Be A Good Mom

I thought I would update you on a few open items I have discussed on my blog.

1.  The tent is still the best gift ever.  Now they watch movies and eat popcorn inside it.   Sometimes Pookie refuses to let me and BAGD out, even when the internal temperature reaches 100 degrees.

2.  We are sure Pookie can count higher than 4.  Tonite he was playing with a piggy bank and misplaced one of his pennies.  He turned to BAGD and asked “Where is the 5 penny?”  Five being the fifth penny.  So, while its just one higher than the teacher says he can count, we believe its just one example of how he understands quantities.

3.  Pookie and I are attending another Sign Language chat next week.  I am trying to find a book written in sign language so that we can practice a common story.  I would like something like “Good night Moon” or a fairy tale in sign language.  I want him to be able to learn the story all the way through.  Any suggestions?  I can’t seem to find one that gives the signs for a whole story.

4.  I still love that razor, but will admit that it is a bad idea to shave in the shower without your glasses on.  I have a strip of hair on my leg about 1 inch wide that I totally missed last time.   I noticed on Gyne appt day.  Oh well, I guess they’;ve seen worse.

5.  I guess Pookie is officially potty trained now, given the fact that BAGD and I have not even thought about it for almost a month.  He had been doing great with pee for months, but still had poop accidents.  Then things got better and now we never even think about it.  He doesn’t really tell us when he poops in the potty.  We try to keep an eye on it, because he does not wipe well, but we no longer follow him around.   We were just saying the other day that we haven;t thought about it for weeks.

6.  Giggles still sleeps thru the night.  In fact, she is going like 12 hours a night.  She goes to bed at 7ish with the big kids and wakes up between 6 and 7 the next morning.  Not bad!

7.  We threw out all the Baby Einstein DVDs.  We could not take it any more.  We had tried letting him watch it once a day,  right after breakfast.   But he would still whine all day for more.  And he was using it as his “Screw you!” comment.  It went something like this :  BAGD “Pookie, don’t stand on the Sit and Spin.”  Pookie “I want to watch Baby Mo!”

8.  We finally started using all that free formula.  I told BAGD I would mix it 50-50 with the Walmart stuff Giggles is used to.  I mix it more like 70-30, but she still does fine.  No upset stomach.  No problems.

9.  BAGD still piles his crap on my desk.

10.  My kids have been remarkably healthy this winter, luckily.

11.   Final Count:  23 hats, 6 rag quilts and one nearly finished real quilt, from a kit.   I also just bought a book on quilt making, so I am ready to try a real quilt, not from a kit.

12.  I did get one of these.   Told you I would.

13.  This works great to keep the hats and coats organized.  The only problem is that the over-zealous children sometimes push too hard on the hat/mitten bag and we have broken 2 hangers already.

14.  No longer Pookie’s favorite book.  He has moved on to the “David” series by David Shannon.

15.  This is still the best stroller, carseat, boogie board combo ever.  I love it.  No complaints at all.

16.  We still never received any more books from this chain letter.  And it made me very sad.

17.  We had a girl, not a boy.

18.  I did let BAGD name the baby, and he did great.

19.  She looks like Geetle.

20.  We have no current Winnie.  We lost Winnie #4 about 6 weeks ago and made a group decision to go hamster-less for a while.  Geetle has hardly noticed, since she has a new pet…Giggles.

21.  I still have 8 boxes of salt in my laundry room.

22.  Pookie no longer climbs into bed with me every morning at 5:45.  I sort of miss it.

23.  We threw this out a few weeks ago.  Pookie moved past it.  It was sort of sad to throw it away.   After all, it was his first urinal.

24.  After years of not pointing, Pookie is now a pro.  He has also learned to say “right there” to add emphasis to his pointing.  Such a small thing, but so important.

25.  We never did find Aunt Shel’s hamster.

I wish I could have more blind faith in Pookie, but now I am doubting whether or not he “knows” the things I think he “knows.”  Its all because the teacher told me that he can only count to 4, everything else he counts is just rote phrases, not a real understanding of the numbers.

Last night after dinner, Pookie and Geetle wanted to play a game.  The only one they could agree on was Alphabet Flashcards.  I had to think quick to make up a game with the Alphabet flashcards, so I just showed each of them the picture on one side and asked them what letter the word started with (the letter was on the back, but they could not see it).  I showed Pookie a picture of a zipper and he said “Zipper is for Z” which means “Z is for zipper.”  He got T is for turtle, C is for cat, N is for nest, E is for egg, B is for bunny, H is for hat, P is for piano and a bunch of other ones.  He only got a few wrong.  He said “F is for turkey” which I think was because he was remembering a song they sang at school about turkey feathers.  He also said “Flowers is for F” when shown a vase (full of flowers).

