Category Archives: Little Monkeys

96 Mind Blowing Ways

Written on February 1, 2012 by in Little Monkeys, Pictures

We cleaned out the attic a few weeks ago and I found a Collector’s Tin of Crayola crayons that I’d kept from when I was a kid. It was something I’d forgotten all about, having received the tin as a gift when I was just a little too old to care about crayons anymore and so it was put away in a box and moved from apartment to apartment and house to house.

When I found it, I was sure that they’d all be melted since they’d been in a box in the attic for over a decade. Surprisingly when I opened the tin, the crayons were fine.

As a kid, one of my favorite things in the ENTIRE WORLD was a brand new box of crayons. Their smell!  Their newness! All in tact, their paper unripped. We’ve survived on remnants of restaurant crayons for all these years, with the exception of the box of 16 crayons that was on Carson’s Kindergarten school supply list.  My poor, deprived children.

Since Carson has recently started to be interested in drawing and coloring, I showed him what I found in the attic.

This box of 64 crayons, complete with built-in sharpener, and this kid! MAN! His mind was BLOWN!  He couldn’t get over 64 CRAYONS! In ONE box!  With a sharpener! He studied each and every crayon for a good half hour.

“Look, Mom!  This one says, ‘sky blue,’ and this one says, ‘salmon!’ Have you ever even HEARD of that?!”

He doesn’t want his sister to even look in the direction of the crayons, with her bull-in-a-china-shop ways.  He wants to avoid any risk of the 64 perfect crayons getting broken.

And when I was at the grocery store yesterday, I saw that they now sell boxes of 96 crayons.  I guess they’ve been selling these boxes for awhile, but I just discovered their existence.

Guess what he’s getting for Valentine’s Day? He is going to FLIP OUT!

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A weekend of misplaced children, overpriced dinners, and snot.

Written on January 30, 2012 by in Huh?, Little Monkeys, Quirky Me

I’ve been fighting off a cold since the beginning of January.  It started to set in the first week of January and again the 2nd week of January, but my body-the TEMPLE that it is-fought back valiantly.  That is until it couldn’t fight it off anymore, so I’ve been hacking, coughing, blowing my nose, and generally feeling like my head is a sloshy mess for two weeks.

Tate and I had a date set up for last Friday night, so despite feeling like crud-o-la, we packed the kids off to the trusty Parent’s Night Out program at one of the local churches.  This was the first time we’d been able to do this since August, Carson was actually sent off with the big, elementary age kids for the first time ever and Ella stayed with the other preschoolers.  The church makes you take a card with your child’s information on it and it must be used to get your child back.  No card-no kid.  I guess they send those to the dungeon at the church if the parents don’t have their card at the end of the night. I don’t want to find out!

The older kids only get signed in, no card was given when Carson was dropped off, which made Tate very nervous.  I’m protective of the kids, sure, but Tate is even more protective and he didn’t feel at all comfortable with the way it didn’t seem as secure for the older kids.  I brushed it off and assured him that he was being a little anal and to relax because it DATE NIGHT WOO HOO! (Cough, snort, where’s my cold medicine?!?!)

We ate at one of those Brazilian restaurants where the men come by with hunks of meat that they carve off for you.  Our date included three other couples- there was lots of laughing and wine sipping and general merriment.  It’s all fun and games until the bill shows up, amirite?!  HOLY $126 DINNER.  I mean, it was fun to hang out with friends and eat a lot of carved meat, but it wasn’t $126 fun.  This part of the post has nothing to do with anything-really it’s just a public service announcement:  BEWARE OF BILLS AT BRAZILIAN STEAKHOUSES.

You’re welcome!

So if you’re one of those sleuth types, you may have already realized that when we went to pick up the kids, we learned that the night didn’t go so well for Carson.  Somehow, not too long before we came to pick him up, Carson got separated from his class as they were leaving the movie room. He says that he went straight back to his classroom, but nobody was there.  Somehow he managed to make it all the way upstairs, where a volunteer eventually found him sobbing.

