I haven't spent much time writing about this pregnancy, so I figured I'd give a little update. Things just seem too busy around here all the time to really sit down and think about our impending five-some!
I'm 29 weeks down, 11 to go (give or take however much time the kid decides works for him/her). And speaking of him or her, we've stuck to our decision not to find out what we're having. Now that the end is approaching, I have to admit there's part of me that wouldn't mind knowing just to help me feel a little more in control of our preparations. But mostly the mystery is fun!
The baby is totally healthy so far as our midwife and diagnostics can tell. If we go by movements alone, it's definitely strong and hearty. Most nights around bedtime I am subjected to serious internal rearrangements, often to the point of real discomfort. Last night, after a minute or so of nearly-painful shifting, it was apparent that the little one had completely flipped over. Up next to my ribs we could actually feel its back pressed against my skin with the heartbeat bouncing against our fingers. The shape of my belly even looks different this morning, believe it or not!
Anna is open to a brother or sister. She's more interested in the baby itself-- how small it will be, how much hair it will (or won't) have, how she'll hold it and all the help she's determined to offer. For instance, she keeps saying that when the baby cries at night she's going to come and take care of it. Riiiight. We'll see how well that one works out!
Silvia, on the other hand, is having a baby sister. She is. There is no other possibility and she corrects everyone in case they might erroneously refer to the baby as a he. She's very excited, too, though. A couple friends recently had babies and she goes nuts with giggles and happiness every time she seems them.
As for ME, well, I've gotten over the shock of it all, too. I'm excited to meet this little person, boy or girl. This pregnancy hasn't been the same as my other two, though. I'm more tired and have a lot more discomfort, just aches and joint pains. My midwife has helpfully reminded me that I am "older and more stretched out" this time, which makes the stresses a little more noticeable on my body. Thanks! That makes me feel WAY better!
Speaking of midwife, we've decided to take a different route with this, our LAST (REALLY!)birth and delivery. From past experiences, I know how much I hate interventions at the hospital, as well as having outside distractions of people popping in and out all the time and the doctor showing up for about 30 minutes of the whole thing. So this time around we'll have a midwife supporting our wishes and privacy. Our goal is to keep the experience very intimate between the two of us and as "natural" as possible. That's not to say I'm not open to all possibilities, of course. I know how things can change at a moment and not follow any textbook ever written. But, hey, the new hospital is fantastic and comes with private rooms and even jetted tubs for labor, gotta give that a try!
Now that the countdown is rolling downhill, Kurt and I have both had some moments of nerves and panic about how much everything is going to change. All our routines with the girls, our day-to-day pace and decisions, our roles and responsibilities-- it's all up for an overhaul. EEEK. But we're an awesome team and have gotten through our share of upheavals before, so in the bad moments I remind myself of this family's resilience. The girls are old enough to be helpers, too, so I'm looking forward to milking that for all it's worth-- at least until they get tired of it!
Besides which, as hard as this could be, you can't argue with the upside, too. Baby Baby Baby!
Next week we've got our just-for-fun 3D ultrasound, so I'll post pictures if we come up with anything normal looking.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Florida vacation pictures!
Here's us living it up at Clearwater Beach, just outside Tampa. There aren't as many pictures as you'd think, but we spent more time just enjoying the moments then we did looking through the camera lens. There's a whole evening of watching wild dolphins play in the Gulf that's completely missing from this montage, but it's still very clear in my head-- especially Anna's delighted shrieks and Silvia getting confused and staring in the opposite direction.
Enjoy! We sure did.
Friday, March 12, 2010
The things they say
Catching butterflies and playing dress-up, all at once. Multi-taskers!
Making pretzels with Kurt over the weekend. They came out great, but the baking was the best part!
I've been so enjoying the girls lately. Recently they were in a REALLY difficult sibling stage, full of whining, constant crying, wrestling and generally doing their best to abuse each other AND me. I felt terrible and drained and overwhelmed and helpless and every other word you can think of to describe the total powerlessness that parenthood sometimes serves up.
And then it stopped.
Just... stopped. Cuteness reigns supreme. Talk of the baby is everywhere. Anna is determined to get up in the night and rock the baby back to sleep "if" it wakes up and cries. Silvia tells everyone that her little sister (because no way will she consider we might have a boy) will be here soon and Mama will feed her mommy milk from my "nibbles" (by the way, I've tried to get her to STOP telling people this, but since it makes Kurt laugh and snort his coffee, she won't). All the stuffed animals go through speedy pregnancies every day, complaining about their backs and needing naps.
On top of that, Silvia cannot stop talking. I remember this stage with Anna, where everything was a running monologue ALL DAY LONG. Not that she's stopped, mind you, but the flow of words has slowed down some and she even sits quietly for long moments, reading her books.
Now it's Silvia's turn and, boy oh boy, has she embraced the moment! All through every meal, all day playing, on the potty, during stories-- every minute seems filled with her observations. She's delighting in rhymes right now, making up silly words to go with whatever she's saying.
"Can I have that book-dook, Anna?"
