Play-Learn-Grow-Repeat

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
I don’t know about you, but I am shocked to find that August is fully upon us! I feel like school just got out. And that it was just the fourth of July. And that camp just started. And here we are, about a month away from school starting!

The kids have been enjoying their summer. They are doing great with their summer reading. They’ve had fun play dates and trip. They are getting a ton of time in the pool and with water toys. They love when we fire up the grill many evenings.

I hate to admit it, but I am stressed out thinking about how fast the summer has gone so far, and that September is right around the corner. I know that’s the wrong attitude! I should model positivity and appreciation to my children; that every day is a blessing and we should enjoy it for what it is. Yet, I am still bracing myself for when I feel that first Fall chill in the air.

Enjoy your summery week!

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
I am not proud to let you know about this, but Hudson is obsessed with lollipops. He asks for them every day. I am even less proud to admit that I do indulge him almost daily.

But here’s the thing. He only goes in for a few licks at a time. Then he forgets about it. He hands it to a grown-up to deal with, and might ask for one again six hours later.

I don’t think it’s such a big deal to indulge him and prevent a tantrum. Especially since he doesn’t get them at meal times, he only has a bit, and he still brushes pretty religiously.

I hope I’m not setting him up for a bad habit or getting him hooked on high fructose corn syrup. Truthfully, I have been slowly scaling him back. I also think he will cut down more when he starts school in the fall. These days, it’s like he walks around the kitchen, remembers that they’re there somewhere (we keep hiding them) and it occurs to him to ask for one. Hopefully a new routine will break the pattern.

Hope you have a lovely (and sweet!) week.

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
As we do every summer, we recently set up an inflatable pool in the yard. The kids love to swim in it, even though Haley still complains that it’s not a “digged up pool.” This year, Hudson is really getting in on the action. He’s a lot more comfortable in the water than he was a year ago. With the hot temperatures we’ve been experiencing, the opportunity to cool down in the pool has been invaluable to the kids’ happiness and my sanity!

I have to admit that I should take a cue from my kids and get into the fun myself. While I always supervise them carefully (or make sure another grown-up is doing so), I haven’t gone in with them much. Either there’s something I need to take care of, or I don’t want to have to re-do my hair, etc. I always have an excuse. But I should probably let loose a time or too and splash around with the little ones. Those are the memories they will always cherish.

I’m resolved to do better this week. Hopefully I enjoy some water fun, and you do too!

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
Today Haley starts her first day of camp. It feels like just yesterday Haley was a little baby in my arms. Now she’s a big girl ready to head off to days of outdoor recreational fun. It’s really amazing. I’m so happy for her that’s she’s growing up happy and healthy and eager to explore her world. Yet her burgeoning independence is bittersweet for me.

Going to camp, in my view, is a decidedly “big kid” activity. I worry about how well Haley will handle it. She still gets nervous to leave Mom at times, but I think she will adjust quickly. Many kids from her school will be there, and I think she will have fun getting to know children her age who attend other schools in the district. Besides, these past few weeks without structured activities have been difficult on Haley, her brother, and me. She’s simply at the age where she needs time outside of the house.

I attended the same camp as a kid, and I have great memories of my times there. I also was a counselor there, so I have a good feel for what they’re all about. There are tons of fun activities and time for free play. Not to mention the daily water activities and “fun days” such as bubble day and stuffed animal day. We’ll see how Haley takes to it. Hopefully, it won’t take too long before we have a happy camper.

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
Independence Day is upon us! And even though we haven’t officially gotten there yet, I think most of us got a jump-start on the holiday over the weekend. Over at our household, there’s been grilling, water fun, and even s’mores. It’s so fun to see Haley and Hudson get into the holiday spirit.

Haley is also nearly old enough to understand what it means for the fourth of July to be “America’s birthday.” She knows a little about the Revolution and is so pleased that “the Americans defeated the British!” I think this year, we’ll be able to delve a little deeper into history, and she can learn what the Declaration of Independence is all about.

Hopefully Haley will be interested in learning more about our great country. Maybe she’ll just want some s’mores. Either way, she’ll continue to see that this is a time of year when we celebrate our country and our freedom. Eventually she’ll know why, and she can always be proud that she did.

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
For some reason, Haley’s school did not have a “Moving Up” ceremony for Kindergarten, nor did her class have any sort of celebration. It was more like, “Good job, kid! Have fun in first grade.” I’m not a huge fan of unnecessary pomp and circumstance, but Haley’s end-of-year was anticlimactic, even for me.

Luckily, some of the moms from school decided that we needed to celebrate and so we did. After one of Haley’s last days of school, we went to the park with her playmates and their siblings and ordered pizza. The kids were so excited that school was over (in the middle of the day!), they got to have a big play date in the park, and to have the treat of not only eating lunch together, outside, but to have pizza for lunch! This is a big deal for the elementary school set.

