yes, Will, you can go poop

Turn volume way up, it's bad audio...but you can hear the last 10 seconds!

For the last 6 months or so, Will has been memorizing his favorite books and will recite them to us. Finally, I decided I should try to get it on tape...then, I get this! Awesome. Classic Will. Doesn't miss a beat..."Can I go poop?!"

can anyone do it all right? parenting guidelines

I've come to the conclusion that there are simply too many 'rules' in parenting; can anyone do everything the right way?  I know I can't.

This all started to snowball in my head when Will saw the dentist and has a cavity at 3.5 years old!  It has to be filled because he won't lose it until he's about 12...bummer.  I have to say, I was in a bit of shock.  We brush his teeth daily.  Rarely drink any watered down juice in our house.   Candy has never been an issue because he doesn't like most sweets.  Fruit snacks have been once a day for about 6 months now (not at all starting today - sorry buddy!).  People have made jokes about Will's healthy eating habits and I have had to tell him "no more fruit today" on a somewhat regular basis.  He chooses veggies over a cookie!  I thought I had the job of keeping my kids healthy right...now a cavity at 3.5, geez!!  So, I learned some dental rules in addition to the: stay away from juices, sugary candy, brush and floss as soon as you see teeth and even before...now, it's: first dental visit at 1yr old, allow at least 2 hours between snacking/meals/drinks (no matter how healthy the snack), no grazing, chew only gum with xylitol as a substitute for sweets if necessary, the list goes on...

I also checked out the new car seat regulations & recommendations - say what!?  I'm all about keeping my kids safe, but I can't imagine having just turned Will to face forward at 3.5 years old!  They say that you should keep your child rear facing, then as restrained as possible (5pt harness) until the car seats size limits are met/exceeded.  So, for our convertible car seat, Will should have been backward facing up to 40 pounds.  Wow, can you imagine?  Have you seen him?  He's the size of a 5yr old!  I have not turned Mason backwards again either, and truthfully, I don't plan on it.  These are not the new laws, just the new recommendations that I am not following.  Rebel Mom!

So, I've heard A LOT of guidelines for parents to follow while raising kids starting from pre-pregnancy, but I'm starting to feel like following all of them is impossible!  Here are a few 'rules' that I can ramble off from the top of my head:

1. NEVER wake a sleeping baby (from a pediatrician)
2. You MUST wake a sleeping baby to nurse every 3 hours for the first few weeks (yes, again from a pediatrician, contradicting #1)
3. breast feeding is THE best (they almost make you feel guilty when you say the word formula)
4. you must have a set schedule for sleeping, eating, playtime, etc
5. a million rules on discipline and time-outs
6. food allergies: don't expose to certain items until 1 or 2 years but now some say that early exposure may help decrease allergies
7. never use a baby walker, they are not safe
8. don't let your baby sleep in a car seat when unnecessary 
9. never give tylenol, it can damage organs (if you do give meds, must be dye free)
10. no pacifier and no bottle after 12 months
11. little or no juice and absolutely no soda
12. potty training has it's own book
13. cut hotdogs lengthwise more than once to avoid choking (same with grapes and other round food)
14. avoid foods with artificial colors, sweeteners, aspartame, etc (impossible!)
15. avoid toys made with bpa or toxins in the paint
16. no more than 30 60 or 90 minutes of television per day (depending on age)
17. leave child rear facing and in 5pt harness until they physically outgrow the car seats height/weight restrictions.
18. do not use chemicals around/on anything that has contact with children
19. must eat nutritionally balanced family meals daily
20. floss and brush twice a day for 1-2 minutes
21. ignore tantrums, walk away, don't yell or get upset
22. start with veggie baby foods, otherwise they may grow up to hate veggies and only like fruit
23. you must be consistent and on the same page as your spouse
24. discipline the first time and every time
25. don't over-do the video games
26. cover all electrical outlets
27. keep all doors shut to bathrooms and stairs
28. have carseat installed by fire/police dept
29. Keep all small objects out of child's reach
30. cover all sharp edges/corners
31. use only flame retardant pj's, but wait, those chemicals are bad for them!
32. always minimize sun exposure, reapply sunscreen often - but be sure they get enough vitamin D
33. always dispose of any extra formula after a feeding
34. use only a cool mist humidifier to avoid burns
35. do not allow eating in the car, always be seated when eating

The list could be endless, and this is only the 'avoid negative stuff' rules - there are still all of the 'encourage the positive stuff' rules, like: remember to catch them being good, provide new and engaging activities, take parent 'time-ins', read a minimum of 30 minutes/day, sing lots of songs, narrate your every move to encourage good vocabulary, recognize what the child is good at/likes and expand/encourage on that, encourage children to assist you in everyday activities even if it slows you down, etc.....another endless list.

So, there you have it.  That's why I'm throwing in the towel on trying to stay in line and accepting that my best is just going to have to be good enough...cavities and all.  For some reason, the serenity prayer came to mind all of the sudden!  ha!

If you have any rules to add...please leave a comment...I can't promise, but I'll try to follow!

favorite snapshots

While gathering photos to upload to Jason's digital photo frame for his office, I found some of my favorites and thought I'd post them just because. Nothing extraordinary, but just some of my favorite moments of Gross Chaos.

don't forget calendar time!

Tonight Jason checked on Will a couple hours after putting him to bed.  He called me up and ran to grab his phone.  So, I peek in...there he was, sound asleep in bed, lights on, covered in red marker.  Every square in April on the Toy Story calendar had been X'd out!  Clearly, the little guy thinks we need to keep up on our nightly calendar routine.  We've slacked for about 3 weeks now and have not been doing 'calendar time' along with teeth, potty, books, song, and prayers before bed.  SO - Will did it himself.  I don't know what impresses me more - the fact that he could reach his markers in the top dresser drawer or his desire to keep up with the calendar.  Either way, I know Jason and I won't be slacking anymore! 

This was just his face...I'll see if I can capture hands, arms, calendar, etc in the morning!  Good Job, Will!  I wonder if he thought to himself - "Today was Friday, April 15th.  Tomorrow is Saturday, April 16th; There will be no school tomorrow and Daddy will be home all day to play."

So, it's been a while and a lot has happened since my last post.  Will is doing fantastic.  He loves school and is doing so well in all areas.  Three years old and using iPads and touch screen computers in school!  Funny...when his dad only had one computer with internet and 13 computers in their 'lab' (k-12 school) at the time he graduated high school.  He loves to recite entire books to us at bedtime and will substitute silly words to see if we catch his 'mistake'!  I've been meaning to catch him with the video camera as he reads to Jason.

Mason is growing like a weed; getting taller and thinner all the time.  Red hair is sticking around yet, which is fun for us.  :)  He can finally wrestle with Will and I catch myself routing for him sometimes simply because Will has used his physical advantage over the last few months and now Mason's catching up and able to hold his own every once in a while.  It's fun to watch!  He does his best to keep up with Will running around the backyard, but he's still a little clumsy when he has any speed - lots of wipe outs!  We love Mason's deep voice and his animated expressions (usually a serious scowl with a stern mumble).

Our next project is a playset for the boys.  I'm in the process of weather sealing 4 boxes full of tiny cedar boards!  I hope I can finish before the crew arrives to assemble!  I hate doing it, but I know they'll spend many hours on it, so I keep going even when I think I'm about to go nuts staining the tiny edges of another 1x3 board and labeling it 'B3' for the 26th time in an hour.  

After that, it'll be the arrival of new bunk beds and that whole transition into sharing a room.

I'm sure those events will come with their own stories!

Anyway, the boys are doing great! 

Here are a couple more I took in the morning...