Today was Lucy's first OFFICIAL public performance.
She, and the rest of her daycare class, dressed up like flowers and sang a flower song to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" for the amusement of lots of doting parents who took off work early to see the big show.
There was the kid who refused to wear his costume and threw a tantrum before the performance even began. I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to wear a gigantic flower on my head either.
Then there was the little girl who was all happy in her flower costume until she walked out "on stage" and realized there was an audience. She burst into tears and bolted down the aisle to her mommy.
Then there was MY kid. She walked out on stage and paused dead center to scan the crowd while the rest of the class lined up. She spotted me, pointed, and announced to the audience, "THAT is my Mommy." Then she ran down the aisle to give me a hug. I hugged her and sent her back up to the front of the room to sing. As she was walking back to the front of the room she paused to greet people. "Hi! I'm Lucy." "Hi! I'm going to sing!" When she got back to "the stage" she told the audience. "My Mommy came to see me! I'm a pretty flower." She spun in a circle to model her costume. "I'm going to sing now." Who needs an MC when you have Lucy to narrate?
I never heard Lucy sing. She appeared to be lip syncing while dancing around the stage. After her class sang they left the stage to bring flowers to their parents. Lucy brought me the flower, showed it to me, and kept it. Then she took her flower headdress off, handed it to me, and joined the class of five year old students that was up next. They performed a re-enactment of the story of Stone Soup. Their performance was delayed while Lucy was escorted from the stage...twice.
At the end of the performance, Lucy found me again. She also found Tommy, and pushed him in his stroller down to the stage so he could sing too. I heard her encouraging him, "Come on Tommy. Sing the flower song with me." The World's Biggest Tantrum ensued when I made them leave the stage and come home with me.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Bedtime: Bring it!
This is a post about how NOT to do bedtime.
The Teams:
Parents: Peter and Kristin
vs.
Kids: Lucy and Tommy
The Game Plan:
Bath.
Pajamas.
Book.
Bed.
x2.
We ran the bath.
Dumped Lucy in the bath.
Dumped Tommy in the bath.
Score one for the parents.
I forwarded the laundry.
Score: Parents 2, Kids 0.
I folded one shirt.
"MOMMMYYYY!! I need to go PEE!!"
In case I didn't mention, we're potty training Lucy.
Those are the magic words.
Lucy is out of the bath.
Parents 2, Kids 1.
Peter monitored the peeing situation.
I went back to folding laundry.
Folded three more shirts.
False alarm. Lucy is back in the tub.
Parents 3, Kids 1.
Peter started putting laundry away.
"DADDDEEEEE!! I need to PEE!!!"
Lucy is out of the tub.
Parents 3, Kids 2.
Twenty seconds later...another false alarm. Please sit on the potty for more than 20 seconds Lucy.
Okay.
Thirty seconds later.
Lucy is running around the house naked.
Parents 3, Kids 3.
I dump Lucy back in the tub.
I Finish folding the laundry. Peter is putting away the laundry.
"MOMMMEEEEE! I need to PEE!! I need to PEE in the POTTY!!"
Parents 4, Kids 4.
I cleaned out a drawer. Peter supervised the bath.
LUCY PEED IN THE POTTY!!!!
Parents 50, Kids 5.
Tommy is washed. I'm feeling empowered, so I decide to vacuum the upstairs while the kids are happy in the bath.
Parents 51, Kids 5.
Tommy climbs out of the bath.
Parents 51, Kids 6.
Tommy pulls the clean towel off the rack and throws it in Lucy's potty. With the pee.
Parents 51, Kids 26.
Tommy is running around the house naked while Peter chases him with the towel.
Parents 51, Kids 27.
Tommy pees on the floor.
Parents 51, Kids 127.
Peter cleans up the floor.
Tommy is pajamaed and put to bed.
One down, one to go.
Parents 52, Kids 127.
Lucy is washed.
Lucy gets three M&Ms for using the potty.
Lucy is pajamaed.
Parents 55, Kids 127.
Lucy gets a bedtime story.
Lucy gets another bedtime story.
Parents 55, Kids 128.
Peter cleans out the potty. There is pee in every crevice from Tommy's towel adventure.
Parents 55, Kids 158.
We tuck Lucy in. Peter steps to the left. He squishes.
Peter: "Why is the floor wet?"
