"Happy" New Year?

It's almost official. 2011 has slipped by and 2012 will arrive in 15 minutes exceptionally uneventfully for me. The good news, however, is that the kids are asleep, I have a warm cup of Yogi Bedtime tea that I'm sipping, and I will be able to see the fireworks from my house at midnight.

It's interesting how one's concept of a successful New Year's Eve changes as we get older. Well, at least it does for some of us. It started for me very simply: "if I sneak out of my bedroom and make my presence known, will my parents let me stay up until midnight?" Then it became, how many friends did I have sleeping over on New Year's Eve and would they think it was lame that my parents were wearing hats and blowing horns (I still cherish the fact that they did!) And of course,it seems not to long ago, the less I remembered, the better it was.

Today, I am content. My husband has to work early in the morning, so we are in. However, my girls got dressed up in their finest party wear (Hanna Andersson's Semi-annual sale!!! Gotta love $90+ dresses for $20!!), bedazzled themselves in their jewels, wore their New Years tiaras, and pushed their baby dolls in strollers over to an early party. It was an intimate gathering. The conversation was lively, everyone was in a great mood, including the kids and we had a really nice time.


Later, after a little nap for Daddy and the two year old, we went to see the 6PM fireworks that Philadelphia puts on. I used to mock the city for having fireworks on New Year's Eve at such a ridiculous time. But now, I have to say, "I GET IT!!" The music was a bit loud down on by the river, but it wasn't crowded, something I truly appreciate about Philadelphia, and the girls loved it as they tooted their little horns!

I'm content, I'm happy, and I hope I'm ready for all of the challenges the New Year presents. It's two minutes until midnight. I must warm my cup and prepare for the light show. Or... maybe, I'll just go to bed. :-)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

IDEA TUESDAY (okay, it's Friday... it's a mom thing, right???!!)

Well, I haven't posted in a LONG time. Sue me. My kids are exhausting. My husband's job and degree work are a drain... HOWEVER...!! I got rid of cable!! How freeing! Now I have time for everything... LOL...

Anyway, when both of my daughters were one they were infatuated with lids. They would sit and take them off... and then put them back on. Take them off.... and then put them back on.... and on and on. If your kids do this too, I'm sure like me, the vast array of lids and containers scattered throughout the house drove you crazy. And OF COURSE, lids were always lost. So what did I do??? I attached the lids. It's SO simple and yet such an elusive idea.

Here is a picture of one I did.

I simply put a small hole in the container (we call these "squishy things" for lack of a better name), attached a small length of yarn, and tied it around the lid.

This entertained, and still does when they come across it, my daughters for many hours. It's great in a car ride too, until one drops it of course! :-)

Books your Toddler and Preschooler will LOVE!!!

My daughters are 2, (almost 1/2) and just 4. Here are some books that they love and that I enjoy reading:

1. Boo Hoo Bird, by Jeremy Tankard---
I bought this book on a whim without looking at it too much and was pleasantly surprised by how quickly my daughters fell in love with it! The story is simple, a bird gets "bonked" on the head with a ball and all of his animal friends try to make him feel better. They try bandaids, cookies, and kisses, and nothing seems to work until.... I don't want to spoil the ending.
The illustrations are entertaining. Most importantly, I ENJOY reading this one!!!!!

2. Making the Moose out of Life by Nicholas Oldland --
Again, I bought this book on a whim at the same time as Boo Hoo Bird. The story is adorable and hits home with me, a middle aged mother of two! Here's the gist: our hero, the Moose, does not partake of all the great opportunities that life has to offer and he is not sure what life is all about. However, one day, after getting bonked on the head by a golf ball (do you detect a theme?) he gets on a sailboat and is stranded on a desserted island where he meets a turtle named Tuesday and learns more about enjoying life. My girls LOVED this book and honestly, so did I! BOOKS NOT TO AVOID!!! 1) Martha Speaks I bought this book last year for my 3 year old and 2 year old after returning from vacation. We had gone to Martha's Vineyard and each one of them brought back a little black dog; of course, their names were Martha. Hence, I thought the book would be cute. STOP RIGHT THERE. Lesson learned: read the book first. Aside from the use of the word "shut up," which I think is atrocious to begin with, there is a cat burglar in the book. My girls have been obsessed with cat burglars since! "Mommy, where do cat burglars live?" "Mommy, what do cat burglars do?" "Mommy, what do they steal?" Arrrrgh!! Avoid the headache and steer clear until they are much older!!!!

Too much information....

