Toddler Talk

Toddlers are always so funny. I hate that I forget all the funny little things my girls say, so here are a few of our recent conversations that I want to remember when I need a smile.

Belle was reading a book and sneezed:
Belle: I got my bless yous all over the page!!

Belle: Why don't we have a dog?
the Officer: Mommy is allergic, so it would make her sick to have a dog in the house.
Belle: Mommy, you can go outside, and then we could have a dog inside.

I said "say cheese", and this is what I got

some Belle vocabulary:
"poodle potties"= porta potties
"alligator juice"= gatorade

After a day of the adults renovating my parents house:
Belle: Grandma and Grandpa worked hard today
Me: Yes, everyone worked very hard today.
Belle: I worked hard too
Me: What'd you do to work hard?
Belle: I worked hard to get up from my nap.

It's hard work being 3

Lately Belle loves to talk about what everyone will be when they grow up. Almost always her list goes like this: Bug is going to be a police officer, Belle is going to be "a soccer team", baby Mik will be a teacher, and our next baby after that is going to be a pilot... I guess we need exactly 4 children, because she knows of 4 possible occupations right now.

The other day when I asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up this is what I got:
Belle: I'm going to be a Nun
Mommy's Catholic heart melted
Belle: Then when I'm done being a Nun I'm going to get married and have a baby in my tummy
Me: ummm that's not how that works.....

I really need to work on my theology instruction

frequent conversation with Bug:
Me: How are you doing Bug?
Bug (while holding her lower back): My back hurts
Me: ......
Bug: I need to have the Doctor check my back.

She's 2 and her back is fine, but one time Daddy hurt his back....

another frequent conversation with Bug:

Bug: I love you

Me: I love you more!

Bug: I love you Miss Frizzle!

no clue what that means except that we are too obsessed with Magic School Bus....

At least it's Saturday

It's a beautiful Saturday. We had snow to begin the week, and we might have snow again next week, but today it is a beautiful 74 degrees and sunny. I would be planning a trip to the park with the girls and some imaginary bear hunts in the back yard, but instead we are stuck inside. Belle has had some awful stomach virus, so we've been hunkered down on the couch with juice and toast waiting it out and just praying Bug doesn't get it.

I was lucky to have 3 years of parenting before I ever had to deal with vomit, but now that nice honeymoon phase has ended with a bang. My poor sweet Belle has been so sick, and it breaks my heart. Emotional mothering reaches a whole new level while you are watching your little 3-year-old hunched over a toilet multiple times a day. A Mom would do anything to make it stop and trade places with her sweet little child, and it's painful that you can't do anything to fix it. I always thought these stomach viruses lasted a day or two and might mean one or two times throwing up..... wow was I ever wrong. We've been woken up multiple times a night to our sick little girl for 3 nights now, and she has spent 3 long days barely moving off the couch. Today she finally seemed to turn a corner, so let's pray she's almost over it! During a particularly rough night with lots of cleaning and little sleep I started to have a nice little pity-party for myself (and Daddy), but instead I played my "at least" game. I'll have to explain this game in another post, but just think Pollyanna.

It'd be a miracle if Bug doesn't get sick, because she insists on being one foot away from Belle at all times

So here they are: At least the Officer (aka Superdad) has been home the last few nights to help with middle of the night clean-up duty. At least it's the weekend, and I don't have work. At least Bug hasn't gotten it (yet!)... I'm scared to even vocalize that one. At least we've had lots of basketball to watch while stuck inside (even if our alma mater already lost in a very painful game). At least my Belle is the toughest little girl in the world and hasn't complained a single time. At least this should end soon! There are a thousand more little blessings to be thankful for, but that list is good enough for now. Prayers for my tough little Belle and prayers that my happy little Bug doesn't catch it!

Feeling Grateful

Yesterday I was in a very uncharacteristic cleaning mood, and I cleaned our house and organized the girls' winter and spring clothes all day. Then last night the Officer and I went to a very fun St. Patrick's day party and stayed out way too late for this pregnant lady. So today I was completely exhausted, and the Officer had to work. Fortunately, I had a little 3-year-old angel today (and an awesome 2-year-old who likes to sleep just as much as her Mother).

they dream of a day when Mommy will let them bunk together

Belle just behaved perfectly all day today (even at Mass!), which made such a nice calm day for this sleepy Mama. When she woke up from her nap and I was still sleeping on the couch, she let me sleep. Sweet little Belle spent 30 minutes quietly sitting next to the couch reading books while I napped, and then she kept up her reading for another 45 minutes while I made dinner. Some evenings when the Officer is working during dinner and bedtime it can be difficult for me, but not today.

This was her "reading" set-up for over an hour

It's only been a few months, but 3 is such a fun age!! Of course 3 has had tantrums, whining, and arguing with her sister, but so often it is hilarious, independent, sweet and innocent..... and those are the moments I want to remember. There are days when I can't wait to put them in bed so I can collapse on the couch and have a quiet moment, but then there are days like today. Days when I look across the dinner table at 2 blue-eyed toddlers who are cracking each other up. Days when I give lots of extra kisses and super tight hugs, because I feel like my heart is going to explode with love for these 2 little girls. Days when I hope these little toddlers of mine never grow up.

