If you ask me how my morning went I would say, ‘I was not my best self. Not even close’. And I am going to give you a little spoiler here – this post isn’t going to tell you about how I turned it around because I didn’t. There was no touchy-feely apology with Mike where we hugged it out. Nope. I have never been so thankful to drop him off at school.
Mike woke up at 4:30a and, from what I could gather from his fussing and whining, everything I did was wrong. Here are the things I did wrong:
Cut his bagel
Bring him strawberries and Cheerios
Not magically making Peppa Pig appear On Demand
Asked him to put his underwear on
Not knowing where his Ironman Potatohead went
Putting on the wrong Paw Patrol episode
He was just hell on wheels and I had no patience. I am so tired (in general) of telling him to be gentle and to STOP.PUTTING.STUFF.IN.MY.FACE. Helicopters, toys, fingers, feet – everything is within inches of poking my eye out. I yelled. I pointed. I handled everything wrong. And that has to be okay.
I need a timeout. I own it. I’ll try again when he comes home from school.
And as I am editing this post I realized that I confused two texts between my cleaning lady and my oven repairman. To make a long story short, I had a cleaning crew show up when I am not even close to being picked up and my oven is still broken. It’s only 10am, so this day still has time to turn around. Right? Right.
Well friends, I am officially the proud parent of a preschooler. Remember how I didn’t realize he actually needed to go to preschool? And how we missed the mad registration rush? Well, we locked that sh*t down and it was no fuss, no muss. But then it came time to actually GO to preschool.
Mikey picked out a Batman lunchbox with a cape, but as much as we were talking up ‘going to school’ – I am not sure he got that he was going to preschool. My biggest fear was he would be standing in the corner with his backpack and lunchbox crying while all the other kids threw rocks and teased him. And of course, the teacher would be egging them on while making him feel bad for not being 100% potty trained. Totally realistic, right? Obviously that wasn’t the case. His teacher was exactly what you picture a preschool teacher to be … but even MORE friendly.
We just started our second week and our first week was ROUGH. It was really hard to remember he was in a new environment with a new schedule and new people and new rules. He was coming home bouncing off the walls, being not nice and not listening. At all. I was exhausted and stressed out. AND second guessing if he was ready for preschool. But we decided to give it a few months knowing good and well that he would adjust quickly. And we were right!
As the week went on he was having less accidents, eating more of his lunch and not crying at drop off. Or picking fights at home. We are slowly discovering a new routine that works for everyone and figuring out what life with a preschooler looks like.
I noticed on Facebook Victoria Beckham was trending because of a kiss. I was hoping she was caught kissing another man and David would finally be available …
Alas, no. Victoria is trending because of this picture on Instagram.
9.674 comments and quite a few were along the lines of “Eww sorry I’m old fashioned it looks like they making out,” and “It’s nice but you’re not supposed to kiss you’re children on the lips. I’m not trying to be rude but it’s true.”
Do what now? After reading a few articles about this, I had two thoughts:
1. What the heck, are you on crack? Should she wish her daughter a happy birthday with a firm handshake?
2. Stop sexualizing motherhood. Really. Stop it. It’s weird and gross.
If kissing your kid on the lips is wrong, I am very, very, very wrong and not sorry. Lips are for kissing and one day he won’t want me to kiss him anymore. I am stocking up now. It’s how we show love and I love my kid.
“Never will I ever have a kid who doesn’t wear matching clothes. When I have a kid I am going to make sure he is at least dressed appropriately for the weather. And I don’t understand why parents can’t at least brush their kid’s hair before going out in public. There is no excuse for kids to go out looking like a hobo.”
June 29, 2016:
“For the love of all things holy Mike just put on a pair of shoes so we can go!”
For as long as I could remember I’ve heard my mom talk about my addiction to pacifiers. I believe she compared me to a drug addict and from her account it sounds pretty accurate. I also remember her telling the story about how my brother gave up his ‘ba-bas’ – by handing them to her randomly and never looking back. It makes sense seeing our personalities now.
When Mike was born I was pro-pacifier, but his addiction didn’t really take hold until his 1st birthday – long after I thought we had dodged the bullet. Then it was his ‘bubba’ all the time. Like a good little addict he had his favorite – the expensive (and very worth it) Wubba Nubba brand pacifier with the stuffed animal hanging off it. Of course the doctor said to CONSIDER weaning him off it, but we were getting ready to move and thought he needed something to comfort him. So after we got settled we opted for Bubba in the crib only. Which eventually morphed into Bubba in ANY bed any time of the day. So if we were watching a movie in Mommy and Daddy’s bed – the Bubba joined us.
We would go through waves of him happily throwing his Bubbas back to bed in the morning when he got up to having a full blown meltdown when told to put Bubba night-night. In fact, we started hiding them during the day. And yes, I said BubbaS. He had one the suck and one to hold. I know. We are such enablers. Mike caught on quick (like a seasoned addict) and would run into his room after bath time and basically toss his room like a jail cell looking for Bubbas. I don’t know what was stopping S. and me from just calling it quits to the Bubba. I know from my perspective things are a little nuts in our home and he could use the comfort of his Bubba. And it helps him so why rush it? Also, we were probably a little hesitant knowing how hard it would be for him to cut the cord.
But at Mike’s 3 year old appointment it was obvious his teeth were being pushed out and even though the doctor didn’t make us feel awful about it – I felt awful about it. After consulting my ‘tribe’ of mom friends, S. and I decided it was time to bite the bullet. And because I’m me, the planning and overthinking began.
