How to Make A Snowman

Yes, we got enough snow to make a snowman. Yay for the Winter Wonderland! We tried and failed to build one with the girls the day of the snow. Daddy took them out the next day and voila! Perfect snow for a snowman. So here's how it went.

First, roll snow into big snowballs and have Daddy stack them.

Next, stabilize kind of crooked and wobbly snowman at the base so he doesn't avalanche onto anyone.

Bungle up so you don't freeze!

Add a carrot nose.

Prepare the giant snowman head for a Santa hat.

Add pine cones for eyes.

Bring two sticks from a fallen tree branch for arms.

Add a pine cone mouth that gives Frosty his cheeky grill.

Ta da! Frosty the Snowman, complete with purple chalk buttons.

The next day, watch a rather panicked Frosty from the window as it rains.

Mommy Tantrum

We live through them every day for years with each little one, and when the tantrums subside, the whining takes over. So why can't I have a turn?

Why can't Santa and his freakin elves be real? Seriously. Moving Crumpet every night and coming up with cutesy things for him to bring the girls is exhausting. If it was the only thing I had to do, I could easily come up with hugely creative and charming elf things every day of the month. But I am a stay-at-home mom. And I already have a thousand other things to do.

Let's talk about Santa. I'd LOVE to have the fat man help out. It's easy enough: my kids checked and circled almost everything in the toy catalog, and then narrowed it down to the top three in their letters to Santa. So why can't he come through for me, just this once?

Since gifts don't magically appear under the tree (don't tell my kids!), I have to shop for gifts from Santa while my three-year old is there with me. Talk about stress. And not that I don't appreciate Amazon, UPS and Fed Ex and of course the Post Office, but the pressure to buy local from small businesses is high, and yet nearly impossible. And since I already have a thousand other things to do, each package that's delivered sends a shiver of guilt through my conscience. Yes, the guilt never ends.

I wish Dora would slap that freakin Swiper Fox. I just watched an episode with my daughters, and let me tell you I was outraged. No wonder I have to repeat myself three times before my kids will listen to me. Talk about driving mommy to the brink! I might have to ban this kind of insubordinate programming from my house.

To whatever organ or gland is in charge of my emotions: Stop the psychotic flood and drought of hormones that make me behave like a completely unstable lunatic! It might be funny to you, but my girls are asking almost on a daily basis if mommy's pee is pink.

And while I've regressed to random peeves, why do I always run out of something the day after I've been to the grocery store? Try carrying a sleeping preschooler through a grocery store for a dozen eggs or loaf of bread. You already have drive thru pharmacies. Is it impossible to push groceries through that same window? Or how about a delivery service? This is the 21st century people, get me some delivery!

So this is what a mommy tantrum feels like. Ugh. Off to my room for a time out.

Real Girls Vomit Pink

How girly is it that both my daughters' vomit is pink?

It's fuschia really. And so...fruity and disgusting.

Yesterday morning Evie whined that her tummy hurt, then doubled over, writhing in pain on the floor, with more high pitched whining. The drama was so intense I even thought Maisey learned a thing or two.

I blamed it on Evie eating 4 fruit snacks while I took a shower--thanks to big sister for getting them while they watched Scooby Doo. After about twenty minutes of resting on Mommy while I rubbed her tummy, Evie looked up at me from the couch and out erupts this chunky fuschia liquid. And then we made the mad dash to the toilet.

Kuddos Dad and Maisey and hail their iron stomachs for helping to spot and clean up the trail of hot pink puke while Mommy cleaned and cuddled her sick little girl. Or should I say big girl. Well done Evie. You have graduated to the world of throw up. No more namby pamby baby milk smelling spit up for you.

And now I have all the ammo I need to prevent the eat-nothing-but-sweets battle. At least until the memory of a grumpy tummy and fuschia vomit fades.

Holiday Rollercoaster

Hang on to your hats people, we're about to be flung at top speed and out of control into the holidays.

