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Thursday, May 27, 2010

Big Plans

Dylan and I couldn't wait for Camryn to get up from her nap. We had BIG plans! The weather was perfect and the tide chart was calling for low tide right at dinner time. We packed up the bike trailer with our picnic dinner, grabbed a bucket for our beach treasures and I snagged the camera to capture our first trip to the beach of the season.

As I pedaled my heart out (the kids are heavier than last summer) they talked about our time at the beach. What we would eat? Of course, I packed a three course meal, knowing we would be there for the remainder of the day. What we would find? At low tide you can walk out really far and you never know what you might come across. And Camryn wanted to ensure that we would have ample playground time.

As I rounded the corner to cross the bridge to the beach, this is what I saw:

So now I had to explain to my excited children, that after enduring a 20 minute bike ride, we were not going to be able to play on the playground, walk out on the sand bar or even eat dinner for that matter.
Luckily, I spotted a bench on a grassy knoll outside the marina and claimed it our alfresco dining spot. The kids longingly stared at the sand bar while I forced them to indulge in all three courses of our picnic.

Dylan was complaining he was cold
while Camryn kept asking to go to the playground. After only 10 minutes of trying to make a bad situation fun, I strapped them back in the trailer and began the trek home feeling defeated.

Cry of Distress

I learned the hard way with Dylan not to rock a baby to sleep. Because when you don't feel like doing it anymore, they don't know how to put themselves to sleep. After a long drawn out process of removing myself from the falling asleep equation, I swore I wouldn't do it with my second.

So basically Camryn got shafted but it worked. I put her in her crib wide awake for naps and bedtime since birth and she figured out how to fall asleep on her own. It's fabulous!!! Sometimes she fusses a little or talks to herself but very rarely does she cry.

Last night she was exhausted from playing outside in the heat all day, so when I put her in her crib I figured she would be out in a few minutes. I came downstairs and started painting. When she started to cry, I gave her a minute to see if she would stop. But for some reason she hit a soft spot and I took her cries as a good excuse for some snuggling.

When I reached for her in the crib, I saw that her chubby little arm was stuck between the rails. She was crying because she was in pain. Not only was she stuck but her sucking thumb was out of reach.

We snuggled as I sang her a song and she was out cold. It's a good thing her crying was rare because if it was Dylan I probably would have let the poor guy cry it out while he struggled to fall asleep with his arm stuck between the rails!

Friday, May 21, 2010

Red or black?

It seems a little insignificant but it is seriously the dilemma I've been having. I'm usually not so indecisive. I knewI had to have sidelites. I didn't even blink when it came to selecting the color of the siding. But I can't nail down the color of the door.

Here is my internal dialogue:
Black is traditional and provides contrast. Black is safe. But it will show dirt, scratches and marks easily.

Red is different. A gray house with a red screams New England. But it would have to be the right red. There are so many reds to choose from, it could easily go all wrong.

And then what do you paint and what do you simply leave white. Do you only paint the door? Or do you paint the trim, the sidelites and the grills?

I was so excited for the house to look complete from the road and now I can't picture what I wanted it to look like.

Help!!! Look at the picture and let me know what you think?

(Ignore the old, broken down, off-centered porch...that is being removed...someday!)

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Playground Politics

My heart already goes out for my kids and all the crap they are going to have to deal with growing up. My motherly instinct is to protect them from getting hurt but I know it's not possible and it's just part of growing up. But if I could I would.

We were at the playground and there were a group of kids there from the after school program. So they were older than Dylan and all knew each other. Dylan stood there watching them in awe for awhile. I could tell by the look on his face, he wanted to be a part of their game. So I encouraged him to go play with them.

He was hesitant at first. Staying close to the pack but not engaging, waiting for the right opportunity to join in the fun. Finally, he worked up the courage to start running with them. I focused my attention on Camryn, scaling the rock wall.

When I looked to Dylan again, he was on the outs, watching as the group ran past. He slowly walked over to me and I knew immediately what had happened. He told me that when he asked if he could play with them, one little girl said no. His chin started to quiver and I could see how hard he was trying to hold in his tears. I wanted to grab him in my arms and comfort him while he cried. I wanted that little girl to see how she had hurt his feelings and I wanted to give her a piece of my mind.

