How was your weekend?
Here is our summary:
1) My niece's school's team had an away game this week. Since traveling with three small children, sitting at a game and then traveling some more can be dicey, we stayed home Friday night and had a "bubble party" on the deck. What is a bubble party, you might ask? We pulled out the bubble machine Gracie requested for her birthday and showered the deck and yard with bubbles. This is not the bubble machine you pick up at Target, dear friends. This is a party grade bubble machine procured from Amazon.com. We also have clownfish bubble guns, but I cannot recommend those, as one of them has all but shattered after a couple of drops to the floor. The housing is a very weird grade of plastic courtesy of our friends in China. The bubble machine cord also contains a warning that exposure may cause cancer.
We opted for battery power instead.
2) Speaking of manufacturing, I recently noticed that one of William George's Nerf footballs was made in the United States. I caught myself showing the stamp, "Made in USA," to the girls.
3) I have avoided sharing this next bit of news with you, preferring to let you imagine a perfect world in which toddlers never have tantrums. I have alluded in the past about George's temper. While the truth is that George was the sweetest infant ever, we realized he had some anger issues as soon as he was able to move about. He gets frustrated easily, and let's not forget that he has two sisters, one of whom thinks (wrongly) she can manipulate his every move. Things have devolved. Unfortunately, I have the unpleasant task of informing you that George may be hitting the terrible two's early. He has a crazy temper. The debate in the family is whether he gets his temper from Skip or from me. My theory is that he must be channeling the tempers of all relatives -- as well as all of his ancestors -- creating some type of exponential temper creation.
Last week at the pediatrician's office I was standing in line to make a follow up appointment. I was holding George, who was screaming, hitting and pulling my hair. A fellow mom leaned forward and said, "It gets better; I promise."
"I have six year old twins," I responded -- meaning that I am aware that it will get better in some ways, but that I'm also acutely aware that these factory settings, i.e., temperament, do not change.
If you see me, I will be the mom with the screaming toddler strapped in the stroller, as I am not a fan of the hitting/hair pulling.
Also, I may as well prepare you for this now: Do not be shocked to see that we have deployed a leash. We have had multiple people ask if we have considered using one. We aren't ready for that step yet, but we can honestly see that it might be needed at some point.
4) We are currently searching for a new kitchen table to accommodate six people. Because of our space limitations (we have a breakfast nook-type area), this search is taking a while. Finding a small-ish, high-quality (it will need to withstand some abuse) table is proving difficult. Pottery Barn has a table they describe as "perfect" for small spaces, but we all know that PB tends to have oversized furniture. We stopped by the store and saw many substantial looking tables, but nothing for a small space.
My search has also taken me to Craig's List and that has been a source of amusement. Because people are unloading formal dining room suites left and right, finding a great on dining room furniture would be a snap. A kitchen table? Not as easy. Whenever someone lists their furniture as "Pottery Barn-like" or "Restoration Hardware-like"? It never is. Not even close.
5) Skip's birthday is Wednesday. He refuses to give any hints about what he might like as a gift, but also keeps reminding us how many shopping days remain. He's funny like that.
And that's where we are.
What is happening with you?
No comments:
Post a Comment