Tag Archives: toddlers

mommyhood, parenting fails, pregnancy, siblings

Living with Multiple Toddlers

February 12, 2015 Only Hsuman 9 Comments

So, I don’t know what actually, truly constitutes a “toddler”, by definition anyway, but there is no one that “toddles” as much as my little one year old guy, so I’m guessing that qualifies him as a toddler. So, in effect, I have two toddlers.

That’s a scary sentence. Let’s say it again, for effect:

I. Have. Two. Toddlers. Yikes.

This means that life can be crazy. As a quick story, this morning, Hubby was in the shower, I was getting J dressed, and EK had been playing with toys in the living room. The next thing I know, I don’t see or hear her, so I dare to peek out the front door. She’s on the sidewalk, with a nice lady who has pulled over to ask the little girl where her mommy is. It could not have been more than 120 seconds that she was outside, but still. I know, awful things could have happened. I’m thankful they didn’t. We have a chain on the top of the door that’s usually locked, and when we took the trash out after breakfast, we forgot to lock it back. Parenting 101, epically failed.

She is the experienced toddler, who knows all about crying when she doesn’t get what she wants. She knows all about working the room. She knows all about needing to potty right after she’s gone to bed, and about sneaking around the house really quietly in the morning in search of candy before Mommy manages to drag her exhausted self out of bed. Right now, our biggest fights are over nightgowns. She has two frilly little nightgowns she loves to wear, and if I let her, she’d wear them all day. Every once in a while, I break down and let her put it on for a nap, because as she reminds me, nightgowns are something you wear while you sleep. (Cue face palm because I should have said “sleeping AT NIGHT”.) If they are both in the laundry, then all bets for going to bed are off, because regular pajamas WILL NOT BE PUT ON HER BODY. So there.

One of the two favored nightgowns. Funny side note: she’s never watched Sophia the First.

not caring meme — Photo from http://www.imgarcade.com

I also have one brand new toddler who, in addition to being extremely clumsy, is also very brave. Scaling furniture is less of a problem for him than simply walking from the car to the front door. Climbing the shelves in the kitchen is much easier than getting into his toddler-sized chair. He’s a little like the Tazmanian Devil, what with the messes that tend to follow him everywhere. He HATES the word “no” right now. If I have to tell him to stop doing something (smashing my laptop, carrying Daddy’s coffee around the room, etc) he immediately dissolves into wails. I think he just hears the word so often that he’s grown to hate it. I’m trying to figure out something else to say instead, but there’s just nothing as good as plain ol’ “no”.

My little guy, eating his eclectic meal and then spreading it all over creation.

We managed to never have this problem with EK…

However, there are some pretty hilarious perks.

J says “thank you” to and for everything. He hands me something, and says it. He takes something from me, and says it. Picks something up off the floor, and says it. Puts a toy away, and says it. I guess I say it a lot? He also is doing this funny thing where he will eat almost anything, but only about 5 bites of it. His plate is very eclectic, because I know that bites 6-10 are wasted, so it’s got to be 5 bites of 5 different things. The things we do to ensure that our kids are eating enough…

IMG_9438-0 — I ask them to eat dinner when we’re at home, they holler and make a mess. Daddy takes them out to eat, and they look like angels all night.

EK is extremely good at communicating now, but every once in a while she gets stuck on something. She can’t quite get herself unbuckled from her car seat (I’m pretty sure I’m glad about it) but she can get one buckle undone, and then yells, “Somebody! HELP ME!” like I’m kidnapping her. I think it’s hilarious, but the passersby may think otherwise. She also loves the song from The Sound of Music “Do-Re-Mi” and whenever she sings it, she starts like this: “Do a deer, I call myself. Fa, a long long way to run. So, I need to pull a thread. La, I need to follow so. Ti, blah-blah-blah-blah bread! Sing sing back to do!” It’s basically the best. Whenever she starts singing it, Hubby and I just look at each other and try not to laugh until she’s finished. Her other key phrase is “Oh my gosh!” No explanation needed.

Keep the toddler on your lap for a snuggle whenever you can, because it isn’t often.

What are some crazy antics of your toddlers? Anything they say that’s hilarious every time? Any silly habits or funny things they do?8

Featured on April’s Everyday Mom Link-Up!

faith, mommyhood, My Big Jesus, siblings

Your First Child… and Your Second

February 2, 2015 Only Hsuman 2 Comments

People tell you things about your second child. He will go with the flow, they said. He will have to, they said. Your second is always more easy-going, right?

