Meet Your Future Boss

I think my daughter might have a future in management.  She has her delegation skills down pat.  True story:

Yesterday while she was napping I picked up all her toys except in the bedroom.  When she got up she was hungry and asked for a snack.  I told her that she could have a snack, but that Mommy had just picked up her toys, and that first she could help by picking up the Elmo toy on the floor of the bedroom.  After that, the chore would be all done, and she could have her snack. 

"No, Mommy do it." she said while pointing at the toy, basically meaning "do it yourself woman."  I explained that she needed to help pick up her toys as I was her mommy and not her slave.  I left the room and told her that when it was picked up she could have her snack.  A few minutes later she found me in the kitchen and again asked for the snack.  "Did you pick up your toy?" I asked.  "Yeah, Daddy." she giggled and ran off to show me that the toy was indeed picked up.  I asked CJ if he had picked up her Elmo toy.  "Yeah, she asked me to" he said.  Wow.  She got Daddy to do it for her.  Way to delegate an unpleasant task. 

I was actually kind of proud of her so I told CJ he had been used and gave her the snack.

The Dangers of Parenthood

Last night we had the family over for dinner. My mother had made rice krispy treats and brought them over for dessert. After dinner, the kids were off playing, the men were in front of the TV and I cleaned the kitchen while talking to mom, sis and her friend. As I was cleaning off the table I saw that E hadn't finished her rice krispy treat. I actually said out loud "A little more rice krispy treat won't hurt me" as I popped a bite size piece into my mouth. It was at that moment my sis informed me that she has just finished prying that particular piece off the seat of my daughter's pants. Nice.

In addition to accidentally eating questionable things here is a list of other dangers that come along with parenthood:

Gross Stuff - Never, I repeat never, sniff the inside of the sippy cup that mysteriously turns up in the sink. It will be the one your husband found in his car. One that was probably in there for a few weeks. Ew. A strong gag reflex is a helpful tool in the parenting field. 

Embarrassment - E has taken to calling strange men "daddy" in public. She sees a guy with a ball cap, points at him and screams "DADDY" at the top of her lungs. Most men don't notice, or laugh it off, but one poor guy in the grocery store was visibly horrified. Then on our way out of the parking lot I found myself following him out in my car. He looked so freaked out as he sped away. Actually, it was pretty funny. Embarrassing, but funny.

Pain - Ever had your kid head butt you in the nose? Pray you don't.  Then there is the accidental scratching with those razor sharp baby nails.  The enviable toy dropped on your foot.  Just the other day E ran up to me while I was on the phone and bit me on the leg.  Left a mark.  Thankfully, she hasn't done it since.  I must admit my reaction was not the most mature and it resulted in time outs for both of us. 

These are just a few of the dangers of parenthood.  I sure given some time I could think of many more.  However I will instead start thinking of ways to embarrass E when she is a teenager.  Payback!  I  bet it comes easy to me.  If not, I can always get tips from my mother. 

E Meets the Tiger

I just wanted to share these pictures from a recent trip to the zoo.  E wasn't too sure about the tiger.

Potty Training - Let The Fun Begin

E has started telling us when she is going potty. All excited I brought out the potty seat with steps that she got for Christmas (Hey - will I ever get away with a more practical gift again? At least it wasn't from Santa). She was so excited to try it, but her short little legs couldn't quite reach the top step and she felt insecure. All further requests from me to sit on the potty seat were met with screeching. I was really hoping to avoid a potty chair. The cleaning it out part. Ew.  All of you mothers who have potty trained feel free to laugh at me now.

Anyway, she was still showing interest in the potty, just not the BIG one, so I figured we had better get a potty before we missed the window. The other night I made a big production of taking her to the store to pick out her very own potty. She picked a cute foggie potty that actually matches the theme of her bathroom!  She has sat on it a few times sans diaper but still no piddle in the potty. She is actually more interested in washing her hands.

So here is the plan based on my sister-in-law's advice (she has managed to potty train 3 kids so in my option, she is an expert): Since the weather has finally decided to be nice I am going to pick a warm afternoon, load E up on Sprite (she will think she won the lottery), and let her play out back naked. This way she can learn the sensation of pottying and how to control it. Fingers crossed.

Anyone else have any tips? Feel free to leave them in the comments.

Recipe: Koren Ribs (made in the crockpot) EASY and YUMMY!

I just wanted to share this recipe that I made for dinner last night.  It comes from Stephanie O'Dea's cookbook, Make It Fast, Cook It Slow (I checked it out from the library).  The recipe is SUPER easy and YUMMY.  I hope you enjoy:

Koren Ribs:

Package of beef or pork short ribs (I have used both)
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
5 whole jalapeno peppers

This time I defrosted the ribs in the refrigerator overnight (but I don't always - sometimes I just throw them in the crock pot frozen).  Top with all ingredients.  Turn crock pot on low and cook all day.  Could it be easier?? 

I think that CJ probably turned them a few times because he finds it physically impossible not to mess with the food that I am cooking.  It is probably best that he turned them, as I would be been too lazy. 

Also, the first time 5 jalapenos made the ribs just the right amount of spicy, but last night they weren't quite spicy enough.  I might add a few more when I make these again.  It is so hard to tell how hot the peppers are going to be.

Mommy Confessions: Say What?

You know how most of the time "outsiders" cannot understand toddlers? The parents usually understand and they have to translate. Well here is my confession: A good deal of the time I have no idea what my 2-year old daughter "E" is saying.


Examples: The other day while taking a walk through the neighborhood we were strolling ppast a house under construction. There was a Hispanic construction worker standing by the curb and as we walked past E pointed and yelled "dark! dark!" I was MORTIFIED. I thought she was calling the man "dark." It finally dawned on me; she was saying "truck." Thank god, but I was still walking very fast at this point (and saying “Yes! That is a truck.” really load).

Here is another one (fortunately less embarrassing, however very maddening): For a long time I thought she was saying "doggie" when she was really asking for a cookie. Needless to say this causes endless frustration on BOTH our parts. She would get so mad at me and I thought the whining would be endless. Since this request was repeating about 47 times per day I finally figured it out. Unfortunately for E, my understanding of the question has not changed the answer and her request if most frequently denied. At least by me, I have a feeling that CJ often hands over the cookies.

A lot of the time I can piece it together by the context of the situation, but when she gets to babbling and talking fast CJ and I just look at each other and shrug. We have no clue. Several words all sound the same, like dark and truck for example.

I guess it is a learning process for all of us. Sometimes I feel guilty like I am doing something wrong. What parent doesn't know what her kid is saying? I'm not going to worry too much though...I just keep telling myself that this too shall pass. Like most things, it is a phase and eventually we'll be able to communicate better. When she is a teenager I will probably think of these days nostalgically.