I normally discuss the antics of my girls but today I thought I would just say a few words about a man who influenced many people in the world, including me. Michael Jackson was an artist. I am not one to get too sappy over the death of someone famous but he was a genius when it came to entertaining. I remember watching him on MTV back in the days when they aired only videos and I was captivated and inspired. I wanted to sing like him, dance like him, and perform like him. I remember getting the Thriller album back when an album was an album and you needed a record player to enjoy the music. I believe BAD was the first tape cassette I ever got and I still have it. Today as I download more of his music off of a CD and onto my Ipod, I watched my girls dance about to sounds that I once danced too as a child. They were enjoying the music just as much as I did when I was their age and it's music with lyrics that I'm not afraid of them hearing. Michael Jackson and his music was a part of my life growing up and now a part of me feels empty. His music will live on by those who continue to play it for their kids and the future generations to come.
"Like a sunset, dying with the rising of the moon......gone too soon."
Friday, June 26, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
The New Adventures of Fluffy, Snuggle, and Mr. Ted E Bear
So today was like any ordinary day. Got up, had some coffee, fed the girls breakfast, and decided we needed to go to the store for a few things. Now the night before Cocoa was very adamant about mommy taking Mr. Ted E Bear with her to bed. She's known for awhile now that I have had that bear for a very long time and that he lost his right eye in the snow in Minnesota. I'm not sure why she wanted me to take the bear but then she asked for Fluffy. My other trusty bear that has been with me for almost just as long as Mr. Ted E Bear. She also lost her left eye at some point. Apparently I was really rough with my teddy bears eyes. Anyways, she said she couldn't go to sleep without her. She asked about a bear patch of fur on Fluffy's head. I told her that I loved Fluffy so much and gave her lots of hugs, that her fur just got very worn.
So the next morning as I'm down stairs enjoying my cup of coffee, Cocoa wakes up and stumbles down the stairs with Blue, her big blue bunny that Lola and Lolo sent her. She gives it a hug and then leaves only to return with Mr. Ted E Bear. Of course all of this just makes me smile. As we get ready to go to the store, Cocoa says, "Wait. I need Snuggle." She comes back with Fluffy and Snuggle (Snuggle happens my sister's bear. She got it the same time I got Fluffy.) Sweet Pea gets to hold Snuggle in the car while Cocoa has Fluffy and Mr. Ted E Bear. We get to the store and the girls want to bring the animals with them. Here I am thinking, "My children will look silly carrying these ratty old teddy bears missing their eyes into the store." So I told them that they wanted to stay with the car and protect it. They of course didn't buy that excuse and all the bears came along. So there we are in Target, Cocoa in the seat of the shopping cart with Mr. Ted E Bear on one side of her and Fluffy on the other while Sweet Pea trots along side the cart with Snuggle safely in her grasp. I smiled the entire time we were in the store. I didn't care about the looks they got and trust me they got some looks.
When we got home it was nap time and Sweet Pea had Fluffy and Snuggle and Cocoa only had Mr. Ted E Bear. Cocoa was sad and said she couldn't go to sleep without Fluffy. So I went and got her and Sweet Pea was alright sleeping with just Snuggle. It just made me smile again. I started to think of the Velveteen Rabbit and how it became "real". My girls have given Fluffy, Snuggle, and Mr. Ted E Bear a second life of new adventures. Hopefully no one else looses an eye.
So the next morning as I'm down stairs enjoying my cup of coffee, Cocoa wakes up and stumbles down the stairs with Blue, her big blue bunny that Lola and Lolo sent her. She gives it a hug and then leaves only to return with Mr. Ted E Bear. Of course all of this just makes me smile. As we get ready to go to the store, Cocoa says, "Wait. I need Snuggle." She comes back with Fluffy and Snuggle (Snuggle happens my sister's bear. She got it the same time I got Fluffy.) Sweet Pea gets to hold Snuggle in the car while Cocoa has Fluffy and Mr. Ted E Bear. We get to the store and the girls want to bring the animals with them. Here I am thinking, "My children will look silly carrying these ratty old teddy bears missing their eyes into the store." So I told them that they wanted to stay with the car and protect it. They of course didn't buy that excuse and all the bears came along. So there we are in Target, Cocoa in the seat of the shopping cart with Mr. Ted E Bear on one side of her and Fluffy on the other while Sweet Pea trots along side the cart with Snuggle safely in her grasp. I smiled the entire time we were in the store. I didn't care about the looks they got and trust me they got some looks.
