Strawberry Picking, June 2010

Since I have not posted pictures in months, I am going to attempt to catch up. Strawberry picking somewhere in NJ. Note Henry's outfit. Clearly he dressed himself.

Things I never realized

Living with young children is a unique experience. Some recent examples of our mutual education:

1) Children will talk anywhere and everywhere about their bathroom habits and gas issues. The elevator is a favorite venue. Molly has announced her accomplishments more than once in a crowded restaurant. She rarely waits until she gets to the table either.

2) For some crazy reason, I gave Molly a container of dried beans to play with. Maybe to get her to stop saying "Mommy pick me up" every three seconds while I am cooking dinner. The more dangerous the kitchen activity is the more she wants to help. Henry of course had to get into the mix. While I was not looking he decided to stuff cups full of beans down his sleeve. He was quite surprised at what happened when he lowered his arm. I have been finding beans for days.

3) It is a bad idea to allow your four year old to get your two year old dressed. We recently embarked on a drive to Long Island where we would be gone the entire day. I was not until we had left the house that I realized that Henry had made the executive decision to swap Molly's pull up for underwear. Of course I had no extra clothing with me either. She did great the entire day. She peed in every restaurant and gas station in the town of Port Washington. She decided to wait until our entrees arrived to let me know that she had just peed on the booth of a rather nice restaurant. Adam quickly learned that this meaned that no, we could not stay.

4) When your daughter announces that she is using the front of her dress instead of toilet paper, she is not kidding.

5) Your child will look at the man who sat down next to him on the subway bench and announce that "that man has a beard growing out of his nose." Oh, and that he does not like his shoes either.

6) I cannot believe how perceptive kids are. Adam recently got dressed to go out to dinner one snowy Saturday night. His boots were wet from sledding so he put on sneakers so that he didn't ruin any good shoes. Henry took one look at him in his white sneakers, jeans, belt and long sleeved polo shirt and declared: " Daddy, what are you wearing? You look like Jerry Seinfeld!" You know it is time for a makeover when your four year old is ripping on your outfit.

7) We were recently doing a puppet craft kit that we had done at Henry's co-op preschool at almost one year ago. Molly piped up with "Oh, we did they at Laura's house!" She was between 1 year and 18 months a the oldest. How the heck does she remember this?

There are so many other things but these are the crazy things that come to mind

Molly, May I?

Molly is going through shall we say, a difficult phase. Her request for a snack this morning was a fine example:

Around 11:30am, she looked at me and said "I want a yogurt. A cherry yogurt. No, a strawberry yogurt." I sweetly replied, "OK, go ask Daddy, he is in the kitchen." "No, I want to go to the kitchen with you. Carry me." I hoisted her up. "No, I want to WALK!" OK, fine. Put her down. Get to kitchen. "Open the refrigerator" she demanded.

The yogurts were packed in two sleeves so I began to unpack them for her perusal. "We have blueberry and cherry. Which one do you want? " "Cherry." I grabbed the yogurt and went to the drawer to get her a spoon. All of the teaspoons were in the dishwasher so I grabbed her a plastic one. I carried Princess Molly to her throne near the couch, placed the yogurt down and waited for my next instruction (of course, there always another one.)

She starts to lather up. Uh oh. "I wanted to get it out. I wanted to get it ouuuuuut." Huh? From the refrigerator? And you tell me now? I ignored her because frankly she pulls these little stunts about 100 times per day. I opened the yogurt and put it on the table. I was not bold enough to stir in the fruit because the little lady definitely does not like that. Made that mistake before. She will do it. Maybe after she dips her fingers in it a few times to taste it or rub it on the couch or she and Henry like to dip their fingers into the little fruit well and put it on like makeup. But whatever. I have learned the hard way that you cannot unstir the yogurt.

