ChasingToddlerMom's Weblog

All in a day’s work…or…play

chasingtoddlermom — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:40:09 +0000

My 4 year old son is currently grounded from the Wii and TV (who is this punishing, really?). So, his activity of choice: vacuuming. He’s currently vacuuming the couch cushions, while wearing 6 pairs of underwear and three pairs of socks, I might add. Forget the toys, Santa! Bring this kid some cleaning supplies!

Boys, boys, boys

chasingtoddlermom — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:47:19 +0000

My week last week consisted of a shopping trip to Park City that resulted in a trip to Insta Care for a toddler with a sprained ankle and a trip to the ER with the same toddler on an accidental overdose (took his brother’s medicine). Seriously, I’m just waiting for DCFS to show up on my doorstep! I didn’t mention that he had previously broken his collar bone and severely burned his hand in the same week last October. This must be a boy thing. No fear. None at all.

Also, I’m trying to decide…is it 5 times worse if your child wets his pants while wearing 5 pairs of underwear? Is it 10 times worse if he does it two days in a row?

Kid-Speak Part 3

chasingtoddlermom — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:41:01 +0000

Me: Chase, do you want to go to the zoo today?
Chase: Yeah! Cuz my tummy says, ” I wanna see amamals and ride trains!”

Kid-Speak Part 2

chasingtoddlermom — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 22:05:27 +0000

I’ve decided I need to keep track of all the funny, random, and sometimes downright bizarre things my kids say. Therefore, here is Kid-Speak!
I was in an accident a couple weeks ago with my kids in the backseat. Talk about traumatic. Chase was bawling in car and when the police officer went to calm him down, the only words he could mutter were, “no ticket.” So, maybe my tactic of telling him that if he takes off his seat belt I will get a ticket and go to jail has backfired. Chase has since turned into the biggest backseat driver ever! Yesterday he observed brake lights ahead of us on the freeway.
Chase: “Mommy! Are you pushing your stop button?!?! Don’t crash!”
Me: [hahaha] “Yes, I’m pushing the brake.”
Hey, a stop button would be nice! It would have saved me a lot of $$ and hassle a couple weeks ago!

Kid-Speak

chasingtoddlermom — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:16:00 +0000

Me: Chase, do you want to play outside or come in for a siesta?
Chase: I wanna’ play outside. ‘Cause I need exercise.
Me: That sounds like a great idea.
Chase: Yeah, ’cause I’m tired of playing inside. I need to get big muscles so I can show Jill.

Our Most Recent Adventures

chasingtoddlermom — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:52:55 +0000

Today we went to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy, UT. It’s very small in comparison to the Shedd Aquarium of my childhood, but it was so much fun! The kids really had a blast. It’s really geared toward little kids and toddlers. They even have an exhibit where the kids can pet stingrays! We ALL got a kick out of that! I’d say that outing is a definite winner for moms and kids along the Wasatch Front.

Last week, on the spur of the moment, we headed down to Thanksgiving Point Farm Country in Lehi, UT. We love that place! The kids had pony and wagon rides and had so much fun petting and feeding all the animals. Austen was particularly smitten with the goats – yelling “HI GOATS!” at the top of his lungs over and over! He also just about took a dive into the duck pond when I had my head turned. I grabbed him at the very last second! Here are some pics from that outing.

Where has the time gone?!

chasingtoddlermom — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 05:07:08 +0000

I’ve decided it’s high time that I start blogging again! I was browsing through my blog this past weekend and I couldn’t believe how long it has been! SO much has happened in the past year and a half! Maybe that’s why I haven’t been blogging! We’re busy as ever and ever striving for balance in our lives, but grateful for every hectic moment!

I can’t possibly do justice to re-capping the last year and a half, but some of the things that have been making my life so crazy and distracting me from this blog (in no particular order):

1. Austen (my baby!) is about to turn 2 in May – isn’t he supposed to be a newborn still? And Chase is 4 1/2!
2. We lost my father in law, Papa Gum, to cancer in Sept ’08. Chase still misses him terribly – as we all do.
3. We’ve made huge progress with our little Chase! Chase and I have been through so much OT, behavioral and play therapy, psychiatric appointments, sleep specialist appointments (not to forget his sleep study – aka my only post-30 all-nighter), neurology appointments, and on and on and on…I’m pretty sure I could write a book. Or at the very least I deserve some kind of honorary degree! But now we actually know what’s going on with him, we (somewhat) have a strategy, and he’s doing great!
4. I’ve changed jobs – going back to the edu vertical (am I insane???). I’m once again working with SavvyToddlerMom and loving it! We’ve been known to talk media strategy on the ellipticals!