When we got home it was nap time and Sweet Pea had Fluffy and Snuggle and Cocoa only had Mr. Ted E Bear. Cocoa was sad and said she couldn't go to sleep without Fluffy. So I went and got her and Sweet Pea was alright sleeping with just Snuggle. It just made me smile again. I started to think of the Velveteen Rabbit and how it became "real". My girls have given Fluffy, Snuggle, and Mr. Ted E Bear a second life of new adventures. Hopefully no one else looses an eye.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Where did the time go?
Well before I knew it Halloween rolled by, Thanksgiving was a blur, Christmas was over and the New Year had begun. Where did time go? Once I started working part time at night, it seemed as though time speed up and I never got a chance to catch up with it. Halloween was fun. Sweet Pea was Princess Jasmine and Cocoa was Snow White. Lola came to visit us during that time and the girls and my husband ate very well. Since I started working, my husband had taken over dinner duty five nights out of the week. So thank you to Lola for all the wonderful food. We miss your cooking (and my husband misses the steak). I now know that even though I may cook the food the same, it's just not the same when mom makes it.
For Thanksgiving we stayed home instead of making our annual pilgrimage to my in-laws. So I was in charge of cooking as of course I knew I would be. I made turkey, stuffing (cooked in the bird), mashed potatoes, corn, gravy (didn't turn out as well as it could have) and rolls (from scratch I might add). After all was said and done, I got a 97% just like mom's approval rating. I informed his mother of my approval rating and she said, "I never got an approval rating like that." I've watched and helped her cook for the last several years so you'd think I would know what to do by now. I did have a hard time though. There's that point when the turkey is done the potatoes need to be mashed, corn heated up and rolls put in the oven when the kids where complaining and I was getting grumpy. But we got past that and enjoyed a very casual dinner.
Christmas was quite interesting. Since my husband has accepted a job position in another state we had to fly there first before we went to his parents house. Well, easier said than done. Winter was cruel the week before and the week of Christmas. Snow was falling the day we were suppose to leave. YES I said suppose to leave. We had a flight on Sunday night that was canceled an hour before it was to leave. We were able to get on the next flight out which wasn't until 6:50 the next morning. Already tired from pulling a double the day before and running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to pack and put the house in order before we left, I didn't sleep at all that night. We got up really early, drove slowly and carefully to the airport, and was surprise to hear our flight was on time. YEAH! The was a little delay though by about and hour once we were on the plane. Extra care taken to de-ice the plane and fill an empty seats with passengers from other delayed or canceled flights from the last few days. Once we got to our destination though, my husband had to go to work. Check in at the hotel wasn't until 3pm. It was about 9 something when we got in, then we had to wait for the luggage and then the bus. Funny story, the first bus that came by said he couldn't pick us up where we were at and he told us to go down to the next pick up spot. As far as my husband knew, pick up was in the section we were at. So that driver just denied his new boss a ride. I wonder what he said to him once he saw him at the location. Anyways, the girls and I spent 5 hours in my husbands new office as he shoveled snow. Apparently there were not a whole lot of his employee's experienced in the matters of snow. It does not snow that much there. Then the girls and I got to the hotel and spent the rest of the night until 12:30 or so the next day there. The roads were finally clear so we were able to make the 3-4 hour drive to his parents house in the next state over. Going up the hill to there house was slow going. Going on the road that runs in front of their house was well, extremely slow. At least 2 feet of snow was on the ground. We spent 4 days at the house. We didn't go any where. It was tough but we got the rest of the family up the hill in my husband's and one of his sisters 4x4 vehicles. Sweet Pea threw up Christmas Eve while she slept. Then she seemed fine. Cocoa threw-up three days later. The next day she seemed fine. Sunday morning the thought was to drive all the way home. Since both girls seemed better and the weather seemed to be cooperating, we were able to make it all the way home. The next morning when my husband was to fly back out to work, he got sick. He stayed home that day but was able to make it out the next day. He came home New Year's Eve. I had to work so our friend watched the girls for a couple hours before he got home. Then they came over to our house and rang in the New Year. Cocoa didn't make it till midnight. She was asleep about 10pm. I didn't get home till almost 11. It was a busy night. Sweet Pea stayed up and then once my husband and I were ready to go to bed, she still wanted to stay up.
