A little dark humor to brighten your day!

Johnson & Johnson Introduces 'Nothing But Tears' Shampoo To Toughen Up Newborns (click to read entire article)

"You'll notice a difference after just one use," said Michelle Baker, head of new product development. "Whether it's your newborn's more hardened appearance, the way he now approaches people with guarded skepticism, or just that look on his face that says, 'Oh wait, maybe life isn't all hugs and kisses and rainbows. Maybe I need to get my fucking act together.'"

-Aug 15 issue of the Onion.

6 months later...

OK, so I'm not so reliable in the blogging world. I can't believe it's been 6 months since I last updated, but many of you have started your own blogs, which has inspired me to get started again.

Let's play catch up. Ethan is 3 years old now. He's 41 1/2 inches tall and 41 lbs. I can't believe how big he is. He just keeps growing and growing. He's learning so much so fast and I think he will really love preschool once he starts in September. He will be attending school 3 days a week from 9am to 1pm. I'm not sure what Salla and I will do without him, but I'm super excited for him.

Salla is now 14 1/2 months. She is 26lbs and growing just as fast as Ethan did. She's walking (Yay!), practically running to keep up with her brother. She's not sleeping through the night yet (boo!), and still takes 2 (short) naps a day (who needs sleep anyway?) but in general her disposition has calmed down a bit since infancy. Don't get me wrong, she's fiesty, stubborn. and has quite the set of lungs when she's mad, but she seems to be enjoying life more these days.

This summer has been busy for us. Of course, we try to make it to the beach as much as we can. Ethan loves the water, Salla loves to get sandy. We celebrated Salla's first bithday and Ethan's 3rd birthday. Somehow I pulled off 2 great parties with tons of kids. Ethan took swim lessons and did fantastic for his first class experience. It was fun to sit on the side and watch him with the teachers and the other kids. He did great and passed "Level 1". Next we spent 2 weeks in MD/PA/VA in July. It was a looooooong drive up and back(18 hrs and an overnight hotel stay somewhere in the Carolinas), but better than dealing with flying (remind me to post about our trip in May when we managed to miss a flight out of Atlanta while we were waiting in the airport). We got to see lots of loved ones and friends we haven't seen in ages. Overall, the kids did great and everything went off with out a hitch. Since we've been back, I've been trying to keep us low key and back in routine. Ethan and Salla are playing a lot together, though I feel like a referee most of the time, but it's exciting to see them interacting so much more. He does get physical with her a lot, but most of the time she just laughs. I find myself saying this over and over, "If she's crying Ethan, it means she doesn't like it!". Now I just can't wait for the weather to cool off a bit so we can spend more time outside (it's Africa hot here)...

So that's where we are now. Thanks to everyone who's been keeping in touch and sending me their blogs! It feels good to be back:)

Inspiration...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yq0tMYPDJQ&feature=related

Favorite Books

We are taking advantage of our public library... Please share your favorites and your kids favorites!

A Funny Story

I'll begin this tale by explaining that both my husband and I, in the past, allowed Ethan to play in the driver's seat of the mini-van on many occasions. It provided us with ample time to put groceries away, make lunch, or change Salla's diaper etc...while knowing he was perfectly safe and occupied. Sure, most of the time when I would start the car afterwards, the blinker or wipers would turn on, or at worst, the volume would be turned way up on the radio. Never did I imagine the actual damage he could do...

Last Wednesday morning, after a typical trip to Walmart, Ethan asked if he could sit in "Mommy's seat" in the car. I said, "Sure! but only until I get the groceries put away, ok?". After about 10 minutes I finally told him it was time to get out. All seemed fine as usual and we went on with our day. Wednesday afternoon, I got the kids packed up and in the car to run some more errands and, lo and behold, the car won't start. With a dead battery, I was forced to find some other way to entertain the kids at home while maintaining my sanity for the rest of the evening.

