1 Mother 2 Another

Yesterday will probably go down in Maddie
and Cora’s books as one of the Best. Days. Ever. And the
whole thing was actually an accident – the kind with
absolutely no planning on my part, as well as a complete lack of
knowledge that this was the sort of day it would end up to be.


The whole thing started with a play date that fell through
last-minute. We’d been doing well all week, having fun play
dates and catching up with friends, and I was on a roll and
reluctant to tell my daughter one of her best friends had just
canceled. So while Maddie was in her gymnastics lesson, I called
Elise, a good friend of Maddie’s who never seems to be
available when we are. As luck would have it, though, Elise was off
to a park to play with a few friends and happily invited us
along.

Cora is slightly more than obsessed with
Sesame Street characters, most specifically Cookie Monster and Big
Bird. She screams like a groupie when she spots Cookie Monster on,
say, a diaper or band aid or spiral notebook, and she’s
always asking for the “Big Bird Song” (his version of
the alphabet song) on the Sesame Street cd.


This would be expected, I know, if Cora actually watched
television. But my child has never even seen an episode of Sesame
Street – the only time she’s seen the characters
“move” was in the live show we went to last year. So
her entire knowledge of Sesame Street comes from the unavoidable
encounters – tooth brushes, books, diapers, and the like
– and from her big sister’s toys.

I’ve noticed that the girls go
through different clothing phases, and I’m assuming
it’s not isolated to just my kids. I expect some clothing
choosiness to go with developmental growth; as kids get more
independent, they want more say over their outfits or favorite
colors or whatever. But I have to say, my kids develop some weird
“tics” about their fashions, which leave me scrambling
and uncertain every time I go on a buying spree.

We’ve had a fair amount of rain in
Texas over the past several months, but it’s been mostly the
thunderstorm variety, with lots of high winds and dangerous
lightning. Maddie and Cora both have adorable rain coats and boots
and have begged for the chance to go out and splash in the rain,
but I’ve had to hold them back in the interest of safety.


Until yesterday.

For various reasons, I was crabby almost
all day yesterday. I hit one of those zones (the bad kind) where I
started off with a little bit of a bad mood, and every teeny thing
simply added to it until the day was over and I had a huge chip on
my shoulder. Unfortunately for my kids, the crabbiness almost
always has something to do with them, and I can’t figure out
how to deal with that.

Maddie seems to be a bit better on the
obedience front, which I always hate to say because it’s like
that part of the movie where the girl goes out in the dark forest
and you scream at the screen, “Don’t go out in the
forest! There’s a killer there!” because you can smell
the danger; only this time you’re screaming at the computer
screen, “Don’t write that it’s getting better!
There’s a big crash ahead!”


But I’m saying it, because I have faith in my girl that
she’s pulling herself together. A rough few days of
almost-constant discipline are behind us, and I’m hoping
we’re going to soon be able to narrow down our number of
breaks each day from around 30 to, oh, one or two.

Remember my daughter Cora – the
legalist? And remember how I have witnesses that I do not make this
stuff up?


So a few evenings ago, I cleaned up from dinner and snagged my
usual, clandestine two (ok, five) peanut M&Ms (c’mon,
they’re practically protein bars!) from behind a cabinet
door. I had just chewed the last one as I walked into the living
room and sat down on the floor to let Cora sit in my lap. She
backed herself up and plopped her hiney down, her head facing away
from me.


Suddenly her nose went up in the air, sniffing like a bloodhound.
She turned around on my lap, grabbed my face in her hands and say,
“Mommy, what you eat?”

The past couple of days, my darling Maddie
has disappeared and an evil twin has mysteriously taken her place.
I’m running on empty in the patience department, and
don’t know how much more of this I can take.


Maddie has been pushing boundaries like I’ve never seen
before, running away when I tell her to come to me, refusing
point-blank to take a break, hitting, and more. Coincidentally,
she’s skipped her naps for the past three days, which tells
me that even though she’s almost four, she’s definitely
not ready to give up the naps.

For those of you who don’t know (and
that would certainly be none of my friends, because I talk about
this a LOT!), Tuesday is Free Cone Day at Ben and Jerry’s!


Yes, you read that right – go to Ben and Jerry’s, get a
free scoop of ice cream. From noon to 8 p.m., walk in, leave with
ice cream, pay no money. Everyone gets a free scoop, so bring the
munchkins without having to worry about sharing. Of course,
everyone wants free ice cream, so you may find a bit of a line;
when we lived in Chicago the line was around the block, but since
everyone was waiting for FREE ICE CREAM we were all in a pretty
good mood. And most places will even be relatively good-natured
about you grabbing your free cone, running to the back of the line,
and enjoying your scoop while you wait for another. Just
don’t be totally greedy.


