Onward and Upward

Claire has gone to camp two more times, with ever better results. Yes, I know it's nothing new. Every kid handles transitions differently, but she's my kid, so I worry more.

Yesterday she was fine before we left the house. However on the 5 block walk to the school, she was insisting that I stay and read stories with her. I said that I would read two stories and then go, but I would come back after lunchtime. When the time came, she was a wretch - red-faced and sobbing. I had to hurry out of the room or she would have seen me crying.

Naturally, when I returned, she was happily playing, cheerful demeanor returned. She told me all about her morning, and Miss Stephanie concurred. Claire calmed down within a few minutes of my leaving, and had a fun time. They had circle time, played outside and did an art project, then had hamburgers and french fries for lunch.

Today, I couldn't take her, but Dave did. Same thing. When he got there to pick her up, she was so involved in what she was doing, she didn't even see him come in. Both Miss Stephanie and the assistant teacher, Miss Laura, are really pleased with how well she's adjusting. And, Dave and I are starting to think about how we can keep her there in the fall.

***

As for me, I had my 30 weeks checkup. All is well with The Boy. He's active, and driving me slowly batty with all the elbows, knees and other sundry body parts jabbing me. I had my first major bout of nesting yesterday. While Claire has done really well adjusting to her toddler bed, she's still not a good daytime sleeper, even when it's obvious to us she needs a nap. So as she's "winding down" there can be a lot of noise coming from her room. I found out yesterday, that she had been climbing up and standing on her bed, to reach into the top drawer of her dresser and pulling things out. Well, that's all well and good, except for one detail. When she got tall enough to pull things off the changing table, I moved everything to that top drawer.

So, I had to devise a rearrangement of the furniture in her room. I did that mentally yesterday, got out the tape measure and measured everything twice. Dave moved it for me afte lunch today since he was working from home. I have to say, it looks great!

My next project will be doing something similar in rearranging our bedroom to accomodate the co-sleeper, and to make room for the file cabinet that lives in Claire's room. When we moved here, we didn't really think about furniture placement in the bedrooms, but sort of slapped it down wherever it fit!

Character Study

I had a play date recently with one of the moms in the neighborhood and her kid, who is a few months younger than Claire.

While we were heading home from our outing, she and I got on the subject of potty-training. We were talking about methods, and eventually got on the subject of potty seats. Ring seat on the toilet? Potty chair on the floor? I hadn't gotten as far as telling her what we tried, when she said that she's been using the ring seat on the toilet, taking care to point out that it was a plain white one.

Then she mentioned a conversation on the subject with our another neighborhood mom. Mom #2 (to keep it clear, I hope) is looking into potties, and wants to get a ring seat decorated with characters, since she believes that her kid will probably like that better, the assumption being that it would then be easier to get the kid to use it.

"(My kid) hasn't been exposed to too many characters yet," Mom #1 explained. "What about Claire?"

I was thrown for a moment. Suddenly idle playground chit chat turned the corner into something slightly more fraught with meaning. Was she just asking what I did since my kid is the oldest one of the three toddlers we were discussing? Or, was she implying that her choice not to expose her kid to commercial characters was somehow a more valid parenting choice than Mom #2's.

To be honest, I hadn't given it too much thought. Claire likes watching Dora and Bobby-Builder. And I know she's more likely to finish the food in the bowl so she can find the Elmo at the bottom. I started off with a plain white ring seat on the toilet, and she HATED it with a fury, where she is willing to sit on the Elmo potty.

Most of her toys are generic toys, with a few TV friends thrown in. She has a Dora doll, but rarely plays with it. She loves her Sesame Street books and coloring books, but also loves her classic children's books too. And her new big-girl bed has Dora bedding, but we're not redecorating the room.

There is no moral high ground here, is there?
Exposing a kid is a completely individual choice to each family. Claire gets to watch TV, occasionally, as a reward, and she seems to love Dora, so there are a few Dora related things in the house now. She also has a Bob the Builder Doll and loves her Winnie the Pooh. I wouldn't refuse something on principle, but I know moms who do. And I know moms who've let their kids watch TV and have character-based toys from much earlier ages.