Wrong. In my case, dead wrong.

Our oldest child is very go-with-the-flow. She loves running errands, having play dates, and being out of the house. She loves going out to dinner, meeting new people, taking a nap whenever, staying up late, and generally having a full schedule. I mean, she does really well entertaining herself at home, but she’s also great at all-around keeping herself occupied wherever we are.

Our second child is the opposite. He’s a homebody. He likes nothing better than to be at home, with his toys, nap on his own (different-every-day) schedule, eat at our own dining room table, and go to bed over an hour earlier than EK. This, as you might imagine, can cramp our style. Specifically, it cramps my playdates-and-meals-at-restaurants style. He often naps through the lunch hour. My lunch dates will have to wait. Playing in the playplace at Chick-Fil-A? No way. Morning playdates while EK is in preschool? You must be joking. And put him in the nursery at church with babies he knows and parent volunteers he knows? ALL BETS ARE OFF.

But which kid is right? Which one has the “better” idea of what’s going on? Neither. They’re both great. I love taking EK with me when I go to Target and Costco and the grocery store, because she loves being out and about. Talk about a girl making my busybody, stir-crazy-at-home-all-day heart happy! Equally, I love my at-home cuddles with J, watching a movie or snacking on fruit at the kitchen table, instead of going out to lunch with friends. I even (usually, anyway) think it’s amusing to go behind him and right all the upturned objects he’s hit with the Swiffer he nabbed, and pick up the food crumbs he’s dropped off his pants as he walked away from the table.

Both my kids are awesome. God has given them totally different personalities, and it’s my joy (and yes, occasional frustration) as their mom to get to know them, even as they change every single day. I can already enjoy special moments with each of them separately, doing things that they enjoy. I love knowing them, and knowing that they’re different.

mommyhood, siblings

Siblings Will Be Siblings

January 28, 2015 Only Hsuman 2 Comments

Sometimes, my kids argue. They may argue without words, but they argue. Over toys, over who gets to sit in Mom’s lap, over eating each other’s food, and being in each other’s space. There are some thoughts that I’m sure are going through their heads:

That toy is mine, so you can’t play with it. That toy is yours, so you can play with it, and so can I when I want to.

If he gets to eat spaghetti for lunch, then I don’t want the PBJ I asked for.

I woke up my brother so we could play together, but after five minutes I’m tired of him.

Why does she get to take things from me, but she yells “NO!” if I take something from her?

But sometimes, they’ll have fun together. EK crawls around chasing J to pretend like she’s a baby, too. J laughs whenever EK laughs. J does something silly, and EK automatically copies him. They sit across from each other at the table at breakfast and sing songs. I can’t even describe how much it warms my heart to hear giggles and squealing throughout the house as they play together.

The other night after dinner was one of those times. We’ve got a sofa in our kitchen (something we saw when we visited when looking to buy the house, and then wrote into the contract because we loved it) and it’s a place of hang time before or after dinner most nights. On this particular night, we postponed the usual clean up to watch the kids squeal and throw pillows. Here’s a glimpse:

These are the times that give me hope in their friendship throughout life, and the times that I’m glad their ages are close, even though sometimes I’m swamped in their messes and laundry and tears. I remember why they’re my favorite people to be with and how much I adore them.

mommyhood, My Big Jesus, pregnancy, random thoughts

10 Reasons I Want to Throw a Toddler Tantrum

January 26, 2015 Only Hsuman 2 Comments

This post also appeared on MyBigJesus.com!

Does anyone else wish they could hit the floor, scream at the top of their lungs, and cry it out?

1. I use wrinkle cream around my eyes, and acne-prevention face wash. At the same time.

2. The snack I made was for me, not the tiny pairs of hands that keep stealing it.

3. My coffee doesn’t reheat itself.

4. I want to take a nap, so why don’t my kids?!

5. I am angry that I don’t know the sound a rabbit makes, too.

6. I’m swimming in laundry. Seriously.

7. I just put those puzzles together, for crying out loud.

8. I can’t drink wine while pregnant.

9. I was using the laptop! And no, I didn’t want to watch Frozen!

10. I want to go to sleep at 9:00pm, but I can’t, because my toddler doesn’t want to.

mommyhood, Uncategorized

The Unintentional Pampers Challenge, Part Deux

January 20, 2015 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

When I asked you about diapers, you – the readers! – had a lot to say! I’ve broken down the info to help myself and help you, if you’re like me, and you want an expensive but reliable way to keep all the bottoms (and the clothes, and the sheets) dry.