Seriously, what could be better? Go after lunch. Go after dinner.
Or, if you’re like me, go during the kids’ nap times so
you don’t have those pesky “why does mommy get ice
cream when I don’t?” questions to dodge.


Don’t believe me? Click href="http://www.benandjerrys.com/scoop-shops/feature/free-cone-day/"
target="_blank">here for more info. And grab a scoop.

I’m going off on a bit of a rant
here today – sorry in advance. What can I say –
it’s Earth month in my household, and this stuff is on my
mind.


It’s about all the free giveaways our society feels the need
to dole out. I’m not talking about bank bailouts or stimulus
packages – I’m talking about happy meals and birthday
party goodie bags and all the little “no biggie” toys
that flood a house filled with youngsters.


Giveaways are everywhere: I can’t buy a kid’s meal
without encountering one, complete with extraneous packaging, go to
the kid’s dentist, or even the library without being handed
some kind of “gift” or “treat”. At the
library it’s just cutout barn animals painstakingly stapled
to popsicle sticks, but try going into a bank without spotting a
bowl of free candy, or even the drycleaners these days!

Keeping in mind that I’ve had
several outside sources verify that I do not make these stories up
–


Cora is proving herself to be every bit the literalist that Maddie
is. Maddie will meticulously correct people if they aren’t
precise with their language, and that correction extends lovingly
(I hope) to Cora as well; she’ll correct Cora if Cora calls a
pink crayon “red”, saying, “Actually, Cora,
it’s red, not pink, ok?”


I expect this at Maddie’s age – she’s nearly four
(!!) and needs order and definition in her life.


I do not, however, expect this at Cora’s age – but
she’s showing signs she’ll be even worse than
Maddie.

I know, this is April, when I usually go
crazy and declare it earth MONTH rather than just focusing on the
environment for one day, but right now I’m burning the (non
carbon-emission soy) candle at both ends and haven’t had time
to pull together a lot of great sites for you. So here’s my
first tip to pass on –


This Sunday, Home Depot will give away one million compact
fluorescent light bulbs, trying to do their part to save the
environment. It’s first come, first served – just show
up and get your free bulb! No purchase necessary.


Remember your vow to try to live that life of impact this year?
This can be your deed for April – agree to only use cfls from
here on out. And you can get started for free! Click href="http://www.buxr.com/deal/free-cfl-light-bulb-home-depot-april-19th_20505"
target="_blank">here to read more about the Home Depot
giveaway. Want to learn more about CFLs, like what the best new
ones are out there, or which types are best for each environment?
Click href="http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls"
target="_blank">here to read on, or href="http://www.lowimpactliving.com/blog/2009/01/08/best-cfls-for-indoor-lighting/"
target="_blank">here to see even more ratings.


It’s the ultimate in Mommy Multi-Tasking – good for the
wallet, good for the environment. What’s not to love?

I’ve noticed recently that when I am
without the kids, I instinctively do two things: shop and eat junk
food. And I can’t help but worry about that a little bit.


I understand completely why I do it – they’re the two
things hardest to do with little ones underfoot, but for different
reasons.

Easter is a tricky time with a
preschooler, I think. I mean, it’s the pivotal point of
Christianity – if Christ hadn’t died and risen,
it’d be a moot point here – and I want Maddie to get
that, to understand the enormity of this celebration. At the same
time, she’s only three years old and has a very vague
understanding of death and what that means. So even as I explain to
her what we’re celebrating, I’m aware she doesn’t
quite get it.


I also worry about explaining it too well; the knowledge that
Christ died for me and my sins is humbling, and to a preschooler,
the idea of being the cause of someone else’s suffering could
be a big burden.

When we moved to Texas, I was struck by
how many SUVs and mini-vans there were on the road. Coming from New
York, a city that prizes cars able to fit into small parking
spaces, I felt more than a little intimidated as I drove down the
highway surrounded by behemoths.


Then the gas crisis hit last year, and I filled up my modest
four-door rather smugly as the owners of the gas-guzzlers
commiserated with each other, and vowed that the next car we bought
would be, at the very least, a hybrid. Maddie had been begging for
a mini-van ever since we’d borrowed a family member’s
for a couple weeks, and I scoffed at the idea of needing one for a
two-kid family, even as my mother suffered silently while being
wedged in between two car seats in our sedan’s back seat.


And then things changed.