Lucy: "I peed."
Peter: "When?"
Me: "Why didn't you tell us?"
Lucy: "I did! I peed my pants!" (To be fair, she did wet her pants earlier and she did tell us. She didn't elaborate that the floor was wet too, but I guess she thought that was obvious).
Parents: 55, Kids 17580.
Peter cleans the floor.
Lucy decides that in the interest of full disclosure she'll list off everything else in her room that could possibly be peed on.
"I peed my bed."
"My pillow is wet."
"My blanket is wet."
"My doll peed on her bed."
"My bed is wet."
"My doll is wet."
"My panties are wet."
I check every blanket in Lucy's bed. She has half a linen closet in her bed. She likes blankets.
Lucy runs around the house like a maniac. The bed is dry.
Parents: 55, Kids 309857902.
A full hour past bedtime, everyone is snug in their bed.
We suck.
The Teams:
Parents: Peter and Kristin
vs.
Kids: Lucy and Tommy
The Game Plan:
Bath.
Pajamas.
Book.
Bed.
x2.
We ran the bath.
Dumped Lucy in the bath.
Dumped Tommy in the bath.
Score one for the parents.
I forwarded the laundry.
Score: Parents 2, Kids 0.
I folded one shirt.
"MOMMMYYYY!! I need to go PEE!!"
In case I didn't mention, we're potty training Lucy.
Those are the magic words.
Lucy is out of the bath.
Parents 2, Kids 1.
Peter monitored the peeing situation.
I went back to folding laundry.
Folded three more shirts.
False alarm. Lucy is back in the tub.
Parents 3, Kids 1.
Peter started putting laundry away.
"DADDDEEEEE!! I need to PEE!!!"
Lucy is out of the tub.
Parents 3, Kids 2.
Twenty seconds later...another false alarm. Please sit on the potty for more than 20 seconds Lucy.
Okay.
Thirty seconds later.
Lucy is running around the house naked.
Parents 3, Kids 3.
I dump Lucy back in the tub.
I Finish folding the laundry. Peter is putting away the laundry.
"MOMMMEEEEE! I need to PEE!! I need to PEE in the POTTY!!"
Parents 4, Kids 4.
I cleaned out a drawer. Peter supervised the bath.
LUCY PEED IN THE POTTY!!!!
Parents 50, Kids 5.
Tommy is washed. I'm feeling empowered, so I decide to vacuum the upstairs while the kids are happy in the bath.
Parents 51, Kids 5.
Tommy climbs out of the bath.
Parents 51, Kids 6.
Tommy pulls the clean towel off the rack and throws it in Lucy's potty. With the pee.
Parents 51, Kids 26.
Tommy is running around the house naked while Peter chases him with the towel.
Parents 51, Kids 27.
Tommy pees on the floor.
Parents 51, Kids 127.
Peter cleans up the floor.
Tommy is pajamaed and put to bed.
One down, one to go.
Parents 52, Kids 127.
Lucy is washed.
Lucy gets three M&Ms for using the potty.
Lucy is pajamaed.
Parents 55, Kids 127.
Lucy gets a bedtime story.
Lucy gets another bedtime story.
Parents 55, Kids 128.
Peter cleans out the potty. There is pee in every crevice from Tommy's towel adventure.
Parents 55, Kids 158.
We tuck Lucy in. Peter steps to the left. He squishes.
Peter: "Why is the floor wet?"
Lucy: "I peed."
Peter: "When?"
Me: "Why didn't you tell us?"
Lucy: "I did! I peed my pants!" (To be fair, she did wet her pants earlier and she did tell us. She didn't elaborate that the floor was wet too, but I guess she thought that was obvious).
Parents: 55, Kids 17580.
Peter cleans the floor.
Lucy decides that in the interest of full disclosure she'll list off everything else in her room that could possibly be peed on.
"I peed my bed."
"My pillow is wet."
"My blanket is wet."
"My doll peed on her bed."
"My bed is wet."
"My doll is wet."
"My panties are wet."
I check every blanket in Lucy's bed. She has half a linen closet in her bed. She likes blankets.
Lucy runs around the house like a maniac. The bed is dry.
Parents: 55, Kids 309857902.
A full hour past bedtime, everyone is snug in their bed.