The most common answer for the diapers you love is Pampers. I’m pretty much there with you. They’re basically the most expensive, but the cost seems to be worth it for most of us.

The next best thing sounds like Luvs. I’ve never even bought/used those at all, so I’m taking your advice. Next time I buy diapers, I’m going with a box of Luvs to try them out on the kiddos. From what you said, they’re less expensive than Pampers, but just as good!

I also heard great things about Honest Company and 7th Generation, mostly about how they’re great for the baby and great for the environment. Well, I’m convicted. I’ve heard great things about 7th Gen for a long time, and have wanted to try their diapers in the past, and I feel the same way about Honest Company, except that their expensive. I don’t really need my diapers to be adorable (I’m looking at you, Honest Company, and your delightful cupcakes and colorful hot air balloons) but I do need them to be affordable. I mean, I’m diapering two kiddos right now (EK still won’t be consistent about pottying. More on than later.) and while hopefully it’ll be only two when the next baby is born, I’m thinking that EK might still be in a nighttime diaper then anyway.

Lots of you say you use Huggies Overnights during the night and something cheaper during the day. I totally feel you on this. Especially if you’re potty training one, and it’s staying dry most of the day (or even some of the day) it seems like “Who cares what sort of diaper it is?!” I’ve never bought the Huggies Overnights, but maybe I need to! How much more expensive are they, someone?

The last awesome thing I heard was that Up&Up (Target) and Amazon Elements (Amazon.com) were possibly gonna be just as useful for daytime. That’s great, because who isn’t at Target all the time? And who doesn’t love diapers delivered to your door?!

Things you didn’t like: Wal-Mart brand, Sam’s brand (coincidence? Probably not.) and regular Huggies (with a couple exceptions).

Oh, by the way. Another hilarious side note from all my reader responses… Several of you mentioned having “super pee-ers” and almost all of you who said that said it in the same way. Well, I think I’m among you. Super pee-ers, unite!

So now I’ve got a to do list. I’m going to try Luvs. I’m going to try Huggies Overnights. I’m going to try Up&Up. I’m gonna try Amazon Elements. I’m also (gasp!) going to borrow some gdiapers from a friend, and try those, now that my kids are out of the new-diaper-every-two-hours stage. Because that’s a lot of laundry, am I right?

I’ll keep you posted on the diaper challenge front. I will be your diaper champion, and we will celebrate having the least-leaky, most affordable option! (Oh my. What a mom thing to say.)

home, mommyhood, parenting fails

The Unintentional Pampers Challenge

January 19, 2015 Only Hsuman 7 Comments

I’m so annoyed right now.

Due to our basement renovations, the Hsu house is extremely loud from time to time. It’s totally fine, and we knew it would be that way, and our contractors have graciously given us no less than 24 hours notice when we’re going to have a extra loud day. Today was one of the loud ones, so we got up, had breakfast, made a Target run, then came over to my in-laws’ house for nap times (my kids aren’t having the glorious double nap right now, so “nap times” can be anywhere from 2-5 hours). My in-laws are absolutely wonderful for letting us interrupt their days and their home by letting us come over, eat, watch tv, make messes and require quiet for naps. That being said, I’ll move on to the real point of this post.

I almost always use Pampers diapers. I thought about cloth diapering with J since we were “parenting pros” (HA HA HA) but Hubby nixed it. I wasn’t that sad. We’ve tried Huggies, Babies R Us brand, Costco/Kirkland brand, and a few others that are cheaper than Pampers. But in our experience, especially with bigger babies/toddlers, Pampers is the way to go. My in-laws keep a stock of diapers at their place, mostly cheaper ones since they’re sorta emergency diapers, used only for short periods of time and never for overnight, and I’m just super grateful that they’re there, because when I’m coming over with the kids, I don’t even bring a diaper bag. ((The photo above is Pampers (diaper bag crushed and all), Huggies, Kirkland/Costco, and Babies R Us, and all are size 4.))

Today, J went down for his nap first, right when we got there. Nothing was out of the ordinary… I put a fresh diaper on him, gave him his swaddle (my kids both sleep with one) and his bottle of warm milk, and he went right to sleep. He slept for three hours! HALLELUJAH! However, he had woken up with wet pants, because his Huggie (same size as the Pampers he always wears) had leaked. It wasn’t as if I left him for his nap and he drank several cups of water. He NEVER leaks at nap time. Sometimes at night, but never at a nap. So of course I changed his pants and went on about my business.

