The Blog has Moved

For the time being, this blog has been moved to Wordpress.com.  I originally used blogger (which I actually prefer...) but then when I switched to a MAC, blogger was no longer compatible, so I switched the blog to wordpress.  As well, the new blog has taken a bit of a turn in content.  I've started to blog not just about Brighton but also about the family.  I'm hoping to link the two blogs in the near future so it will be a seamless transition between the two, but until then, please visit From an Acorn Small

Thanks for following Brighton's blog for so long!!!

Does my tummy dood

I was told to blog this.  I'm sittin here listening to Idol and considering buying buttons from buttonhead.etsy.com and out of nowhere, my son comes up to me with the canister of brown sugar and says "I need this, does my tummy dood."  Hmmmm....

Momnesia

I am so glad that I sat down to watch GMA this morning. You hear of "Mommy Brain" where we forget all these silly little things "Where are my keys!" well, turns out momnesia is a real chemical thing that happens in a mommy's brain. The good thing is that 1. it makes your brain stronger 2. you remember the big things and forget about all the little things. How great is that. I'm just glad I'm not flaky....

Toe Jam

Wha? I'm not sure where this came from, but all of a sudden Brighton is aware that he has toe jam and must pick it before we put socks on...

Pantakes Mom?

We all know I'm a sucker for a cute face, but when it comes to my doe-eyed little boy I'm more like the supreme pushover.  The other day while dad was away and right before supper, Brighton, sitting on dad's chair, turned to me over the arm, blinked his eye and said "Can I have a pantake please mommy?"  He had asked me this same question about 3 times before to which I answered "No honey, we're waiting for daddy to come home so we can have supper together," (our new house rule).  But for some reason, at this, my heart sank, I smiled and said "Sure honey, you can have a pantake."

WHA~?  What happened there?  Did he hypnotize me?  I didn't see him swinging any kind of pendulum but he must have because I can't think of any other reason for me to become so overwhelmed with the sweetness of his voice and his big doey eyes and long eyelashes.  

Speaking of that, he did the same thing to me lastnight on the way home.  I looked back to see how he was doing.  A few times, I caught him nodding off then the next time I looked, he was awake again.  I thought for sure I was in for it.  Usually when this happens he's a royal grouch.  But not yesterday.  Instead, he looked up at me and smiled his great big grin accentuating his dimples, and I melted.  

"Shoes off!" 

"Um, ok.  We're almost home...can't you wait?  You can't kick the snow then?"

"Shoes off!"

"Ok."  So I defied my car insurance company and reached my right hand behind the seat and removed his shoes (they're velcro, so it wasn't that hard...)

"Socks off!"

"Socks too?  Really?"

"Socks off!"

"But your piggies will get cold!"

"SOCKS OFF!

"

"Ok..."  I reach back and pull off his socks.  I look back at him and he's smiling again, dimples shining on his face like the north star. 

"Piggies mommy!  Do piggies!"

"No honey, not while I'm driving."

"Piggies to Tarbuts"

"oh ok....This little piggie went to starbucks..."

After doing both feet, I finally turned my full attention to the road.  The next time I looked back, he was sleeping soundly.

New Phrases for the Holidays

All I want for Christmas is for my son to come up with some more ways to make us laugh.  Seriously.  He's been really cracking us up lately.  Here are a few of his new phrases:

"That's not appropriate"

"Mommy, you stink"

"is that my daddy?"

"I need a kleenex, don't want to wipe it on my sleeve" (speaking of his snot)

"I want presents"

"I want toys"

"There's a monkey in her bed!" while reading "Good night Gorilla"

So many things he's doing now that just crack us up on a daily basis.  I'm going to have to start carrying around a note pad...

