Trying to do Better

Yesterday I watched the documentary "Food Matters". My nephew recommended it a while ago and I just got around to it.
He was right, it was profound and definitely got me thinking.

If you haven't already seen it, I suggest you give it a shot. There's A LOT of information to digest, but most of it good, easy to understand basic stuff.

The main thing I took away from the documentary is how the cancer rates in the U.S. are so much higher than other nations. Think about it, we eat a lot of junk. I'm not just talking about fast food, but all the pre-packaged convenience foods that claim to be healthy but have a list of 40 ingredients you've never heard of. We put a lot of chemicals in our bodies every day.

We had already made some changes before I watched the documentary. For example, a couple years ago we made a decision for our family to get all the High Fructose Corn Syrup out of our diet at home. Once we started reading labels, we realized it's in just about everything. We did our home work and found brands we like, and now it's second nature to us. I know my kids will get corn syrup in their diet when they go places (parties, play dates, school, etc.) but we choose not to have it in our home. It was an easy transition for us.

How about going even further? Could I do better? I gave it a lot of thought last night and decided to do some shopping today, to see what changes I could make in our diets, especially for the kids.

It doesn't take more than a minute in the grocery store to see why people are reluctant to go organic. Organic food is expensive. VERY expensive. How can I justify paying $4/pound for grapes when I know I can get them for $1/pound? You know I'm cheap...REALLY cheap. So for me the shopping trip today was an agonizing experience.

However, here's what I did...

Tia takes apple sauce in her lunch every day. It's her favorite thing in the world to eat. I figured that was the best place to start. Although I always buy natural/no sugar added apple sauce, I decided to go a step further and give organic a try.

Do you know how much it killed me to pay the same price for this 4 pack that I normally pay for a 6 pack?! I'm trying real hard to think of the long term benefits of eliminating the chemicals in our food. (inhale...exhale).

And since we use a lot of apple sauce at home with dinner, and we use it to bake with (instead of oil), I had to get a jar...

The organic jar is half the size as the regular jar, but cost the same. Ugh! Deep breath. I can do this.

However, I have to tell you that when Gia tasted it she asked "Mom, did you make apple sauce today?". I told her no, I bought it at the grocery store just like always, and her response (as she was shoveling it in her mouth) was "Well, it's DELICIOUS!". I didn't taste it, I'm just taking her word for it. Looks like I'll be buying more.

So, what did I do about the grapes? Well, I just couldn't do it. If I paid $4 a pound for grapes, I'm sure I'd break out in some sort of hives. Have I mentioned that I'm cheap?

Instead, I bought the $1/pound grapes and washed them to death. I put them in a strainer in the sink and washed them about 4 times. In fact, every time I walked by the sink I'd spray them again and move them around. THEN, before I put them in the containers, I washed them AGAIN.
Now, I know the washing didn't do anything for the contaminated soil they were grown in, but at least I tried my best to get the pesticides off the skin.

Hey, you gotta' start somewhere, right?

Baby steps. This week it's apple sauce, maybe next week will be grapes.

How do you feed your kids?

All About Gia

Lately Gia has been asking for a short hair cut.  If you know anything about this child, you know she is determined, and strong willed to say the least.  We tried to gently talk her out of it, to no avail.
I figure it's only hair, it'll grow back, no big deal, and off to the hairdresser we go.

You should have seen her, my big girl, hopping up in that chair telling the hairdresser (Christi) exactly what she wanted.  Even Christi, who was a bit nervous about it, said "how about we just cut this much".  Nope, Gia wouldn't have it.  She wanted it "short!".

OK then, deep breath, here we go!

She was so proud, giggling the whole time.  She loved it, except one thing...we quickly realized that some how Gia thought her hair would be straight when it was done.  She kept saying "it needs more brushing" and "I don't like my plume".  Her plume is the big curl in the front of her hair.  Oh boy!  What do we do now?  I explained to her that there was really no way we could get rid of her curl in the front, except by putting a barrette in her hair.  Then she was fine, phew!

after

I should mention that the hubby is NOT happy about this new do.  You know how guys are about long hair, especially on their daughters.  All I can say is hey, it's only hair.  It's going to grow back fast because her hair always grows like a weed!  And, she's just as cute with short hair as she was with long hair.  She's a little princess.
Then, as if she wasn't already growing up way too fast, yesterday was her first school field trip!  I can't believe my baby is old enough to have a field trip.
Look how cute she was at the bowling alley...

