Some of you probably didn’t blink an eye when you read that title…she lives in Minnesota, surely the lakes are still frozen in May, are they not?

In fact, I had to put sunscreen on my son’s face this week, it was so hot and sunny! This is just a very, very belated post, the last one I intended to write before The Great Blogging Break of 2010. I’m hoping to get back in the groove here, but for now, here’s a little flashback to winter…

Before this outing, Tate had never actually been fishing, regular or ice fishing. He’d just heard about it, seen pictures of Dad’s fishing trips, etc. Fascinated with the idea, he would bring us empty paint rollers (because our basement is sooo organized, such items are lying about for him to find!), asking for “bait”. 

One sunny March afternoon, we decided the time was right. After Tate woke up from his nap, we told him we were going ice fishing. I pulled out snowpants and boots while he ran downstairs to find his “pole”. Here he is, riding out to the middle of the lake, ready to land a big one.

First came the excitement of seeing Dad drill holes with the auger, with a big whoosh of water as he reached the bottom of the ice layer. Then watching minnows swimming around in the bait bucket. Oh, the joy of a 2-year-old!

While Dad was busy getting the poles ready and looking for fish on the depth-finder, Tate kept himself quite happy with his paint roller dipped into the water. (No, I couldn’t convince him to keep his mittens on.)

After 20 minutes or so, the roller was finally dropped down to the bottom of the lake. Partly my fault; I should have thought to tie it to his wrist or something. But he couldn’t understand why we didn’t just get it back for him. Dad gave him a few lessons with a real pole, but they didn’t catch anything.

Following our “leave while you’re still having fun” strategy, we were just out for about an hour. Tate loved it, and hopefully this summer he’ll get to do some “catching”, not just “fishing”!

Tate is officially 2! If you ask him, though, he’s more likely to say that he’s 9 or 13, his favorite numbers of late.

Upon realizing that his birthday would fall during the Winter Olympics, I had a flashback to a jellybean-Olympic-rings cake my mom made when I was little. (I’m guessing ’84 in LA?) With my theme established, I started scouring the internet for other Olympic-related party ideas. Here’s what we ended up with:

• My brother downloaded the Olympic theme song to be playing as the guests arrived.
• The colors were red (for Team USA, with a nod to the Canadian host country) and silver, since it was a second birthday.
• Awesome 3-D paper snowflakes – awesome because of how great they looked, and also because I didn’t have to make them (a leftover Christmas decoration from the MagnetStreet office – thanks Rene’!). If you have older kids, though, it would be a fun craft.
• Chocolate gold medals for the kids – you can buy them here. Or for our cheapo version, use super glue to attach chocolate gold coins to plastic gold medals.

• Olympic Flag posters – Using Lindsey’s watercolor valentines as inspiration, Tate and I painted six half-sheets of posterboard, one in each of the ring colors*. The next day I traced around 2 different-sized plates, then cut out the ring shapes. A little glue stick under each ring, and we had a flag. Since there was plenty of painted paper, I made 3 flags to hang around the house.

• Tate helped to put a flag toothpick in each of the corn muffins. We had chicken chili and tater tot hotdish for lunch.

Some other fun ideas that I didn’t end up using:

• Assigning a different country to each family, asking them to come to the party dressed accordingly.
• Preparing an international menu that represents a variety of countries – ideas at Kids Birthday Idea Guide.
• Decorating with a banner of international flags. (I had great intentions of sewing these, but then remembered that I never finish sewing projects. Also decided not to pay for a plastic one online.)
• Sledding or skating activity – maybe we’ll do this in 4 or 8 years, when Tate is having parties with friends.

Unfortunately, my “inspiration piece” cake was less than spectacular. I started off feeling all chef-ly, slicing off the rounded top and frosting a base layer. Then I ran out of frosting and ended up putting the whole thing back into the pan so the unfrosted edges wouldn’t show. I added extra toothpick flags around the edges, as a distraction from the mess. The peanut M&M rings worked, at least!

The real highlight of dessert was the Olympic torch ice cream cones that my sister made. Earlier that morning, she filled the cones with vanilla ice cream and doused them in yellow and red sprinkles. We lined them up in a plastic container and put them back in the freezer.

In addition to being adorable, this strategy made the dessert-serving go quickly, since we weren’t scooping out ice cream on each plate. Everyone got to enjoy a cone while I was cutting the cake.

I’m a big fan of having a theme for parties – it makes the planning easier by providing a focus for the food, decorations, invitations, etc. What party themes have you used for your child’s birthday?

*For our Olympics, I went with “brown is the new black” because there was no black paint in the 10-pack of Crayola paints. And also because a standard bag of M&Ms has brown, not black candies (for the rings on our cake).

I’m finishing a post about Tate’s birthday party…here’s a sneak peak:

Yes, we still call him Tater Tot, even at the ripe old age of two. Yes, we live in Minnesota, home of the hotdish. Yes, his birthday is right in the midst of the Winter Olympics.

Stay tuned…

Help! We seem to struggling with separation anxiety – again!