I have no idea what the actual timeline of events really is, I have no idea if his teacher ever even knew he was missing.  I’m confused how a child could get separated from his class and manage to make it past where I would have assumed adults would have been monitoring doors and up a set of stairs before he was found.  I don’t want to be alarmist or make a mountain out of a molehill, but you know-when you trust people to watch your child-and that is basically their SOLE responsibility, it’s a bit disconcerting that something like this could happen.

I hardly slept that night, waffling between being utterly FURIOUS and grateful that he was smart enough not to go outside or get lost in the church. (It’s one of those mega churches with a school attached, so he could have easily gotten lost in the building.)

I should have called the director of the Parent’s Night Out Program, but I was afraid that I’d cry and sound either like a blubbering mom or a maniac.  I did email the director, though, so that she’ll at least be aware that they LOST MY CHILD last Friday.  Obviously they need to put into place a better system for keeping track of kids.

Unrelated to any of this, my cold is almost gone!  So that’s good, right?

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The Good Guys

Written on January 24, 2012 by in Hallmark, Little Monkeys, Pictures

It all began with Blue’s Clues, Carson became a devoted clue finder as a toddler. His love for Blue extended into books and songs, and into his imaginative play. Then it was Thomas the Train and All About John Deere movies that led he and his sister to play for hours on end, chuffing, plowing, and absorbed in their elaborate play pretending to be engineers and farmers.

I know that watching too much TV is bad, but I also know that movies and shows have inspired their love for not only reenacting the stories, but extending the stories with their own imaginations into epic adventures.

Our Saturday mornings are usually devoted to pajamas, waffle consumption, and cartoons. I somehow slept through the waffle portion of the morning and awoke to find Carson and Ella absorbed in the pages of a Tintin comic book instead of staring at the TV screen. While Ella and I enjoyed a girls weekend away several weeks ago, Carson and Tate had a boys weekend complete with pizza and a trip to the movie theater to see The Adventures of Tintin-where Carson has found new source of inspiration.

After school last week, I could hear them in the other room playing, caught up in an elaborate scheme to find the clues while getting away from the bad guys.

“Come on,” Carson yelled to Ella, “we can hide in here.”

“Tintin!” Ella called to Carson, “the bad guy has me!  Save me, Tintin!”

They went on like this, replaying scenes over and over, changing the details to include sword fights and capes. Running and hiding, they laughed and yelled and pretended to be in great distress.  I stealthily peeked in on them and they immediately froze when they spotted me, too shy to continue their acting.  I begged them to go on, to show me what it’s like to be the good guys.

But it’s not the same with someone watching, so I left them and listened around the corner as they picked up right where they left off in their Tintin adventure, defeating the bad guys with great gusto.

::

I’m so excited to be partnering with Hallmark for their Life is a Special Occasion campaign this year.  I will finally be forced to learn that there is only one “s” in “occasion!”  Of course, I am also so excited for the chance to share the stories from our life.

Hallmark is compensating me for participation in this campaign. As always-all opinions expressed are my own.

 

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Snow Day Traditions

Written on January 13, 2012 by in Little Monkeys, Pictures

I tried to tell them.

“There’s not really enough snow for playing. It’s just a dusting. You can see most of the grass, for goodness sakes!”

“No, Mommy, see?” Carson pointed out the window. “There’s snow all over the driveway!”

Well, they did cancel school.  I guess it wouldn’t have been a real snow day if we hadn’t:

1. Taken 45 minutes to find all the hats, mittens, and boots.

2. Taken another 45 minutes to get dressed in double layers.

3. Made a snow angel in what little snow there was

4. Played for two minutes outside before:
a. Someone needed to pee
b. Someone complained of being freezing cold

5. Came inside and undressed, leaving a pile of wet clothes in a heap on the floor

6. Had hot chocolate:
a. With marshmallows

Truth? I love these days as much as they do.

