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Carrie posted this in General on July 17th, 2011
I have daydreams of my daughter playing with her grandpas.
One of my daydreams is of Grandpa Fred taking Libby into his garden to show her how to tie red water balloons to his tomato plants. This was a trick he used to pull during their town’s summer festival, “Friendship Days.” People would drive past his garden and slam on the brakes to look at his huge red tomatoes, and he would sit in the lawn chair in the backyard and laugh. I imagine Libby sitting next to him giggling at the trick they had played.
Or how he might take her out fishing, just the two of them in a little leaky boat called Red Fenders and eat their lunches that Grandma had packed. They would just sit and wait in the quietness of the waves lapping the side of the boat in hopes that a fish would soon bite.
I also dream of her playing with my dad. He would have taught her to play basketball after coming in from the field, not bothering to change out of his cowboy boots. Having my dad play ball with me and my siblings in the backyard, still in his boots, is my favorite memory from my childhood.
I’m sure my dad would have taught Libby to drive in one of our old farm trucks just as he taught me and let Libby steer the combine when she was much too young.
But both of Libby’s grandpas died of cancer. My father died of pancreatic cancer when I was 13. My husband’s father died in April from throat cancer. So when I have these daydreams, my heart smiles, but my eyes always water.
Now that I have a daughter, my feelings of grief have changed. I am no longer grieving for only myself, but for my child. For the things I have been able to experience that she’s going to miss. For the experiences the grandpas would have shared with her – like first communions, graduations, weddings.
I am very close with my grandpa. This might be because my father died when I was younger, or it could be because he lived next door.
I would not only have to tell my mom when I was in trouble, but I would also have to go over to my grandparents and tell them, too. Grandpa Harvey was always quick to forgive and to make you feel better. He was soft-hearted and would cry right along with you. We are still very close and speak almost daily. He also loves our little Libby dearly. You can see his face light up when he holds her and she calls him “Pa Pa” in her tiny toddler voice. And he sings to her in German, just like he did to me.
So if you’re lucky enough to have a grandpa, make sure to say “I love you.”
Carrie Cole is a digital media manager at the American News. She can be reached at ccole@aberdeennews.com. Follow her on Twitter @CarrieCole_AAN
Elissa posted this in Fun, General, Mom, Preschool on July 13th, 2011
 It might not look like it, but Jack had a blast at his first swimming lesson! We’re on Jack’s second week of swimming lessons. We figured getting him used to the water at an early age was a good idea so he becomes comfortable and capable in the water. And so far, he’s loving it.
They do a really good job of making it fun. Parents get in the water with their little ones, and we sing songs and act out the motions. We hold out our kids and twirl them in a circle in the water while singing “The wheels on the bus go round and round.” The kids are practicing kicking their legs, floating on their backs, moving their arms in a certain motion to “cut the pizza,” and then swinging them around to “make the pizza.”
They seem to change it up a little each day — which is good with little kids. The lessons are also only a half-hour, which is also good for short attention spans. And they have free time, where kids can play with toys while still practicing (they will toss the toy and then practice their kicks when they swim to get it).
Jack’s learning a lot, and I am too. Most importantly, I’m letting him learn at his own pace. If he doesn’t want to kick anymore, that’s fine. If he wants to just play without any practicing, I let him. I certainly don’t want to force him to go under water before he’s ready and traumatize him. Thanks to a summer of swimming in the pool at day care and in some Minnesota lakes, he loves being in the water. I want swimming to be something he continues to enjoy.
This Associated Press article discusses a new report that recommends steps to help prevent babies, toddlers and preschoolers from “getting too pudgy too soon.”
My first reaction, I must admit, is: SERIOUSLY?!? You think babies and toddlers should be worried about their weight?!? Don’t you think that putting them on a diet would damage their body image?!?
But the article does say that the recommendations from the Institute of Medicine do not, in fact, advise putting little kiddos on diets. So that’s good.