We’ve got a friend coming over tonight who just had a birthday, so the past couple of days we’ve been making cupcakes to give her. Monday evening I did the cupcakes, and last night we made the frosting.

The girls have always loved baking, but I didn’t quite realize how much they enjoy it until last night: Maddie and Cora were both upstairs playing with Daddy when Gamma turned on the stand mixer to start creaming the butter. Sixty seconds later, Cora came hurtling into the kitchen. Without saying a word, she ran over to the stool, slid it across the floor next to my mother and jumped up. “Cora help?” she said hopefully.

When Maddie was a baby, I had several
rules in place that only a first-time parent will ever even attempt
– things like no television until age 2, no desserts until
age 2, that sort of thing. I had well-researched, well-documented
reasons for these rules, and was proud we managed to follow those
rules despite societal pressures and temptations.


Fast-forward two years, to Cora’s early days, and while the
rules may still be in place, they’re taking quite a
beating.

A few weeks ago, we hit the local zoo for
the first time this season. Not far from the entrance of the park
is the flamingo exhibit, and you can hang over a bridge or railing
and watch the birds. Cora, especially, loved seeing the flamingos
and spent quite a lot of time studying them, even asking as we left
to stop and stare again.


I watched the girls play in the gift shop at the end of the day and
noticed Cora once again gravitated towards flamingos, so I sneaked
back in and picked up a small stuffed flamingo for Cora’s May
birthday. What can I say – I plan ahead.

It’s no secret that breakfast is
Cora’s favorite meal of the day; she can easily spend an hour
in that chair, eating a good three or four bowls of cereal and a
half a grapefruit. Or she’ll eat a bowl or two when she gets
up, then sit down for another round when Maddie awakens later. My
girl can eat.


So when we’re in a rush to get out the door in the mornings,
prying Cora away from her breakfast can be my number one time-suck.
Which is why, on mornings when we’ve got a deadline –
church, or Maddie’s early gymnastics class- Cora’s
breakfast becomes a moveable feast. She’ll have a bowl or two
in the chair – this works best if I rush her through getting
dressed and sit her down to eat while Maddie’s still blearily
finding the bathroom – which will tide her over for a few
minutes. Then I’ll bring her “second breakfast”
to go: if we’re headed to gymnastics, Cora knows I’ll
have one of my homemade breakfast bars for her to eat there. And if
we’re rushing to church, I used to bring a Tupperware tub of
dry cereal for munching, or even, as a special treat, storebought
– gasp! – breakfast bars (Odwalla rocks!)


Store-bought can be expensive, though, especially when Maddie
begins demanding a second breakfast (“But Cora’s
getting one!”). So I cast my mind around for something
special for Sunday mornings – something to set the day apart,
make the girls look forward to rushing to church. And since Cora
doesn’t get desserts yet, I knew she’d love something
called “cookie”. I dug through my recipe books, and
came up with this winner.


It’s almost a bran muffin in cookie form; packed with fiber
and nutrients and with a cinnamon taste the girls love – and
nut-free, for those of you with younger toddlers. If I bring along
sippy cups of milk they chortle with glee over their “cookies
and milk” breakfast. I got this from The Sneaky Chef, a
decent cookbook for kids with a couple of great recipes in them. If
you make these, feel free to make the cookies larger – twelve
to a cookie sheet – and freeze them on the sheet, then
transfer to a Ziploc for individual grabbing.


Next time your kids can’t get moving, just tell them
you’re serving cookies for breakfast and watch them fly.

For whatever reason, we’re sick
again – though this time at least it’s just a common
cold.


Maddie started sniffling Monday, with full-blown sneezes and drips
by night time. Cora seemed to be escaping it, though I began to
feel rundown Tuesday evening. Then came Tuesday night, with Cora up
all night long. And I mean that almost literally.


She’d fall asleep, sleep for ten minutes, then wake up
screaming and crying “No, no, no!” or “Stop
it!”. I’d rock her and sing to her, she’d fall
asleep, and then we’d start the cycle all over again. In
desperation, I brought her in with me at 3 a.m., but it took her
another three hours to sink into a deep sleep.


I thought she’d be running a high fever and feeling awful on
Wednesday, but she appeared to have just the typical cold –
sneezes, drips, sniffles, and a bit of droopiness. I felt it as
well, though I’m sure the sleepless night didn’t help.


I’m hoping this will be a short one, though Maddie’s
the forerunner and she’s showing no signs of easing up yet.
And I’m reminding myself that my house isn’t actually
plague-ridden.


It just feels that way sometimes.


Oh well – we had a great week last week, and I’ll be
grateful for that and take what I can get.