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Mario and Sonic and Carson and Ella at the London 2012 Olympic Games

Written on December 13, 2011 by in Little Monkeys, playing along

We received SEGA’s family friendly game, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (affiliate link) as part of a family game night package that also included popcorn, nuts, and candy for free.  I received no other compensation. All opinions are my own…and my children’s own. 

Left to their own devices, my children, especially Carson, would love nothing more than to spend all day, every day playing Wii.  I’ve had to set limits on Wii play, they’re only allowed to play on the weekends and only for two hours.

Both kids love all things Mario. We are well stocked with Mario games, their favorites being Mario Sports Mix and Mario Kart. These games can easily be played by young kids, unlike several games in our library that cause nothing but screaming fits because they are so complicated.  I’d seen Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games advertised and had considered it for a Christmas gift for them, so I was VERY excited that I was contacted to review the game with the kids.  When it came in the mail I just couldn’t wait until Christmas to give it to them.

Luckily Carson, age six, and Ella, age four, both easily picked up on how to play Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Ella actually loses interest pretty quickly in playing Wii, but she loves to watch her brother battle it out as one of the characters in discus, swimming, volleyball, track, and gymnastics.

Carson loves the new-to-him characters like Sonic and Vector the Crocodile.  His favorite game to play is the 4 x 100 meter relay, with Sonic, Silver, Shadow, and Knuckles.

“Watch this cool trick, Mom,” he’ll say as one of the Sonic characters performs some cool stunt that puts them in the lead.

This game is apparently not just for kids. After Carson and Ella were carefully tucked in bed, I caught my husband picking up the Wii remote to play a little Mario & Sonic.  I keep catching him as Sonic on the parallel bars in the gymnastics game.

This game is available for Wii right now!  Which? Is perfect for Christmas!  It will be available for the Nintendo 3DS in February.

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The best babysitter award that I really didn’t want to hand out

Written on December 5, 2011 by in Little Monkeys

So, if you read my last post, you may have learned that I’m a bit…neurotic.  Maybe I tend to overthink things a bit.  I just…I, well, I wish that maybe I would have written that post, pressed “Save Draft,” then re-read it later and rolled my eyes at myself.  It’s not that I am not worried about over indulging my children on Christmas, I AM, but I think that perhaps I was a bit melodramatic about it and blaming poor ol’ Santa.  I think what it’s really all about is that my house is a mess and frankly, I’m already tired thinking about putting away all their new toys.

Thanks for your supportive comments.  And by supportive comments I mean, I could hear you sighing and shaking your head at me, but then gently smiling and telling me what I needed to hear.  You guys, we would so totally be friends in real life.

Okay, so let’s move on and pretend that I’m a totally normal, well adjusted human being that doesn’t project her feelings on unsuspecting bearded men wearing red suits!

Saturday night was my husband’s annual work Christmas party.  Since our babysitter was totally SELFISH and decided to go away to college (RUDE!), I had to find someone new to stay with Carson and Ella.

Let me back up a bit and tell you that both of my children had been sick, Carson especially so, but on Saturday they both seemed FINE.  Perfectly fine!  Healthy, even.  Carson seemed to be over his “puke in bed every night” illness, so I wasn’t worried about leaving him with a babysitter.  OH THE FORESHADOWING.

When the new babysitter arrived, Tate asked her about what she was studying in school.  Turns out that our new babysitter is training to be a paramedic, which fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) came in quite handy while she was on duty.

It was the pile of Carson’s sheets, his PJs, and Lou Bear by the laundry room that we found as soon as we got home that was the first clue.

I expected to find pure chaos when I found the babysitter and Carson. If I had ever had to deal with puke as a babysitter, I would have freaked the freak out! The babysitter, looking calm yet concerned, was just toweling off a freshly bathed and very pale Carson when I found them.  Apparently my poor little guy had puked in his bed and had some other “issues” of the bottom.  Super Paramedic Babysitter had already cleaned him AND his room up.