So now the new year is upon us and the first thing on the agenda......the girls birthday. Yes they have the same birthday. Hard for most people to believe. I always get the question, "How did you swing that?" Two years apart and a lot of times they act like they are the same age. It's the big 3 and 5. My biggest problem is what to do about the cake. One cake, two cakes? Make the cake? Buy a cake? That will be a good topic for the next time. Oh their birthday's are tomorrow so I better decide what to do.
For Thanksgiving we stayed home instead of making our annual pilgrimage to my in-laws. So I was in charge of cooking as of course I knew I would be. I made turkey, stuffing (cooked in the bird), mashed potatoes, corn, gravy (didn't turn out as well as it could have) and rolls (from scratch I might add). After all was said and done, I got a 97% just like mom's approval rating. I informed his mother of my approval rating and she said, "I never got an approval rating like that." I've watched and helped her cook for the last several years so you'd think I would know what to do by now. I did have a hard time though. There's that point when the turkey is done the potatoes need to be mashed, corn heated up and rolls put in the oven when the kids where complaining and I was getting grumpy. But we got past that and enjoyed a very casual dinner.
Christmas was quite interesting. Since my husband has accepted a job position in another state we had to fly there first before we went to his parents house. Well, easier said than done. Winter was cruel the week before and the week of Christmas. Snow was falling the day we were suppose to leave. YES I said suppose to leave. We had a flight on Sunday night that was canceled an hour before it was to leave. We were able to get on the next flight out which wasn't until 6:50 the next morning. Already tired from pulling a double the day before and running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to pack and put the house in order before we left, I didn't sleep at all that night. We got up really early, drove slowly and carefully to the airport, and was surprise to hear our flight was on time. YEAH! The was a little delay though by about and hour once we were on the plane. Extra care taken to de-ice the plane and fill an empty seats with passengers from other delayed or canceled flights from the last few days. Once we got to our destination though, my husband had to go to work. Check in at the hotel wasn't until 3pm. It was about 9 something when we got in, then we had to wait for the luggage and then the bus. Funny story, the first bus that came by said he couldn't pick us up where we were at and he told us to go down to the next pick up spot. As far as my husband knew, pick up was in the section we were at. So that driver just denied his new boss a ride. I wonder what he said to him once he saw him at the location. Anyways, the girls and I spent 5 hours in my husbands new office as he shoveled snow. Apparently there were not a whole lot of his employee's experienced in the matters of snow. It does not snow that much there. Then the girls and I got to the hotel and spent the rest of the night until 12:30 or so the next day there. The roads were finally clear so we were able to make the 3-4 hour drive to his parents house in the next state over. Going up the hill to there house was slow going. Going on the road that runs in front of their house was well, extremely slow. At least 2 feet of snow was on the ground. We spent 4 days at the house. We didn't go any where. It was tough but we got the rest of the family up the hill in my husband's and one of his sisters 4x4 vehicles. Sweet Pea threw up Christmas Eve while she slept. Then she seemed fine. Cocoa threw-up three days later. The next day she seemed fine. Sunday morning the thought was to drive all the way home. Since both girls seemed better and the weather seemed to be cooperating, we were able to make it all the way home. The next morning when my husband was to fly back out to work, he got sick. He stayed home that day but was able to make it out the next day. He came home New Year's Eve. I had to work so our friend watched the girls for a couple hours before he got home. Then they came over to our house and rang in the New Year. Cocoa didn't make it till midnight. She was asleep about 10pm. I didn't get home till almost 11. It was a busy night. Sweet Pea stayed up and then once my husband and I were ready to go to bed, she still wanted to stay up.
