Tag: motherhood

Mac Should Pay Me for This Post

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I don’t get indorsements from Macintosh. But for the post I’m about to write, I should because damn if I can’t help that I love the Iphone. (Topher, please let someone at Mac know I’m putting out the good vibes!).

I got an Iphone the day they became available on Verizon service and I saw from the beginning what I had been missing. Peter just got his and in one day, the number of apps I have on my phone has quintupled. Slightly annoyed by some of them (no, I don’t need the Orvis fishing app, Zillow, Monster.com, the need to know my exact elevation or Dragon dictation) many of the new apps are amazing.

My absolutely favorite new app is called Sky View. It is a map of the stars – you hold it up to the sky and it shows the names of the stars, constellations and planets. It. Is. Awesome. The funny thing is that I realized it doesn’t work solely with the camera so you can use it during the day too so that you can see where the stars are, the projected path of the sun. I can’t say enough how much fun I find this app. We used it every night on vacation because I think there are few places in the world where you can see as many stars as you can from the top of the mountain in Montana. It was so much fun to know what we were looking at. A side note: whoever came up with the constellations (Gemini, Ursa Major, etc) was either insane or drunk because none of them look like what they are supposed to be!

What do you do when you’re sharing a room with your sleeping kiddo and you have to find your way to the bathroom, or pajamas? You use the flashlight app. I thought this was really dumb until I tried it. So very useful – unless you’re trying to find your phone.

When entertaining a child in a doctor’s office, on a plane or anywhere else that requires them to sit still and be quiet for stretches of time, I’ve found that there are several apps that they love. First are books. The Miss Spider app is a video, a book and games all in one. Duck Duck Moose has really funny apps like Old MacDonald’s Farm , Word Wagon and  The Wheels on the Bus. The kiddos need to swipe, tap and move objects around to keep the image moving. They can also record themselves or you singing which is Baylor’s favorite part (the one with her voice, not mine).  It does require some supervision though as Bay has A. Friended people on Facebook B. Called random people out of the contact list and C. Sent random text messages. So if you ever get an odd voice mail or strange text, just know Baylor loves ya.

So that’s it. I’m addicted. I hate to admit it, but a smart phone just makes life cooler. Anonymity be damned! Track me and what I’m looking at and where I’m going all you want because I’ll be enjoying looking at the stars.

 

 

What Should You Do? – Follow Up

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A week ago I posted a blog called “What Should You Do?” that was about Baylor being accosted by a three-year old. It describe the little terror’s behavior and also how the parents of the little demon not only didn’t do anything to stop the child, they condoned her behavior. So I asked readers what someone in my position should have done. And as expected, there were some practical responses and a lot of really funny ones.

To start, the incredibly unhelpful response:

Kristin: “I actually can’t believe that you didn’t say anything. You’re getting soft in your old age.” – really, what are friends for if they can’t call you a b*tch on your blog??

 

Next, the somewhat practical comments:

Christiane: “You should have told them that Baylor has pink eye and they had better have their daughter checked out after breakfast!“.  – I would totally use this one. I might switch out pink eye for stomach flu, but the main theme still holds.

Patrick: “For this situation I would recommend looking into two iPhone apps: “Kids Be Gone” and “Teen Torture (aka Teen Hearing Test).” Tell Baylor to plug her ears and let the little brat have it”. -Leave it to the guys to go high-tech. Note to self; teach Baylor “earmuffs”.

Lastly, the totally ridiculous and hilarious:

Kimberly: “You should start rummaging through the parents purses’ to see how they like it….”

Tori: “I’d perform a discrete, under-the-table shin kick to the little brat. That doesn’t sound quite motherly and nurturing does it? Whatever. Bratty times call for bratty measures.”

Charlene: “Hand them a pre-printed card with a fake “manners classes” address and say sweetly, “our daughter used to behave just like that before we took her here.” then smile and walk.” 

In short, thank you all for nothing. This was incredibly unhelpful and yet terribly hilarious. I call it a win!

Things That Shouldn’t Bug Me But Do

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1. When it’s too hot to open the doors or windows. Which means every time I make a meal, the house smells like it for hours. And change hours to days when it involves turkey tacos or Brussels Sprouts with bacon.