She proceeds to wail for a good bit. I have not eaten breakfast yet so I decide to sit down and eat the yogurt. Having seen this act before that yogurt is not going to get touched any time soon. I finally pick her up, put her in her room and tell her that when she wants to stop screaming she can come out. I finish my yogurt and bring it into the kitchen. Adam inquires as to what she is screaming about (this time). I explain that she didn't want me to get the yogurt from the refrigerator, she wanted to get it. He starts to go on that it is her naptime and why didn't I just carry her back in, put the lid back on, open the refrigerator and let her go through the process of getting it herself. Um, yeah this method would work if we want to raise a little sociopath :) or if she didn't do this type of thing so often. Or if I had any confidence she would pick the opened yogurt and that we wouldn't be throwing $2 down the drain.

Anywho, he decides to go in to talk to his little angel. I think she may have hurled Strawberry Shortcake at him but I can't be sure. I give her a minute until she starts screaming "I want Mommy" knowing that the storm will soon be passing. I go in, sit on her bed and do a quick assessment to see if I can pick her up without her pummeling her little fists into me. She looked somewhat sane and we sat together for a few minutes.

I brought her out to the living room and of course she now wanted the yogurt. The cherry one. You know of course that was the last one. Through some miracle I convince her to eat the blueberry one and Adam hands her a plastic spoon. "Noooo, I want the other one. The regular one!" I just left the room because there is only so much I can take of this in one day.

Happy Second Birthday Molly!

Dear Molly,

Today was your second birthday. We had a lot of fun. Daddy took the day off and we all went out to a diner for breakfast and then to the Children's Museum of New Jersey. Henry even skipped school on your behalf.

When we got home your best friend Roen came over to check out your new dollhouse. We blew out the candles on your Dora cake early so that Roen and her brother could take some home and then we had our traditional birthday dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. We had to postpone your birthday party with your friends on Wednesday because you had a fever. I will reschedule it for next week; it is going to be a tea party theme complete with tutus, princess hats, a butterfly pinata and lots of pink cupcakes (your only birthday request).

You are such a special little girl. Not only are you as cute as a button but you are just as sweet inside. You smother me with hugs and kisses all day long. You are quick to tell people that you love them or ask what is the matter when they are sad. You are incredibly smart and love to make jokes. Your favorite game is "I Spy" and you actually play it correctly.

You are mischievous and make me wish I had eyes in the back of my head. Yesterday I found a harmonica in my purse and saw you stuffing my house keys into Henry's backpack. I am constantly catching you jumping on the couch or on your bed and you are always running around naked. For some crazy reason your daddy lets you chew gum. Now that you have stopped swallowing it, I am always finding it around the house. You know and I know that your know where the garbage can is! When you are being naughty you cannot be threatened with punishment and you are always calling my bluff. When you don't get what you want it is amazing how long and loud such a tiny package can scream.

You have not inherited my affinity for white T shirts. You insist on wearing pink or purple on top every day. You even suggested yesterday that I should wear a pink shirt as well. You refuse to wear dresses and when you opened your grandma's birthday gift you actually said "Oh no, another one?" Your verbal abilities astound your father and me. Your vocabulary is enormous and your diction is crystal clear. There are times when living with a small child that parents like to pretend that we don't understand you. You have made that impossible! Recently your dad went to lay down with you in your bed when your preference is mommy. You whispered sweetly "Daddy, I love you. Now I want you to get out of my bed."

I look at you and I cannot remember a time when you were not here. In my wildest dreams, I could not imagine having a daughter as wonderful as you. We love you sweet girl!

Nighty Night. Sleep Tight. Yeah, right.

Until recently, Molly was an incredible sleeper. I could lay her down awake either for a nap or at night and she would go to sleep without another peep. This was a big change from you know who so it was a remarkable surprise and very pleasant.



One day a light switched and she decided party time (for me) was over. Every night after that, without fail, she would stand in her crib and scream "Mommy! Get me out of here!" at the top of her lungs. Over and over. Forever. We are not cry it out folks, but we did ignore her a bit because she was tired and she was not crying. Just screaming. Even if we did take her out she would either run around or fall immediately asleep on my lap only to wake as soon as I put her back in her bed. I started to get a nervous tic towards bed time because it was so upsetting and she was so relentless.