So now the new year is upon us and the first thing on the agenda......the girls birthday. Yes they have the same birthday. Hard for most people to believe. I always get the question, "How did you swing that?" Two years apart and a lot of times they act like they are the same age. It's the big 3 and 5. My biggest problem is what to do about the cake. One cake, two cakes? Make the cake? Buy a cake? That will be a good topic for the next time. Oh their birthday's are tomorrow so I better decide what to do.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Auntie Visits
A few weeks ago, my husband had to go out of town for a golf tournament. Now since I'm working, I called on my ever so faithful sister to help watch my girls while I worked. Seeing as though it's not like she lives just next door, one could consider her a very expensive babysitter. But the flight was booked on a free ticket (just a few taxes had to be paid), she has a bunch of vacation time at work, it seemed a perfect match. So right from the get go, my ever so faithful sister was on duty. I switched shifts with another girl who couldn't work during lunch and since my sister was going to be in by 11am, the boss said it was OK. So, I picked her up, they dropped me off at work, and she was thrust into babysitting duty. The girls had been up early that morning since we took my husband to the airport at 6:30. So their day was already messed up by the time Auntie took over. I gave her directions on how to get to my house and my trusty map (that she bought for me once) was in the vehicle ready for use. Lunch was on schedule (which sounded like it went alright) but nap time didn't go so well. Since Cocoa had fallen asleep in the car on the way to pick up Auntie from the airport, I had a funny feeling that she wouldn't take her usual nap and Sweet Pea would just be too wound up from the days early events to want to sleep. I got off earlier than expected and made the call for them to come pick me up. After twenty minutes passed, I started to get worried since they hadn't shown up yet. Once they arrived I found out that Auntie made them put away their toys before they left to picked me up (WAY TO GO AUNTIE!!!!).
It was a busy week while she was out. I did have the following day after she arrived off, so we enjoyed some quality grocery shopping time. Now she sees how fun it is to shop with a 2 and 4 year old. (It takes forever.) I had two more days off during her stay. My husband came home on Friday night and Saturday, Sunday, and Monday I was sure he would be working on the yard as usual. I had Saturday and Monday off so I knew I would be able to spend sometime with my sister. On Saturday we took the girls, grabbed some lunch from Sonic (YUMMY CHEESE CONEY'S!!!), and headed for the park downtown. We enjoyed our lunch and the girls ran around the really tall trees and played hide and seek. We enjoyed the sights and sounds of a Hawaiian performance group that was near by performing for a party. At some point I grabbed the camera to take some pictures of the girls playing. Sure enough Sweet Pea wanted to take pictures too. So I handed her the camera. Cocoa wanted to do the same so Auntie handed over her camera. Of all the photos that were taken this one became my favorite. It's a view through the eyes of a child.
It was a busy week while she was out. I did have the following day after she arrived off, so we enjoyed some quality grocery shopping time. Now she sees how fun it is to shop with a 2 and 4 year old. (It takes forever.) I had two more days off during her stay. My husband came home on Friday night and Saturday, Sunday, and Monday I was sure he would be working on the yard as usual. I had Saturday and Monday off so I knew I would be able to spend sometime with my sister. On Saturday we took the girls, grabbed some lunch from Sonic (YUMMY CHEESE CONEY'S!!!), and headed for the park downtown. We enjoyed our lunch and the girls ran around the really tall trees and played hide and seek. We enjoyed the sights and sounds of a Hawaiian performance group that was near by performing for a party. At some point I grabbed the camera to take some pictures of the girls playing. Sure enough Sweet Pea wanted to take pictures too. So I handed her the camera. Cocoa wanted to do the same so Auntie handed over her camera. Of all the photos that were taken this one became my favorite. It's a view through the eyes of a child.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
I missed you mommy
As of Monday I started training for my part-time job as a hostess in a restaurant. I have to say it's been rather liberating to go somewhere other than the store for more than an hour and not have the girls with me. Yes I do miss them. I've been with Sweet Pea 24/7 for the last four and a half years, and Cocoa for the last two and a half.
When they awake, I'm there to get them a cup of milk and breakfast.
Then bath them, dress them, play with them, teach them.
Make them lunch and then put them down for a nap.
Play with them again and get their dinner ready.
Play with them some more or maybe enjoy a movie and then put them to bed.
Even when I'm asleep, I'm still on duty ready to soothe them when they awake from a bad dream.
