Parents helping Parents

Beyond Words...

nobody@vox.com(raspberryswirl) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:02:00 -0800

Vida is about a week away from turning 20 months! Her language development continues to impress me. I know, every mother has a super baby. Well here's some proof:

She can say some 3 word sentences, here are some examples:

1. I see you! If you're playing hide and seek and she spots you.
2. We're home! As we drive into our alley and pull up to our place.
3. There it is! When she has located something we asked for.

She has memorized two songs and sings them on her own.

1. The Wheels on the Bus... (My mom just loves this one.)
This one is not as easily understood until you hear her say, 'round and round'. She sings it spontaneously not on command.
2 Happy Birthday! (Every gathering with multiple people and candles in sight is 'Happy Birthday' time.)
Take Thanksgiving for example: At the table were centerpieces with orange tapers. She was so excited and began to sing "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to Vida. Blow! Blow!"
Vida has a cousin that's 6 weeks older than her and his mom said he only knew 3 words and simply grunts to have his needs met.
3. She's working on some Mother Goose Nursery rhymes, I think she has them but doesn't sing them all the way through on her own. Favorites include: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (95% memorized), Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Pat a Cake (85% memorized).

She asks to have books read to her one after the other.
I notice this most during the bed time routine: we put the pajamas on, bring the bottle, she inhales it, and says, 'book'. We read one, two, and sometimes three or four books. I am trying to decipher if she has already started to use it as a stall for bedtime or simply enjoys reading for pleasure. There are days where she'll get in a book worm mood in the middle of the day and want to read.
There's one book, she can 'read' on her own:

That's Not My Dolly (Touchy-feely)

Fiona Watt

On each page there's a different doll with a feature that is not 'right'. Example: 'That's not my dolly! Her shoes are too bumpy!' The shoes are textured for touch. As Vida flips through it, you can hear the intonation that I use as I read to her. I may have mentioned this before because she caught me by surprise about two months ago when I overheard her. I am fascinated though because it reminds of when I ask kids to read aloud with an animated voice and to use the punctuation marks. Some kids still sound monotone or their attempts are strained. Reading with intonation can only be learned through modeling.

She engages in storytelling:
There are 3 incidents she re-lives when something trigger her memory, usually an object or keyword.

1. The parakeet incident: While Pablo let the birds spread their wings, they scrambled to the top of the back door when Vida approached. One of them flew away back to the cage as Vida began to move the door. The more docile, tame one, stayed and had a toe smashed in the door frame. With a horrible shriek, Vida let go and ran to the other side of the kitchen, she was traumatized. Her face flush and on the verge of tears from the horrible squaking. Pablo was washing the dishes (awesome Husband, I know) and I came in to check out the commotion. The bird is now inside its cage and bleeding. I attend to Vida and reassure her, Pablo attends to the bird, quickly Googling first aid. Pablo was leaving the next morning for a surprise visit home for his mom's birthday. I took the bird in for a check up (I didn't think it was necessary but these $4 parakeets are his friends). $100 later (an antibiotic and vitamin shot), granted both parakeets had their nails trimmed, he's fine. Every now and then, Vida will comment:

Bird, Door, Sorry

Sorry...was picked up at daycare. If she walks by an object and bumps into it, she tells the it, 'sorry'. Once when I picked her up from daycare, she said, 'Seesaw. Sorry.' She motioned to her head. I am guessing some kid abruptly got off and she fell off.

2. Then there was the Turban squash incident. We selected a turban squash from the pumpkin patch. It was Pablo's idea, it could serve as Vida's own pumpkin, it's a cute size, and it looks like a toadstool. Below is an example:

TurbanSquash

One morning I was washing out her bottles and she wanted to tell the parakeets good morning. We have a routine where we tell them 'good morning' and pull of the towel that covers them. Well the turban squash was sitting on top of the cage and came down with just a couple of gentle tugs. A 'foot' of the squash landed square on the front right corner of Via's head and knocked her to her butt. It was definitely a slow motion reaction on my part as it unfolded. She summarizes the incident as Pumpkin! Burdies! Sorry! As she pats the part of her forehead that was hit. :-(

I don't want to end on a sad note like that. She has incredible resiliency and spunk. It's hilarious to watch her find tons of amusement in the most basic experiences, like going up and down the back steps or her Little Tikes slide in our living room. The role playing is expanding. She places her stuff animals on chairs and spins them 'round and 'round. She reads with them in her house.