Haley is headed to a community camp this summer, but I’m happy that she has a few weeks off beforehand. I look forward to doing pretty much nothing. In this over-scheduled world, sometimes a kid just needs to be a kid.

Happy Summer!

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
I pretty much defy you—especially if your little one is not yet potty trained—to leave the house, even for a quick trip, without a bag full of “stuf.f” The Boy Scout motto “Be Prepared” certainly applies to parenthood. You never know what you might need when you’re away from the safety of home. As nice as it would be to slip your phone into your back pocket and grab your keys, if your kids are coming with you, so are supplies.

There are certain items that I absolutely must have when I’m out with Hudson. Obviously, diapers and wipes are at the top of this list. I’ve learned that even if I go out with just Haley, it’s smart to keep those wipes in there because you never know what a kid of any age will get into. Heck, they’re great for adults, too!

Even if Hudson has had a nice meal and a cup of milk before our outing, I always grab a bottle of water and a snack, such as a granola bar. Hunger and thirst are major culprits when it comes to toddler breakdowns, so you have to be prepared. I keep a few fun toys in there for the same reason.

And I may get a few judgmental stares, but there have absolutely have been times that I’ve fired up a video on my phone or a tablet and shoved it in front of my kids. Sometimes, you need to speak with another adult or take care of something important, and you just have to stop a screaming, interfering child. I’m here to tell you: do what you need to do!

What are your must-have diaper bag items?

There are days when our young children wake up early, run around like crazy, skip their naps, and simply crash after dinner, just before you can get them in the tub. This time of year, they’re snoring, utterly done with the day, when it’s still bright light out. This is what I call the jackpot. It’s sort of a reward for being up since the crack of dawn and going strong for hours. Sometimes it seems like there’s not enough caffeine in the world. But we manage. And when they succumb to their sleepiness, it feels like a major victory.

But for every time bedtime goes down easily, there are nights when they refuse to give up the good fight. When you look at the clock and look and them and think, “how?” How is this possible? How are they not passed out? It’s not something that people without children easily understand but it’s so true: sometimes children are too tired to go to sleep. When they are infants, you know how cranky they can be if you miss their “sleepy windows.” But the pattern persists well into the toddler years.

I do think the light evening hours exacerbate the issue. Often when I’m trying to get Hudson down he will stare at the window and say, “it’s not night.” Very hard to try to convince a two year old to ignore daylight savings time and get some rest!

Fortunately, all kids eventually go to sleep. Hopefully there’s even a small window within which all of your children are sleeping at the same time and you can relax enough to sleep, too!

Have a restful week, everyone!

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
My son is hardly the first kid in history who is obsessed with butter. I was raised hearing the Hindu myth of Lord Krishna stealing butter from his mother as a chubby toddler. So apparently this obsession has been around for a long time! I’ve heard of other little kids who can’t resist the creamy goodness. Hudson would eat sticks of the stuff if we gave him the chance. Whenever I take the butter out for cooking, or toast, or whatever, two seconds later there is a little person at my feet, imploring, “I wan but-ter”.

I do indulge Hudson in a pat here and there. But as we all know, butter isn’t good for you in large amounts. Babies need full fat dairy for brain development, but we’re way past that! Now we’ve got to start considering cholesterol, not to mention simply forming bad food habits.

Obesity in general is a considerable problem, and we tend to attribute processed food and added high fructose corn syrup as the main culprit. It is true, our brains and tastes are influenced by being fed these things our whole lives, and it is not healthy. But when I look for Hudson reaching for the butter, I know that it is human nature to crave that kind of fat. Of course, you can be overweight on a whole foods diet, too. Making healthy choices involves paying attention to various factors—processing, packaging, portion control, sugar content, preservatives, additives—and unfortunately, cutting down on the saturated fat.

Have a healthy week!

From Neetika:
Some days, Haley is not feeling bath time. I led her slide sometimes. However, there are moments when she simply needs to get clean, whether she’s feeling it or not. Examples include her recent field trip to the farm, outings to the pool or beach, or just a hot day with lots of outdoor activity. One strategy I often employ in these situations is to let Haley know that she can always take a shower, which is what big girls do.

Haley takes a shower in a different bathroom from the one she usually bathes in. Right there, that’s a thrill. It has all different soaps and shampoos, most of which are Mommy’s. Haley loves using Mommy’s beauty stuff. And there’s something about standing under a stream of hot water that’s so novel to her and makes her feel grown up.

I still like to be present to give Haley’s hair a good wash. And I think she generally needs supervision when washing. But I can imagine her doing it all on her own pretty soon. A small but significant way my little girl is becoming a big kid.