I'm there early in the morning when Cocoa stumbles in the room and reaches her arms up to me to pull her into the bed.
Now there is that window of time that Mommy will be gone. I wonder about all the things I'll miss and all the things they will miss. I haven't had to stay at work late but soon I'm sure there will be days I won't be home till 11:30 at night. Well past the time they've already gone to bed. How will they deal? I'm sure they'll be fine. Sweet Pea seems to be adjusting well but she does seem to want to be around me more. Cocoa is finding it a little harder. She acts like she's fine but when I come home she only wants mommy and has been throwing a little tantrum or two to show it. It's been nice to hear as I walk in the door, "HI MOMMY, HI MOMMY!!!", "MOMMY'S HOME!!" in their little voices as they run to the gate by the back door and reach up their arms for a hug. Now I get to feel what it's like for Daddy when he comes home. They've been a little bit of handful for him and he hasn't been able to do some of the things he wanted to do when he got home but I'm sure he manages just fine. He's a good father. I'm hoping he can now see how sometimes I just feel like the life is sucked out of me and just how quickly you're pulled in two different directions because they both want your attention. It's still tough to think that I won't be putting their pajamas on and tucking them into bed. I won't be there to kiss Sweet Pea good night or sit by Cocoa's bed as she clutches my finger till she falls asleep. Cocoa didn't seem to want to go to sleep last night so I finally gave up and let her fall asleep beside me as I studied for my test. I woke up and went downstairs this morning and Sweet Pea was awake and watching cartoons. Eventually Cocoa woke up, came downstairs, came up to me and said, "I miss you mommy, I missed you." Things will be changing and with time I'm sure she'll adjust as we all will.
When they awake, I'm there to get them a cup of milk and breakfast.
Then bath them, dress them, play with them, teach them.
Make them lunch and then put them down for a nap.
Play with them again and get their dinner ready.
Play with them some more or maybe enjoy a movie and then put them to bed.
Even when I'm asleep, I'm still on duty ready to soothe them when they awake from a bad dream.
I'm there early in the morning when Cocoa stumbles in the room and reaches her arms up to me to pull her into the bed.
Now there is that window of time that Mommy will be gone. I wonder about all the things I'll miss and all the things they will miss. I haven't had to stay at work late but soon I'm sure there will be days I won't be home till 11:30 at night. Well past the time they've already gone to bed. How will they deal? I'm sure they'll be fine. Sweet Pea seems to be adjusting well but she does seem to want to be around me more. Cocoa is finding it a little harder. She acts like she's fine but when I come home she only wants mommy and has been throwing a little tantrum or two to show it. It's been nice to hear as I walk in the door, "HI MOMMY, HI MOMMY!!!", "MOMMY'S HOME!!" in their little voices as they run to the gate by the back door and reach up their arms for a hug. Now I get to feel what it's like for Daddy when he comes home. They've been a little bit of handful for him and he hasn't been able to do some of the things he wanted to do when he got home but I'm sure he manages just fine. He's a good father. I'm hoping he can now see how sometimes I just feel like the life is sucked out of me and just how quickly you're pulled in two different directions because they both want your attention. It's still tough to think that I won't be putting their pajamas on and tucking them into bed. I won't be there to kiss Sweet Pea good night or sit by Cocoa's bed as she clutches my finger till she falls asleep. Cocoa didn't seem to want to go to sleep last night so I finally gave up and let her fall asleep beside me as I studied for my test. I woke up and went downstairs this morning and Sweet Pea was awake and watching cartoons. Eventually Cocoa woke up, came downstairs, came up to me and said, "I miss you mommy, I missed you." Things will be changing and with time I'm sure she'll adjust as we all will.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
The green monster
I thought I was being smart by not really allowing markers of any kind in my house. Along with paints and any other kind of kid crafty project stuff. I know that we should allow our children to express themselves through art and it's cool to have a picture that was painted by your children hanging from the refrigerator door. Not for me. I could already envision the destruction and damage that could be caused. I'm surprised I have crayons in the house. I have to draw the line somewhere.
