Pinkaliciousness

I need to take advantage of the Cuddler snoozing away upstairs and the Snuggler actually playing by herself in the other room . . . time to whip out a post!

Thanks to a link shared by Aunt Patsy, Sophia has been commandeering the computer all week. Not for videos, she is still not allowed to watch anything except when she is sick due to her spectacular temper tantrums. No, she is newly addicted to the Barnes and Noble's online storytime link. Her very favorites are "Ladybug Girl at the Beach" and yes, "Pinkalicious."

I had heard of "Pinkalicious," by Victoria and Elizabeth Kann, before . . . but now I have heard it read aloud not once but approximately 50 million times. I know that's a lot, but I'm pretty sure I'm not exaggerating.

The story is about a little girl who eats so many pink cupcakes that she actually turns pink, and the only cure is to eat green vegetables. Sophia seems to have the pink part down, but is not so very interested in the green vegetable part. Maybe someday.

So, in the interests of making memories and being a fun mom (instead of my usual task-and-list momness), I decided that we would make pink cupcakes. And of course we had to have some cousins over to make them, too.

FYI, do not expect your child to take a nap after ingesting a cupcake made with any amount of red dyes #3 and 40 on top of the usual 17 cups of sugar. Not gonna happen.

So glad these were the only cupcake wrappers Walmart had . . . otherwise I would have bought the plain cheap white one, and those just wouldn't have been up to the Pinkalicious challenge!

Using the new mixer, yay! and you can see the evidence of ongoing painting in our kitchen . . . window tape! Painting my kitchen seems to be a neverending project. Grrr. It's gonna look awesome, though!

BTW, making a double batch is a LOT of cupcakes.

Like waaaaaaaaay too many. Thank goodness for family nearby to help devour them!

Out of Control

I like to think that when Sophia was a baby we had a pretty much "grown-up" house. You know, the occasional baby accessory lying around, but for the most part you could walk in and not immediately go "Wow, they definitely have kids!"

Today when I tripped over one of Jude's many different baby seat options, I had to acknowledge that was no longer the case. Our house is a kid house. I try to disguise it, but there is no denying the truth!

Fastforward to today, and here's the count, just for things Jude can sit in:

~Bouncy seat

~Jumperoo

~Boppy

~Round stationary activity seat thingy

~Bumbo

~Pack'n'Play

Thank God for hand-me-downs, as most of those items were, while the rest cost a grand total of $15 at yard sales. But this list doesn't count the high chair I carried down to the basement today that he is not quite big enough for, or the booster seat already in the basement waiting for him, his bath seat, or any of the strollers in various sheds and basements (We have four, yes, FOUR strollers!). Seriously, it is out of control!

What is really ridiculous, though, it that we "need" all of those things . . . the bouncy seat is great for when I am moving about the house getting things done, as I can bring him anywhere I go. Great for being able to get a shower in when he is awake! The jumperoo is just fun. The kid loves it, and watching him gleefully jump higher and higher is addictive. The Boppy pillow is to help Jude learn to sit up, the activity seat is where he sits when I am doing dishes or cooking, he sits in the Bumbo when he eats his rice cereal and fruit, and he takes his naps in the Pack'n'Play so that he and Sophia don't have to nap in the same room. Whew!

What did people do before all of these modern conveniences came along?

Back in the day, having a kid didn't necessarily mean that you had kid crap everywhere. In fact, a family friend was just telling me about when she had her first child, 30-some years ago. They had a few baby clothes, some cloth diapers (Not the cloth diapers of today, people . . . the old fashioned long flat ones that had to be folded and pinned, sans rubber pants!), something for the baby to sleep in, and that was about it.

So are we better off, or were they?

I'm really not sure. My mom sometimes marvels at the abundance of baby "conveniences" these day and says she wishes she had this or that 30 years ago. I don't know that I plan to get rid of any of Jude's little seats anytime soon. And I really don't plan to go washing my cloth diapers in a barrel over the fire in the backyard.

But thinking about this has me wanting to simplify, and while I'm not sure exactly what that looks like, you just might be hearing more about it in the coming weeks and months. I do think it will involve some more frequent drop-offs at Goodwill, and who knows? Maybe I'll find that I really don't "need" all the items on my list (or all the other lists in my life!) so much after all.

8 Years to Go

Sophia has started doing some little chores. I was inspired by a friend whose kids have chores from toddlerhood right on up. So now Sophia helps load the dishwasher (I rearrange as needed when she isn't around.), empty the dishwasher, and set the table. She LOVES to help with the dishes. Last week I heard a chair scraping around in the kitchen, and when I walked in Sophia was dragging one of her little chairs over to the sink.

