Savvy Toddler Mom

What a week!  A busy, fun, snow-filled week!

First of all, thank you for all the birthday wishes!  I am overwhelmed.  I have to share a couple of my favorite gifts:

• SavvyDad framed the James C. Christensen Shakespeare print we bought a couple of years ago at the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, UT.  The frame is beautiful and he immediately hung it in our room on my side of the bed!  Thanks again, hon!
• Thank you, Tiffany & Phil, for the AWESOME sweatshirt.  It reads, “I [heart] Mr. Darcy.”  I laughed and laughed.  Thank you!!!!  After opening, I said, “Oh, I can’t WAIT to blog about that!”  Then I opened my next gift…
• Thanks again, Anne & Matt, for the fabulous t-shirt!  It reads, “i am so blogging this.”  I love it!  And very true-to-life. LOL
• And last, but not least, thanks, Heather, for the Fairytale Brownies.  I am sad to say they didn’t last long.  The toot especially loved them and helped himself (toddler scissors in hand) at every opportunity.  Thank you again!!

Breakfast with Santa was a huge success.  Man, my MIL is amazing.  Really.  And her three daughters are following in her footsteps.  My SIL made this amazing cinnamon pull-apart tree.  She made it up completely on her own.  (Photo by SavvyDad.)

Santa was absolutely perfect.  I wish I could post some pics of the kids, but my internet paranoia is too strong.  But here is a shot of Santa himself (photo by SavvyDad):

We also had a really fun extended-family Christmas get-together for my side of the family last night.  It was so great to see my cousins and have our children play together.  We don’t do it often enough!  On that side of the family, there are 10 great-grandchildren and the toot is one of the two boys!  My nephew wasn’t there, so he and the five girls that were there played and played.  Matt & Anne, we really missed Liesel & Sage!  They would have had a great time in all the chaos.

My wonderful cousin Amber just announced that she is expecting her fourth girl.  She and her husband do daughters so well!  I am so excited for you.

My “little” brother and his wife are days away from having a little boy!  I can’t wait for little Coleby to get here.  I am so excited for them to have the newborn baby experience… the overwhelming love, the complete lack of sleep, the overwhelming love that keeps you from strangling this little person that has turned your life upsidedown.  It’s going to be awesome.  They totally deserve to have just the happiest New Year with a sweet little guy to make the rest of their lives that much sweeter.

Today is the second anniversary of the day we lost our little Elizabeth.  It seems a lot longer and a lot shorter at the same time.  A year ago last Thursday we lost our little James.  Needless to say, Christmastime is a little bit melancholy for us now.  I am trying hard to enjoy the season… enjoy not being pregnant trying to shop and cook and run around, enjoy not being in the hospital and getting sympathy cards and flowers instead of Christmas cards and goodies.  But it’s still hard when I think about the little people that should be here enjoying it with us.  The little people that shouldn’t allow us to have ornaments on the lower half of the tree… the little people that should be having their first or second Christmas and… the little people that their big brother should be playing with.  It just breaks my heart.  It seems like the sweetest things hurt the most, too… a double-edged sword.  The toot can be SO funny and darling… and it should be twice as much (at least).

I got some snowflake ornaments this year with all of our little babies’ names and dates on them.  They are beautiful.  If you are looking for something like that to remember loved ones you’ve lost, look at Things Remembered.  That’s where I got mine.

Okay, enough crying.  Gah.

Can I just tell you that I am SO stinkin’ excited for Christmas?!?!?!  I don’t remember being this excited in… probably 15 years.  I can’t WAIT to see the toot’s face when he walks into the living room on Christmas morning.  I can’t WAIT to see the magic happen as Santa brings him what he asked for.  I can’t WAIT to see SavvyDad’s surprise and delight at two things in particular!  I can’t WAIT to see my nephews and nieces enjoy the gifts I got them.  It really is better to give than to receive.

The weather was so frightful this morning, that I sluffed church (shhhh…) and made these ornaments/embellishments instead.  If you are wondering, they are by Cosmo Cricket.  Nothing like cutting and pasting to the sounds of Handel’s “Messiah.”  I was in heaven.

Also wanted to share a pic of our Christmas tree:

I got the polka dot and striped ornaments new this year (at Costco, of course) and just LOVE them.

Also on the holiday fun parade, we have the toot’s gingerbread contribution (thanks to Grandma Pam):

I helped him decorate and apparently I am terrible with frosting.  Oh, well…

Another very festive thing from last week was when SavvyDad was on breakfast duty.  He made the toot a snowman pancake!  How cute is he?

I am really looking forward to a fun Christmasy week… the toot has his preschool program and I am just a giddy parent thinking about seeing his first school program!  He also has his tumbling “program” so he can show off his wicked skills.