But I started thinking that an easel with a dry erase board and chalkboard would be neat to have to help with teaching the ABC's and 123's. Surprise, surprise when during a visit one time my in-laws brought an easel for the girls. The initial markers were not that good. Eventually we got a set of good ones and I was very careful at putting them up high and out of the way. Now Sweet Pea knew where they were. High on the top shelf of the linen closet. Not an easy climb for either girl. So I thought they were safe from sticky fingers.
I WAS WRONG.
That Saturday morning started off with the girls having to clean up their toys in the bonus room. Now I gave them a break to have breakfast but they had to take care of the mess first before they would have a bath and could go outside. My husband was in need of some things to finish working on part of our yard and I was sure that he wouldn't want to stop and babysit the girls as they cleaned. See, something inside of me just felt like something would happen. After awhile of sitting around and barking orders at the girls to clean, my husband said he needed the items before he could really continue on a certain section of the yard. So I said, "What should I do with the girls?" He replied, "Well they should be cleaning up their mess." And he kind of left it at that. So, bravely, I told the girls that I had to go get somethings for their daddy at the store and that they were to finish picking up their toys before they could go outside. Simple, clear, and to the point. Not to difficult right? I set off to store with the thought that maybe their toys would be picked up when I returned but still there was that nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I returned after being gone for about an hour. My first question to my husband, "Where are the girls?" He replied with, "There inside cleaning I believe. I heard Cocoa saying something and I told her to finish cleaning up and then she was quiet." The pit in my stomach did not have a good feeling about this. So, I walked inside...up the stairs...and down the hall. The hall is a little dark without the light on but no bother. I went toward the sound of voices. It was coming from Cocoa's room. I turned slowly at the door and as my eyes gazed from the mess on the floor up towards the little girl standing by the wall with the marker in her hand. YES A MARKER. A GREEN DRY ERASE MARKER.
(An example of her artwork)
My jaw dropped. My heart sunk. For a minute I could hear my heartbeat come to a complete stop. I wasn't sure what to do. I was frozen. I broke from my daze and screamed, "WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" This word would continue to come out of my mouth as I surveyed the damage. The wall in Cocoa's room. The comforted on the twin bed. The crochet baby blanket (that I made for her before she was born!!!!) and blanket on her toddler bed. The curtain, her stuffed animal. The walls in the hallway, the door of the bonus room. The door frame to Sweet Pea's room, her bed, the door to the balcony, the balcony floor, the stucco outside the balcony. COCOA HERSELF, was covered in green marker. I yelled at Sweet Pea asking her who got the marker and told her not to lie. She didn't lie of course and told me that she got it down. I'm not sure though if she had anything to do with the artwork. She wouldn't answer me. I cried. I cried and cried. Cocoa kept coming up to me to console me (Nice to know she cares about mommy crying but not the damage she just made) but I kept telling her to go away. I was so mad I went and opened the window of the bonus room and told my husband he had to see the mess but didn't tell him what it was. He told me he really couldn't stop and to TAKE A PICTURE. So, I did just that. Then I called my sister to have her calm me down. (Thank you again). Then I took the camera outside to show him the damage and to explain what I saw since the pictures didn't do it justice. So I must say in conclusion, Cocoa had her toys taken away and both were banned from the bonus room again. Yes, mommy locked the door again. Now it's a week later and my husband can maybe now understand how I can't easily trust the girls inside the house alone. Why did it take a mess like this for him to understand? I guess like me somewhere in our hearts we believe that our little girls aren't capable of such destruction. I'm hoping nothing like this will ever happen again. Now if only I could get the marker off of the stucco before he sees it (I'm sure he saw it on the balcony floor but I don't believe he actually went onto the balcony). Kids will be kids right?
But I started thinking that an easel with a dry erase board and chalkboard would be neat to have to help with teaching the ABC's and 123's. Surprise, surprise when during a visit one time my in-laws brought an easel for the girls. The initial markers were not that good. Eventually we got a set of good ones and I was very careful at putting them up high and out of the way. Now Sweet Pea knew where they were. High on the top shelf of the linen closet. Not an easy climb for either girl. So I thought they were safe from sticky fingers.
I WAS WRONG.