We’ve gone through some rounds of this previously, but recently had been in the clear. It was to the point where Tate was saying “buh-bye” and literally pushing me out the door when his grandparents were here to babysit.

For the last couple of weeks, though, he has a screaming fit when we leave him at any type of child care or with a babysitter at our house. He’s also fighting sleep at night and naptime, whereas he used to go down easily. Now it’s all tears and pleading.

At first we thought it was just a power struggle as our almost-2-year old tries to assert himself. Then the early childhood coordinator at our church pointed out that separation anxiety was common at his age.

Hmm, suddenly I was having flashbacks to my child psychology class, with something about “differentiation of self” running through my mind. Of course I can’t find the textbook when I want it, but it had to do with the child realizing that they are separate from the mother. They love this independence but it also scares them. The same thing happens in the early teenage years and then again in the late teens/early twenties.

So after trying for an hour to get the tired boy down for a nap yesterday, I finally gave in and sang him to sleep in my bed with me. I realize that I’ll probably regret that decision, but I felt like he just wanted some reassurance and mommy time. Truth be told, I wish I could do it more often, without it forming a habit – a la the Baby Whisperer’s “accidental parenting“.

For the long term (starting today!) though, I’m looking for some expert advice. In his book Touchpoints, Dr. Brazelton recommends a routine of preparing the child for a separation, promising that mommy will return. Then when you’re reunited, remind him that you have indeed returned!

The Toddler Tamer gives two solutions to the problem: One is to never leave your child’s presence until the anxiety period is over. The other is to be loving but firm, leaving your child with trusted caregivers without lingering or providing extra comfort. Like Dr. Brazelton, he says to reinforce the event of your return so that it really sinks in for them.

An article at KidsHealth not only gives advice on toddler separation anxiety, but recommends several children’s books that deal with the topic. We’ll be looking for these at the library!

• The Good-Bye Book by Judith Viorst
• The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
• Even If I Spill My Milk? by Anna Grossnickle Hines

BabyCenter also gives some good advice on dealing with an anxious 2 year old. 

Has anyone else experienced separation anxiety with a toddler? How long did it last? (please say it wasn’t long!) How did you combat the problem?

Photo Courtesy:
MShades

Living in Minnesota, you’d think we would go sledding all the time. Actually, though, we only got around to it once last year, on Christmas Eve. My plans for Christmas sledding this year were foiled by Tate’s refusal to wear a hat or mittens. We gave it a second try this week, though, with success!

You’ll notice from the photo that I mean success in going sledding, not in convincing Tate to wear a hat. A hood is better than nothing, though, right?!

With this crazy winter of snowstorms in the South, there are probably some sledding newbies out there. Or maybe some of you Northerners haven’t been sledding with young children. Therefore, today I am offering…

TIPS FOR SLEDDING WITH A TODDLER

1. Wait for the weather to be reasonable – for MN I’d say 30 degrees or higher; the rest of you know your climate-hardiness.

2. Don’t go crazy bundling the kid up – if you have a warm coat, you don’t need a heavy sweater underneath it; use lighter layers to avoid sweating.

3. Choose a small hill. First to avoid the chance of your child freaking out on a longer, faster ride. Second, to minimize the walk back up for both of you!

4. Be safe! Make sure the path and the bottom of the hill are unobstructed by trees, lightposts, other kids, etc. Even on a small hill, you can get going pretty fast.

5. Keep the child on your lap, with your arms wrapped around so he/she feels secure.

6. THE MOST IMPORTANT, MORE THAN ALL THE OTHERS: Leave while you’re still having fun! Don’t push it to the bitter end, or even close to that. We only did three or four runs before heading home. On the way back to the car we talked about how fun sledding is, and I’m sure he’ll be ready for more next time.

I can’t take any credit for that last tip – it’s an old Works For Me Wednesday idea from Kristen that I’ve applied in many circumstances. What has worked, or not worked, on your family sledding adventures? What’s your favorite style of sled?

Notes from the Nest was featured this week at About.com – how fun!

I’ve come across About.com when searching for things online, but didn’t really know what it was. Then I met Linda Lowen at the BlogHer conference last summer – she writes for their Women’s Issues section. As I browsed around the site, I realized that they have paid contributors that write on a huge variety of issues – if you are a freelance writer that’s passionate about a specific topic, click here!

Coincidentally, Apryl, the writer for the Stay-At-Home Moms section, has a similar story to mine. She left her long-time job to stay at home with her son, but then started blogging for her former company. If you’re interested in having your SAHM blog featured at About.com, sign up here. You can also share a picture in their family photo gallery.

Speaking of family photos, here’s a great one! It reminds me of my parents’ attempt to capture my four siblings and I, when usually at least one of us was grumpy. Apparently this whole family was in the dumps!

Would you ever be bold enough to use a shot like this on your Christmas card? Allison at Mrs. Fussypants keeps it real – I love it!

PS – I’m not being compensated in any way by About.com. Just wanted to share the info and a good mommy blog link!

Photo Courtesy:
Awkward Family Photos

Interesting title, huh?