Right before J woke up, EK fell asleep, without drinking anything I might add, watching a movie (a special privilege since we’re at her grandmother’s house – she doesn’t do that at home) on the couch. As far as I know, she had a dry diaper on, because we’d just had an accident in the Pull-Up right as the movie started. Her diaper was a Kirkland brand (from Costco, size 4, which is her normal diaper size – yes, same size as J. Yes, that is a wonderful phenomenon.) She woke up in a puddle on the couch.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Two leaking naps, in two different brand diapers that aren’t our usual, and at someone else’s house, no less?! I felt terrible… Not only am I already doing my laundry over here (no laundry available at our place during the basement reno) but I’m causing more laundry and wrecking the couch. Or my kids are. Or we as a family are. Ugh. Good thing I have forgiving, wonderful in-laws who love me with my messy kids.

Moral of the story: I may never buy anything but Pampers ever again. Has anyone else have tried and true Pampers stories? Has anyone had good luck with the off-brand diapers?

mommyhood, My Big Jesus, parenting fails

Failing at Manners

January 19, 2015 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

This post also appeared on MyBigJesus.com !

Growling "like a dinosaur" instead of eating her lunch. — Growling “like a dinosaur” instead of eating her lunch.

So, I’ve been trying to teach EK about manners. I know, my two and a half year old doesn’t know much about manners (says anyone who’s ever spent time with her). She’s a little spastic, likes to run around instead of stay in her chair during meals, and thinks spitting, yelling, sounding like a fire truck, and pushing down her brother (who just learned to walk) are all acceptable things to do. We talk every day about being polite, making good choices, and being kind to others, and I can tell it’s finally starting to sink in. She knows better than doing lots of the things we talk about. And that’s where we get stuck.

Recently, she’s been saying, “That’s funny!” or “Ella Kate so funny!” after she does something mean or rude. So the other day, I countered with, “No, that’s not funny. That’s rude.” If you could tell me how to take those words back, I’d pay you a million dollars.

I have literally heard that phrase several times a day since I said it the first – and only – time. Of all the things I say that she parrots, I can’t believe that’s the one. Sometimes, she does something truly funny, and we tell her so. And right on cue, she responds with, “No! That’s not funny! That’s rude!”

Talk about a lost meaning. A giant parenting fail that I committed, just as I was trying to teach manners. The best laid plans, right? Well, I can’t stop teaching her about manners because I had an epic fail. I can’t just let her run me over when I try to teach her right from wrong. One failed teachable moment doesn’t excuse me from ever teaching her anything again. It just makes me want to get it right even more. As a parent, it’s my job to teach her to make good choices on her own, so that she can do it without me later. It’s a scarily important role, teaching those things. It’s tough. I’m sure when she’s a teenager, it’ll be tougher still. But I can’t be discouraged by one fail, or five fails, or a thousand. That loud, endearingly crazy girl is going to get the right idea, if I can help guide her in spite of ourselves.

faith, mommyhood, My Big Jesus, pregnancy

The Social Networks of Moms

January 5, 2015 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

This post also appeared on MyBigJesus.com so check it out there, too!

I have a theory about moms and their social lives. It’s that most moms have five groups of people in their social networks. I’ll describe them a bit for you:

1. Friends from before you had kids. Notice I didn’t bother to separate these into high school friends, college friends, work friends, etc. They’re all lumped together now in a group of “they’ve known me as a woman before she was a mom”.

2. Friends you made because you were pregnant at the same time. Perhaps you met these friends at your birthing classes. Possibly, you had the same doctor and ran into each other a lot. Maybe you’re like me, and you met them at prenatal yoga. Or just maybe, you just looked at each other, in the middle of Babies R Us, that registering “gun” in your hand, staring at the wall full of seemingly identical sippy cups, and just laughed together.

3. Friends you made because they also have kids. These are the friends that you were acquainted with, but you’d never really gotten to know before, until you realized your kids were similar ages, and wow! you live in the same neighborhood! Neighborhood park play date, anyone? (Note: They might also be the ones that you keep calling and asking your random “Is this normal?” type questions. And that’s okay, too.)

4. Friends you made because your kids are friends with theirs. Since my kids are young, I haven’t delved too far into this one yet myself, but these are friend you’ve made simply because your kids request to hang out with their kids. Lots of times, that means you and that other mom are gonna get a lot of quality time together, so I hope for your sake she’s cool.