That Saturday morning started off with the girls having to clean up their toys in the bonus room. Now I gave them a break to have breakfast but they had to take care of the mess first before they would have a bath and could go outside. My husband was in need of some things to finish working on part of our yard and I was sure that he wouldn't want to stop and babysit the girls as they cleaned. See, something inside of me just felt like something would happen. After awhile of sitting around and barking orders at the girls to clean, my husband said he needed the items before he could really continue on a certain section of the yard. So I said, "What should I do with the girls?" He replied, "Well they should be cleaning up their mess." And he kind of left it at that. So, bravely, I told the girls that I had to go get somethings for their daddy at the store and that they were to finish picking up their toys before they could go outside. Simple, clear, and to the point. Not to difficult right? I set off to store with the thought that maybe their toys would be picked up when I returned but still there was that nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I returned after being gone for about an hour. My first question to my husband, "Where are the girls?" He replied with, "There inside cleaning I believe. I heard Cocoa saying something and I told her to finish cleaning up and then she was quiet." The pit in my stomach did not have a good feeling about this. So, I walked inside...up the stairs...and down the hall. The hall is a little dark without the light on but no bother. I went toward the sound of voices. It was coming from Cocoa's room. I turned slowly at the door and as my eyes gazed from the mess on the floor up towards the little girl standing by the wall with the marker in her hand. YES A MARKER. A GREEN DRY ERASE MARKER.
(An example of her artwork)My jaw dropped. My heart sunk. For a minute I could hear my heartbeat come to a complete stop. I wasn't sure what to do. I was frozen. I broke from my daze and screamed, "WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" This word would continue to come out of my mouth as I surveyed the damage. The wall in Cocoa's room. The comforted on the twin bed. The crochet baby blanket (that I made for her before she was born!!!!) and blanket on her toddler bed. The curtain, her stuffed animal. The walls in the hallway, the door of the bonus room. The door frame to Sweet Pea's room, her bed, the door to the balcony, the balcony floor, the stucco outside the balcony. COCOA HERSELF, was covered in green marker. I yelled at Sweet Pea asking her who got the marker and told her not to lie. She didn't lie of course and told me that she got it down. I'm not sure though if she had anything to do with the artwork. She wouldn't answer me. I cried. I cried and cried. Cocoa kept coming up to me to console me (Nice to know she cares about mommy crying but not the damage she just made) but I kept telling her to go away. I was so mad I went and opened the window of the bonus room and told my husband he had to see the mess but didn't tell him what it was. He told me he really couldn't stop and to TAKE A PICTURE. So, I did just that. Then I called my sister to have her calm me down. (Thank you again). Then I took the camera outside to show him the damage and to explain what I saw since the pictures didn't do it justice. So I must say in conclusion, Cocoa had her toys taken away and both were banned from the bonus room again. Yes, mommy locked the door again. Now it's a week later and my husband can maybe now understand how I can't easily trust the girls inside the house alone. Why did it take a mess like this for him to understand? I guess like me somewhere in our hearts we believe that our little girls aren't capable of such destruction. I'm hoping nothing like this will ever happen again. Now if only I could get the marker off of the stucco before he sees it (I'm sure he saw it on the balcony floor but I don't believe he actually went onto the balcony). Kids will be kids right?