I love those tiny bowling shoes!

Daddy was there to help

Just so precious.  When did my baby grow up?  Where did the time go?
These are precious moments.

Letting go, and Letting Them Grow

I haven't posted a 'challenge of the week' in quite a while, so I guess I'll write about two of them now.
The first one is once again about Tia not wanting to try any new foods.  I think we just might be (fingers crossed) turning the corner on that one.  She's in preschool now and is (sometimes) more inclined to try the foods her class mates are having.  I can tell she really wants to try things but just can't bring herself to do it.  So, the other day she decided that she'd like to taste a banana.  You might not think that's such a big deal, but in Tia's world, it's huge.  She not only tried a banana, she liked it.  Alleluia!  This was such a momentous occasion, I had to take a picture of it.  OK, it's not chicken and broccoli, but at least we're moving in the right direction.

Now for the next challenge.  At both of the girls' preschools they have encouraged us to get rid of sippy cups.  Eek!  Allow the kids to use regular cups and have spills at the dinner table?  Yup, they claim spills and messes are all part of the process and the only way they will learn.  Not only that, but they have the kids pour their own drink at snack time, using small pitchers of milk and water.  All I could think was "Oh God, we're not doing that in our house".  Well, I was in the store last week and those little pitchers were staring at me, daring me...I had to buy one.  So, as it turns out this was much more of a challenge for ME than it was for the kids.  They haven't had one spill all week and have really been enjoying their new independence.  Look at how proud they are...

 It only took me from September until now to learn to let them grow up a little.  I have to accept that they're not babies anymore (sniff), and get joy in hearing them say "Mom, I can do it all by myself".

Sometimes Life is Like...

...a bad comedy.

Life around the Salerno house has been a little on the crazy side the past few days. Sometimes I think I'm living in a really bad comedy.
On Friday I took the girls to the mall to have their pictures taken. They turned out OK, not fantastic, but I did pick out one that was frame worthy. Then we went over to the play area where Tia immediately tripped and fell. She got a big mark on her neck and was hysterical. Security came to give her an ice pack. They asked me twice if I'd like to have a paramedic check her out! I wondered if it made me look like a bad mom because I said no. I knew she was just upset and would be fine once we got home.
Later that same day I told D.R. to take the girls out for some fresh air. It bothered me that they hadn't been outside all day since Tia had to rest her neck injury! They weren't outside for 5 minutes when I heard lots of screaming and panic. We found out the hard way that there's a bees nest in the leg of our swing set. When D.R. was pushing the girls on the swings, the bees became agitated and swarmed them. Tia got stung on the forehead, D.R. was stung on the hand. It was at this point that I considered keeping Tia locked in her room to avoid any further injuries! A round of Benadryl for everyone and we called it a night. We couldn't wait for this day to be over.
This brings us to Saturday. I'm cleaning the house, D.R. wants to mow the lawn. "be careful of the bees" I say. A half hour later, he comes back in the house, only having cut half of the lawn. Hmm, wanna' know why? Yup, the lawn mower died! That's just what we needed after our camera died! Supposedly these things happen in threes. I sure hope that's just an old wives tale.

Skip ahead to Sunday. D.R.'s hand now looks like an inflated latex balloon. Add to that, it's red and very hot. He's having some dizziness. I suggest he goes to urgent care and have it checked out. "Really?" he asks, since he never goes to doctors and thinks nothing is ever a big deal. Yes, I insist, and off he goes. Sure enough, it's cellulitis and the infection was traveling up his hand. They give him a bunch of drugs and instructions and he's on his way. That's the extent of his first doctor visit in 6 years.
Last night we decided to try to spray the nest after the kids went to bed. You would have laughed a lot if you saw us. D.R. was wrapped from head to toe in makeshift protective gear. I'm a little braver, and not at all allergic to bees, so I just went out with a jacket. D.R. gave a big spray, and then ran like a girl back to the house! It was quite comical.
We're not sure if the bees are still alive in there, and nobody really wants to check.
We're just hoping for a better week

Technical Difficulties

I haven't blogged lately due to 'technical difficulties'. I like to include pictures with my posts to make things more interesting but unfortunately, my camera has died. I'm sick about it.
The thing about our wonderful modern technology is that it's usually a better idea to replace a broken item than to try to have it repaired. To me that sounds senseless and a big waste but I can't justify spending more than half of the value of my camera to get it fixed.
So, we're on the hunt for a new 35mm camera. We're doing research, hoping that our next choice will last longer than 2 years!
I guess in the mean time I will have to dig my old pocket camera out of the junk drawer and hope it still works.
I've definitely had better weeks than this!