Now, I realize that in the world of preschool educational products, A is always for apple, C is always for Cat, Z is always zipper or zebra.  So, are these just more rote things or did he really know the answer? I don’t really care.  I am not trying to make my kids into super preschool geniuses.  But I am interested in making sure I understand how Pookie learns, so that I can best help him for the rest of his life.   So, I am curious and puzzled.  How did he know the answers?

I know how Geetle knew her answers.  She is doing Zoo Phonics at preschool and I saw her go thru the thought process of each flash card.  I showed her a seal.  She said “sssssseal.  Sammy Snake.  S!”  Sammy Snake is the character assigned to the phonetical sound.  Its a whole program, very interesting.  BAGD wrote about it recently.    But with Pookie, I don’t know how his brain arrives at the answer.  He bounces in his chair, looks at the wall, sings half a verse of “The Hairbrush Song” and then blurts out “X-ray is for X”.

How do you know if its rote or truly learned?

Yep, he was talking alot, singing…you know stuff like that.  I feared for the safety of my other 2 children, so I hand-cuffed him.  Surprisingly, it did not work, he kept on singing.   But, at least I sent a message. 

“No singing!  No way, no how.  I don’t know what its like in the bleeding-heart namby-pamby world you live in.  But here, we don’t allow merry-making, especially in public.  If you want to sing, you just march yourself right over to the Terrorist side of the room Mister!”

This is Giggles’ new hobby. She just figured out how to chew on her own fingers…anytime she wants. And she is loving it.

She chews on the left. She chews on the right. Slurp, slurp slurp. Keeps her busy for hours.

Here’s how happy it makes her.

Here she is looking guilty about it.

Here she is when she is almost too sleepy to do it..but does it anyway.

Here she is saying “I’m not going to do it! I can beat this addiction. It does not define me!”

And here she is doing it when she thinks no one is looking.

Uh Oh. Busted.

A boy would work too. Ideally, make it a twin, someone who has been part of the child’s life since day one. Someone to laugh with, someone to copy. Someone to get a cup for when he gets one for himself. Someone to eat the other half of the granola bar. Someone who knows whether he prefers the green race car or the blue. Someone who will never get tired of the same ridiculous jokes and funny noises. Someone who will help him put on his coat when he needs it, but will also not let him take all the markers without sharing. Someone who will tell you when he has to go to the bathroom, because he said it so quietly only she heard him. Someone to tell him to stop trying to climb up the slide and just do it right. Someone he can look for when he gets home from school. Someone to eat the lunch meat from his Lunchable, if she will give him all the cheese from hers. Someone who might know he has Autism, but does not care.

If you Google “Be a good mom” I show up on the front page, way at the bottom. I am OK with the bottom. But I am not OK with the site ranked one higher than me!  www.beagooddad.com!  Yep, that’s right…be a good DAD!  My old nemesis…and current husband.

I know from all the yakety-yak he does at the dinner table about blog politics, that he is ranked higher than me because more people link to him than me. Please, internet-users. Link to me, so that I can bump him. My blog is called “Beagoodmom”! I write about how I try to be a good mom! That spot is mine!

By the way, he does not need your help. He is already ranked #1 for “Be a good Dad.”

Now, he is ranked 9th for “Be a good Mom.” He can be 9th, as long as I am 8th or better.

I know, why should you link to me, I don’t link to you. I am lousy about linking to others. I do read other blogs, but I am not that good at the behind the scenes stuff (*HE* does all that for me…heehee) so I don’t have a blog roll. But I will have him make me one, I promise. Luckily, he is a competitive type guy and he LOVES that I like to blog now, so he will not be mad at me for trying to bump him.

What more could I say?

Geetle says it is. Pookie and Geetle got this full size camping tent for their birthday, a present from Grandma’s sisters. Its about 9 x6 feet wide and 4 feet tall. And it rocks, according to Geetle and Pookie. They camped all morning, moving lots of gear inside. Then they nearly fainted when I offered to bring them lunch in a cooler for their campsite. Add real working flashlights and they were in heaven. I am glad we have enough open space in our basement for this sort of thing. God forbid they would have had to wait until summer to try it outside!

Geetle came home from school and told me that Zoe followed her all around the playground today.

“It was like she was my intern , Mom.”

Giggles slept a lot these past few days.  She is not noticeably sick, but she must be fighting off something.  Her nose is a bit stuffy, but nothing too bad.  Her usual morning nap is 45-60 minutes, yesterday it was 2 1/2 hours.  Her afternoon naps are usually 12:00 to 2:30 and 4:00 to 5:00.  Yesterday she took one big afternoon nap from 12:00 to 5:00.  When she is up, she is happy and smiley.  She missed 2 feedings, but still ate 3 1/2 big bottles.  So, I guess she is fine, just sleepy.  You can see it in her face.  Her eyes are a little puffy and when she gets in the crib, she is out within seconds.