2. The inability of some parents to master the parachute at The Little Gym. It is not complicated: grab handle, lift up, step forward and pull parachute behind you, sit down on handle. The result? A super cool tent like thing that is supported by the air trapped under the parachute. Call me a 2-year-old for thinking it’s neat, but it totally is. Which means I get mad like a 2-year-old when a mom can’t figure out how to follow 5 steps, thus letting out all the air and ruining it for everyone.

3. Caillou the cartoon. Not only is the kid annoying, but Baylor is obsessed with watching it. While the main character, Caillou, is pretty whiny, my main issue is with his parents. They are model parents with infinite amounts of patience. They never get upset, yell, scold or do any other normal parenting thing. They make everything fun, ignore bad behavior and are always dropping what they are doing to appease Caillou. I am waiting for the day that the kiddo says to me “Caillou’s mommy wouldn’t say ‘your behavior makes mommy want to drink'”.

Again, another topic for Baylor to discuss in therapy some day.

A Spot of Tea

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For the readers who don’t know, my mom and I own and manage a water company in Southern Arizona. Why? It’s a long story…

As we close in on the end of the month, I am scrambling to finish up deposits and customer changes and prep my documents to go read meters. It’s not complicated, but it does require some form of concentration. I.E. it is very difficult to do when my “assistant” is shuffling papers off the printer, climbing up my chair and simultaneously trying to draw on my documents.

I have perfected the art of Baylor entertainment so that I can steal a few minutes to and check items off my to do list. She has her own keyboard which she pretends to type emails, narrating her messages as she creates them. She gets a pad of paper and a pen. A coloring book and also my deposit stamps to play with. However Saturday morning the usual things weren’t keeping her busy. Trying to keep my frustration level to a minimum, I suggested she go brush her doll’s teeth (endlessly fascinating to a 2 year old) and then make some “tea”. We love tea parties and have them often. Bay happily ran off leaving me a few more precious moments to complete my tasks.

A few minutes later, a headband clad kiddo (making tea requires  Bene Hana style head wear) came running into the office with a cup of tea and a saucer for me. She then ran back to her room to get the tea-pot, filled up my cup with air,  shouted “KISS!!”, gave me a peck and was off again.

It’s hard to remember sometimes what’s important. It’s easy to get caught up in the grind of work, the endless to do list, and the stress of getting it all done. But all we need is a little cup of tea to remind us why we work like we do and also why it’s good to shut off the computer and go make some tea.

A Ghetto Fabulous Summer

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What do you do when you live in Arizona and you don’t have a pool to cool off in? You make a pool to cool off in. Because when the high is 114, there’s only so much pool-less-ness one can take.

Yes, this is our little backyard ghetto oasis. This is the only time of year that I would love the maintenance and cost of having a pool, but because the pool fairy hasn’t come yet, this is what we do to have some fun. And actually it is really fun. The hose going down the slide into the pool? Awesome. The mister under the shade of an umbrella? Surprisingly refreshing. “Tea” parties with Tome the Gnome and Barbie? Can’t beat it.

So while it may look a bit questionable, it is quite fun and refreshing. And some day when Baylor is in therapy describing how she had to play in a tiny pool where she had to roll around to get wet, at least she’ll have the money to pay for it since we didn’t blow her therapy money on a life-size pool.

What Should You Do?

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Peter, Baylor, our friend Cameron and myself all met at one of our favorite restaurants, Orange Table for breakfast on Sunday. Peter and Cameron had been out “killing clay” (i.e. at the shooting range) so B and I met them there.

As we were sitting on the over stuffed couches waiting, a little girl about 4 years old and her parents walked in. When the girl saw Bay, she immediately made a beeline for her, ripped the sun glasses off of Baylor’s face and proceeded to rifle through Bay’s bag of books and other entertainment. Baylor’s immediate response was a look at me like “why would she do that?!”. Annoyed, but not wanting to make a scene, I said to the girl “these are Baylor’s toys. You need to ask her if you would like to play with them”. As I finished this statement, I noticed the girl’s parents were watching me say this to their daughter and yet didn’t do anything. Thankfully the hostess showed them to their table.

Just when I thought the coast was clear, the girl came running back over to retrieve a toy she had left. Baylor saw her coming and politely held up the forgotten stuffed animal. Again, the girl ripped the toy out of Baylor’s hand and then made a swipe for Bay’s bracelets (she was well accessorized). This time the father followed the girl and sat down to WATCH her repeatedly grab at, pull on and steal from my daughter. He said hello and introduced himself but never said anything to his kid. At this point I’m getting to incredulous and about to say something like “could you please ask her to stop since she is not listening to me?” when Peter walked in.