This weekend a new element of entertainment was introduced...Play dough! I have small jars (the party favor ones) in 4 different colors. She loves them all. Daddy has a good time too. He makes her cake, strawberries, and bananas. She likes using tools with it, like a small roller, protractor, and the cases themselves. Beginning in January, she will start attending Music Together classes. I am saving the details of our first demo class for another post. The program is simply amazing! We're taking small steps to prep her for preschool, she could start as early as 4 months from now! Most likely, we're still 10 months away but it's good to present her with similar experiences.

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Always a mommy...always

nobody@vox.com(raspberryswirl) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:01:06 -0800

It seems as though the surge of hormones acquired during my pregnancy with Vida still linger. Whenever I read a tragic news story about a young life lost, a sinking feeling comes over me. I actually feel my chest sink a little bit as I go limp reading some of the details of these abductions that almost always result in killings.

I can recall the first time that I watched some footage on the news while on maternity leave and simply clutching Vida as close as I possibly could without actually squishing her. I needed to run an errand at Target and began to take into consideration measures that are needed to protect her from 'baby snatchers'. The story I watched on the news didn't even play out like that. However, the thoughts of what a 'baby snatcher' could do sent me into hyper-protective mode.

As an educator, you have many opportunities to create nurturing mommy moments. I recently subbed in a first grade classroom and was taken aback by the hugs I was welcomed with after lunch recess. This morning, I arrived early for an assignment to assist a librarian. There was a 1st grader waiting for the library to open up along with me. She had a Fancy Nancy book in Spanish! I asked her about it and asked if I could read it with her. Mid-way through the book, a fourth grader arrived and began to follow along. I just couldn't help myself. For one thing, I felt awkward just hanging out in the hallway and out of a little boredom was born a teachable moment.

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Lego Rock Band!!

nobody@vox.com(LEGO ROCKBAND) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:05:25 -0800

Are you looking for an interactive, fun and educational game for your kids this Christmas? If so, check out LEGO Rock Band out this Friday 26^th November http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzvibXuMnV0.

To preorder now please visit HMV - http://hmv.com/hmvweb/simpleMultiSearch.do?searchUID=&pGroupID=0&adultFlag=false&primaryID=0&simpleSearchString=lego+rock+band&btnSubmitSearch.x=19&btnSubmitSearch.y=8

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The Very Cranky Bear

nobody@vox.com(Jessmiloo) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:40:45 -0800

The Very Cranky Bear

Just a few weeks ago my little preschooler came home with his first Scholastic sheet and order form. I could remember being so excited about ordering books when I was in school that I HAD to give in and buy a few for Nate. I decided to let him pick out some and he circled everything. So, we went with The Very Cranky Bear by Nick Bland and the "If You Give a Mouse A Cookie" set. He'll get the set for Christmas but I let him have the The Very Crank Bear now.

This book is AWESOME. I just read it to my 4 year old dude and he LOVED it. Daddy even played out the story and acted as the VERY CRANKY BEAR himself. It was a good time. I loved the illustrations and the story was fun. Highly recommend it for other little dudes and dudettes :)

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Imagine...

nobody@vox.com(raspberryswirl) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:26:40 -0700

Imagine...
A preschool with a passionate director, an authentic Reggio approach, and a beautiful environment. Yes, it's out of reach: with only a 1/2 day schedule and a 5-digit price tag plus an additional $2K for the art materials and registration fee. The experience is worthwhile, this site is a testament to how the childrens' natural talents are nourished. I knew the preschool search would be tough but didn't expect heartache to go with it. What I have learned though is to use the same approach when selecting a day care site. I didn't give myself enough time on that one. I am happy with Vida's daycare but it doesn't have a bilingual component. It's possible to have it all, it just takes a significant amount of planning.

We just wrapped up our second preschool tour and were super satisfied until we reflected on the price tag, it's more than our rent. It will be a back up, pending my future employment. When you compare it to the preschool above, it's a 'bargain'. A huge bonus at this location is that the child can start on their second birthday, rolling admissions, and they don't have to be potty-trained. So far this has been a rare perk: usually potty training is required and they can't start until they are 2.5.

I have 4 more preschool tours between November and January. 1/2 of them are not realistic due to their hours but I want to get a feel for what's offered in the area so that I can make an informed decision.

This is when you truly feel the middle class squeeze and your options are limited. We want it all: a satisfying career, home ownership and a great education for our child(ren). In CA, that combination is reserved for a few.

