A baby Chloe-ism

Last night Chloe wanted to listen for and try to feel the baby growing in my ever-expanding tummy. She put her head on my belly and quietly expectantly listened.

I asked if she heard anything.

Chloe looked up quizzically and said, in all seriousness, "No, silly mommy! She can't talk yet!"

Chloe then proceeded to say goo-goo ga-ga loudly on my tummy. Presumably the baby understood that. :)

And yes, Chloe is CONVINCED that the baby is a girl. She'll either be very disappointed or elated in another few weeks!

Hope this little Chloe-ism delivers a smile to your face on this dreary fall Friday!

Balance

Now that we own a super fabulous wonderful mini-van (NEVER thought I'd use those words to describe my mom ride) I'm tempted. Tempted to over-schedule and throw the kids in the car and go places.

One of the best things about owning one car for our family was knowing that three days out of 5, me and the kids were forced to be home for lack of wheels.

Though at times being home 3 days was a bit stifling (especially on Wednesdays when Matt also taught an evening class), it was comforting to know we could plan on certain down days. Me and the kids would hang out in our jammies until late morning, get some cleaning and laundry done, and just chill out in general. The kids certainly seem to thrive on at-home time especially after a few busy days of driving.

So, now that I have my own set of wheels I have to decide on our weekly schedule. Originally, I wanted to maintain my 3 days of at home status. Some weeks that doesn't seem possible. Already, this week that plan is botched. I gave into the temptation and took the kids out errand-running on a usual at-home day.

As the holidays loom nearer and the December calendar fills up, I'm wondering how I'm going to maintain this schedule balance. (I know the magic word is "no". My problem isn't merely saying no to things but realizing that oft times it's ME who wants to do a particular activity and it's not in the best interest of the kids. That means I have to be self-less and consider their needs as more important than my own. Ouch.)

My goal is still to be at home for 3 days a week during the busy holiday season. Involving the kids in homemade Christmas gifts and letting them play in their home environment will be activity enough. I'm reminded of the wise words, "A child's work is his play". As I plan activities for us I'm struck by the fact that some activities usually aren't as beneficial to them as just plain old playing or shadowing me in daily tasks.

Of course there's a balance we need to strike for our family. If we were hermits all the time that wouldn't be helpful or healthy either (though my husband wouldn't offer any complaints).

How do you maintain a find the balance between over and under-scheduling?

Chloe and Clive hit the lanes

Thanks to a friend's awesomely fun birthday party today, Chloe and Clive experienced bowling for the first time ever!

Both the kiddos enjoyed it but Chloe more-so since she's older. Once she got the hang of it, she happily bounced out by herself (she insisted on doing it herself) and threw the ball. Loudly. And her tongue came out with the exertion necessary for each throw.

I think we've found a fun family activity for the cold winter months! :)

It's an absolutely gorgeous day here in northeast Ohio. After supper we're hitting a favorite park to enjoy the remaining lovely mild weather of fall.

How did you spend your Saturday?

A problem that sucks

In the last few months Chloe has developed a rather annoying habit.

She sucks.

On her shirts, her fingers, toys, spoons, zippers . . . anything that's nearby when the urge strikes goes into her mouth. Of course, it isn't a constant sucking. I've noticed that she sucks things when she's rather in active. When she's watching a video, riding in the car, or listening to music the sucking begins.

I guess there's nothing inherently wrong with her sucking habit but during this cold/flu season especially I'm more leary of the germs she's imbibing while sucking. And in general it seems like a dirty habit.

I've rebuked her several times and she always stops when I ask. But then I'll find her sucking again later. I'm guessing it's a comforting habit rather than a teething issue since she's old enough to be past all that jazz.

Besides asking her to stop when she's sucking on apparel, my recent strategy is to provide her with a clean sucking apparatus (usually a spoon or a straw). That way at least I know she's not getting any weird germs in her mouth.

Have any of you encountered this? Is it a normal phase for a 4+ year old? If you have seen this before, what strategies did you employ to deal with it?

