La Chancla

So I've never used this particular child-rearing technique myself, but I am familiar with it and have considered it upon occasion.  Like when the kids are being especially ornery (i.e. bratty)

Fortunately, I'm pleased to report that I have managed to keep my cool the last couple of times my kid(s) have acted up.  Naturally, it always seems to happen at the end of the day when I have zero cool left in my system so this is a momentous development for me.  I'm either finally maturing as a parent or I've been secretly lobotomized.  Either way, it works for me!

Last night, Giggles threw a tantrum in the middle of dinner.  Crying, kicking, screaming, etc.  For people who are used to watching kids melt down, it probably didn't even register that high on the tantrum Richter scale.  Heck, she didn't even throw herself on the floor, and her screaming barely even carried past the bedroom (which is where we ended up).  Nevertheless, it was loud and startling.  But rather than reach for my chancla (or my Croc) or my preferred method (yelling), instead, I gently picked her up, soothed her, and carried her to the bedroom, where I had to wince against her little screams in my ear and bob and weave around her little kicking feet to get her into her jammies.  Then, I held her close and hummed her a lullaby until she calmed down.  Then, I laid her down and told her a story about a beautiful little princess named "Giggles."  My storytelling being what it is, she promptly fell into a fit of giggles, and we had a really nice time finishing the story together.  Then, we hugged and kissed and said "I love you" to each other one or ten times. Then, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.  As most parents can attest, nothing is sweeter than watching one's child sleep.  I could have watched all night and still have begged for more.  Ahhh...

The North Pole

Last year, just before the holidays, I opened a Lowe's catalog/magazine that had come in the mail, and Giggles immediately fell in love with a darling picture of a snow-covered house with a cute porch decorated with twinkling Christmas lights.  She insisted that the picture in our Lowe's catalog was of the North Pole (which she'd just learned from watching Dinosaur Train), and that Santa Claus lived there (this was not from Dinosaur Train).  She took to carrying that magazine around with her everywhere she went and consulting it often throughout the day.  I'd find her sitting at her little Mickey Mouse table just looking into her Lowe's Christmas picture or playing with her stuffed animals with the picture propped by her side.  Even now, the memory of that is still bittersweet enough to make my heart catch just a little.

Naturally, Giggles asked me to take her to the North Pole.  She asked every single day, and twice on Tuesdays.  Each time, I was able to put her off by saying that we had to wait for Daddy and/or Pumpkin to get home because we couldn't go without them.  And she was satisfied with that.  Eventually, her picture of the North Pole got lost.  Perhaps thrown in the trash or simply disintegrated from overuse.  She continued to ask me when we were going, but once the holidays came and the traveling and the gifting began, she seemed to forget about it.  But I didn't.  And I wanted to make my little girl's dream come true.

So when the opportunity to re-visit Denver during Winter presented itself a couple months later, I jumped on it.  I didn't even care very much that Pumpkin was going to miss more school or that the school district had already sent me a vaguely threatening letter about his absences.  My little girl was finally gonna get to see her North Pole!  (or as close to it as I care to get in the Winter anyway, haha).

Our trip was great.  Lots of fun.  Unfortunately, Pumpkin woke up sick with croup and chest pain on our first morning in the mountains, and we were forced to cancel some of our planned outdoor activities.  But, he was feeling well enough by midday that we were still able to play in the snow at the park for a bit before heading back to Denver.  And, even though it was frigid cold (for us) that weekend, both kids were absolutely delighted with the snow.  Watching them play with such joy and abandon was truly a wonder to behold.  Back in Denver, we visited the Mint and the Federal Reserve.  At the Fed, Pumpkin got a bag of shredded money valued at over $100!  He was so excited that he picked up an extra bag to give to his teacher (since they were studying money).  All in all, it was a good trip.  I was even able to attend a baby shower for a good friend of mine while in town.  Sadly, I have no pictures to commemorate that occasion.  But here are some others to enjoy....oh, and please pardon the sleep-inducing music on the slideshow.  There weren't very many options.

Doggie doo

Last night, the kids and I went to pick up dinner. In my zeal to get back home before either of them fell asleep in the car, I completely forgot to pick up the dog from the vet's. I was literally pulling into the driveway when I realized my oversight. It was 5 pm.

So off we went again. By the time we made it home again, our food had gotten cold, and Pumpkin had fallen asleep. But Giggles and Kiko were happy to be together.

Summer of 11

Giggles at our Summer Family Vacation enjoying a S'more without marshmallows...or chocolate

 Gosh, it's really been a while, hasn't it?  Well, what can I say about our summer except that it was fun as usual, and very very HOT.  Nothing out of the ordinary there.  Something out of the ordinary that did occur was that my nephew Ron went to Australia on a school-sanctioned visit.  The whole family went to the airport to see him off, which I'm sure he just LOVED, haha.

