No Ordinary Day
Most mornings I wake up around 6:30 to the sound of Tiny and Buba yelling, “Mommy! The sun is out (on their Good Nite Lite)! Time to wake up!” But this morning, I woke up to the sound of Tiny and Buba yelling, “Mommy! Mommy! It’s your burfday! Wake up!” They were beyond excited for me, and I was overjoyed with the birthday hugs and song I received first thing this morning.
The Most Magical Place on Earth
I believe Disney World claims the title of The Most Magical Place on Earth, but for Tiny and Buba, the small, narrow hallway leading from our kitchen to the bathroom is officially The Most Magical Place on Earth. Most recently, the hallway has been staged as a playgroup, the doctor’s office, the grocery store, Toys R Us, and the library. It is easy to see when the magic is beginning. Tiny and Buba each put on a pair of Grammy’s old gloves and drape one of her old winter scarves around their shoulders. Then they grab their purses (yes, Buba has one too) and babies- usually one, but sometimes two- and Tiny will announce that they are off to whichever pretend play location suits her. (At this point it is clear that Tiny is the director, but Buba doesn’t seem to mind following her lead.)
Their recent visit to the library went something like this…
Tiny and Buba (singing just as the children’s librarian does): We’re gonna sit down, turn around, read a book together. Gonna sit down, turn around, read a book today. Oh, Children! Read a book today, read a book today, read a book today….
Then they each read a Miss Spider book to their babies. Tiny read Miss Spider’s New Car, while Buba read Miss Spider’s ABC book.
Tiny and Buba (singing just as the children’s librarian does): The more we get together the happier we’ll be. Now our storytime is over. It’s over. It’s over. Now our storytime is over. It’s time to go.
Tiny: Happy Holidays! We love you!
Tiny and Buba (just as the children’s librarian does): One for the money! Two for the show! Three to get ready! And four to GO!
Tiny: See you next year!
It is incredibly cute to watch them engaged in pretend play, but the best part of The Most Magical Place on Earth is that grown-ups are not allowed. That’s right, T and I are not welcome in the hallway when it’s being used for their fun. And even better- they can play in there, just the two of them, without fighting for over 20 minutes. It truly is magical.
Holdiay Card Outtakes
Last year, creating our holiday card was easy. We got some amazingly cute photos taken at Sears, bought a portrait package that included the photos on a CD, and our card was created by simply uploading a cute photo into a snazzy red and green Shutterfly design. I assumed it would go the same this year. But you know what happens when you assume things.
To make a long story short, our holiday photo shoot at Sears went horribly. Tiny and Buba were between viruses, and were in good spirits, but the photographer wasn’t great. She didn’t interact with them in a way that got anything more than cheesy grins, so we weren’t getting any authentic smiles or giggles. When I tried to help out and got down on the floor to make them giggle, she complained that they weren’t looking at the camera. After the shoot, we waited for over 30 minutes to see our pictures, and the place wasn’t busy (we had the first appointment of the day). I’m pretty sure she was trying to see if she could some how doctor up the photos to make them look like something worth paying for, but really, it was just a complete bust.
So, I had to take matters into my own hands. I found a white artificial Christmas tree in the appliance section of Sears, and did my best to get just one cute picture of Tiny and Buba. Easier said than done…
It was beyond hard trying to get them to both look at me and smile and equally challenging to get a shot where you couldn’t see merchandise in the background.
I had promised Buba and Tiny that we would go see the crocodile outside the Rainforest Cafe if they cooperated with my impromptu photo shoot, and even though my shoot seemed not any better than the professional one, I kept my promise. I even tried to get a couple of shots in while they were being all spontaneously cutesy watching the crocodile. But I didn’t come up with anything better…
I’d have used the last two in a heartbeat if they weren’t so blurry (most likely due to the low lighting and my unprofessional photography abilities).
But never fear, more photos were taken and there will be a holiday card after all! It may be close getting them out on time, as they were just ordered and my not arrive here until the 17th, but it’s a darn cute card if I do say so myself. Of course, you’ll have to wait to see the winning photos. Can’t spoil the surprise!
Look At This Kinda Funny!
I can’t remember when Tiny and Buba first started using this phrase, but it’s been at least a couple of months. It works like this: Tiny puts goldfish crackers in her jello and shouts, “Look at this kinda funny!” Or Buba comes running up to me with his socks on his hands saying, “Look at this kinda funny!” I usually smile and say something like, “Oh, that’s so silly!” But a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
We were at my in-laws, and the kids were playing in front of the TV while the adults were watching the Patriot’s game. Every now and then Buba and Tiny would pause to look at the screen, but for the most part, they were uninterested. Then, just before a commercial break, the camera did a scan through the line of cheerleaders shaking their pompoms and jiggling their bodies and Buba yells, “Look at this kinda funny!” with a huge grin on his face. And it was kinda funny. 
Tonight’s Pillow Talk
Buba and Tiny usually chat for a bit each night after T and I put them to bed. For the last few nights, they’ve gone right out, their bodies so run down by the virus they’ve been fighting. So it was such a treat tonight to get another sign that they’re finally feeling better…
Tiny: How’s your belly feelin’?
Buba: Good.
Tiny: Why were you crynin? (He had whined for a bit when our cat Pokey went in to check out their new cool mister.)
Buba: Cause Pokey was in there.
Tiny: Pokey or yucky? (Yucky is their word for vomit.)
Buba: Pokey.
Tiny: How’s your belly feelin’?
Buba: Good.
Tiny: You know who else is good? My friend kitty. Her name Pokey.
(No response from Buba.)
Tiny: Where’s your friend Daddy?