I decided to experiment and put her to sleep in Henry's trundle bed. They both loved it and it seemed like the perfect solution until the second day. They always give you one day of hope where you think it might work right? After that it was like herding giggling cats trying to keep both of them in bed and get them to go to sleep. Molly was really the instigator after a few days. Henry is without his nap due to preschool so he is falling down tired by 7pm. To keep wild girl in bed and let Henry sleep I would now have to lay down with her. Forget poor daddy. Only Mommy will do.



Laying down with Molly is a torturous event for the most part. She is not happy unless she has you pinned to the wall or the bedrail. She insists on being face to face. While she is staring you down refusing to sleep, she enjoys jabbing her fingers into your mouth, clawing you in the face or tickling your face very lightly so that it is almost painful. You cannot threaten her. I say, "Molly shut your eyes or else I am going to leave." She starts screaming "You get out of my bed NOW!" trying to wake Henry. As soon as you get up to call her bluff she starts crying "Mommy lay down with me pleasy pleasy." This goes on forever as the dirty dishes are congealing in the kitchen and my favorite shows are going unwatched.



She probably isn't tired because she naps so late. If she doesn't fall asleep on the way home from dropping Henry off at school I can forget about her napping. She wanders around like a drunken soldier until she can't take it one more second and she passes out. Usually 5 minutes before we leave to pick him up. I then have to strap her sleeping body to me in the carrier to Henry's school. She wakes about an hour later and is totally wired at bedtime.



The silver lining is that she is hilarious to lay with. She does funny things like lick her palms until she falls asleep. Once she was shoving her hands into her mouth over and over. I inquired as to what she was doing and she said she was washing her hands in her mouth. Another time she was scrubbing her hair furiously. She told me she was washing her hands in her hair. Better her hair than mine because that is one of her more painful tricks! Today she was laughing away tickling her own belly. She has also started telling me that I am her best friend or saying "Mommy you are such a good mommy." Those moments make all of the sleep shenanigans worth it.

Happy Birthday Henry!

Dear Henry,

Yesterday was your fourth birthday. We had a great day. We took an overnight family trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Pennsylvania. You wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese, but I promised you this would be a lot more fun. I'm sure that you agree with us now!

It was the perfect place to bring you because you love the water, you are becoming a great swimmer and you are a real daredevil. You are finally tall enough to go on most of the big kid slides and we knew you would have "a blast!" (That is one of your favorite descriptions of things). We loved going on all of the crazy slides with you. You even had to reassure me on one of the last ones that "It's not scary Mommy!" as I was screaming my head off.

Even your little sister Molly had fun. We were worried there wouldn't be enough for her to do but she is as adventurous as her big brother. We would send her down one of the smaller slides by herself which she loved. You insisted on waiting for her at the bottom each time and helped catch her. Each and every time you gave her a hug and said "Oh Molly, you are such a big girl! You were so brave, I am so proud of you!" I get teary just thinking of it. You are such an incredible brother. I always catch you trying to hold her hand in the car, putting your arm around her to help her up the stairs or rubbing her back. I don't think a brother and sister could be closer.

You started preschool last month. I admit we were very worried that you wouldn't like it because you have had a hard time being away from us in the past. Although you were very scared as first I think you were ready for it. It took a few days, but now you march into the class like you have been going to school your entire life. It makes me so proud to see how sweet you are, how hard you are working to learn and that you are such a good boy. I can tell the teachers love you and your enthusiasm.

I made cupcakes for your class. It was something I have always looked forward to doing as a mom. Although I think you were a bit embarrassed by the attention, it was fun. You insisted that I bring Molly back to your school for the party and that she sit next to you at the little table. You also wanted her to stay for story time because you know how much she wants to go to school now too. Afterward you thanked me for making the cupcakes and said it was the best frosting you had ever had. I kept catching you and Molly dipping your fingers into the extra cake in the kitchen. You told me you couldn't stop yourself. You said that you would have some frosting and your stomach would tell you to get some more. I have to tell you, I totally get that! You are definitely my son!

