The Sibling Code

Some siblings have a secret code. It can be a look, a weird noise or a silly dance. For my kids, their secret code is all that and more. All they have to do is look at each other sometimes and they will bust out laughing. My daughter will always call my son into the room when one of their favorite commercials is on. Then they'll watch it in that "wait for it" moment and start laughing like it was their first time seeing it. Their favorite one right now is the two guys in kids voices playing paper-rock-scissors over a sandwich.  

I don't think me and my brother had a code. We had a pattern, though. I would tell him "no" whenever her wanted to go with me to a friends house or when he wanted to watch TV, then he would go tell on me to our parents. "Mama said come here" was his favorite phrase. But, we were five years apart and my kids are only two.

I try to sneak up on my kids so I can crack the code, but soon as they see me coming, they start laughing even more because they know I want to know. What's the secret to their constant happiness and frequent giggles? Then I realized it was us, we were the secret. My husband and I have tried our best to have them grow up in a household filled with love and all things positive. So what if the echo of high pitch laughter hurts my ears during bath time or I never get to complete a meal without saying, "Stop and eat your food." My kids are happy and healthy and that means so much more to me than them cluttering my house with toys, because they also fill it with joy and laughter. And I don't care if I never crack the code, as long as they keep it going strong.

Where's the "no kids" section?

I overheard some women talking today about their weekend the other day. Okay, I'll admit I was basically ear hustling, but in my defense I was reading my magazine until I heard one of them say that people should leave their kids at home when they go out.  According to them, parents with children should either find a baby-sitter or stay at home. Really?  So what if I don't have the funds to both go out and pay for somebody to watch my kids or I only trust a handful of people to watch my kids and they happen to busy the night I want to do something? Is that my only choice? As parents, we already sacrifice darn near everything but do I now have to tell my kids, "Oh no, baby I can't take you to the so called family restaurant tonight because it's socially unacceptable"?

Now, I will admit there have been times when I wish I would have kept my child at home. As you know, even the most well behaved child can cut up if pushed beyond their comfort zone. My children behaving badly kept me out of church, the movies and Cracker Barrel (long story) for a long time. To me, its just about accessing your children. If you know that your child is going to act a fool if they don't get a nap in first (i.e. the Cracker Barrel incident), then make sure they get one. When I take my kids out to dinner on a Saturday night, it's always during what I call "family hour" which to me is between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., maybe even 7 o'clock if we got a late start on the day.

I can understand that when you go out to eat, sometimes you don't want to be bothered. When my husband and I get the opportunity to go out to dinner alone, the last thing we want is our meal interrupted by somebody else's child. I do know a few people who ask the hostess to seat them away from kids and that seems to work for them in way that makes everybody happy.

Since they have taken the smoking section out of Michigan restaurants, maybe they should start asking "kids or no kids?" Do you think this would be fair or should those wanting a "kid free" zone just deal with it?

How do you feed picky eaters?

I'm going to tell you all a secret that I don't want you to tell my husband. . .  If you let this secret out, it could literally change the flow of our relationship. . .I mean this is so big that I'm scared to admit it myself. But, here goes. . . (deep breath). I like to cook. Now I know that this may shock some of you who have known me for a while, but I actually like to be in my kitchen. Baking is my favorite because I'm a sweets fanatic and a "set it and forget it" type of girl. What I don't like is cooking for picky eaters, hence the fact that my husband does most of the cooking. I believe in wholesome, balanced meals but it's hard to feed kids vegetables who will almost scream at the sight of anything green on their plates.

Being the only foodie in the house is hard.  I thought that I could convert my daughter, but the daddy's girl seems to be following in her dad and brother's footsteps. I love to experiment and try new things, but they seem to be satisfied with the rotation of chicken-turkey- pork chops- more chicken. But, the one thing that I've realized with the kids is that presentation is everything. I can't just slap some peanut butter and jelly on some bread and expect them to eat it. I have to cut off the edges and cut it into triangles before they will even consider taking a bite. My husband gave them one without the crust cut or cut in half and they looked down at the plate then at each other, then back down at the plate. It was hilarious.

So here are just a few tips that have helped me deal with my picky eaters.
- We love making sliders, so we tell the kids that they are Krabby Patties. All those hours of Sponge Bob have to come in handy at some point.
- Cans of Chef Boyardee are convenient and have a full serving of vegetables. Plus, they like the different shapes so I have no complaints.

- Kids love to dip. Whether it's ketchup, barbecue sauce or syrup, kids like to dip food. It can get kind of messy, but that's what handy wipes are for.

- Lead by example. I always cook veggies with our meals and place them on both mine and the kids plates in hopes that if they see me eating them, they will eat them too.

- Like I said, presentation is everything and sometimes you just have to make it fun. I made some Mickey Mouse pancakes for my kids for a little change of pace. The coney island restaurant don't have nothing on me.



Sorry, I couldn't rotate the pic.

How do you deal with picky eaters?

I also found some cute kids recipes on the Betty Crocker website. I might try a few and post the results. But for now good luck and Happy Parenting.    

