What Type of Mom are You?

January 9, 2012January 9, 20124 Comments

Stephanie just wrote a great post on Many Hats of a Mom about what kind of mom she is. The post has a link to an Oprah quiz where it asks a series of questions to see what kind of mom you are; The Funseeking Mom, The Alpha Mom, The Helicopter Mom or the Free Range Mom.

After taking the quiz, I’m overwhelmingly The Helicopter Mom. Which, to be honest, sounds way worse than the explanation:

The Helicopter Mom: Helicopter Mom is hovering just out sight, keeping an eye on her kids and yours. She is fully supplied with a first aid kit, a GPS and a complete computer printout of the week’s homework for all her kids. She could teach a master class in calendar-keeping, managing the family schedule like an orchestra conductor. Don’t forget to refuel, Helicopter Mom!

Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. A few months ago I was concerned Baylor was in the wrong group for swim lessons because she wasn’t being challenged enough…and then some sane part of my brain reminded me that SHE’S TWO YEARS OLD and I calmed down. Now she’s in a great class so that’s helpful too.

Also, I think it’s important to note that it’s Sunday night while I’m writing this. Dinner is done and the kitchen is clean. Lunches are made and the coffee is ready to hit “go”. Baylor’s registration for the 2012 school year is complete with checks paper clipped to them and is in the bag with the class snack for tomorrow.

Yeah, that test is way off base….really, I would just like a nicer title. Like “really organized mom”. Or “calendar conductor” or something else cool. Help me out!

Happy Closet, Happy Momma

January 6, 20122 Comments

It’s Scottsdale Mom’s Blog time again! Check out this week’s post about getting your closet gorgeous, Oprah style.

Also, while you’re at SMB, check out registration for the next Mom’s Night Out on January 26th. The cost is $5 and it gets you:

:: a glass of wine ::
:: delicious snacks ::
:: a swag bag ::
:: raffle entry & chance to win spectacular giveaways ::
:: optional viewing of a movie (title TBD) beginning at 8:30PM ::

Seriously?! That’s a ridiculous amount of stuff for 5 bucks! Sign up on the website today!!

Probably

January 4, 2012January 4, 20122 Comments

There are a few words whose meaning is a little lost on Bay. One of these words is probably. Much like Joey on Friends could never figure out how to use air quotes, Bay uses probably all the time, but rarely the right way. It makes for some pretty funny conversations.

As I walked into B’s room one morning long before the sun was up, this is the chat we had:

“Morning munchkin – you’re up a little early”

“Hi Mommy. I probably awake.”

“Yeah, I got that one kiddo.”

“I probably can’t sleep any more.”

“Ok ok, I give, let’s get some breakfast.”

“I probably want some eggs, please.”

Such a crack up – even at such an ugly hour!

Little Foodie

December 29, 2011December 28, 2011Leave a comment

For some freak reason, the munchkin is totally into some fun, new foods. I really don’t care what the reason is, but I like it!

Baked beans? Not such a far stretch – she loves beans and they are sweet so this makes sense. But I just think it’s so fun.

Cantaloupe – again, not a big deal, but I love that we have a new fruit.

Chili, even with a little kick – she started with eating the beans out of my bowl and now she’s asking for a bowl of her own.

Quiche – she loves eggs so I don’t know why I didn’t think of making her quiche…but we enjoyed family breakfast together this weekend and we all ate the same thing. This is actually a bigger deal than it sounds.

Minnie’s Day Out

December 28, 2011December 28, 2011Leave a comment

Every morning after breakfast, I turn Bay loose to run amok and watch cartoons. Tuesday morning she was particularly busy – she was playing with her new toys and bouncing from room to room.

As PW was ready to head out, she grabbed her new Minnie Mouse rolling backpack and helped Peter carry his stuff to the car. When she got there, she told him that Minnie Mouse was in the bag and that she was going to work with him. She kissed him and Minnie and headed back into the house.

When he got home, he wheeled Minnie inside and Bay greeted them both with kisses. She began to unpack the bag – it was then I realized that not only had she packed Minnie in the bag, she had packed a tupperware full of play food, a dish towel and a blanket. She explained that Minnie needed a lunch, a place mat and her blankie for nap time.

I sat down and marveled at how thoughtful and sweet she had been. And when I hugged and kissed her for the 19th time, she looked at me as if I had lost my marbles – which only made it better that her thoughtfulness was second nature.

Christmas Recap

December 28, 20111 Comment

Christmas is always a whirlwind of family parties, church, food and wrapping paper and this year was no different. We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful family – we were missing a few members this year to their in-laws, but we managed to adjust tradition and make it a beautiful holiday.

We kept with the tradition of the family sneaking all their gifts to one house so that the kids awake/arrive to a sea of presents. This year we hosted gift opening and it was a blast. PW and I both went to Bay’s room when she woke up and the first question out of her mouth was “did Santa come?”. We told her yes and that he had eaten his cookies and milk and that the reindeer loved their carrots. Her response? “did he put his dishes in the sink?”. Clearly she is my child.

She got to open one gift first thing – her new backhoe scooter – complete with a tool kit. What? Not everything has to be pink and pretty! She loved that she would have something that she could get around on quickly (she hasn’t quite mastered her trike yet) when she plays with Britain down the street.

