonsense rhyming words occassionaly.

Physical

• You got a tricycle recently which you love to ride. You also never let us forget your helmet!
  
• You love playing "run" and any other games where physical activity is involved.
  
• You rarely can just stroll along when we're out. You usually have a kick in your step and will skip, hop or just walk silly sometimes.
  
• One of the most common things we hear around home is "I can help you!" You love to get up on stepstools and chairs and help to just about everything including making eggs and cheese, peanut butter, putting laundry in, etc.
  
• Since you've started using a spin-brush on your teeth, you've gotten much better at actually brushing. You are still really good about letting us finish up for you though which is great because you tend to not get the hard-to-reach places.
  
• Cleanup time is much easier for you now and you've really done well with cooperating when it's time to clean up toys, books, etc.


• You don't like moonwalks or bouncy things. You often call these "wobblies" and say that "I DO like wobblies!" but we all know better. The air pump sound and the bounciness of the moonwalks are unsettling for you. You're the type who likes to be in control of your play and bodily movements!


• You were potty trained by 2 1/2 years old which even I was surprised about!


• You love suitcases and air control towers. Actually you pretty much love anything related to the airport in general. You will often take suitcases or bags around the house and drop them off of tables, chairs, etc. and pretend it is a suitcase dropping down off the conveyor belt at the airport. You invariably say, "suitcase.....shh - boom" while doing it too.

Feelings, manners, etc.

• There's no doubt about the fact that you're a toddler. You've thrown several tantrums to prove that point. Usually you are told that you will not be listened to until you can use your words and stop whining. For the most part that does the trick. You're still growing into your big-boy pants.
  
• When trying to get someone's attention or if you are interrupting conversation, you almost always preface it with, "excuse me...." which is so adorable. I am glad you've started using those words and have moved away from what you used to say - "stop talking". Overall your manners are great for a 3 year-old.
  
• You are starting to remember to ask to be excused from the table when you're done which I am mighty proud of you for!
  
• At church one of the most exciting things for you to do is genuflect upon entering a pew. You make it a point to show me that you're doing it every time!


• You LOVE to give - and get - "eskimos kisses". You do it with me, Daddy, Will, and absolutely before preschool everyday. The trick is to rub noses several times then give a big kiss! You always giggle on that last part.


• ".....if I want to." has become a routine phrase in your vocabulary. Usually it's prefaced by something that we really don't want you to do but you're trying to convince yourself is okay to do. For example, when seeing the Halloween M&Ms on the counter BEFORE you've eaten lunch you'll point and say, "I can try one if I want to." in an asking a question sort of way. Or, at the store when you know you're supposed to ride in the basket you'll say, "I can walk by myself if I want to." Nice try, kiddo.

Favorites
Foods:

• egg & cheese (scrambled, of course since i don't cook it any other way)
  
• cake
  
• apple juice
  
• lemonade
  
• popcorn ( a MUST for any Target visit & movie!)

Places to Go:

• Target


• Chuck E. Cheese's


• Preschool


• Saturn (in your imagination)


• Back to Earth (in your imagination)


• Movies

Things to Play:

• Cars, trucks, busses.


• Wiggles (you pretend to be Murray while Daddy is Anthony, Mommy is Greg - which you prounounce "Craig" for some reason, and Will is Jeff )


• Any kind of board game especially your Rhyming Bingo, Memory Games, and Computer Games


• Hide 'n Seek


• Doctor


• Suitcase (a.k.a, airport)


• Singing games


• Anything with your baby brother. You love to tickle Will and play peek-a-boo with him!

Happy 3rd Birthday to my little Honey Bear!

Love,
Mommy Bommy.

Nathan’s 3rd Birthday

Nathan had his party at The Little Gym and everyone had such a great time! It was a perfect rainy and gloomy day for the kids to play indoors and have fun with games and gym equipment.

And of course Nathan had to have his Wiggles cake. It turned out too cute!

At home we opened gifts. He got two cars. The Wiggles Big Red Car from Mommy & a bright orange Toyota Supra (of course) remote control car from Daddy. Needless to say, Nathan was SO excited about both!