PW gave me a strange look which I answered with a “I have no idea who these people are and yes, they are making me crazy too”  face. At the same time, he witnessed the little girl grab a book out of Baylor’s hand and shout “MINE!!” which Peter answered with “NO, no it’s not” and took the book back from the girl. All the time, her dad is sitting on the couch saying nothing, just smiling like an idiot. It was then that I noticed the mother was sitting right behind me, seeing all of this and also doing nothing.

We were finally shown to our table and got to leave the little terror behind. Sadly it didn’t stop her from running to our table at least 3 times to again try to take a toy, a phone or a bite of Baylor’s breakfast. And again, parents were right be hind her saying nothing.

Peter and Cameron were shocked. I was annoyed but this isn’t the first time we’ve encountered ill behaving children whose behavior is ignored by their parents. I hesitate to tell the parent’s how I really feel about these situations because I don’t want to run into these people later and learn that I burned potential clients for Peter or the family’s guest lodge or after I’ve accidentally rear ended them and they decide to call the police instead of just exchanging insurance.

So I am putting this out as a question: what do you do in these situations? How do you handle it when you cannot get away from a kid who is being a demon? Do you say something to the parents? Ignore it? I welcome any and all comments and I will post a follow-up in a few days with some of the responses. Bonus points for the funny, ridiculous and best of all, clever responses.

Happy Father’s Day

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We had a lovely Father’s Day weekend. Peter’s one request was no gifts so we went the home made route:

Just what every dad wants –  silly glasses! They were a big hit:

Baylor is clearly excited:

Please note the oh-so-cool-improvised wands on the sides. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Birthday Par-Tay

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Peter and I had a blast planning Baylor’s 2nd birthday party this year. It was so much more fun because she actually understood what a party was and that it was all for her. We had crazy straw cups, the new climber, a bouncer, a home-made game of “Pin the Stuff on Baylor”, design your own glasses, cookie cake and lots of friends. What more could a girl need?

Just waiting for her buddies….

Bubbles make everything fun!

Auntie Ali

No boys allowed!

Pin the Stuff on Baylor – will be more fun in a few years

Willow makes “design your own glasses” look goooood

Blow out the candles before the wind does!

Check out Stephanie’s blog www.manyhatsofamom.com for more great pics and her daughter Kelsey’s favorite parts!

Crap Pops

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For Baylor’s birthday two weeks ago, I attempted to make cake pops to enjoy during the family party. Please note the word attempted.

I found a blog that documented how to make the little spheres of deliciousness and I also had a friend walk me through how she made them. How bad could it be?

I forgot I was supposed to be taking pictures so I started when I was mixing the Fun Chip cake with icing to make the cake balls:

And then I started fashioning the balls – I thought they looked a little big and I should have listened to myself:

Then I started coating them in pink candy coating. However, my cake mix was too warm and they kept falling off the sticks. I had to regroup and put the balls in the freezer for a bit so I could finish the job:

After I took this picture, I had a hard time deciding if my creations should be called Crap Pops or Cake Meatballs. I decided on Crap Pops. But after tasting one I realized they were most definitely delicious, you just couldn’t look too hard at them:

Good thing the kiddo didn’t care!

Peter pretended that they were pretty

But I did redeem myself for her big party on Saturday with a delicious M&M Cookie cake. Made from scratch and not too shabby!

Birthday Wishes

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Today starts my last year as a twenty something. And I’m ok with it since 27 was my scary birthday. Not sure why, but it was.

I had a dream last night that I had a party and Lady Gaga came. But she was dressed normally so no one knew who she was and I introduced her as Stephanie instead of Lady Gaga which she appreciated. It was a great dream while dreaming it and hilarious when I woke up. Can’t ask for better birthday dreams.

Lilies from AJ’s are one of my favorite things. But they are most definitely not in the budget so they are strictly for special occasions. I went straight for the Stargazers and came across Concordia lilies. They are by far the BIGGEST FLOWERS I have every seen! I took this picture for the post:

But realized you can’t really tell the size of the flowers. I couldn’t figure out what to use to acurately show the size until Baylor wanted to smell them:

The kiddo is aproximately 36 inches tall!

The flower is only slightly closer to the camera than she is – these things are huge! and their scent matches their size. They are definitely a new favorite!