Be A Good Mom

You know what babies like?

Babycakes.  Little tiny pancakes made by dribbling batter on the griddle.

Giggles loves them.

I don’t really flip them.  I just brown them on one side and by then the tops have set.

Yum Yum says Giggles.

$5000 Lowes Gift Card or a Southern Living Cookbook

$100,000 cash from the DIY Network

Rubbermaid Produce Saver storage set  (see www.rubbermaid.com promotions. I can’t figure out how to get it to delete my email from the form.

24 pc set Rubbermaid Easy Find Lid set

An Epiphone MasterbuiltAJ-500ME Acoustic Guitar powered by the all new Epiphone Sonic E2 preamp system with Nanoflag and Nanoflex state of the art pickups.  (I have no idea what that means….and it took me forever to type it)

$15,000 bedroom makeover and a Sleep Number Bed

6 weeks to a new YOU - personal training, food delivered to your door and a $1000 shopping spree

Trip to NYC with $2,500 shopping spree 

$65,000 backyard makeover 

Today is Pookie’s last day of school.  They just called and asked us to come pick him up early; they are sending him home because he is “sick.”  His nose is runny (clear) and he is coughing.  Its not been a big deal, probably just allergies.  Whatever, its the las day of school. 

Turns out, when Mamaw went in to pick him up they told her they thought he should go home so, you know, he doesn’t get the baby sick.

What baby, you might say?  Not Giggles, since she is here, where they sent him to.

No.  The newborn baby who was just born to the daughter of his classroom aide.  Yes, Ms. Nora , the classroom aide, just became a granmother yesterday.  I know that, because I made her a rag quilt and sent it to school with Pookie today.  The baby and the parents live with Ms. Nora.  So, apparently we are to be concerned that Pookie’s runny nose will find its way to Ms. Nora and then to the new baby.

That’s a valid reason to send a kid home from school? 

No.  Its not.  They are lucky its the last day of school AND that Mamaw picked him up and not me AND that they told us this after we had signed him out and not on the phone when they called to tell us to come get him.

1.  You don’t send a kid home because you are worried that germs will jump from him to his classroom aide and then to the classroom aide’s grandkid.

2.  Wash your hands when you get home Ms Nora!  That is how you keep the germs from getting to the baby!

3.  You work in a preschool classroom.  Germs are everywhere.  You know that. 

I am pro-baby.  I think you all know that.  But this is absurd.  Perhaps the baby should not use the quilt I made her, since I let Pookie put it in his backpack this morning.  Filthy little germ factory. 

Today’s contests are:

Giggles on the cover of Parents magazine.   I am not sure how to get her page up, so that you can vote for her. But its not based on public votes anyway…just the opinions of highly trained baby modeling scouts.  You wouldn’t do it right. 

$1000 spa gift certificate from Crest Whitestrips.  - This will come in handy if I do not win the crusty-foot cream I entered for yesterday.

I was thinking that I would like to win a fabulous prize.  So I have decided to enter a bunch of contests over the next 30 days and see what I win.

Today I entered to win:

6 day 5 night vacation for 2 to Los Cabos Mexico - not really something I want….but whatever.

5 day 4 night vacation to Myrtle Beach South Carolina - might be fun.  At least the kids could go.

Oral B Triumph with Smartglide toothbrush- if I win this, BAGD and I can stop sharing a toothbrush.

Flip Video Ultra Camcorder from Pure Digital - I think BAGD’s friend who visited us from CA today had one of these.

2008 Pontiac Grand Prix or $25,000 in cash -   I would probably take the cash

O-Cel-O mop and sponge gift pack - !  I don’t use sponges.  Oh well.  Not all prizes are glamorous.
$1000 worth of kitchen accessories - OK.  I just hope it includes a toaster, our 4 slicer is down to 2 operational slots.

A “refreshing” Hawaiian vacation for 2 - no details, just that it is “refreshing.”  hmmmmmm.

A hose reel and crate- one of those thing to store your 125 feet of garden hose.  Hose not included.

Adirondack loveseat - some assembly required, sorry BAGD.

T- Mobile Coachella Music Festival Swag Bag- If I win a T-Mobile Side Kick I will probably give it to Pookie to play with.  Who would I text?

Callus Removal Cleansing Pads, Exfoliating Pumice Paste, and One-Step Exfoliating Moisturizer Therapy Foot Ointment  - I sort of do need this.

