March Memories with Miss Smartypants

Mother Knows Best
While I was prepping for dinner a couple of nights ago, Mia asked, "Mommy, what are we having for dinner?" I told her, "chicken and dumplings." Her response was, "I don't like that!" I reminded her "you did last time." She replied, "Oh, yeah! You're right!" I need to hold onto that memory because I know she won't be thinking I'm quite so smart when the teenage years roll around...

My Little Math Whiz
Last night Mia and I were driving home after ordering her flower girl dress for my brother's upcoming wedding. We had stayed out a bit later than her usual bedtime, but it was a special occasion, and I really enjoyed our Mommy and Mia time. (In fact, I decided we need to do more stuff just the two of us.) We were nearly home and she was getting anxious because she was tired (although I'm sure she wouldn't admit it). She asked me when we'd get home, and I told her, "in about 5 minutes." She said, "and after 5 minutes will be 4 minutes, and after 4 minutes will be 3 minutes, and after 3 minutes will be 2 minutes, and after 2 minutes will be 1 minute, and after 1 minute we will be home on time!"

Now I know why her preschool teacher said they were thrilled that their "little math whiz" would be attending again next year. I'm not sure she even knows what math is, but she definitely get number concepts. When I asked her what kind of math she does at school she told me, "I don't do math!"

Goodbye, Ear Tubes!(and whatever else...)
Woo hoo! We are officially done with the ear tubes after nearly three years. Don't get me wrong; they've been wonderful to us. She only had one ear infection after having the surgery, but I was getting so tired of going back to the ENT specialist every six(ish) months only to be told that they weren't ready to come out yet, especially since he had told us originally that they didn't typically stay in for more than two years. At her previous appointment, Dr. Seel removed the tube from Mia's right ear, but the left stayed in. Thankfully, it was ready to come out today. He showed it to her and later on she wanted to know why there was so much yellow stuff on her blue tube. I didn't know what to tell her because truthfully I don't know if it was skin, wax, or whatever, and I didn't ask because I preferred not to know. It obviously didn't hurt when it was removed from her ear, so I figured it was better off left alone. Fingers crossed that we do not have to have a repeat surgery in the future!

Look Who's Talking!

There is a veritable language explosion taking place in our house this week! Everyone kept saying that Logan would talk when he was ready to, and apparently turning 19 months old on Monday marked a perfect time for him to expand his vocabulary. On Sunday, he said "Dada," which is huge! He had been calling Brett "Mama" or nothing at all up until then. Monday was a huge day, too. He said something garbled that had the intonation of "thank you, " and based on the context (I had just given him food) and the fact that he signed "thank you" while saying it, I'm pretty sure that is what he was saying. He also said "uh oh," and signed "milk," which is funny because until the past couple of days he didn't even like milk. Now he loves it and asks for it. Later that evening, I blew bubbles for him while he was in the bathtub and he asked for more by saying "ba ba" ("bubble") and "pa" ("pop")! This was the first time I have heard Logan make a "p" sound. Yesterday he started repeating me when I told him "no no." His version sounds more like "na na," but he wagged his finger at me like I had done, so I think this is what he was saying. Today at playgroup during snack time, he said something that sounded a bit like "cracker." I could not be more thrilled with his progress!

Windy Day Snack

I don't remember where I found this idea, but we made a kite treat last year with frosting and Pull 'n Peel licorice. I decided we could make it healthier and this is what I came up with.

Materials:

• graham crackers
• peanut butter
• string cheese
• pretzel sticks
• cream cheese (optional)
• frosting (optional)
• Pull 'n Peel licorice (optional)

Directions:

1. Spread a graham cracker half (square) with peanut butter (or frosting or cream cheese if you prefer).
2. Use three pretzel sticks to make the cross on the kite, breaking them as needed to fit.
3. Turn your graham cracker so it looks like a diamond and form the kite tail with bits of string cheese. (The licorice can be used in place of pretzels and string cheese if you want a sweet treat to pair with frosting.)
4. Enjoy your kite snack on a windy day (or whenever.) Yummy!

Hand Print/Foot Print Flower Painting

{Flower by Mia, Age 3}

We've seen the first few flowers of spring poking through the ground and it made me think of a spring flower painting Mia and I did last year around this time. With adult help, this craft would work for practically any age. It's easy to do, but can get a bit messy if you're not prepared to clean up as you go.

Materials:

• paper (We used pink.)
• green paint
• another color of paint 
• paint brush (foam worked well)
• newspaper to protect work surface (optional)
• paper towels, wash cloths, baby wipes, etc.

Directions:

1. Cover child's hand with paint and press onto the center of the top part of the paper. Clean off child's hand.
2. Cover bottom of child's left foot with green paint and press onto the paper underneath and to the left of the hand print flower. (We found that doing this on the floor and having the child stand on the paper was easiest.) Clean off child's foot.
3. Repeat step 2 with the right foot. 
4. Using a paint brush, add a green stem to connect the flower with the leaves.
5. Once the paint is dry, display your flower craft.

Note: We used acrylic paint, which dries fast but stains clothing, so be sure to cover clothing or wear some you don't care about ruining if using acrylic paints.

Don't Ask Me Why...