Snaggletooth days are ahead

So my son has a loose front tooth that he's been messing with the last couple of days. He pushes it forward with his tongue but lets out a fake whine whenever I try to touch it. I'm just going to let it come out on it's own and save him from the horror I went thru as a child. I remember my parents suggesting tying one end of a piece of string to my tooth and the other end to a doorknob and shutting the door. I think I blocked the memory on if I actually let them do it or not. I remember a tooth coming out while I was eating. And I remember a tooth falling out as soon as somebody touched it.

But, the thing that I will always remember (mostly because I have the pics for proof) is those school days snaggletooth pictures. My snaggletooth pics are buried somewhere at my mom's house, but my husbands are on constant display in his mom's dining room. If I wasn't afraid of retaliation I would post it, but know that missing front teeth, a greasy face and what looks like a leisure suit equals laughing until you cry.

Here's another thing I need to know. How much do teeth go for these days? When I was growing up the tooth fairy left one dollar, but I've heard as much as $5 or $10. I think with the way the economy is, the tooth fairy is going to have to determine price according to weight or something. What is the tooth fairy leaving your kids these days?

No more toys!

I only have two children, but somebody tell me why my house looks like I'm running a home daycare. The kitchen set is in my living room, potty chairs in both the hallway and the bathroom. I'm tossing wrestling men out my bed when I go to lay down, and I don't even want to think about the storage room that is wall to wall baby furniture, clothes and yes, more toys.

When my son was little I would conveniently send him to his grandmothers house and tow his toys he no longer played with to the basement every couple of months. I did this just before Christmas, but I find that there is still an abundance of toys. I went and bought the biggest storage tub that I could find and dumped all the toys in there, but I'm now afraid that the 3 feet high mountain of toys will avalanche on my children.

Even my kids think it's too much. When they come to me saying that they can't find a particular toy. I'll tell them to go look in their toy box, but merely seconds later they return empty handed, considering it a lost cause. I blame my husband, sweet man as he is. He just can't resit those two sets of puppy dog eyes looking at him singing "daaaddyyy". And I try to remind him that it's not necessary to buy a kids meal every time we get fast food. I have those little cheap plastic toys falling out my car when I open the back door.

Of course I'll take my part of the blame, too. I haven't been the "toy regulator" in quite some time and it has gotten way out of hand. I guess it's time for some spring cleaning. We'll set a date and ask one of our parents to watch the kids for a couple of hours. If they have any love for us at all, they will not send them back home with another toy.  

You know you're somebody's mama when you...

...have an iGo Potty app on your smartphone. Look, don't judge me. My daughter is 2 and a half and I am past tired of buying pull-ups. Me and my husband had a ritual at one point. We would declare in the store every time that this is the last time we are buying pull-ups. After about the fifth declaration, we just stopped saying it.

So, I was on the web reading an article about how to potty train a child in a week, and after I was finished rolling my eyes to the lies I was reading, I clicked on another article that gave the best potty training products. Of course there were books, (which my kids tore up), little pottys (that my kids play with), and a portable pot to keep in the back of the car (I'm good), but the one that I hadn't seen before was an app for my phone. They truly do have an app for just about everything.

It is supposed to be a timer, pretty much that will sing the "I'm a big kid now" jingle when it's time for her to go potty. Then, when she goes, she gets cute little "stickers" that add up to unlock games for her to play. It's a virtual version of the potty chart I had for my son with stickers and a prize at the end. I didn't really keep up with that much, but something miraculous happened. It's called my grandma.

So I have already been through this once with a boy. They are supposed to be harder to train then girls, but she is not a typical girl. I've never seen a little girl grab her baby doll, as she's dressed up as a princess,  jump off the arm of my couch, pin down her baby doll, count to three, then stand up pumping her fists in the air like she just won the wrestling championship.

Anyway, I'm going to give it the old college try with potty training app and see what happens. If this thing works, I'll shout it from the virtual mountain top via Facebook and this blog. If not, than I guess I'll have to go back to square one.

How long did it take you to potty train your child? Any tips?



iGo Potty app- Free



The story of us.

My husband and I met when we were 13, started dating at 14 (if that's what you call it when you don't have a job, a car or any money), and I haven't been able to get rid of him ever since (I tried a couple of times but thankfully he didn't call my bluff). Fast forward 15 years and we are married with two kids, Christopher and Desiree. Chris is just like his dad in looks and calm nature, even at only 5 years old. And 2 year old Desiree is truly her mother's child, from her face to her attitude. We both have our own little "mini me", so we're satisfied.

When I think about my life B.C. (before children), it almost seems like a movie I saw some years back. It truly was another life. Not better, just different. Anybody who tells you that having kids doesn't change anything, is in a serious case of denial. Every decision you make, from groceries to career moves has to be in alignment with the life of being a parent.

Having kids made me less selfish, more patient, full of creativity (it's hard explaining to a two year old why they have to pee pee in the pot) and more optimistic. They make you stay on your toes, and it's hard to be upset with them for more than a minute. Any person that can make you change for the better like that has got to be a good thing.