Holiday Frazzle Dazzle

As I sit here listening to the angelic voices of the Vienna Boy's Choir singing to the video of "word world" on PBS, I wonder if I will ever ever ever get all these goals for Christmas "cheer" accomplished for myself.  It's taken me this long (it's now almost 11 pm) to get Brighton fed, start a roast for dinner, give Brighton his snack, change two poopy diapers, brush teeth, make coffee, put dishes away, wash dishes in sink that are not dishwasher safe, wonder to myself "why the heck do we buy things that aren't dishwasher safe?", toss cat off the thermal bag that holds the crock pot (even though he has a perfectly good bed he COULD be laying in,) download a holiday album from iTunes, let dog out to go to the bathroom (again,) finally sit down to assemble my arsenal of recipes for holiday candy (sans the peanut butter ball recipe I search for every year and can not find until after Christmas,) and feeling a bit overwhelmed by all these tasks, I grab my trusty mac and blog.  

**sigh**

All of a sudden I feel like it is a completely impossible task for me to even THINK that I might get all this done.  Oh yeah, and I have to make snacks and wrap a gift for Brighton's preschool exchange...and finish the handmade Christmas presents I'm making for our nieces and nephews, and those two custom orders.  YIKES!  I better suck up the dirty look he just gave me and get this cat off my arm and close the laptop.  Brighton is requesting "Thomas" which is now on PBS.  

A Blogworthy Moment

Ok so Andrew is right, I haven't been blogging lately.  There have been hundreds of time when while in the moment, I think to myself "this is a blogworthy moment!" or when I get that pang of sadness when Brighton does something that makes him seem like such a little boy and I realize he's not a baby anymore.  But usually those moments are followed by oh I don't know, a supreme meltdown of epic proportions or I realize that I've forgotten to pick up milk from the store, or whatever.  You get the idea.  It seems my life is like one big race.  Racing from running here and there getting these things done then rushing home to get my son in bed before 4 pm for his nap.  

In addition, my online business simplysilly.etsy.com has been doing really pretty well.  I don't sell near as

 much as some people on etsy but I keep a pretty steady stream and as soon as I get a new one up or finished, I sell one.  I'm also making them for christmas presents too, so that's taking a big chunk out of mty time.  Which is great, I'm not complaining!  But it's keeping me busy.  

Anyway, I thought I'd blog about a blogworthy moment we had this morning.  We finished breakfast and went to brush our teeth.   Brighton decided he wanted to go potty on his potty.  As to not discourage him, I said "OK!"  And we took his pants and diaper off.  First he wouldn't sit on his potty chair (it was probably cold...) then he finally sat.  I attempted to show him how we push his "penis" down under the guard.  Of course, at this he laughed and laughed and laughed. 

"I'm done" he says.  

"Ok, let's go put a new diaper on"

"new diaper?"

"Yep, new diaper.  Let's pull your pants up."

"Pants on?"

"Yep!  Pants on.  Now lets go to your room."

We pull up his pants and he starts to giggle uncontrollably.  Which of course gets me giggling.   I know why he's laughing.  And this may be too personal for most people but he's just a little boy learning about his body.  So here goes.  He's laughing because anytime anything other than a diaper touches his penis he giggles uncontrollably.  

"My penis is in there" giggle giggle giggle...

"Yes, it is, so lets go to your bedroom quickly before you wet your pants"

"HAHHAHAHAHA My peeeeeeenissss"

"OMG," I think to myself.  "Is this normal?  At least he's not calling it his "wacker" like daddy taught him to."  

So giggling all the while we walk to his bedroom, which takes him decidedly longer to get to because he has no diaper on and is laughing the entire way while exclaiming "My penis is in there!"

We try to be good parents, we really do.  We lose our patience sometimes and let him have things he shouldn't sometimes, but when it comes to these important things, like being honest and not prudish about his body, I sure hope we're doing the right thing.   One thing I don't want for my son is for him to feel uncomfortable in his own skin or be ashamed of any part of his body.   But there's a fine line between teaching him to be comfortable and creating a potential streaker...I hope we haven't crossed that line...YIKES!

  

Let's Play Ball Dad!

Marcy has recently been overcome by writers block, I think she is having too much fun blogging with all of her creative Etsy friends.

Winter hasn't started yet and Brighton and I are feeling cooped up. Every night Brighton pulls on my shirt and says, "Get up Dad, I want to play ball". So up I go and we play ball on the living room or sunroom floor. He doesn't care if we are crowded, just as long as he can "kick the ball higher". I still remember all of the fun we had playing ball outside in October and can't wait until March or April and we can go out again and play on the muddy/wet grass. I guess as long as he has fun and mom isn't home to see us getting dirty, we will be ok.