I hit Amazon first and found a book called ‘Bea Gives Up Her Pacifier‘. According to the reviews it is a book full of voodoo that lulls children into willingly giving up their bubbas without nary a question or tear. I had my doubts, but still clicked purchase. My next stop was the blogsphere. Lots of fun stuff about the Bubba (pacifier) Fairy so after we got the book S. and I went to work following what the book said was going to happen and buying insane gifts.
When the book came, Mike and I read it while Dad made dinner. Mike liked it, but I could see the wheels moving in his head and he didn’t like where this was going. Over the next few days we read the book and talked up these Bubba Fairies A LOT. Mike always sat through the book riveted, but was always sure to point out the fact that Bea missed her Bubba (we might have changed the wording a bit). It also helped that presents are a big deal in our house right now. So there was that draw to keep him upbeat.
Then came the dreaded night. Mike came home to a gift and a note from the Bubba Fairy. He was pretty okay withthings until it came time to actually GO into the crib. He had about an hour and a half of hysteria. I am not going to lie – listening to him beg and plead for his Bubbas was hard to hear. I think because it was something we had control over. We could very easily give them back to him and I am sure we both let that thought cross our mind. I did go in a rock with him and we talked about the Bubba Fairies again and they already came and took the Bubbas and left a gift for him in the morning.
I woke up to Mike crying on the monitor for his Bubbas at his usual wake up time and thankfully I rushed in and told him about his gift and he was excited to open it. He spent the rest of the morning playing with his Play Doh. Even nap time (which has morphed into rest time) brought on a few whimpers, but nothing longer than 10 minutes. The rest of the weekend he would randomly ask for Bubba and we would remind him the Fairies are using them for whatever. To be honest, the book laid out some stupid things like an umbrella and merry-go-round.
We are officially 4 nights in a he is doing AMAZING. I thought by this point we would be holding an intervention and sending him to the ‘rehab’ Britney Spears went to. I guess the moral of the story is not to project your own worries on your kid.
Mike has been requesting The Very Hungry Caterpillar every night now for a few weeks and he is getting pretty good at finishing the sentences (‘still hun-gee’). At least I THOUGHT he knew book by heart.
The Scene: S. and Mike sitting on the floor before bed reading the Very Hungry Caterpillar.
S.: Now he wasn’t hungry anymore–and he wasn’t a little caterpillar anymore. He was a big …
S. and I knew from day one we wouldn’t keep Mike from glowing screens. We agreed that while we live in a technology based world and our son should be a digital native, screen time still needed to be limited and purposeful. Do we use the iPad or Disney Junior as a babysitter? Yes, occasionally. Let’s face it – sometimes a sure-fire distraction is necessary for survival. But do we keep an iPad in his crib or channel surf on a Saturday? Absolutely not.
We started looking at apps that were free, but quickly found that we got what we paid for – either an eventual purchase or something that didn’t interest our discerning child. Also, we were less than thrilled with the non-stop advertising.
Luckily we found the answer we were looking for in the Sago Mini, a cool and creative collection of apps for toddlers and pre-schoolers. (Full disclosure: We purchased our apps at full price and were sent free downloads by Sago. But hopefully you all know me well enough to know it’s going to take a lot more than a free app for me to recommend a product.)
Sago Mini apps are not free; they run about $2.99 each and are worth every penny. We have built our library to approximately five games so far, but I use the word ‘game’ loosely because there is no end goal, no level, no rewards. The apps are more based on free play and discovery.
Mike’s current favorite (and ours too!) is a simple one called Space Explorer. With his chubby little finger, he drags the space dog round the galaxy where robots, stars, aliens, and the moon are encountered. At each stop, something happens to the dog – the alien hugs him, the robot sings, the stars disappear. There is no set course or a right or wrong way to go. Mike, by way of the dog, simply glides around space seeing what there is to discover.
Mike’s other Sago Mini favorite is Monsters. This one is slightly more structured than Space Explorer but still allows him to follow his own plan. A monster appears on the screen and has to be dressed, fed, and have his teeth brushed (something Mike is strongly opposed to). After all that is completed, the Monster’s picture must be taken. It’s a simple app that leads to lots of giggling when Mike decides to brush something other than the Monster’s teeth. I confess that after the Monster eats, he burbs, causing Mike to laughs like a crazy man before he politely says “excuse me”.
Sago Mini’s company quote really sums up what they are working towards and have successfully achieved so far:
“The scandal of education is that every time you teach something, you deprive a child of the pleasure and benefit of discovery.” – Seymour Papert
I can’t praise Sago Mini enough for creating unique, simple apps for toddlers and preschoolers. Because I have become so enamored of their products, I contacted them with a compliment. Much to my surprise, they thanked me by providing five free downloads. That’s what I call good customer service! Enter to win one of FIVE free downloads this week below.
Mike’s been saying ‘ho, ho, ho’ lately and sometimes it’s appropriate. Most the time he is pointing to a garden gnome or anything that has red or white stripes. That makes sense – Santa Clause. But recently he is saying ‘ho, ho, ho’ at the beach which had S. and I puzzled. UNTIL he brought us a bag of Pirate’s Booty Puffs saying ‘ho, ho, ho’.
*facepalm*
Mike likes Jake and the Neverland Pirates. He isn’t saying ‘ho, ho, ho’. He is saying ‘yo, ho, ho’! You know. Like a pirate. Duh.
