Dinosaurs

After having one of the longest colds I can recall, I have begun feeling guilty that I haven't been doing enough with the Babe.  This summer has not been one filled with playdates and playgrounds.  When we moved to this area last August, I had a list of kid-friendly (and allergy-safe) places we could visit.  I didn't think we'd do it all at once, but there were plenty of museums and parks to find entertainment.  Yesterday we finally went to one of those places on the list.  It is the Dinosaur Discovery Museum located in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  It sounds much grander than it is, but it is a nice little museum located near the lakefront, and it is free.  Who can do better than that? 

Before we went, I asked her if she wanted to go see the dinosaurs.  No, she is of course afraid of dinosaurs.  However, when she mentioned seeing the dinosaur fossils she became very excited.  Somehow, she has made the distinction in her head that dinosaurs=scary big animals, dinosaur fossils= fun.  How does a two-year-old know the difference?  Television, of course.  There's an animated children's show called "Dinosaur Train" that has dinosaurs roaming different time periods.  Then there were some other programs that had visits to museums where they saw dinosaurs and fossils.  So to her there is a definite distinction between dinosaurs and dinosaur fossils. 

At the museum, she enjoyed the exhibit.  We perhaps spent ten minutes looking at the display (one large room of about 20 dinosaurs), then to another area where she could color, and the finale was the gift shop.  Because to me, no museum visit is worthwhile without a visit to the gift shop.  We probably spent more time getting to and from the museum, but it was worth the trip.  And as we left, the Babe confirmed that she was a "super-de-duper good girl", which I can only agree.

You Want What?!

The other day my husband and the Babe were playing in our basement while I rested.  When they came up, he had her tell me her latest.  She said she wants a pet, she wants a hedgehog.  A what?!  That's right, she wants a hedgehog.  She's not yet three, and I have no idea how she has ever seen a hedgehog (in person or on t.v.), let alone knows the animal's name.  I can't recall any of the children's programming mentioning one, although I do happen to zone out to a lot of them.  Now that I'm thinking about it, could Zaboomafoo or the Wild Kratt's had one?  Possibly, but still don't know why she would want one.  So, after this latest revelation, a few days later, our sitter was over.  She was so excited that the Babe told her this, because apparently once upon a time our sitter had a pet hedgehog.  I kid you not.  So then I wondered if she had told the Babe this, and somehow the Babe thought this would be fun.  But no, no mention of it.  The only person I know who has had a hedgehog did not put the idea in the Babe's head.  Its been several days now, and she is still asking for one.  Courtesy of our sitter, I suspect I know where I could get one, but its not going to happen!  At this young age, I'm sure the Babe will latch onto wanting something else in the near future that will replace this current request, and no harm will come to us or a hedgehog.

Soup Success

Get those violins ready.... I had to make dinner tonight.  For some reason, I had the illusion I was getting better for about 2-3 hours after taking my newly prescribed antibiotic.  It was downhill from there.  However, during the temporary reprieve from the worst of my symptoms, I put together a pot of chicken soup with vegetables.  The best part of dinner was watching the Babe eat (the soup was good, too).  That's right- she actually ate dinner.  Not only did she eat the noodles I made, she ate some chicken, she had some broth that I put in a small bowl separately, and shocker of shockers, she ate several pieces of cooked carrots.  Truly a success.  Now if I dare attempt to repeat this meal in the next fourteen days I highly doubt any of this will happen again.  However, for now I will enjoy the fact that she ate well and ate a variety.  And now, I am off to lay down.

Doctor's Visit

Apparently a doctor's office can be fun...if you're not the patient!  Normally the Babe repeatedly tells us why she doesn't want to go to a hospital, or cries at the mere sight of an examining table.  Today I had to go to the doctor for this cold that just won't go away.  While waiting, I was sitting on the paper covered table and the Babe had a very strong desire to sit up there with me.  If it was for her, just the sound of the paper crinkling will set her off in hysterics.  Today, she was happy to sit in the chairs, do her version of ballet in the waiting room, and climb up onto the table.  And she certainly had no shyness with the cute doctor.  Of course, when we got home she told me how she was a good girl at the hospital.  And yes, she was a good girl.