Scenes of Summer

As a kid I was highly allergic to mosquito bites. Unfortunately for me, those little buggers love me. Unfortunately for Gia, she takes after her Mommy.
I had planned to take the girls to have their pictures taken tomorrow in their gorgeous new dresses I picked up, on the clearance rack of course. As you can see, that appointment had to be canceled. After spending the whole morning at the park yesterday, my poor little baby is covered in very painful bites all over her body and face. She's been a trooper but I heard her crying in her room at nap time. She finally let me put some calamine on her after not even letting me look at her bites all day!
She's on the mend, and mommy will learn to use the bug spray next time!

Miracles DO Happen

We've been struggling with Gia about the whole helmet issue. She has been refusing to wear hers, even though we picked out a brand new one that she loved. She's terrified that her chin will be pinched (with good reason). Until today, she's been totally content walking behind her sister. However for some reason today, she decided to give it another try. If you know anything about my daughter, you know this is certainly along the lines of a minor miracle. Let's just say she's a little bit stubborn, and leave it at that!

She rode her scooter almost all the way to the park. She was proud to park it along side all the bikes. Then, I had to carry it most of the way home. Hey, baby steps are OK with me!

A Day at the Museum

We've been in the Chicago suburbs for more than 3 years now. There are so many things that we haven't yet done or seen. So, D.R. decided to take the day off yesterday and take the family to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. Great idea. However, it's more than an hour by car to get there. I was pretty car sick by the time we arrived. Then, since it was the museum's free day, there were 3,000 school children who had been brought in that day! I think it would have been better to just go and pay full price on a regular day. It was crazy. Gia decided she'd rather cry for the entire morning than have any fun. That was a little tiring on the nerves! Since Tia was excited and having a great time, we tried our best to ignore her sister's screams.

We made our way to the hands-on area for small children. It was a huge wonderful place just for the little ones. Well, we were told they would be closing down in 10 minutes to clean up and get ready for a private group. For 10 whole minutes Gia was a happy kid. Then when we had to leave, the screaming started all over again. What a day!

We didn't bring our 'good' camera, so the pictures all came out a little blurry.

I had to take a picture of this gorgeous train because it's the "Empire State Express". Being from New York, I wondered if I could hop on and be transported back home. Wouldn't that be nice!

The girls sitting in an airplane engine (another blurry picture!).

Last night D.R. and I decided that the museum was a pretty cool place but we just went at a bad time. Now at least we can say we've been, because we'll probably never go back!

The Lone Rider

We've been playing outside this week since we've had some great Spring like weather. The girls both got bikes and scooters for Christmas so we were all excited to bring them out and take a spin. However, Gia has been refusing to wear her helmet saying that it hurts her head. The rule at our house is: No helmet, no riding! I will not make an exception to this rule. It's too important. So, she's been doing a lot of watching, while her sister has been doing a lot of riding!

I took Gia to the store to pick out a brand new helmet, one that wouldn't hurt her head. She found one she liked a lot and even tried it on. If you know how stubborn this girl is, you know that's a huge feat in and of itself! We got home and she was so excited to show her new helmet to Daddy. He decided to have her try it on. Well, while buckling the strap, he pinched her skin! That's it for the helmet. We're back to square one.

So, here's a video of Tia riding her new bike yesterday. We went up and down the street about 5 times. Gia walked the whole way. Remember, no helmet, no riding!
Do you think this will go on all Summer or will she eventually give in?