We suck.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Tommy Is Not a Stool
Our kids are good at charming strangers. They would make great panhandlers.
Today Peter took them to the grocery store. They both came home with free balloons.
Then Lucy's balloon floated up to the ceiling.
She jumped to reach it. Too short.
She stood on her Diva Chair to reach it. Still too short.
So she put Tommy on the Diva Chair, and then tried to stand on top of Tommy. Tommy was not pleased with her problem solving skills. Lucy was still too short. Peter had to intervene and rescue both Tommy and the balloon.
And speaking of the Diva Chair, later this evening I walked into the living room and found this:
I asked Lucy what was going on.
"The bike was tired. It's sleeping now."
Obviously. Why didn't I guess that.
When I went to take a picture of the sleeping bike, I discovered that my camera had also been tucked in for the night. Nite Nite Camera. Who needs dolls when you have expensive electronics to play with instead?!
Today Peter took them to the grocery store. They both came home with free balloons.
Then Lucy's balloon floated up to the ceiling.
She jumped to reach it. Too short.
She stood on her Diva Chair to reach it. Still too short.
So she put Tommy on the Diva Chair, and then tried to stand on top of Tommy. Tommy was not pleased with her problem solving skills. Lucy was still too short. Peter had to intervene and rescue both Tommy and the balloon.
And speaking of the Diva Chair, later this evening I walked into the living room and found this:
"The bike was tired. It's sleeping now."
Obviously. Why didn't I guess that.
When I went to take a picture of the sleeping bike, I discovered that my camera had also been tucked in for the night. Nite Nite Camera. Who needs dolls when you have expensive electronics to play with instead?!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Monsters Inc.
A couple nights ago Peter was reading a bedtime story to Lucy titled, That's Not My Monster.
In case you haven't read it, it's a touchy feely book. It goes along the lines of "That's not my monster, it's nose is too bobbly," and you can feel the bobbly nose.
"That's not my monster, it's horns are too rough."
Then Peter got to the page that says, "That's not my monster, it's eyebrows are too fluffy." The monster on the page has gigantic fake fur eyebrows. Lucy pointed to the eyebrows and said, "Like Mommy!!"
I guess it's time to pluck them.
This morning Lucy woke up and was playing in her room. She was pulling toys out of a box and explaining them to Tommy.
Lucy, demonstrating Vanna White style: "Look Tommy, it's a dinosaur. ROAR!!"
Tommy the obedient pupil: "ROAR!!"
Lucy: "Look Tommy, it's a rubber duck! Quack Quack!"
Tommy: "Quack Quack!" CHOMP! Rubber duck goes into his mouth.
Lucy pulls out a Shrek doll. "Look Tommy, it's Daddy!"
And now we know what our daughter thinks of us. I'm a monster with poorly groomed eyebrows, and Peter is an ogre. Who also has poorly groomed eyebrows.
She's not even thirteen yet.
In case you haven't read it, it's a touchy feely book. It goes along the lines of "That's not my monster, it's nose is too bobbly," and you can feel the bobbly nose.
"That's not my monster, it's horns are too rough."
Then Peter got to the page that says, "That's not my monster, it's eyebrows are too fluffy." The monster on the page has gigantic fake fur eyebrows. Lucy pointed to the eyebrows and said, "Like Mommy!!"
I guess it's time to pluck them.
This morning Lucy woke up and was playing in her room. She was pulling toys out of a box and explaining them to Tommy.
Lucy, demonstrating Vanna White style: "Look Tommy, it's a dinosaur. ROAR!!"
Tommy the obedient pupil: "ROAR!!"
Lucy: "Look Tommy, it's a rubber duck! Quack Quack!"
Tommy: "Quack Quack!" CHOMP! Rubber duck goes into his mouth.
Lucy pulls out a Shrek doll. "Look Tommy, it's Daddy!"
And now we know what our daughter thinks of us. I'm a monster with poorly groomed eyebrows, and Peter is an ogre. Who also has poorly groomed eyebrows.
She's not even thirteen yet.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
The Pajama Saga Continues...
In case you missed it, we've been having some pajama drama in this house.
Catch up here: Pajama Drama
And here: More Pajama Drama
Tonight when I put Lucy to bed she came to me with two pairs of footie pajamas in her hands. THE "jammies" from previous posts (fished out of the washing machine where I hid them), and another nearly identical pair. I started to undress her. I took her shoes off. Then I took a sock off.