On Saturday, my hostess-with-the-mostest MIL is having a “Breakfast with Santa” for all the grandkids and great-nieces and nephews.  I think this will be the third year she has done it and it is just adorable!  My SIL’s neighbor’s dad (or something like that…) is a professional Santa, so they have him come with a bag of treats for each of the kids.  They get to sit on his lap and tell him what they want for Christmas in a safe, familiar setting.  The toot has yet to go up by himself or sit on his lap… but maybe this year!!! LOL

My birthday is also this week, so that will be… interesting.  For some reason, this birthday is kind of a hard one.  I keep thinking I should be excited to start a new year – clean slate, fresh start, since 32 hasn’t been the greatest – but I can’t help but feel a little melancholy about leaving this year behind.  Almost like I’m hoping for a do-over or something.  I don’t know.  I’m going to have to give that some thought.

Well, that’s a note to end on.  (Sorry!)  I hope you are enjoying this Christmas season as much as I am.  I’ve decided that 4-year-old Christmas is WAY more fun than 3.  So much more excitement and magic.  So much more to enjoy.  So much more to love.

Blech. It’s been too long since I’ve blogged!  I think I am getting my life under control, thanks in most part to my new nanny.  She is the BEST!

The toot also started preschool last week and… WOW, is preschool awesome?  That is a topic for a whole other blog.  We’ll come back to that later.

Today I wanted to bring your attention to two can’t-miss events going on right now:

1. Utah State Fair
2. Monet to Picasso Exhibit

Go!  If you can, go NOW!

We went to the Utah State Fair on opening day last Thursday and had a blast.  SavvyDad got third place in the advanced amateur photo contest - CONGRATS AGAIN!!!!  I will have to post his winning photo.  The toot had so much fun seeing the animals, riding a pony, going on the merry-go-round and playing at the Little Hands on the Farm exhibit.  Grab the kids and go.  Don’t forget the anti-bacterial wipes.

As for the Monet to Picasso exhibit, SavvyDad and I are going tomorrow morning.  Review to come!  It IS a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, especially if you don’t travel very much.  You’ll need to jump on this one immediately, though, as the exhibit is only here (Utah Museum of Fine Arts at the U of U) through September 21st.  Tickets are sold in 2-hour specific time slots and they are going fast.  Best way to get tickets is by purchasing them online, but you have to do it at least a day in advance.  The exhibit is open in the evenings only on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.  Children under six are free. Get tickets now!

That’s all I have for now.  Gotta jump and get on a conference call.  More soon!

Just signed up the toot for swimming lessons at the Bountiful Rec Center.  I’m so excited!!!  The next session starts July 14th.

We have a busy weekend shaping up… Oakley Rodeo tomorrow (if you’ve never been, you need to go), BBQ at the in-laws on Friday, SavvyDad is going to do some electrical work on the family cabin on Saturday.  (I love having such a talented man around!!!) 

The toot and I had a great time yesterday at the park and then shopping at the Gateway.  I think I am going to try and get him to the park daily, if I can.  He was SO much more cooperative about everything!

To summarize, today’s summer activity ideas are:

• Swimming lessons
• Trip to the park
• Shopping at the Gateway - take the kids’ swimming suits and towels and let them play in the fountain!

If you are really ambitious, you can go to Lagoon.  That’s where CTM is today.  Hot day for Lagoon!

Here she is!!  She’s sweet and adorable and already wary of the toot.  He just wouldn’t stop following her around and trying to get her to play ball with him.  It was really cute.

Found this over the weekend… the Barenaked Ladies (one of MY favorite bands) released a children’s album in May called “Snack Time.” Listening to snippets, it sounds awesome.  Gotta get me a copy.

I woke up today to the FedEx guy bringing me an awesome care package from my amazing friend Heather.  Heather, thank you again!!!!  What a way to start the day.  I felt/feel so overwhelmingly loved.  Oh, and your cookies are really YUMMY. 

Not feeling great today.  Not healing as fast as I’d hoped.  SavvyDad stayed home this morning and took the toot to tumbling class.  I am so grateful for him.  I would be in really bad shape without a loving, sweet, selfless, hard-working, wonderful husband.

I am also grateful for the makers of Percocet, Zoloft, Xanax, Ibuprofen, and Diet Coke.  I would be in even worse shape without them.

STM and I went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull over the weekend. We had an encounter with the inconsiderate.

A young woman, seated directly behind me, brought her ~2 year old child along to the theater. Leaving aside the issue of how a child might react to frightening and violent images, I wanted to point out the results of this woman’s decision. As children tend to do, her little angel fidgeted and chatted throughout the two hour film. He kicked my seat repeatedly, he talked and occasionally yelped and whined throughout the film. This was vexing to me. I know it vexed other people around her. Does she realize that she’s detracted from the experience of a dozen people? If she doesn’t realize it, should someone point it out? Will she continue to irk people the next time she goes out?

Would you have said something to the girl? Well, I did. After the movie ended and the house lights brightened I turned around and held out the screen of my phone which shows an image of the toot.

“This is my little boy.” She smiled hesitantly and peered at the image. “He’s three,” I continued, “and we arranged for a sitter so that we wouldn’t bother the people around us. I wish you could have been as considerate.”

