Toddler/Preschool Moms (2) - Week of June 5 [Archive]

JoanneOR

06-05-2006, 02:23 PM

Lara, I saw that you started the thread this week, but when I opened it there was no message and when I hit post reply it said it was an invalid thread. So, I hope you don't mind if I start a new one.

How's everyone? We had an OK weekend. Friday night the kids had gymnastics. DH went out so I told them I would take them out to dinner. They were all excited, except Jameson who said that's "booooring", why can't we just eat something at home? It seemed to be a theme this weekend. :rolleyes: We had to stop at home because Caitlyn had an accident at gymnastics :( and the neighbor kids were out, so we stayed home and ordered a pizza so they could play outside. Saturday DH took the kids to our neighborhood pool. They all loved it except Jameson who said it was "so boooring." :rolleyes: He was really in a funky mood this weekend. He seemed to be picking on the younger kids when we were playing with the neighbors and just not himself. I think he's bordering on feeling too old to play with them and not quite knowing what else to do. Also, when I met them at gymnastics, I passed by the boys in class and Jameson looked really upset about something. I asked him what was wrong later and he kept saying nothing, but I have a feeling something may have happened in school. He had his picnic that day and he was excited about it before school, but when I asked him about it he said, you guessed it, it was boring.

Then, yesterday, we were all outside playing. It was getting late so I told the kids to come inside. I got Jameson, Ian, and Caitlyn showered, then was calling Colin for his turn. I thought he was in his room all this time. Couldn't find him anywhere. I looked outside as a last resort, because the kids know they don't go outside without telling us and someone watching them. Well, there Colin is, playing with the boy down the street. He had gone out of the house without telling anyone. I really got upset with him. I yelled at him to get in. I was pretty harsh with him. I calmed down and told him he knows better than that and we don't want him outside by himself because it's not safe. Maybe I overreacted, I don't know. Well, anyway, later he's asking me where his suitcase is. :confused: He decided he wants to run away. I asked him why and he said because I was mean to him. I told him I would be very upset if he left, but if he felt that's what he needed to do, it was OK. ;) He goes and packs all his favorite stuffed animals. I asked where he was going and he said "I'll be fine; don't worry about me". He was standing at the front door with his suitcase, ready to leave. I asked him what was he planning to eat; where would he get his waffles with chocolate butter?? I think that gave him second thoughts about leaving. ;) I told him I would be really sad if he left and maybe he should think about it for a day and decide if he really wants to go. He told me he didn't want to go, but he only "sort of" loves me now. :( I told him I was sorry for yelling at him, but I was scared he would get hurt outside by himself. So we'll see how he feels about it today. ;) It was kind of funny, but I felt bad because I've been short with the kids lately and now I'm driving them to want to run away!

So, that was our exciting weekend. We didn't make it to the Heart Picnic; DH wanted to take the kids to the pool instead. I would have liked to have gone, but there's always next year.

tbb113

06-05-2006, 02:30 PM

Joanne - I remember wanting to run away alot myself when I was younger (and I really had a happy childhood). I think it is typically behavior and since Colin didn't leave...it will be fine :)

Laura

06-05-2006, 05:29 PM

I decided to run away when I was about 7. I started packing a suitcase, and my four older sisters helped. :rolleyes:

LaraW

06-05-2006, 07:18 PM

Hi Joanne. I wondered what happened, because my computer kind of froze up when I had posted, and it never showed up. I had to go, and couldn't re-do my post. So, thanks for starting a new one :)

That is cute about Colin wanting to run away from home, and deciding to stay over waffles and chocolate butter. I had times I wanted to run away when I was a kid. Heck, I still have days like that! :p

I wanted to thank everyone who shared their potty-training stories with me last week. It gives me some good ideas to work on.

We had a nice weekend. It was super hot here, and so I had the pool set up in the back yard Friday and Saturday. Natalie had a great time playing out there, and one day I dipped Colin's feet in the pool too. Natalie thought that was hilarious. She wore underwear Friday and Saturday, and then DH put her in a diaper on Sunday and we couldn't really get her out of it after that. :( She did OK - had several accidents but I can tell that even when she has a diaper on that she has the sensation of having to pee. She kind of grabs herself and dances around, and has a worried look on her face.

I am trying not to be too impatient, but it is so hard to have a kid just on the edge! Two different times, today and on Saturday, I got her to sit on a public potty, without her little insert. Saturday we were at the bank in a HUGE line, and of course she said "Go potty?" so we got out of line and went to the bathroom. The line was even longer when we got back, and thankfully the woman who had been behind me took pity on me being there with 2 kids and let me back in where I had been before, rather than having to start over at the end. Then, today I got her to sit on the potty at the library. She didn't go either time, but I thought that was pretty good to at least get her to sit on a different potty.

We have a trip to Chicago coming up over Labor Day weekend for my sister's wedding, and I really want her to be trained for a while by the time that trip comes around. I suppose that there's not too much more I can do other than encourage her, right?

Hope everyone else had a good weekend. Sarah, are you still out there? I can't wait to hear about your new baby's arrival!