Tricking a Toddler

the love of a girl and her stuffed animal

Toddlers. We all know they are too smart for their own good (or maybe just too smart for Mama's good). Yet, I still try to trick mine all the time. My favorite "trick" in our house that has been going on for the last year is the "puppy swap" that we tried to pull on Belle. Ever since she was 6 months old Belle has had a beloved stuffed puppy. We creatively named him "Puppy", and she adores that little pink and white guy. We realized very quickly that this loved little (mostly white) puppy was difficult to wash, because she always wanted to have him. Then one afternoon Mommy made the rookie mistake of allowing Puppy in the jogging stroller during a run, and when we got home he was no longer snuggled on Belle's lap. It took us 30 minutes to retrace our path (this time walking), but luckily we found Puppy lying by the side of the road, and we could all go to sleep happy that night. I knew we needed a backup puppy immediately, so I ordered a brand new identical Puppy.

She has always taken very good care of him.... he gets many bottles and diaper changes every day

I'm very lucky to have so many older sisters with children, and I get to learn so much from their experiences. One of my sisters bought my niece a backup lamb to be able to wash, and then my niece just wanted both of the Lambies. My SIL bought my nephew a backup blanket and then he wanted both blankets. I didn't want Belle to need both Puppies, and then I still wouldn't be able to wash them or lose one. I figured I would just make sure she never saw them both together, and I would sneakily pull the puppy swap whenever one needed washing. This sounds good in theory (like most parenting strategies).

Bug was in complete shock that she was allowed to touch Puppy

Unfortunately for me, kids are very smart. The very first time I pulled the swap and gave her the new mint-condition Puppy she noticed how white, fluffy, and soft it was. I tried to play it off by saying that it was just very clean! I thought I had her fooled as I swapped Puppies back and forth for months washing them and hiding the extra one on a top shelf in the laundry room. Then one day when I was doing laundry she brought me her Puppy and asked me to wash it, and then pointed up to the top shelf and said "I want the clean Puppy". Ha all my efforts at being so sneaky. That was months ago, and we are still playing the "puppy swap" game, except I don't try to hide it anymore. Now I just tell her that we are switching the Puppies, and she calls one of them her "very special Puppy" and one of them "Puppy" (again we are very creative in the Mik house). My smart little Belle.... I love that girl and her Puppy (or two).

Puppy is always just hanging out with us

Ash Wednesday fail... the Catholic teacher edition

I teach preschool at a small Catholic school. I love my job, and I love being able to teach young students about God. There is a reason I chose to teach young children, and I think that I am usually pretty good at explaining things to 4-year-olds. Not on Ash Wednesday. For the 2nd year in a row I completely failed at teaching Ash Wednesday to my students!

Last year on Ash Wednesday I was explaining to my students what to expect at Mass that afternoon, and I said, "The priest will put a cross on your forehead." Before I could make it any further a student yelled out, "I don't want to die!" and suddenly half the class was in hysterics, worried they were going to die. I spent the next 20 minutes trying to calm down the room of 4-year-olds. I barely even taught anything else that day about Ash Wednesday or Lent. Later I found out that one of the students thought I meant that the Priest would be nailing a cross to their foreheads.... yeah I'd be scared of that too. That evening I sent an email to all the parents in my class apologizing and explaining why their children were now worried about dying. Fortunately, the parents were kind and thought it was funny. A few even told me that their children were really excited about Ash Wednesday and Lent after my class, so I must have done an okay job calming them down. I was determined to do better this year......

This year as I taught the students what to expect at Mass on Ash Wednesday I said, "The priest will draw a cross on your forehead", as I demonstrated tracing an invisible cross on a student's forehead. So far so good. Next I said the Priest would say, "Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return." One of the students asked what that meant, and I casually said, "just that some day everyone will die." Once again I had a few students suddenly terrified of dying, and telling me that they didn't want to die and that they'd miss their parents. I reminded them that Heaven is a wonderful place to go and that they didn't need to worry about dying right now, and then I quickly just moved on to Lenten prayers and preparation for Easter. The good news is that this was a significant improvement from last year. Maybe next year I can teach this topic without any tears.....

Teaching Religion to little ones can definitely be tricky. Moms, teachers, wise friends.... any ideas or suggestions for introducing subjects like Ash Wednesday, Lent, the Crucifixion, death???

Good friends. Good weekend.

I love good friends. And wow I have been lucky to have some awesome friends in my life.  I took Belle and Bug to visit our dear friend Lauren on Friday. Lauren and I were roommates in college, and we always have the nicest visits and chats... this time was no different. She has a sweet boy T who is 2 1/2, and my girls love playing with him. She also has another little boy on the way, and we enjoy being pregnant together and having baby buddies soon. My girls and T played so well together and spent the visit in their own little imaginative world. They spent hours pretending it was snowing, raining, or really hot and getting fake umbrellas, sleds, or sunscreen.... Lauren and I loved sitting and listening to their giggles and feet running down the hallway. Toddler years can be tough sometimes, but they can also be so magical to watch. Thank you Lauren for such a nice visit!

How cute are these 3 toddlers?!

Saturday I brought the girls to my in-laws house, and left them there while I went to a school fundraiser. The small Catholic school where I work has an annual Mardi Gras Gala with an auction. The Officer was working, so baby Mik was my only date, but a few of the other teachers were also there solo, and we had a great time. I seriously work at the greatest school and love my co-workers, and I love the parents at the school. We had such a fun night of dinner, dancing, drinks, and bidding on auction items, and hopefully we raised a lot of money for the school. I'm so grateful to have good friends at work and in our parish. As the weekend ended I was just thinking about how blessed the Officer and I have been with so many incredible friendships. Friends who are always there for us and bring so much joy to our lives.

The girls loved staying at their Grandparents, and they had a very busy weekend. Today when we got home from Mass they each took a 3 hour nap!  The weather was beautiful and we had such a nice weekend. Now we are preparing for yet another snow storm..... have I mentioned that I am ready for Spring?!?!?!