Who are you?

We are fortunate to live in a college town with access to babysitters galore.  Last night, we went to a late basketball game and our usual babysitters weren't available.  We decided to ask a new babysitter, someone we know well but who our kids have never really met.  Since the game wasn't until 9, we put the kids to bed and the babysitter came over after bedtime.  We gave some basic instructions on what to do if our daughter called for someone but didn't think it would be an issue since it was an hour after her bedtime.  About 20 minutes after we left, our daughter called out for Daddy.  Our babysitter went upstairs to check on her and the ensuing conversation must have been interesting ...
"Hi, your mommy and daddy aren't here. I'm Georgia.  We haven't met.  Should I turn the light on so you can see my face?"
"Where's my mommy and daddy? Who are you?"
"They went to see the Tarheels play basketball. I'm friends with Jill. I like your pajamas"
"Oh, basketball. I like basketball. Go heels.  I like Jill too. My pajamas have polkadots. I love polkadots. Want to read a book? Let's talk. Do you go to school? Whatcha doin'?" ... and so on and so on.
I guess our daughter warms up to strangers entering her room in the middle of the night pretty easily.
Mom of the year ...

No pants, no problem

On our visit to Charleston last weekend, we took advantage of the conveniently close beaches and unseasonably warm weather.  Since it was barely February, I had not packed your typical "beachwear" for our trip.  When we decided to go to the beach Saturday, I carefully picked clothes that I thought would be weather appropriate and easy for playing on the beach.  I guess I forgot one major detail in packing our bag ... extra clothes.  After less than 10 minutes, it was obvious that my kids were going to be both sandy and wet.  It seemed that the 50 degree water did not phase either my 1 or 3 year old.  Both kids thought running in and out of it (only to fall into the sand immediately following the sprints) was too much fun to resist.  Since we stayed until lunch time, there was no time to make it home for a change of clothes before eating.  My 1 year old's pants were soaked and sandy so I decided to take them off and took him into the restaurant in only his onesie.  My daughter was wearing her leggings that she normally wears under a skirt or dress but took off prior to running in the water.  Unfortunately her skirt was too wet to wear over them, and she looked a bit like a 1980's Jane Fonda replica.  Once we entered the restaurant, my son took off running around barefooted in his onesie, and I looked over to find my daughter pulling her pants down screaming "my botty is sandy."  Our friends had their child dressed in the fresh clothes they packed for the day, sitting quietly in a highchair.
Mom of the year ...

Not so crafty

I had the great fortune of being off today for MLK.  Of course, with school out and my husband working, it didn't really seem like a day off.  I do best with the kids when we can get out of the house and go somewhere.  It was a bit cold this morning to play outside and we were too unorganized to make it to a museum.  So I had the bright idea of doing a craft here at home.  Lately, my daughter has been all about arts and crafts so I thought that would be the perfect morning entertainment for us.  We took a trip to Target to pick up a few craft supplies and hurried home to get started.  My daughter was really into the finger painting, which was going surprisingly smoothly given my lack of craftiness.  We took her new piece of artwork into the other room to lay it out to dry.  I guess I forgot about the curious 13 month old that I left in the other room ...

At least it was non-toxic.
Mom of the year ...

Plastic Bags

Finding time to share my stories has been tough the last several weeks, but I managed to out-do myself as mom of the year yesterday.  I decided to take the kids to the grocery store on the way home to pick up a few things for dinner.  We were lucky enough to snag the one and only 2 seater racecar grocery cart at our local HT (I may have left tire marks as I skidded into a parking spot and jumped out of the car to claim it).  Everything went surprisingly smoothly in the grocery store until check out.  I was busy helping bag the groceries when I heard a scream and looked over to find my almost 3 year old daughter with a plastic bag over her head.  My 13 month old son was laughing hysterically and helping hold the bag. Everyone seemed to stop and stare directly at me - not sure why they were looking at me when my daughter was the one screaming.  The poor high school boy ringing us up wasn't sure if he could laugh or not until I started laughing (and took the bag off my daughter's head) and apologized for the excitement.
Mom of the year ...

I love my mom

I love my mom. One of the many things I love about my mom is the fact that she knows more about college sports than most college males.  Her passion for the Wolfpack is evident to anyone who knows her.  Once when we were young, my sister and I were roller skating in our garage.  Since it was circa 1985, it was before the time of helmets, wrist guards, or knee pads.  My sister fell down and hurt her arm.  Unfortunately for her, it was during the middle of an NC State football game.  My mom gave her some Tylenol, some ice, and told her she had to wait until the end of the game.  By the time the game ended, the swelling was impressive and she was still crying so off we went to the ER.  Xray confirmed she had broken it. 
What is that old saying?  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree?
Mom of the year ...

Deck the halls

Christmas decorations seem to be quite hazardous to children.  More importantly, my children seem to be quite hazardous to Christmas decorations.  For this reason, and secondary to our laziness, we have elected to go with the naked tree approach this year ... lights but no ornaments.  Our tree is also tucked between two large pieces of furniture for its own protection.  However, we have been to visit friends who have carried on about their normal holiday business, displaying ornate trees placed in easily accessible, vulnerable locations.  During a recent visit to our close friends' house, my husband quickly took note of the exposed Christmas tree.  He was running a solid "pick and roll" defense, distracting our 1 year old away from the tree, until we decided to switch kids. (We tend to run a man-to-man defense but try to switch assignments periodically to keep the offense guessing).  After the switch, I must have lost focus because within a few seconds, my son had grabbed the tree and fallen down with a big crash.  Luckily, the tree stayed upright and only one ornament was sacrificed.
Mom of the year ...

Photo op

Ah, 'tis the season and who doesn't love this season? Although it is quite busy (thus the lack of blog entries lately), it is a great time of year.  Everyone loves college basketball season.
If you've followed my blog, you will remember the "Tarheel born" entry (if not, feel free to scroll back  for some wonderful "parenting as a basketball fan" advice).  In reflecting back on basketball seasons past, I came across a photo.

When my daughter was just over a year old, my husband and I went to the spring football preview game.  We were on our way out when we saw John Henson, Dexter Strickland, and Leslie McDonald (three of my favorite UNC basketball players).  I had recently met them when they came to visit the children's hospital and I was selected as one of their tour guides.  When I saw them at the game, I darted over to my new BFF's and hurled my adorable daughter, dressed appropriately in a cute Carolina blue dress, into Dexter's arms, my husband standing by with camera ready.  Anyone who knows 1 year olds knows how they feel about strangers at that age, and anyone who knows college males knows how they feel about babies at that age.  Needless to say, it was not the photo op I had hoped for.

Mom of the year ...