- Dad

Tradition!

We're gearing up for the holiday season in our house.  We've got the turkey and all the fixin's for a great feast.  Even though we said we weren't going to make a big meal, it just kind of ends up that way because we have to have the corn cassarole and the bread and the stuffing and the pies etc etc.   But that's OK because I just want Brighton to remember these dinners and these special days at home.  

So tonight I tried my hand at making goat cheese.   Yep, you read right.  Goat Cheese.  My friends Dave and Joyce raise milk goats and were generous enough to share two quarts with me.  So I went online and got some recipes and instruction and voila!  I now have goat cheese curing in my fridge.  I added just some olive oil, salt and pepper.  I'm hoping it will be great!  I have another quart in the fridge waiting for a second batch.

I thought it would be great for Brighton to watch and "help" but he didn't get much enjoyment from the process but eventually he will.  I'm also going to buy a spinning wheel from a friend of mine.  Complete with a niddy notty and roving and cards and basically everything I would need.  It's my hope to learn some of these traditional crafts so that I can show Brighton that things don't always just come off the shelf at Target or Walmart.  I've always wanted to learn the "simple" way of doing things.  For some reason I feel like it's part of a good foundation.  And I want to pass that on.

My next adventure is making butter...

I want to catch you Daddy

Brighton's newest thing is jumping from footstools. Marcy bought him this little footstool that he loves to stand on. When he climbs up he says "Catch you Daddy" and then says sit there. I proceed to sit, like the obedient dad, and he jumps a little and falls into my arms. Then he wants to catch me. So I sand on the footstool, instruct my baby to sit on the floor and then I pretend to jump and fall on him, which is really I step down off of the footstool and then in slow motion I fall to the floor and give the little guy a hug. Giggles follow from mom, Brighton and dad. After I catch him, he stands in my lap and says "Higher Dad". Which means I hold him by his knees and hoist him up in to the air. He giggles non-stop and up and down we go.

Every day at work I can't wait to go home to play with my little guy.

Dad

Rain, Rain, go away

It's been raining all week long and I'm fearing the worst.  We'll never get to experience the splendor of an Iowa Autumn.  The smell of burning leaves, the smell of freshly fallen leaves, apples, pumpkin picking, fall bonfires.  

With every day that passes, I'm confronted with the fact that my little boy is becoming a ... well ... little boy.  He no longer likes to cuddle (except in the mornings when we have about 20 minutes to get out the door).  He hates to sit in the car and is no longer a passive passenger.  He has (gulp) real opinions regarding food, activities, toys, US.  He is also becoming very kind and sweet.  Giving his puppy (Feebee) hugs and gentle pats on the head.  He actively says "thanks mom" whenever I do something for him.  And lets face it, Andrew and I still giggle and feel that twinge of delight when we see his silly signature run.  

So I guess in a way, I'm now seeing the seasons of the year like the months and years of my son's life.  Spring is brand new, exciting, fresh.  Summer is steady, gets hot and unbearable sometimes, but we plow through it and watch the growth.  In the fall, we rest for a piece, we enjoy the fruits of our labors of the summer, and we bare down and get ready for the cold winter when we sit still, we reminisce, we hope for good weather, we enjoy the huge snowflakes falling on our tongues while we ache for the summer sun.  That is, right after we spend hours shooting down sledding hills on disc sleds and then come in for a cup of hot cocoa.  

I love Iowa.  I know that there are so many times I say I'd move in a heart beat, but I really think I would miss seeing the seasons and the earth change right before my eyes.  It's predictable.  You know that come April and May, you'll be fighting planters on the road.  In May and June you'll see the bright green of corn and bean buds against the dark black fertile Iowa soil.  By July you're measuring to make sure that the corn is knee high by the fourth of July (for a good crop).  Finally in September the corn browns and the yellow ears peek out behind the silks and husks.  Then in October against Iowa's beautiful sunset, you see the combines readying the harvest.  It's still.  It's dependable.  I never appreciated the steadiness of Iowa until I moved to rural Iowa and it was in my backyard.  I hope Brighton can see it the same way someday.  And when he has bonfires in fall and hot cocoa after sledding and sees those first green signs of spring against the black dirt, he tells his kids how wonderful it is to experience the seasons here at home.  In Iowa.