It's not like I didn't see them coming. They happen the same time every year. And every year I start Christmas shopping in August (July this year even!) and still I feel the panic at the thought that Christmas is only a month away. Yes, I am about to be flung into unorganized oblivion.

My job:

I have to make it fun and magical for everyone.

Even the elf.

I have to appear to be relaxed and in control, as if everything that happens went exactly as I planned it, from today through New Years Day. That includes food, travel, baking, gifts for others at home and in faraway places, and especially teaching and feeling the true meaning of the holidays.

How did I ever get hired for this job?

I want to be a kid again, to believe in the magic of the season, that for some reason, crawled like an inchworm through each day, building my anticipation, grating my nerves through what felt like months of school, waiting, until finally, through the longest of nights, as snow flutters from the magical sky it dawned: Christmas Morning. We sat in awe on the steps gawking at the tree, twinkling in the magical moon glow of 4 am, dazzled by the beautiful presents underneath, all just for me (well, and my sister and brother too).

That two hour wait in front of the tree until my parents woke up seems longer to me now than the month I have to do everything I must do to make the holidays special for my family.

The hardest part is being the one creating that magic. It seems to grow every year, and become more and more complicated. Like a new magic trick, I am expected to peform to perfection, I'm trying to wrap my mind around how to pull it off without anyone guessing how. And my thoughts keep going up and down, around and around on that roller coaster, hoping to latch on to enough ideas and snatch enough time to get it all done.

Do you think Crumpet, our Elf On The Shelf, will help out?

Not.

Pesky little runt. He doesn't make a move without me.

No More Butt Paste Lipstick

Bye bye Butt Paste.

And diapers.

And diaper rash.

And diaper washing (yes, I used cloth diapers, though mostly hybrids this time).

Yay me! and especially yay Evie for our third successful week of staying dry, both day and night. We celebrated that milestone with her first pack of "big girl" panties, in a character of her choice: My Little Pony. It is the cutest thing to see her little bottom in those panties, though I still absolutely love both their little bums in the Gerber training pants. There really is nothing cuter than a toddler bum in padded panties. Especially one that is poopy-free.

She's still announcing when she has to go, and still needs help sometimes, but I'm so proud of her for getting it, and sticking with it, at the grocery store, the mall, even at birthday parties. The funny thing is, she was dry at night for a few months before I realized that I need to actually get on the ball and potty train during the day. Call it a lazy moment for Mommy, but after the pressure to get Maisey trained by 2 years old (thanks Mom!), and having that backfire in my face, I decided not to worry about it.

Now I have to instill the hygenic need to change those panties each and every day. She's on Day Three of wearing Princess Celestia, and she refuses to take them off. Except when she has to use the potty.

Halloween Snow

Well, we went from this:

To this:

My butterfly bush has been flattened by the heavy, wet snow, but that is all the damage I've seen so far. Thank goodness. Our satellite is down, most likely blocked by snow, but we have heat and electricity, and I'm so thankful for that.

School was cancelled last night, but I didn't tell her until this morning, kind of like a Halloween present. She was so happy. And the kids have candy, comics and craft, thanks to last night's Mall-O-Ween.

So even if Halloween is cancelled, we have enjoyed the season. Now we're hunkering down to comfy couch, a DVD and word that Daddy has safely arrived in Pittsburgh and is on his way home to us!

Preparing for Frankenstorm

So they're calling for a Frankenstorm Monday/Tuesday and it's gonna be big. Big as in over two feet of snow in West Virginia, high winds, heavy rain, flooding--fire and brimstone type stuff. Only frozen. And so we must prepare for Frankenstorm on Halloween.

Bring it on!

Really, though, I put away the outdoor furniture and umbrellas, and the kids toys that might become dangerous projectiles in 50-75 mile per hour winds. But really, look how beautiful it is now. It's hard to imagine it will be suddenly winter, or suddenly cold and miserable in less than 48 hours.