NMG

06-06-2006, 06:47 AM

Hi everyone!!! I've been so busy lately with the kids and work that I haven't been able to hop on here and post. A few new things on our end - Tesa's been wearing underwear for almost 2 weeks now and decided last night that she despises diapers and had to wear panties to bed - yaaaaaa DH says she woke up w/o any accidents and asked to use the potty :D We have to work on going #2 though in the potty - she does still like a diaper for that. Oh and the other evening when she was ont he potty Tesa turns to me and say "if I fall in, please don't flush me down the toilet"!! She's such a ham......she has also been sleeping on her sleeping bag on the floor until we get her mattress for her bed (she keeps telling me she's a big girl now :p ).
Joanne - I remember packing my Going to Grammas suitcase to run away when I was younger too - I think its just a stage a lot of kids go thru - I do think you were right to yell at him for not letting anyone know he was going back outside. It would have scared the crap out of me had Tesa done anything like that.
Lara - Natalie will get the hang of it - Tesa had been like that and then all of a sudden she wanted nothing to do with diapers.......

LA98

06-06-2006, 11:22 AM

Hi everyone. I had wanted to chime in on last week�s thread about all the potty training stuff, because it seems that Brian is now potty trained! He�s in underwear full time, although still having some poop accidents. I�m not sure what that�s all about. He�s also waking up dry every morning, although I�m too chicken yet to move from pull-ups to underwear overnight. I think I�ll give that a couple more weeks. I was very laid-back during the whole potty training thing. There were lots of days when he had zero interest, so I would just back off. I think if I had pushed him a bit, he�d have been done a while ago but so many things are still a battle with him that I didn�t want to add one more. :rolleyes: :) Of course now I�m stressing that we have a bunch of outings planned this summer, and we�ll be needing to find bathrooms everywhere. That will be a challenge, I�m sure!

And potty business aside, Brian really seems like a new kid these days. There�s a little extra maturity we�ve been noticing, like he�s been willing to at least try new foods, something he�s never done before. He�s understanding consequences better, although he�s still having some monster-sized tantrums. He�s also starting to make up stories, like that there�s a bear in his closet, or that a boy at school pushed him, etc. His speech is amazing us on a daily basis. He�s really growing up! I honestly can�t believe he�s going to be 3 in August.

Joanne, I think you were right to be stern with Colin. Even though it upset him, he definitely got the message that he shouldn�t be leaving the house. We try and do the same sort of thing, save sternness for when it really counts. I love how you handled him wanting to run away! I can�t remember if I ever wanted to do that as a kid, although as Lara mentioned, I�ve thought about it a time or two as an adult! ;)

Lara, I think Natalie is doing very well, and it sounds as if she�ll be trained any day. Everyone told me this and it turned out to be true, it really does seem to all just click one day for them. I don�t know if you�re doing a sticker chart, but Brian really enjoyed that. Even more than the promise of a lollipop. Go figure.

Natalie, Tesa�s doing so well too. Had to laugh about her flushing down the toilet comment!

Lori

JoanneOR

06-06-2006, 11:42 AM

Yes, I wanted to run away from home a few times, too. Both when I was a kid and now. ;) But, never made it past the front door. I told Colin last night I was glad he decided to stay. He said he forgave me. ;) I can tease him about this in a few years. Jameson tried to run away once; Ian never has. Not Caitlyn yet, either. Oh, and his brothers were all for him leaving, like Laura said. :p

Lara, it sounds like you're doing the right things in training Natalie. It'll come. One day you realize, wow, she's potty trained!! It just seems to click with them at a certain point. I'd keep her in underwear as much as possible.

Natalie, hi, and congrats on Tesa's potty training!!

Hi Lori! Congrats on Brian's potty training, too! It is amazing how quickly they change and mature. Sometimes I just want to freeze them at a certain age (and skipping the teenage years might be nice :D ).

I'm off to see Ian as the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz play at school!

hrk

06-07-2006, 07:47 AM

Good morning all.

Joanne- Glad to hear Colin has forgiven you. I remember wanting to do that every once in a while after my mom and I had a big blow out. Never made it past the front door though.

Lara- Sounds like Natalie is doing well and like others have said it will click real soon. Juts try to be consistent and stick with it.

Glad to hear Tesa and Brian are doing well also.

Things here are going well. Logan is doing great and really getting the hang of being a big brother. He loves to push the stroller with Ari in it, comforst him if he is crying and loves to show him his books. We leave for California in just over a week and Logan is soo excited to go on an airplane. I am anxious to see how he does, since it has been just under a year since he last flew. He normally does great on planes and we are taking my laptop cause he loves to play computer games on it, so hopefully that will entertain him for a while and since we are flying at night he should fall asleep at some point (fingers crossed).

Hope everyone is well.
Heather

NMG

06-07-2006, 08:17 AM

Joanne - how was the play????

MrsReber

06-07-2006, 10:19 AM

Hi everyone! Not much time to post, but I am reading along! Just wanted to say hello. Love the running away stories. Joanne, I'm glad you have been forgiven! I'm dying to hear about the play, too. When I was in 4th grade, we did The Wizard of Oz play and we even went to a few other schools to do our show! I was a munchkin. One of my friends that I still keep in touch with was Auntie Em. I like to tease her about that :D !