The Big Girl of the House

We've been doing a lot of talking lately about Gia getting rid of her pacifier. She has only ever used it at bed time, and it wasn't really a problem. However, we were down to the last 2 and I was not willing to replace them if they got lost. We told Gia the story of when her big sister went to the toy store and picked out a toy, and was able to pay for it with her pacifiers. She thought that was pretty neat and expressed an interest in doing it if she could get a yellow fire truck. We seized the opportunity and took her to Toys R Us on Saturday morning. We found the yellow fire truck, and she didn't like it! She picked out a couple more things, then decided she didn't like them either. She was bouncing around the store like the ball in a pin ball machine. Why do I remember this going so much better with Tia?
She finally picked out a "Princess Palace" (ie. piece of junk) and we ran for the check out. She was so proud to pay for her prize with her very own pacifiers. The cashier was not wise to what we were doing and I had to mouth to her 'throw them out'. Then she got it. Gia didn't ask about those darn things until nap time and then she had a really hard time. This is a child who really NEEDS her naps. Finally Daddy went and let her lay in our bed and stayed with her until she fell asleep.
Yesterday she woke up 2 hours before her normal time and didn't take a nap at all. I took her to the pool last night and got her good and tired out. She went to bed without a problem and slept to her normal time this morning. The only problem she is having now is if she is woken up by something, like a bad dream, she has a hard time getting back to sleep on her own. It's only the second day so I have to say that's not too bad.
Gia is very proud to tell people that she doesn't use a "ba-pa" any more. She wants to be viewed as a big girl like her sister.
She really is growing up so fast. I just scheduled her 3 year check up at the pediatrician! My baby isn't a baby any more, that's for sure.

All Kids Do It

My Mom always told me that all kids, at some point, will give themselves a hair cut. For that reason I have told Tia over and over again that Ms. Christi (our hairdresser) is the ONLY person who is allowed to cut her hair. Not even Mommy or Daddy are allowed to do it. When she first started using scissors in preschool, I reminded her repeatedly of the no hair cutting rule. I have been pretty confident all along that she knew the rule well and would never try to cut her own hair.
Well, I came home from the grocery store this morning and began cleaning up the messy kitchen floor. What did I find? You guessed it, a curl!


I immediately started asking who did it. Both girls have exactly the same hair color now so I couldn't be sure whose hair it was. Tia told me Gia did it (I wouldn't be surprised). Gia told me Daddy did it (not likely). After I asked a couple of times, Tia said "Mom, I did it, it was me". I almost cried because she had that concerned look on her face, and she was being sincere and honest. I didn't yell at her, I just made her promise to never do it again, and thanked her for telling me the truth.
Thankfully this is all she cut, and I can't even tell where the curl came from. She has a lot of hair! I made sure to let D.R. know that this incident happened on his watch. I asked him where the adult supervision in the house was when it happened! We all had a good laugh about it, and again asked Tia to not do it again.
So, Mom was right, ALL kids do it!

She did it, she did it, oh yeah, she did it!

Gia has always been a very strong willed child, who has to do things on her own terms. For months now we've been talking to her about using the potty. We've bribed her with treats to no avail. Then she discovered a Princess website that she liked. We told her she could play it if she went on the potty. She decided to use the potty once a day just to get to do the Princess game, and that was the end of it. We've known all along that she knows what to do, and can do it when she feels like it, but that she just wasn't ready.
Well, today, she took her diaper off, handed it to D.R., and went into the bathroom. When he tried to follow her in there she said "Daddy, you go away". She was in there quite a while and then burst out with a great smile on her face. Lo and behold, she pooped on the potty all by herself! That's it, she just decided to do it on her own. No prompting from us and no bribes. She's been diaper free all day. We even went to the park with no diaper and she did just fine.
This kid is amazing. There was no talking her into it until she was good and ready. She decided on her own how and when that would happen. I guess in her mind, today was the day.
Way to go Ju Ju!

Once Upon a Potty

Next month Giuliana will be 2 1/2. That's exactly the time we potty trained Tia, and she was ready. Gia, on the other hand, is quite a different child. A few months back we brought out the potty chair. She wanted to try it out, and actually used it once. Since then, it has just sat un-used in the bathroom, and we're not allowed to talk about it. Gia is a very strong willed child. When she does something, it has to be her own idea. She absolutely will not do anything if she thinks someone is forcing her into it. Her favorite word still seems to be "No!".

Gia's all time favorite candy is M&M's, so I brought home 2 bags and showed them to her. I explained that the candy was for little girls who go pee pee on the potty. She walked away, ignoring me.

Last week at the Parent-Tot center, I started to read her a book about going potty. She took the book out of my hand and tossed it acrosst he room. I guess she told me!

A few days ago I reminded her about the M&M's that were waiting for her in our pantry. Her response was "I don't like M&M's anymore"! This kid is stubborn beyond belief. She reminds me of my mother in so many ways.

