Best Hailey Quote from the Weekend...

“I’m sad because you’re making me crazy.”

Oh, child, it's only just the beginning. I will be making you crazy for many many years to come. HAHAHAHAHA (evil laugh).

Craig's List Wins and Losses

I’m trying to cope with the emotional blow of having my first Craig’s List failure. For someone who has lived by the CL for months, it’s sad to have to admit that I made a mistake. Last weekend I purchased an older model Ragazzi crib for $125. That’s a good price for that brand of crib, but the crib itself was not “white” as had been described in the ad. Instead, it was a very very blond wood. Having driven 20 miles to go get the stupid thing, I figured that we could just paint it. My poor mother (who has been in town for a week helping me) was charged with doing just that. Well, today she threw in the towel. The organic paint that we bought was just not covering on the finish. So, we’ve given up, and I’m searching for a new crib. All in all, I will probably end up spending more on the crib than I would have if I had simply purchased a cheaper new one. That makes me sad. But, here’s what makes me happy…

Changing table + baskets – Craig’s List = $40; New price = $150; Savings =$110

Bunk beds – Online price = $426; New price = $2,148; Savings = $1,722

Britax Car Seat – Craig’s List = $85; New price = $160; Savings = $75

Doll House + Furniture – Craig’s List = $50; New price = $125; Savings=$75

Crib Bedding – Craig’s List = $40; New price = $80; Savings = $40

Total Savings = $2,022

So, if I spend a little extra on a new crib, I think that I'll still come out ahead. I've already found two others that I like and will probably pick one up tonight. I'll just make sure that I like everything about it before I fork over the cash this time!!!

I Need a Nap; You Need a Nap

By the age of 4, 50% of children will give up their afternoon naps. By the age of 5, about 70% stop napping. Well, Hailey’s a bit ahead of the curve. She’s only 2 (and a half), and she’s given up her nap. I didn’t really realize it until the teachers at school started telling me that she will just lay on her mat for 2 hours every day with her eyes open. She plays with her hair, sings songs to herself, talks, etc, but does not sleep. I protested for a while that she was a fabulous nap taker at home, sometimes sleeping for 3 hours in the afternoon. Well, turns out I’m a big fat liar. She doesn’t necessarily sleep at home. She plays in her bed (now her bunk bed) until I come to get her. She used to sleep really well, and from time to time if she’s been up late, she might sleep a little. However, for the most part, she does not take naps.

Here’s where Mommy panic sets in. I’m not ready for her to give up her nap. That’s the only time on the weekends when I can really attack my “to do” list with reckless abandon. That’s my quiet time, my football time during the season, my Mommy time!!! Ugh. Ok. Stop panicking. The best approach in this situation is denial. She still takes naps. Yup. I’m going to continue to put her down for naps just like normal, if she sleeps fine, if she doesn’t sleep fine. Everyone needs some quiet time in the afternoon, even Mommy.

Chores and the Evil Parents Who Create Them

Ever since we found out that we were pregnant, we’ve tried to instill in Hailey a sense of chores and housework. We bought her a tall stool for the kitchen so that she can help cook, put away dishes, wash things, etc. Whenever I talk about her helping, I can’t stop myself from putting the word “help” in annoying little air quotes. Sometimes helping looks a lot like making a bigger mess. Sometimes it looks like only doing half of the job before being distracted, and sometimes it looks like Mama doing most of the actual work. So, you could say that we have a “helper” (if you include big air quotes and roll your eyes a little).

Still, she is getting much more independent, and she actually does help at times. For example, she often picks things up for me so that I don’t have to squish my belly trying to bend down. Picking things up for Mommy is an important chore at this stage in the game.

Anyway, I wanted to document some of the chores that she does around the house at the ripe old age of 2.5. And, no, we have not introduced the idea of an allowance so this is slave labor at this point….shhhhh don’t tell! Here's the list of things that she does when asked:

• Put away the clean silverware in the drawer;
• Feed the dog;
• Make tacos or pizza;
• Snap green beans or broccoli;
• Dispense water for dinner (we keep towels handy);
• Put dirty clothes in the hamper;
• Help fill the washing machine (excuse the black sock in with the whites, please);
• Put away her clean clothes (ok not yet, but this is coming shortly);
• Wipe up spills that she makes;
• Throws things in the garbage can (hopefully only when instructed);
• Put things in the recycle bins;
• Put (more like throw) her dishes in the sink after a meal; and
• Wipe any surface with a baby wipe when given the opportunity.