Tarbuts & Donods

I've had a number of blog-worthy days here this last week, but I decided that I'd perhaps write about a few things that I've...um...observed.  

Day One:  We went to the pumpkin patch with Brighton's preschool, and I realized that I most certainly could NOT do what preschool teachers and daycare providers do.  

Day Two:  Being old does not automatically make you handicapped...and therefore you shouldn't use the handicapped bathroom stall.  As far as I'm concerned, if you're shopping with a stroller or a toddler in a shopping cart, that IS your handicap and you're fully entitled to use the largest stall in the restroom.  

Day Three:  I walk into a store, "toss" my child into a shopping cart, ask someone where the restrooms are, and assume I can make a B-line for the bathroom (after my quad espresso + double tall latte) child and purse in cart, racing the restroom.  I don't expect 1. to be told I can't take the cart into the restroom because A. it's empty and B. the clerk tells me it is a "fire hazard."  (huh?!)  When I walk into the hallway then the bathroom, it's cluttered with rolling carts and racks and basically CRAP.  But I have to take the time (while almost wetting my pants) removing said child and purse from the EMPTY shopping cart, to make my way to the bathroom.  So...my cart is a fire hazard, (in case of fire my cart would block traffic...) but all the other crap in the bathroom/storage area isn't? 

************

Day Three almost over:  It's time to go home and Brighton is starting to get whiney.  I understand, he's tired, hasn't had a great nap, and it's going to be a long ride home.  We pass the mall and all I hear from the back seat  "Tarbuts!" "Tarbuts, Mom!"  And the rest goes a little something like this:

"What?" I say.

"Tarbuts, tarbuts!" *you fool-don't you speak English?*

"You want Starbucks?"

"Yeaas..." *duh? didn't you just hear me say that?*

I start to pull into the turning lane to go through the drive through because honestly, I'm thinking I can't make 

it through the next 30 minutes if I don't have some *Tarbuts* myself...but then...

"No! No Tarbuts"

"You don't want Starbucks now?"

"nooooo (whine), Donods."

"What?"

"Donads!" *good God woman, clean out your ears!*

"McDonalds?"

"Yes, Donads!" 

"No honey, we're going to eat pretty soon, no McDonalds tonight.  I'll make you some Starbucks when we get home."

"Nooooooo...Tarbuts"

*sigh*  I anticipate a looooooooong and whiney ride home.  About 1 mile from our drive, I starts wailing.  I 

admit, I lost my temper and told him "STOP WHINING!" (In my defense, it was a constant releasing air from a balloon sound all the way home...for THIRTY MINUTES...that mmnnmmnnmmnnmmnn...like a hungry puppy minus the drool) at which time I promptly pulled the car over onto the shoulder and in leu of ramming my vehicle straight into the first telephone pole I saw,  I saw his big tears, my heart softened, and I asked, "Did Mommy hurt your feelings?" (oh don't go gettin' all self righteous with me...you've ALL lost your temper on some cute little kid, you know you have!)

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeees..." *as he wipes away his big crocodile tears*

"Oh babe,Mom's sorry.  She shouldn't have yelled.  Can you hold out for just a few more minutes until we get home?  And please stop whining?  Sing a song!" *do something other than whine before my head explodes!*

"Tay"  *sniffle sniffle*

"Tay." I repeat.

Finally we get home and he sees daddy's car in the driveway and perks up.  Daddy greets him at the door of the car and rescues him.  

We spent the rest of the night together watching "pendins" (Happy Feet) &"meemo" (Finding Nemo) and it turned out to be a good night afterall.  

Finally.

Is it bad?

