Every coin has two sides, every action has an equal and opposite reaction, every day has a night, and the list goes on and on and on. I looked over some of the past posts and realized that they all only tell half the story. I really don't think that most people want to hear the "bad" side of Alex and Ben, but I think I'd be at fault if I neglected to mention it at least once. I'm not looking for sympathy or advice or anything else. Mostly I'm just bored at the moment, putting off many things that I should be doing in favor of wasting time for your entertainment! Which means that today's topic is all about the temper tantrums. And it goes something like this...
Ninety-nine percent of our days start off with two happy boys. This lasts anywhere from 5 minutes to maybe half an hour, really just as long as it takes us to change diapers and do the few "upstairs" chores of our morning routine. Then we go downstairs, maybe the action of going down is symbolic. It seems that as soon as we set foot on that last step, happy goes out the window and isn't seen again for at least an hour. For whatever reason, Alex feels it necessary to be upset by EVERYTHING in the morning. Routine is not a factor, we can follow the exact same routine and he still falls apart. To make a long story longer, Alex generally ends up in time-out back up in his room at least 2 or 3 times during the course of breakfast. When breakfast is finally over he turns into mister happy and is usually pretty OK for the rest of the day. The really bad part is that EVERY single day starts off bad, which puts me in a very bad mood thinking about what I am going to have to put up with ALL DAY long. So, my very sole wish in the world right now is ONE single little morning of peace. I don't think it's going to happen anytime soon, but hey, I can always dream. I guess it's just part of the whole "terrible two's" process that kids go through, but I am really tired of it and as Alex is days away from being 3 I hope he is getting a bit closer to outgrowing this incredibly obnoxious stage. I love him dearly, but he sure is trying sometimes!
Ben is still little enough that he hasn't gotten onto that extreme emotional roller coaster yet. His fussing in the morning is simply his stomach talking. The sooner I get breakfast into him, the happier he is. He does have his moments though. He is a super grump when he is tired (guess he gets that from me) and man can he pitch a fit when you tell him no. He also likes to randomly lay down on the floor and cry for a minute, then he gets up, runs off and is fine.
Yes, I am sure that at some point I'll look back at this and shake my head, thinking they really weren't that bad. In all fairness, no they aren't that bad. I've been around plenty of other children who are far worse than my little A-man. Fortunately he keeps his really bad attitudes for home and is always a perfect angel out. Unfortunately, no one except mommy and daddy EVER see the "other" Alex.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Conversations
Prior to having my own beautiful boys I never really paid much attention to the development of language and verbal skills. Now, it's quite fun watching little kids discover this part of the world. Alex didn't really say anything until about 19 months. He would do animal sounds before that and occasionally he would say ball or trash. Then it all came flooding out. By 22 months he was putting words together into simple sentences. By the time he was 2 he was telling you his life story. He talks ALL the time about everything. His latest mission is to teach Ben to say "Alex".
Friday was a very bad day for Alex, nothing made him happy. We were having a houseful of company for dinner. In the frenzy of trying to calm all of the little Alex meltdowns, I was making no headway in getting the house clean and do the prep work for dinner A friend (with a brand new baby) wanted to take us out to lunch. With 4 kids in the mix, we scheduled a time that worked for everyone, it just happened to fall on this very bad Friday. So everything got put on hold and I grumpily got the kids in the car to head to lunch. I was very happy to get lunch, but at the time I was wishing I could have left the kids at home this particular day!
So in my crummy mood, the boys actually decide to behave in the car. Ben is babbling, lots of da-da-da sounds coming out. Alex tells Ben "No, my name is Alex. Say Al-ex." I kid you not, the next sound was Ben saying his not quite right version of Alex. Thus began the first real conversation between Alex & Ben. Alex got Ben to say "Alex" a couple more times, and then launched into a diatribe about the macaroni and cheese that they would be having for lunch. Ben would respond at the right time with whatever sounds he deemed appropriate.