That night, after kids were in bed and Seth was home, we jumped the van. I volunteered to take it for a spin to charge it up. The moment I turned the corner of our street, I started hearing something that sounded like loose change in the steering wheel. Crap. I glanced down at the coin tray. Empty. Heh, oops. I chuckled and thought about how I would break the news to Seth that our 2 year old might have used the steering wheel as a piggy bank. As I got on the highway and sped up to 45 mph. bam, the horn starts going nuts. BEEEEEEEEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEEEEP. Past houses, restaurants, churches, gas stations...All I could think was "oh dear God, make it stop!" I didn't know if I should stop or keep going. After I got several not so nice honks in return from fellow drivers I decided to pull into a gas station and call Seth. It stopped. It started again. It stopped again. I opened the door, it started again. People must have though I was on crack. I was thoroughly embarassed. Seth convinced me to drive home and so sweetly, did not laugh at me as he stayed on the phone to make sure I made it back OK. Thankfully, the coin(s) must have moved and the horn settled by the time I got back on the road. Once home, we pulled apart the steering wheel and shook out a dime. I think there must be more in there, but it no longer sounds like a change purse when I turn the wheel. And, Thank God, there has been no more horn incidents (though I'm still slightly paranoid when I start driving!).

So that's my amusing story for the week. And the moral of the story is: Don't underestimate the damage a 2 year old can do left to his own devices in a parked vehicle!

It's a good thing they are so darn cute!

Ok, So I've been too depressed to write. We had 4 perfectly good nap days after the whole climbing out of crib incident and I thought we were in the clear. Then Ethan decided nap time was play time and wreaked as much havoc in a child proofed room as possible. I actually caught him climbing up the drawers of his dresser!! Thank God Seth had already anchored it to the wall, but I was furious. I have NEVER yelled at Ethan like I did that afternoon and it scared the living daylights out of him (and me!). I knew I had done the right thing, but I have never seen that look on his face. I wanted him to fear the act of climbing, not of me! On the bright side, I did get a nap out of him after that. Then we had 5 no nap days in a row and Ethan was miserable, and I was miserable because I just can't let it go! He needs his naps. I finally got a short nap out him yesterday (after 3pm), but that's because I bribed him with a star on his new star chart and a trip to the ice cream store:) Ok, So I know I can't take him for ice cream every day, but I needed a way to get a star on that chart!! The idea is, if he earns 3 stars he gets a treat (like ice cream or a new hot wheels car). So I figure if I bribe him enough, 3 times, to get those 3 stars and he gets a car out of it or something better, than he'll get the idea. Hopefully...

To answer Kelly's question in her last comment, no we have not moved him to a big boy bed. We are thinking, since night time sleep is still no problem, that we don't want to throw another wrench in the system and screw that up too. Once we have nap time down again and he's proven himself a "big boy" than we will reward him with the upgrade. That, at least, is the current plan. As I should know by now, I don't have control over everything (or anything?!) and plans could easily change...

In the process of writing this post, we have gotten nap number 2 started. People, bribes really do work! He's getting a "treat" (i.e. candy) today and another star on his chart towards earning a new car. (I think he may have thought he'd get a car for this nap...oops, my bad!) Hopefully, I can explain that he needs just one more star for the car and then, just maybe, I won't have to bribe him everyday. Maybe the idea of the star chart will sink in and we'll be back on track!

That's all for now, time to rescue Salla from the excersaucer...

Oh Dear God,

The inevitable thing that I've been in denial of actually happening, has actually happened. Our 2 1/2 year old son has figured out that he can climb out of his crib on his own. It happened during nap time today. We had done our normal routine and he had been in there talking to himself for awhile, close to an hour, when my hubby heard a suspicious jingling sound coming from his room. He opened the door and, sure enough, there is Ethan rolling balls down a ramp on the floor. Oh crap. I am not ready yet! Sure, lots of people (many of my dear mommy friends) have already moved their little ones to big boy and girl beds. I was just hoping I could stretch him out a little longer, (at least until Salla stopped giving me sleep trouble), because I don't think I can handle two kids waking me up at night. So, needless to say, there was no nap to be had today, and I am truly fearful that there will be no more naps from here on. My husband thinks I'm being slightly irrational and overreactive, but with the combination of his new "rebellious" attitude and the recognition that he now has the option to get out of bed, I just can't see it turning out any other way. Thinking about the big picture, I suppose I could handle giving up naps if we got him to bed earlier at night. But I think I might actually have a break down if I start seeing his face next to my bed at 4am every night. This whole sleep deprivation thing is for the birds...