getting a toddler to hold your hand

how do you get an independent active toddler to hold your hand in a parking lot or store?

Reverse Psychology.

Kids don't really understand when you tell them someone might take you or you may get hit by a car.  Those words seldom elicit a reaction, being removed from mommy and daddy doesn't strike terror in their hearts, heck we spend much of our time trying to get kids to be comfortable without us.  Its why we employ babysitters.  

Evangeline and I went to the store today, she jumped out of the van and took off. I snagged her hand and asked her to hold my hand, she looked up at me and said "So no one steals you?"

"Right. So no one takes mommy."

"I'll keep you safe mommy."

We turned the fear around on her, some would say shame on you, but it works.  we told her at first that it was a rule so no one could take her away from mommy, she thought it was funny.  when the idea struck me.  i told her that someone could steal mommy right away from her.

needless to say that thought really shook her up.  how terrifying to think that someone could snatch your mommy away and you'd never see her again or someone wouldn't see your mommy and squish her flat with their car. 

Evangeline always holds my hand now.  never tries to pull away, but never clings to it in fear either and i know that she can't ever disappear on me.

 I don't mind this little twist.  It brought an idea she couldn't understand to one she could with a little role reversal.  ;) 

Explaining your child? HA!

so very cute, but did you look in her eyes?

I am filling out Evangeline's paperwork for her preschool.  I never realized how difficult it is to explain this particular child of mine.

Trinity and Piper have always been explained in a straight forward manner.

 Trinity is a loving very caring girl, very bright, easily distracted and frustrated and will cry, needs a firm hand to keep her on track, but a gentle understanding person to listen to her.  She will accept responsibility for wrong doings and understand the need for punishment even if she's not happy about it.

Piper is a very social girl, she dislikes distractions, she becomes frustrated easily and is a very weepy child when she becomes overly tired.  She is happy, loving, very generous and goes with the flow (easy going).  Does not like to be laughed at, becomes defensive when she perceives she's under attack and may strike out.

Evangeline....hmmm the devil in a tutu?  Thank goodness her preschool teachers are friends with me on Facebook and have been exposed to her shenanigans, they also have watched her grow from a baby into the little girl she is now.  How do you explain that her sassy attitude boarders on disrespect sometimes, but its funny????  That she thinks its hysterical when she becomes defiant, and when she begins to laugh you are helpless to suppress your own grin or giggles.  I swear if you don't know her and have never been exposed to her laugh, you'll figure it out the first time she laughs at you or with you.  The meaning of the term infectious laughter was clearly defined after Evangeline was born.

It's easier to tell them about her literal nature.  If you tell her to put something in the potty, you will find it located in the toilet, so you have to say put it in the bathroom.  If you ask her where she's hurt, she will tell you WHERE (as in location ex: I fell off the slide) instead of where on her body she's injured.  She will follow directions to a T.  Which is nice, unless she wants to be a little mischievous. Then it will be out right defiance, all the while she's smiling and laughing at you.

A friend, recently asked how I can discipline her?  She's so cute and she's so funny.  Well thankfully when she's being naughty, I am just angry enough to not find her funny until much later.

How can we explain such a complex personality?  She is the product of being brought up with older siblings, more experienced parents (we practiced on the first two), and being the child we tried the hardest to have, becoming the blessing we had wanted for nearly 3 years, of course just when we decided that we were giving up on another, she came(isn't that always the way?).

It's driving me crazy, and I guess from now on I might just have to write down "When you experience her, then you will know."  Followed by a smiley face and "Welcome to the wonderful world of Evangeline, she should be classified as a force of nature."

Best Wishes and good luck to my favorite teachers at my favorite preschool!!!  Much love to you!

The devil inside.

 

Warning labels

Children should come with warning labels, you know like your medications do....mine would go something like this:

WARNING HAVING CHILDREN MAY INDUCE THE FOLLOWING REACTIONS:

• Rapid mood swings
• the urge to consume large amounts of....PBJ
• urination with the door open
• seriously decreased sex drive or the opportunity to act when the mood does strike
• premature balding or graying
• increase use of caffeine or other energy inducing products
• hearing loss
• early onset of forgetfulness.

MAY ALSO:

• cause the watching of cartoons
• cause the enjoyment of the consumption of....PBJ
• spread warm fuzzies
• allow for increased personal contact in the form of wet kisses and hugs that choke you
• increased laughter and joy
• cause chronic smiling and head shaking
• cause a sense of wonder (good or bad)
• give feelings of euphoria

If you have experienced any of above side effects please don't contact the doctor or pharmacist there is absolutely nothing they can do, because there is nothing wrong with you.  You are now a parent and in 18 plus years you may be allowed to return to a "normal" healthy adult life.  Until such a time hang on tight and remember next time that affordable birth control is available.

If you are not a parent, then you may borrow my children and then immediately begin a contraception plan.

:)

not as charming as they look.

Bedtime Stories

Do you get tired of reading the same stories over and over again at night?  I do.  The older girls can read to themselves, but even they like the same stories.