More interesting because my husband actually uttered these words to our almost-two-year-old son yesterday.

Okay, a little background…it was around 5:30 pm. I was trying to make supper and talk to my husband, both of which make Tate frustrated because they’re not completely focused on him. The last hours before bedtime are usually tougher anyway, so of course he was whining and asking to be held.

But he doesn’t just say “up” like most kids do; he says “huggy, huggy”. I don’t remember when he came up with this, but probably tried it once and realized how effectively it tugs at Mommy’s heartstrings.

My husband is generally very patient with our son, but that particular time he cut him off, saying “Tate, you don’t need a hug right now!”. I swooped down to pick up the poor kid and laughingly asked, “Did you hear what you just said?!”.

Later on, though, after Tate was in bed, we had a good parenting discussion. His concern is basically that our son has become our puppeteer. We’re catering every moment to what he wants: play with toys, sing a song, eat a snack, be held.

Being home with him full-time, I’m more guilty of this because frankly it makes my life easier. I’m not saying that he’s eating candy and watching movies all day long. But on any given day, I don’t really care whether we read books or play with play-doh first, so I let him call the shots. Likewise, I’m sick of throwing away perfectly good food, so I list lunch options until he agrees with something and then that’s what I prepare.

Certainly I know that I’ll end up with a monster if I honor his every whim. I really do say no to him sometimes! But I also admit that I could create some stronger boundaries. For example, he’s old enough to respect his parents’ right to have a conversation without throwing a fit because he’s being “ignored.”

My husband also pointed out then whenever a second child comes along, the world will no longer revolve around our firstborn. Tate will have to make some adjustments then. I’m concerned enough about sibling rivalry though; it would be great to start adjusting his expectations beforehand. 

Any suggestions for me? Do you just go with the flow on this or do you have specific areas where you make your kids toe the line just to maintain your authority? I’d especially like to hear from anyone with just one child, whether they’re still young or all grown up - how did you avoid a “the world revolves around me” mentality?

Photo Courtesy:
jenny8lee

On the third day of Christmas, our family sends to you…belated holiday cheer!

We’re taking our time, spreading out Christmas over the entire weekend. The historic amount of snow changed our plans a bit, so we just finally opened stockings this morning and are of course still eating cookies!

How was your Christmas? Did you do anything new or stick with the old traditions?

As I mentioned in my last post, we’ve been cooped up in the house because of Tate’s cold. To help both of us survive, I pulled out a bin of toys that have been packed away for several months. It’s part of the toy rotation plan that always gets stalled by my laziness – currently 3 of the 4 batches are upstairs because I never feel like sorting and packing up the old toys.

So Tate pulls out the Old MacDonald Little People tractor with glee, affirming the toy rotation theory. I am less gleeful. (Can I properly convey how the usually-annoying electronic singing and animal sound effects are even worse when the batteries are dying?!)

He starts saying something over and over (because he generally repeats a word until someone says it back to him, hopefully something he’ll outgrow before kindergarten). It sounds like “summer” and I’m thinking, “there’s no way you remember that we haven’t played with this toy since summer”. It takes several minutes for me to recognize that he’s saying “farmer”.

Really, Kara, you couldn’t pick up on the context clues there?! I wonder how many other times I’ve tried and tried to piece together what his word sounds like when I could instead just consider what he’s doing or holding.

I mean it’s one thing to over-analyze your child’s sleep problems or purchasing a stroller. That’s totally rational, right?

But then there’s the time that Tate’s pants had spots of water on them. I kept attributing it to him having crawled through some water on the floor or a leaky sippy cup. Then it occurred to me that I hadn’t changed his diaper in over seven hours and the super-absorbency was finally spent.

I tell these stories to my husband at the end of the day and he just looks at me and shakes his head. He’s probably mentally weighing day care options for our son. I’ll let him do the analysis on that one…

My favorite pregnancy euphemism is the Biblical description of Mary, ”great with child”. (Stick with me, this will come full circle so that my title makes sense!) I’m reminded of this because while Christmas is great with [a] child, decorating for Christmas is not-so-great with [a] child. Last year, with a baby crawling around, our Christmas decor was pretty minimal. Think barricaded mini-tree. Tate is now more trustworthy, with another year under his belt and a lucky discovery from a few weeks ago…

While at Target, I let him out of the cart to walk around and of course he was picking up every picture frame within reach. Without really thinking he’d understand, I said “Tate, look with your eyes, don’t touch with your fingers”. He sort of combined the two concepts, walking up to the shelves until he was close enough for his eyes to touch things.

It clicked enough thought that he sees the Christmas decorations at our house, says “eyes!”, and doesn’t pick them up. Fabulous!

When I first saw this upside-down tree at Ohdeedoh, I assumed that it was attached to the ceiling, the brainchild of someone with a curious baby.

Actually it’s sitting on the ground and is probably even more top-heavy and dangerous than a regular tree, but I like the concept!

For the era of young grandchildren, my mom found a small tree that hangs up flat against the wall. 

Do you childproof your Christmas tree or other holiday decorations?