What they do recommend, the article states, are better guidelines on how much kids should eat when they move out of the baby food stage. Guidelines on portion sizes for toddlers and preschoolers would be very helpful for parents — I know that I probably give my son too much food at once sometimes, which might cause him to eat more than he otherwise would have. I certainly don’t want to be teaching him bad habits at an early age. On the other hand, I’m also a big believer in feeding my kid when he’s hungry — if he takes four servings at supper, it’s probably because he was outside playing so much that day. (I guess the moral of the story is: Don’t give him all four servings at once!)
Speaking of which, another suggestion the article lists is at least 15 minutes of physical activity for every hour preschoolers spend in child care. This one seems relatively simple because I don’t know a preschooler (my son especially) who is not a crazy-active ball of nonstop energy.
I think for me, the bottom line is, make it less about weight and more about health: serve your kids as much fruits and vegetables as you can, promote physical activity — and try to lead by example, which can be the hardest part! And while it’s good for parents and caregivers to be conscious of what their little ones eat, I don’t think the burden of worrying about weight should be passed on to babies, toddlers and preschoolers.
Please share your thoughts as well…
 Fill in the blank.
Haven’t we ALL asked ourselves that question a million times as parents?
- Whaddya do when your kid eats sunscreen in the bike trailer when you are driving him to the pool?
- Whaddya do when your kid has a 103.5 temperature at 3 o’clock in the morning?
- Whaddya do when your kid tells his teacher that he is gonna have his dad sue him because he (silly teacher) was trying to enforce the “sit-down-and-do-your-work” rule in class?
Well, here’s a couple of new ones for you:
- Whaddya do when your kid starts GROWING UP?
- Whaddya do if you love your kid, but certain parts of their personality drive you absolutely insane — and you, frankly, really don’t LIKE that part of your kid?
These are — in my book — SERIOUS issues.
Do you remember when you were a teenager and it was summertime and you would want to do something with your friends starting at about 9:30 or 10:00 P.M.? Did you think your parents were total, out-of-it, buzzkill, loser dorks because they would say something like: “It’s 10 o’clock at night? It’s almost bedtime and you wanna go out?”
I remember this. I remember thinking: It’s LIGHT outside! All I want to do is hang out with my friends!! And (for me) most of the time it was really just that. We would go to McDonalds or Dairy Queen or by the pool and we were doing anything WRONG…we were just, well…hangin’.
But it’s TOOOOOOOTALLY different when you are the parent, isn’t it? You are wondering:
- Where are they going?
- Who are they with?
- Are they drinking?
- Are they — God forbid — doing drugs?
- Are there boys AND girls there?
- They aren’t doing anything ILLEGAL are they?
- What if they get in a car wreck?
- What if they do something stupid?
In short: They are bigger and they want to assert their independence and spread their proverbial wings…but they are still YOUR BABIES. You worry…WHAT IF? WHAT IF? WHAT IF?
And…WHADDYA DO when WHAT IF actually happens?
I don’t know. I don’t have the answers to these questions.
But I think about them.
A LOT.
Carrie posted this in General on June 18th, 2011
“My mom embarrasses me on this blog all the time and all I got was this stupid T-shirt.”  Libby
Elissa posted this in General on June 16th, 2011
An interesting blog post, “I could parent without it…but I just don’t want to,” talks about all the parenting tools/gadgets we have in this day and age, and how we don’t need them, but we really like having them!
It lists things like portable DVD players, which I totally agree I would not like to live without! (Anyone who has driven six hours in a car alone with a toddler would agree.) Breast pumps, too, are great for working moms (or any mom).
It got me thinking about other helpful parenting tools:
Laptops/iPads/smart phones: These are also great ways to keep your kids entertained when you’re on the go, or just when you want to let them watch a video online of a movie or cartoon you don’t have.
 Super Why! is one of the many educational kids' shows today. Educational kids’ programming: True, we had Sesame Street when I was a kid. But I feel like there are so many more choices these days, and almost all kids’ cartoons have some sort of educational component, working on counting, memory, Spanish words, etc.
