This is an awful lot like work!

It looks like this weekend will have mild weather, so I'm looking forward to doing some more planting, pruning, etc in our yard. Last Saturday, DH , Little Bit, and I met some friends at a nursery. It was gorgeous weather to be outside wandering through rows and rows of bright flowers. Our friends kept an eye on Little Bit so I didn't have to worry about where he was while I picked out plants and flowers for our backyard. Little Bit played "chase me" with them around the rows of plants. He found and lost sticks to poke things with. He jumped up and down. He was a tired, happy little boy by the end of the trip. After we all ate, Little Bit fell asleep on the drive home. I love the sound of his soft snoring.

Then, on Sunday, DH and I worked outside planting and doing yard maintenance. Little Bit kept me company in the backyard. He got to run around, stack and re-stack empty flower pots, paw through the bark mulch, and just generally have fun getting his hands dirty. So, he had a great weekend and so did we.

I'm finding great satisfaction in seeing the colorful flowers I picked out in the backyard - purple, yellow, reddish-pink. I've also got some Texas wildflower seeds on the way through mailorder that I'll throw down around the front trees. I have to keep myself from re-doing all the landscaping *right now* because I'm impatient. But, the costs would really add up. So, for now I need to content myself with what plants I've already bought and what I can grow from seeds (much less expensive than buying 3-gallon grown plants).

In reference to my post title, yes, all the turning over of the flower beds, pulling up dead shrubs, and digging, etc was an awful lot like work, but still fun.

Thursday Ten

1. Dressing an almost 21-month old todder *is* like trying to dress an octopus. I've resorted to bodily holding him down with my leg in full-on WWF* style while putting on his shirt.

Well, it could be World Wildlife Fund style, I guess. WWE for 'rassling just doesn't sound right

2. It's just good time management to go grocery shopping while out together on date night.

3. When a male coworker asks what you have in the bag from the microwave, he doesn't really want to know that you were steam-sterilizing breastpump parts.

4. I don't really remember many childhood nursery songs or have any on CD or Ipod, but Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" is a great substitute. "Sexy Back" is good, too.

5. DVR is a godsend.

6. I went from considering making all his baby food from fresh ingredients (didn't have time to do it anyway) to picking up Happy Meals at McD's for him. It's chicken, right? And if we get the apple slices instead of fries...It's fine. Really.

7. Moving with a toddler means that your house will be unpacked once he's left for college. He needs all our attention when he's awake. When he's asleep, I'm too busy surfing the interWeb making cakes and cookies from scratch to get any boxes unpacked.

8. Rock-paper-scissors is a perfectly fine way to decide who gets up with the oh, man, he's a morning person bouncy toddler and who sleeps in.

9. Once said toddler reaches almost 21 months, he will start to mimic rock-paper-scissors.

10. Running hugs are the awesomest things in the world.

I'll take the drink with rum in it, please

Little Bit and I went over to a friend's house on Sunday for a playdate with her almost 4-year old boy. Another friend dropped off her 4-year old boy. And my friend has a 6 month old boy. Can you say chaos? The kids had lots of fun, though. We went into the backyard so the boys could play on the large playset. The set was almost too large and out of scale for him, but Lil' Bit had fun climbing the ladder (with Mom's help to steady him) and sliding down the slide. After we all went inside, my friend began to make lunch for us. I took the opportunity to take a potty break.

As I walked back into the kitchen, I see that the back door is open and Little Bit and my friend's son were not inside anymore. Hrmmm, I thought, I wouldn't have let them into the backyard without being right there, but my friend thought she could watch them out the window. The next instant I heard Little Bit screaming/crying, and it was that "I'm hurt" serious cry that stops a mom's heart. I ran outside to find him lying in the ruins of a shattered plastic wagon, with cuts and blood all over his face. I scooped him up and ran back inside. His lower lip was bleeding and starting to swell. I checked over his wounds as I tried to clean them.

Evidently, the plastic wagon had gotten brittle by being outside in the sun for months on end. It was lying on its side, when Little Bit had fallen with his full weight on it. The side of the wagon had shattered into jagged pieces of plastic. There were scratches on the bridge of his nose and under/around his right eye. He came *very* close (way too close) to cutting his eye.

Little Bit had calmed down within about 5-10 minutes and was happily munching away on hot dogs. Meanwhile, I was saying, "That took a couple years off my life!" The cuts were mostly pretty shallow, but poor Little Bit's face looked like he had had an argument with a cat. He got lots of sympathy from the teachers at daycare when he returned. Today, the cuts look much more healed and less red.

My friend felt just awful about it. But you certainly don't expect a plastic wagon to shatter like that. It could have also happened when we were right there next to the playset. My friend's husband commented that he had gone to the ER as a boy for a lot more serious things than cuts on his face.

Yes, I had a nice drink with dinner later. :-)

Joy

Joy. The feeling I get when Little Bit lights up and runs to my arms at the end of the work day.

The Dread Pirate...

Cup Hand!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

While waiting in the car last night for DH to get a new battery installed after the old one died, I started singing "Three Little Monkeys Jumpin' on the Bed" to Little Bit. I was so pleased and suprised when he started singing right along after me.

Me: ..One fell off and bumped his head.

LB: aw of an bop a doo (or something like that :-)

Me: Called for the doctor and the doctor said

LB: an doc'o said! (this one was more clear)

Me: No more monkeys jumpin' on the bed!

LB: jum'n aw be!

It was just the cutest thing. He is definitely saying/repeating more words since the ear tube surgery.

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DH and I both got to hold a friend's ~3 month old little baby at a Super Bowl party. Little Bit was jealous. He gave his dad such a wide-eyed look, like WTF?! With me, he just came over and started clamoring for attention and tried to climb on my lap.

So, can I skip right to a grandchild? We don't want a second child. One is great! But it sure is fun to see those little toes and fingers on a tiny baby. And the little clothes. And holding that tiny little body.

I do miss when Little Bit was small enough to fit the length of my forearm. What a difference a year and a half makes!

Hands are for...

I think I need to buy this book. We are well into the the hitting-biting-kicking toddler stage. It's wonderful to see Little Bit develop into his own person (who loves to dance and help clean). This little person has his own wants and opinions. We can't always give him what he wants. He can't communicate well enough to say, "I am very upset that I can't do this, Mother." Hence, the problem.

He loves to play outside, especially with his "baw-baw" (ball). It was rainy here yesterday morning, so we had to tell him we couldn't go outside. He couldn't communicate his disappointment and upset any other way besides crying and kicking. In other cases, he hits if he doesn't want his diaper changed or he doesn't want to get into the car seat. He throws things - for fun and when he is mad. We tell him no and take the thrown toy away. He cries, then tries to hit. DH says (half? jokingly) that I just need to be faster about catching his hand before he hits me.

I wish that I was calm and collected everytime this happens. Yet, there is nothing to make me go from calm to Def-con 2 like getting slapped in the face by my child. Sometimes I just have to put him down and walk away abruptly, which many times will cause him to cry harder. Then, the guilt washes over me. So I take a breath and come back, pick him up, hug him tight, and comfort him. I just wish we knew what else to do. Perhaps the answer is just getting through it until he develops more language.

Little Bit turns many things into a "stick" to hit things with or to threaten with. The Swiffer mop becomes a weapon. The paper towel tube becomes a weapon. Do little girls do this? I wonder sometimes, does he do that because he is a little boy? Is it really hard-wired? It does make me laugh when he takes things like a small box or a stacking cup and puts it on his hand as a "weapon". Then he gestures threateningly with his hand, while growling fiercely. Oh, no, it's the Dread Pirate Cup-Hand!!