"Whatcha doing, Sophia?"

"I'm doing your dishes for you, Mama!"

I think having chores teaches kids great skills that they will use in the future. They get to contribute to the family, and of course will then know how to do those things when they eventually leave the nest.

So I think it is great that Sophia is starting to help with some little things. But I have to be honest . . . I am so looking forward to the day that my kids can do real chores.

And by real chores I mean cleaning the bathroom.

I am not trying to rush things, I just really hate cleaning the bathroom. I don't want to fastforward their childhood or anything, like that Adam Sandler movie (Wasn't it an Aesop's fable first?).

I have hated cleaning the bathroom for a long, long, long time. Probably since the second time I ever had to clean ours growing up. I'm sure the first time was a novelty, but since then it has lost its luster. My dad claims that when he was growing up he and his brothers used to race to clean the bathroom so they could see who could polish the faucets the best.

Pretty sure that is an outright lie. Or at best a wild exaggeration.

So I was thinking the other day (While cleaning my not-often-cleaned bathroom, of course.) that in another eight years or so I'll be able to pass off bathroom cleaning duties. Ten is a good age for that, right?

If I do the math that means I have about 120 deep cleans left. (You know, the ones where you REALLY clean, not just wipe a towel around to disguise the yucky sink.) One a month. That seems like a lot, but at least I only have one bathroom.

I plan to NEVER live in a house with more than 1 1/2 baths. If ever we look to buy or build a house with more than 1 1/2 bathrooms, kick me and remind me of this post. In fact, have you ever heard of anyone getting rid of an extra bathroom? Because I think we would have to do that if we moved to a house with too many. That's how much I hate cleaning bathrooms.

It's just gross. And awkward. How much of a contortionist do you have to be to reach the other side of the tub and scrub? I'm just not that flexible. So I reaaaaccccccchhhhhh, and strain, and almost fall in the tub, then try climbing in to scrub, and then get cleaning agent all over my clothes. And don't even get me started on cleaning the toilet. Grossness!

And I do drink water out of the bathroom tap, but have you ever stopped to think how gross that is? I mean, your hands bump that spigot when you wash your hands. And your kids hands definitely bump it . . . and if they have as occasionally nasty dirty hands as my little Snuggler does, then that's just gross. But do you clean your spigot? Because I don't. Who can remember all those little details?

Anyway, 120 cleanings from now, I will gladly give that chore over to Sophia. And I'm sure she will gripe and complain as much as I did when I was a kid, but I will enjoy having a nice long break from bathroom cleaning . . . until empty nest hits, but that's another 480 cleanings away once the kids take over. Yes, that math is good . . . as soon as I can delegate the bathroom it will become a weekly chore. Happy Saturday morning, 10 year old Sophia!

February catch-up

The Libby house has been a busy place the last couple weeks, with a round of the pukes, some birthday sewing, and lots and lots of breastmilk pumping. (Jude has turned into quite the lazy eater, so I have to make up for his lack of ambition by pumping after each mini-feed.)

Mixed in with the craziness we have had some fun times, like Sophia's first haircut, visits with cousins, fun mail, and lots of cuddling. Enjoy!

LOVE my beautiful new scarf . . . and how fun to get something besides bills and junk mail! Thanks, Beth!!!

Zuzu loves her cousin Jude . . .

. . . perhaps a wee bit aggressively . . .

Time for lunch, girls! Girls?

Nice table, Shrimps!

A: Not so sure about this haircutting thing.

B: The Snuggler's workin' it in black, look at that beautiful girl!

Jude was a very patient boy, first hanging in his seat . . .

. . . then cuddling with Dada. What a good-natured boy!

Tina (Sophia has referred to her as "Nina" ever since) at Gregory's did such a great job!

Tina gave Sophia a lollypop when her haircut was done, as promised, and that was the highlight of the Snuggler's week. Thanks for making the first haircut painless and fun, Tina!

Sophia frequently asks to cuddle with her brother (also known as buddy boy), so we had some lazy Sunday afternoon cuddles.

My big 6-month old boy, and Sophia's "Buddy Boy!!!"

This is one of the least compromising positions in which I find Sophia.

I think the gasp I gave when I found her standing on top of the stove scared her away from climbing up on it (not to mention the stern talk we had!), at least for a couple days.

She is already talking about how she's going to climb trees when it is warmer. I foresee broken bones in the Snuggler's future . . . thank God for medical insurance with this kid!

I plan to be back with more frequent posts the rest of the month, assuming that we don't get the plague or something equally nasty.

Happy February!