"It's time to take a bath-dath-math!!"
All these things, of course, send her into hysterical giggles at which point Anna also collapses. Because, you know, there's nothing more contagious than giggles. And I tell ya, having the house filled with screaming laughter most of the day is WAY better than shaking down with screaming tantrums.
Last night we were watching a thing on the History Channel about how the Earth was formed. They like all the space pictures and get all gasp-y and excited at the shots of a volcano-covered planet. During one of those scenes, Silvia started talking rapidly about olives. Olives?
"And the volcanoes are full of olives and they come out and are hot all over the world and make the planet! Look at all that olives!!".
Anna got up and went to the TV, really scanning the screen for olives, totally confused. Then I figured it out.
"Lava? Do you mean lava, honey?" I asked. She nodded vigorously.
"Yeah. Olives!!"
Making pretzels with Kurt over the weekend. They came out great, but the baking was the best part!
I've been so enjoying the girls lately. Recently they were in a REALLY difficult sibling stage, full of whining, constant crying, wrestling and generally doing their best to abuse each other AND me. I felt terrible and drained and overwhelmed and helpless and every other word you can think of to describe the total powerlessness that parenthood sometimes serves up.
And then it stopped.
Just... stopped. Cuteness reigns supreme. Talk of the baby is everywhere. Anna is determined to get up in the night and rock the baby back to sleep "if" it wakes up and cries. Silvia tells everyone that her little sister (because no way will she consider we might have a boy) will be here soon and Mama will feed her mommy milk from my "nibbles" (by the way, I've tried to get her to STOP telling people this, but since it makes Kurt laugh and snort his coffee, she won't). All the stuffed animals go through speedy pregnancies every day, complaining about their backs and needing naps.
On top of that, Silvia cannot stop talking. I remember this stage with Anna, where everything was a running monologue ALL DAY LONG. Not that she's stopped, mind you, but the flow of words has slowed down some and she even sits quietly for long moments, reading her books.
Now it's Silvia's turn and, boy oh boy, has she embraced the moment! All through every meal, all day playing, on the potty, during stories-- every minute seems filled with her observations. She's delighting in rhymes right now, making up silly words to go with whatever she's saying.
"Can I have that book-dook, Anna?"
"It's time to take a bath-dath-math!!"
All these things, of course, send her into hysterical giggles at which point Anna also collapses. Because, you know, there's nothing more contagious than giggles. And I tell ya, having the house filled with screaming laughter most of the day is WAY better than shaking down with screaming tantrums.
Last night we were watching a thing on the History Channel about how the Earth was formed. They like all the space pictures and get all gasp-y and excited at the shots of a volcano-covered planet. During one of those scenes, Silvia started talking rapidly about olives. Olives?
"And the volcanoes are full of olives and they come out and are hot all over the world and make the planet! Look at all that olives!!".
Anna got up and went to the TV, really scanning the screen for olives, totally confused. Then I figured it out.
"Lava? Do you mean lava, honey?" I asked. She nodded vigorously.
"Yeah. Olives!!"
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Fresh air in February
Anna's enjoying a little snow sketching.
Here's Silvia planting a "blue seed" (not sure what it was, hope it wasn't expensive) in our frozen flower pots.
Anna tormenting, oops, I mean visiting our next door neighbor's dogs.
Monday, February 08, 2010
Birthday fun, birthdays done!!
Well, the weekend of birthdays has been and gone. Silvia's third was on Friday, kicked off with a great family dinner and present extravaganza plus VERY FANCY CAKE. Since for the time being Kurt is doomed to share some of his own festivities (his big day is the 7th, two days after Silvia's) with his as-yet youngest child, I splurged (and we're talking SPLURGED here, people) on a gourmet Black Forest cake from a local bakery. It's his favorite and no one else seemed to have any complaints.
We followed up the family shindig with a morning play party Saturday at Lil Biggs with a few of her favorite 2- and 3-year-old friends. It was a blast and guess what? More cake!! In the great tradition of my girls' parties, Silvia cried for about (at least) half the party, mostly from wanting to play with everything at the same time. I have to admit, despite some inconveniences, it's a great play place for kids with a bounce house, all kinds of video and token games and a big play area with dress-up, toys, climbing and a sandbox. We've got a cup of leftover tokens and I plan on spending a few snow days playing there in the near future.
For Kurt, his big present was a night off. He's been working like a madman lately, with nary a moment to catch his breath, much less sleep, eat or look out the window. The girls spent Saturday night at my mom's indulging in waffles for dinner and snuggling up together in the guest room's big bed for the night.
While they enjoyed the luxury of grandma's house, Kurt and I enjoyed the luxury of our own home-- all to ourselves. We had a wonderful dinner at our favorite restaurant, Edelweiss, and then bolted home to curl up in jammies in front of the big TV for a long-postponed dive into our neglected Netflix collection. We got to sleep until TEN IN THE MORNING, totally unheard of in this household. I mean, seriously, I think the last time I slept until 1o was when Anna was a newborn. We'd be up all night long with her tears and colic and then finally crash out around 7 A.M. just as Kurt left for work. So really, that probably doesn't even count.