Oh, how I miss the days where I could scribble out a 5-year plan and everything worked out perfectly, falling into place at the right time. Now, it's about the 10-year plan and holding our breath that it works out. I guess, we can hold off on buying our first place until it's time for kindergarten or college. I am an advocate of public education whether traditional or charter. However, I feel strongly about a private high school education. That view could change with some significant reform.

I read the The Complete TightWad Gazette to learn more tips about saving money. To truly fit the bill there are some caveats: you need to have strong home ec skills, live in a rural area, and have one parent stay home. Yes, there were multiple examples of families owning homes with only one income, granted their purchases were less than $50K.

Which brings me to my next topic...

How do I reduce my carbon footprint, live a frugal life, and increase family quality time factor?
(I would love to hear your answers to this question too.)

This BIG question evolved as I discovered the No Impact Man, the book mentioned above, personal finance blogs, a rigorous work environment, and the Story of Stuff.

So in my tiny universe I have taken these steps and noticed that some have the added benefit of a healthy lifestyle too:

1. Commitment to only 1 TV in our household and no cable. We have always had 1 TV and the DirectTV was canceled months ago and replaced with a more affordable Netflix subscription (only 1 DVD at a time). It still feels like we watch too much TV, between morning cartoons and our shows/interests, we're probably at 10 hours/week. I would rather spend that time reading or doing something productive like household duties. As Vida's school years begin, I would like to create the routine of no TV after dinner as it will be reserved for homework time and it only gets turned on after she's asleep. We have ridiculously great weather, it was 90 degrees today, we should be outside more often.

2. Making treats instead of buying them. Like if I want to serve dessert for the family it will be something made from scratch. Or if I want snack foods for work, it will be a home-made item. So far this has been in effect 50%...

3. Buying in bulk and sharing the difference with family. We're just two adults and a toddler, so I review a list of needs with my mom and we split the cost on some Costco purchases.

4. Using a Brita filter instead of buying bottled water, this one is tough because bottle water is such an evil, er, great convenience. We're getting better at this one, I think a larger Brita contraption would help.

5. Menu planning: it makes so much sense and has significant pay off in terms of finances and stress. No last minute decisions and panic fast food runs. It's not intuitive or second nature yet but it has improved in the last 3 months. Taking time off from working full time made a difference. It also helps with grocery shopping and cuts down on throwing away unused food.

6. No full price purchases or dining: Basically take advantage of discounts, coupons, and perks if you want to treat yourself or indulge. There have been multiple times that I found myself remembering that 'we had a coupon for that. Dang it!'

7. Do significant research on any purchase over $50: First ask yourself is it REALLY necessary, then if it is, hunt for the best value. Take Vida's bedroom furniture for example: the crib can be modified to a toddler bed and the dresser and night stand can plain-face or have colorful panels, it's also well made and will last. I remember having my furniture for nearly a decade. I can't say the same for our main couch, I think it's cush factor has a maximum of 5 years left.

Living this lifestyle is not difficult it just takes commitment, like my Jillian's 30-Day Shred work out. :-) Bottom line: you can't procrastinate if you want to be successful with this lifestyle.

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A B C D...

nobody@vox.com(raspberryswirl) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:00:31 -0700

How fun is it to sing the 'ABC's' song?

It's my first round and I am loving it. Vida sings along during certain portions. She has a strong concept of letter and sound relationships. She has even transferred it to graffiti, let me explain:
While at the park on Sunday, she was playing on the equipment and crawled through a tunnel that had some tagging, silly stuff like, 'cows eat poop' along with actual tagging. She pointed to the letter 'C' and said it.

The night before we 'tagged' up the bathroom tile with Crayola's tub crayons and sang about the ABC's during bath time. *Remember*: I am an educator and learning opportunities abound. Below is a video of the final round, she's not participating as much. Her voice comes through as a high pitch, my apologies in advance:

VIDEO_004

I know it's sideways. It was shot on a cell phone and I can't find a free video conversion program to edit it on my Mac. Can anyone help out with that?

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First Day

nobody@vox.com(Tami) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 08:02:33 -0700

My oldest started Kindergarten today.

out the door

my teacher

getting settled

Now excuse me while I crawl under a rock and cry.

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No more blogging...

nobody@vox.com(Beanie) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:03:31 -0800

I won't be blogging anymore. No more time. I find it too time consuming living life...instead of blogging opinions about it. But it made a difference to read your thoughts. Whether we agreed or not. It made a difference to share mine and grapple with social, cultural and political issues. But now I move on. I do check in. Thank you to all who contributed to me. I have blocked many of my posts and only leave those that might make a difference. Best of luck.