It was so sweet and helped a little to get me out of my funk. Lunch went well, the boys did great and by the time I got home everyone was really happy. Our little dinner party went off without a hitch and fortunately for me, my day ended on a much happier plane than where it began.
Friday was a very bad day for Alex, nothing made him happy. We were having a houseful of company for dinner. In the frenzy of trying to calm all of the little Alex meltdowns, I was making no headway in getting the house clean and do the prep work for dinner A friend (with a brand new baby) wanted to take us out to lunch. With 4 kids in the mix, we scheduled a time that worked for everyone, it just happened to fall on this very bad Friday. So everything got put on hold and I grumpily got the kids in the car to head to lunch. I was very happy to get lunch, but at the time I was wishing I could have left the kids at home this particular day!
So in my crummy mood, the boys actually decide to behave in the car. Ben is babbling, lots of da-da-da sounds coming out. Alex tells Ben "No, my name is Alex. Say Al-ex." I kid you not, the next sound was Ben saying his not quite right version of Alex. Thus began the first real conversation between Alex & Ben. Alex got Ben to say "Alex" a couple more times, and then launched into a diatribe about the macaroni and cheese that they would be having for lunch. Ben would respond at the right time with whatever sounds he deemed appropriate.
It was so sweet and helped a little to get me out of my funk. Lunch went well, the boys did great and by the time I got home everyone was really happy. Our little dinner party went off without a hitch and fortunately for me, my day ended on a much happier plane than where it began.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Uh-Oh, Computers!
Ben has become quite the vocal little man, always babbling and no doubt telling me many interesting things that I just don't "quite seem to get". As for real words, he can sort of say Alex, he did pick up a toy phone and say hi. Last night I got him to say uh-oh. The best part is the crazy face he makes when saying it, really emphasizing the "oooooooh".
As for Alex, he has decided that he would like to have his own computer. It happened like this:
We were talking about teaching him to write. He seemed all for it and we said that once he could actually write out letters we would create an email address for him. On route to the post office Alex and I continued this conversation. Out of the blue he informed me that he needed his own computer if he was going to have his own email address. Hmmm, I think not.
These guys are too smart for me!
As for Alex, he has decided that he would like to have his own computer. It happened like this:
We were talking about teaching him to write. He seemed all for it and we said that once he could actually write out letters we would create an email address for him. On route to the post office Alex and I continued this conversation. Out of the blue he informed me that he needed his own computer if he was going to have his own email address. Hmmm, I think not.
These guys are too smart for me!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Art Projects
It was quickly pointed out to me that I have NOT been keeping up with this silly little project of mine. Hmmm, I guess people read this stuff afterall.
You may be wondering just what's been happening these last 3 weeks, NOT MUCH! Alex helped me plant a bunch of sunflower seeds last weekend. A bunch being roughly 300 seeds. They are sprouting and I can't wait to get them into my garden. He also helped me plant a blueberry bush and a raspberry bush. Next on the garden agenda, strawberrys, herbs and some veggies (thanks Steph for the veggie seeds!!)
But, the real point of this post is a special shout out to Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Michael. Thanks for entertaining Alex yesterday. His PMS (that would be Post Michael Syndrome) was not too bad today. For the rest of you that weren't here, yesterday was art project with Alex day!! It was a bit too cold to play outside so Aunt Stephanie had the awesome idea of spending the day with the kiddos doing art. Ben sat and colored with crayons until he just couldn't stay awake anymore and Alex got to dig into his special art box and go hog wild. We painted, and glued, and stamped, and cut, and punched holes, and everything else you can think of. I've got a stack of art to do "something" with now. I'll try and remember to get pictures and post them at some point (along with all of the other pictures that I'm supposedly going to post...)
Anyway, we really did have a great day and Alex just loves to create. He's been talking about the "projects" all day long.