Casey told me last night that she wishes we could move to VA right now and never come back. She hates that I leave for work before she wakes up in the morning.

Her pre-K graduation is on the 29th. My sister will be here from NC so I hope she and her kids come to the ceremony. We can invite as many people as we like. DH hasn't told any of his family. He said he doesn't want to! It's going to be so cute. I hope I don't cry (or at least not too much!)

hrk

06-07-2006, 11:32 AM

Just saw a post on the pregnancy thread from Sarah. She had her baby- Owen Thomas. Mom and baby are doing well and Ella is enjoying her baby brother.
Heather

LA98

06-07-2006, 12:45 PM

Congratulations and best wishes, Sarah, Ella, and DH!

tbb113

06-07-2006, 12:57 PM

Congratulations Sarah, DH and Ella! Welcome to the world Owen I saw the pictures..everybody is adorable :)

NMG

06-07-2006, 01:10 PM

Congratulations Sarah - I peeked in the other post and saw the pics. You're family is beautiful!

BeckyM

06-07-2006, 01:17 PM

Hi Everyone! Remember me? I know I haven't been on here in months -- probably since January or February. :( Things have been crazy hectic here, and I was wondering how to get more done during the day, when DH suggested I not spend so much time on the computer. :rolleyes: So I decided I had to give up the bulletin boards, though I miss you all quite a bit.

But today I need some advice / suggestions, and I think you all would be the best ones to come up with good ideas for me. I volunteered to go to Katie's preschool classroom on an afternoon in July and make ice cream with the kids. I am really excited about doing it, but I know I'm not going to have much help from the teachers regarding HOW I go about doing it with the kids. I know they'll be there to help out, but I want to have a plan of how to keep the kids engaged, give them little jobs to do, etc. I was planning to just make a plain vanilla ice cream with a recipe where you just mix up the milk, cream, etc., then put it in the ice cream maker. Since that isn't all that involved, I don't know how to make it more exciting. Then while the ice cream is mixing/freezing (about 20 minutes), what should we do with the kids? I was trying to think of some sort of art project, or books we could read, or something relating to ice cream. Then I'm also looking for ideas of things the kids could have as toppings for their ice cream. I don't want to bring tons of sugary stuff -- do you think just different fresh fruits would be okay? And maybe a thing of colored sprinkles just for fun? Or is that too boring? Anyway, I really appreciate any ideas or advice you might have.

I would write a quick update on Katie & Megan, but Megan is just waking up from her nap (she's a TERRIBLE napper -- only goes 30 minutes max if she's in her crib) and is calling for me. I'll try to write more when I check back later. It's great to read what you all have written this week -- I wish I hadn't gotten out of touch with all of you!

Becky :)

tbb113

06-07-2006, 01:27 PM

Hi Becky! Glad that everything is okay with you and it was just a case of too much to do and not enough time to do it in!

Maybe you can find some books with an ice cream theme? Another thought would be to see if the kids can make icecream with the kick the can method (http://www.kidsdomain.com/craft/coffeecn.html) while the ice cream maker is running?

I would think that fresh fruit or a strawberry sauce would be good on the ice cream.

You could have them do an art project with them making ice cream cones from construction paper (this is not my strong point) Editing to add this link (http://www.ecewebguide.com/preschool_themes/ice_cream/ice_cream_art.htm) for craft ideas

Sarah428

06-07-2006, 01:34 PM

That's weird?!? I thought I posted over here before on the pg thread, oh well!

Don't have time to read the thread right now but probably will later tonight, thanks for the congrats!

Sarah

MrsReber

06-07-2006, 01:35 PM

Becky, they have ice cream parties at our daycare. They usually ask each child to bring something in- cones, sprinkles, chocolate chips, whipped cream, marshmallows etc. The kids really love it. They actually will be making ice cream at the end of this month, but it's on a day when my kids don't attend (Monday). They were looking to borrow ice cream makers from people. I was thinking I may have to volunteer anyway!

When I cook with my kids, I teach them about measuring- we do some math. I'm not sure of the exact ages of these kids, but my kids love to practice math with the eggs (yikes!) I take the dozen out in the carton and Casey will add and subtract the eggs over and over. It helps her grasp the concept.
They love to pour stuff. Maybe they could help get the toppings ready and set up the table while the ice cream is freezing? That should take some time, depending on the toppings! They could maybe count out chocolate chips or marshmallows? Just a thought!

LaraW

06-07-2006, 01:55 PM

Becky, I love cereral on top of ice cream. :) That would be not too sugary (doesn't have to be). You could either make or have the kids make ice cream cones out of construction paper and decorate them. I might suggest taking some already-made ice cream in, just in case something goes wrong. I have had that happen before where for some odd reason the ice cream never freezes (has even happened on T&T recipes). Another easy idea is frozen yogurt. I just buy the large container of vanilla yogurt (I think it is the 4 C size) and you can put it in the ice cream maker. I usually add fruit while its freezing, but you wouldn't have to.

Congratulations Sarah, and welcome Owen! All that stressing over a girl's name, and you didn't need it after all. Glad to hear that Ella is adjusting well.