You have grown so much this year. You are forty two inches tall and weigh thirty five pounds. You have your own style and insist on picking out your clothing at the store. Right now your favorite thing to wear is sweatpants and short sleeved shirts. Every.single.day. I'm sure your teacher thinks I am crazy but there are so many things that are decided for you that I cut you some slack in this area. Grandma thinks I should teach you that you need to dress up for school but I respectfully disagree. You will have your whole life to be serious and uncomfortable in your clothes. I wanted to let you have some fun while you still can!

Right now it seems like you are struggling with your need to be independent and still be my little boy. I guess we both are. I am sorry if I am too hard on you sometimes. You have boyish energy seeping out of every pore all day long. I try to find a balance between letting you be the crazy four year old boy that you are and teaching you to be a polite, functioning member of society. It is a hard thing to do and I'm sorry if I don't always get it right. When I see you out and about you always make me so proud.

Henry, your Dad, Molly and I all love you so much. We love you for your sense of humor, your giving nature, and your enthusiasm. You are so much fun to be around. Happy Birthday to our sweet boy!

Goodbye Bubby

Earlier this month, Adam's Grandma Ruthie passed away. This was his mom's mother. Although it was somewhat expected, it was still incredibly sad. We were fortunate to spend quite a bit of time with her in Florida, so I came to know her well over the years. I have not had a living grandmother in some time, so I adopted her as my own. She treated me as one of her own from the very beginning.

She was an incredible person and I don't use that word lightly. She had significant health problems the entire time I knew her but never once did I hear her complain. She had a hard time hearing, and at the end was confined to a wheelchair. She never let it get her down, she was always the first to suggest an outing or to invite someone over. She'd put on her lipstick, comb her hair and be ready to go.

There was no one, and I mean no one that did not like Ruthie. She was so positive and always had a kind word to say. I really never heard her badmouth anyone. She was a very accepting person and not at all judgemental. I remember when Adam and I first moved in together, I was nervous that she would disappove. She sent us a roasting pan as a housewarming gift. That was just her way. Live and let live.

If you met her even once, you were always welcome to stop by if you were nearby. You would sit on her couch and she would offer you drinks and food until you finally capitulated and had something. Once she got you to have something she was still not satisfied until you had some more. You'd sit together and talk about all of your relatives that she knew about. You'd have to review their health, the happiness and what was going on in their life. After that topic was exhausted she would want to know everything that was going on with you. I'd then get the scoop on all of her family members and then she would gush over the great grandchildren for the rest of the time.

She was the center of that family and they will be adrift without her. She will be sorely missed.

Paging Dr. Dan

I forgot to add this to my Fresh Baby post. Molly and Henry recently went to the dentist. Molly needs assistance brushing her teeth but refuses to let me help her. Adam teases her and tells her that if she doesn't brush her teeth they will fall out and she won't be cute anymore.

Henry and I tell her that if she doesn't let me help we are going to call Doctor Dan and have him come over and brush her teeth every day. She recently informed me to "Call Dr. Dan" when she wouldn't unclench her jaw to let me get the brush in her mouth. I cannot believe how incredibly sassy she is already!

Preschool? We're Not Ready!

I went to the orientation tonight for Henry's new preschool. I met his teachers, saw his classroom and got a class list. Amusingly, there are 13 girls in his class and 5 boys. The room is the size of a closet so I think this is a good thing. Hopefully the girls will be a calming influence. I saw his cubby labeled with his name and his coat hook. School starts Wednesday. I don't think either one of us are ready!

Does anyone have any soap for their mouths?

Molly is incredibly fresh. She was doing something naughty recently and told me to "Call Daddy" when I scolded her. Calling Adam at work is what I sometimes threaten when they are being bad (how retro of me right?) so she was clearly taunting me.

When I threaten taking away a privilege like ice cream for dessert and ask her if she wants to stop doing xxx before I take it away she screams "No!" in my face.

Henry was racing around way too late tonight and I told him to go to bed. He said "I'm Henry Richard Schnell and I can do ANYTHING!" Clearly his disobedience and meglomania was not the intended result of a recent pep talk where I taught him these words.