For the most part, she loves doing these things. If you have any other chores that she could do, please let me know. I’m sure that she’ll be in charge of many other things when Sophia comes.

Binky Capers...The Finale

I’m sure that you were on the edge of your seat all weekend wondering how the Binky Capers story would end. Well, let me tell you that our child is a champ! The night that we gave her the card from the Binky Fairy was the first night in her new bunk beds (pictures coming soon). She helped us round up all of the binkies in the house and put them in a Ziploc bag for Mommy to put on the porch (as per the Fairy’s detailed instructions). Then, we read a chapter of her Cindarella story, turned off the light, and she said “night night” as usual. Not another peep the rest of the night.

On Sunday morning when she woke up, she found a present and a big stuffed animal on the edge of her bed. She didn’t touch the present, but was giddy as a clam when I went in to wake her up. She was thrilled with the tea set that the binky fairy brought for her and played with it for a long time in the morning.

I would say that the whole thing was a huge success. She hasn’t asked for a binky since and even was brave enough to sleep on the top bunk last night. Of course, she didn’t take a nap on Sunday, but that’s a story for another blog.

Binky Capers

The bunk beds arrived tonight and are in great condition. I was really concerned about what the"damage" would be. I mean, what damage could possibly be worth the $1,500 that I saved by purchasing them as returned merchandise? Well, the inside bottom of one of the drawers is smashed to the point that we'll need to replace it. Nothing cosmetic at all. They look perfect from the outside. It's no problem. Now we just need mattresses.

So, we've been telling Hailey that when the bunk beds come, she would have to give up her binky because she would be a big girl sleeping in a big girl bed. The binky is like toddler crack. You give it to her, her eyes roll back in her head, and she gets all mellow. It's great for us as parents. She really only gets it when she's going to bed, but in an emergency, we can give it to her in the car or on the plane. Here's the problem...it's not good for her teeth and I'd rather sacrifice a few nights of sleep now rather than pay thousands of dollars in orthodontia bills later. Thus, the decision has been made - the binky must go.

How do you get rid of the binky with minimal pain and suffering? Well, according to my expert friends, you create binky fairy who writes the toddler a letter asking her to mail all of her binkies to the poor babies who don't have any. In exchange, the binky fairy brings the toddler a present and voila, no more binkies. Yeah, I don't really believe that it's going to work either, but I don't have any better ideas. So, off I go to decieve my child yet again.

Parent/Teacher Conference Day

I had Hailey’s first ever parent/teacher conference today. The assessment was very thorough and included 5 broad areas under which there were about a million minor little skills. The whole assessment is 10 pages single-spaced. Who knew that you were supposed to be able to do 10 pages worth of stuff by the time you're 2?!?!? The broad areas are large motor development, small motor development, cognitive development, language and literacy development, and social and emotional development. Here are some interesting tidbits about Hailey that come really as no surprise, but I’m putting them here for documentation purposes:

1. Hailey doesn’t like conflict and will walk away when children are rough-housing or fighting over toys;
2. If a child comes to take Hailey’s toy, she will give it up and go get another one of the same thing whenever possible;
3. She loves books and gets a check under everything related to speaking and communicating;
4. She is comfortable playing by herself;
5. Some days she will lie on her mat for 2 hours during naptime and never go to sleep (then where does she get the energy when she gets home???);
   
6. She knows her colors and shapes;
   
7. Despite the fact that she comes home and tells us that she was a bad listener and that her "ears don't work," the teacher has never actually had to say that to Hailey; and
8. She picks up on songs very quickly.

Things that Hailey will be working on in the next few weeks:

1. Learning the first and last name of everyone in her family;
2. Learning the letters that correspond to her name;
3. Working with scissors; and
4. Identifying numbers by sight.

PS: Check out the old school-style belly picture I posted on the last entry. I had to improvise last night, but I'll have Luke take something more official soon.

Time To Slow Down

I’m going to admit something that I hate to even consider…I think that I might need to slow down a bit. I guess that I thought that I was slowing down, but based on the burning, throbbing, shooting pain I have in my back today, perhaps I need to drop it down another notch. Slowing down and (gasp) relinquishing control is difficult for us Type A personalities, but I can’t keep making emergency trips to the chiropractor and I certainly don’t want to go in to pre-term labor. Perhaps I will make a sign for my bathroom mirror that reads “I am not Super Mom. I must take care of myself. I must let others help. I must sit down when I need to.”

Let the Guessing Begin!