I'm not stressing out about this. She could certainly have yuckier habits! (And she does. But eating boogers is a pretty normal thing and I'm being a strict booger policeman when I catch her in the act.)

Christmas photo and free cards

No, the picture at left is NOT our 2009 Horn family Christmas photo. It didn't make the cut for obvious reasons.

We usually get the kids' photo taken at a cheapy-cheap portrait place and slide a copy in with each Christmas card we send out. Then I hand-write a quick 2-3 sentence note in each card.

I know that sounds laborious (and believe me, it is when we're talking about 50+ cards) but Christmas correspondence is the only way we connect with extended family and friends. Many of Matt's aunts, uncles, and cousins I've never even met but we've formed a relationship through Christmas cards. There are older ladies in my extended family too that enjoy receiving our cards and pictures each year.

Knowing the immensity of the holiday card project, I had already unpacked my Christmas box and taken out the cards and stationery for this year. (I always buy the next year's stuff during the previous year's after Christmas clearance sales.) I've already crafted a general address list and bought return address labels (check out the swell deal on these at VistaPrint).

To my elated surprise, I came across this deal advertised by Freebies 4 Mom for FREE Christmas photo cards. ABSOLUTELY FREE including shipping!!! Heather, the author of Freebies 4 Mom, will post the free coupon code sometime on Monday.

In anticipation of the free photo card deal, I dressed everyone in coordinating red and green this morning for church. If we're going to get gussied up for a photo shoot, might as well do it when we're already getting dressed up!

Are we the only crazy family that goes through this process of card writing and sending? How many cards/letters do you send out ? Do you opt for a letter or traditional card?

Mini-van mama

As of today we are the owners of a new-to-us mini-van! (And also as of today, I can punctuate that statement with an honestly excited exclamation point!)

Baby numero tres is due in April so we knew our teensy weensy VW Jetta wasn't going to cut it much longer. Hence we began the research into used mini-vans in our extremely limited price range.

I have never been a mini-van gal. I always envisioned our expanding family cruising around in a sleek black Saab or Volvo station wagon or a maybe a fuel-economic red Mazda5.

But alas, a mini-van was the best and most practical choice for our family. So, I must swallow my pride and embrace my new identity as a mini-van mama. :)

Which leads me to a question . . . How many of you drive mini-vans? If you're not a mini-van mama, what wheels do you drive?

The princess and the pirate

I can hardly believe Halloween has come and gone already! Can we seriously be in the midst of November?!? I swear time has sped up now that I have two bambinos to chase after.

We had a smashing (pun intended) good time this year celebrating Halloween! We don't do anything spooky or scary mind you, just plain old innocent dressing-up-and-collecting-candy fun.

Our neighborhood began the candy fest at 6:00 p.m. and we were raring to go. Clive was obviously confused about what was happening but he quickly got the hang of it when he saw candy was involved. :) He then became a non-nonsense pirate and often snatched an extra piece or two at each house.

Chloe was tickled to trick-or-treat with her little girlfriend, Sarah. They were BOTH princesses and looked so cute holding hands and prancing from door to door. Showing the depth (or rather, the lack thereof) of the 4 year old mind, both Sarah and Chloe excitedly compared candy winnings after each house. :)

And Chloe displayed her utter girliness once again by opting NOT to be a pirate (for the past few months we've talked up matching pirate costumes for Chloe & Clive) at the last minute. She sat whimpering at the kitchen table and finally burst out sobbing, "Mommy, I don't want to be a pirate. I want to be something pretty!" So, the cinderella dress-up dress came out and we improvised on accessories. The princess hat consisted of stapled poster board and my wedding veil! It turned out to be a tad bit too tall and needed constant adjusting but it worked. Chloe especially enjoyed decorating the hat princess-style.

Since we were only out for 45 minutes, the kids netted a manageable amount of candy. Our house rule is 1 piece a day (not including mommy and daddy of course).

How were your Halloween festivities this year? What did your kids dress up as?