"Just Why"

Sam is in the "why" phase. Very much so, in fact. The other day while driving to day care ('school') we had (initially) a typical exchange:
"Daddy why are we going this way?"
"Because we're going to school."
"Why?"
"So you can play with your friends."
"Why?"
"Because you like to play with your friends."
"Why?"
"I don't know sweetie, why do you think?"
[long pause]
[shrug]
"Just why, daddy. Just why."
[confusion]
[Aha!]
"You mean 'just because?'"

NEW BLOG

We've moved to goldstonegrace.blogspot.com. Please follow us there!

Pumping

Breastfeeding can do wonderful things for babies. It can also do some really weird things. Take Sam. He used to ask me to nurse his babies and animals. Then, after Jonah was born and we had a few conversations about how only mommies can make milk, he decided that his boobies make water. He's quite proud of this 'fact'. Today, we reached a new level of odd. Not only did he want to help me pump (that's old hat), HE wanted to pump. And he did ... twice. Of course, he insisted on the full rig being correct, and he pumped straight into a storage bag to freeze the water. Then, he filled a bottle with what he'd pumped (reality intervened temporarily and I had to actually fill the bottle from the tap) and proceeded to feed Jonah. To top it all off, he told me he wants his own pump in a backpack for Christmas. "People will call me 'backpack man' and I can pump."

There are bodies in my walls

He's our son...

Tonight, as I was getting Sam settled (after lights out and a bit of rolling around), he sat up and said 'My head hurts. Need holcola.' Given the events of the last 24 hours (he bumped his stitches this morning, and in general these days throws his body around) I was a bit concerned, and wondering whether he needed pain relief.

After a few minutes of trying to understand what 'need hocola' meant (said with increasing urgency), it finally dawned on me: "My head hurts. Need cholocate." No, sweetie - maybe for dessert tomorrow.

He's our son, alright. And his stiches aren't bothering him one bit.

first stitches

So Sam hit a milestone yesterday that I was hoping to avoid for another few years - first stitches. I mean, I know that stitches, casts, and copious bumps and bruises are part of life with boys but he's nit even thee yet! Anyway, long story short ... he got over-excited when daddy showed up to get hum from school yesterday, jumped/tripped off the front porch stair and went head-first into the sidewalk where, to make matters worse, he encountered a small rock. The rock won. Sam has SIX stitches holding a half-inch or so gash closed. According to daddy he was very calm and brave ... a brief burst of tears when he fell, and a bit of panic when they wrapped him in a sheet before stitching (think straight-jacket ... I'd freak out!), but that was all. When he got home last night, he proudly announced "Me bonked, mama!" For sure.

Sugar!!!

Forget Coke and Kool-Aid. When it comes to sugar drinks, Sam has found the ultimate ... 100% pure, natural Maple syrup. I know I probably use enough that I might as well drink the stuff, but I've never actually done it. This morning at breakfast, Sam picked up his 'dipping bowl' and took a swig. We told him that wasn't how it was done, but couldn't help laughing. So, of course, he looked hopefully at us and asked "Do it again?" Oh, no, no.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Our family has changed (okay, so that was more than three months ago). Now, so has our blog.
Last night I read an article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine about 'high reactive' babies and genetic predisposition toward anxiety. I recognized a lot of Sam and, to a lesser extent, Jonah in the descriptions of 'high reactive' babies. For example: During a 45 minute battery of new stimuli, high reactive babies were often physically active and sometimes arched their backs and cried. Uh, yeah. You mean some of the babies just sat there? for 45 minutes? Were they drugged?
I also recognized a lot of myself. Like the period in fourth grade when I couldn't make it past second period without a trip to the bathroom to throw up, when I cried myself to sleep most nights worrying about school, when I had a total meltdown thinking my mom had been in a deadly car accident just because she was 20 min late coming home from taking my brother to school (I hadn't even been able to face school that day). She'd stopped for groceries.
I still occasionally stop myself in the middle of a silent rant about Jed's tardiness and think 'What if this time he's late b/c he's been in an accident? Then I'd feel like crap.' And unusual or unfamiliar symptoms can still spark rather melodramatic 'what if's.' But I usually keep them to myself and they rarely keep me up at night.
It was at about this point in my mental ramblings that I suddenly realized something: My kids have mellowed me out. A lot. I wouldn't necessarily describe myself as 'peaceful' (that was the alternative to anxious in the article), but I'm a lot closer than I was three years ago. And that surprises me.
It made me think about all the nights I spent singing 'Amazing Grace' to a colicy infant Sam while he cried on my shoulder. It's one of my favorite hymns, and I think I sang it as much to calm myself as to calm him. The idea that some higher power could wipe away my worrying has always evoked a longing in me. Maybe it's not a higher power I need.
So that's the story behind the new blog.