I know that I have approximately 44 days to go (not that I'm counting), but it's probably about time for you to start guessing the actual birthdate and the eye color/hair color combo. Important facts to know before choosing:

1. Due Date = 3/11/09
2. With Hailey, I was 8 days late, and we will not induce for anything other than a dire physical emergency.
3. Luke has blue eyes, Hailey has hazelish brown eyes, and I have brown eyes
4. Despite my red hair, I am 94% Italian. Luke has a more complicated ancestral history which would requite a small dissertation to summarize.

Just so you know no one guessed Hailey’s birth date correctly, but Chris came the closest with his guess of 7/29/06. The only person who guessed her eye/hair color correctly was Nikki.

I have a calendar and a hair/eye color chart printed out and waiting for entries. I couldn’t quite figure a way to actually do this on the blog so we’ll have to do it old school style where you email me or write a comment with your guesses and I’ll post a picture of the final grid/calendar at the end.

Color Conundrum

If you haven’t guessed already, we are redoing Hailey’s room to give it more of a big girl feel and to accommodate Sophia. It’s a tricky balance really, but I think that we’re on the right track in terms of the furniture selection. Unfortunately, now we need to select a color for the room. I’ve asked Hailey several times what color she would like the room to be. Here are the two exchanges we’ve had on the subject.

Exchange #1

Mommy: “Hailey, what color would you like your room to be?”

Hailey: “Pink”

Mommy: “Ok, what’s another color that you would like your room to be?”
Hailey: “White”

Mommy: “If it couldn’t be pink or white, what color would you want it to be?”

Hailey: “Brown”

Exchange #2

Mommy: “Hailey, what color would you like your room to be?”

Hailey: “Pink”

Mommy: (without hesitation) “I’m sorry, Baby, but they don’t make pink paint.”

So, of course, the room is pink (well kinda). I'm not quite ready to unveil the entire color scheme, but I'm very excited about it and very thankful to have a creative/artistic husband!

Eat Like an Italian

To say that Italians like to eat would be to say that Hailey just likes her vitamins. No, Italians love to eat, and they take special pleasure in savoring their meals. I know this because I’m Italian, and I’ve eaten enough meals in Italy to know how long it can take to get through a typical dinner. It’s true. Each course is ordered and brought out separately with time to spare in between. Usually there are 4-6 courses, and the whole ordeal (I mean extravaganza) can last 2-4 hours. Of course, the time speeds by because you are enjoying lovely company and the most delicious food you’ve ever had in your whole life.

Hailey eats in a similar manner. For example, she may eat an entire bowl of spaghetti one noodle at a time. If she’s having salad, then each piece of lettuce must be dipped in salad dressing and eaten separately. Cherry tomatoes are quite possibly the most complicated because they require her to pick up the tomato with her hand and place it on the flat part of her fork then balance it there until it reaches her mouth. Should the tomato fall off, the procedure must start over from the beginning. Not surprisingly, peas undergo the same process, but there are obviously more of them, which only adds extra time as she balances each pea separately.

Of course, this whole eating process must be constantly interrupted by stories and anecdotes about anything and everything. The number of times that we must remind her to “keep eating” warrants us keeping a tape recorder at the table. Oh, forget it, Luke’s already building me an iPhone app so that I can just push the “keep eating” button. Or perhaps, I should take a clue from the Italians and enjoy spending that special time with my child every day. Now who is going to make me the delicious Italian food that makes it all worthwhile???

PS: Answer to Chinese Astrology Riddle – Snake = Alisa; Dog = Hailey; Tiger = Luke

"I'm Going to Love Him"

I had a friend from college, John Stilmar, over for dinner last night since he recently moved to Atlanta and his poor wife is stuck in DC. I started telling Hailey that we were having a guest over for dinner right when I picked her up from school. Somehow she deduced that this dinner guest was male (I don’t remember mentioning that specifically). Anyway, before John shows up, Hailey declares “Mama, there’s a boy coming over for dinner and I’m going to love him, and he’s going to sit in a big boy chair.” She repeated herself over and over again, and it was just the funniest thing because I never said that she was going to love him. I didn’t know what they would think of each other, but she, apparently, had already foreseen how the evening would go. When he did arrive, she was not shy at all (the way she often is). In fact, she proceeded to completely dazzle him with her witty conversation about Cinderella, Sophia, what happened at school that day, and so on. She had her own private audience, and there’s nothing that my child loves more than her own audience. What a little performer!