How do you draw the line?
Where do you draw the line, if you do?

..the rest of the week

I am happy to say that Claire ended her first week of camp in fine form. She cried less yesterday than she did on the first day, and today, only cried a bit (even if it was intense while I saw it) Her teacher (Miss Stephanie) said that not only did Claire enjoy Circle Time, she had a blast the whole morning, and that she is really a sweet and funny little girl! Hooray for progress!

I got very little done today. Grocery shopping. Whoo.
Yesterday, I ran an errand to the mall, and took another nap. What, I'm 7 months pregnant, given the opportunity, OF COURSE I'M GOING TO NAP!

*****

This pregnancy has had me craving comfort food in a major way. So today I indulged myself. Smothered Pork Chops. My mom used to make them when I was a kid, and I think I one-upped her with my version. For one thing, I don't remember her adding onion or garlic to the gravy. For another, there was butter.

So here goes - Smothered Pork Chops:

PART THE FIRST - PORK CHOPS
4 or 5 bone-in pork chops trimmed of visible fat (whatever comes in your package. I made five, so we can eat the leftovers another night.)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
oil for frying

Beat the egg and milk together in a bowl (I used one of those sandwich-size Ziplock containers)
dip the chops in the mixture and then coat with the breadcrumbs. Fry the chops in the oil until golden brown on both sides. Mine were fairly thin pieces of meat, so I was pretty sure they cooked through at this point. Put the chops aside for them moment to drain on a plate layered with a couple of paper towels.

PART THE SECOND - THE GRAVY
tablespoon of butter
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced, or you can be lazy like me and grate them directly into the pan when the time comes
2 cups white button mushrooms, sliced
2 cups chicken stock (I keep a container of stock starter around and used that)
house seasoning (which around here, is the Costco version of an organic, salt-free seasoning blend.)

Add the butter to the same pan where you just cooked the chops. (Take a look first, and adjust your butter accordingly, if there is a lot of oil left, use less butter...) Once the butter is melted, add the onions, and then the garlic. Sautee until translucent, then add the mushrooms. Continue sauteeing until the 'shrooms are starting to give up their liquid. Add the seasoning blend and the stock and bring to a boil. Allow to cook down until it's as thick as you like your gravy to be. I added a pinch of cornstarch to mine, since I was on a schedule. Return the chops to the pan, and allow them to come back to temperature. Of course, if you had thicker chops, you would just let them simmer in the gravy a bit longer to ensure they were cooked through.

Serve with whatever sides you like. We had tater tots and a green salad.

Wow - this is rough...

As I mentioned previously, Claire is going through a rough patch. As near as I can tell, she is working on her 2 year molars, plus a big developmental surge AND a lot of external change.

She got a new toddler bed and a baby cousin last week, AND started summer camp/playschool this morning.

So of course, she decided that waking up at 5:18 and screaming for two hours was the way to go. She did this yesterday too - full on kicking and screaming tantrum time.

But we got to camp (which is in a lovely private school a short walk from here) and got her stuff unpacked and left her reading a story at one of the cute little tables. Unfortunately, one of the things missing from the scenario was her little friend Nina, who I had thought would be in her group. Not there this morning. Could be a lot of things, but I hope she turns up. Nina's mom was supposed to be starting a job at the school around now too, and I hope that turned out OK.

Dave and I left and had a quiet morning. I took a little nap myself, and did some laundry. Then we left to go pick her up. We were a little late - showing up when we were told - 12:30. Clairey was the last kid there, sitting in the teacher's lap, drowzing and almost all the way asleep. Aparently, she'd been playing with the blocks just moments before sleep got the better of her.

Morning went as I expected - she cried through Circle Time, was iffy during playground time and LOVED the kiddie pool. She wasn't interested in lunch, but she hasn't been interested in food for a while, and they served ravioli with tomato sauce, which she hates.