But seriously, I have to prepare for every situation, so I have stacked pellets for the stove, and will lug out the kerosene heater and fill up the kerosene can tomorrow. I've bought batteries for our hurricane lamps and flashlights. I should probably buy canned weiners and other repulsive eat-right-out-of-the-can goods in case I can't cook. I've piled all of our snuggliest blankets and pillows in the gameroom (where we will live like we're in a bomb shelter) in case we need to huddle there to ride out the storm.

I am hoping it's not as bad as they're saying, but I guess it doesn't hurt to be ready.

Spooky Spooky

I love Halloween almost as much as Christmas. There are so many fun things to do, and you can still spend a lot of time outside. There's only 8 days till Halloween!

We've been painting and carving pumpkins. Usually Evie just paints them, and then repaints them when the rain washes off her handiwork.

Maisey draws the face on the pumpkin, and then I carve it out as closely as I can. She creates some very interesting faces.

I tried to cut out irises in the eyes, but the first one cracked, so I went for the easy carve.

Evie's painting looked like a cat, so I tried to carve a kitty cat face with whiskers, but the end result wasn't quite what I wanted. Still they all turned out pretty nice, our spooky trio.

They look spooky enough, but I then had to have a little fun with aperture settings. Spooktacular!

Yep, that's us, the spooky girls.

A Day Off

A Teacher In-Service Day can be the longest day ever for a stay at home mom, but today I decided it wasn't going to get to me. The girls were playing so well together that we almost did nothing but play at home. I actually got some laundry done (oh how glamorous I am) and organized Evie's sock drawer (yay me for being so productive!) but by one o'clock the girls were at each other's throats. So what is my solution? Go to a pumpkin farm!

They opened a new nature park for kids, which was fabulous. I want to do so many of these things in our own back yard!

They had tunnels to climb through and on, nature trails, tree houses, logs and boulders and cut log mazes, and of course slides, swings and monkey bars. Rich Farms got this park just right.

I would love these in my own yard:

A cute storage/play cabin for the girls (I would add doors and windows).

An awesome log maze. I would make this near the pond for our turtles.

After about a half hour here, the hay wagon returned to take us back to the pumpkin farm, and all its glory.

As you know, bouncy houses never get old.

Maisey was King of Hay Mountain.

I can't resist these things. Neither can the girls.

Evie wanted the biggest pumpkin in the patch.

The girls insisted on painting their pumpkins pink.

With such interest in all things pastoral, it makes me think we really should buy a farm.

Worst.Day.Ever.

Yesterday was it. The worst day ever. Or at least in recent memory. I won't bore you with all little things that sent my mood down the proverbial toilet, but by far the worst was Maisey's weekly progress report at school. She dropped in 5 of 9 categories from a "p=progressing" to an "n= needs improvement." What is happening to my child?

Class Behavior

Class Work Effort

Attentiveness

Organization

Handwriting

The only one we have some inkling about is handwriting. Maisey is a lefty. And she broke her left arm last year in kindergarten, just when they started focusing on writing. For a month she tried writing with her right hand, but once the splint was off she went back to her left. Even the teacher recognizes this setback, so we have been practicing more with penmanship.

Like everyone I blame myself. What am I not instilling in her that she should be doing? She's so easily distracted, so easy to follow the nearest animated child (and often the child with the worst influence!) You tell her a simple request, and she cannot repeat it back to you. It's as if she doesn't listen, or doesn't want to. I've always encouraged her creativity, but my worst nightmare is creativity that works against her. I've said to her before that I don't want to change who she is, I just want to instill some structure, some rules and guidelines so that she can more easily be who she is within society. I've also said that what you must do always comes before what you want to do. In other words, schoolwork first. She says she wants to cancel school. I need to get to the bottom of this before learning becomes anathema to her.