Time for a Plan

Some people have sick houses, I think I have a fat house.  Ok, not a fat house, but a house that is contributing to our weight issues.  With each home, we learn something different about what design, layout, and products are favorable to how we live.  This house is great, except for the easy access to our pantry.  We have a somewhat open layout, so our kitchen leads to where the table is, and off of that is our family room where we spend most of our time.  Its one big open area.  We can sit at our table and watch t.v., or just lean outside the door of our pantry while snagging some chips.  This is probably how I've gained about ten pounds since moving into our house.  That's right, blame the house, not my inability to not eat chips or second portions of dinner.  Our last house had a great closet in the laundry room that I utilized as a pantry.  So if I wanted a snack that didn't come from the fridge, I had to walk across the hall, open the laundry room door, and dig.  The less convenient, the less likely I was to snack. 

So now I'm trying to find something to motivate me to stop eating and start moving.  I haven't quite figured it out yet, other than the fact that I don't like the number on the scale.  Once I get over this cold, I hope to start using the treadmill again (see the hidden excuse to delay).  As for diet, its impossible not to have chips in the house because of the Babe.  I just have to stop eating them too.  While I can't have egg white omelets or yogurt, I can still have salads and lean poultry.  Time to make a plan.  I like lists, I just need to stick to them.

An Offer I Can't Refuse

I went to bed last night looking forward to a nap today.  Silly, but as I mentioned yesterday, I am sick.  Not terribly sick, just annoyingly sick.  And somehow either due to my current symptoms, or the effects of the OTC cold medicine I've been taking, I can't sleep fully through the night.  So I've been up since 1 a.m.  The reason I am looking forward to a nap, besides my failure to sleep during the night, is my husband made a most generous offer to me just before we went to bed.  Saturdays we may do some things together, but he spends as much time as he can resting on the couch.  Well, knowing I am sick, rather than the three of us running errands together, he volunteered to do them alone with the Babe.  And these aren't quick errands either.  I am hoping he sticks with his offer later this morning.  I am so excited.  Maybe that's why I couldn't sleep.

Blown Away

My nose is starting to hurt from all the blowing I have been doing today.  Despite that, I have cleaned a bathroom, done a load of laundry, baked chocolate chip muffins, watered the flowers outside (and the Babe), and more.  A Mommy's job is never done, despite the onset of a cold.

One thing I've been reminding myself of lately is how when you get married, you think you may be able to "train" your spouse.  I didn't have that illusion, but apparently in some ways my husband has trained me.  That sounds so sexist and demeaning.  Believe me, I have a strong will and mind of my own.  However, when we got married housekeeping was not my number one skill.  It still isn't.  In some ways my occasionally persnickety husband has gotten his way as to how things are done around our house.  One specific area is loading the dishwasher.  Well, we still disagree as to how certain things are placed.  What he did instill was to pre-wash everything.  That's right, I hand wash with a sponge and soap every piece of silverware and dish that goes into the dishwasher (ok, 98%).  You should know when we first got married, he did the dishes most nights that we ate at home.  I will give him credit that it does prevent food build-up on dishes, although its not necessarily environmentally friendly.  I load and unload the dishwasher daily because we eat all our meals at home due to the Babe.  That's a lot of dishes washed.  I'm not complaining though because what I do in a day is nothing compared to what my grandmothers' did when they raised their children.  The floors were swept, vacuumed or washed regularly (more than weekly), everything was dusted almost daily, three full meals made (plus desserts) most days, and they didn't complain.  Well, that I know of.  Different times meant different standards.  So by today's standards I hope I at least do average.  Then again, who am I competing with?