5. Friends that belong in more than one of these groups. These are usually the favorites. Your best friend from college got pregnant at the same time as you. Your community group at church has a couple of moms with kids that are similarly aged. Your kids have had so many play dates with your prenatal yoga friends’ kids that they’re basically best friends now, too.

This fifth group is the one that I say “does life together”. Not that you can’t do life with someone in a different stage of life than you… you absolutely can. But isn’t it easier to relate to someone else who also has a toddler and a newborn, who can relate to the sleep-deprived craziness? Isn’t it more comforting to call a fellow mom to pray for you about your child having night terrors? It just makes more sense to ask another mom advice about getting your four-month-old to sleep through the night.

This group, network, tribe… these are the prayer warriors, the comforters, the make-you-feel-better-ers, and the caretakers on standby. These are the ones who will have coffee with you after preschool drop off in their pjs. They’re the ones who will immediately answer your message at 4:00am, because they’re also up nursing a baby. They’re the ones who will tell you it’s okay to cry over spilled milk sometimes, and your potty-training problems will be over before you know it, who will let you drop off your toddler for an hour while you go to the dentist, and who will remind you that those little mess-making devils are the ones you love, even on their messiest, most devious days – yes, even after you’ve stepped on the twenty-seventh Lego.

mommyhood

I’m Officially 29!

December 16, 2014 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

Folks, this is the last year of my 20s. And you know what? I’m not even sad.

On Saturday, I had a fantastic day. We went out to breakfast, were successful in packing up more of the basement and catching up (a little anyway) on some laundry, and then in the evening our babysitter came over to let us go out to dinner and to see Mockingjay Part 1 (which, by the way, was totally awesome).

The only hitch in the day happened first thing in the morning. When I woke up, it was to the sound of my toddler, running around upstairs. This isn’t unusual. She sometimes stays in bed to read for a while, and sometimes comes out to play with her toys. This morning, she decided she was going to get started with breakfast. Much to my dismay, she began with eggs. And of COURSE, because toddlers are clumsy, she broke a couple. One in the kitchen, right in front of the refrigerator, which she stepped in, and tracked all the way back to my bedroom, where she broke the other one. Of course, right? Happy birthday to me. The first thing Hubby and I did when we got up was strip her of her egg-covered clothes, bleach the floor from kitchen to bedroom, and put everyone in the shower. Sheesh. Then, when we finally were all clean and dressed, there was no way I was cooking breakfast, so I got some Waffle House out of the deal! That was good.

Needless to say, we are now locking the fridge. It sounds ridiculous, but I am NOT cleaning up that mess again!

faith, mommyhood, My Big Jesus

I Love You, But…

December 15, 2014 Only Hsuman Leave a comment

I noticed this phrase I’ve been using recently – and I even caught Hubby saying it today. sometimes, when I’m telling EK to do something, she gets frustrated or even cries. So the next time I tell her, I often begin my sentence with “I love you, but…” Here are a few examples:

I love you, but you have to go to bed now.

I love you, but you can’t hit your brother.

I love you, but you have to eat your breakfast.

I love you, but you can’t wear your too-big, plastic, high-heeled princess shoes to school.

See what I mean? I don’t know if I do it because my parents did it, or if I made it up all on my own. But when she starts the tears, or stomps her feet and slams doors in frustration (definitely my daughter – sorry to pass that on) I want to head her off by declaring my love for her, reminding that I have her best interest in mind, and that I’m not telling her to do something she doesn’t want to do just for kicks. But I’m using my love for her like a disclaimer. I’m saying it just before I deliver the final blow of bad news: I love you, but we aren’t watching any more Bubble Guppies today.

My love for my kids shouldn’t be a disclaimer, or even a reason that I can tell them what to do. My love should be the viewpoint from which I act, speak, and parent in general. My love should be what chooses my words and lifts my hands. My love is the reasoning behind wanting to help my kids be healthy, responsible, kind, and happy – not the thing I say before I force them into those things. So I’m going to challenge myself: I won’t follow my “I love yous” with a “but”. I won’t discount my love by saying it with an ulterior motive. I love my kids. I love them regardless of any and every situation they could possibly be in, which is why I will choose to parent without excuses, even if the excuse was “I love you”. There is no “I love you, but…” There is only an internal “I love you, so…” I will help you make the best choices now, so that when you’re older, you’ll make the best choices on your own.

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