It's frustrating not knowing the right path, the right course of action. Clint and I both talked to her about how disappointed we were in her behavior, especially after setting up a reward plan for when she brings home an "e=excellent." She seemed disappointed in herself, but cried that she just can't do it and she wants to cancel school. I am beside myself with worry.

I told her earlier that day that if her scores don't improve next week (the last week of the 9 week period), she will not be permitted any extra-curricular activities (Girl Scouts, birthday parties, and especially TV.) In the tub she wailed about wanting to get back to E's, (even though she has yet to attain an "e" in any area) and I told her I knew she could do it.

After a lot of thought, and a couple of Guinness after the girls were in bed, I managed to see that in every thing, this girl will need lots of motivating. I'm always told positive motivation is better, but I also have to make use of consequences. I suppose I need to get motivated to motivate her.

Fall Farm and Festival Fun: Weekend 1

I take the girls to every fall festival and farm that offers activities in October. It's my favorite time of year, and I want to get the most out of my favorite season.

This weekend, we braved the rain to go to the 31st Annual OglebayFest in Wheeling WV. Thank goodness too, because the moment we got out of Morgantown, the sun came out and showed us what a glorious day it was everywhere but here.

If you've never been, this festival is huge! The entire resort is chock full of tents and activities, and there was so much to do. We met our friends at the bouncy house area by Schenk Lake, where I was reminded once again that bouncing never gets old.

Next up, face painting and balloon animals.

Evie was much too impatient to stand in line to have her face painted, so we got a lemonade while we waited for the others.Juni was a tiger, Maisey was a butterfly, and Lavani had a shooting star. Not sure if those are clear in this photo. The lady also made the girls a balloon hummingbird.

Then, the long walk to the Good Zoo.

At the zoo, there were lots of spooky things to see. Like snakes.

The best part was visiting the zoo's graveyard

And of course Dracula's grave.

And the girls didn't seem to care that the apples were poisoned!

And they were thrilled to be invited to zombie tea.

Of course we did take time for the park and to play with the Lorakeets.

Thanks, not into nectar.

As if we weren't exhausted from the festivities on Saturday, we braved the dreary rainy weather to head to Simmons Farm in McMurray PA for another fall filled fun day.

Ready for fun, we stopped to check out the jack-o-lanterns for inspiration.

On the hayride to the pumpkin patch.

First stop, pony rides

Fun in the field

And then there was the Corn Maze Incident

We three went into the corn maze together, but Maisey took off with two kids slightly older than her. At first I wasn't worried, thinking I could keep up, but that thought faded instantly at the first turn.

I alternated carrying and dragging Evie around the maze as the rain began to fall, calling Maisey, and asking everyone we encountered if they'd seen a girl in a pink and white polka-dotted rain jacket.

No one had.

This is the moment every mother fears, the moment we never think will happen to us. You never feel so helpless as you do with a lost child. Just as I was about to cut my own path through the corn, to the entrance and the nearest help, calling Maisey's name with a note of fear I thought unmistakable, a man called out to me that she was there with him, just ahead.

"She's been following us," he said.

I thanked him and stood staring at Maisey as they wandered off. I didn't even have words. After taking a moment to compose myself I told her how dangerous it was to run off with strangers. I told her that she didn't know anyone here, and that not everyone was nice.

"They were nice," she said,"

"Yes, and you're lucky they were. But what if they didn't want to let you come back to me?" I asked.

She thought about this a minute and finally I saw something like understanding flash across her face. After that she held my hand and we finished the corn maze together. Actually, she was a model listener after that. She stayed close, and listened when I asked her to do anything. It really did have an impact, I think.

We picked our pumpkins from the nearest field and rode the hay wagon back to the greenhouse, as the rain was coming down more heavily now.

At the greenhouse we had hot cocoa, played in the corn box and met up with another Morgantown mom who just arrived with her girl scout troop. We chatted, shared a snack, and wandered through the butterfly house before heading home.