My Mommyology

May 18, 2012
by mymommyology
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Make-It-Work: Mom Solutions During the Less Than Ideal Situations

For this Friday’s Green Eggs and Mom’s post, I decided to relay some anecdotes inspired by one of my favorite Tim Gunn lines: MAKE IT WORK!

What would you do if you had to walk around Disney with Baby Poop on your shirt?

Sometimes I actually think that’s what motherhood is about anyway. You get caught up in these awkward, weird, stressful, less-than-ideal situations with your kids and you just have to find a way to make it all work out. Don’t you feel that way sometimes? There’s nothing in the books or mom shows that will prepare you for them anyway. They just happen!

A lot of the times in retrospect they’re funny. Hilarious actually — and even when I think about some of the ones I’ve been caught in, I wonder how I (we – children included) made it out of there alive!

I shared a few Make-it-Work Mom Moments over at Anne’s but I would love to hear some of yours! See if any resonate with you in some way.

Enjoy and happy Friday!

May 15, 2012
by mymommyology
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Obssessed With Elmo

Elmo Loves You!

I don’t know how it happened, but it seems like every person in this world, infant, toddler, and senior citizen has a sharp recall and brand association with the Elmo of Sesame Street. Seriously, this red furry puppet is the most popular thing on earth!

In our own home, the girls can’t get enough of Elmo. Sam has fallen in love with Sesame Street from the beginning of time and even has several Elmo dolls, books, figurines, outfits and toys to prove it. Jamie surprisingly picked up on Elmo quite young, and in fact learned to say and read “Elmo” before she turned one. I suppose it’s because she sees him a lot around the house (I swear: we have SO. MANY. ELMO. THINGS.) My husband by the way, does a fairly decent imitation of Elmo and has a matching puppet to boot — so much so that at first when he’d come home from work, Jamie would excitedly point at him and say, “EH—MAWWW!”

Jamie can't get enough of Elmo!

How can you not love Elmo? He’s cute, cuddly, bright red, happy… and for whatever reason he does not get irritating. Plus he is very informative. He has no downside! (Side note: I am secretly wondering how much Kevin Clash and the crew of Sesame Street has made off this furry monster. He’s probably the best-selling asset they have to date. Plus, I am also wondering — does Kevin Clash ever get tired of playing Elmo? It’s been 20 years! Then again, how can he get tired of it when his job makes everyone happy! I think I’d love that job… ANYWAY! I digress.)

Because of this “Elmo” obsession, last weekend my husband surprised the girls by taking us all to Sesame Place Theme Park in Pennsylvania. The girls were over the moon upon seeing the signs to the park and the billboards with Elmo on them. Sam was jumping up and down at the sight of a grass-trimmed Elmo at the entrance, so you can imagine how starstruck she was when she saw him “in the fur!” Jamie as well was clearly monster-struck… she skipped her nap entirely because she kept calling out to Elmo and pointing at all of the rides which had his face on them. When she met him for her picture, you could see that she was trying to process the entire experience. How was it that this furry monster that she took to sleep every night was now bigger than her? And yet… here he was!

Left: Awed Jamie. Right: Ecstatic Sam.

The other Sesame Street characters also made an impact on the girls. Sam knew all of them by heart and didn’t hesitate to hug them when she got the chance to meet them up close. Jamie learned to call them out by name. Apart from Elmo, now she is a fan of Cookie and Abby above the others. I was also pleasantly surprised that Jamie didn’t cry in fear. I realized that it could have been a possibility because I saw the other children shrinking and wailing at the life-sized mascots and I could hear their parents saying, “C’mon, stop crying. See! It’s Grover your friend!” Quite the opposite in fact, Jamie would cry when we’d say goodbye. She wanted to take them all home I think.

As for Sesame Place itself — I’d have to say that I did enjoy the theme park. The place is small enough for you to be able to enjoy all the rides in a day, and yet also big enough such that everyone is exhausted at the end of it all. There are wet and dry attractions (but it was still too cold for us to enjoy the water), so it’s perfect for the summer months. There were also a lot of shows for the kids to enjoy, and the characters were readily available throughout the day. Sam and Jamie got pictures with all of them, save for maybe Harry and Telly Monster. A lot of the rides allowed Sam’s age and height for as long as she was accompanied by an adult. The only two main criticisms I’d have for the park were 1) the staff that required a little bit more customer service training, and 2) the quality of the food. Other than that everything was just peachy. It’s a park that I wouldn’t mind going back to sooner than later, quite honestly!