His and Hers Marin bikes - *sniffle, sniffle*  All the other moms have a bike, *sniffle* but I don’t.

I will keep you posted.  I expect to see the UPS man here twice a week delivering my prizes.

I am future posting this, so no one knows when it happened. By the time you read this, several days or weeks or months will have passed since I wrote this, so it could be anyone I am talking about.

My families make up a large portion of my readers, and since I know you all support my blog and read it regularly, I felt this was a good way to reach you all.

I know its passive aggressive of me to write this rather than speak to all of you, but this is hard for me. He’s my Pookie. This is not a made-up rant or something I invented to talk about on my stupid blog, this is something that is really important to me. So, here it goes.

*

Why don’t you play with Pookie? I know you all love him. I know that you don’t mean to treat him any differently. I know that its hard to play with him. I know that often he does not want to play with you and will refuse. I know that its odd to have one sided conversations with him. But, its hard for me to watch when we go to a family party and no one plays with him. I mean really play with him. Not just a question here and there or a poke in the tummy when he walks by. I mean really playing with him, the same way you would play tickle fight or toy kitchen with Geetle.

He wants to play with you. Really. He just does not know how to say it. He does not know how to engage other people. But he wants to be the center of your attention. He plays games. They might not be the same as Geetle, but they are fun for him and there are ways you can get yourself involved. His attention span is best when he is playing. I know it feels weird to lay on the floor with him and draw the same Baby Einstein faces over and over again. I know it seems like you are talking to yourself. But its important to him….and to me. He will not grow if we let him sit by himself while everyone else goofs off on the couch together. Its something he needs, whether he knows it or not. And its something that tears me up inside, its watching my son get picked last for the baseball team, every time, over and over again. Its more painful than you probably know.

I know he will try to retreat, but I promise you, you cannot hound him too much.  BAGD and I will never fault you for forcing him to play with you.   Its what he needs.  Its never easy, but its necessary.

Please play with him. I am really scared that if no one plays with him now, its only going to get worse. I can’t bear that. He deserves better. Please. Please sit him down next time, away from the crowd and engage him. Show him how something works, drive toy cars off the edge of the table together, ask him to read to you, play his drawing games. But also engage him in the crowd. Pick him to be the one you wrestle with. Pick him. I know Geetle will complain, but thats what all sisters do. She would complain if you picked me over her. Let him be first, best, only.

Please.

*

No comments will be accepted for this post. Let your actions be your comment. I also do not want to revisit this topic with anyone. I REFUSE to discuss it. It literally tears me up inside and I can barely type this through my tears. Please just make it better. Please.

Just a few posts to keep the grandparents up to date on the kids.  Nothing real profound here, but cute, nonetheless.

Geetle had field day at her school last week.  I can’t believe there were no injuries.  20 4 and 5 year olds in potato sacks….yet no one fell.

Geetle and I also went to the city’s open house at the Department of Public Works.  I thought it sounded fun and “what the heck.”  Geetle was VERY into it.  She ran from truck to truck, looked at all the displays and asked questions.  We saw where they make street signs, where the trucks park, how big a traffic light is up close, etc.  She got a few trinkets (an oil funnel, a plastic construction hat and a squeezey traffic cone.)  The biggest thrill was that we got to choose between a ride in a street sweeper or a ride in a cherry picker bucket.  She chose the cherry picker bucket.  As we got to the front of the line, she asked if I would come with her.  (Of course, I planned on it!).  Then she asked if we could hold hands.

We were up pretty high.  She saw the watertower that is near our house, she liked that.

Where was Pookie, you might ask?  I begged him to come.  But as soon as he heard that BAGD was going to work in the backyard and he could go out and play….he dumped me.

Speaking of playing in the backyard…they do that every day now.  So, we have to take a bath every night.

Giggles is still insistent that she be allowed to eat people food.  We have to give her something she can pick up and eat herself at every meal, or she won’t eat the baby food.  She recently discovered her feet and that they can be used to hook into the crib slats and pivot herself in circles around the crib in the morning.  She will not hold her bottles while in the highchair yet, but will do it if we lay her down in the Boppy pillow.