Online games: Along the same lines, my son and I have been exploring the games on pbskids.org. He loves the cartoon Super Why!, and the site has many games based on that show. We tried Alpha Pig’s Lickety Letter Bingo. It has levels of difficulty, so Jack was able to just click on the letter that Alpha Pig said. He loved it.
Cell phones: At this age, my son just loves that Daddy’s picture shows up when he calls my phone. And while I’m among the parents who cringe thinking about the younger and younger ages that kids are getting cell phones nowadays, I see how it can be a positive tool: You always know where they are.
What parenting tools would you not want to go without?
Carrie posted this in General on June 16th, 2011
Now that summer’s here most of the good TV shows are on break, but I have found a new show on Bravo called Platinum Hit (no screaming housewives) that might be my summer indulgence. If you’re a fan of good lyrics / musicians, you might just like this one. My husband even found it entertaining. (And he’s a tough crowd when it comes to reality shows).
I watch in each contestant, envying their creative writing skills, the cool way they strum a guitar, their awesome hair…
There’s even a love story going on between two of the shows better contestants. They are both so hip I have decided their babies would be born wearing fedoras singing Wilco songs.
- Summery: Platinum Hit follows 12 up-and-coming musicians as they battle through a series of innovative songwriting challenges testing their creativity, patience and drive. From dance track to love ballad, every episode will feature a different theme that will require the contestants to write and perform lyrics from multiple genres. Their intimate life stories and personal drama will unfold within the show and in their lyrics as they compete and live together…
 Thanks for giving Libby the "cool" factor
Carrie posted this in General on June 12th, 2011
 This weekend I’ve come to the conclusion that kids, including mine, are gross. Here is my list of gross things Libby has done in the past few days, and a few of her finer “gross” moments from year one.
- Yesterday morning she had a poopy diaper a lovely shade of yellow. Changing her diaper has turned into something like changing a kicking donkey. So I ended up with a yellow poop all over my hands.
- She had a runny nose, and got her first taste of snot while licking her upper lip. I’m sure this will be a continuous problem for me and treat for her.
- During breakfast she took a BIG drink of milk, then just let it run out of her mouth down her shirt like a milk waterfall.
- She likes to suck on the cart at Wal-Mart. Even though I sanitize it, still gross.
- I caught her playing with a dog hair dust bunny she found in the corner of our house. I’ll take responsibility for this one. We were about a day past really needing to sweep.
- She want’s to share drinks with me, leaving me with yummy baby backwash in my water.
- She wiped re-fried beans in her hair at supper last night.
- While playing airplane she has drooled directly into my mouth.
- She eats off the floor, even in hotels before I can stop her. (baby’s are fast)
- She tried to eat dryer lint while I was folding clothes.
- During a diaper change in here younger months she shot black poop on me while I was changing her diaper. It was on me, on her, in my bed. Fun times at 3am.
- While writing this post she played in the dogs water dish.
So, I have stated that kids are gross. The kicker is that as a parent you just don’t care. Libby can drool on me, poop on me, spit up in my hair, and I will still only want to kiss her little forehead. I guess that’s true love.
Please feel free to share your “gross kid” moments with me!
 My 7th grade Madison at her first Varsity Track Meet 2011
Call me crazy…I’m sure my kids do.
I’m quite certain that I used to be totally, completely, boringly sane.
Apparently motherhood has driven me past the brink of insanity – WAY past. Especially where athletic events are concerned.
I never, EVER thought I would be “THAT” mom. You know…the one I’m talking about. There’s always at least ONE of them at sporting events. You meet her. She seems nice. Cute. Sweet smile. Kinda funny.
Then her kid gets up to bat. Or on the mat. Or on the starting line of a race. Or in the middle of a scrimmage on the field. It is at that point that this woman turns from bland human woman into psycho, screaming, freak-mom.