Is it bad that I hate dinnertime?  Feeding Brighton is an absolute nightmare anymore.  He usually doesn't like what we make (godforbid he eat meat...) and it takes him an excruciatingly long looooooonnnnnnnnggg time to eat.  Forget that he tosses most items out to the dog, but then he just plays and will put things in his mouth only to spit them out when they're chewed to a mush...how is he growing?  I just don't get it.

Writers Block

First of all I have to apologize for my posts lately.  Now I know how writers block feels!  Hopefully one of these days my creative writing skills will once again become apparent...but until then, I guess we'll have to just keep plugging away!!!

Yesterday I filled out a form for Brighton's new preschool called "all about me."  It got me thinking about all the new things Brighton is doing and discovering.  

I'll start with his new preschool.  He LOVES it!  Miss Mary has centers for science, art, language, dramatic play (which Andrew thinks is hilarious), and math.  They have free time during the day, he gets regular snacks and a great lunch, never comes home hungry, goes on field trips and she's even invited me to bring him next Friday to their field trip to the pumpkin patch.  I guess this is what REAL good preschools are, but it's such an eye opening experience for me to be able to drop him off and not worry!!  I actually almost cried Wednesday when I left him but it was because she was rounding them up to go on a field trip to the Children's Museum and watching Brighton toddle along with the other kids and me knowing he was going to have fun and be safe and all that jazz just got to me.

Another new thing, Coffee.  Brighton sees mom making espresso every morning and occasionally, I'll make him a steamer.  That is steamed milk with syrup.  So the other day, he looks at me and says "I want coffee mom!"  My reply went something like this "You want coffee?"  Yeah, I know.  Pretty uneventful.  And I proceeded to make him a vanilla steamer.  For the next three days.  Yesterday I made him a raspberry steamer and he looked up at me after taking a drink and said "Is this coffee?"  "Yep!" I said, "it's raspberry coffee, Daddy's favorite!"  Wherein he proceeded to drink it hesitantly.  Well, I  better be off. I have to get this house prepared for the Gazette photographer who is coming out to take a pic of my gourds...

We'll be in the paper on Saturday the 13th of October!!  Check it out!

Supper

So tonight I made supper.  No big feat for many moms, but a big one for me!  I actually cooked a meal.  Here is what I made.  It was nummy.  I substituted chicken breast for the pork and Brighton REALLY liked it (for once).  I seem to make a meal of this type every fall.  

Brighton said it was "dood."  I did too.  But now we're snacking on "pips" and Happy Feet Fruit Chews.  Yeah well,our healthy evening ended approximately 7 PM.  Tomorrow night we're going to have dinner at the Solon American Legion.  YAY!

Sweet Like Sugar

I quite possibly have THE sweetest boy ever.   He's become very protective of me and my "stuff."  Dad hasn't been feeling well and so today he really just laid around.  he was lying on the chair with the red blanket that I'm usually cuddled up in.  He told Daddy that "that's mommys!"  And tonight it's raining and so he won't go to bed until I come to bed with him.  He comes up to me "Night mommy!  Night mommy!" as he's pulling my arm.  Earlier tonight he helped me make popcorn on the stove.  He poured the popcorn  kernels into the pan and then we watched as the kernels went POP POP POP!  He had to try a piece right away as soon as I put them in the bowl.  "mmmmm dood" he said.  And he tried as hard as he could to put the kitchen chair back under the table but when he couldn't, he decided he'd move the tote out of the way instead.  :)  Speaking of my sweet as sugar little boy, he's headed back to our room to go night night so I'd better follow.  I told him I'd come in after my show was over and since it's over I guess I'd better make good on my promise :D

WANTED: Have you seen this boy?

Wanted:  

Have you seen this boy?

Two year old boy, brown hair, hazel eyes - very shifty.  Approximately 3 feet tall, weighs approximately 25 pounds.

Wanted for serial cookie, cracker and chip pecking.  That is, taking one bite of a cookie, cracker, chip and putting the rest back.  

His profile also includes licking doritoes, pringles, suckers, and jalapeno jelly (mild).  

Especially vulnerable are Grandmas with open cookie jars, Nanas with open bags of chips and Moms with cream cheese, jalapeno jelly and crackers.  If you are any of these people, please use extreme caution when in the presence of these items.  Can be extremely messy.

