Question of the Week - The Movies

This weekend, the Pumpkin was pretty sick. Unfortunately, we do not have a thermometer that she will let us use that gives an accurate read. But we figure she was somewhere in the 100s to 101s on Saturday. We knew she was REALLY sick when she fell asleep on the couch during the day. Twice. She was a poor little thing with a cough and running nose in addition to the fever.

We treated the fever, washed her hands frequently and wiped her nose regularly. Other than that, there wasn't much to do. So we let her sit around on the couch and watch TV most of the day.

I remember when I was a kid and home sick that there were certain movies I loved to watch. My two favorites once I was elementary-school aged were Heidi and Pollyanna. How I loved to curl up in my parents' bed watching one of those on video, stopping for a cup of chicken broth and hot tea.

So when my daughter was sick and sitting on the couch, I thought it would be a great time to introduce a real movie to her! She does have, and love, the Winnie the Pooh movie, but that's really a combination of short stories. I did try Mary Poppins a few weeks ago, but I quickly saw that she is still too young for that movie, as I'm sure she is for Heidi and Pollyanna. I didn't just want to buy a Dora movie or another TV show's movie. I wanted to introduce her to a movie that is known in our culture, one that is recognized as a movie.

On Sunday, I had a chance to go look for DVDs after having lunch with a friend. My friend and I talked about different Disney movies and Pixar movies, trying to come up with one that would hold the Pumpkin's interest without being too violent or scary. I also did not want to start with a Princess-who-has-to-be-rescued story. The first one that both I and my friend came up with independently was The Little Mermaid, a movie I absolutely love. However, I don't want the Pumpkin's first introduction to princess be one in which I feel like the lesson is "Keep your mouth shut so the man will fall in love with you and rescue you." I'd rather start her with Beauty and the Beast, or Mulan if it didn't have all the violence.

We came up with a few good ones that I would have bought: Lady and the Tramp, The Lion King, Toy Story, Finding Nemo. But it boiled down to whatever the store had in stock. They had The Jungle Book, so that's the one I got! I started it Sunday afternoon, but the Pumpkin was in a fussy mood and the beginning was too slow for her. I tried again a few hours later, using a trick my friend says she does to cut out the scary beginning of Finding Nemo--I skipped the beginning. I started with the elephants, which was followed by Baloo and the Bare Necessities song. Score! She was into it!

We didn't watch the whole thing, but by the time the monkeys had taken Mogli, she was asking, "But where is Moogi?" and wanting to watch more. By this morning, she was feeling good enough to go to school, but she was asking about it. I told her we could probably watch it after school.

I'm really excited to start to share movies with her. Especially the movies I grew up watching or discovered a little later. Movies that I can enjoy watching. Especially ones with songs that we can sing and dance to. And when she's sick (which is going to be happening more now that she's in pre-school), I can't wait to cuddle her on the couch and watch Sick Day Movies with her.

This week's questions of the week are:
What movies have you watched with your kids or are excited to watch with them? Do you have any special Sick Day Movies?

I'm especially excited to share Beauty and the Beast, Lady and the Tramp, Shrek and Mary Poppins (once she's old enough to enjoy it). I'm sure there are a bunch of others that I'm forgetting, but those are the ones that come to mind now. How about you?

Mommy's a Good Helper Too

Sometime last weekend, the Pumpkin asked if I wanted to play with her. Londo had the baby, so I said sure. I put down the dishes I was cleaning and went into the living room to play. She asked me if I wanted to help her and bring the bowl from her play kitchen to her table (the toddler table). This is just the sort of thing we ask her to do when she wants to help us in the kitchen.

Of course I said sure, and I brought the bowl to the table while she pretended to cook at her play kitchen. She said to me, "Good job, Mommy! You are a good helper!" She gave me another bowl, and I did a good job with that one, too!

Laughing Through the Nos

It was another rough night, and again everyone ended up in our bed. That includes the dog and sometimes the cat. (Thank goodness it's a king-sized bed!)

After I had been up with the baby for over an hour, the Pumpkin and Londo finally woke up. It was after 8, so we were already running late. But the Pumpkin hadn't slept well due to a cough and Londo is almost always at work by 8 instead of sleeping cuddled with his daughter, so I let them sleep until they woke on their own(ish) just after 8.

One of the first things I told the Pumpkin was that there was oatmeal for breakfast in order to help motivate her to get up and ready to go. She was excited! She loves oatmeal! But everything after that was met by a big "No." This conversation happened after yet another No.

caramama, to Londo: It sounds like she's got a case of the Nos.
Londo, to caramama: You know how to get some Yeses? Just ask her a question which should have the answer No.
caramama, to Londo: Because she's being so contrary lately?
Londo, to caramama: Yep.
Londo, to the Pumpkin: Pumpkin, do you want to go back to sleep?
Pumpkin: Noooo.
caramama, to Londo: Good try.
Londo, to the Pumpkin: Pumpkin, do you want a hippopatomaus?
Pumpkin: No, Daddy. I want oatmeal!

