Skinned knees

So my daughter got her first skinned knee sometime yesterday, but noticed it last night, and it turned into an hour long sob-session and "ahhhhh, doh chachih" (don't touch it) until I finally tricked her into a bath and then her brother convinced her to get a bandage on it, and carefully un-wrapped it for her. After 2 hours of watching a movie, with intermitted whining, the crisis calmed.

It surprized me because we've always said she has such a high pain tolerance--maybe it's blood--only it didn't bleed. Scratch-a-phobic? Does that exist?

This is the same kid my husband calls "chop chop" because she was helping me cut meat and mistook my hand for the chicken breast...which leads me to where she probably got it...when she cut my hand it was on the knuckle and not too deep, but thinking about all the raw chicken juice all over my hands, and then the added pain of cleaning it out sent me into a "I don't feel so goo---was that a seizure?" Let's just say luckily Grandma was there. The doctor assured us it happens all the time, there's a fancy word for it like imabigbabyandcanthandleit shock. He said it usually happens when they tell big football players that they have to get a shot. So I guess what I am complaining about is I passed it on to my daughter--let's just hope we both get over it before she has to get stitches or brakes a bone! The good news is the chicken turned out okay!

Great Scott! 1000 foot rolls!!!

I thought I'd be a little economical so I tried the 1000 foot roll of Scott's toilet paper--Since I had a coupon it made it just a little cheaper than what I usually buy. Well, the coupon never got scanned, so I didn't end up saving myself that, and I have decided whoever "Scott" is, he obviously hasn't had any young kids at home for a while, or he never would have dreamt up such a crazy amount of unravelling on a single roll.
Advice to mothers: no matter how good the coupon or the sale, Think AGAIN! But, if you do find yourself rolling up the absurdly large roll for the 15th time, or adding to your massive wad under the bathroom sink that you just can't get yourself to throw away...you are not the only one. If you are about to pull out your hair if you see one more strip of white...here is a hint: (disclaimer:This may work once and only once,) but try turning on the radio and having the kids shove as much strewn out toilet paper and/or tiny tiny static clingy bits of toilet paper into a garbage can as they can before the song is over!

Training wheels

I've recently realized something about my son. He likes to be fully confident that he can master something before he will take the next step. That is probably why he was a late potty-trainer, but then when he finally decided he could handle it, he never had any accidents .

For Christmas we gave him a little bike we got second-hand and bought some training wheels for it. He has loved it, but has been panicked any time the training wheels came loose. He never let us raise them at all.

But since we've lived here he's been riding bikes with the neighbor kids a lot and came in one day and excitedly said, "Mom, Mom, I popped my wheel --Come see!"

A little confused I asked, "You mean you popped a wheely?"

"Oh yeah, Come see!"

I told him if he could pop wheelies, then it was time to take the training wheels off. So the next time one came loose, we practiced riding around the driveway once with just one training wheel, and then I took them off. Within minutes he was callling me to see what he could do.

Although you can't really tell from the video there is a significant slope from the man hole down to the paved road. In the video he rode from about half-way, but by the end of the night he was going down from the top!

Come See!

Playing House

Time flies when you're un-packing! It seems like we've only been here a couple of weeks, but the calendar is telling me elsewise. On the first Sunday we were here someone asked me what I would be doing the next day and I said, "I don't know, I guess just play house with the kids" and that is pretty much what it has felt like. It still feels like a vacation home in a lot of ways. But, we are having fun.

Mommy loves the dishwasher, the windows, the big shower, the DEEP comfortable tub, the walk-in pantry, the washer & dryer, the master bathroom, the laundry room, the garage, and office. Daddy likes everything mommy does, plus the big TV we got for a deal with the entertainment center, and the walk-in closet/changing room. The kids love having their own rooms, lots of new friends, a park accessible all day, the dirt hill in the back, and the "racing track" (they run laps from the front door through the front room, dining room and into the kitchen and then back pushing their doll strollers.)

It is fun to have a daughter, because she enjoys "playing house" and helping out a lot more than my son. She loves to help me load & unload the dishwasher and the dryer, and helps me wad-up clothes after their dry. Her job is to put the kitchen towels away. Sometimes she gets distracted and pulls out a "teao" (Which by the way is the same word she uses for cow--but in this case she is referring to a towel--or wash cloth) and wipes down everything in sight. She will sit on the counter for hours and "wash dishes" if I let her, but she ends up washing the cabinets, counters and floor in the process.

We got a little step-stool for the pantry, but she has claimed it as her own "ahn See" (translation--I want to see!) So she follows me around the kitchen while I make dinner repeating "ahn see, mommy, ahn see" pushing her stool and climbing up for the closest look. I keep reminding myself someday I will miss her eagerness to learn and help.