July 2008

Lost in Translation

July 24, 2008

Ever play the game Mad Gab? One team holds up a card with a gibberish phrase and the other team has to translate it. Translating what my two year old says is a lot like playing this game.

Case in point, last week my daughter was teasing my mom. My mom wanted her to call her Grandma and she knew this so she would call her everything but that. As they looked each other in the eye their charade went something like this…

Grandma: Hi Girlie Girl (Giggle giggle)

Daughter: Hi Mommy (Giggle giggle)

Grandma: Ok, Hi Papa (Giggle giggle)

Daughter: Hi Tommy (Giggle giggle)

Grandma: Hi Daddy (Giggle giggle)

Daughter: Hi (I have no idea how to type this phrase phonetically. I am going to let you listen to it because what she intended and what is sounded like are two very different things. Click on the little triangle to hear ).

Yea… poor Grandma heard “Hi Retard” and didn’t know what to say. I swear you could have heard a pin drop after that as ever single person in the room seemed to hear it and freeze.

I quickly translated…

She said, “Hi race car”

Daughter: Yea, Hi retard

Grandma and the rest of the room: Huge sigh of relief as poor Grandma thought her two year old grand daughter had called her a retard.

{ 13 comments }

He’s Got My Eyes

July 23, 2008

in Me to You

Since the day he was born, people have been telling me that my son looks like his Daddy. He’s been referred to as Scott 2.0 and Mini-Me. I don’t argue that there is no debating who his Daddy is, but I will say that he’s got my eyes.

Make that eye.

For photography.

Check out these pictures I took of my parents when I was in elementary school.

First we have my mom showing off her Christmas ear rings… at least I THINK that is my mom… it looks like her hands but I managed to cut off the top of her head. Then we have my Dad showing us what I assume is his birthday gift, can’t see it though. I did get a great shot of our wall though with my smiling Dad off to the side. Apparently when gifts were given, I got the privilege of holding the camera. Big Mistake. Clearly I struggled with framing the subject.

Now here is a photo my son took of his Mommy and Daddy at Christmas when he was 2 1/2. See the resemblance?

Yep, clearly he has his mothers eye.

Daddy takes way better pictures. Like the ones he took here at the zoo, framed beautifully, heads all in tack.

I think my son might be a protegy though… at 2 and 1/2 he was taking pictures on par with my photography at age 9 or 10…wait, maybe that means he is like his father!!

Check out We are THAT Family for more pictures and anecdotes from the past.

{ 14 comments }

Hide and Seek

July 23, 2008

in Circus Shots

We have a tradition at our house that we do every day when Daddy comes home. I don’t know exactly when or how it started, but as soon as Maggie (our dog) barks to let us know he’s home, my older two children dash and hide. Daddy then has to find them. I’m sure the words, "Daddy’s home…HIDE!" were just the words he longed to hear after a hard day of work, but he always plays along and looks "high and low" till he finds them and is greeting with smiles and giggles. My son has actually gotten quite good at hiding, but my daughter still has a lot to learn.

Hmmmm…..where could she be?

For more Wordless Wednesdays, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

{ 18 comments }

My Need for Goals

July 22, 2008

in Works For Me Wednesday

I didn’t used to be a procrastinator, but now that I have 3 kids, I tend to take care of the urgent first. This means that sometimes my really good plans get altered when real life sets in. I have found that if I want to tackle a large project or extra thing (extra being not laundry, groceries, cleaning, cooking… those necessities of life) I need to make a self-imposed deadline in order for it to happen. It needs its own "urgency" so to speak.

When my first born turned one I made a scrapbook of his first year. I finished it shortly before his first birthday so I was able to sit it out at his first birthday party for friends and family to skim through. 2 years later when my daughter was born, I made a similar book for her. As I sat down every night for a month working on it I told myself with my next child I will work a little each month so I don’t have such a monumental task in front of me with three kids vying for my attention at the same time. I really intended to work on it a little each month.

That’s not exactly how book number three happened. In fact, I didn’t even leave myself a month. I cropped the first picture only one week before her party and I spent every night last week working on her book. I finished the book at 3 am the night before her party. I knew that not many people would look at the book at the party but I also knew that if I didn’t sit down and finish it before her party, chances are she would be graduating high school with a half finished baby book. So,I cropped, taped, and laid out the pages of her book, driven by this self imposed deadline.

It worked! I now have a completed 45 spread baby book for my baby girl. I know without this goal, I’d be sitting with an empty book right now.

The only way I can make progress on "extracurriculars" is by setting goals and working to achieve them. Often times I give myself a monthly to do list. This approach works for me, it keeps me from getting defeated when life gets busy. For other tips that work for others, check out Rocks in My Dryer.

{ 12 comments }

Most Recent Quotes from Our House

July 22, 2008

in Darndest Things

In college I had some friends who had wipe off boards and would write up some funny or amusing phrase they’d over hear and it would stay on the "quote board" until the next memorable statement. Anyone else do this?

Well, I guess I am using this blog post as my quote board… here are a few memorable ones from the past several weeks.

While drinking some water one hot evening my son said to me, "Mom, soon this is going to be pee!"

When my son was sick last week I told him not to get too close to his sisters so they wouldn’t get his germs and get sick. When my middle child came over to him later in the day he told her, "You have to stay away, I have germs." to which she responded in a whiny voice, "I want germs… I WANT germs too!"

I looked over at my baby girl yesterday afternoon to find her standing on the toy box. This was not safe (since she is just learning to walk) so I took her down and every time she tried to climb up I told her no. She’d look up at me and mutter some unintelligible babble. But it was the same unintelligible babble each time… I swear to you it sounded like she said, "what’s up with that?" Her siblings were on the toy box (which they are now no longer allowed to do) and each time she went over to climb up, I’d say, "No Baby" to which she’d look up at me and mutter, "whutzupitat"

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Who Knew??

July 21, 2008

in Motherhood

Last week was a busy week around my house…with celebrating my birthday and preparing for my baby girl’s first birthday party, I didn’t have a lot of spare time left for reading the Internet. So, of course when I checked CNN.com to scan the headlines, I only had time for one article. Which article did this homebound mommy starved for information on life outside of the circus, click on?

‘It was like I was on Rollerblades,’ says Miss USA

Yes, aren’t you glad to know I take the time to read those articles that really matter?

For those of you that didn’t take time for such pressing issues, she fell on stage during the Miss Universe competition.

As I read the article, I couldn’t help but think, “Who knew I had so much in common with Miss USA? Never in a million years would I see myself in a beauty pageant. However, if I was in one, I am fairly certain I’d leave a similar impression. Think I’m exaggerating? Too hard on myself?

Reading about her moment in the spotlight instantly brought me back to a time when I was on stage in front of friends, family, and classmates…

I tripped on stage at my High School graduation, after accepting my diploma. I clearly remember the response of one of my classmates as I sat in my seat to straighten my hat and situate those cords you had to wear around your neck. “That was classic, Crystal!” And indeed it was… let’s just say I am not one who is remembered for her poise and grace.

That quick read last week in the middle of a day when I was busy cleaning house, washing puke off of myself and attempting to keep my sick son separated from his little sisters, totally made me smile… who knew this often clumsy, seldom dressed up, mommy of three shared something in common with Miss USA?

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