Last night D.R. decided to use some serious psychology (that quite possible could have scarred our baby for life!). He told Tia to go use the potty, and that he would give her 4 M&M's for doing so. She did, and happily accepted her prize. Gia of course went into a huge fit, knowing the candy was supposed to be for her. D.R. said "Well, I'm sorry but those are only for little girls who can use the potty. If you'd like to go on the potty, then you can have 4 M&M's too". I stood back and held my breath. I know how stubborn this child is, and I had the feeling this could have led to a complete melt down. Well, my genius husband had the right idea. Seeing her sister with candy that she wasn't having got her to finally sit on the potty, and use it!

Now, here's the funny part. Gia informed me that she wanted to use the big potty, not the baby potty chair. OK, so I lifted her onto it, then she said "Don't see me!", so I had to turn my head and not look at her. When I heard a little tinkle, I began to open my mouth to praise her. She immediately covered my mouth with her hand and said "Don't say it Mom". It took every ounce of energy I had to not burst out laughing! I wanted to clap and cheer and dance around in celebration of her potty use. She wouldn't have any of it. We couldn't talk about her accomplishment. She just wanted her M&M's. I asked if we could call Nonna and tell her about it, and of course she said no.

We're learning a lot about our little girl. We have definitely learned that she has to do things her own way, and on her own time, and there's no changing that. We are getting some practice in patience for sure!

Moving on, Growing up

This must be the week for toddler beds! I have 2 other friends who moved their kids out of the crib and into the "big kid" bed. Here's how our story goes...

On Monday morning I heard a blood curdling scream coming from Gia's room. I ran to investigate and found that her door was locked. I was able to get in with one of those little metal poker things. She was sobbing and shaking. Apparently she had gotten out of her crib and locked the door, then she freaked out when she realized she was trapped. When it came to nap time, she refused to lay in her crib, and started climbing out right in front of me.
I figured it was time to transition her to the toddler bed. I let her nap on the living room floor on Monday and Tuesday, then I made the switch on Tuesday afternoon. I can't believe I actually saved all the hardware and instructions for her crib. Impressive!
I was trying to prolong that move as long as possible. Gia is the kind of kid who doesn't stay put. I just knew once she wasn't confined to a crib, she would be all over the place! My prediction was right on that first night. She kicked and screamed the whole way upstairs. First D.R. tried to put her down, even staying in her room with her for a while. Then I took over, singing and rocking for a half hour. Nothing seemed to work. So, I decided to try tough love and let her cry it out. I closed the door and listened to her cry for 45 minutes! She finally gave in, or passed out, and slept about 8 hours. Her norm is 11, but not bad for a first night.
I was fully expecting a repeat performance last night. I was totally shocked when I brought her up to bed and she actually let me lay her down and cover her up. I think she was totally exhausted and had given up the fight, because she slept about 10 hours before we heard from her this morning. Ahhhh. Maybe she is growing up and this won't be so bad after all. Fingers crossed!

Bed time Nightmare!

We've recently encountered some sleep issues with Tia. This is a bit of a shocker since she has always been a great sleeper. It all seemed to start when we were in Rochester visiting my Mom. Tia insisted that her Nonna lay down with her at bed time. Of course Nonna did it, because Grandma's do those things for their grand kids. That's part of their job description! D.R. and I didn't make a big deal out of Tia's behavior since we were not at home, and emotions were high with everything going on at the time.
When we came home, Tia kept saying she couldn't sleep and that her bed was too small. That's when we decided to make the transition to the big bed. At first she was doing well in the new bed, but now it seems we're back at square one. We go through our same bed time routine each night. She goes to bed with no problem. However, about 2 minutes later she emerges from her room saying she can't sleep. D.R. has to tuck her back in about 3 times, and then eventually will give in and go lay down with her. We can't keep going on like this.



D.R. called today and asked me if I would pick up some stickers and do a reward chart. Doesn't it figure. I'm the one with the Psychology degree, and a background in child development, yet my husband the engineer came up with the idea of a sticker chart! So today I made this chart (not exactly the artist in the family) and we'll start tonight. All I can do is hope for the best. I'm sure there will be an update in the near future!

Is there such a thing as a Fruitatarian?