Joanne, how did the play go? Did Ian get to wear a tux?

We're doing well today. It is 90 degrees for about the 5th or 6th day in a row. Ugh. I am going to get the pool set up to play in this afternoon.

JoanneOR

06-07-2006, 03:43 PM

Heather, hope you have a nice trip to California. The laptop with games is a good idea. Do you have family there? When the boys are fighting, I try to fondly remember the days when they were little and nice to each other :) . They definitely have a loyalty to each other and stick up for each other around other people, but it seems like they are constantly bickering and picking on each other. :confused: Tyra, is this normal??

The play was great. It was a very abridged version of the original Wizard of Oz - about 30 minutes. :p The kids all did a great job. Ian was so cool as the Wizard. He didn't have a full tux; just the shirt and cumberbund (is that what it's called?) and the tie. He wore his regular suit jacket. Have to get another use out of that communion suit. ;) He was so excited to wear it, though and he looked great. The teachers were really happy with it and one mom told me "your boy really cleans up nice." I wasn't quite sure how to take that. :eek: Caitlyn was funny; she yelled out his name when he first came out and then when he started saying his lines. The pictures I took when he was on stage didn't come out so good - my camera was running out of batteries and wouldn't zoom in. I did manage to get a few of him in the hallway after. I need to load them in imagestation and I'll try to post one tomorrow.

Congrats Sarah!! Owen is adorable; you look great and Ella is beautiful!!

Hi Becky. Glad to hear you're doing well! Have fun with the ice cream making. Sounds like the kids will love it. I think cereal is a great idea as a topping. And doing some type of ice cream related craft while it's freezing is a good idea. Maybe have them decorate a sheet of paper that they can then wrap up their cone in? It would probably work best with sugar cones. Also might help save on messes.

Lara, I don't like it that hot either. Hope you can get some relief with your pool.

Gotta run. Almost time to catch my train....

tbb113

06-07-2006, 04:19 PM

When the boys are fighting, I try to fondly remember the days when they were little and nice to each other :) . They definitely have a loyalty to each other and stick up for each other around other people, but it seems like they are constantly bickering and picking on each other. :confused: Tyra, is this normal??

Joanne - I think siblings regardless of gender bicker with each other. I know my brother and I did and I know that Alex and Michael do. They don't always stick up for the other person either :rolleyes: (Alex just read this "I don't stick up for him at all. Michael's friends might stick up for me though.")

hrk

06-08-2006, 07:47 AM

Joanne- Yes I am originally from outside of LA, and my parents are still there. My borhters fiancee's family also lives there and we are heading to California primarily for the engagement party my parents are throwing for my brother and his fiancee. DH heads home after Fathers Day and I will stay another week with the boys, then my mom comes back here with me and will stay the summer with us.
Glad to hear the play went well and that Ian made a great Wizard.

Becky- My mom does the kick the can method of making ice cream with her second graders for years, and it works really well. Would be somethng fun for them to make their own while the machine is working.

Susan- Wow can't believe Casey will be starting Kindergarden in the fall. Any movement on the house?

Well last night Logan was doing an activity book and we were talking about counting and out of nowhere he counts backwards from 10-0. DH and I were very impressed. And out course not to be outdone by his older brother, Ari decided to roll over from front to back for the first time last night. Let the sibling rivalry begin :D

Heather

HRJ

06-08-2006, 09:31 AM

Congratulations Sarah & DH & Ella! Welcome Owen!!! He's a cutie.

Becky, good to see you. You've gotten some good suggestions so far -- and actually, given me an idea -- maybe for Victor's birthday, I can come in and make ice cream for the kids in his class, instead of doing the cupcakes-from-home thing. I'll have to talk to his teachers about that.

Speaking of birthdays, there are five kids in Victor's class who will be turning five within 10 days of each other, and we've gotten invites to the other four parties. Looks like I'll be taking a trip to TRU pretty soon. Victor's birthday is the last of the bunch -- I hope the other families don't have "birthday burnout" by the time our party rolls around (I can't make Victor's party at any other time, because we're going to be out of town for all the other weekends in July).

Heather, enjoy your trip!

Joanne, sounds like Ian made a great Wizard! Can't wait to see a picture. Also, very cute about Colin and his "running away" plans, although I'm sure it didn't seem that way at the time. (Guess it didn't occur to him that he could pack a jar of Nutella! ;) ). You were right to be stern -- going outside by himself without telling anyone is too dangerous.

Once, Victor left the house by himself on Sunday afternoon -- he didn't go anyplace, just walked around the house and yard. It was really a "pushing limits" kind of thing, but DH and I were furious with him. We also tried to follow it up with a talk about why it's dangerous for him to do that: because if he got hurt, a grown-up wouldn't be around to help him; because someone might be driving their car too fast, or too recklessly, on the street, and because there are some bad people out there who like to hurt little kids or do mean things to them. Unfortunately, I really don't think he "got" it all -- I think we'll have to spend more time talking about "stranger danger." It's such a fine line, teaching kids to be aware of dangers, and yet not making them too fearful of the world.

Congrats to Brian and Tesa on their potty success!

Lori, it's so much fun to see kids make those "giant leaps"!

