AndThen…

Unnecessarily Snow Shoeing

February 28th, 2012 § Leave a Comment

We’ve been waiting and waiting for the chance to let Hiram try out his Christmas snow shoes. We finally just decided to let him stomp around on the inch of hard snow we have in the back yard. He didn’t seem to mind.

Say What? What’s Your Name?

February 27th, 2012 § Leave a Comment

Hiram and I were riding quietly in the car the other day when we had this conversation.

Hiram: Mama, what’s your name?

Me: My name is Hadley, but you should call me “mama.”

Hiram: What’s daddy’s name?

Me: Daddy’s name is Brad, but you should call him “daddy.”

It was quiet for a few minutes and then he said, “What’s Megan’s name?”

A story about static

February 24th, 2012 § Leave a Comment

I’m not sure if this is really Eldyn’s fault or if I am just projecting, but regardless, I am convinced he needs things a certain way in order to fall asleep. I think he needs:

To be swaddled
To be warm
To be full
To have his pacifier at least nearby
To have the radio blasting static on a specific a.m. frequency

As with our methods for soothing colic, these things must all occur simultaneously. They each play an important role in obtaining the holy grail of sleep. So. You can imagine my alarm when, after a particularly difficult day of red-faced crying (by both of us), the a.m. radio station sounded…wrong. It was higher pitched. More irritating. Less soothing. Not right. At all.

I started scanning other stations in search of something more suitable.

Too quiet.

Too high.

Too gravel-y.

Too much talking.

No.

No. No. No!

Naturally, I became hysterical. I ran into Hiram’s room and tried his radio. It sounded better. I unplugged everything else in his room before I found the right cord and finally managed to get the radio untangled from the rest of the stuff. I ran back to Eldyn’s room and plugged it in.

“What are you dooooing?” Hiram asked, wide-eyed.

“I’m trying to get Eldyn to sleep!” I screamed.

When I plugged the radio back in, the high pitch frequency was back. I started scanning again and that was how Brad found us. Huddled around both radios, scanning and scanning and scanning.

“Do something!” I screamed.

Brad took over for a few minutes and then said gravely, “There’s nothing I can do. We’re at the mercy of the signal.”

We were at the mercy of the signal!

Brad, bless his heart, did his best. He brought in another radio and found a station that sounded a little like the static we knew and loved.

Meanwhile, I had given up.

I sat there glumly. Rocking and rocking my sad baby. Rocking and rocking and not talking. Not talking because I knew the next thing out of my mouth was going to be mean. Rocking and listening to Brad’s static that just wasn’t good enough static.

And then Eldyn burped. And spit-up was dripping down my back on the inside of my shirt. And I realized everything is ridiculous.

The end.

Five Dollars

February 23rd, 2012 § Leave a Comment

For Christmas, Hiram got a $5 gift card to spend however he wanted. Last weekend, it was time to cash it in.

We weren’t sure if Hiram was too young to understand what was going on but, as usual, he proved he’s about 12 notches smarter than we give him credit for.

I started by explaining that the gift card was his money and he could buy whatever he wanted, as long as it was less than 5 dollars. Then we headed to the toy department where it seemed like everything was 20 bucks or more.

“How about this?”

“That costs too much money.”

“How about this?”

“You don’t have enough money for that.”

Just when I was starting to worry he was getting frustrated, we found a spot where everything was 5 dollars or less. Score! It was so nice to be able to tell him he could have anything he wanted from that whole section. He was leaning towards the recorder but changed his mind to a harmonica at the last second.

When it was time to pay, I almost cried. My big little boy was standing there, bravely holding out his gift card to the cashier.

“That will be $2.57 please. Would you like a bag?”

“Yes,” Hiram nodded.

My baby wanted a bag.

Hiram collected his bag and his change and asked for help opening the packaging before we even got out of the store. Aside from a brief episode of post-purchase regret– “I wanted the flute,” he said on the ride home– he’s been happy with his purchase.

He’s getting pretty good, too.

e-Lew Weekly: 2/22/12

February 22nd, 2012 § 1 Comment

Ten Weeks Old

: Thursday

: Friday = Bath day

: Saturday– Slept from 11-5! Will he ever do it again?

: Sunday

: Monday

: Tuesday

: Wednesday- Tummy Time!

RioTokyo!

February 21st, 2012 § Leave a Comment

A secret goal of mine was to transfer my RioTokyo blog over to WordPress while I was on maternity leave. This is the blog I wrote as an ongoing/final assignment during my semester in Japan during business school. It’s also what gave me the blogging bug.

http://riotokyo.wordpress.com/

Now I don’t need to worry about losing it to that fickle blogging program that used to be its home. RioTokyo, safe and sound on Wordpress. Ahhhh.

Splash!

February 20th, 2012 § Leave a Comment

Couldn’t resist posting a few of these pictures from Hiram’s latest photo shoot.

Hike’s Dictionary: Long Sleeves

February 17th, 2012 § 1 Comment

Long Sleeves - (noun) The part of a shirt that covers only the upper half of the arm.

The mild weather we’ve been having makes Hiram more particular about what kind of t-shirt he will wear. Which is fine, now that I’ve figured out that he classifies sleeves by how much of his arm is showing. Therefore:

Short sleeves = Long arms = Long sleeves

Long sleeves = Short arms = Short sleeves

Got that?

Be Mine, Valentine x 2

February 16th, 2012 § 1 Comment

When I lived in Japan, I learned about the Japanese Valentine’s Day tradition, which I totally heart.

On Feb. 14, all the girls who like a boy give him chocolate. But it’s not as simple as that. The trick is to give your heart throb some very nice chocolate because then, on March 14 (a.k.a. White Day) the boy picks the girl who gave him the best chocolate and gives her chocolate in return. Then they’re officially in love.

A dialogue in the sweet language of cocoa. Yum!

Brad and I adopted this tradition, which I think is fun because we get chocolate twice. Unless, of course, he gives chocolate to someone else on March 14. (This is not allowed, Bradly.) Plus, Brad makes it super easy on me by preferring a homemade chocolate bark recipe I learned in a Community Ed truffle making class. Here’s the recipe in case you want to try it. It’s very easy and a fun thing to do with kids too.

Ingredients:

Chocolate (chips, disks, bars, whatever you like best)
Toppings (nuts, dried fruit, candy cane pieces, etc. I always go to the snack section at Target and buy something super extravagant like Dark Chocolate Espresso trail mix)

Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and melt it. Zap it for 30 seconds at a time and stir after each session. It usually takes 3 or 4 times to get it all smooth.

Smear the chocolate on wax paper and have your toddler sprinkle on the toppings.

Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Give it to your husband. He will totally pick you.