If you see him, please hide, disguise, or otherwise get rid of potentially tempting foods.

Happy Friday!

 

Bus Buy?

I'm not sure how many times I can write about Brighton's new words or phrases or what's going on with him every second of the day anymore.  He doesn't so much make huge strides like he did when he was little.  He's a toddler now.  A little person.  A little person...oh my God, a little person!  A person that can actually hold a (for lack of a better word) conversation.  A little person with obvious compassion and tenderness.  A little person who is becoming independent and knows what he wants.  Am I getting empty nest already?  

Andrew and I had a rather heated discussion last evening regarding Brighton's schooling.  It all started when he mentioned to me that in two years and some odd months Brighton would be getting ready for kindergarten.  How dare he!?  How dare he foil my fantasy of my little boy never growing up!  We "discussed" which school he would attend and in what school district.  Andrew keeps insisting that I can not open enroll him in Iowa City schools and that Mount Vernon isn't a great idea either.  He thinks we should stick with, gulp, the school here in town.  It's a good school (I guess) and test scores compare well to Mount Vernon, and it's more "culturally diverse" which is pretty important to me.  Then the topic of home schooling came up.  I am not totally opposed to this idea!  Not in the least.  But Andrew is.  So the "conversation" continues but since I was starting to hyperventilate at the thought of my baby going to school, we had to end the discussion and finish the drive home from Dairy Queen.

Today I was happy to spend the day with my little boy.  He had his second dentist appointment (No cavities!) wherein the dentist chastised (gently) me for not using fluoride toothpaste.  And I (gently) explained to him that I wasn't going to use it because it upset Bright's tummy.  He threatened to give him a fluoride treatment if needed and I (in my head) was going to tell him that he was not going to give my son a fluoride treatment.  

Next we made our way to Perkins for breakfast.  We never ever eat at perkins.  They give you TOO much food and charge you too much for it.  But sometimes you just get hungry for it I guess.  Brighton happily shared my pancakes and sausage and hash browns while he colored on his menu.  We ran a few errands and then were on our way home.  

Later tonight we made chocolate chip cookies, danced the waltz, cha cha and two step, and drew many many "two planes."  I love that I can hold him in my arms and waltz.  I love that he has to stand on a chair to help me make cookies.  I love that for some reason, he's obsessed with "Best Buy" which sounds like "Bus Bye."  

I have a few more years before I have to watch him walk all by himself into those big doors.  I think we'll be doing a few more waltzes.

  

The Definition of "insane"

Brighton just before his bike ride this morning with Dad


It is said that the defintion of insane is to do the same thing over and over again with expectation of a different result. But does that count when you're dealing with a toddler? Tonight for the first time I actually said "No" when Andrew asked me if he should cut up some chicken for Brighton for supper. He ALWAYS takes it, then spits it out as soon as it hits his tongue. Though today I broke down and got him some "Gerber Graduates" chicken and turkey sticks...you know, those cylindrical shaped almost white dare I say vienna sausage looking nastiness soaked in water in the baby food aisle. EVeryone tells me though they look really gross, their kids love them. And he took one bite, spit it out, then cintinued to eat three more. Yuk. I felt bad even giving them to Feebee! But he liked it..so whaddya gonna do?

Then we saw the new sensation promoted by manic mommies (http://www.manicmommies.com) called fruitaBu smooshed fruit (http://www.fruitabu.com). So we got a couple of boxes of those. They're certified organic smooshed fruit (No, we don't usually go organic, but I've heard great things about fruitabu). They had fruit twirls which are like fruit leather, fruit flats (I'm not sure what these are) and smooshed fruit that is well...like smooshed fruit.

So the point of this "insane" blog is that it seems like we try to give Brighton the same thing over and over again without trying new things and expecting a new result. Afterall, they always told me you have to try sometimes up to 17 times before a baby will eat a certain food. But it's been probably more like 100+ times that we've tried to give him meat...and he just doesn't like it unless it's all processed and well, yuk. So I guess he'll keep getting protein from cottage cheese, milk, cheese products, peanut butter and beans...What's a mom to do?