Mom ... an entry from the official Christine's Contemplations Dictionary

Mom: female adult "skilled" in the art and science of raising a child 

Synonyms: mommy, mother, mama, Madre (esp), handholder, couch cushion, cuddle partner, owie-kisser, lovie finder, cupholder, tv turner-onner, tissue/napkin/paper towel, jungle gym, trampoline, ladder, merry-go-round, cook, discipliner, bedtime tucker-inner, goodnight kisser, maid, chauffeur, cheerleader, mediator, hairdresser, organizer, prayer partner, accountability partner, teacher, book reader, ATM,  safety marshal, fashion coordinator, shoulder to cry on, safety net, confidante, unconditional friend. 


 Best job in the world.

Curse you, Marching Band....

 


Curse you, Marching Band! 
You've ruined me for running.


Forcing me to walk heel first, raising my toes. Rolling my feet.  You have forever ruined my running form, which is best achieved with a toe first gait.


Bless you, Marching Band!
You've prepped me for yoga.


Forcing me to stand up straight and take deep, full breaths.  Stretching my spine.  You have forever created balanced, focused and rhythmic nature.

Annie's First Birthday

Me and Annie opening a present

Mmmmmm ..... Cake!!!

Is it naptime yet????

Annie turned 1 on Saturday. We had a small family gathering and watched her try to open presents and eat her cake. She was enjoying being the center of attention.


Both girls went without a nap; consequently, Audrey fell asleep just before dinner. That girls slays me ... she'll go all day long trying not to fall asleep, only to fall asleep in the most awkward and uncomfortable position.


I'm linking up here for Mommy and Me Monday ... even though it's Tuesday. Go say hello to Krystyn and the other mommies.
Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Inattentional Deafness

Just read this today:

We’ve all had the experience of being so engrossed in something (a book, an e-mail, an episode of “Dexter”) that we simply don’t hear our partner trying to remind us that the trash needs to go out. But when our children do the same, who else secretly believes they’re doing it on purpose?

They’re not (and neither are you). Researchers in the Department of Developmental Psychology at Oxford set study participants to focusing on a task while wearing headphones playing white noise. Part way through the task, the researchers interrupted the white noise with an audible tone. When performing a more-difficult task (distinguishing which of two arms of a cross was longer), nearly 80 percent of the study participants said they never heard a thing.

This “inattentional deafness disorder” actually had nothing to do with the pleasure involved in the distracting activity. It was the “high visual lode condition” of taking a lot in through a different channel that rendered the research subjects temporarily deaf. It’s not Harry Potter that’s the problem; it’s the intense visual and mental interaction necessary to read the words on the page.

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/inattentional-deafness-disorder/

 I think we've all experienced it.  Every time we try to ask our husbands their opinion on something while engrossed in a football/baseball/soccer/nascar/golf game on TV. I especially encounter it when the teenager daughter is watching her shows.  She literally has no idea anything else in the world is going on.

I've always believed that it wasn't intentional ignoring, now I'm happy to know that it's truly not.  I always make a point to wait for a commercial or page turn or some sort of break in activity.  Then ask for undivided attention; pause the game/movie/etc, put the book down and look at me.  Then repeat what I've said.  This ensures that it was indeed heard and there are no excuses to not do it.

With the toddler I often have to pause it myself to get her attention, but the process is the same.

Happy Birthday Annie Noelle

Annie Noelle Roosa ..... My second baby. You are more special to me than you know. Your tenacity and stubbornness are much like mine. You refuse to do things the way the world says you should. 


 You have kept me guessing about you since the day you were born.


 I love watching you explore and learn. You try so hard to keep up with your older sister, but when you realize you can't, you are content watching her and learning from her. 


 I know God has special plans for you and I'm excited for all the things we will do together in the next year. Happy Birthday Baby girl.

Recycled Parental Statements

We all have horror stories of saying things our parents said that we swore we would never say.  Cliche lines such as, 

• "Clean your plate or no dessert." 
• "Because I said so, that's why"
• "Don't make me get the belt"

I had that moment last night.Audrey was asking me if she could go play at a friend's house.  Experience has taught me that she can't go to friends' houses during the week because she comes home grumpy, won't eat dinner, won't go to bed, etc.  So I've nixed it altogether.  At 2 1/2, she doesn't understand.  So last night when she asked me I said no.  She asked why and I said because it's a school night, Summer had homework, it's almost dinner time ... a whole host of reasons that were true and she should have comprehended.  But none of them satisfied her.  So finally, at my wits end, with nothing left to say and wanting to be done with the conversation, I spouted out without even thinking, "Because I'm mean and cruel and heartless.  But I love you very much."  She said, "Don't say your heartless mommy."  But she was satisfied with my answer finally and she didn't ask again.

My mom used that phrase all the time.  I don't know if she came up with it or if it's something she picked up from her parents.  But it was a staple in my house when we weren't satisfied with a reasoning.  We'd roll our eyes, accept that mom wasn't going to change her mind, and usually continue on in disappointment.  

Last night it just rolled off my tongue.  I didn't have to think of a witty reply or something that would satisfy her. I didn't wonder what my mom would say.  It just came out.  And when I was done I thought to myself, "Oh dear ... my mother used to say that."

What parental lines have you recycled on your kids that surprised you?

Black Friday

I did something this year that I've never officially done before.  I went Black Friday shopping.  I have mixed feelings about Black Friday shopping, but thought I'd give it a shot at least once before poo-pooing it for life.  The stores opening at midnight was what pushed me over the edge to go this year.  I'm not one for getting up at 3 am to shop, but I'll stay up a little later.