Buba: My Daddy’s in the kitchen. (And he was. T was doing the dishes.)
Tiny: Where’s your friend Mommy?
Buba: My Mommy’s upstairs. (Interesting, since we do not have an upstairs.)
Tiny: Where’s your friend tree frog? (They both have a tree frog in their rain forest crib soothers.)
Buba: I’m not talkin’ to you.
Tiny: Where’s your friend tree frog?
Buba: No. I’m not talkin’ anymore.
Tiny continued to talk and talk and sing to herself for another 10 minutes or so before drifting off to sleep. My fingers are crossed that it’s going to be a good night for sleeping.
Those Newborn Days
Since Thanksgiving, we have had only two days (last Thursday and Friday) where both Tiny and Buba were fever free. We made another trip to our pediatrician’s office yesterday, and he confirmed that yes, they are both sick (most likely they caught another virus just days after recovering from the first one), but they do not have strep or the flu. I was really concerned because they’d both had high fevers (over 104) while also having chills, so it was good to learn that they’re not seriously ill (as in needing hospitalizations). But it’s still been so sad to see them feeling so yucky.
To me, having sick kids feels an awful lot like some of those tough newborn days. Buba and Tiny need a lot more hands on care, and we’re all getting a lot less sleep. Yesterday, we literally had hours of time where Buba and Tiny did not want to do anything. No books, no toys, no singing. They just wanted to sit in Mommy and Daddy’s arms with their heads resting on our chests (thank goodness T was able to take a sick day from work, or I’d have had a much tougher day). And last night, after getting the kids to sleep around 7:15pm, there was crying at 9:15pm, 11:30pm, 12:30am, 1:00am, 1:15am, and 2:30am- sometimes it was Tiny, sometimes Buba, sometimes both. We rocked them, and rubbed their backs, and whispered sweet lullabies, and gave medicine when it was needed. But sometimes it wasn’t enough to soothe them, and they still cried and cried and cried. When they both slept from 3 to 7am, I rejoiced in the 4 hours of sleep I was able to get- the same way I did in those first few days and months.
In spite last night’s much interrupted sleep, both Buba and Tiny seem to be feeling much better today. Tiny’s fever is down, and overall, her spirits have been up. Buba’s fever still requires some medication, and he’s still requesting a fair amount of lap time. But he’s played more on his own today than he did yesterday. I’m hopeful that we’ve turned a corner and that we’ll be able to go back to getting out and about later in the week. I’m sure we’ll all feel better when we can be busy again.
Boy Behaving Badly
During a recent shopping trip to BJ’s (wholesale store) Buba and Tiny witnessed a boy (I’d say about 4 years old) having a major meltdown as he and his family were on their way out of the store. That night at dinner, Buba had this say…
Buba: Boy was benin naughty. He was havin a fit like I do sometimes and Tiny do sometimes.
Me: Yes, he was definitely very unhappy.
Buba: When he get home, he needa go in time out. His mommy or his daddy say, “Go in time out!”*
Me: Maybe.
Buba: And then they put the time on, and when it go ding, ding, ding, then he be all done time out.
Me: Maybe.
Buba: (thinks for a few seconds) Mabye… I don’t know what that boy donin…
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*For the record, we use parts of the 1-2-3 Magic approach. So, I don’t say “Go in time out.” I say, “That’s three. Take five.” But clearly Buba understands what sort of offenses are deserving of time out, and how the whole process works. Or, at least, how it works at our house.
Chocolate Pretzel Treat
Thanks to Christina (and indirectly, Cuz I’m the mama), the kids and I did our first ever “baking” project this morning. I use the quotation marks because the project is so easy, it hardly seems like it should qualify as baking. There are no eggs to crack, and no mixing is necessary. All you need is pretzels, Hershey Kisses, and M&Ms.
I looked at both recipe posts (here and here) before attempting to make this treat with Tiny and Buba. Unfortunately, our grocery store did not carry the pretzel circles those ladies used, so we settled for the grid type ones instead. I wanted the kids to help as much as they could, so we started with two small batches just to see how it would go for them. Both Buba and Tiny had their own baking sheets with wax paper on top. I gave them a small bowl of the pretzels, and they each laid out 10 pretzels on their baking sheet while I unwrapped the Kisses. Then they each put the chocolate Kisses on top of the pretzels by themselves.
We baked them in the oven for 3 minutes at 200 degrees (as directed), and then it was time to put the M&Ms on. With the baking sheets being pretty hot, I was nervous about letting the kids help with that part. But they both really wanted to do it, so I showed them how and then let them do three each. (Below is Buba’s tray with the three he made (yellow, green, orange) at the bottom of the sheet.)
I let them eat one as soon as they’d cooled (we put them outside first, but found they cooled much faster in the freezer), and then they both ate one more after they finished their lunch. They both seemed to enjoy their treats, so I imagine we’ll be making them again fairly soon.
But all of this was really just a warm up to see how well they could listen and follow directions (and how calm and casual I could be) while trying to prepare something together in the kitchen. I’d really love to involve them in some holiday baking this year (last year their only job was to serve as taste testers), but I’m still not sure how much they can handle (or how much I’m willing to allow). Got any tips for cookie baking and/or decorating with toddlers?
A Hairy Conversation
The following conversation took place as T was washing Tiny’s face and hands after breakfast…
Tiny: What’s that, Daddy? (she points to his arm)
T: That’s hair on my arm.
Tiny: Why you got a lota lota hair there?
T: Some men have a lot of hair on their arms.
Tiny: And on their face.
T: Yes, and on their faces.
Tiny: But not on the head. You gots just a little bit on you head.
T: (smiling) Yes, you’re right about that.