You may be wondering just what's been happening these last 3 weeks, NOT MUCH! Alex helped me plant a bunch of sunflower seeds last weekend. A bunch being roughly 300 seeds. They are sprouting and I can't wait to get them into my garden. He also helped me plant a blueberry bush and a raspberry bush. Next on the garden agenda, strawberrys, herbs and some veggies (thanks Steph for the veggie seeds!!)
But, the real point of this post is a special shout out to Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Michael. Thanks for entertaining Alex yesterday. His PMS (that would be Post Michael Syndrome) was not too bad today. For the rest of you that weren't here, yesterday was art project with Alex day!! It was a bit too cold to play outside so Aunt Stephanie had the awesome idea of spending the day with the kiddos doing art. Ben sat and colored with crayons until he just couldn't stay awake anymore and Alex got to dig into his special art box and go hog wild. We painted, and glued, and stamped, and cut, and punched holes, and everything else you can think of. I've got a stack of art to do "something" with now. I'll try and remember to get pictures and post them at some point (along with all of the other pictures that I'm supposedly going to post...)
Anyway, we really did have a great day and Alex just loves to create. He's been talking about the "projects" all day long.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
New Shoes
In an effort to keep up with my goal of 1 - 2 posts a week, I thought it was time for a new one. I don't have a whole lot to write about. The weather is doing its crazy central Texas thing - 80 degrees yesterday, 45 today, 30's tomorrow, and back up into the 60s/70s Tuesday. Man these temp swings can be tough. Summer clothes never totally get packed away. Ahh, but you don't want to hear about the weather.
We bought Ben his first pair of "real" shoes yesterday, which is actually his second pair. The shoes he had been wearing were pedipeds. For you non-moms out there these are soft soled shoes, supposed to be good for those little toesies when the kiddos are learning to walk. I bought them because Ben was standing and I didn't expect him to be taking off walking quite so soon. But he did and the shoes actually worked out really well for him. That was back in the beginning of Oct.
As you well know, kids feet grow faster than any other part on their bodies apparently. I took stock of Alex's old cast off shoes and loaded the boys in the car. Off we went to Sandy's - best place in town for kid's shoes. Ben's got big feet! Alex's old shoes were either too small or too big, Ben happened to be in that one size that we never bought for Alex.
I'd like to say that Ben adjusted to his new real shoes immediately. My normally smiley baby had no problem with me or the salesperson putting the shoes on his feet but he absolutely refused to stand, for anything. Sandy's is a great shoe store, and it's got a fantastic selection of toys too. Nothing in that store would get Ben to stand. So, I left the new shoes on his feet, paid for them and carried him next door to the best toy store in town. He finally stood at the train table with Alex and Daddy. He tripped a couple of times when he first started out, but he's a pro now. I guess he just needed to have the old shoes out of sight/out of mind!
Side note to all of this. We hadn't planned on going into the toy store. Well we did initially but Alex was being a crab so we decided he didn't quite deserve the treat of Terra Toys. But, his incredibly wet diaper leaked and I didn't have a change of clothes. Normally not a big deal but we did have other things to do and couldn't let Alex be uncomforatble in wet pants all afternoon. Terra Toys just so happens to carry a little boutique line of childrens clothes. While Mike took Alex to go buy diapers (yep forgot to bring the diaper bag) I went on the hunt for a pair of pants that wouldn't bankrupt me. I finally found a pair that was obscenely expensive (considering that I rarely pay over $4 or MAYBE $5 for clothes for the kids). It would be fitting if I said that the pants were poorly made and a huge waste of money. They fit Alex better than any other pants he has and they are cute and well made and I'll be able to pass them on to Ben. Expensive, yes, but worth every penny.
We bought Ben his first pair of "real" shoes yesterday, which is actually his second pair. The shoes he had been wearing were pedipeds. For you non-moms out there these are soft soled shoes, supposed to be good for those little toesies when the kiddos are learning to walk. I bought them because Ben was standing and I didn't expect him to be taking off walking quite so soon. But he did and the shoes actually worked out really well for him. That was back in the beginning of Oct.