We finished off the mini-vacation with a lazy breakfast of cappuccinos and croissants at La Baguette-- and then Kurt headed back down to his office to catch up on the work he'd missed while taking a birthday break. Still, he looked practically rested as he headed out this morning, even after staying up until 2 A.M. working, so I call the time off a complete success.
Now with our big February festivities behind us, all that's left to do is sort and purge some toys to make room for the new loot and then... enjoy the snow, the winter and each other!
P.S. I'm extra proud of Anna, too! She handled all Silvia's attention and gifts with grace and maturity, with the exception of one toy (a stuffed animal cat) that she really wants for her very own. But after 48 hours, Silvia's fascination with it has mostly waned and she even let Anna sleep with it last night. So that worked out, too.
Friday, February 05, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
It's in there!
So, for those of you who don't know, we're (SURPRISE!) having another baby. I'm due this summer, mid-July, though it's hard to pinpoint an accurate date since we're not totally sure when I got pregnant. I'm guessing more towards the end of the month. I'll leave out the gory details, but the moment of actual conception is a bit foggy since I was on the Pill at the time. Let that be a lesson to you, young readers! You know who you are.
It was a shock, for sure. Kurt and I took some time, like several months, to get used to the idea. There were some tears. But it's starting to settle in and each appointment we have to check up on things helps me settle down to the reality more and more.
Besides, yay! I get a new car. It may be a minivan, but I'm totally insisting on heated seats this time. As a mom of three (THREE! EEEK!), I think I deserve it.
Anywhoo... we had the 4 month check-up yesterday, and yup, there's definitely a baby in there! The midwife (I'm skipping the OB this time around. I figure this is my last chance to try something new) ran the Doppler across my belly and right away caught the strong beat of a heart that WAS NOT MINE. It's funny, but I never get used to that. There's something ALIVE in there! It still feels sort of like alien invasion. But, you know, in a good way.
Baby is healthy and so am I. As this is my third time around, all my symptoms and signs have popped up (get it? popped? haha!) much sooner. I'm bigger earlier, already having trouble sleeping and generally feeling a little slower on the uptake. Of course, that could be from chasing two little nuclear generators around all day.
I've decided that if we could only harness their power output somehow, we could save THOUSANDS off our electric bill. I'm working on it, but they don't really like all the electrodes I keep trying to stick to their heads.
So that's what's new around here, chez Schwartz. Soon we will be Five. I'll have to change the name of the blog. And that will be it, as our family planning will become... permanent following this child.
Kurt is SO excited for that. I promised to buy him an ice pack.
It was a shock, for sure. Kurt and I took some time, like several months, to get used to the idea. There were some tears. But it's starting to settle in and each appointment we have to check up on things helps me settle down to the reality more and more.
Besides, yay! I get a new car. It may be a minivan, but I'm totally insisting on heated seats this time. As a mom of three (THREE! EEEK!), I think I deserve it.
Anywhoo... we had the 4 month check-up yesterday, and yup, there's definitely a baby in there! The midwife (I'm skipping the OB this time around. I figure this is my last chance to try something new) ran the Doppler across my belly and right away caught the strong beat of a heart that WAS NOT MINE. It's funny, but I never get used to that. There's something ALIVE in there! It still feels sort of like alien invasion. But, you know, in a good way.
Baby is healthy and so am I. As this is my third time around, all my symptoms and signs have popped up (get it? popped? haha!) much sooner. I'm bigger earlier, already having trouble sleeping and generally feeling a little slower on the uptake. Of course, that could be from chasing two little nuclear generators around all day.
I've decided that if we could only harness their power output somehow, we could save THOUSANDS off our electric bill. I'm working on it, but they don't really like all the electrodes I keep trying to stick to their heads.
So that's what's new around here, chez Schwartz. Soon we will be Five. I'll have to change the name of the blog. And that will be it, as our family planning will become... permanent following this child.
Kurt is SO excited for that. I promised to buy him an ice pack.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
"And then it EXPLODED, Mom!"
It's not my fault. These things happen, just about everyone's done it at some point. The problem is, I happened to slip up whilst my jumpy 5-year-old daughter was sitting right in front of the... incident.
After much debate last night, the girls agreed to PB&J for dinner. I had tried for pizza and salad but it was no dice. The last dregs of the peanut butter were a little too cold and hard for spreading, so I popped the jar into the microwave for 15 seconds to soften it up.
Oops.
Turns out, a bit of the foil seal was still hanging onto the edge on the rim. The whole thing let off a LOUD static-like pop and flames shot up from the jar and filled the microwave. Did I mention it was loud?
I hit the roof in a Matrix-like spin and beat at the off button until everything instantly went back to quiet peanut butter peacefulness, though a tad smokey.
Anna however, started screaming, threw herself out of her chair and ran in blind hysterics out of the room, tripping over chairs and couches on her way to safety. Her terror set off Silvia (who I don't think even saw the event). I spent the next half hour on the couch with the girls velcro-ed to me, shrieking. As soon as I'd get Anna on the verge of calm, she'd say, "I want DAAAAAADDY to come home!!!", and then start wailing again. Kurt's on a business trip so the poor kid had to settle for mom to rescue her from the exploding peanut butter.