I'm tired -- just plain exhausted. Why? It's because of stress!!! I stress myself out over every little thing I read about. For example, my most recent series of panic attacks and tears were over food dyes. For the last 15 years or so, I have done my best to avoid all food dyes, artificial flavorings and preservatives. Most people scoffed my efforts since my choices were not common place at the time. I persevered and believed I was doing the right thing.

Well.... don't question my intelligence when you hear this one. Instead, my levels of trust should be under consideration. As I mentioned previously, I read the labels on everything. Well, when my prescription prenatal vitamins didn't come with an ingredient list, I didn't go out of my way to get one. I googled the name of the vitamin and came across one on line that had the same name and the ingredients were great.

Hmmm... maybe I should have stopped to ask myself WHY THE HELL THE PILLS WERE YELLOW!!! Or the ones before that were blue!! Well, it was because of food dyes in the pills. Who the hell would do such a thing to a pregnant woman??!?!? I understand that the pharmacists need them to be identifiable, but seriously.. do we need twenty different brands? Can't they do it with something other than petroleum based chemicals???

I am the sort of person who just cannot let go. If there are any minute problems with my daughters in the future, I will blame myself first and foremost. Then I will blame the idiot doctors that prescribed them and then the ridiculous pharmaceutical companies.

Thanks for listening. I feel a little bit better.

HELLO IDEA TUESDAYS!!!!

I am far from "super mom." In fact, what would you call the opposite? "Just making it mom?" (Jumamo!) That's me -- a true Jumamo! Well, even your run of the mill Jumamo has a good idea every once in a while!!!

Teething -- every mom's favorite childhood rite of passage; what does this Jumamo do? Feed her baby organic wild blueberries!! They're small enough that they do not pose a choking hazard; they are super cold and super healthy!!!! Both of my daughters devour them and not just when teething!! Give it a shot!! WARNING: They are super messy and stain!!!!

Apologies for my absence....

Since I only have one follower to date, I will make my excuses brief. Every opportunity that I have had, I have been escaping. Escaping from what, you may ask... my beautiful girls, my wonderful husband? No. From the unremarkable path I have chosen.

Prior to my current situation, I traveled the world and impressed people with stories of my adventures and the skills I possessed. Now, I try to keep the house clean (which I have had NO success with), keep my girls healthy and happy, and to survive each day. My poor husband is along for the ride. I haven't slept more than 3 hours in a row but once in about 14 months and it's taken its toll on me I have to admit.

My escape has been TV and occasionally a fantastic book. Something to look forward to when the angels lay their little heads down to slumber. I hate television and I've never understood the people who watched the popular shows with religious fervor. Now I am one of them. I watched 5 episodes of Gray's Anatomy today (they were DVRd of course!) and I feel like a pathetic loser. But there is something nice about escaping into someone else's perception of the world and living even a little bit vicariously through said show.

HOWEVER, I watched my little girl enjoy a chocolate cupcake today with blue frosting and yellow goldfish on it (all natural from Whole Foods of course!) and she was happy. And you know what, I was happy. Her sweet little smile and the innocence of her pale little face surrounded by the cutest blond curls, made me smile. My life is anything but mundane! I created two beautiful children (my hubby helped a little) and I get to watch them discover the world each and every day. There is an escape right in front of me and I plan to try and see the world through their eyes every day I can.

More than one....

Okay, maybe Forrest Gump's Mama said it first, but your kids are like a box of chocolates... I love them all, but the dark chocolate... well, I like those better, but I'll eat the milk chocolate too. And then there are the fillings.... caramel, they're okay, but give me something fudgey on the inside and I'm in heaven. But then of course, the chocolate I like can depend on my mood as well. Some days I'm happy to have a caramel filling and other days, I'm happy with something a little bit more exotic.

I love both of my girls. They are definitely dark chocolate for me, but I have to be honest... I love one just a little bit more. They are both wonderful and totally different, but if I had to pick a favorite, one of them definitely lightens my heart a little bit more. Does that make me a bad mom or just human?

Why is it I feel this way? Is it a personality thing? Maybe their ages and what I hope are temporary temperaments. I think that this truly has to be it. After all, there are some days I feel like hanging out with a particular friend and other days I'd prefer someone else. Some days I realize that my husband is amazing, but other days the sight of him makes me cringe. (Sorry honey! These are very rare!)

I'm an only child, so I never had to contend with a sibling, nor can I ask my mom if I was her favorite. She was stuck with me!! Poor woman. I've never asked the question of parents. I never wanted them to have to admit what I'm telling you, but I wonder if more people out there feel the same way.

Can you tell? One of my girls is being an angel today and one is being a royal pain in the tush!!