As you well know, kids feet grow faster than any other part on their bodies apparently. I took stock of Alex's old cast off shoes and loaded the boys in the car. Off we went to Sandy's - best place in town for kid's shoes. Ben's got big feet! Alex's old shoes were either too small or too big, Ben happened to be in that one size that we never bought for Alex.
I'd like to say that Ben adjusted to his new real shoes immediately. My normally smiley baby had no problem with me or the salesperson putting the shoes on his feet but he absolutely refused to stand, for anything. Sandy's is a great shoe store, and it's got a fantastic selection of toys too. Nothing in that store would get Ben to stand. So, I left the new shoes on his feet, paid for them and carried him next door to the best toy store in town. He finally stood at the train table with Alex and Daddy. He tripped a couple of times when he first started out, but he's a pro now. I guess he just needed to have the old shoes out of sight/out of mind!
Side note to all of this. We hadn't planned on going into the toy store. Well we did initially but Alex was being a crab so we decided he didn't quite deserve the treat of Terra Toys. But, his incredibly wet diaper leaked and I didn't have a change of clothes. Normally not a big deal but we did have other things to do and couldn't let Alex be uncomforatble in wet pants all afternoon. Terra Toys just so happens to carry a little boutique line of childrens clothes. While Mike took Alex to go buy diapers (yep forgot to bring the diaper bag) I went on the hunt for a pair of pants that wouldn't bankrupt me. I finally found a pair that was obscenely expensive (considering that I rarely pay over $4 or MAYBE $5 for clothes for the kids). It would be fitting if I said that the pants were poorly made and a huge waste of money. They fit Alex better than any other pants he has and they are cute and well made and I'll be able to pass them on to Ben. Expensive, yes, but worth every penny.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year!
Here are some funnies for the first day of 2009:
I've bookmarked my own blog in my browser favorites list, complete with a typo. It says "Christina's Bog" - a subliminal message maybe??!!
A couple more Alexisms:
Have a great 2009 everyone! I'll try my best to update a little more frequently than I have in the past couple of months.
I've bookmarked my own blog in my browser favorites list, complete with a typo. It says "Christina's Bog" - a subliminal message maybe??!!
A couple more Alexisms:
- When Alex wants us to read him a story he says "You can talk it to me". This really means that he wants us to actually read all of the words instead of just flipping through quickly and looking at the pictures.
- When he accidentally gets a little bit of cat hair in his mouth he says "I have some cat in my mouth".
Have a great 2009 everyone! I'll try my best to update a little more frequently than I have in the past couple of months.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Time to Play Catchup
So much for finding a few minutes once or twice a week to post the latest happenings. Oh well, it's the thought that counts right?
I intended to write about Thanksgiving - it was great! So much better than last year when I was 3 weeks away from having Ben and couldn't eat anything due to the silly gestational diabetes. This year, we split the cooking duties with Steph & Michael, had an AWESOME meal and lots of fun just hanging out.
I intended to write about all the silly little things the boys have said and done for the last month. What springs to mind most clearly is the day that Ben woke up from his nap in a very bad mood. I was rocking him and Alex came in wanting to help settle Ben. Alex gave Ben a hug and a kiss and said "It's OK, Ben". This only made Ben cry harder. Suddenly Alex started screaming. When I got him calmed down enough to tell me what was wrong he said "I'm upset because Ben doesn't love me anymore" Awwwww.....
I intended to write about all the Christmas prep and hoopla. Well, we managed to get lights strung on the tree out front and a few little gel sticky thingies on the windows. Oh and yeah, we hung the stockings REALLY late Christmas eve. Tree - no, small PVC tree - no, other decorations - no. We just never got around to it.
I intended to write about the annual electric train setup - it's up, it's played with, it's about to come down soon - gotta make room for the race cars!