I’m super excited to be back and blogging again, keeping track of all of our adventures. The weather is getting warmer and we’re already starting to come out of winter hibernation!

One of Those Days

chasingtoddlermom — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 05:54:33 +0000

UUUGH. That pretty much sums up my day today. I’m really posting just to vent. Sometimes it’s just therapeutic to see my rants in black and white.

This has just been one of those days! It started off with weighing myself. I don’t get what is going on with my body! My weight is just stuck. Then, my baby woke up ornery and stayed that way all day. I am trying to view it as a good reminder of how lucky I am that it’s not his permanent state of being (as it was for my colicky Little Ro’). I spent the morning averting and diffusing various tantrums and aggressive outbursts. Then I finally got out the door to Target (only 3 hours behind schedule). I have a cart FULL of groceries and two kids when it hits me. I don’t have a wallet!!! UGH. My dad ran to my rescue. Bless his heart, he had a cake in the oven and he ran down to swipe his credit card and hurry back to his cake.

Then, when my DH came home from work (early–YEA!) I handed him a crying baby and took off out the door to the gym. Aah–what a stress reliever that would be. Joke’s on me. The gym closed early for the state holiday today. UUUGH. I came home, got ready, and headed to my in-laws’ bbq. All went well until my Little Ro’ decided to beat his little cousin over the head with an outdoor light. Poor little girl has a huge bruise and dent in her forehead. What is that kid thinking?!?!?!?! I’m really stumped about what to do with him.

It probably doesn’t really sound that bad, but I’m exhausted–emotionally and physically. Basically all day I was feeling fat and overwhelmed by my children and my own forgetfulness. I think it’s time to go to bed and forget this day! TGIF tomorrow!

“Agoon” Day

chasingtoddlermom — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:23:47 +0000

Today we went to Lagoon, an amusement park about 15 minutes from our home. Little Ro’ has been going with my parents since last summer. They give him a season pass for Christmas and it’s their special outing. I decided to purchase a pass this summer and tag along. I’m so glad I did! All morning he kept telling me he was “all ready go Agoon!” I was pleasantly surprised at the number of toddler-appropriate rides and equally surprised at Little Ro’s independence to go on so many all by himself.

If I can use one word to describe my Little Ro’ it’s enthusiastic. He does everything with enthusiasm-from his tantrums to his happy moments. Watching him today was watching a little boy experience pure joy! Here are some pics from our trip. I’m looking forward to a lot more days at “Agoon” this summer.

Two of My New Favorite Things

chasingtoddlermom — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:26:37 +0000

And for my 3rd and final post of the day–I have two new favorite things definitely worthy of a blog post! This past week I have discovered the amazing power of white vinegar. I saw something on TV about using it to clean as a “green” option. I have to admit that I’m not totally into the “green” trend, but on a whim I decided to give it a try the other day. I happened to have a bottle sitting on my bathroom counter that I had been using to disinfect during a bout of thrush (that calls for another post on another day). So I poured a 50/50 vinegar/water mix into my ironing bottle.

WHALA! My life will never be the same! I am now convinced that there is nothing that white vinegar can’t clean! Sure, you and your home will smell a little like a salad for a while, but all of the harsh chemicals I usually use to clean can’t even come close to the cleaning power now contained in my ironing bottle. We have very hard water and it dissolves the mineral build-up and soap scum with ease. It also cleans mirrors, glass, the crud around faucets and that disgusting pink mold that grows in the crevices of our showers (yes, we all have it although no one wants to admit it). Plus, I can feel safe washing my kids’ tubs without exposing their skin to chemical residue. I am totally sold and highly recommend it. I’m so excited about it that I have cleaned my bathroom twice in the past week!

My second favorite discovery of the week is homemade popsicles. Or, as Little Ro’ calls them “focafocles.” We get some looks when he says that one, as you can imagine. Yesterday we got out the smoothie maker and blended up the following:

1 C fresh blueberries
1/2 can peaches (drain all but about 2T of the liquid)
2 6 oz containers vanilla yogurt

I bought some cute molds at Target so we filled them and had them for dessert after dinner. He had no idea it was a healthy snack and devoured his entire popsicle. I’ve decided this will have to become a regular activity and next time I’m going to spike it with some hidden veggies and/ or protein.