Today we played a rhyming game.  Geetle is very good at rhyming, Pookie is still trying to make that connection.  Then we ate chocolate covered raisins and danced twice through “The Evolution of Dance” by Judson Laipply.   Pookie has been drawing alot.  He still draws his Arthur faces, but now he does a study of the individual body parts too.  He will draw an entire sheet of eyes, write “eyes” on the bottom and then do an entire page of “ears” or “feet.”  At school last week they worked on big vs little.  He has pointed a few things out to me recently that were “big” or “little”.  Random stuff.  He saw 2 cows on a puzzle we were doing and then told me one was little and one was big.  Thursday is his last day of school.  The end of an era…2 and a half years of preschool.

Geetle’s field trip is Friday, they are going to the petting zoo.  Pookie, Giggles and I will go too.  I will let Ms. Sofia show them the yellow boa constrictor.  I will show them the swans.

BAGD starts a new assignment the Tuesday after Memorial Day.  Most of it will be from his company’s offices, not at the client site.  So that is a better drive.   He has been pulling dandelions in the yard.   By hand.  We discovered something the other day.  By our cheapness and general laziness….we have created an organic yard.  In comparison to our neighbors who use TruGreen Chemlawn services or spray alot of stuff on the grass themselves.  We are too lazy and cheap for that….I mean, we are organic.  So, he pulls the dandelions by hand.  Its alot of work for a lazy family, but he likes it because it gives him something to do while the kids play in the yard.    The only bad part is Geetle and Pookie are budding horticulturists themselves and they “plant” as many dandelions as he pulls.

Ahhhh….Fridays in the summer…..Garage Sale Season….I love it.

Here is what I got today:

•  Soft vinyl building blocks for Giggles $3
• 4 large plastic coated bibs $1
• a remote control car $1
• Twister $1

(all of these above were from the garage sale at Geetle’s school, which is why I let her spend $1 on a “remote control car” that is probably worth about $2.50 retail)

• a tetherball pole and ball for the backyard  $5
• 2 more vinyl coated bibs $1
• Crayola Crayon maker $2 (Geetle already tried it out….probably not even worth the $2)
• Mousetrap $1 (Wow.  Pookie probably wants to be an exterminator when he grows up now.  He loved this)
• Disney Princess Checkers $1  (Geetle and I have a date to learn how to play)
• a Cutter and Buck hoodie $1
• PJ Funnybunny Activity Book $.50 (he is one of Pookie’s favorites)
• 3 bunches of fake Gerbera Daisies $3
• a black chicken-wire basket $1
• a rhyming board game $1
• a medium sized Boyds Bear (new, the lady was a sales rep and had dozens of them) for a bowling prize at our family tournament next week $6
• a terry cloth swimsuit cover up for Giggles $1
• an old exercise trampoline, a small one $4.92 (all I had left in my pocket at the end of the day)

I normally don’t spend so much, but it was Neighborhood garage sales in the subdivision behind Target.   As I went from garage to garage I was surprised to see so many duplicated toys.  I saw the same race track 3 times in one block.  Must have been THE toy to have that Christmas.  I was also surprised at the prices some people think they can get for children’s clothes.  I realize they are Gymboree and that they cost $35 new, but that does not mean you can ask $5 for a sweatshirt at a garage sale.  If you are looking for a better ROI on your children’s clothes, might I suggest Target or Kohls?

It was fun.  I like bargain hunting.  I usually buy kids stuff, but I was pretty happy with my daisies today.  They look real and 3 bunches is alot of flowers.  They really fill the vase and look nice.

Here is a picture of the quilt Aunt Shel and I made for Mamaw’s 50th birthday.

I must admit that eventhough I was playing around with quilting, I never would have thought to do it if it was not for Aunt Shel.  She is good at these, I think she said this was her 3rd one.  Here’s how we did it:

Selected appropriate number of pictures, made them black and white, cropped them close and printed to special fabric paper (bought at Jo-Ann Fabrics)

Cut picture fabric and blocks to size

Had each family member sign their name on a piece of paper, which we traced onto the green blocks and embroidered by hand.  BAGD did most of the “50s”.

Sewed blocks and rails per quilt book instructions

Ta-Da.

We were pretty proud of ourselves because we finished on schedule.  Our schedule had a built in emergency buffer, but we didn’t even have to use it.  We finished with no problems.  The finished quilt is crib sized, which was perfect.  It was not too large of a project and very manageable for quilting.  I sewed the quilt top and I am still not perfect with my corners.  So, just like the Hawkeye Quilt, we could not stitch in the ditch.  So, instead, we traced a heart on each of the “50″ squares and quilted that.  It worked well, sort of like the quilted “I” in my Hawkeye Quilt.