A Day for Hope

Today was a very important day in U.S. history with the inauguration of our first African American President, and a chance for us to see real change in Washington. Of course, I still had to go to work, but I was able to listen to the inauguration ceremonies on npr.org. I know that the country’s problems will not be solved in a week or a month or a year, but I am so grateful to have a new direction. I don’t know if the new President will always choose the right path. I’m sure that he will not. However, I do value President Obama’s vision, intellect, and conviction. Plus, I’m really thankful that we will have someone who (hopefully) will not be the laughing stock of the entire world, although Big G.W. did give us some hilarious moments. Click this link to laugh out loud (because we finally can).

Best Deal Ever OR Big Disappointment

Last night Hailey and I went shopping again for bunk beds. I picked out the ones that I was pretty sure we wanted in a catalog at a local store. They were having a 10% off sale, but the beds were still a lot of money. Of course, I had to go home and see if I could find them cheaper on the internet. They were actually more expensive online - well over $2,000, but as I’m inspecting the CSN Bunk Bed site, I see this little rectangle at the bottom of the screen that says “Purchase this return item now for $464.” What!?!?!? That’s 80% off. I immediately put it in my shopping cart. Then, the clock begins because you can only keep these return items in your cart for 30 minutes before they are released back into the wild. So, I’m calling Luke on the phone (he’s playing poker), and I’m running around the house getting my credit card and I’m trying to call the company to make sure I’m getting what I want. Finally, I just say “screw it” and buy the thing for $464 (no shipping/no tax). Did I just make a spontaneous purchase? Damn right I did for 80% off!!! Of course, first thing this morning, I called the company to be sure that everything was ok, and I think that it is. The representative said that they were loading it on the truck. Oh my gosh! Did I just pull off the greatest bargain of the century or will it get here and be a big disappointment or will it not get here at all? I guess we’ll know in 1-3 weeks.

Click Here to see what I think that they are going to look like.

The Relative Length of Eight Weeks

Consider this - eight weeks ago we were still eating the remnants of our Halloween candy and stores were packed with the first signs of Christmas. I barely looked pregnant, and Hailey was still talking about her Tinkerbell costume (alright, that’s not a good example because she’s still talking about it to this day). Ok. Hailey had just gotten over the initial excitement of being Tinkerbell for Halloween. The leaves were falling off our two trees and littering our front yard with yellow and brown hues. Fall was just barely upon us here in the South; pumpkins were out, Thanksgiving was near, and all was peaceful in the Hamilton house.

Now, think about this…eight weeks from now, we will have another human being to love and care for. We will have a crying, screaming, fussing infant in the house. We will be sleep deprived. We, as in me, will be back to being a moo-cow milk machine. We will have to manage the needs of two children. We may wonder what we were thinking.

Then again, we will also have another little girl to love. We will have someone to snuggle with who doesn’t push us away and demand her vitamin again. We will have another source of entertainment. We will have the joy of introducing her to our friends and family. We will have someone to use all of those baby clothes and items that we’ve been saving for two years. We will learn to know and love our second little one just as much as the first.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to return to my nesting. However long you think eight weeks is, I’ll tell you that it doesn’t seem like long enough to tackle all of my nesting projects. God help my husband and child who must deal with my neuroses (plural) over the next eight weeks. For them, it must seem like eternity.

Miracles of Modern Technology

When I was in college, my roommate Nikki and I would sit around for hours drawing out different ways to arrange our dorm room. Actually, I think that she did most of the drawings since I am drawingly challenged. If only we had had the advantages of modern software back then, we could have been uber-creative and mocked the whole room up in 3-D. Then, we could have walked through it like a virtual scale-model. Crazy!

Anyway, that’s pretty much what Luke and I (well mostly Luke) spent our weekend doing for Hailey and Sophia’s room. First, we went to a million different stores looking for a dresser and a crib. About half way through that excursion, we thought “why buy an expensive crib for Sophia when we know that the girls are going to have bunk beds eventually?” Then, we found bunk beds we loved with a beautiful matching dresser and it was a done deal, right? WRONG. Luke busted out his fancy room designing software, and when we got all the furniture in the room, I hated it. So, we came up with a bunch of alternative layouts and low and behold settled on one that I we both like. Unfortunately, it requires completely different components than any of our previous designs, which means that I had been looking for all the wrong stuff. Ugh! Will these girls ever have a suitable room? Will our caped-crusader ever feel settled? Will any of this get done in time for Sophia’s arrival? Stay tuned next time for more adventures of Nesting Girl and her side kick, Creatively Anal Boy!