You might try to shy away, subtly inching away from her on the bleachers. You might turn-tail and RUN. You might just make a note to yourself to be sure to bring earplugs the next time you come.
Well…it turns out that “THAT” mom is ME.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not mean or nasty. I don’t yell hateful things at my children or anyone else’s.
I’m a very POSITIVE psycho.
I scream things at the track or soccer field like: “Go Maddie, go, go, Go, gO, GOOOOOOOOO!!!!” Or, at a wrestling meet, I have been known to belt out: “STICK HIM, ZACHARY, S-T-I-C-K HIM!!!” Or, most shamefully, when my youngest son, Reese was 4 years old and wrestling a 4-year-old girl, I yelled out “HOLD HER DOWN, REESE, HOLD! HER! DOWN!”
Nice, right?
Now, keep in mind. I did not grow up a sporto in any way, shape or form. I peaked out, athletically speaking, the summer after third grade when I hit a single, double, triple and home run in the All-Star Game for my softball team.
From then on it was strictly drama, debate and cheerleading for me.
As an adult, I’ve done some running. I’m not fast…AT ALL…but I have run three half marathons and two full marathons. That’s it, though. The best thing about my own athletic ability that I can say is that I try not to trip anyone up when I’m out there in a race…and I never, ever want to be last, if I can help it. But it’s not likely that I will ever break any records.
Where my kids are concerned, though, it’s a completely different deal. To borrow a phrase from Sarah Palin, I turn in to Mama Grizzly.
I promise, if you ever meet me in person, I will appear to be reasonably sane. And I promise I won’t yell at you at all – unless, of course, you are competing against my kid.
Then all bets are off.
Elissa posted this in Birthdays, Mom, Preschool on June 6th, 2011
Here’s my Raising Dakota column from Sunday’s paper:
If there is one phrase that is universal among parents, it is: Where does the time go?
My baby turns 4 on Wednesday. Four. That’s officially out of toddlerhood. That’s one year away from kindergarten. I still remember the day he was born — heck, I remember the day I found out I was pregnant — like it was yesterday. It’s like I blinked, and suddenly he grew up.
He’s actually at a very fun age right now — Daddy and Mommy are his heroes, the center of his universe. But I know we are on borrowed time.
I’ll blink again, and he will be a teenager — and suddenly it won’t be so cool to hug or kiss Mommy or to even be seen with Mommy. (I know enough teenagers to be quite certain that when I pick him up from high school, he’s not going to be yelling “Mommy!” and running at me full speed to give me a huge hug like he does now.)
I can’t stop time. But I can capture the memories we are creating. Here are just a few things that I don’t want to forget about Jack at this age — perhaps it’ll stir some memories for other parents:
- His pronunciation of words will soon change, I know, but right now he’s still pronouncing “elevator” as “alligator” and “hospital” as “hostible.”
- Every morning, he crawls into bed with us and cuddles up next to me.
- Raise your eyebrows all you want, but I still rock him at bedtime. Now as he’s gotten older, we sing together instead of me singing to him (his favorite right now is “Mr. Golden Sun”). Now, when I tell him good night and I love him, he says it back.
- He is quite the little chatterbox, and it’s hilarious to hear what he comes up with next. He starts conversations in seemingly random ways — “Remember mud puddles, Mama?” — that make total sense to him. He also likes to act things out and throw in some sound effects.
- As my husband says, he’s a little repeater. That means you can teach him cute phrases: Right now, if my husband asks him, “Who’s your favorite?” he’ll say, “Mama.” (Again, that probably won’t be the case when he’s a teen.)
- He has started “reading” to us at night — we’ve read a book so much that he has it memorized and can recite the words almost verbatim. He even asks us to point out the same pictures we ask him to point to, and tells us “good job” when we do so.
It’ll be hard to see these moments pass. But I know that the next stage of his life — and every stage thereafter — will bring even more good memories.
And whether he’s 4 or 40, he’ll always be my baby. I think that’s a pretty universal phrase for parents, too.
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