At night now I let Evangeline exercise her own imagination and tell me a bedtime story.  It works, it's wonderful and she goes to sleep right after she's done.  They are short and sweet and I have to ask questions to prompt her, but she has some great ones.

"Evangeline, tell mommy a story so she can fall asleep, please."

Once Upon a Time there was a black kitty.  It lived outside and pooped outside too.  It went into the forest, a dark forest.  It met a bad wolf.  The black kitty and bad wolf didn't fight.  They played.  They played tag and games and took turns as "it" and winning.  They laid down and went to sleep together.  They were nice friends because they shared.

LOL I loved this story and I loved that she knew that good friends share nicely and take turns.

 Once Upon a Time, there was a horse.  The horse was black and white and wore a tutu.  The horsey met a TIGER!  The horsey and tiger fought, the tiger roared!  The horsey ran away and the tiger chased it.  They got lost, and scared and walked together.  Then the big monster bunny jumped at them.  The horsey and tiger hid.  The monster bunny looked for them, he wanted to eat them!  The horsey and tiger got angry at the monster bunny and scared it "go away".  The monster bunny ran away and the horsey and tiger went home to their mommies.

This was another story I was told.  I laughed at the monster bunny who would eat a tiger!  But I acted suitably shocked and scared of the monster bunny.   

There was also one about a frog, but I can't remember that one very well.

It does take some prompting.  "How does the story start?  With once upon a time there was....."  And she will repeat me and start.  Then I will ask another question when she seems to get stuck. 

Why read something over and over, when you can get a new story every night?  Either one you tell, or one your children tell.

Give it a try!

Evangeline and the chick

I haven't blogged in awhile.  Evangeline however continues to be funny and a multitude of facebook posts can attest to that. We have been busy busy busy!  This is the last week of school for the older girls and summer is about to hit us full force.

So I have been going down and helping out with Aunt Chris' Discovery Center on her LARGE field trips.  I have to tell you how amazing this is, I love children!  They are by nature curious little things, that love to explore the world and people around them.  Even if they come into a place or area that may scare them because its unfamiliar to them.  Their excitement (most of the time) brings a smile to my face even if they are competing with animals for the loudest noises.

Yesterday several of these kids came down into the barn and there was at least one or two who were so scared they were crying. My heart went out to these little darlings.  Evangeline was delivered to me by Adam as we were getting ready to take the last group down stairs.  She was nervous of the kids, she's never seen the barn so full!  When we got down stairs she immediately wanted to hold a chick.  I however made her listen to what a MAMMAL is and after the kids got their burdock leaves to feed the animals, Evangeline didn't want one, I took her down to get a chick.

At first I really didn't want her to hold one because, the kids had been asking all day to hold them and I told them no, but there was one little girl who had been truly frightened and was really crying, so I gave Evangeline a chick, sat her on a bale of hay and got myself a chick.  The kids feed those animals fast!  And soon they were crowding the rooster, Leanne was holding and crowding the hen coop.  That little girl came down with her teacher and spotted Evangeline sitting quietly holding the baby chick.  She went over, her tears dried, and reached out one small hand and actually touched the chick!  Lots of kids get over their fear by touching the chicks and then they are running back toward the other animals ready to touch each one!  Evangeline just sat there and smiled at her. 

Pretty soon Evangeline had a small crowd of kids around her.  She was talking to them, letting them touch her chick, telling them not to touch the other chicks, not to try to touch the loose roosters, when too many little hands were reaching she would take her spare hand and hold it out, telling them with some sass "Too many" and forcing them back.  "One."  She said.  The baby chick just settled down in her lap and arm and was completely comfortable, enough to close it's eyes, stop cheeping and appeared calm, relaxed.

Many of the kids came and asked why she got to hold a chick and I had to explain that she has been holding chicks for a very long time.  That Evangeline is very used to holding and touching the farm animals, she loves the barn and the farm.  The kids seemed okay with this explanation and one whispered to me that they wished they had farm too. 

I wish that I had a free hand to snap a quick picture.  It was amazing to see how she handled it, how she became a little teacher, how she helped kids get over a real fear of the unknown.  We do realize how lucky we are to live out here, to have the chance to expose our children to this life, but we often forget that not everyone is as blessed as we are. 

I would rather my kids grow up with the so called "country folk" stigma than have them live some place where they would never be exposed to it. 

Evangeline, every time she heads to the farm, either with Daddy for the tractor, or to Kimmie's house, or the Discovery Center cheers "Yay a party on the farm!"  And you know what?  I silently cheer right along with her! 

Say What? Kids actually learn something on a field trip?

Yesterday we were down at my sister in law's house to have a dinner.  When we arrived they were watching some show on the Discovery channel about snakes in Florida.  All 3 of my girls love snakes, they aren't completely creeped out by those slithering beings, which is nice because I'm not either, I love snakes. 
Trinity keeps telling me "Mom you shouldn't be afraid of spiders, snakes seems like a more reasonable fear.  Cause snakes can actually kill you and spiders around here can't."
Words of wisdom and  almost perfect logic from an 11 year old child.  How do you explain that fear is not rational or reasonable? And its not really fear its more of a phobia.

