Archive for the ‘toddler business’ Category

The Week in Randoms

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Posted 18 May 2012 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, I am awesome, other people are morons, paparazzi, toddler business

Monday:

 

Wednesday:


So I pulled up to an ATM to get some cash money millionaires for a soda or something and there was a card & receipt still in the machine, which was beeping wildly at their owner, who clearly didn’t give a shit about their dollars and cents. So being the patron saint that I am, I pulled both out, went about my ATM business and then brought the card & receipt upstairs to the bank from which they were issued. While I was walking, I glanced at the receipt at the “available balance” on the account.

$749,960.10

I literally had to count the decimal places to make sure I was seeing it right. My first thought was OMG WE’RE BUYING A NEW HOUSE, but then I remembered most home sellers don’t take check cards, so I bailed on that. Then I remembered my buddy karma, and continued onto the bank, where the teller choked on his gum when I pointed it out to him. I left to buy my soda, and bought a lotto ticket as well, hoping for instant karma. I’m just checking my numbers now…annndddd I won $1. YOU STILL OWE ME, KARMA.

Thursday:

Friday:

I believe in Fairies.

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Posted 15 May 2012 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, motherhood, paparazzi, The Hubs, toddler business

This past weekend, we had our second visit from a fairy for Abbers. This time, it was the Binkie Fairy. (The Bottle Fairy made an appearance a little while ago.)

This is something we’ve been discussing for a while. It was more difficult of a decision to make than the bottles. This (aside from diapers which I will not miss at all) felt like her last tie to babyhood. She still used it for naps, bedtime, car rides and general soothing. And MY GOD did it ever work. With her binkie and blankie both in use, her eyes would almost just shut in a Pavlovian response, unable to stay open. It made her so happy.

However, she’s getting to the age where I just didn’t want to see her tied to the binkie anymore. God forbid we leave the house without one (and it happened on occasion) and it’s meltdown city. Not to mention, she more times than not just held it in her mouth like a cigar, and one of her front teeth is showing the real damage – it’s crooked and seems like it just isn’t coming in all the way.

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The stogie hold. She's got it down to a science.

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The crooked tooth. "Shrek teeth" as Uncle Ernie calls them.

So the decision was made. Again, we would plan it for a Friday night. (You know, so we could potentially not sleep all weekend while she cried a sadly, lonely cry for her “binkie-bink.”) We could collect all the binkies from the house, and put them in a bag. This time leaving them at the back door. Then, in the middle of the night, the Binkie Fairy would come and collect all the binkies to give to new babies who needed them (totally gross and not hygienic at all) and in turn, she would leave a present for Abby. Or he. Who am I to judge.

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The binks, the balloons from the Binkie Fairy and leaving it by the back door.

The hubs and I decided this gift needed to be huge. This is a big deal and probably difficult to give up cold turkey, so it needed to be something she couldn’t just throw at us yelling “GIVE ME MY BINKIE-BINK! I DON’T LIKE ANYTHING!” With spring in full bloom and only an empty, unused dog kennel as a totally unsafe plaything in the backyard, we opted for a playhouse. And then grabbed a slide as a second gift.

When settling in for the night, she did pretty well. She was exhausted, so it went much easier than expected, although right before falling asleep, she was pretty much crying, saying “I don’t want any presents! I want binkie-bink!” Like I said though, fell asleep anyway.

The next morning, the first words out of her mouth were “I don’t want presents.” Typical. So, the hubs and I took turns getting up and arranging things in a pretty manner, and then I came into our bedroom, where Abby and the hubs were laying.

“Abby – I just looked. The binkie fairy came. You’re going to be so excited!”

She finally got up, and saw a couple smaller things we got her, a bubble gun and a new box of Aden + Anais swaddle blankets – her blankie of choice. Then we showed her outside. She went down the steps in her little pajamas yelling “A PLAYHOUSE! SHE BROUGHT ME A PLAYHOUSE!” SO stoked.

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The happy lady. If you look hard enough you can see our neighbors dried up Christmas tree.

We spent the morning putting everything together. And spent the whole weekend binkie free. She struggles at nighttime, naptime, or when she’s exhausted and wants to soothe herself. She gets by though.

I consider us lucky. She’s getting a cold, and this is usually when she wants it the most, but she’s been okay. I know not everyone will have the same, low-key results we did. (We still hear “I don’t WANT my clubhouse, momma. I don’t want ANYTHING!” on occasion. So we’re not whine-free.)

Best decision we’ve made in a while.

Has anyone else tried this tactic? I would love to hear more results! Or let me know if you decide to try this!

 

I can FINALLY spill the beans.

4 Comments
Posted 31 Jan 2012 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category other people are awesome, RAD, The Hubs, toddler business

No. I’m not pregnant. But thanks for assuming!

I WON A TRIP TO TURKS & CAICOS AT BLOGHER! I know, that was so 2011. Here’s the story:

While at BlogHer, Playskool had a booth set up with the steps to Sesame Street and a contest. Tweet a picture of yourself sitting on the steps of Sesame Street along with some prefab tweet, and you’ll be entered to win!

