Photo from iPhone taken today at playground of the Cade-man.

I watch television shows like “Survivorman” and “Man vs. Wild” with keen interest.  Not that I’d ever find myself in a situation where I’d have to urinate in the water to attract a shark so I can jump on top of it, wrestle it, and have some protein for dinner…

Still, I wonder what kind of boys these TV hosts must have been to grow into men knowing this.  What kind of heart attacks did their mothers have as the boys brought in bark to boil for tea or edible bugs for dinner.  Did the moms stress when the kids went camping with their scouting troop?  Did they hyperventilate if Dad took them hiking?

I have never had boys to raise but my friends who do say they are very different from raising girls.  Boys - they say - tend to be more boisterous and fearless.  They won’t blink an eye to climb up on a roof to jump onto the back of a truck.  They will scamper up a tree to throw down a parachuted plastic army guy.

The worst that happened to my kids is when my oldest climbed a bookcase that wasn’t attached to the wall.  It fell over, but was thankfully stopped by another piece of furniture before hitting my daughter.

What’s the most dangerous thing your child did while growing up?

Play time for a boy and his dog.

Washing the sliding door time for Aunt Kathy.

Well, the move is taking place as I speak!  We’ll pick up keys this afternoon, and start moving the boxes in this evening.  My children are elated!  Many people are concerned about how their children will respond to a move, as were we.  But there are a few things parents can do that will minimize the stress on the children, and perhaps even build excitement about their new place!

• Allow the children to be involved in choosing the new home.  You can only do this to an extent, but being involved gives children a sense of control,which is something they can feel a loss of when a move is taking place.
• Give the children choices…of rooms, paint color, room decor, etc. 
• Ask the kids to “help” pack…and remain patient as they do this!  I am very structured when it comes to packing, so I was a little nervous when my daughter offered to pack for my two-year-old.  But she has packed over three times what I have, and the important thing is that we get it there, right???
• As tempted as you are to send the kids away while you’re moving in, let them be a part of it…even if it’s just for a few hours.  My son is DYING to play with his “cars and trucks and trains in his new house”.  So the plan is to get some of his toys there, unpack them in his space, and let him play while we unpack elsewhere.

Remember to remain as calm as possible during your move, and speak positively of the experience.  We’ve been referring to ours as our latest adventure.  Your children will follow your lead.  And with your positive guidance, the move will be a positive experience for everyone.

Photo by popofatticus via Flickr Creative Commons.

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Child Development and Family Services.  Today, I’m ready to give it back.  My almost three-year-old is OUT OF CONTROL. 

My sweet angel of two and a half years has morphed into the devil’s spawn.  He unlocks every lock on the doors and runs into the front yard and street, he pours EVERYTHING pourable out of it’s container onto any surface available, he shouts “potty words” at the top of his lungs when we’re in public, he opens exit doors that “alarm” when opened, AND…he takes his diaper off and pees…in MY bed…and on his sister.  A couple of nights ago, my husband and I awoke to a bottled water being poured into our bed at 2AM! 

You know what the worst part of all of this is?  Almost everyone I have talked to about this who has a boy has claimed this as “normal” boy behavior.  THIS IS NOT NORMAL.  Typical, maybe, but not normal. 

Thank GOD the kid is cute!  I am going to fall back on that until this “stage” passes.  And until it does, WATCH OUT PEOPLE!!! 

Photo by soursob via Flickr Creative Commons. 

Photo by dariuszka via Flickr Creative Commons.

Emma learned something new yesterday as a big sister.  Don’t leave your makeup within reaching distance of your two-year-old brother.  The Cade-Man thought he’d try some light purple eye-shadow.

He got to his Grandma’s house and said, “Gram. Make up.  I pretty.”  I wonder what his Daddy thinks?  As for the rest of us, we were just tickled at his cuteness.

I’m trying very hard not to make a Kanye joke here, but apparently he’s not the only one who loves Beyonce’s song “Single Ladies.”  Babies love it.  LOVE it!  The hundreds thousands of Youtube videos of babies dancing to “Put a Ring On It” don’t lie!

According to Time magazine,

Like some rogue Baby Einstein offering, the black-and-white “Single Ladies” video provides visual and aural stimulation well suited for the under-2 crowd. Babies love high-contrast colors, steady beats and smiling women’s faces. “Single Ladies” has all of these things. It’s almost as if Beyoncé designed it for children.

Suddenly there are all kinds of babies in my family, so I’m going to bring my MP3 player and speakers to our next family gathering to see how the babies respond!

Les wrote the cutest story about his 3-year old daughter Natalie who has stopped sucking on her fingers because that’s too babyish.  He writes she is now self-conscious of baby v. big kid actions,

The kids have a back and forth relationship with growing up. On the one hand they want to be big, but being a baby is nice. Saying they’re big is fun, but being a baby is fun, too. When do you decide you want to grow up?

I don’t remember thinking that I wanted to be grown up until I was in my teens but even then I had a deep appreciation for the secure and protected feeling of being home.  My parents trusted me so there was no real reason to hasten the process.  I loved my childhood and my teen years.  If I could go back and ride a banana-seat bike all day and hunt for treasures on the ground (a dime or a quarter, an old telephone wire that you could wind around to make a ring), I would.

Photo by my brother and his wife.