In case you feel I have not described this story in enough graphic detail or captured the complete horror that enveloped my daughter... just wait. Anna will be HAPPY to tell you about it. Every few minutes. For the rest of her life. Just in case you didn't understand the first time.
On the bright side, I'm hoping this will replace the story of how I forgot to buckle her car seat THREE YEARS AGO and she fell out and bruised her hips. I don't think I deserve to have both stories trotted out every few days. One example of how much I've failed her is plenty, don't you think?
And the peanut butter is fine. A little singed around the edges, but otherwise still quite tasty.
After much debate last night, the girls agreed to PB&J for dinner. I had tried for pizza and salad but it was no dice. The last dregs of the peanut butter were a little too cold and hard for spreading, so I popped the jar into the microwave for 15 seconds to soften it up.
Oops.
Turns out, a bit of the foil seal was still hanging onto the edge on the rim. The whole thing let off a LOUD static-like pop and flames shot up from the jar and filled the microwave. Did I mention it was loud?
I hit the roof in a Matrix-like spin and beat at the off button until everything instantly went back to quiet peanut butter peacefulness, though a tad smokey.
Anna however, started screaming, threw herself out of her chair and ran in blind hysterics out of the room, tripping over chairs and couches on her way to safety. Her terror set off Silvia (who I don't think even saw the event). I spent the next half hour on the couch with the girls velcro-ed to me, shrieking. As soon as I'd get Anna on the verge of calm, she'd say, "I want DAAAAAADDY to come home!!!", and then start wailing again. Kurt's on a business trip so the poor kid had to settle for mom to rescue her from the exploding peanut butter.
In case you feel I have not described this story in enough graphic detail or captured the complete horror that enveloped my daughter... just wait. Anna will be HAPPY to tell you about it. Every few minutes. For the rest of her life. Just in case you didn't understand the first time.
On the bright side, I'm hoping this will replace the story of how I forgot to buckle her car seat THREE YEARS AGO and she fell out and bruised her hips. I don't think I deserve to have both stories trotted out every few days. One example of how much I've failed her is plenty, don't you think?
And the peanut butter is fine. A little singed around the edges, but otherwise still quite tasty.
Friday, January 08, 2010
Early Riser
Yesterday both the girls teachers at preschool pulled me aside to say they were concerned. Seems Anna asked to lay down several times during the morning and Silvia was very quiet, shy and withdrawn all day. They didn't have fevers or seem sick, but the change in their temperments was enough to stand out.
It got me thinking. Anna's been WILLINGLY taking a two-hour nap with me in the afternoon while Silvia goes down. And Silvia's nap has been very deep, with nary a word of protest. They're still going to sleep at 8 P.M. as usual, so where was the disconnect?
Then I remembered that they've been getting up together in the morning, playing for a bit before coming to get Kurt and me. Looking back now, I can see that these morning meetings have been getting earlier and earlier. Yesterday I heard a door close loudly at 6 A.M. and when I investigated, I found the two of them sitting up in Anna's bed, playing with flashlights in the dark.
"Mama, Cici came into my room. AGAIN," Anna said with resignation.
Ah-HA!
So last night I informed the culprit that she was to leave Anna alone and when she woke up in the morning she could come lay down with me if she wanted to. Want to know what time she's been getting up?
4 A.M.
FOUR in the frickin' morning.
No wonder Anna's been in a stupor! Having a little whirlwind crawl in bed with you and start talking non-stop before the sun has even considered coming will take the mickey out of anyone!
While having a nearly-three-year-old in bed wasn't exactly restful for me, either, at least she stayed quiet and actually fell back asleep. Guess I'm not as entertaining as her big sister. But now that I've got her leaving Anna alone in the wee hours, I'm stuck with the task of getting her out of MY room.
Any ideas for getting her to sleep til 6? Besides drugging her?
It got me thinking. Anna's been WILLINGLY taking a two-hour nap with me in the afternoon while Silvia goes down. And Silvia's nap has been very deep, with nary a word of protest. They're still going to sleep at 8 P.M. as usual, so where was the disconnect?
Then I remembered that they've been getting up together in the morning, playing for a bit before coming to get Kurt and me. Looking back now, I can see that these morning meetings have been getting earlier and earlier. Yesterday I heard a door close loudly at 6 A.M. and when I investigated, I found the two of them sitting up in Anna's bed, playing with flashlights in the dark.
"Mama, Cici came into my room. AGAIN," Anna said with resignation.
Ah-HA!
So last night I informed the culprit that she was to leave Anna alone and when she woke up in the morning she could come lay down with me if she wanted to. Want to know what time she's been getting up?
4 A.M.
FOUR in the frickin' morning.
No wonder Anna's been in a stupor! Having a little whirlwind crawl in bed with you and start talking non-stop before the sun has even considered coming will take the mickey out of anyone!