And may we all find our humanity in ourselves and in each other in these worst of times. I hope with this new era in American leadership, we try to come together - or we are sunk. Differing views are fine. But in the end when all the debates are over (and the bickering) when the decision is made, we say we stand united as a country.

May our choices be those for the greater good.
May our steps we take as individuals be for the greater good.
May the crisis bring out our best in each of us that we didn't even know we had.
May we be our brothers' keepers.
May we serve someone else when we feel deprived or sad.
May we stop and relish this beautiful earth and care for it's future as if it were are child.
May we stand for peace.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
And in so doing, may we celebrate our humanity in all it's glory.

May you prosper in the intangibles: love, courage, character responsibility, accountability, loyalty and an open mind.
May the riches you find in an economic free fall be the cherishing of friends, good health and in comfort through the universal spirit of love - I call God. Be safe, be healthy, and find joy and comfort in that.

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Рассказ о секс знакомствах

nobody@vox.com(sereoga) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:33:41 -0700

Мое имя Анна. Анечка, Анюта. Но все меня зовут по-разному.Секс клуб знакомств Подруги по работе, если их можно назвать подругами, зовут меня Стервочка Анечка. Или просто Стервочка. Наша Стервочка. Почему я сомневаюсь в том, что их можно назвать подругами? Понимаете, там, где я работаю, дружба в принципе невозможна. Впрочем, о своей работе я расскажу немного позже.

Я вообще не очень понимаю, зачем я взялась написать о своей жизни.Онлайн секс знакомства Может быть потому, что хочу понять сама, что в ней не так, почему у меня не получается жить так, как живут все остальные люди?

Мне двадцать шесть лет.Знакомства интим фотки Почти двадцать семь.Сайт знакомств секс без обязательств А у меня нет ни семьи, ни детей, ни квартиры. У меня есть деньги, чтоб купить квартиру, но я боюсь оставаться одна. Я побаиваюсь одиночества. Конечно, из этой ситуации Международные сайты знакомств можно было бы найти выход, если бы я вышла замуж, но я испытываю затруднения в общении с мужчинами. Вернее нет, не так. С общением как раз все в порядке. Знакомства секс павлодар Я легко и свободно могу с ними общаться, флиртовать, но как только дело заходит до физических отношений... Впрочем, обо всем по порядку.

Я росла болезненной, слабой девочкой. Моя мама, которая меня воспитывала одна, без отца, часто водила меня по докторам. Поэтому я довольно быстро привыкла Популярный знакомства онлайн раздеваться перед незнакомыми дядями. Лет до девяти меня это не заботило и только то, что я подолгу мерзла, когда они меня разглядывали, меня очень Парень познакомится с парнем до 18 лет для секса расстраивало.

Честно говоря, я не помню, когда, наконец, произошло это. Когда я почувствовала себя Девочкой. Только однажды, когда меня привели в большой кабинет Знакомство дружба любовь , который назвали странным словом "консилиум", когда мама меня завела в него и меня попросили раздеться, я вдруг страшно застеснялась раздеваться перед десятком строгих дяденек и тетенек, которые ожидающе глядели на меня. Я оглянулась на маму и попросила:

- Мама, пойдем домой.

- Обязательно пойдем, Анечка, только сначала нужно, чтоб врачи поглядели на тебя.

Мама улыбнулась. Увидев теплую мамину улыбку, я решилась. Мне не хотелось расстраивать свою любимую мамочку.

Я очень медленно расстегнула кофточку, расстегнула и сняла платьишко. Я чувствовала как все больше краснею. Как мои щечки и ушки наливаются Онлайн секс знакомства кровью. Я снимала вещь за вещью и время от времени оглядывалась на маму. Мама улыбалась.

Наконец, когда на мне остались одни трусики, я замерла в нерешительности и поглядела на Самого Главного Дядю. Он молчал и ждал, постукивая по столу ручкой. Я сняла трусики.

Мне было ужасно стыдно. Я стеснялась поднять глаза и все время, пока они меня разглядывали, просили присесть, наклониться, глядела только в пол. Мне было стыдно, что они меня разглядывают, но вместе со стыдом я почувствовала что-то новое, очень необычное, что-то такое, чего до сих пор не было. Что-то такое, от чего мне было очень приятно. И я, к огромному изумлению для самой себя, очень расстроилась, когда Самый Главный Дядя сказал: "спасибо, Анечка, можешь одеваться". Мне было тогда двенадцать лет.