Cue tantrum.
"NO JAMMIES!! NO JAMMIESS!!! I NEED MY SOCKS!!"
Obviously the pajama fad is over.
Catch up here: Pajama Drama
And here: More Pajama Drama
Tonight when I put Lucy to bed she came to me with two pairs of footie pajamas in her hands. THE "jammies" from previous posts (fished out of the washing machine where I hid them), and another nearly identical pair. I started to undress her. I took her shoes off. Then I took a sock off.
Cue tantrum.
"NO JAMMIES!! NO JAMMIESS!!! I NEED MY SOCKS!!"
Obviously the pajama fad is over.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
More Pajama Drama
That's right. The Saga continues.
So I got Lucy dressed successfully (in something besides her "jammies") this morning. Score 1 for me.
Then she brought her "jammies" everywhere with her today - including to school with her. Score 1 for Lucy.
She carried them into her classroom wadded up under her arm like a football. When she got to class she announced, "These are MY jammies."
Then she put them away in her bag and left them there all day. As soon as we got home, the pajamas came out of the bag.
She showed them to me and again instructed me. "These are MY jammies."
They got their own place of honor at dinner tonight. Score 2 for Lucy.
On the way up the stairs, I asked her if I could carry the pajamas upstairs (I didn't want her to trip) and miraculously she agreed. Score 2 for Mommy.
So then I had to poke a little. I can't just leave well enough alone. I put the pajamas on her dresser, opened her pajama drawer, and asked "What pajamas do you want to wear tonight?" She barely even looked in the drawer. Instantaneous reply - "MY jammies!" She started hunting around the room for them as I pulled out pair after pair of pajamas from her drawer.
"Do you want THESE Lucy? They're green?"
"No, no green."
"Do you want THESE Lucy? They're soft!"
"No! NO SOFT! MY JAMMIES!!!"
Score 3 for Lucy.
Needless to say, she won that fight.
She's wearing The Jammies to bed for the second night in a row. As a consolation prize though, she did agree to take my choice of pajamas to bed with her. Maybe by tomorrow they'll be the pair of choice.
So I got Lucy dressed successfully (in something besides her "jammies") this morning. Score 1 for me.
Then she brought her "jammies" everywhere with her today - including to school with her. Score 1 for Lucy.
She carried them into her classroom wadded up under her arm like a football. When she got to class she announced, "These are MY jammies."
Then she put them away in her bag and left them there all day. As soon as we got home, the pajamas came out of the bag.
She showed them to me and again instructed me. "These are MY jammies."
They got their own place of honor at dinner tonight. Score 2 for Lucy.
On the way up the stairs, I asked her if I could carry the pajamas upstairs (I didn't want her to trip) and miraculously she agreed. Score 2 for Mommy.
So then I had to poke a little. I can't just leave well enough alone. I put the pajamas on her dresser, opened her pajama drawer, and asked "What pajamas do you want to wear tonight?" She barely even looked in the drawer. Instantaneous reply - "MY jammies!" She started hunting around the room for them as I pulled out pair after pair of pajamas from her drawer.
"Do you want THESE Lucy? They're green?"
"No, no green."
"Do you want THESE Lucy? They're soft!"
"No! NO SOFT! MY JAMMIES!!!"
Score 3 for Lucy.
Needless to say, she won that fight.
She's wearing The Jammies to bed for the second night in a row. As a consolation prize though, she did agree to take my choice of pajamas to bed with her. Maybe by tomorrow they'll be the pair of choice.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Pajama Drama
Last night I made a parenting mistake.
At bedtime, I asked Lucy to lay down so I could put her "pants" on. Her silk, pink, pajama pants with puppies on them. They're soft. She likes them. Except for last night. As soon as the pants touched her leg, the screaming started. "NO PANTS!! NO PANTS!!!"
Lately we've had some bedtime battles. I thought this was another form of bedtime resistance and I disciplined her for refusing to follow directions/refusing to go to bed. After we sorted out that bedtime was not optional, her behavior improved immensely. She submitted to her pink silk pajamas. She was very sweet and gave me and Tommy hugs. And then she walked over to her drawer, pulled out a pair of too-small worn-out footie pajamas, and said, "Mommy, it's BEDTIME. I need jammies!"