But I knew this was just one small incident of the many to come in the process of growing up. So I fought the urge to coddle and decided to teach him the tools he would need to survive the social realm of school.

We started playing tag too. But I amped it up a bit by weaving in and out of the swings, climbing over the playscape and sliding down the slides. It was like an obstacle course and Dylan was laughing as he tried to catch me. Soon we had the attention of two kids that were Dylan's age. Without even asking, they just jumped right in and started chasing us. After awhile, I quietly dropped out and watched as Dylan happily outran his new playmates.

They played for the rest of time we were at the playground. From talking to one of the mom's, I found out that the little girl would be attending Kindergarten with Dylan in the Fall. I pointed this fun fact out to the kids and explained to Dylan how next year he would have all his classmate on the playground with him, just like at pre-school.

When it was time to go, Dylan was reluctant to say good-bye to his new friend. So the little girl gave him a hug and claimed him as her boyfriend!!! That's a whole other kind of hurt I won't be able to protect them from. But I was happy that Dylan left the playground confident, knowing he can make friends.

Lesson on the day: When someone doesn't want to play with you, there is always someone that does!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Not for the squeemish

Yesterday I was driving along rockin out to Imagination Movers with the kids when suddenly I heard a disturbing sound. I looked in my rear view mirror and saw Camryn projectile vomit. I watched her do it three times before my brain registered to pull over. I yanked the wheel to the right and slammed on the brakes of the first side street I passed.

The smell had already permeated the car and I was scared to see what kind of mess I was dealing with. Camryn was of course crying and struggling to get the taste out of her mouth screaming: "No, like it, no, like it!"

My heart broke for her because she really didn't know what had happened. But at the sight of the gallons of vomit, I felt my stomach churning. I managed to unbuckle her in between dry heaves and immediately took all her clothes off. Thank God for SUV's because I was able to lie her down in the back, clean her up and change her out without worrying about the mess.

I kept her back there and tackled the vomit with a full package of wipes in hand. The stench was intensified and Dylan started gagging. It was like a bad car accident...although the sight of it was making him sick he couldn't take his eyes off it. "Why did she do that?" he asked while struggling to hold down his after school snack. The sound of him wretching triggered my dry heaves yet again.

I did the best I could with the mess and strapped Camryn back into her seat. I rolled down the windows despite the rain to try to air out the car but the chunk covered clothes residing in the back were making it difficult. I called John to share the excitement and Dylan piped up to tell his part of the drama: "Dad, I felt food coming up into my mouth but I didn't let it come out!"

In hind sight, I guess it could have been that much worse. Sounds like I avoided a potential chain reaction, with triple the mess to clean up.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Diamonds....

really are a girl's best friend.

I swear Camryn pushed herself out just in time so her birthstone could be a diamond. Since birth she has had her eye on my diamond necklace. Like all babies, she pulled on it, but it seemed like she was a little more reluctant to let go.

From the beginning, I told her she could have it someday when daddy bought me a bigger one. As she grew up, she slowly grasped the concept. And if you ask her when does she get mommy's pretty necklace, she will reply: "Daddy get bigger one!"

The other night John and I attended a wedding and I wore fancier jewelry. By the time we got home, we were wiped, so I neglected to take it off. In the morning, before I could even get her out of her crib, she spotted it from a mile away. Her eyes lit up and she started jumping up and down in her crib yelling: "Bigger one, bigger one."

I honestly think she expected to inherit my old one before breakfast.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Open Floor Plan

My husband's days off are turning into...what can we demo next! Although we still have PLENTY of unfinished projects left around the house...putting up the siding, finishing the deck, taping the sheet rock, carpeting and painting our bedroom...we thought it would be fun to start a new one!!!

So we removed the bathtub in the downstairs bathroom to make room for our desk area in the new kitchen.

I'm all for an open floor plan but the kitchen opening up to the bathroom is where I draw the line.


Now we just need to order our cabinets....and hardwood floors....and counter tops....and knock down two more walls....

It's kind of hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel through the clouds of sheet rock dust!!!