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Sugar Bugs
Just a few days ago, Sweet Pea went to the dentist. I woke up that morning remembering that I almost scheduled her appointment for 8:10am. I would have been crazy to have done that. I got a more reasonable time at 4:00pm. I brushed her teeth twice before we left just to be sure that they were clean. My husband was unable to watch Cocoa so she came along for the ride. I asked her several times to be good and to listen to mommy. So on the way I stopped at the bank and Sweet Pea said, "This isn't the dentist. I want to go to the dentist. I don't want to be late." The entire day I kept telling her that we didn't want to be late and sure enough here she is reminding me. Anyways, we make it to the dentist office and again I remind Cocoa to be good and for Sweet Pea not to be scared of the dentist. She had seen him last year for her very first dentist visit when she was three. The dentist apparently left the practice he was with to start his own and I thought since he was still covered by our plan that it would be a good idea to go to the same person. Last year though she was really shy and I'm sure scared. She had to sit in my lap and lean back so the dentist could count her teeth. So this new office was pretty cool. It had a play room for the kids to hang out in. I had to fill out paperwork and keep an eye on both girls when Sweet Pea said she had to go potty. Of course I do remember asking her to go before we left the house and I was sure she did but here we were having to go to the bathroom and I still had to fill out that paperwork and keep an eye on Cocoa. We came out of the restroom and the dental assistant was already looking for us. (Good service!) Now since Sweet Pea is only four, I thought it best for me to be with her and of course Cocoa had to come along too since I wasn't leaving her in the playroom by herself. So we got to the room, which was a little small, and took our spot in the corner. Sweet Pea looked so little sitting in that big dental chair. While I finished filling out the paperwork and keeping an eye on Cocoa, the assistant got to work on cleaning Sweet Pea's teeth. She even got to watch Finding Nemo on a TV screen mounted on the ceiling. They didn't have that when I was a kid. Cocoa was concerned the whole time about her big sister. I think it was the sound of the brush cleaning her teeth that might have made her concerned. It was very cute of Cocoa to be concerned. I had to keep telling her that Sweet Pea was OK all the while still trying to finish that paperwork and answer questions the assistant had. While cleaning her teeth, the assistant asked if Sweet Pea brushed teeth twice a day. She says yes (thankfully since we mostly only get to it once a day) and the assistant asked if she flossed her teeth. She says yes and then says no. The assistant goes on to describe the "Sugar Bugs" that get stuck in between your teeth and that it's important to have mommy help you floss. (Information noted for further use). Before you knew it, the assistant was done and I gave the OK to take x-rays. I didn't think they would need to do that yet since she's still young but since she sucks on her fingers still I thought it might be a good idea. She was SO GOOD!!!!! She sat very still and did what the assistant told her to do. I was SO proud. The lady thought Sweet Pea was so cute and adorable. So the assistant says to us that she's all done with the pictures and is going to go develop them and get the dentist. That's when cute, adorable little Sweet Pea says, "Last time there was this guy and he was scary. I was scared." (Of course she was referring to the dentist she saw last year who is set to come in her room soon.) The assistant and I assured her that he wasn't scary and shortly she returned with and loaded the x-rays on to the screen. Then a few short seconds later, the dentist arrives and says, "I'm not scary, I'm just silly." He goes on to ask her how old she is and she answers without me having to answer for her. He explains that he has a daughter her age. She even looks at him and shows him which two fingers she likes to suck on. At that same time, Cocoa puts her fingers in her mouth to do as her big sister does. (I can only deal with one child sucking on there fingers I don't need two. I got lucky when I took the pacifier away from Cocoa. It hasn't been an issue. Except every once in awhile I see her copy her sister. Not good!) So he checks he teeth and informs us that there are NO CAVITIES! YEAH!!! (Mommy's been doing a good job at brushing her teeth! Good job mommy!) He goes on to explain what would happen if Sweet Pea doesn't stop sucking on her fingers. At this point, she looks a little scared. Maybe the thought of having something metal placed in her mouth till she stops doesn't sound so good. So, we check out the x-rays and there are Sweet Pea's adult teeth hiding behind her baby teeth. It was weird to see. She's still my baby and the thought of her starting to lose those baby teeth and get big girl, adult teeth is difficult. They grow so fast. So the dentist is all done and the assistant asks if we want fluoride and I said, "Why not." I'm instructed that there is to be no hot liquid, brushing or flossing for 4-6 hours. (Hot liquid? Who gives their four year old hot liquid?) In the process Sweet Pea asks the assistant if she has two children. The assistant seemed surprised by the question and says, "That's a really grown up question to ask." I then chime in and say that the dentist mentioned that he had a daughter her age. Then she understood where the question came from (I guess. Kids do say the darnedest things.) So, for the first checkup in over a year (apparently you're suppose to do this every six months) things were good. But as we ride the elevator down to the ground floor, Cocoa starts to scream because she wants to push the buttons again. As we exit the elevator I told her how good she was up till that moment. I still stop at Starbucks on the way home and get the girls chocolate milk for being so good. Now I get to look forward to taking Cocoa to her first appointment. I have decided she won't go until she's three, like her big sister did. I have a hard time getting her to open her mouth for me to brush her teeth. I can't see her opening her mouth for a complete stranger.
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