While having a nearly-three-year-old in bed wasn't exactly restful for me, either, at least she stayed quiet and actually fell back asleep. Guess I'm not as entertaining as her big sister. But now that I've got her leaving Anna alone in the wee hours, I'm stuck with the task of getting her out of MY room.
Any ideas for getting her to sleep til 6? Besides drugging her?
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Toot Toot
Silvia has been staying dry for naps lately and I always make a big deal about it to keep that train a-movin'. Today:
Me: "Wow! Cici, are you dry? Did you stay dry for your whole nap?"
Silvia: "Yeah, I did! There's just toots in my bed."
Hey, as long as I don't have to change the sheets, then toots are just fine with me!
Me: "Wow! Cici, are you dry? Did you stay dry for your whole nap?"
Silvia: "Yeah, I did! There's just toots in my bed."
Hey, as long as I don't have to change the sheets, then toots are just fine with me!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Birthday pictures
Yes, that's right. Kurt gave Anna a beginner's engineering set for her birthday. Kurt gets so excited for each project. Oh, and Anna really likes it, too.
And finally, just for old times sake... Anna at 7 months. Look at all that hair! (oops, I mean, look at all that scalp!) Cutie pie. That smile never changes.
Five
She's a big girl now. You can tell because (drum roll, please) Anna didn't cry at her birthday party! We got together with a handful of friends at a local play area last weekend and she had a blast. Even at the finale as we dragged everyone out of the bounce house and said goodbye, she didn't put up a fight.
Of course, she was really excited that I bought WAY too many cupcakes and we had to take them all home with us, too. That might have had something to do with it.
With five comes a lot of excitement for Anna. She's started reading, on her own. She got dozens of books for her birthday and is tearing through them with total abandon. Her first chapter book (which she reads TO me) is Junie B. Jones and The Stupid Smelly Bus. I think she mostly loves this because she gets to say 'stupid'. Believe me, there's a giggle every time. We also just started Charlotte's Web, which I am reading to her. After all, it's wonderful that she can do it herself, but you can't beat curling up together to sink into a story. I love it as much as she does.
Anna loves her workbooks, too. Her writing is really improving and she's starting to grasp the idea of money. I don't know if this is exactly a good thing, but we'll take it. Today we went to buy her a booster seat for the car (she's totally outgrown her car seat) and she wanted to pay for it with her little tub of random coins she's collected. You can't imagine the look of disappointment when I told her that wouldn't be enough!
Her check up went great, the expression on her pediatrician's face when he asked about reading was priceless. Anna, as always, giggled. She came in at 42 inches tall and 36 pounds, two inches up from last year. Somehow, even with the impending shots, she still thinks the doctor's office is AWESOME. I had to shush her a few times because she was laughing so loudly with Silvia that they were startling babies in the hallway.
I general, five and these months leading up to it, is wonderful. She's smart and happy and so inspiring. One of her favorite things to say is, "A long time ago, when I was four...".
I feel like it was a long time ago, too. I know it's beyond cliche, but time just slips by so fast, doesn't it?
Of course, she was really excited that I bought WAY too many cupcakes and we had to take them all home with us, too. That might have had something to do with it.
With five comes a lot of excitement for Anna. She's started reading, on her own. She got dozens of books for her birthday and is tearing through them with total abandon. Her first chapter book (which she reads TO me) is Junie B. Jones and The Stupid Smelly Bus. I think she mostly loves this because she gets to say 'stupid'. Believe me, there's a giggle every time. We also just started Charlotte's Web, which I am reading to her. After all, it's wonderful that she can do it herself, but you can't beat curling up together to sink into a story. I love it as much as she does.
Anna loves her workbooks, too. Her writing is really improving and she's starting to grasp the idea of money. I don't know if this is exactly a good thing, but we'll take it. Today we went to buy her a booster seat for the car (she's totally outgrown her car seat) and she wanted to pay for it with her little tub of random coins she's collected. You can't imagine the look of disappointment when I told her that wouldn't be enough!
Her check up went great, the expression on her pediatrician's face when he asked about reading was priceless. Anna, as always, giggled. She came in at 42 inches tall and 36 pounds, two inches up from last year. Somehow, even with the impending shots, she still thinks the doctor's office is AWESOME. I had to shush her a few times because she was laughing so loudly with Silvia that they were startling babies in the hallway.
I general, five and these months leading up to it, is wonderful. She's smart and happy and so inspiring. One of her favorite things to say is, "A long time ago, when I was four...".
I feel like it was a long time ago, too. I know it's beyond cliche, but time just slips by so fast, doesn't it?
Saturday, October 31, 2009
A cut above the rest
Walking up into the playroom one afternoon this week, I noticed a dark blur on the carpet next to Anna's little coloring table. I hunkered down for a closer look and then groaned. I knew it would happen, it's practically a right of passage for all children, but still... ugh.
The blur was a sifted pile of c-shaped curls. Anna's curls. I guess safety scissors only protect fingers, not style. More than half my irritation was because I'd JUST taken the girls a week ago for haircuts and they'd both looked coiffed and adorable. It occurred to me that the whole day I'd been wondering at Anna's spiky hair but just assumed it was a bad case of bed head.