I intended to write about Ben's birthday. He's beautiful, he's 1, we had cake (the day after), I have a funny cake eating video to post at some point. We walked the trail of lights at Zilker this year for his birthday. It was nice to walk the trail comfortably (not in labor!!!) this year.
I intended to post all about our insane weekend of Christmas parties. Turns out that the boys managed to sleep through them all - at home which means that only one parent went to each of the parties, which actually worked out just fine!
I intended to toot my own horn just a smidgen and write about the most awesome curling win. Great end of season mini-bonspiel, Sooooo much fun! And, I can't wait to get my silly trophy, yep that's right, the team I was on won it all!!!!!!!!!
So that about brings us to Christmas. Here again, WAY more relaxing than last year. Thanks to the fact that just about all of our family lives elsewhere the boxes started arriving about a week before Christmas, and they are still coming in. We opened everything as it came in rather than holding onto it all until Christmas day. This was a great strategy and the boys really get to play with their new things without getting overwhelmed. We had another great day hanging out with Steph & Michael at their place. The boys even napped in Aunt Stephanies house! Oh yeah, and that vegetable tart was awesome!
As for today, we assembled some new storage shelves for the boys playroom. It looks cool, I'll have to post a picture at some point. I'll have to post lots of pictures about lots of things at some point.
I'll try not to let another month and a half go by without a post!! So, stay tuned...
I intended to write about Thanksgiving - it was great! So much better than last year when I was 3 weeks away from having Ben and couldn't eat anything due to the silly gestational diabetes. This year, we split the cooking duties with Steph & Michael, had an AWESOME meal and lots of fun just hanging out.
I intended to write about all the silly little things the boys have said and done for the last month. What springs to mind most clearly is the day that Ben woke up from his nap in a very bad mood. I was rocking him and Alex came in wanting to help settle Ben. Alex gave Ben a hug and a kiss and said "It's OK, Ben". This only made Ben cry harder. Suddenly Alex started screaming. When I got him calmed down enough to tell me what was wrong he said "I'm upset because Ben doesn't love me anymore" Awwwww.....
I intended to write about all the Christmas prep and hoopla. Well, we managed to get lights strung on the tree out front and a few little gel sticky thingies on the windows. Oh and yeah, we hung the stockings REALLY late Christmas eve. Tree - no, small PVC tree - no, other decorations - no. We just never got around to it.
I intended to write about the annual electric train setup - it's up, it's played with, it's about to come down soon - gotta make room for the race cars!
I intended to write about Ben's birthday. He's beautiful, he's 1, we had cake (the day after), I have a funny cake eating video to post at some point. We walked the trail of lights at Zilker this year for his birthday. It was nice to walk the trail comfortably (not in labor!!!) this year.
I intended to post all about our insane weekend of Christmas parties. Turns out that the boys managed to sleep through them all - at home which means that only one parent went to each of the parties, which actually worked out just fine!
I intended to toot my own horn just a smidgen and write about the most awesome curling win. Great end of season mini-bonspiel, Sooooo much fun! And, I can't wait to get my silly trophy, yep that's right, the team I was on won it all!!!!!!!!!
So that about brings us to Christmas. Here again, WAY more relaxing than last year. Thanks to the fact that just about all of our family lives elsewhere the boxes started arriving about a week before Christmas, and they are still coming in. We opened everything as it came in rather than holding onto it all until Christmas day. This was a great strategy and the boys really get to play with their new things without getting overwhelmed. We had another great day hanging out with Steph & Michael at their place. The boys even napped in Aunt Stephanies house! Oh yeah, and that vegetable tart was awesome!
As for today, we assembled some new storage shelves for the boys playroom. It looks cool, I'll have to post a picture at some point. I'll have to post lots of pictures about lots of things at some point.
I'll try not to let another month and a half go by without a post!! So, stay tuned...
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