Lara, it looks like Natalie is on the right track with the potty training. I feel you pain about the heat -- I go crazy anytime it gets above 80 degrees! (Which explains why summer is *not* my favorite season!).

We got our "sharing sheets" from preschool the other day (a summary of the child's developmental/behavioral "progress"). In the section about "verbal abilities" they described Victor as "articulate" and mentioned how he talks constantly to both teachers and other kids. Considering that we spent all that time dealing with a speech delay (and that he didn't start learning English until he was 2), DH and I were so happy to hear that! (I still think we made the right decison for him about waiting a year on starting kindergarten, though).

Helene

Helene

BeckyM

06-08-2006, 09:48 AM

Thanks, everyone, for the great ideas! I was thinking to have the kids help measure, pour, and mix the ingredients for the ice cream, but also having them help measure the toppings to put out, count chocolate chips, etc., are great suggestions. And Lara, thanks for the ideas of using cereal as a topping AND of bringing in a back-up of premade ice cream. I am planning to bring the freezer bowl of the ice cream maker in a day early, so we can keep it in the freezer at the preschool to be fully frozen when we start, but there could be other mishaps that might make the ice cream not turn out well. It's always good to have a backup when there are expectant 3-4 year olds waiting!

And thanks Tyra for the link to the craft ideas! I printed them out and am going to share them with the teachers in Katie's room. They can probably help me determine which of the activities might appeal best to this group of kids. Personally, I think painting with ice cubes colored with food coloring sounds like a neat idea, so hopefully the teachers agree. Again, the challenge will be keeping them frozen until time to use them, so it's probably something I'd have to bring in and keep in the preschool freezer overnight.

It has been fun to read all your posts! I'm going to try to come back sometime I have some time to really post and give you a quick update. But right now I need to go get lunch for Megan. It's always something . . . . :D

Becky :)

RunnerKim

06-08-2006, 09:55 AM

Congratulations Sarah! and welcome Owen.

Helene that is great news to hear how articulate Victor is! I'm not that suprised though from what you've shared. How scary about him leaving the house! I don't think we're that far away from that possibility either - Lainey can now unlock and open the door when we come home in the evening; but hasn't quite figured it out in the other direction yet.

Becky - we have ice cream balls that are the commercial version of the can method for making ice cream. Or rather my family has one, my sister's family has one and then I think my Mom bought 2 for their family. We're all taking them camping in about a week. We've used it a couple of times and for 3 year olds there needs to be some adult assitance but it works well. How many kids are you talking about and how many batches of ice cream are you making? Kids are going to be excited about the ice cream being made so something active would be good. My first thought was a story but I don't know how easy it would be to get them to sit still with their anticipation. I've done a simple recipe using chocolate pudding and milk (in a freezer bowl style maker) that works really well, freezes fast and tastes like fudgecicle. Hmmm maybe kids could make cookie crumbs, seperate colored m&m's (so you have red bowl, blue bowl etc) - have them guess how long it'll take and write those predictions down. Make a graph of who like chocolate, vanilla etc. (you could pre-make the grid on a poster board and pre-cut squares and have each kid put their square up on the posterboard. Then count how many prefer each kind) - if of course you're going to have both kinds or have chocolate sauce. You could do that for any toppings actually - plain, chocolate sauce, sprinkles... Have fun!

Joanne - the play sounds great!

Heather - have a great trip to California. We're flying to St. Louis later this summer--I think Lainey will be fine. We have a portable DVD player and she's really in to do those workbooks right now and overall will be thrilled to be on a plane and soak everything up (she doesn't remember her last flight). Jamie will be more challenging I think.

Susan - ahh, I hope you get moved to VA soon too. Any interest in the house?

I was home with Jamie on Monday. He was puking his guts out Saturday night and was really out of it on Sunday (mild fever) but did start eating around lunch time and kept it down. I feel pretty bad about it because I'm pretty sure it's because he ate a strip of foam (12" long by about .5" wide - for a scrapbook binding). I knew he was playing with it and planned to go take it away from him but he wasn't harassing his sister anymore and and and. I figured he'd dropped it; it had fallen behind the couch or something. Fortunately it wasn't a bigger problem. :(

Kim

MrsReber

06-08-2006, 10:28 AM

We had 3 showings already and we have one scheduled for tomorrow - please send good thoughts our way!!!! Considering it's a very slow market, I'm pretty happy about having so much interest. We had about 4 vehicles stop to ask us questions about the house over the weekend. Then one neighbor drove by and asked what our price was. He said he may know a couple of people who are interested. I can't wait to go.

Becky, good luck with the ice cream. That sounds like fun! Helene, I think that's a great idea for Victor's birthday. Brenden's party is going to be on July 8th so I have to start getting ready for that, in addition to everything else!

I'm lucky with Casey. She totally understands stranger danger. I tell her that if she's outside and out of my view, she is not to speak to anyone. Then I say "if someone talks to you, what do you do?" She replies "go get mommy or daddy." She knows the drill and she's good with it. Brenden is the one I worry about. I hate to be like this, but I tell Casey to watch out for him when they're outside. I'll let them play right in front of the house while I'm starting dinner. I can easily see them out our huge dining room window and I listen for them as well. But it's tough- you don't want them to not ever trust anyone, but you also don't want to see them get hurt.