On August 18th, I got an email saying I’d won. Then I pooped my pants. Then I read the email again. Then I had a seizure, then read the email again…and so on and so on. It was real. We (all three of us!) were scheduled to go on September 30th, the hubs’ birthday. We didn’t have much time, so we immediately went and got Abby her first passport.

cutest passport photo ever.

Then Hurricane Irene hit and damaged the Beaches resort. We had our fingers crossed it would reopen for our trip, but alas they wouldn’t. Our trip was postponed with no idea when we would be going. (In all honesty, the hubs and I were both in the midst of dealing with our awesome dual anxiety issues, so it was probably for the better.) Finally we got the word, we’d be getting a trip voucher to cash in at any time in the next year (with blackout dates, of course). We still didn’t know when we were going. And being the supersticioius jerk I am, I didn’t want to get excited (read: post anything about this awesomeness) until we had solid dates set.

Well, we have our dates, though not our first choice (which was early March) – but we’ll be going mid-April. WE’RE GOING TO THE TURKS & CAICOS IN APRIL. I’m so excited.

So, there you have it. We’re going on a trip! (In April.) BUT WE’RE ACTUALLY GOING!

In other news, I’m going to attempt the Feb photo a day thing, again. Maybe I’ll actually stick to it this time. :)

 

I’m probably going to cry.

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Posted 11 Dec 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, house stuffs, paparazzi, toddler business

Today, we are starting another new chapter in Abby’s life. The REAL big girl bed.

She’s been sleeping in her crib-turned-toddler bed quite well, but with the recent (and successful, might I add) removal of bottles from the bedtime routine, the focus is now majorly on book reading. And she is almost too big to be held in the rocking chair anymore, so we’ve been reading to her in bed. Mostly, I’ve been laying in her effing crib reading to her. (Go ahead and picture that in your mind. Now imagine me trying to get out of her bed without waking her. It’s slapstick comedy at best.)

Anyway, I started moving things around in her room to accommodate said big girl bed. Here’s an in-progress photo shoot:

I’ll update again while in progress. Wish us luck. Ikea can be a bear on Sundays.

 

Oh. Hai.

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Posted 29 Nov 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, toddler business

Whoops. I did that thing where I got writers block and then all the sudden it’s been a month since I posted.

‘Tis the season for lots of family and friends and activities and anxiety.

Let’s not call this a comeback, as LL Cool J might. Lord knows I said that before and then I vanished again.

Anyway – CATCH-UP! In LIST VERSION!

  1. Abby had like, four birthday parties, partially due to the fact that her great-great-grandfather (the hubs’ grandpa) passed away close to her birthday weekend. The hubs’ parents wanted to be there for him and so they missed her original birthday party. So she had a party at daycare, a party at our house the night of her birthday, a party that weekend, and then another party the following weekend. In between those parties, her great-great-grandfather was laid to rest. He loved her so dearly, it was sad to see him go.
  2. HALLOWEEN! This guurrrlll can trick or treat like nobody’s business. I think mostly she liked ringing doorbells since she was ringing them even when the person was standing right there. She got a crapload of candy which I immediately devoured all instances of KitKats and Reese’s peanut butter cups. Whoops. Whatever. I paid for her costume. That was the fee.
  3. This past month has been a vocabulary whirlwind for lil’ Abbers. Along with that has come some moments of stuttering that can be alarming at times, but usually it gets better, and then she’s got like, 10 more words in her vernacular. She just starting using the word “because” in sentences which may be the cutest thing ever.
  4. She’s started having nightmares about spiders being in/on her blankie, which results in her waking in a crying, screaming panic. Eeek. Something tells me this is somehow my fault. Since GETTHEEFFAWAYFROMMESPIDERSIHATEYOU. I also kind of tickle her pretending to be a spider (which I thought would make her less afraid (my dad did the same)), but maybe it’s making things worse. Regardless, she wakes up and then ends up in our bed. F minus.
  5. I’ve decided I’ve have enough of toting bottles to my parents house and also HAVING A TWO YEAR OLD STILL DRINKING BOTTLES. She only gets one at night, before bed, before tooth brushing, before sleep. I’m too worried about doing this cold turkey and being without her consent, so I decided the “Bottle Fairy” will visit our house over the weekend. We’ll pack all of Abby’s bottles up and put them in a bag under the Christmas tree (yeah, it’s been up for over a week now AND WHAT) and the Bottle Fairy will take them with her and leave a present behind. I heard it’s stickers. Shhhh. We told Abby last night that this was happening, and she seemed excited. (Also I don’t know if she knew what all this really means. I think she only heard “present.”)

Ahhh, so that’s what’s happened in the past month. Also Thanksgiving. But obviously that was just food.

Next post will be a shit-ton of photos from the last month. Hopefully it won’t be Christmas by the time those are up. :)

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