Потом, уже дома, когда я сидела и играла, я снова представила себя в том кабинете, как меня разглядывают дяди и тети, одетые в белые халаты, как произносят что-то на непонятном языке, кивая друг другу и соглашаясь, поздравляя себя зачем-то и улыбаясь, и во мне поднималось откуда-то снизу, от ног, вверх, тепло, медленно разливаясь по телу. Мои щечки горели от стыда, а тело наслаждалось пережитым.

Утром я спросила маму, когда мы снова пойдем в больницу.

- Наверно, очень не скоро, Анечка. Ты уже здорова. Не волнуйся, тебе не придется больше раздеваться перед дядями. Я понимаю, как тебе это было неприятно. Ты у меня уже большая. - Ответила мне мама и поцеловала меня в лоб.

- Хорошо, мамочка. - Сказала я, а сама расстроилась. Мне ночью снилось все то же: я и много людей в белых халатах.

Прошло несколько лет. Мои впечатления о пережитом в поликлинике несколько приугасли. Было очень много всего такого, что занимало мое детское внимание. Новые игрушки, платья, новые друзья, подруги, я целыми днями бегала с мальчишками на улице, каталась на велосипеде, который мне подарила мама на день рождения. Это был мой первый велосипед. Я его хорошо помню. Красный, блестящий, с низкой рамой, "дамский", как мне сказала мама.

И вот, однажды, когда каникулы были в самом разгаре, к нам приехала в гости бабушка, мамина мама. Она привезла много гостинцев, варенье, компоты, а потом предложила на остаток лета уехать с ней, в деревню. Я с радостью согласилась. Я помнила, как замечательно провела прошлые летние каникулы у бабушки в деревне, на речке, с подружками, Наташей и Светкой, как мы загорали на крыше Светкиного сарая, как бегали купаться и целыми днями валялись на берегу речки, строя городки из песка. Как бегали на старое, давно заброшенное кладбище и рассказывали друг другу страшные истории. Как мы ходили мыться в Светкину баню, как мальчишки подглядывали за нами в окошко и мы, с визгом, бросая в них веники, бежали жаловаться Клавдии Михайловне, бабушке Светки. Это, последнее воспоминание, почему-то мне понравилось больше всего.

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Miscarriage and moving forward...

nobody@vox.com(raspberryswirl) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:26:48 -0700

We went in for our first appointment on Tuesday, and there was a discrepancy between the measurements from my pelvic exam (7 weeks) and my estimate ( 9 weeks). Upon that news, I had a suspicion the baby stopped growing. The ultrasound confirmed it, there was just a little lump, instead of the bouncy sac with the flicker of a heartbeat. It was certainly disappointing, particularly because I had no signs (no cramping or bleeding). I felt deceived by mother nature.
This pregnancy was a special surprise so I had not physically prepared as in taking pre-natal vitamins and losing those 20 lbs. In the 'big picture' it's for the best. That didn't comfort me when I had to take the misopostrol and pass the blood clots. I hope it all is taken care of and I don't need a D & C. I have an appointment on 8/7 for an ultrasound just to make sure.

The night before I took the pills, Vida was a wreck. She normaly sleeps soundly all night. On Tuesday night, she woke up at 1 am and wouldn't rest with Pablo rocking her. He brought her to me, I was already mentally exhausted from the news we received earlier that day. She was inconsolable, it's as if she knew. I rocked her and told her she was okay, so was I and that there was no more baby. I think she was just as devastated. We held eachother, as I rocked her, Pablo held me. She didn't want to sleep though. Pablo retrieved her 'first friend', the glow worm. We made her a bottle and she calmed down. It must have been around 3 when she stopped fighting it abd put her selp back to sleep. Poor thing didn't get to sleep in because of the gardners next door. She was a cranky butt all morning. I had an interview for a pre-school director position at a therapy center and took her with me. Vida did not want to leave my side, as I toured the facility, I could hear her crying and crying and crying. She just wanted to be with me.

Babies are so intuitive. I wish I could have comforted her some more. She will make a great big sister one day. For now, Pablo and I are focused on her and some exciting events coming up. 4 sets of friends are getting married in a span of 5 months in 2010.

Here are some pictures of the lovely flowers friends and family sent yesterday to cheer me up!

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