We wheeled her home, crashed out in her stroller and have left her there for the afternoon. She woke up a little bit ago, but she fussed and then went back to sleep.

Did a little googling, and it's all entirely age appropriate and like everything else, shall pass in time. It's a combo of 2nd year molar teething combined with a big developmental leap that happens around now. Add to that going to camp for the first time WITHOUT MAMA, and the arrival of her new cousin last week, AND getting moved into a toddler bed. It's a lot for me to handle emotionally and I'm 37! (Of course, I am also pregnant, which is a whole other ball of wax.)

Two Months? Are you kidding?

Well, internet peoples. So, so sorry about that. I sort of lost track of time or something and haven't been lingering around these parts.

Let's see -

1. Yup - still pregnant. And pretty happy about it, although if over the winter, you'd reminded me about the hip pain so bad it made me cry earlier today AND the chafing in places I'd rather not bring up, AND the kicking of various body parts from the inside out, I might have been somewhat less gung-ho about being pregnant in July and August. However that ship has sailed, and I have new comfy sandals and a couple of cute dresses and skirts that are supposed to get me through the heat.

Whether they do, remains to be seen. Barring that, I have mastered the recipe for cold-brewed iced coffee and live a pleasant walking distance from two Baskin-Robbins, a Star*Bux AND a cute indie coffee place. Also, I will not be above taking Claire to splash in the sprinklers at the park when I have to.

2. Family is all doing well, and as of last Tuesday has grown by one more. My lovely brother and sister-in-law welcomed their second daughter into the world. Gah, she's adorable. Next time I get to hold something that little and sweet, it's gonna be my own sweet boy.

3. Claire has been growing by leaps and bounds. She's tall, like all the members of Dave's family. Like almost as tall as a three-year old. Also, she talks A LOT. What's that Mama, who's that? Narrating every waking moment of her life - sometimes making up her own songs about playing. We also transitioned her to a big-girl bed this week. She LOVES it. Of course, we made sure to make it extra lovable - with Dora sheets and the like. It's a toddler bed to start, which is perfect, since the room she's in now, she will eventually share with the boy in the crib. Nighttime in the bed has been pretty flawless the last two nights. Naptime, now there's another story. Not so much with the naps in the new bed. She's been becoming adamantly anti-nap for some time, as you know, and lately I'd been putting her in the crib and letting her play and talk to herself until she fell asleep, however long it too. Now with the bed, and being able to get up and around the room herself, it's A LOT HARDER. And of course that's not a good combo with me needing to rest a bit myself in the afternoons.

If you have any suggestions for getting a big girl to nap, please share them. She still needs to nap, since she's usually a big mess if she doesn't.

Further news in the big-girl department - she's starting summer camp this week. For three mornings a week, she will be hanging out at a local private school. I can't wait for her to love it. I know the transition will be rough. She's always been a mama's girl, and I've loved having the two years together we've had, but I know she's going to love school, she loves other kids, she loves art and water play and all the things her program includes. I just hope she doesn't cry the whole time!

Now, what about you? What have you been up to?

Results...

So, I survived "No Complaints Week 2009" with little repercussions. I did some complaining, but I was much more mindful of what I was voicing, and made sure that what I chose to speak up about was a legitimate problem, rather than just a peeve.

Made me feel better to think through my thoughts.
It's also taken me in a new direction, personally, which I will eventually go into once I figure more of it out. It's a rough patch for me, and I'm still working through how I feel about this change, so I'm reluctant to hash it out here. At least, so far.

One thing I have learned this week - Claire is NOT afraid to ask for help when she needs it.
Nope, not whatsoever!

"I NEED HELWP!" is a frequent refrain. She stops what she's doing and yelps out, whether she's trying to put on a hat that doesn't quite fit on her head, like my beret, or if she's trying to climb up on a play structure at the park.

I need help.
Can't we all benefit from just asking for what we need?

Day One...

Does complaining quietly in my head count?

Talking to myself?

Hope not -- since there is a lot of that going on today. At least I'm trying not to share my bile-ridden comments with the rest of the world!