We got a good laugh out of that! Maybe next time she rejects whatever meat we've made for dinner I'll tell her it's hippopatomaus! Bwahahaha!

Also, a little while later, there was this conversation, apropo of nothing:
Pumpkin: Daddy, are you Super Daddy?
Londo: Yes, I am!
caramama: He most definitely is!

That's the cute story for the morning. I won't get into the big meltdown about which chair she wanted to sit in ("No, the OTHER one!") or trying to get her out to the car (I had to carry her) or the dropoff (which is actually getting better).

Sleepless in caramama's House

Well, not sleepless, but pretty crappy sleep.

Some nights are great! Until a two weekends ago, the Pumpkin had been sleeping through the night in her own bed by herself probably 5 out of 7 nights. Most nights over the last month or more, the Pookie has sleep a big chunk (like 3-4 hours) at the beginning of the night and then woken every 2 hours or so. The nights when both kids are sleeping at their best, Londo and I get decent sleep. I wake up feeling better good and like I can handle the day.

Then we have nights like the last two nights, and the three nights prior to Saturday night (Saturday night was actually a good night). These are the nights when the Pookie wakes up every. freaking. hour. and kicks and squirms and nurses the rest of the time and/or (usually and) the Pumpkin comes into our bed with a book she wants Daddy to read (okay, that's kind of cute) and tosses and turns on us, between us and into us.

I so grumpy today. I'm so very very tired. I went to bed at 9:00 just hoping to get a chunk of sleep when the baby first went to bed, but he woke up at 10:15 and was not restful the whole night, including waking up every hour. The Pumpkin was in bed with us since midnight or earlier and was very grumpy herself this morning. And the Pookie was fussing just enough to keep me from being able to finish getting ready for the morning. Londo stayed home sick this morning, so he helped me out a great deal.

Did I mention we've all been sick and were finally feeling better but now not so much?

Plus, fall is now here and I haven't started doing anything to treat my Seasonal Affective Disorder. Ugh. I'm just happy to be back at work where I deal with very few people who act like babies and toddlers.

Question of the Week - Re-Organizing Rooms

This weekend, Londo and I worked together to really clean up and organize two rooms on our first floor. You see, we have let things go for months now, and I cannot let them go any longer because it's been driving me CRAZY! The sense of disorganization and clutter, not being able to find important papers and items, and tripping over crap that hasn't been put away or has no place to go... These things make me nuts.

I can ignore them for a while. When it's winter and I am too exhausted to notice, I don't have the energy to even get upset about it. With the tough pregnancy last year and then the newborn, I was just barely keeping up with dishes and laundry. But I have had to ask people to re-send me things for the Pumpkin's pre-school (her registration), for the animals (records for the dog's vaccinations), for the doctors and pharmacists (allergy information and EpiPen perscription), and much more. I can't live like that.

Before I went back to work from maternity leave, I had started re-organizing and re-purposing the kitchen cabinets, the kitchen hutch and the dining room hutch. At this point in my life, I do not need the crystal or the martini glasses handy. I do need a place to put Play Doh and other art supplies and places to put the chips and bread that is out of reach of my tall and intensely curious child. I've been so much happier since re-orgnizing those.

I had even cleaned up the kitchen counters where we drop our stuff when we get home. But those didn't stay clean for long. You see, we've not really had another place to put those items, and so our limited kitchen counters kept getting even more cluttered.

So this weekend, we cleaned all the junk off of the dining room table. I finished organizing the hutch in the dining room so that we can put things right in there, not on the table where it'll sit and look messy. Then, we cleaned out the coat closet. We went through coats and accessories for giveaway and storage, and then we organized it to work better (I hope). We did the same for our entryway, including the coat hooks and the cubbyholes I have by the door.

Finally, I re-arranged the front room to work for us at this time in our lives. Instead of being the "parlor" where only my antique chairs fit, and instead of being the "library" when all the books are in boxes on the floor until we can afford bookshelves, I will be calling it the "front room" because it has multiple purposes. The boxes of books line the wall where we will put the bookshelves, but only one level high so you don't really see them. The chairs are set up in front of the boxes and no longer hold random junk. I moved my beautiful antique, marble-topped washbasin desk to be against the wall by the front door, along with a little table with shelf. I have begun setting those up to hold the various items we bring into the house, from cell phones and mail to the Pumpkin's school papers and art. I need to buy a couple little items to finish off that area, such as a bulletin board and calendar for the wall above it and a rack to put labeled folders in. Finally, I found a good way to store the three strollers and the car seat in that front room without taking up a lot of space in the middle of the room or looking really messy.

My head is full of re-organizing and decorating, and I've got plans for some other rooms, too! So this week's question of the week is:

What room or rooms would you re-organize if you could?

I love to hear about how other people organize and decorate. There is a reason I watch so much HGTV! Have you got any good plans or ideas for your house? Is there a room (like my kitchen) which you would completely remodel if you could?

In some coincidental good timing, last week Ask Moxie had a few posts with many great comments about managing stuff and managing schedules and papers. Check it out if you need some good ideas.