Category Archives: caroline

Preschool Pick Up

Posted on by

So many people have asked how Caroline’s first day of fall preschool went and wonder how it compared to the Meet the Teacher day.

Let me say this…

She did not win the Miss Congeniality Award.

Drop off went smoothly with not even a backwards look at me.

I peeked into the room after putting her things in her cubby to find her sitting at the table working with one of the teachers.

Super.

I went on with my day, even managing to go to the noon swim practice.

At 1:55 I showed up at her classroom door to see her playing with some My Little Ponies.

The teacher said, “Caroline, your mom is here.”

Caroline glanced up and saw me.

She stood up, screwed up her face in a mean face, stiffened her arms by her side, and didn’t move.

I smiled at her and said, “Caroline, it’s time to go.”

Thankfully, she walked over to me, still  holding the pony in her hand.

“It’s time to go so we need to leave the pony at school. You can come back tomorrow and play with it.”

Here is when she started to cry mumbling something about taking the pony home.

I reiterated that the pony needed to stay at school but she would be able to play with it again tomorrow.

One of the teachers leaned her head out of the door and said, “She can take it home with her.”

?????

WTF? Are you kidding me lady? We do NOT need to start the precedent of taking home toys everyday from school and let me tell you, one time in Caroline’s mind would mean being able to bring them home everyday.Plus, I have a dog who would likely eat every toy thus making preschool cost $8,000 when factoring in toy replacement fees.

I looked up at her, smiled, and said, “No, we need to leave the toys at school.”

“Caroline, it’s time to go home, I want you to leave the pony.”

“Noooooo.”

“I’m taking the pony out of your hand now, you can play with it tomorrow at school.”

I took the pony.

“I WASN’T FINISHED WITH THAT!      I STILL WANT THAT!” she screamed and I mean SCREAMED.

And with that, I grabbed her stuff and walked out the door while she continued to scream, “I WANT TO STAY. I DON’T WANT TO GO HOME.”

If pick up goes the same today, I am fully expecting a surprise visit from Child Protective Services at my door.

Remember when last year’s teacher described her as, “a pistol? ”

I can only imagine the adjectives being thrown around the break room now.

August Goals Updated

Posted on by

Add 2 items to Etsy Shop – Check! I added the Baby Gender Prediction Test and the Baby Guessing Cards!

Continue Cleaning Out the Game Closet with the Kids – Check! So excited we went through and organized. I put the games and puzzles appropriate for Caroline at a level she could get them while older games went up higher. So far, three weeks later, everything has been put away when taken out – and we’ve played Candy Land every single day since we cleaned.

Take Quick Trip to New Orleans – Check! We had a great  four day trip visiting my parents at the beginning of August. My kids think their Grampa has the best job ever – running a park that includes an amusement park!

Make Lasso for Wonder Woman Costume – Fail!

Make 3 Meals for the Freezer – Check! I made mounds of pasta and sauce one day so we have 3 meals of spaghetti bake waiting for us to eat up.

Go Through the Boys Clothes and Take Out What Doesn’t Fit – Check! A week before school started I set myself up on the floor next to their dresser and pulled out everything. What followed was a fairly entertaining fashion show of long sleeve shirts which were now way to short and pants which looked like waders. But since it will be hot here for awhile, I didn’t buy anything new for the boys to start school except for one pair of sneakers and some underwear.

Make Desk for the Boys Room – Check! My husband used a piece of wood we had in the garage and I found four desk legs at IKEA for $3.95 each so the new desk cost us just over $16.00! Now I’m planning on getting containers for art supplies, a lamp, and some shelves above the desk to finish out the space. My vote was to paint their room but it was vetoed so the builder beige stays.

Make Pillow for Guest Room – Fail!

Enjoy the Last Weeks of Summer – Check!

Hope you accomplished what you wanted to in August!

Step

Posted on by

We ventured out to a new pool in the area this week.

This pool had a wonderful kids area for Caroline so I was able to sit and relax in the water while watching her play on the water slide.

There were a few other moms watching their children go down the slide too.

We’d casually reply to one another, “great day,” “they’re certainly having fun,” and, “definitely ready for school to start.”

After Caroline had gone down the slide a few times she ran over to me and said, “You’re my stepmom.”

And with that she gave me a big hug and was off.

Now, I have an 8 inch c-section scar to dispute this statement but I think I was too stunned to argue at first.

Still processing what she told me, I glanced around at the other moms trying to determine if they had heard.