The Sesame Street franchise is a classic. It never grows old. I wish it lives on forever, and that my grandchildren and great-grandchildren too will get to love Elmo the way we all do. I won’t deny that even I am enamored by him still!

Side note 2: If your family has watched a Sesame Street Live! Show the same year that you visit Sesame Place, bring proof of the ticket with you. You could get $20 off each park entrance ticket that you buy!

May 13, 2012
by mymommyology
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My Mommyology’s Mother’s Day 2012

As it is Mother’s Day, I will tell you about the fairly decent Mother’s Day I’ve had thus far.

I thought I’d get to sleep in as I normally do on Mother’s Day, but I didn’t. The girls were climbing over and on top of me for quite a bit when they got up. My husband must have slept late with the NBA Lakers-Nuggets Game 7 show on our DV-R, so he didn’t get up until after we did, to take them out and get them breakfast. But he did prepare my breakfast of toast bread and cheese.

The flyer at the desk said, "A Relaxed Mom Looks Good." I agree!

After Mass we got a call saying that a slot opened up at the Massage Envy where my husband had me wait-listed for this afternoon. The original plan was to have a home service massage (how that would have been relaxing for me with the girls banging on the door, I don’t know…), however a few days ago my husband said that the business owner called him and said that she was closing shop, thereby cancelling all her appointments this weekend.

In the end it worked out well: I helped him get lunch into the kids and they hung out at the Pet Store and at Target while I got some me-time. I’d have to say my therapist Lisa was GREAT! Then the Nail Salon across the street was open and could accommodate me for a much needed manicure-pedicure session, and without hesitation I jumped at the chance. To cap off the afternoon, I got some frozen yogurt for the girls and myself at Moonberries. Oh and yes, they got me flowers! A yellow bouquet, as yellow is currently Sam’s favorite color. Kids giving you flowers are the sweetest thing, wouldn’t you say?

The girls seem to be quite cooperative today too. Sam was more behaved than usual at Church today and sat down for a good portion of the homily, and up until the writing of this post, has not had a meltdown of any sort. Jamie — well… Jamie saved her explosive poop for her dad while I was getting all my pampering treatments, and thereby saved me one dirty diaper to change. Atta girl! Now the house is quiet as Sam is off playing with her dad and doing her Kumon with him, and Jamie is fast asleep for a late afternoon nap.

I am hoping for an evening of uninterrupted peaceful sleep to cap off such a restful day, but I may be pushing my luck (as would have been a facial treatment). I’ve been thinking back to the last time that I’d had a truly restful night’s sleep, and it was before I became a mother. I realize now that sleep and motherhood aren’t quite complimentary, and you just take what you can get when you can get it (like a 50-minute nap during a massage!). So this is why moms enjoy pampering sessions so much!

I used to think that Mother’s Day was a day when Mom would spend all day relaxing with her kids and family, but now I feel that there is some kind of irony in that sentence. How can mom, whose natural tendency is to take care of the family, relax when everyone that she attends to is around? In my case, while I undoubtedly love my girls to bits and pieces — when we’re together it becomes mostly about them than about me or anyone else. And so, my husband has now concluded that Mother’s Day in our family is really a Daddy-Daughter day, because it’s Mom’s Day (Afternoon) Off. If it means 120 minutes of pamper time to re-charge for the next few months of 24-7 constant care, then it’s well worth it, wouldn’t you say?

Happy Mother’s Day to all you Moms around the World! I hope you get to spend your special day just the way you want to, no matter how simple it may be. And if anything else, I hope that you get a decent night’s sleep!

May 11, 2012
by mymommyology
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5 Fun Activities to Build Your Toddler’s Fine Motor Skills

Happy Friday!