New this week:

• Logan may be attempting some new animal sounds. He started saying "woof woof" on March 3rd, and now I think I have heard "moo," "meow," and "neigh." (cute and exciting!) 
• Logan is giving sloppy, open-mouthed kisses. (cute)
• Logan gives high fives. (very cute!)
• Mia went bowling for the first time and scored 97! (She had a ramp and bumpers, but still I thought this was pretty good.)
• Logan figured out how to walk downstairs on his own holding onto the railing. (amazing, but kind of scary!)
• Brett and I are married again, according to him. He picked up his new ring on Wednesday. Apparently those few weeks when he was without a wedding band (because he lost his original one after nearly 10 years of marriage) don't count.  (hahaha - not!)

Not so new this week:

• Logan keeps putting Mr. Potato Head parts into his ears! I don't know why he does it. He may just think it's funny, perhaps because *someone* may have laughed the first time and told him that he was silly. He may realize that Mr. Potato Head's ears, nose, mouth, etc. fit into holes and that he happens to have a couple of holes right there on the sides of his head. It's also possible that his ears are really bothering him since he's recovering from a double ear infection. And in case you're wondering, the Mr. Potato Head parts are sitting on the kitchen counter right now until I find a "safe" place for them... (cute at first, but now not so cute)
• People keep asking where Logan's blond hair comes from. (I am getting really tired of this one. I am not an expert in this area, but I believe it's called genetics.) I normally respond by saying that both Brett and I had much lighter hair when we were younger, and sometimes I mention Logan's Swedish ancestry, which my dad is so proud of. But seriously, where do people think we got our blond child from? It's not like I picked him up at Walmart, and certainly nobody asked me what I would like my kids to look like, as if they could be made to order. I believe that is God's domain!
• People continue to comment on how thin I am getting. (Yes, I know I've lost weight; that's why I have such a hard time shopping for jeans. It's called nursing. I highly recommend it! Also, in case you didn't notice the two short people calling me "Mama," I am the mother of a 4 year old and an 18 month old a.k.a. "the ones who keep stealing food from my plate.") See also: genetics

Making a Splash

I took the kids to the Splash 'n Play at the Hartland pool for the first time yesterday since Logan's LESA playgroup was meeting there for a field trip. We had minor issues getting there since the high school wasn't where as had thought it was, but the GPS helped with that. Then, Logan was miserable as soon as we arrived and got pretty mad at me for putting a disposable swim diaper on him (can't say that I blame him for that; I'm sure it was far less comfy than his Fuzzi Bunz). Once we got outside of the locker room, I saw that we needed to shower, which was not fun for any of us.

By that point I was just wanting to get us into the water, hoping that would calm Logan down, as he was getting red in the face from crying so hard. I was carrying him and walking kind of fast to get to the kids' area and Mia was trailing a bit behind me when a lifeguard stopped me and said that I needed to put a life jacket on her. Oops! We were walking right past the lap pool, so that was a major mistake on my part and I should have at least had her next to me holding onto my hand. Luckily, no mishaps occurred and everyone is perfectly fine after that lapse in judgment.

After putting life jackets on both kids made it to the splash area, which is not zero entry like I thought it was. There is definitely standing water, and it gets deeper the farther you go into the pool. Logan was not impressed. In fact, he seemed annoyed that I would dare to get him wet. He wasn't interested in the little water slide, although I did take him down it once. He couldn't care less about the sprayers or the buckets of dumping water, and the water cannons were just a disaster. I have to agree with him on that point. Who likes getting doused with water, especially when you are facing the opposite direction so you don't expect it?

We met up with one of the classroom teachers helped me out by taking Mia into the lazy river. Logan and I followed and after a few trips around he was starting to relax. I pointed out the palm trees with monkeys in them, the big blue water slide, and the pink flamingos on top of a bright yellow pipe. He looked around and took everything in. About the point when he was so relaxed that he looked like he might fall asleep in my arms, splash time was over and we had to get out.

Mia was very sad about getting out of the 86 degree water, mostly because she said she was cold. Getting everyone changed and out of the locker room took quite awhile. Then, we waited so I could talk to the receptionist about signing the kids up for swim classes. She told me a little about the different classes and said that registration started the following day. Her advice was to get online to set up their accounts once we got home and then to register as early in the morning as possible, presumably because sessions quickly fill up.

By the time we got out of there, it was noon, so being the great mom that I am we headed to Burger King. The funny thing is that as we were getting ready in the morning, Mia asked if we were packing a lunch for the beach and I had told her no because were going to a pool, not the beach. It turns out that I should have listened to her.

At bedtime, Mia asked me to look at the "green spot" that she had on her foot. I thought it was a blister at first, and then on closer inspection realized it was a plantar wart. I don't know how quickly they pop up, so I wonder if she got it at the pool or if she had it awhile (although I have no idea where else she would have gotten it)? So now I need to figure out the best way to treat the wart by April 19th, when she starts first Aqua Tots. Logan will be in Aqua Babies. They were registered at 5:30 this morning! (It sounds crazy, but I was up after nursing Logan so I figured I would just enroll them before I forgot. And the online registration process took about 4 minutes since I had already created their accounts. I love the internet!)

Green Eggs Minus Ham

In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday (March 2 -- yes, I am posting this quite late) we made green Jell-o eggs Jigglers because Mia wasn't too keen on making real green eggs. And let's face it green ham just sounds gross all around. These were a hit with the whole family and it was nice to use the molds more than once a year since we normally just make Jell-o eggs for Easter. I bought these a few years back so I don't know if Kraft still sells them, but I did see some listed on eBay.