Caroline went down the slide and came running over to me again, “You’re my stepmom. I love you.”

What is this girl thinking?

When she came over a third time I said, “I am not your stepmom , I am your mommy.”

She ignored me and said, “You’re my stepmom.”

Desperately searching my brain for what she could be thinking I finally realized that it must be Disney’s fault. While reading Cinderella the other night with Caroline, I realized I was reading the word “stepmom” quite often.

Cinderella’s mean stepmom…Cinderella’s stepmom broke Cinderella’s dress..Cinderella’s stepmom locked her in her room.

What does it mean that Caroline is comparing me to the evil stepmom?

I’ll tell you what it means.

Caroline is going to be doing a lot more cooking and cleaning around here. The heck with all this playing and coloring.

She’s going to hope her fairy godmother visits her and helps her escape the evil clutches of this pool taking, ice cream giving, book reading, stepmom.

Finding the Funny

Fruit as a Dessert?

Posted on by

Fruit is not a dessert.

I repeat. Fruit is not a dessert.

I hate it when you are visiting someones house and they say, “For dessert, I got ice cream for the kids and some some water melon for the adults.”

First, the kids should get the fruit, they’re still growing. The only part of me growing is my rear and I’ll be the one to worry about that thank you.

Second, watermelon is NOT a dessert.

Chocolate. Toffee. Marshmellows. Cake. Frosting. Cookies.   Those are desserts!

But, in an effort to expand our horizons I decided to try a new dessert recipe which includes fruit.

Gasp! Horror!

I came across a recipe for a simple Blackberry Blueberry Pie and decided to give it a shot.

(unfortunately, I can’t find the original source so if you know it, tell me, and I’ll give proper credit)

Because of my hesitation for this kind of dessert, I decided to less the fruit in the recipe by one fourth.

After all, we don’t need to jump into crazy and implusive changes all at once!

The recipe is super simple and is mighty pretty when it’s all done.

The moment of truth came when it was time to taste this dessert.

I thought it was okay.

Fine. I’ll admit it was good.

Alright. Alright. It was GREAT! My husband and I loved it. I’ll have to admit that my vanilla ice cream ratio to blueberries was not equal BUT it was good and it is a fruit desert so that’s saying a lot from me.

The kids were less than thrilled with the dessert but considering two out of the three of them thought I was poisoning them and didn’t even try it, I’m still counting it as a win.

(and just for the record, those two pie haters love eating blueberries and blackberries right out of the container, but throw a little ice cream on there and it’s poison suddenly)

Since I have one more pie crust left I’m going to cut up some apples and follow the recipe using those while adding some cinnamon too.

While this dessert will never take the place of anything covered in chocolate in my mind, it was pretty tasty.

What about you? What’s your favorite dessert item to eat?

Potty Training – Done!

Posted on by

We are done potty training!

And by we I mean WE.

It was certainly a team effort made only possibly by Caroline finally deciding to GO in the potty all the time.

Plus a little trip I took.

And when did she decide to do this?

About 15 minutes after I boarded a plane to Chicago.

When I came back from my sisters’ shower I asked Derek how potty training had gone.

“No accidents. She just walked into the bathroom anytime she needed to and went.”

“You mean TODAY she pooped on the potty?”

“No, since the moment you left she went in the potty every time.”

Now, I’m not going to lie. While this was great news I was a bit annoyed that he hadn’t dealt with any dirty underwear issues. I mean, I had been nearly losing my mind with frustration FOR MONTHS.

Whoever said girls were easier than boys to potty train was lying. My boys were super simple compared to this stubborn little one.

But I have found the silver lining in my husband’s success.

From now on with every BIG issue with Caroline faces…I will be taking a trip.

I think my husband has proven himself worthy of solving the big issues.

Apparently, just his presence makes things happen.

Clothes shopping for high school….I’ll take a trip to San Diego.

The teenage girls are mean talk…I’ll take a trip to New York City, a trip to Charlotte, and a trip to Miami (those girls are mean after all and I bet she’ll need more than one talk with that).

Your curfew is earlier than your friends…I’ll take a trip to Nashville.

And for the really big issues?

Get that passport ready because we’re talking international trips.

Yes, this is a good plan I think.

After all, if my husband can solve the potty training issue with one trip to Chicago, imagine all he’s capable of solving if I’m gone for a week.

A Mary Poppins Carousel Cake

Posted on by

Several months ago Caroline had a Mary Poppins birthday party.