The soft, silk, pink pajama pants are no longer in the category of "jammies" because I labeled them as "pants" when I took them out of the drawer. And apparently we don't wear pants to bed. Only "jammies." I tried to reason with her. I tried to explain that she was WEARING pajamas. No luck. A compromise was reached though. Lucy wore the pajamas (the "pants") I picked out for her to bed without any further argument. But, she also brought her footie pajamas to bed with her. She informed me, "I NEED my jammies," and slept cuddled up with them like a blankie.
This morning when I went to wake her up she was sitting cross legged in bed with her footie pajamas in her lap. When I opened the door, Lucy said, "Hi," in that flat voice that means I'm in trouble. I said, "Hi Lucy! How are you today," and she responded by holding up the pajamas and explaining, "THESE are jammies." In case I missed the point last night. Then, to further drive home her message, she carried the jammies all over the house today. When I picked her up from daycare, the first thing she did was grab her pajamas and announce, "These are jammies. I need my jammies." I asked her if she wanted to put them on right at that moment, and she replied (in a "duh" tone of voice), "NO. It's not bedtime!"
Deep breath.
Bedtime came around. I was excited to put Lucy in her pajamas so the argument could be resolved. Lucy was excited for her pajamas. Then bath time happened. I ran the bath. I undressed Lucy. I reached over to pick her up to put her in the tub, and she was clutching the pajamas to her chest. "MY jammies."
"Yep. YOUR pajamas. Now put them down and get in the tub."
"MY JAMMIES!!!"
I had to pry them out of her hands to bathe her. There was lots of screaming. I dried her off and put the pajamas on her. As soon as the fabric touched her skin, she was a happy kid. When I put her to bed she was hugging herself saying, "My jammies."
Now the challenge will be getting them back off of her again tomorrow!
At bedtime, I asked Lucy to lay down so I could put her "pants" on. Her silk, pink, pajama pants with puppies on them. They're soft. She likes them. Except for last night. As soon as the pants touched her leg, the screaming started. "NO PANTS!! NO PANTS!!!"
Lately we've had some bedtime battles. I thought this was another form of bedtime resistance and I disciplined her for refusing to follow directions/refusing to go to bed. After we sorted out that bedtime was not optional, her behavior improved immensely. She submitted to her pink silk pajamas. She was very sweet and gave me and Tommy hugs. And then she walked over to her drawer, pulled out a pair of too-small worn-out footie pajamas, and said, "Mommy, it's BEDTIME. I need jammies!"
The soft, silk, pink pajama pants are no longer in the category of "jammies" because I labeled them as "pants" when I took them out of the drawer. And apparently we don't wear pants to bed. Only "jammies." I tried to reason with her. I tried to explain that she was WEARING pajamas. No luck. A compromise was reached though. Lucy wore the pajamas (the "pants") I picked out for her to bed without any further argument. But, she also brought her footie pajamas to bed with her. She informed me, "I NEED my jammies," and slept cuddled up with them like a blankie.
This morning when I went to wake her up she was sitting cross legged in bed with her footie pajamas in her lap. When I opened the door, Lucy said, "Hi," in that flat voice that means I'm in trouble. I said, "Hi Lucy! How are you today," and she responded by holding up the pajamas and explaining, "THESE are jammies." In case I missed the point last night. Then, to further drive home her message, she carried the jammies all over the house today. When I picked her up from daycare, the first thing she did was grab her pajamas and announce, "These are jammies. I need my jammies." I asked her if she wanted to put them on right at that moment, and she replied (in a "duh" tone of voice), "NO. It's not bedtime!"
Deep breath.
Bedtime came around. I was excited to put Lucy in her pajamas so the argument could be resolved. Lucy was excited for her pajamas. Then bath time happened. I ran the bath. I undressed Lucy. I reached over to pick her up to put her in the tub, and she was clutching the pajamas to her chest. "MY jammies."
"Yep. YOUR pajamas. Now put them down and get in the tub."
"MY JAMMIES!!!"
I had to pry them out of her hands to bathe her. There was lots of screaming. I dried her off and put the pajamas on her. As soon as the fabric touched her skin, she was a happy kid. When I put her to bed she was hugging herself saying, "My jammies."
Now the challenge will be getting them back off of her again tomorrow!
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