“Oh, you…go away! Go away! Go away!”

There was a little more dialog after that, but not much more communication. She only seemed to hear that she wasn’t allowed to bring her kid. I simply said it was inconsiderate, not illegal. She was really in a defensive huff about it.

“I can bring my child anywhere I want!”

Actually, that’s not true. You can’t bring a child anywhere you want. You can’t bring a child onto a casino floor, a strip club, an operating room or roller coasters where you ‘must be this tall.’ There are some places where you really can’t bring a child. But aside from that, there are also places where you shouldn’t bring a child. In some cases it for the kid’s safety: A paint ball arena. A loud rock concert. A wastewater treatment facility. A slaughterhouse. In other cases, it’s for those around you. A symphony, a fine restaurant, a lecture, or a movie not geared for those too young to keep still. (A kids’ movie is different. There, I am the guest to their movie.)

Politeness and courtesy seem to be waning, though, I supposed people have been saying that for hundreds of years. It just bothered me that this woman didn’t have enough consideration to think of anyone else but herself. We got a babysitter so we could have a break. We paid $8 a ticket so that we could escape the everyday and hang out with our adult friends. We manage to get to the movies about twice a year. Who is this woman to risk ruining a stranger’s experience by bringing a child who’s too young to know better? Maybe she is an only parent. Maybe her sitter cancelled at the last minute. But if that’s the case - see a different movie, or simply stay home. We expect people to turn off their phones. We expect people not to talk through a movie. Bringing a child to a movie for adults was selfish, unthinking and rude.

Does anyone know how to get permanent marker out of a freakin’ expensive Pottery Barn quilt?

Okay, I did buy it on sale, but it doesn’t make me any less upset about it.  The toot decided to color with some forgotten-about markers instead of nap the other day.  To his credit, he was coloring on his wipe-off alphabet cards, but happened to hit the bed SEVERAL times (about a 2-foot area) with the red one.  UGH!

I tried OxyClean, Spray & Wash Stain Stick, hairspray, Thoro, and… lots of muttering under my breath.  Nothing has worked.  I haven’t dried it in the dryer yet.  I took it to the dry cleaners yesterday to see what they could do.

He also got it on his favorite fire truck shirt.  So sad!

On a happy note, I took my car to Bischoff’s — a car wash and detail place in Bountiful, Utah — this morning.  They not only cleaned my car inside and out (not that it needed it!!!), but were also able to buff out the hideous scratches I obtained a while back when I had a close encounter with a concrete pole.  Yay!!  The scratches are still there, of course, but they aren’t white anymore, and if you aren’t looking for them, you would never notice. 

It cost $20 for a “spot buff & wax.”  That is a serious amount of happiness (not to mention release of guilt) for $20. 

I also ran into my old friend Michelle Schmidt there.  Not that she’s old — just that I’ve known her for a long time.  She is absolutely amazing.  It was SO good to see her.  Her husband is pianist Jon Schmidt.  They lived in my parents’ neighborhood during my teenage-through-early-twenties years.  Michelle and Jon both are tremendous examples to me.  I’m so glad I got the opportunity to tell Michelle today how much I appreciate her influence on my younger self.

On a totally other random note, I think I’m going to get the toot a subscription to “Ladybug,” the 3-6 year old magazine from Cricket.  He is SO on the verge of reading!  He loves to identify letters and he’s even started guessing what words are, based on their first (or last) letter.  It’s adorable.

The Children’s Place is having a Spring Sale on Amazon.com.  Check it out!

The first of my spring bulbs peeked through the soil today!  I am so excited!  Spring is finally here and it looks like we’ll even have warm weather this weekend (in the 70s!).

I took the toot to the dentist yesterday — he was great!  They gave him a Lightning McQueen toothbrush… oh my gosh.  I don’t think I’ve seen such a big smile in a while.  A big, clean smile.

I know I think every age is cuter than the one before, but 3 1/2 is definitely it!  The toot has been SO affectionate the last month or so… more than his usual sweetness.  Demanding hugs and kisses - multiple times!  Giving hugs and kisses unprompted.  Saying, “I love you” ALL the time.  In fact, he has a song he sings: “I love you; You’re my best friend.”  It’s adorable.

He is such a sweetheart!  Now, if I could only get him to nap everyday… he missed his nap yesterday and was an absolute MONSTER by the time SavvyDad got home.  He even lost his Wii privileges for the rest of the day.  Poor kid.  That was a knife in the heart for him.  He did go to bed early, but then was up early.  *sigh*

Today he took a short (but late) nap, so I don’t even think I can get away with putting him to bed early.  He’s a cutie, though.

A couple of weeks ago we had our “jammie day” together — and now he wants every day to be jammie day. LOL  Today he was sporting his two-piece Lightning McQueen jammies and was just freakin’ adorable.  Yeah, he wore them until we left for Costco at 11am.