… and Things I never thought I will hear…

(after being on the toilet for at least 10 min… )

Child: mommy, there was no poop… but I had a good think….

Things that I never thought I will say

Honey, if you eat a bite of fish, you can have a bite of brussel sprout…

What is with the price of tickets....

During my recent vacation, we went to an ‘eco’ theme park in Mexico, where they charged children tickets based on height, NOT age. At the time, I thought it was interesting, a little bit odd, but interesting. And now, I think it should be done EVERYWHERE!

Last weekend, I took my little one to a water-park, you know, the ones with the wave pool, ‘children area’ and slides… I was flabbergasted (and trust me, I do not get to use the word flabbergast a lot) when I saw how much a kid’s ticket was. Kids THREE and up had to pay full adult fare. Yes THREE!

Now, this would not be so bad, if the three year old can take advantage of ALL the activities at the park, but there is a height restriction on the big slides (not that my little one would have stepped foot on the slide, heck, she did not even want to go on the baby slide, but this is more our problem than theirs.) Back to the problem… why in the world should I pay full price for my little one, when she can only use about 1/3 of the park? Heck, as I was there by myself, I was only able to use about 1/3 of the park - it is not like I am going to leave my toddler alone next to a pool while I go have fun on the tube slide… This was probably the most expensive couple of hours, of sitting in a pool in my life.

I think Mexico had it right; perhaps all theme parks should start selling tickets based on height. If a child can only use a certain percentage of the equipment, they should only have to pay a certain percentage of the price.

Now, I know why my parents insisted that I was 12 for about three years of my life.

photo courtesy of: Kevin Abbott (ka1970)

why, Why, WHY!!

In my pre-parenthood years, I was a bit of a science geek. I was taught to ask questions, lots of questions... So, now that I have a little one, I want her to be curious about the world around her, and ask lots and lots of questions – especially the ‘why’ questions.

Well, at least that was the theory…

I am very happy that I have a little one that asks ‘why’ about everything, BUT WHY does it have to be all the time. I think, the worst part is that she asks why about the same thing, again, and again, and again, and again… I have now put a limit on three ‘whys’ per topic.

Months ago, she has also started asking why as a way to question my authority (I am all for questioning authority, as long as I am not the authority….). I guess it can be worse; she can just revert to saying NO instead of asking why.

So, the question of the day - Is it wrong to completely zone out your child just so I can have five minutes of peace and quiet? Also is it wrong to reply to why questions with a blatant lie, just to amuse myself?

Post Vacation Blues

We have came home from vacation about two weeks ago, and the mountain of dirty laundry in my house continues to grow. I believe there will be an avalanche if I add one more little, dirty sock to that pile.

The thing is, I have been doing the laundry; most of the smelly clothes from the trip have been washed, but I still feel like I am fighting a losing battle with that pile of dirty garments. And, let us not speak of the war against the messy, dusty house.

One of the things I missed most about being on vacation was coming back to the room, after breakfast, to find that the beds have been made, the floors have been swept, and there are fresh linens in the bathroom. And then it suddenly occurred to me that my kid must think she is always on vacation! She comes home from school, or the park, and there will be food on the table (sometimes it is even what she asked for); her room has been reasonably tidied; and every once in a while she will get a fresh towel (still working on the laundry thing…).

Sure, I try to get her to help around the house. She is actually very good, and will help tidy her toys, fold her laundry, set the table, and ‘help’ with the cooking. BUT, sometimes it takes me twice as long with her assistant, which I do not usually mind, since we try to make it a game.

So, every once in a while, when I pass the upper limit of my messiness tolerance (or that I really cannot ignore that smell anymore…) I say screw it, and I clean, scrub and wash. And for a while, I push back the tide of griminess.