Some random questions from my day

Did they intend the little baggy my newspaper comes in to be a bird poop shield? Or is it really just a rain coat, as I used to think?

If Sam breaks a mirror (that I let him play with b/c I didn't realize it was breakable), is the bad luck all his? Or do I get it too? Is it even possible to tell the difference?

Are my two year old's temper tantrums and total melt-downs REALLY a sign that he loves me?

Did I really think I would be able to maintain the motivation to knit two kids' blankets by Christmas?

Poor little bug

After a week of increasingly fractured sleep, Heather took Sam to the doctor on Saturday to learn that he has a double ear infection. "9.5 out of 10" in both ears - actually the note in his file says "ugly." I know this because (5 days later) I took him back to the doctor. Turns out he's got an antibiotic-resistant (well, amoxicillin-resistant) ear infection. This explains the 2.5 hour wake up/screeching period in the middle of last night. Poor little bug. Back to the pharmacy we go....

Puppy seeds

We got bagels yesterday, and Sam asked for some of daddy's ... which was, of course, poppy seed (Jed's favorite). We told him the little black dots were called poppy seeds. Well, apparently part of the message got a little confused. This morning, Sam started pointing to the bagels saying "I need that" and "woof, woof." It took a few minutes, but it eventually became clear that he wanted a PUPPY seed bagel for breakfast! I haven't laughed that hard or long in quite a while :)

Mardi Gras feng shui

Sometimes I feel like Sam and I are right on the same wavelength, and sometimes I have NO idea what is going on in his head. Like today. In honor of Mardi Gras, I spent two hours last night making gumbo. Then, before going to pick Sam up this afternoon I found some zydeco CDs and got out all my old beads so we could dress up and dance some before chowing down. Sam loved the idea of playing with beads, but wasn't so hot on wearing them. Instead, they were carefully spread across the kitchen floor, each in a very specific location and shape. Then, before I could get a photo of this lovely redecoration, we were on to the next game - see which beads and how many make the best rattle in an oatmeal cannister.

Sick boys

 
Last night, Jed came down with the flu bug that has dogged Sam for the past five days. Sam is getting better (slowly). But after four days of no food, he's really easily tired. And all Jed can do is alternate sleeping in bed and laying on the couch. On a positive note, Sam's been on a serious daddy kick the past few days so he's happy to have daddy at home today even if all they can do together is lay on the couch :)

Two

God, it's been FOREVER since I posted. Nothing big to report right now, just a little glimpse into Sam's world. He has definitely embraced being two, and I don't mean he's throwing tantrums left and right (although we do get those occasionally). Counting right now consists of "two, three, two, three" repeated over and over, all while holding up one finger. You might think that's an indication that he doesn't know what two means. Not so. I can't give him one of anything anymore. He asks for two, and knows when he's got it. A typical conversation goes something like this:
Sam: Peez.
Me: Please, what?
Sam: Dat (accompanied by imperious pointing)
Me: Oh, a spoon?
Sam nods, I hand him said object.
Sam: Two. Two. (much nodding and holding up of the counting finger)
Me: You need two spoons?
Sam: Da.
I hand him another spoon.
Sam: Dank oo!
And he's off.
Yesterday, he used his two spoons to play drums on his own kneecaps. I mentioned that it looked painful and he said "da" and nodded enthusiastically, but didn't stop.

