October 2011 Archives

Happy Halloween - or as I call it free candy day. Kellan wore his spider costume to school and is eager to go trick-or-treating with friends. I will try to hold back on eating his candy, but if he gets any 3 Musketeers, all bets are off!

Kellan has a new ritual. He closes the door of his bathroom to "get ready" for school or an outing. If I open up the door to check on him, he tells me he needs more time and promptly closes the door.

If there's one thing I wish I had more time to do, it's reading. Even when I'm on vacation, it's hard to find a large chunk of time to just sit and read. I've been making more of an effort lately because I have two good books that I'm excited to get through. 

We have been busy getting the outside of our house ready for winter. Our outdoor furniture is covered, most of our annuals are gone and our tomato and pepper plants are part of the compost pile. 

On a recent shopping trip to Target I saw a display that took me back. It was the trifecta of sweet cereals: Count Chocula, Booberry and Frankenberry. Talk about forbidden fruit. These were cereals I wanted to eat, but my mother would never buy. 

I had the pleasure of chaperoning Kellan's preschool class to a nearby pumpkin patch. The field was quite muddy so everyone arrived wearing boots. I'm so glad we bought those new rain boots! 

If there's one thing a mother isn't psyched to do, it's running errands with a preschooler. What's even worse is when that errand involves shopping. We had to go shoe shopping today after I discovered a hole in the toe area of Kellan's rain boots. Since it's been pouring on and off the past three days, I couldn't put this chore off much longer.

Before we left, I had a little chat with Kellan. I said we were just going to buy the boots and if he was extra patient, we could go get a frozen yogurt. I am not above bribery when it comes to a smooth shopping trip!

Kellan was very good about having his feet measured and trying on a few different pairs of boots before we settled on the right ones - a pair that looked like firemen's boots - and we walked over to the frozen yogurt shop. He tried to get me to take him to the nearby toy store "just to look" at the Legos (I remember using that kind of talk to con my parents). I was able to convince him the frozen yogurt was the only treat he needed.

How do you ensure a tantrum-free errand run?

I have been known to give my husband a hard time when he is playing his favorite game on his iPad. I've wondered why someone who spends a good portion of his day in front of a computer would volunteer for more screen time. 

Then I discovered the zombies. Make that Plants vs. Zombies. Now I know why people love game apps, because they are mindless fun. I'm officially under the spell of this addicting game. My husband started making fun of me!

The more I advanced, the more I was compelled to keep playing. While I should have been spending my precious free time more constructively - or on more relaxing pursuits - I kept telling myself I'd just play one more round. I had a hard time turning my game off.

Then I had a dream where I was inside the world of Plants vs. Zombies. My dream was even pixelated like I was inside a computer screen. I woke up a little bit freaked out that I dreamt about a video game! So while the true effects of video games on adults and children are debatable, I am now off gaming and will return to the good book I was reading before the zombies got a hold on me.

Do you have a game or app you just can't put down?

It's great that Kellan is at the age when he wants to do things by himself. It's not so great when there's a huge mess left in his wake. I am constantly cleaning up spilled granola, smeared toothpaste and balled up Kleenex left in strange places. We want our kids to be self sufficient, but does it have to be so messy?

He also likes to dress himself now. My friends with little girls have been dealing with this for a long time, but this is a new development for me. Kellan often wears his pants backwards and refuses to turn them around.

I have read that my four-year-old isn't alone in wanting to do things for himself. I admit, I sometimes I feel nostalgic for the days when he would sit on blanket chewing a teething ring and not moving much. Then I realize how much more fun we have and how exciting it is to witness every developmental milestone.

So for now I will just deal with the messes. Is your kid exerting his independence lately?

Now that we are well into October, I can dust off our copy of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," which happens to be my favorite part of Halloween. Too bad I can't join Linus in the pumpkin patch. I wouldn't get upset with him like Sally did just because she missed her treats.

Many of my mom friends have already bought their kids' costumes. I feel so behind! Kellan wants to be a pirate this year. Again. I tried to convince him there are many other options out there, but he's having none of it.

When I was in kindergarten I wanted to be Kelly Garrett from Charlie's Angels. Those were the days when costumes came in boxes from drug stores and included a plastic mask and a terrible plastic smock-thingy. Anyway, that costume was sold out and I had to be a different angel. I am clearly not over the disappointment since I am mentioning it on this blog. 

My point is, if my son wants to be a pirate, I should probably just let him be a pirate. Do your kids have strong opinions about their costumes this year?

 

If there's one thing Kellan cannot get enough of right now it is monster trucks. Erik showed him some YouTube video of a monster truck show and Kellan has been talking in that weird, deep announcer voice for days now. I tell him he sounds like a monster. It's hilarious but I wonder when this is going to get old. I know nothing about monster trucks except that they crush smaller cars for fun. This is not my area of expertise.

As much as I'd like to dictate what Kellan takes an interest in, I've learned parents can't really do that. I've wanted to sign Kellan up for soccer but he has never shown an interest. He likes to chase after the ball, but thinks it's funny to pick it up even though he knows you are only supposed to use your feet.

Maybe he'll be interested in soccer next year or maybe not. Whatever he takes an interest in however, I need to keep an open mind. So for now, I play along when he wants to "pretend monster trucks." But I may have something to say if he ever wants to drive one!

Some kids' stories are so much fun to read, even if you've read them together too many times to count. Others... well, not so much. One of Kellan's favorite stories these days is the one about the Gingerbread Boy. Not only does he like to read it, but he likes to act it out as well.

He asks me to chase him around while he shouts, "Can't catch me! I'm the Gingerbread Man!" This game has gotten old very quickly. Now he likes to say this and run away when I try to get him dressed for school or in the bath or even when it's time to sit and eat.

I don't mean to sound like a grouch, but I don't like the Gingerbread Man! It's a silly story with a silly character and a silly ending. As a matter of fact, I don't even like gingerbread.

Does your child have a favorite story that you aren't crazy about?

We've reached a major milestone in our household. Kellan learned to ride his bike! The training wheels came off last month and he wasn't too thrilled about it, but over the weekend, Erik took him to the park and everything clicked. He's riding like a big boy!

We've talked about bicycle safety with him, but now that he's off his training wheels, we are going to take it more seriously. He won't ride in traffic any time soon, but we do want him to know how to ride on bike paths, use crosswalks and know other safety rules so when he's ready to go on the road with his dad, he will be prepared. Here's a bicycle equipment checklist to help you and your kids have a safe ride.