JoanneOR

06-08-2006, 10:47 AM

Helene, that's great about Victor's teachers comments about his speech. He's sure come a long way! That's pretty much what we told Colin when he went outside - what you said you talked to Victor about. One of us is always outside when the kids are outside - I don't even let Jameson outside alone and he's almost 10. When can you finally let go a bit and give them some freedom? Sometimes I think we're too overprotective; particularly with Jameson. I see kids from his class riding their bikes around the neighborhood by themselves. DH was saying how can the parents let them do that? I told him maybe we are the ones who are overprotective; he's almost 10 years old.

Heather, oh yes, the sibling rivalry starts early. :p Just wait; it gets better. ;)

Kim, how do the ice cream balls work? It sounds like something the kids would have fun doing. So, Jamie ate the entire piece of foam?? Wow! Glad he's OK. I wouldn't think that would give him a fever, though. Maybe the throwing up was unrelated.

Susan, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a quick sale of your house!

OK, here's a picture of Ian after his play with Caitlyn.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid207/pfe4a1a9bfee1c1624a6656901f95be08/ee9ce85b.jpg

The few I took of him on stage really didn't come out too well. You can barely see him.

Here's a picture of Tully: :)
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid207/pf30d15045b99508a25b824c373df2725/ee9cea01.jpg

LaraW

06-08-2006, 10:51 AM

Good luck with selling your house, Susan! I hope you get some more nibbles on it.

I don't like the hot weather either. We don't have the humidity here, but to me 90 degrees is hot no matter what. Its kind of like walking around in an oven.

I have been meaning to ask this, for those of you who have older kids. Recently (in the last 2 weeks or so), when I have been verbally "reprimanding" Natalie for something (and the word reprimand sounds too harsh - mainly when I'm trying to give her verbal direction to either do or stop doing something) she will look at me and say "hi". Like she's trying to distract me. I usually say "no, not "hi" - you need to stop slamming the door (or whatever)". Then, she will sometimes say "boo" and when I say "no, not "boo", you need to stop slamming the door" she will point at Colin and say "That's Colin".

What is this?

tbb113

06-08-2006, 10:56 AM

Joanne - I think it comes down to how safe of a neighborhood you live in and how you feel. IMHO, at 10 years old, Jameson would be fine on his bike with his friends (and probably by himself). I used to let the boys ride their bikes to their friends (that lived within a couple of blocks) by then. Matter of fact, Alex used to ride his bike home after school in the spring of 5th grade (drove me nuts...but he HATED after care and he much preferred to be home by himself).

I think the news does a BAD job of scaring parents. I belonged to a mother's club when the boys were little and we had the police come and talk to us about stranger danger, etc. They re-iterated that while the Bay Area has a higher than normal rate of stranger abduction...it still is perfectly safe to allow your child outside to play by themselves.

LA98

06-08-2006, 11:13 AM

I have been meaning to ask this, for those of you who have older kids. Recently (in the last 2 weeks or so), when I have been verbally "reprimanding" Natalie for something (and the word reprimand sounds too harsh - mainly when I'm trying to give her verbal direction to either do or stop doing something) she will look at me and say "hi". Like she's trying to distract me. I usually say "no, not "hi" - you need to stop slamming the door (or whatever)". Then, she will sometimes say "boo" and when I say "no, not "boo", you need to stop slamming the door" she will point at Colin and say "That's Colin".

What is this?

Stalling and/or redirecting :D Brian does it a lot. Sometimes a really stern look from me puts a stop to it. Usually I just make my point and ignore what he's saying.

Helene, I hear you on the street/car danger. We have many people flying down our quiet little street, and one time I was walking with Brian when a car came screaming around the corner, I was so startled by it I yanked him by his shirt onto the grass. As for the stranger issue, I agree, we've probably all been extra scared thanks to the media, but in my quiet suburban little town, there have been 2 confirmed attemped child-luring incidents in the past month. :(

Joanne, great pictures! And Susan, good luck with your showings!

paula

06-09-2006, 07:10 AM

cchhbb

06-09-2006, 07:44 AM

Paula, sorry I vaguely remember it, but don't have the details.

Joanne, I used to threaten to run away too. I think one time my brother and I did, but our parents didn't notice that we had left. We lived in the country and it wasn't unusual that we were outside for long periods of time. I think we only went as far as the barn.

Loved the pictures of the Wizard and Caitlyn. Very cute. I bet it was a terrific play.

Garrett is also the master at stalling and redirecting. I just try to get eye contact to make sure he is paying attention. I think it is just the age. I have noticed that this occurs less now than when he was 2 1/2 - 3.

Susan, good thoughts going your way regarding selling your house.

Kim, the hardest flight I ever took with Garrett was when he was about 20 months and we were coming back from my parents in Kansas City. The flight was oversold and we ended up sitting on the runway for a really long time due to bad weather. I was sitting in a window seat and the people next to me were not very kid friendly. I wish I had been on the aisle because then there would have been more room. I couldn't wait to get off that plane. I didn't buy a seat for Garrett, but really wish I had. Now, he's really easy to travel with. I think part of it is because he knows what's going on. And I can always distract him with look out the window and tell me what you see. Count the planes, that type of thing.