So for a Mary Poppins party we had to have the proper hat...

play a bean bag M.P. toss game…

ride wooden “carousel” horses…

play pin the bow tie on the penguin…

play in the cardboard chimneys…

and have a Mary Poppins cake.

I started out this cake as I do all cakes – from a box mix.

Frost the cake and set aside.

To create the carousel, I used cake dividers (not sure of their official name but they are placed in between cakes with multiple layers) and ribbon.

First, I attached the bottom of a piece of ribbon with hot glue.

I continued to do this until I had gone completely around the circle.

I then glued another cake divider onto the bottom in order to cover up with glued bottoms.

I then glued a piece of ribbon along the side in order to cover up the opening between the circles.

Next, I glued a candy stick wrapped in ribbon to the center of the top circle.

I then took each ribbon individually and glued it to the center post (candy stick).

I topped the whole thing off with a little white pom pom.

I then attached the “legs” to the structure.

The legs are candy sticks wrapped in ribbon.

For the horses I found a picture online that I liked and printed it out on card stock.

I then cut out the horse and glued it to yet another candy stick.

Three horses late and the cake was done.

Caroline seemed to like it although it’s honestly not one of my better cakes.

Now that she is about to be three and half I’ve finally shared everything from her party.

And if you had any doubt about next years party, Caroline started talking about it roughly 10 seconds after her last guest left.

 

HookingupwithHoH The 36th AVENUE

Keeping Up With Her Boys

Posted on by

Caroline had a break through moment this weekend.

As we were driving to a pool with my parents, the boys were excited to remember that this pool had a diving board. They discussed going off the board and what kind of dives they would be attempting.

Walking into the pool with Caroline, I casually mentioned, “Do you think you are going to go off the diving board.”

A resounding, “Yes,” was the answer.

If her boys were going on the diving board, then so was she.

And that’s all she did for the next 3 hours.

That is, besides the 35 minutes she spent eating the largest ice cream cone known to man.

Many people asked and we’re surprised when I said, “She’s three.”

And, yes, I’m absolutely thinking she’ll be ready for the 3 meter springboard in Rio 2016.

The Man, The Manager, & Grampa

Posted on by

My three year old has developed an odd little skill over the last two weeks.

Whenever I ask her to do something she does not want to do, she refers to,  “the man.”

 

For example,”Caroline, it’s time to leave the toy store and go home.”

“No, the man said we can’t leave.”

“Caroline, it’s time to take your shower.”

“No, the man said to not take a shower.”

 

After a week, things took a slight turn.

“Caroline, it’s time to get out of the pool.”

“No, the manager said we need to be in.”

“Caroline, you need to eat your tortilla.”

“No, Grampa says to not eat the tortilla.”

 

This is happening ALL OF THE TIME.

She’s either become a pathological liar or developed a questionable life skill.

I’m thinking of taking up this skill as well.

 

“Ma’m, I need you to move your car from the fire lane.”

“No, the man says I can’t.”

“Miss, could you please ask your daughter to stop taking the clothes off the shelf.”

“No, the manager said she could.”

“Mom, can you read me one more story tonight?”

“No, Grampa says I can’t.”

July Goals Revisited

Posted on by

Unbelievably, it’s already August, which means it’s time to update you on the progress of my July goals.

Add item to etsy shop – Check! I added the “All About Me” form for kids to fill out.

Clean Out Game Closet with Kids – Fail! We’ve worked out way through about 5% of the closet.

Bring Clothes to an Environmentally Friendly Dry Cleaner – Check! and WILL NEVER DO AGAIN! Umm, people. Do you know how much an environmentally friendly dry cleaner costs? I took one dress in to be cleaned and was stunned when the price came to $10.93. I seriously had three one dollar bills in my hand waiting to pay and had to dig through my wallet for more money.I am all for helping the environment but this is one area where I will not be switching.

Add Crown Moulding in the Guest Bathroom – Fail! I was wishing and hoping but sadly those by themself don’t put crown moulding up.

Go on a Date Night – Check! We actually went for a lunch date and went to IKEA and grocery shopping without the kids – amazing how fast you can accomplish both of these when there are only adults in the mix.

Create items for Amanda’s Shower – Check! I shared some decor from the party – (food flags), (felt garland), (cupcake decorations) with hopefully another crafty post soon to follow.

Make Wonder Woman Costume for Caroline – Three-Fourths of a Check! So far I’ve made the crown, the cuffs, spray painted her boots red, and bought the red shirt and blue skirt. All I need to complete the outfit is a little golden lasso.

Did you accomplish anything you wanted to in July?