Tia has pretty much always been a vegetarian, even as an infant. She just doesn't eat meat products. I've learned to accept that and try to figure out other ways to get her to eat protein. She used to love beans. She and D.R. could eat a whole bag of edamame together. She also used to drink milk with breakfast and dinner, and loved cheese. Those days are gone. She says milk hurts her tummy, she doesn't like cheese, and all things green are off her menu!

What's a Mom to do? She loves apples and grapes. That's about it. Could she really be a fruitatarian? There's no protein in fruit so I'm not sure how she can sustain life on that.

This morning I tried to bribe her with chocolate milk. I had until now been very proud that my kids have NEVER even tasted chocolate milk. In my defense, it was actually Carnation Instant Breakfast, but still, it was bribery. Her response to my offer was "No thanks, I just want water please". Well, at least she's polite!

Her daily menu usually consists of toast with peanut butter and jelly for breakfast, apple sauce or an apple for lunch (no protein here) then about half a yogurt and some grapes for dinner. She might be convinced to have a graham cracker for an evening snack. I wish I could follow this diet, I'd be bikini ready in no time!

So my challenge this week is to try to find healthy things to feed my daughter, that also have protein and calcium in them. Today it was Instant Breakfast and yogurt. Let's see what I come up with tomorrow!

Good intentions, not such a good outcome

Today is a gorgeous, sunny 80 degree day. I promised the girls a walk to the library and then the park. I thought in order to take full advantage of the day, we should pack a lunch. Tia is really into picnics these days, so she was all for it. While making lunch, Tia was watching "Caillou" and noticed he was eating heart shaped pancakes. She thought that was really neat. Not to be outdone by a cartoon Mom, I decided to do shaped sandwiches. We had done this once before for her birthday tea party. I found the biggest cookie cutters I own and here is the result.











We all know I don't like to waste food, so Gia and I had the left over crust for breakfast. Not bad with a cup of coffee!

So, about 5 minutes before we were ready to leave, Tia decided to have a full blown tantrum, complete with screaming that could be heard by neighbors on all sides. I'm not sure what is going on with her but it was not pretty. I made her sit in the naughty chair, then on her bed, still more screaming. Finally I told her that Gia and I were walking to the park and she was free to join us. She followed me and Gia all the way to the park, screaming at the top of her lungs, the whole way. I'm sure all the other Mommy's thought I was a horrible Mom because I just ignored the screaming. I thought it would be unfair to Gia if we didn't get to go, or if Tia got all the attention for having a tantrum. So we played, and listened to irrational, uncontrollable screaming. Eventually (after about 30 minutes) she decided she'd like to have some fun too. We played, got some sun, had lunch/snacks, then it was time to go back home. Miracle of all miracles, neither of them cried when it was time to head home.
I will think of this day each time someone tells me it would be fun to have another baby.
I say, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Do I get Mommy points for having good intentions today? I sure hope so.

Better Days Ahead

Lately I've been having a really tough time with Giuliana. First, it's an adjustment for all of us that she is so extremely different from Tia. I know parents aren't supposed to compare their children, but these two couldn't be more opposite. I've had to accept that Gia will have temper tantrums, loves to get into things, and likes to make messes.
But, for some reason, this week has been particularly difficult for everyone. I don't exactly know why, but I've been at my wits end. It's embarrassing to admit, but I actually called D.R. at work yesterday and asked him to come home. I found myself losing my patience, and I was feeling bad for Tia who was quietly getting left in the shadow of her sister.
How can this sweet angel face cause so much pain and frustration? She's my baby and I'm supposed to be enjoying this time while she's little. Instead, I've been exhausted and frustrated, and not looking at her with the adoring eyes of a mother.
I decided a couple of things just have to change. Here's what I started today, on day 1 of my journey to a better relationship with my daughter.

First of all, I got a good nights sleep. I have to make sure I am taking good care of myself, so I can take care of my children. That means, plenty of sleep, making sure I eat good meals, and staying generally healthy.
Also, I gave her lots and lots of Mommy time. We played A LOT. I was keenly aware of keeping her engaged. That means not cleaning up while the kids are eating lunch. I sat at the table with them, even though I really wanted to vacuum! I even had her at the stove with me while I was making dinner. As you can see from the picture, she was apparently making potato surprise.



It worked. We had an incredible day with no tantrums or screaming. Yes, it was tiring to be constantly playing with the kids and entertaining, but not nearly as exhausting as the long days of tears and break downs.
It's so nice to see her smiling face again. I hope the steady stream of tough days are behind us now.
Here's how the girls ended the day. No fighting. Just togetherness.