I apologized profusely to her for having left her with a sick kid and having to deal with vomit, etc.  She seemed completely unfazed.  “It’s just body fluids,” she said. “And it easier to deal with when it’s from a cute kid.”

“Just body fluids” that don’t belong to your own child, cute or not, are still BODY FLUIDS of the disgusting kind.

I felt like I should pay her double, no quadruple, and then offer to send her on an all expense paid trip to Jamaica or something.

And on top of all that, she’d cleaned up the kitchen after dinner. She wins at babysitting.

I’m not sure if I can ever call her again to babysit after all this.  I mean, can I?

 

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I’m not so sure about Santa

Written on November 30, 2011 by in Little Monkeys, Quirky Me, Religimcal Thoughts

I grew up believing in Santa Claus. Hook, line, and sinker, I believed in all of it.  From the elves and the North Pole, the milk and cookies left out on Christmas Eve, to the note he left for me to find in the morning, and of course all of the presents, he was THE single biggest part of Christmas for me.  The part about it being Jesus’ birthday was kind of an afterthought.

Then I grew older and learned the truth.  No, he didn’t exist, but I still cherished the magical feeling the belief in Santa brought to all those Christmases. I can’t imagine my childhood without Santa! It’s a tradition I never considered NOT carrying on with my kids.

I’ll admit that I’m not really feeling Christmas this year.  Santa and all his cohorts with their gifts are making me feel overwhelmed. I look around my children’s playroom (and their bedrooms, and my living room, and under the couches, and in closets, and under my feet) and can see clearly that they have too much STUFF.  They’re completely spoiled.

They have no idea what it is to want for anything, let alone that other people struggle to have even the most basic of their needs met.  My kids will not only wake up in a warm bed Christmas morning and have a filling breakfast while wearing brand new PJs, they’ll also have a ridiculous number of gifts to open from Tate and I, from grandparents, aunts and uncles, and because he’s a part of our tradition, there will be gifts from Santa.  We are so incredibly blessed that this is the case, that we can provide their basic needs and much, MUCH more.  But the part of this that isn’t sitting well with me is that they EXPECT these gifts and in their innocent, age-appropriate way, they feel ENTITLED to these gifts.

Santa really is just a metaphor for “On Christmas, we get TOO MANY PRESENTS,” to the extent that Christmas seems like it’s just about gifts and that’s it.  And WE DID THIS, my husband and I.  We are the ones who have allowed Christmas to get out of control and haven’t showed them that Christmas is about giving and the celebration of Jesus’ birth.  I get that  Carson and Ella are just little kids and we have just wanted to fill them with magic and wonder, but I feel we’ve done a huge disservice to them by showering them with more STUFF and by perpetuating the myth of Santa.  Last year in an effort to put a limit on MORE! STUFF!, my husband and I decided that Santa would only be bringing one gift, he and I would give them two more for a total of three.  The thought process behind this idea was that Jesus got three gifts, so that’s what they would get, too.

But that doesn’t include the truckloads of gifts that will arrive from extended family.  Which?  I don’t want to deprive our family from the joy of giving either.

Then there’s this whole idea of Santa.  I’m mean, I simply can’t imagine Christmas without Santa, but I also feel like the whole idea of Santa is like an out of control car that we can’t jump off of.  It’s too late now to take Santa out of Christmas, and really, that’s not what I want at all.  In my heart, though, I feel really conflicted. I’m trying to get my children to love and believe in Jesus, but here in a few years they’ll find out that Santa isn’t real, but oh, that other guy, Jesus?  The one you can’t see either?  Well, HE is real. Yes, I know I lied about Santa, but I’m not lying about Jesus.  You should just trust me on this.  Really??

I’m struggling with how to make Christmas magical for my children without giving up Santa, but also stressing the Jesus part. (Or even if I were not Christian, I’d still want it to be more than just about STUFF, you know?)  What does the middle ground look like where Santa visits and Jesus is front and center and the kids get a few gifts and they APPRECIATE each one?  How do we jump off the runaway car?

 

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