Helene, great news about Victor's speech. Around here very few people I know with summer boys send them to school on time. I don't know if it's geographical or not, but I have several friends with late May early June birthday boys who will not be going to kindergarten this fall.

Kim, I was considering buying a ball for making icecream. Do they work well?

Last night Garrett was exhausted. He was complaining in the afternoon that he was tired and generally after about 3 pm he just wanted to sit around. He curled up on my last about 4:30 and I read him yet another story and then he asked me to sing to him. I sang two songs and then he was asleep. We were on the porch so I carried him inside and up the stairs and then realized that I had washed his sheets and hadn't put them back on his bed. So I put him in my bed and put a diaper on him. I don't think he had peed since about 1:00. He woke up at 7:30 this morning. I moved him back to his bed about 8 last night. Poor kid was exhausted.

Griffin has managed to get 3 teeth in the last week. He has gotten his top 2 molars and one bottom tooth in the front. It really seems to be messing with his nap schedule.

The saga with Garrett's preschool continues. I'm so glad he's not going there next year. For a school that's won awards for being so great, I am less than impressed. I am looking for a school for Griffin, but haven't found one yet.

Cheryl

Molli526

06-09-2006, 09:19 AM

Random question-

Some time ago, lhall (Leigh?) posted on a behaviour system that she uses with her two daughters involving (I believe) four sticks... does anyone remember this? Does anyone have this bookmarked, or know approximately when she posted it?

Paula

Paula,

I searched lhall and discipline and saw a couple posts with her recommending:

Positive Discipline for Preschoolers (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761515151/sr=8-3/qid=1149866248/ref=sr_1_3/002-6235789-9267209?%5Fencoding=UTF8)

paula

06-09-2006, 09:31 AM

Thank Molli.

I had forgetten about that book and now remember the recommendation for it. However, my vague memories are that she got this particular system from her older daughter's kindergarten teacher...

Paula

RunnerKim

06-09-2006, 10:11 AM

The balls have worked pretty well for ice cream - we got ours from REI but I first some them in LLBean (or was it Lands End?) catalog. It's more soft serve.

http://images.rei.com/media/709077_350Prd.jpg
Ah when looking for this image it now appears that they have a larger size available.

My sisters and I ran away a lot when we were kids. It was often to the huge walk-in closet on the second floor :rolleyes: but once we did sneak out and sleep in the back of the station wagon in the garage. We thought we'd been so clever - even being very quiet and hunched down when my Dad "randomly" came out to get something from his work bench in the morning. Years later our bubble was burst that they knew all along. I don't recall us running away to get away so much as to go on an adventure.

Paula - I have the same recollection you do - that it was Leigh and she got it from one of her DD's teachers. Is she on the boards now? can you PM her?

Cheryl - we did buy a seat for Jamie so I'm hoping that helps - but of course that means we have 3 seats on one side and then an aisle seat on the since I wanted Lainey to be able to watch out the window. We're not taking car seats with us so I'm hoping that's not an issue either (MIL has some for us).

I've done that before with the sheets! Did Garrett have an issue waking up in a diaper? I think Lainey would be very upset with me if I did that.

Kim

MrsReber

06-09-2006, 10:18 AM

Lara, my kids will do that, too, with discipline. I'll make them repeat what I said if it appears that they aren't paying attention. I used to say "do you understand me?" but I read somewhere that it's not good to ask that question because you may get a "yes" answer even though the child doesn't understand. Is she not following your instruction or is she not acknowledging what you said? I mean, did she stop slamming the door, but she's changing the topic or is she still slamming the door and changing the topic? Brenden hates getting into trouble. unfortunately, he is usually the one getting into trouble. He generally won't look at me when he's being reprimanded and it seems that time outs work best with him. Casey, on the other hand, rarely needs a time out because she will listen and understand when I tell her something.

The only problem with 2 kids (or at least my two kids) is when they dream up some crazy thing to do and then completely ignore me when I tell them to stop. They're in their own little world many times.

Joanne, your kids are beautiful! Your doggie is cute, too! But after all the challenges you faced with Caitlyn, you'd just never know it by looking at her now.

tbb113

06-09-2006, 10:22 AM

Paula - it is on this thread (http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=83434&highlight=sticks) I searched sticks and lhall :cool: Hope it helps

paula

06-09-2006, 10:58 AM

Thanks Tyra, there a bunch of good ideas on that thread about which I had forgotten!

I am preparing to be SAHM after our move at the end of the month, and I think I need a more formal behaviour plan. I like Leigh's system because it includes both positive and negative re-enforcements and it has several "second chances."

However, I would love suggestions of negative consequences that would only affect one child. Timeouts are virtually unaffective and can only be enforced by physical restaint. Quiet time in your room requires a locked door, and usually results in huge mess in the room. Loss of TV/computer/playyground/toys almost always affects both children.