Thinking on the Bright Side

It's been said that we all have a "gift", and we just need to discover and develop our gifts in order to succeed in life.
D.R. has always been a logical thinker who's great at math, so he became an Engineer. Further development of his natural gifts led him to management, and beyond.
I was always a good listener who loved to be around people, so I became a Social Worker, then an Interpreter, and now a Mom. My natural gifts helped me to be successful at all three.

It is this theory of developing our gifts that leads D.R. to believe our 20 month old daughter will some day be a Consumer Product Test Agent (we don't even know if that's a real title but it sounds good) for Proctor and Gamble or Johnson and Johnson.
The child has a need to taste things. I mean everything. She has to taste soap, shampoo, deodorant, lotion, diaper rash cream, powder, and of course her favorite, Windex. Every time I put a little baby powder on her, she will rub her hand in it, taste it, say "Ka Ka!", and then try wipe it off her tongue. Naturally she will do it all over again tomorrow, as if she forgot the disgusting taste the first 37 times she tried it. I think it's a problem. D.R. thinks it's her future career.

If we continue with this theory, then it's quite possible that Gia will turn out to be a Testing Engineer for Good Housekeeping. You know those people who test out products to see if they really stand up to their claims, and decide if they earn the 'seal of approval'. That's definitely right up her alley. She seems to enjoy seeing if she can destroy things. Just today she took my angel off the cedar chest and threw it on the floor as hard as she could. Sure enough the darn thing broke into three pieces. It did NOT earn the Gia seal of approval.
Maybe that's why she tried to dump out an entire container of baby powder on the living room carpet. She really wanted to see if the Kenmore vacuum stands up to its' name.
And the real reason she still throws her food on the floor every day is because she is trying to see how long a Swiffer will hold up under every day use. Yeah, that's it!

Watch out Good Housekeeping, have we got an Engineer for you!

The nightmare project

Have you ever had one of those projects that just kept getting more and more complicated and made you wonder why you ever started it in the first place? Well, that' what happened with our closet project. In fact, the people who lived in this house before us moved out because they were getting a divorce. I only half jokingly say that their problems probably began with the closet.

You may remember from an earlier post that not only were the closet organizer units all the wrong size which left a lot of unused space, but one whole wall was just shelves. Any woman in America knows that shelves are not really what you want in a closet. We need racks to hang clothes on!

D.R didn't seem to mind the closet the way it was. Of course not, he's a man. He was perfectly happy throwing his pants on the shelves and having it look like a mess all the time. The other thing is that he had all the hanging space, I had the shelves. Sensing the inequity here?

Here's how it went.
Stage one:
I disassembled the mammoth nine foot shelving unit that was on my side of the closet. I had to take the entire thing apart because it was so huge it wouldn't fit out the door otherwise. I then had to take the nine foot pieces down to the basement. I did most of it during the kids nap time, all the while praying that one of those big slabs of wood wouldn't fall on my head and knock me out cold in the process. Not a pretty thought.

Stage 2:
Taking apart D.R.'s existing rack units and moving them to the right hand wall, allowing me more space to work with. D.R. had to do this part because of the height and weight of these units, and of course because I sweet talked him into it. Here's a picture of those units. We kept them as is, just moved them.
Attempting to move said units brings us to stage 3.



Stage 3:
Light fixture had to be moved because it was in the way and couldn't stay where it was once the racks were moved. Agghhhh! We both just got a few more gray hairs.
This was my task as D.R. doesn't do electricity. I don't either but felt I had no choice since I was the one who got us into this mess.

Stage 4:
Disassembling one cubicle/cubbie unit (there were 2) and removing it from the closet. It's still laying on its' side in our hallway because, you guessed it, it's 9 feet tall! We kept the second one because D.R. likes them. He keeps his sweaters and shoes in there.

Stage 5:
Attempting to assemble the "All in one, Easy to assemble" Rubbermaid closet kit. Nope, didn't fit. Had to take it back to the store. Bought all the parts separately.


Stage 6:
Dear husband said he would install my new racks as long as I kept the kids occupied for an hour. He says he hopes I am happy. I am. I FINALLY have a place to hang my clothes! Gia will be happy she doesn't have to share her closet with Mommy forever.

Tomorrow I will move my clothes over.