In other news, Giggles discovered her passion for nail polish. The brighter, the better was her motto. Many thanks to our friends and family, who allowed her to paint their finger & toe nails over and over again.  Incidentally, Giggles' other motto was "You'll get the color I say you get, and you'll like it!"

No summer is complete without a fun family reunion! We had ours at the Hill Country Resort in San Antonio. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

Me and my boy

Sister #1 with her kiddos

Lovely nieces

Sister #2 and son

Best buds!

The big boys waiting for their turn at the s'mores campfire

Brother & his girls

The boys showing off their swimming skills.

Even the grandparents got in on the action! QT guiding Giggles in her cute wave runner floaty.

Kids played reindeer games...er, I mean Shamu games!

Took in some golf

Summer Days Driftin' Away

I guess I should start this off by announcing that Pumpkin is now officially a 1st grader.

Can I get a Wooot?!!!!  

His class put on a sweet performance for the parents and received some certificates and gifts from their teacher.  The following day was the last day of school.  Here's Pumpkin standing in front of the school as a Kindergartener for the last time.

 

QT & I were both very pleased with how well he was reading by the end of school.  Sure, we've always read to him and encouraged him to sound words out and read on his own, but a good portion of credit for his newfangled (and highly impressive) reading abilities goes to his teacher, Mrs. B.  Oh, I suppose some credit should also be given to the boy wonder himself, haha.  Let's not forget him!

So my little savant starts the GT program in earnest in the Fall.  What with the looming budget cuts at school districts across Texas, I'm more than a little curious at how things are going to turn out.  I'll keep you posted.

All bragging about Pumpkin aside, I should probably also mention that somewhere along the way we acquired a new dog.  He was given to us by a dear friend of mine.  His name is Kiko, and he's a sweetheart.  His birthday falls on the same week as Giggles' birthday; however, he's actually a year older than her.  He seems to have gotten into the groove of things around here very well, and the kids LOVE to play with him.  He and the cat also seek each other out often....mostly to chase each other and make a lot of noise.  Thankfully, neither one seems eager to actually hurt the other, haha.

In the final bit of news,  we've already been to Ldo and back this summer.  We're scheduled to return for another week or two before school starts.  When I return...I mean, IF I return to blog again, I'll post some pictures of us cracking cascarones on each other on Easter and also of our train ride in Austin.  For now, it's bedtime.  I've got only a few hours left before the little ones show up at my bedside demanding yogurt and cereal.

Happy Birthday, QT!

 He looks awfully excited about his cake, doesn't he?

Museum District

 

Afternoon on the town with my favorite little guy today.  We rode the rails, ate spaghetti, and looked at geodes.  Pumpkin even made a new friend at the park and invited him over to our house (as usual).

Oh, Brother!

The kids and I had a really long day today, but it was all good.

First off, Giggles and I had some friends over for a morning playdate.  The girls had a great time jumping on the trampoline, blowing bubbles, playing with sand, and chasing the dog around.  After our playdate ended, Giggles was too wound up to nap so we walked over to our neighbor's house for a late lunch in honor of an Indian holy day (I'm guessing Ramanavami).  I sampled a few Indian dishes then high-tailed it to school to pick up RT (my neighbor's daughter), Pumpkin, and AM (Pumpkin's best friend from school).

After about an hour of playing at our house, the kids wanted to walk over to the bridge to watch the critters swim by (the boys were loudly calling the alligators to come out, which didn't work, haha).  It was getting close to dinner time by then, and I guess Giggles had reached her limit because on our way back home, she started fussing then suddenly plopped down on the sidewalk and refused to go any further.  She wouldn't get up and wouldn't let me pick her up either.  She'd stopped crying and just sat there on the floor holding her sippy cup.  AM's mom had shown up to pick him up so I hurried over to see them off while keeping an eye on Giggles to make sure she didn't run off (she didn't).  Meanwhile, Pumpkin was still riding his bike around so I asked him to run back and make sure Giggles wasn't sitting on an anthill.  I watched him walk over to her while AM and his mom drove off.  I was just about to head over myself to pick Giggles up when I saw him reach down and help his sister up.  Then, hand in hand, they started walking home together; she quietly following him.  It was such a sweet sight.  I quickly snapped a picture with my phone then just stood and waited for them.  When they reached me, Pumpkin said that (Giggles) was ok, but she just needed help getting up.  {sniff sniff!}

Naturally, right after they got home, they both got their second winds, and we were off again to hang out with the neighbors and enjoy the beautiful Spring evening.