But no. She's cut herself some lovely wings right over her ears, a chunk along the back left and at least an inch off a top layer of bangs. When I called her in, she just smiled.
"Anna, did you cut your hair?"
"Mmmhmm...", delivered with a pleasant smile.
"You are NEVER supposed to cut your hair. I'm taking your scissors away until... until... until it all grows back!"
I know I can't really get mad at her, it's just hair and it's not nearly as bad as it could have been. Hell, when I was little my brother just about left me bald with his gentle ministrations. Which reminds me, that's another warning I need to pass along to my budding stylist.
"You are NEVER supposed to cut your sister's hair either!"
I'm sure that'll just put the idea in her head, of course. But what can you do? At least she cut her hair and not the curtains or the sheets or the electrical cords, right?
And it's winter. Hat season.
The blur was a sifted pile of c-shaped curls. Anna's curls. I guess safety scissors only protect fingers, not style. More than half my irritation was because I'd JUST taken the girls a week ago for haircuts and they'd both looked coiffed and adorable. It occurred to me that the whole day I'd been wondering at Anna's spiky hair but just assumed it was a bad case of bed head.
But no. She's cut herself some lovely wings right over her ears, a chunk along the back left and at least an inch off a top layer of bangs. When I called her in, she just smiled.
"Anna, did you cut your hair?"
"Mmmhmm...", delivered with a pleasant smile.
"You are NEVER supposed to cut your hair. I'm taking your scissors away until... until... until it all grows back!"
I know I can't really get mad at her, it's just hair and it's not nearly as bad as it could have been. Hell, when I was little my brother just about left me bald with his gentle ministrations. Which reminds me, that's another warning I need to pass along to my budding stylist.
"You are NEVER supposed to cut your sister's hair either!"
I'm sure that'll just put the idea in her head, of course. But what can you do? At least she cut her hair and not the curtains or the sheets or the electrical cords, right?
And it's winter. Hat season.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Big Girl Bed... how time flies
Silvia moved into a big girl bed this weekend (aka the toddler bed version of her crib). We were a little worried at first because she is so much more feisty than Anna was at that age. I figured we'd spend a week or more walking her back to her room in the middle of the night when she escaped.
But no, she loves it and she stays happily in bed until someone come to get her. She has a real blanket and her very own pillow and is just thrilled to pieces to be All Grown Up now. I'm a little misty, just because this is the final good-bye to the crib, once and for all. But it's so nice that she can get in and out and feels safe and comfy in her room. Remember all those months, years, trying to get her to sleep in her own room; night time hysterics, coming to bed with us at 3 A.M.? Those are (mostly) behind us.
(Truth be told, though, both girls have been having night terrors lately, leaving mom and dad groggy in the morning from midnight comforting. But that's another story for another day.)
Next thing you know, she's going to want her Big Girl Porsche.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Guess this means it's time to clean my room
While I was getting ready this morning, I noticed a disturbing amount of total quiet coming from the other side of the room. Anna and Silvia were playing by my bed and, as I walked over to see what was going on, I was met by a distressing sight. And gross, so gross.
They were both sitting there with pacifiers in their mouths that Anna had fished out from underneath the bed. Now, considering Anna hasn't used a binkie in years, Silvia never used one, and the ones under the bed were infant-size, those suckers had been entertaining the monsters under the bed for at least 4 years.
AT LEAST.
I let out a big "EEK! EWWW! YUCK!!!" and un-plugged the girls with a distinct popping sound. Then I marched them both to the bathroom for an extended date with their toothbrushes.
Probably I need to peek under the bed and see what else is there. Lord only knows what other relics of newborns past are lurking there.
They were both sitting there with pacifiers in their mouths that Anna had fished out from underneath the bed. Now, considering Anna hasn't used a binkie in years, Silvia never used one, and the ones under the bed were infant-size, those suckers had been entertaining the monsters under the bed for at least 4 years.
AT LEAST.
I let out a big "EEK! EWWW! YUCK!!!" and un-plugged the girls with a distinct popping sound. Then I marched them both to the bathroom for an extended date with their toothbrushes.
Probably I need to peek under the bed and see what else is there. Lord only knows what other relics of newborns past are lurking there.
Here's the one, I knew I'd seen it before... Anna, age 6 months.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Anna's Owl
I went to pick Anna up at preschool on Monday and her teacher pulled me aside as soon as I walked in the door. Of course, my first instinct was, "Crap! Did she do something?", but of course that was unfair to Anna's place of supreme honor in her teacher's heart.
"You have to see something! Anna, go get it, where did you put it! Go get it! Oh, Megan, you won't believe this, the other teacher's and I just about cracked when we saw it."