Paula

JoanneOR

06-09-2006, 10:59 AM

Lara, I think what Natalie is doing is definitely stalling or redirecting. :) It was funny this morning. Caitlyn was looking at the ad for the new Cars movie and said she wanted to see it. I told her remember the last time I took you to a movie you wouldn't stay in your seat and walked up and down the aisle. Then I told her no more movies unless you can promise me you'll stay in your seat. I asked her if she could do that; she looked at me and said "mom, stop talking" - totally calm. It reminded me of your question about Natalie.

Helene, Colin has a summer birthday and did go to school in the fall right after his birthday. He definitely did struggle at first, but the school gave him some extra help and now he's doing fine. Jameson and Ian have fall birthdays so they are older in their grades (well, Jameson was until he was moved up). They've had no problems with school. Alot depends on maturity level, too, I think.

Cheryl, wow, maybe Garrett is having a growth spurt. It seems like when my kids sleep alot the next think I know their pants are too short.

Kim, that's funny about sleeping in the car with your sister. Your parents probably had a good laugh about it!

Susan, I know, I'm amazed when I look at Caitlyn sometimes and think how far she's come. Which reminds me I need to make her cardiologist appt. She's supposed to go in July. I dread it because I'm always worried they'll say something's wrong or it's time for her next surgery. They did say preschool age, but I know of other kids that have similar situations that have gone much longer. So, we'll see.

This morning we had the awards ceremony at school for Ian and Colin. Ian got an outstanding reader award (strange, since he hates to read!) and Colin got an outstanding math award. Jameson had his yesterday and got a pin for high honors all four quarters. I was really proud of all of them. Best of all is school is finally over for the year!!

LaraW

06-09-2006, 01:09 PM

Yea, I figured the "hi" thing was stalling. She will stop doing whatever it is long enough to say hi, and she might stop it for a while, but she' s often back doing whatever she's not supposed to be doing relatively quickly.

DH and I have both started to say "no, not "hi" and then go on with what we're telling her. Susan, that is a good idea to have her repeat back to me what I said.

Sigh. I swear, when they grow out of one annoying habit, they grow into another one :p She's lucky she's cute ;) :D

We had another daycare tour today. Natalie is going to age out of her current daycare whe she turns 3, and so we've been looking at places for her to go either this fall or when she turns 3 in December. We've looked at 2 places before today, and while they've been OK, I haven't been thrilled. We looked at a Goddard School today, and I think I liked it the best of everywhere we've been so far. The director met with us and spent a long time with us. One of the other places we went I felt like we were an inconvenience in the director's day and she just kind of moved us along and got us out of there. We have 1 more next week. I'm kind of nervous about moving her to a new place, but I know she can't (and shouldn't) stay where she is forever.

Joanne, the pictures of Ian and Caitlyn are great!

Hope everyone has a good weekend. We are going to try to go to a "touch a truck" thing tomorrow. It is a thing where one of the local recreation centers gets a bunch of big trucks - like fire engines, dump trucks, etc and kids can go and look at them, touch them etc. I don't know how much they are able to climb on them or whatnot, but it sounded like something Natalie might enjoy. There's also a concert at our library in the morning, so depending on when Colin is up from his nap, we may try to go to that too.

Tyra, thanks for the link you put in for making ice cream in a can. There are instructions on how to do that in a plastic bag too. We may give that a try this afternoon since its 90 degrees for the 8th straight day :rolleyes: My A/C is sure getting a workout. I am going to hate to see our electric bill! :eek:

RunnerKim

06-09-2006, 01:21 PM

Yeah Joanne - congratulations on making it to summer ;) I meant to comment about the cute pictures you posted I'd seen them yesterday but didn't have time to post. How's Tully doing? He and Jamie could be quite a pair :D

"Mommy, stop talking" Lainey has said those words many times - her latest is to now say that what I said is not nice or are bad words or that they hurt her feelings.

Her arguing abilities have escalated tremendously lately. The other night she was watching TV before dinner and her movie wasn't over before it was time to eat. It was late and so I wasn't going to let her finish it afterwards. Litarally once before I'd let her do that while Jamie was getting a bath (probably on a night when DH wasn't there). Her arguments became progressively more compelling - I want to, I did it before, then it's the "rule", then in a nice/normal voice "can I watch the movie after dinner please" and then the best part - "I know you watch movie after reading time" (DH and I will sometimes watch TV after putting the kids to bed)

Paula - Hmmm - what about removing choices as negative consequences. Lose a stick and you don't get to pick a color cup for lunch/dinner; you get plain cup. I'm trying to think of other choice type situations - I can see that easily turning meal/snack time in to a melt down before it even starts. What types of things are you anticipating taking sticks away for? If it's not picking up toys - have it need to be done before a meal (or something desirable) and then they don't get it until they've picked up (can set a timer and if it's longer than that then they don't get it). That's a tough one - I'm not coming up with anything very good. I'll mull it over and post more if I can think of something. I'd think they'd be old enough to understand longer term rewards... you get to put a sticker on the chart for every stick you have left at the end of the day. At the end of the week if you have X number of stickers you get to something (dollar store toy, book, check books out at the library - both kids could go but if one doesn't have enough stickers then s/he can't choose any books?).

Kim