For this week’s guest post on Green Eggs and Moms, we revisited an original that I did on Sam’s fine motor skill development. I mentioned previously that this was a skill that I wanted to put more focus on as she got older, and was looking for activities and things we could do at home and out of school that would build it further.

At her favorite restaurant, the waiters give Sam pizza dough to mold and play with.

Check out the five activities that Sam does on a regular basis at home and in school. I feel that the most important thing is that she (and I) have fun doing it. It takes out the pressure to learn and turns it into something that she enjoys doing over and over again.

Can you think of more that you’d like to add or suggest? I’d love to hear them and try them out ourselves!

May 7, 2012
by mymommyology
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The Piedmont Farm Tour Experience

There’s always a first time for everything even for me — and that includes a Farm Tour!

We ended our hectic April by participating in the 17th annual Piedmont Farm Tour of North Carolina. Apparently there are about 40 farms in our area and every year the Farm Stewardship Association sets aside a weekend where people can load up a car full of folks and visit as many farms as their afternoons will allow them. Every carload costs $25 for the entire weekend, and the farms offer various attractions from feeding animals, sheep-shearing, to organic fruits and vegetables, and to cows and cheese.

In our van-load of adults and children, we were only able to go to two farms last Sunday afternoon. We picked Spence’s Educational Farm and the Chapel Hill Creamery, the next closest farm in the area (We only had 4 hours so we had to plan ahead).

We’ve heard a lot of good things about Spence’s Farm and how it is very child-friendly. Sam got to feed the chickens and touch the horses. There were also a lot of hand washing stations set up with antibacterial soap mixed into one bin, and the volunteers on the farm were very encouraging about the kids washing their hands frequently. Jamie was totally enamored with all the live animals and did not want to nurse or nap. It was as if all the pictures in her book had come to life and she didn’t want to miss any part of it!

The girls up close and personal with the animals.

The fee per car also came with one free pony-ride for each child. If only for that, I’d say the farm tour was worth it because Sam was beyond excited about riding a pony for the first time. She wore the helmet, and sat still in the saddle while the girl led the horse around the ring. My husband followed in close proximity to take pictures and also as a precautionary measure in case she wiggled and slipped off. It wasn’t necessary though, because Sam held her own on that pony!

My Little Big Girl on her first ever real pony ride!

Our second farm was the Chapel Hill Creamery, known for producing cheeses and sausages. The first thing that they make you do when you register is to sanitize your feet. All their fences are electrically wired to keep a good distance from the cows. Even during the tour when they explained the operations of their business, everything felt very thought through and very sanitary. They had one comfort room open to the public and it was surprisingly very clean too! I learned later on that the farm is run by 10 women (and one man). Everything made a little bit more sense after that.

Even their operations are very pointed. They have only one kind of cow on their farm — the Jersey cows, whom they milk 2x a day. Each cow can produce at least 14 gallons of milk, and all of that is used to make cheese. That’s a whole lotta cheese wouldn’t you say?! Apparently they only keep the females on the farm, and all the males are herded off onto a different farm for meat. Now that’s what you call girl power!

The highlight of the Creamery for Sam was a horse-drawn carriage hayride on the way in, and the tractor ride back out. She did enjoy seeing the baby calves resting outside the milking parlor and reading about how they make cheese. Other than that, all the information must have flown above her head. I on the other hand, took one look at the milking parlor and thought to myself, “It’s one huge breast pumping facility!”

Our horse-drawn hay ride approaches

It was an incredibly hot day to be out on the farms and so on the way home we stopped for ice cream. The girls were completely exhausted though but they both had a good time. I’m glad we took the opportunity to go on a farm tour in the first place. I realized that I’d never really ever been on an actual working farm (ever!) so it was a good experience for me too. There’s always something to be learned from chicken and cows after all.

I’ve said it before with the Marbles Museum and the Touch-a-Truck event: I love how interactive and hands-on the learning is nowadays. For the children most especially, these are experiences they can commit to memory and speak about when they learn about it in school (If at all). Some of the the information one gets from educational tours such as these may not be found in books. And sometimes those are the more crucial bits of information that will help you in life.

It’s a constant reminder for me to be open to these activities and to expose the girls to them when I can. After all what have we got to lose?