We opted for Target.  And we had a strategy.  And we were in and out of there in just about an hour.  Which is pretty good for a normal shopping trip.  We did so good at Target, we just had to go to Old Navy too.  Yeah.  That was a mistake.  Old Navy isn't designed the handle the number of customers that Target gets regularly.  And I bet there were almost as many people at Old Navy as there was at Target.  Old Navy was so full that they were literally at capacity and could only let people in as others left.


It was really odd going into Target and seeing dozens of TVs out on the floor.  40"+ LCD TVs for less than $500.  And SLR cameras.  And game systems.  It was an interesting sight.  


Target was brilliant.  They had all their "2-Day Sale" items in big specially marked cardboard displays all over the store.  They handed out maps to where things were located (because I don't normally shop for DVDs in the girls clothes).  The line to check out was insanely long.  You know, the people you stand in line with outside the store the same people you have to stand in line with inside the store when you want to pay.  They taped off a makeshift queue line that weaved in and out of cosmetics and toiletries.  


It was BRILLIANT!  You finish getting all the must have deals of the day and wait in line for 20 minutes and see all the household items that you need to have ... soap, lotion, medicines, etc.  And while you're at it, why not pick up that toy that someone before you left behind.  We had a short conversation with our cashier.  I say short not because we didn't have things to talk about, but because she was so super speedy that we didn't have time for a lengthy one.  As expected, the most experienced cashiers were staffed starting at midnight.


Old Navy.  Imagine shopping at Old Navy on a normal busy Saturday.  You have to wait in line about 20 minutes, and maybe wait 5-10 minutes to try on clothes.  The clothes are messed up and you have a hard time finding your size.  It's crowded.  But you make due.  Now take that same speed and sense of urgency and mentality and multiply it by 1000.  That was the Old Navy experience.  They just aren't equipped to handle the number of customers that come out for an event like this and I won't do that again.  We were in line to check out for over an hour.  And I didn't get anything that I could not have purchased later today or this weekend.  And since everyone went shopping at midnight (thank you Wal-Mart for starting this new trend last year), the Friday day shopping should be a dream ... unless you like the mall.  Yeah ... I'm not going there.


And here's what I learned ........ the Door Buster deals of the 90s and even early 00s are no more.  You remember, you get to K-Mart at 5 am and you get that extra 20% off the TV or movies you wanted.  Or there's a limited number of that "must have" toy and if you don't get in line at 3 am you won't get the toy.  Now, at least at Target and Old Navy, the sales last all weekend or the coupons are good all month.


We did not encounter anyone mean and vicious.  We didn't have to fight over any one item.  There were plenty stocked of everything.  It's a bit odd to see 46" TVs sitting in the makeup aisle at Target.   


I spent only the money I was given to spend and I got some great things.  I got some things I've been meaning to get for awhile.  I got some things I would not have purchased otherwise.  I got some things for me and I got some things as gifts.


I did not get anything that I could not live without.
And there were no sales that were so good they were worth losing that much sleep over.
I did have fun.


I wonder how many Black Friday shoppers are really shopping for Christmas presents and how many are shopping for themselves, or for the rush of getting a good deal.


I'd love to go as a photographer and just get shots of the chaos.  Organized chaos in some places, but chaos nonetheless.

Crafting: Pipe Cleaner Colander

DSC_5151, a photo by Christsstar on Flickr.

My friend Katie at Texas Tigers has a son the same age as Audrey. She keeps giving me ideas of fun things to do with the kids.

She posted this great one of playing with pipe cleaners and the holes and a colander. I picked up some pipe cleaners for all of $0.99 at Michael's and let Audrey play with them.

She wasn't super interested, but it gave her something fun to do for about 15 minutes.

Crafting: Crayons

Audrey seems to be at the age where she can do simple crafts by herself.  She does them regularly at daycare, and I think it's time to start implementing them at home too, especially on days that I'm home with her.


Our first craft was more of a Mommy craft, but she was excited at the idea of it.  


Repurposing broken down crayons as new crayons.  


Start with broken crayons:

Place into a muffin tin or something that's oven-proof.  I chose a silicon ice cube tray shaped like stars.


Melt crayons in oven at 250*.  They don't take long to melt, so keep an eye on them.




Remove from oven and let cool until solid.


Pop out of container and color.  Unfortunately, mine broke when I popped them out.  The star shape is just too fragile, even for thicker crayons.  But they are still cool and fun to use.

A new role for me

My best friend in the whole world told me to call her on Thursday to ask me a question.  It was odd, because we don't have the relationship where we talk on the phone.  We can hang out and talk for hours, we can txt and email and tweet, we exchange gifts and holiday cards, but we just don't talk on the phone.  So I was quite intrigued when I got her txt.  


I called her as soon as my break arrived.  She wanted to know what my plans were on some random Friday next summer.  Well ... I hadn't made any yet; nobody plans THAT far ahead.  Then she asked me the most crucial question ..... "Will you be my matron of honor?"


AAAHHH!!!!  Of course!!!  She was my maid of honor for my first wedding and she did a fantastic job.


I hope I can be the matron of honor for her that she was to me!!!


It's going to be a small wedding.
Western themed.  But knowing her, it will be a classy and very well done.  No cheeseballness for her.


So I have a mission to find a nice classy western outfit inspired by one she emailed me.


I've never been a maid or matron of honor.  Especially by long distance (she's in Montana, I'm in Cali).  What tips do you have?  What have you done that's worked or not worked?