Chinese Astrology Challenge

A friend of mine sent me the Chinese Astrology chart in anticipation of Sophia being born in the year of the ox. I’m not big into any type of astrology (much too logical for that), but I think that the descriptions of the animals associated with our birth years are very appropriate for Luke and I. Here’s the year of the ox for Sophia…

The Ox

Steady, honest, gentle and reliable. The Ox builds plans and ideas on firm ground.

I can live with that. Ok. Now, here’s three more. One is mine, one is Luke’s and one is Hailey’s. Can you guess which is which? I’ll give you a clue…it should be obvious. No cheating!

Snake

Be in control, are charming and captivating, calculating and conservative.

Tiger

Determined, enthusiastic, positive and powerful.

Dog

Honest, intelligent, friendly and sincere.

Logic Problem

Not to brag, but I’m really good at logic. I know this because on several standard logic tests – GRE Logic Section and my logic class final exam in college – I did quite well. So, I think that I can say that according to adult standards, I’m a logical person (or at least good at stupid logic problems).

Thus, you could imagine my surprise when I came to find out that by two-year-old standards, I’m completely illogical. Here’s how I came to understand how truly illogical I am in Hailey’s eyes:

Hailey wants a princess vitamin every time she sees the bottle sitting on the counter. The fact that I don’t just hide them should have been clue number one that I’m illogical. Still, we have gone through this same conversation at least 5 times a day…

Hailey: “Mommy, I want my vitamin”

Mommy: “No Hailey. You only can have 1 vitamin a day.”

Hailey: “Mommy, I want my vitamin”

Mommy: “You already had your vitamin today. You can have another one tomorrow.”

After having this conversation for 2 weeks, I finally devised a strategy. I would let her use her budding logic skills to figure out that she can’t have a vitamin. Here’s how I revised the conversation this week:

Hailey: “Mommy, I want my vitamin”

Mommy: “Hailey, how many vitamins are you allowed to have every day?”

Hailey: “Five”

Mommy: “No”

Hailey: “Two”

Mommy: “No”

Hailey: “One”
Mommy: “Yes. And how many vitamins have you had today?”
Hailey: “Six”

Mommy: “No”

Hailey: “Three”

Mommy: “No”

Hailey: “One”

Mommy: “Yes. So, how many more vitamins are you allowed to have?”

Hailey: “Three”

Mommy: “No”

Hailey: “Four”

Mommy: “No”

Hailey: “One”

Mommy: “No. You can have zero vitamins now because you’ve already had your one vitamin for the day.”

Here’s where it falls apart for me.

Hailey: “I want my zero vitamin, Mommy”

Nesting - Instinct or Obsession?

I really don’t remember having the nesting instinct as badly with Hailey. Maybe that’s because I was feeding my instinct with frequent trips to consignment sales. This time around I only have three major things that I need to purchase: 1) a white crib and dresser set; 2) a Britax carseat; and 3) a B.O.B. double stroller. Of course, I refuse to purchase any of these things new because that’s why God invented Craig’s List. Plus, the stroller is ridiculously expensive.

However, this brings me to a dilemma because I can’t really nest without having the dresser that I need to put all of Sophia’s little clothes in. Plus, we need major changes in Hailey’s room to accommodate another child and to make it more fun for a toddler. So, instead of actually nesting, I’m just being a fanatical Craig’s List stalker. Soon, I’ll be a consignment sale stalker, not because I actually need to buy anything, but because it might help to scratch the nesting itch. Oh, I’ve got it bad…real bad! I hope that our check book can keep up.

A Return to Normalcy

We're officially back to our own routine. It’s hard when we are traveling to maintain any semblance of normalcy for Hailey, and anyone who has had a toddler knows that routine is one of your best parental weapons. Still, when you’re traveling, routine gets thrown out the window. She really adjusted fairly well to being in Buffalo for a week and then in Nashville for four days, although her sleep schedule was completely disrupted. I always get a little nervous that any bad habits that she picked up while traveling (i.e. getting up in the middle of the night) will linger even after we are home. Yet, her first night back in her bed went remarkably well (she slept for 12 hours without waking up once). She also went back to school for the first time in 2 weeks this morning. I was expecting major crying and clinging fits, but she slid right into the routine with only minimal protests. I was quite impressed. She’s a resilient little critter! A critter who happens to look adorable in the new jumper that grandma made for her.