Then Anna came running up, a coloring page in her hand. Turns out, they had been going over the letter 'O' that day. The assignment was to draw an owl in the designated spot. Shannon, Anna's teacher, had not yet put out a picture of an owl for them to reference. All the other kids scribbled different versions of smiley faces with legs when she noticed Anna hunched over in concentration at her seat. This is what she drew:
"You have to see something! Anna, go get it, where did you put it! Go get it! Oh, Megan, you won't believe this, the other teacher's and I just about cracked when we saw it."
Then Anna came running up, a coloring page in her hand. Turns out, they had been going over the letter 'O' that day. The assignment was to draw an owl in the designated spot. Shannon, Anna's teacher, had not yet put out a picture of an owl for them to reference. All the other kids scribbled different versions of smiley faces with legs when she noticed Anna hunched over in concentration at her seat. This is what she drew:
"If Anna can draw an owl from just her imagination, then we can do XYZ, too." Just goes to show you, there's more to life than scribbles if you give it a little effort.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Schwartz Roadtrip 2009
Last week we hit the road to drive out to Iowa to visit my brother John. The girls went nuts-- from running through the fields, checking out the ENORMOUS corn spiders and baby pigs to Uncle John "teaching" them the ceramic basics (aka, letting them play with clay in his living room), the farm was the best place they'd ever seen.
So when it came time to stuff ourselves back in the car and turn back to the mountains, we were understandably reluctant. Here's when the wild wind hit us, or more like the wild hair. With the adrenaline rush of a last minute change of plans, we turned the car towards Illinois and spent the rest of the week crashing at a friend's house and visiting my brother Val in Chicago. SO MUCH FUN.
To say we felt free doesn't describe it. Somehow cutting lose, dropping all obligations, deadlines and responsibilities just to do something FUN enervated the whole family in a way nothing else could. We got back yesterday after two days of marathon driving (and a million pit stops along the way, but more on that later) and home felt so nice. I personally am excited to get things back in order, do laundry, tidy up all our travel stuff and get groceries and meals planned for the week. I'm ready to take it all back up and that's saying a lot. I'm certain the laundry fervor will wear off in approximately 12 minutes, but in general real life just seems a lot nicer than in did 10 days ago.
As much as I feared our first family road trip and the potential for disaster, I am happy to say we'll be making this an annual event.
Uncle John's Farm
Uncle John's Farm. Uncle John's corn, house, field, clay, pigs and windchimes. Uncle John's school. As far as the girls are concerned, everything about Scattergood Friends School is all thanks to Uncle John. And for that... we send him our heartfelt and loving thanks. Friday, September 04, 2009
Selective amnesia and a reluctant experiment
I've been going back over all the old entries from when Anna was Silvia's age, looking both for references to potty training and terrible two's. Guess what? Anna potty-trained with nary a hitch from about 2 and half. By the time she was 3 it was an afterthought.
I'm looking forward to the afterthought part, but I have to admit that Silvia is doing really, really well. She's still having accidents, but it's been about two months now and the dry and clean days are totally outnumbering the drippy days. We can go out, run errands, see friends and generally live our lives. I carry a bag with a travel potty seat and a change of clothes everywhere, but I've only had to use the clean clothes a handful of times.
As for Terrible Two's, well. Silvia has it bad. The other night, Kurt and I talked about how she is SO much whinier than Anna was at this age, SO much more infuriating. But then I thought, really? Is she really? Or possibly are our memories decaying from child-induced-amnesia? Thus the blog re-hash.
And here's what I found. Anna WAS whiny, super whiny, oh so so so whiny. It drove me crazy, I yelled and had to put myself in time-outs. Then, as I absorbed all this revelation (that I experienced first-hand and have not a shred of memory to show for it), I came across two very interesting posts. Here and here.
As the girls got older and things got busier and hazier and generally just sucked into the vortex of time and space, Anna got back her shows. It only follows that Silvia is right along side her on the couch. When I need to make dinner or fold laundry (which somehow quadrupled in our lives upon Silvia's birth), or let's face it, just get them out of my face for a little bit, they watch TV. It's still not very much, just as with Anna in that first post from back in the day-- maybe 3 half-hour shows a day, tops, with the odd movie or two thrown in after dinner during the week.
I'm sitting here going, "Hmmm...". I know, I remember NOW, what a big difference it made when Anna got cut off from her drug of choice. I know she played more, and danced more and whined and cried LESS. Considering Silvia's behavior right now is almost a complete mirror to how Anna was then (screaming for her shows, telling what she wants to watch as we come down the stairs in the morning, freaking out every time I say no), the solution should be pretty clear.
Oh, but I hesitate. Because no TV helper with a 2-year-old and a baby is not the same as no TV helper with a 2 and almost 5-year-old. They are busy little people and demanding and loud and fill the house with their consciousness alone. As much as I love my kids, I really hate doing crafts and Candyland all day. Shows give me a break from that. I don't want to say that I NEED those breaks, but... maybe possibly I do?
So this experiment begins with a few qualms and disclaimers. I am not taking away Saturday Morning Cartoons. That's coffee time for Kurt and I and we look forward to it all week. I'm also going to leave open a Classical Baby option in the evenings (that's sort of like telling a kid they can have a nice bowl of applesauce instead of the gooey ice cream sundae to which they have become accustomed). Movie nights are fun family time and totally safe from the chopping block.