She beeps when she backs up

“rip and tear!!”

Once she was done opening her presents, she asked for a “time out” in her crib. Which I think was a nice way of saying “overloaded”

“Boots like Morgan!!!”

We switched up our usual schedule a bit which left Christmas day afternoon open – which meant plenty of mimosas at brunch and a nice long nap for the whole family. The best part was that we had several friends stop by. Normally getting together with friends means much planning and coordinating of calendars, but the shared day off by all meant lots of very welcome impromptu visitors. We got to catch up with a great friend and best man from our wedding, Ryan and by Baylor’s Godfather Joe and his fiance Brandy. There was also a convoy of new bikes, scooters and cars with the neighborhood kids while the parents sat on the patio and sipped champagne. It was a perfect holiday.

After Bay had gone to bed last night, PW and I enjoyed our gift from my parents, a 2007 bottle of Cakebread Cabernet (we typically by wine base on the fact it’s under $15, not so much on the year). We were snuggled on the couch when PW looked over at the coffee table full of new Legos and said:

“Your Lego tower is pretty wonky”.

“It’s a tree” I replied.

“Wow. That’s a pretty crappy tree.”

“Listen, I don’t work at Lego Land, ass. Use your imagination!”

Merry Christmas!

December 23, 2011December 23, 2011Leave a comment

Merry Christmas!!

Thank you all for reading The Goon Room, for all your comments and words of advice. I’m grateful for all of them! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday filled with family, friends, memories and much happiness.

Hand print Santa by Baylor Wand

I love looking at all our friend’s smiling faces!

It wouldn’t be Christmas without torturing Bear with some antlers.

Baylor’s Christmas list:

1. Boots like Morgan (her best buddy has a rad pair of green galoshes)

2. Presents.

Well said little lady!

Baylorisms – Part 3 – The Christmas version

December 22, 2011Leave a comment

Christmas has brought a lot of new words to Bay’s vocabulary and not all of them are easy to understand. The Grinch, for example. I asked her to repeat herself 16 times before I sent her to PW for interpretation.

Silly Lu Lu – Cindy Loo Hoo.

Zinsh – The Grinch. This one is hard to write because it’s really more of a sound than a word and leads me to ask “show me what you’re talking about”.

There’s me! – her greeting when she walks into a room.

Sarah – Dora the Explorer. She doesn’t watch Dora but for some reason thinks her name is Sarah. Her swim diapers have Dora on them and when I put them on she says “Hey Sarah!!”.

The Teddy Bear – Winnie the Pooh. We’re going to see the Winnie the Pooh Christmas play today so I’m guessing she’ll know his name after that.

Krishness – Christmas!

Preschool Play

December 21, 2011December 21, 20111 Comment

Baylor had her first Christmas play last week and to say it was adorable is an understatement. I have been hearing bits and pieces of Christmas songs like Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Angel and Are You Sleeping? for weeks so I was excited to actually hear the songs in their entirety.

Room 1 was lead in by their fearless (I think that’s actually part of her job description) leader, Teacher Jackie. They sang three songs with no tears and only a few wiggles. If there was a picture of Peter, me, my mom and his mom, we would have all looked like giggling idiots – my face hurt from smiling.

Ready to belt it out

Finally spotted Mom, Dad, Grandma and Noni

Hand motions for the “like an angel in the sky” part

Proud of their performance

I love this – they hold hands when they walk somewhere – B and her buddy Morgan know the drill

Kid Friendly Nativity

December 20, 2011December 20, 2011Leave a comment

Growing up, we had the most beautiful nativity scene. It was all carved wood and was incredibly detailed and had so many people – it was like a religious Barbie house to me. I loved playing with it. I like staging all the figurines, hiding baby Jesus and enjoying every minute of it.

As an adult, I had a hard time finding an equally beautiful manger scene that was kid friendly. But then I came across a hand-made set at a silent auction for Circle the City charity (amazing amazing amazing. If you don’t know, find out). I was stalking a bid I had made on a bedding set for Baylor and noticed the adorable figures. They are all knitted and include the three wise men, shepherds and sheep, a donkey, camel and of course the holy family and an angel. The auction was closed for it, so I asked the lady collecting the cards if she could give me the information for the person who made them. The lady said she didn’t have it, but if I would give her my info, she would have the lady contact me.

Flash forward 3 months and I got a call from Sister Joan. I had no idea who sister Joan was, but when a nun calls you, you listen. She explained she was driving to Arizona from California and that she had my manger scene for me. Huh? I confirmed that it was for me and not someone else since I had only been interested in knowing how much one cost…and yet now I apparently owned one. Or at least I was going to own one, once I knew how much it cost. To keep it brief, I almost drove off the road when Sister Joan told me what the winning bid was for the nativity scene at the silent auction. But she then told me that the lady who make the scenes donates them to Circle the City so whatever amount I wanted to donate was perfectly fine. I decided on a number that didn’t make me want to choke and handed over the check and collected my goodies.

Bottom line? Worth every penny. The best part about the figurines is that there is not much that could destroy them so Bay is free to play to her heart’s content. She had baby Jesus in her baby buggy and was pushing him around because “His mommy Mary said it was ok”. Just love it.