At last I will get to the point.  I was sitting down cuddling with my nephew while he was chugging down a bottle, and Piper is sitting on the couch, closest to the gliding rocker I was using and starts rattling off information about snakes. 

I gave her a confused look and asked where she learned all these wonderful little bits of information.  "Did they say it on the T.V.?"  In response to her statement "Snakes can unhinge their mouths to help them eat BIG animals."

She frown at me and gave me an outraged "No."  Then smiled. "I learned it at The MOST."  For those of you who don't know The MOST is the Museum of Science and Technology, in Syracuse and the first graders took a trip there earlier in the year.  Needless to say I was astonished that she had learned something from the trip.  Why am I amazed?  Because when she came home from the field trip and we asked her about it she talked about the play area and the interactive systems of the body, like how she stuck her arm up the big nose and climbed into the heart.  Never once did this child mention to me that they had a live snake at The MOST and they were giving lectures about the animal.  WTH!

The information continued to flow from her little mouth, actually confirming she had not only paid attention but absorbed the information and stored it until such a time that she was able to use it in a conversation.   Her little face was all a glow with pride and knowledge, and I never stopped her even though I also knew what she was talking about. 

Sometimes being a parent is frustrating and you wonder what the hell are they learning in school, especially when you ask everyday and they say "nothing".  I guess it's not nothing, its just a matter of them finding the right opportunity to educate you! 

Missing in Action

So I have been missing in action, lots of stuff has been going on.  I have had my hands full with Miss Evangeline, Miss Piper and Miss Trinity as of late.

 We went on vacation and the girls learned some great lessons.

Here they are digging in the dirt.  It became an impromptu lesson in Zombie killing.  I showed Piper how the claw could be used as a weapon against a "bad guy".  LOL when I was done Evangeline brought me the trowel and asked me if it was her turn to kill a zombie, then I had to show her how.  

The weekend with Katie, Eric and Gavyn was awesome.  Evangeline had such faith in Mommy's ability to kill any monsters that came our way that when the older kids were running in the backyard yelling about monsters she told them that there wasn't any monsters.  "Mommy kill the monsters."  Awe how sweet.

Here they are enjoying monster free s'mores on Easter Sunday.  Yay!  Aren't four kids with marshmallows and a fire cute?

 

We hit the beach in Florida and here are my own "monsters" actually getting along and playing with each other.  Evangeline wasn't crazy about the water at first but the beach became her favorite place after about 20 minutes.  We keep having to answer when we will go to the beach again.  Trust me no one in this house was happy to see the snow this morning.

Evangeline's taste in bathing suits did not differ from her taste in clothing.  Tutu's are forever!  This has to be the cutest suit ever. 

 In Disney we had 2 goals.  Meeting Tinker Bell and Rapunzel.  Here we are after a very short 45 minute wait with Tink.  Tink told Evangeline "You look like you fell through a rainbow...was it fun?"  And she said she'd like to fly to Skaneateles someday. With a name like that she was sure to not get lost cause how many Skaneateles' are there?

 After Tinker Bell we were heading to find food and ran into Princess Tiana!  Oh YAY!!! we waited a half hour.  We had to explain that no Evangeline was born a whole year before Tiana's story was told.  My dorky Trinity wouldn't put her glasses up :) 

 After lunch we went to see Rapunzel.  Evangeline and I waited in line for about an hour and a half.  Daddy and the other 2 girls took off for Space Mountain.  We were 3 people away from her favorite Princess when Evangeline said "Mommy I have to go poopy."  ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME KID????  Well we didn't leave the line and there was no poopy pants so it all worked out in the end.  Rapunzel held a very nice one sided conversation with Evangeline including bringing up that her friend Princess Tiana has a friend named Evangeline.  Once again Momma felt the need to say Disney was behind the mark on using that name cause Evangeline had it for a whole year first.  :) 

 She doesn't look thrilled but the Disney Photographer got better pics.  I just have to order the danged disc from them....it's all a racket.  We did have fun in the happiest place on earth and can't wait to go back after all the renovations are done and see the new Fantasyland.

Eventually Mema and Poppop joined us in Florida and for 3 days Evangeline asked for her turn to ride in the Mustang.  Well it was turn and oh no she fell asleep!  Slept the entire ride to Orlando.  Then fell asleep again on the way home.  I guess SeaWorld kicked her booty, all we did there was eat and watch the luau show, see the sharks and watch the Sea Lion show. 

We appreciated Poppop's self control when a corvette went flying by them on RT 4....that's a very good Poppop.  :)  Although if he had to race at least it would have been the car seated kid.

Oh well, that's part of what we've been up too.  It's hard to write a funny blog when the kids are driving you to drink....not even with funny stuff, they are grouchy and that makes Momma pretty grouchy too. 

TTFN!