But the rest, I am sad to say, needs to go. Silvia is driving me wacko with her constant whining, crying and demanding. If there is even the smallest possibility unplugging her will help, I'd be a moron not to give it a try.
Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it. This time it's harder. This time, God help me... I'm going to have to do crafts.
I'm looking forward to the afterthought part, but I have to admit that Silvia is doing really, really well. She's still having accidents, but it's been about two months now and the dry and clean days are totally outnumbering the drippy days. We can go out, run errands, see friends and generally live our lives. I carry a bag with a travel potty seat and a change of clothes everywhere, but I've only had to use the clean clothes a handful of times.
As for Terrible Two's, well. Silvia has it bad. The other night, Kurt and I talked about how she is SO much whinier than Anna was at this age, SO much more infuriating. But then I thought, really? Is she really? Or possibly are our memories decaying from child-induced-amnesia? Thus the blog re-hash.
And here's what I found. Anna WAS whiny, super whiny, oh so so so whiny. It drove me crazy, I yelled and had to put myself in time-outs. Then, as I absorbed all this revelation (that I experienced first-hand and have not a shred of memory to show for it), I came across two very interesting posts. Here and here.
As the girls got older and things got busier and hazier and generally just sucked into the vortex of time and space, Anna got back her shows. It only follows that Silvia is right along side her on the couch. When I need to make dinner or fold laundry (which somehow quadrupled in our lives upon Silvia's birth), or let's face it, just get them out of my face for a little bit, they watch TV. It's still not very much, just as with Anna in that first post from back in the day-- maybe 3 half-hour shows a day, tops, with the odd movie or two thrown in after dinner during the week.
I'm sitting here going, "Hmmm...". I know, I remember NOW, what a big difference it made when Anna got cut off from her drug of choice. I know she played more, and danced more and whined and cried LESS. Considering Silvia's behavior right now is almost a complete mirror to how Anna was then (screaming for her shows, telling what she wants to watch as we come down the stairs in the morning, freaking out every time I say no), the solution should be pretty clear.
Oh, but I hesitate. Because no TV helper with a 2-year-old and a baby is not the same as no TV helper with a 2 and almost 5-year-old. They are busy little people and demanding and loud and fill the house with their consciousness alone. As much as I love my kids, I really hate doing crafts and Candyland all day. Shows give me a break from that. I don't want to say that I NEED those breaks, but... maybe possibly I do?
So this experiment begins with a few qualms and disclaimers. I am not taking away Saturday Morning Cartoons. That's coffee time for Kurt and I and we look forward to it all week. I'm also going to leave open a Classical Baby option in the evenings (that's sort of like telling a kid they can have a nice bowl of applesauce instead of the gooey ice cream sundae to which they have become accustomed). Movie nights are fun family time and totally safe from the chopping block.
But the rest, I am sad to say, needs to go. Silvia is driving me wacko with her constant whining, crying and demanding. If there is even the smallest possibility unplugging her will help, I'd be a moron not to give it a try.
Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it. This time it's harder. This time, God help me... I'm going to have to do crafts.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Bikes, Horses and Poop
I'll start with the first last because, as we all know, it's best to get poop out of the way first. Silvia did not want to potty train. Do you hear me? NONONO. I tried, I really did, to get her at least comfortable with the idea, but after about a week she went into rock-solid denial and I was forced to retreat and regroup.
Then suddenly, two days ago she was all, "Hey! I want my panties. I will not wear anything but panties, don't come near me with those diapers or you will live to regret it!". At first I was thrilled. And then the reality of it sunk in-- specifically, into the carpet. She's aware, she knows when something is happening down below but, for the most part, she's not really participating in the whole Big Picture of the thing.
Yesterday we went through 5 pairs of panties, and one had to be thrown away after the aforementioned poop episode. I will not bore you (or traumatize you) with the details. Finally around 3 o'clock she condescended to wear a pull-up and save my aching back from scrubbing floors.
It hasn't totally been a loss, she is having some success and I am releived she's at least ready to start consciously trying, but all this is bringing back the reality that I HATE POTTY TRAINING. I have, quite literally, blocked out the entired process that we went through with Anna. I vaguely remember cleaning off the couch and sitting in the floor reading 7 books to her as she made her efforts, but that's about it. Hopefully, in a few months I will be able to block this period out with equal effiency.
Horses and bikes are much more pleasant to cover, so let's move on. About a month ago, I arrived at the girls' school to find that everyone had brought in their little bikes. Everyone, that is, except my kids who did not have a bike to boast of. After school, Anna told me with a gently wistful tone that, "All the kids rode their bikes down the street and had helmets and it was so fun!", and then... "I walked. I didn't have a bike so Miss Diane held my hand instead."
Oh, the heartache.
We went out that weekend and got them bikes and helmets and the rest is history. The happiness can not be explained but fortunately, I captured it all in pictures. Same goes for horses-- rocking horses. It's all just sisterly cuteness and needs not introduction.
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