But for now, the cleaning service in Hotel Home is on strike, until reinforcement arrives, and I get a better benefit package. Or, until that thing in the back of the fridge starts talking to me.

after the vacation

Ahhh…. Family vacations… Am I the only person who routinely thinks that I need a vacation after my vacation? Do not get me wrong, I had a great time last week going to Mexico with my family; BUT it was exhausting! To try and get as much ‘fun’ time in, I do not think we once slept past 8! (And I found out that the breakfast buffet line grows exponentially after 9am)

No matter how much fun family vacations are, I think they can be very stressful. I think, we (or maybe just me) might have reached our limit of ‘together time’. I mean at home, we have our own lives, husband goes to work, kid is in school, and I can have some alone time each day to gather my thoughts, or at least regain some sanity. On vacation, we were together ALL THE TIME – from morning till night, and through the night, since we were in the same hotel room! As much as I love my child, sometimes I just need a little break from her (and the husband). I am sure they feel the same way about me.

So, as I was thinking up ways to escape my family, I noticed that many people were travelling in groups – there were a lot of three-generation families travelling together. Yep there they were; baby, mommy/daddy, and grandma and grandpa.

I have to admit that once I became a teen, I no longer wished to travel with my folks (still wanted them to pay for everything though), but now that I have a kid, I really really want my parents, and/or my in-laws, to come on vacation with me. I wonder if this is becoming a trend, after all, there is nothing quite like dependable, FREE babysitting. I think this is a win-win situation. The grandparents get to spend some fun time with the kids, and the parents get to have a VACATION! So, despite the fact that my dad still treats me like I am five, I am all for him coming with me the next time.

Really... Where is my brain?

So, I did something a bit silly yesterday; I bought myself a new toy... A very expensive new toy (not so expensive that it will put my daughter's college tuition in jeopardy...but still…).

I really do not need a new toy, but I really, really, wanted one. It was not a complete impulse buy. I did think about it for a few months, okay, most likely weeks, before I finally decided to go for it. I still feel a little bit bad, but I am enjoying the thing way too much to feel too guilty.

I think my dad is right; sometimes money is there to be spent, as long as it is not too ridiculous. It is probably better to buy the thing than to subject my poor family to me pining away for one all the time.

In the end, I guess the lesson is that: sometimes it is okay to get myself an expensive present, as long as I am responsible with my purchase choices for the next couple of months, and I should not be expecting a big Christmas present...

Now back to playing with my new toy.... And oh! Check out those boots!

Just filling time and space

I just thought I would like to add a picture. (I took this during cherry blossom season)

I remember when I use to like to go out and take pictures (I remember when I was able to do many other things as well, like simple math…). And now, most of my pictures have only one subject... a very uncooperative subject... I really have to applaud children photographers; they must have patience of saints, and the reflexes of a hockey goalie...

What kind of parent am I?

I have become one of those parents… you know, the ones that schedule every minute of their child’s life.  Not that there is anything wrong with that type of parenting, but it was not something I strived for.  I was going to be the easy going parent; the let us see where the wind takes us parent… But here I am, with papers scattered around me, scheduling my little one’s fall activities, making sure that there is a variety of programs, that there are no conflicts, that there is time for naps (which, of course must also be scheduled), heck, I am even penciling in ‘free time’.  And yes, I realize it is only August.

 It all started out with good intentions, but you know what they say about good intentions – they become a snowball that rolls you over, flattens you, just so your kids can have a soft comfy place to walk on… Honestly, though it really did start off with me just wanting to expose my daughter to new experiences.  And it started with just two classes, an art class and a sport class.  I wanted her to ‘learn’ something, have fun, and most importantly be around kids her own age.

Now, here I am, calendar in front of me, trying to figure out what classes to sign up for.  Maybe there are just too many options.  Maybe there is just not enough time.  Maybe in trying to help her become a well-rounded individual, I am forgetting to just let her be her, a kid that wants to go out and just have fun. 

One thing I do know for sure… I really have to squeeze in this swimming class somehow. 

Starting Again

Okay, I am all about new beginnings and ventures, possibly because I have trouble finishing stuff… sigh… So I am going to attempt to start writing again.  And I figure, today is just about as good of a day as any… 

So here I go…