Best gift ever

I felt really rotten on Sunday. I basically just laid around being pathetic while Sam and Jed enjoyed a gorgeous fall afternoon. They went grocery shopping late in the afternoon and Sam did the sweetest thing EVER! I was laying on the couch in the den when they got home. As the front door was opening, I heard Jed say "Gentle, Sam. Gentle." I couldn't figure out what on earth he'd given Sam to carry that he'd have to be gentle with. And the way the door swings open, I couldn't see anything. Then Sam ducks around the door into the den holding a bunch of tulips ... coral/orange with yellow tips (my favorites!). Jed swears it was Sam's idea, that Sam picked the color and okay'ed the bunch that Jed pulled out of the rack, then insisted on carrying them out of the store, all the way home and into the house to me. I almost cried!

Bck to the future

Sometimes I feel like I live in another century. For the past few days, I've been baking furiously to use up the last of this season's zucchinis ... there are already half a dozen loaves of zucchini bread in the freezer, and I'm thinking of trying to freeze the grated zucchini so I can stop baking. Then, today, I picked 25 pounds (!!!) of tomatoes at Coonamessett Farm. I've spent a good part of the afternoon and evening parboiling and skinning them for freezing and canning ... all so we can have tomatoes in the dead of winter without resorting to plastic-lined cans. Meanwhile, we had two cords of wood delivered to fuel the high-efficiency wood-burning fireplace we're installing. Are we taking self-sufficiency and eco-mindedness too far?

How far we have fallen

I knew parenting would change my life, but I surprised even myself with my pathetic-ness on Monday when I realized there were five loads of laundry in the basement waiting to be folded ... and got excited! FIVE loads of laundry!?! That will take me at least an hour! I'll be able to drink a glass of wine, watch an entire CSI, and not feel guilty about sitting still for an hour!

My first wedding cake!

I've been baking cakes for years, and have occasionally thought of starting my own cake-baking business. This past weekend, I finally tackled the Mount Everest of cakes ... a three-tier wedding cake ... six layers of chocolate zucchini cake filled and frosted with whipped chocolate ganache and decorated with gerbera daisies. Okay, so it wasn't exactly Ace of Cakes material. But I was pretty proud of it. More importantly, the bride and groom (Danielle Fino and Charro Zuck) loved it and there were no leftovers!

WALL-E here we come!

We have a babysitter and we're going to the movies!!! Okay, so it's a matinee ... but still! I haven't seen a movie in the theatres in something like two years. Our neighbor's daughter, Gypsy, has been doing the mother's helper thing ... coming over once a week and watching Sam while I get things done around the house. They love eath other. So this Sunday, they get their first shot at going solo (well, Gypsy's mom is an ex-nanny and right across the street, so not totally solo). And we get to see WALL-E! I'll let you know how it is :)

I was wrong

I owe Jed a big "I was wrong, you were right." And that doesn't happen very often ;) He's been warning me for months not to let Sam play with the phone because he might dial 911. I kept saying that he usually dials 66666 or other gibberish and the chances of him getting 911 by chance were so small it wasn't worth worrying about. I was wrong. Yesterday morning I was sitting on the deck, Sam was going back and forth between the kitchen and the deck, and Jed was showering. Jed called down to say someone was at the front door. It was a (rather large) policeman wondering if everything was alright here because apparently someone had called 911 and the phone had been off the hook since then. YIKES! Sure enough, the kitchen phone was laying next to its cradle showing the last number dialed was 911. I assured the nice officer that we were all fine, that my phone-happy toddler was to blame, and that it wouldn't happen again. We've since moved the phone to higher ground and I'll be much more watchful in the future.