A Magic Moment

The following moment occurred while we were on vacation. Alexis is quite a spitfire. Like most toddlers, she is constantly going, going, gone. Add a fun new location to the mix and we had a little tornado on our hands! However, on our last day in San Francisco, we went down to the waterfront and Alexis played in the sand. She was calm, tranquil, and happy while she watched a ship in the port. It was impossible not to watch her, completely mesmerized. It was magical.

This is my link-up for Shell's My Magic Moment.

San Francisco Parks

  We went to San Francisco. At least 15 things probably just popped into your head as you wonder what we could have done in such a historic, interesting city. Did we tour Alcatrez? Cross the Golden Gate Bridge? Walk the famous Lombard Street?

  We saw the city in terms of children's parks. We went to a park at Yerba Buena Gardens, Golden Gate Park, Chinatown, Nob Hill, and The Presidio. We even spent a huge chunk of our time at the San Francisco Zoo playing at the playground. Some parks were old and out-dated, some were extremely cool. One even had a 20-foot slide that Alexis bravely went down. There were wood, plastic, and metal playsets. There were mostly sand bases, however one of the parks had that spongy blue base. We found swings, teeter-totters, diggers, and bridges. Alexis even tried a tire swing at one of the playgrounds

  Nick and I are already envisioning our next trip to San Francisco. It will include Alcatraz, Coit Tower, the Muir Woods, the Saturday Farmer's Market, and a trip to Wine Country. We may be empty-nesters when we get back, but we will have to do the city sans children!

  A few pics from San Francisco...from the parks of course! No scenic predictable shots here.

  We had a wonderful trip and it was a terrific week of quality family time. But I think we could have had the same fun in Omaha, NE. Maybe we will go there next year.

Hotel Housekeeping

  The best part of staying at a hotel on vacation is the fact that no matter what you do to your living space, someone else cleans it up. Genius. However, now that we travel with a child, we need to prioritize our Housekeeping time. After all, not disrupting Alexis during nap is a common goal. So we ask ourselves, how few times in one week can we have the garbage taken out to avoid things growing in the trash can? Do we really need someone to change the sheets on the bed? Do we vacuum our own carpets in a week's time? There is much strategy and thought that goes into vacations with a toddler and managing hotel in-room service is one of them.

  You know those signs you hang outside your hotel door that say "Please Do Not Disturb"? Yep, I hung it on our door this morning so Alexis could nap today without Housekeeping coming in to disturb us. After all, yesterday was a very long travel day for all of us and included no quiet time whatsoever. Today is a day for restoring our energy and sanity. Hooray for naptime! Do. Not. Disturb.

  So what does Housekeeping do? They call our room to double-check that we meant to hang the sign on our door.

  Sigh.

My Toddler Is Ready For Vacation--Am I?

  Alexis' backpack is packed. She knows which favorite blanket is coming with her. Her luggage is filled with my old tank tops that she wears as dresses. The DVD player is charged, crayons are organized, and stickers are waiting to be stuck. For the last 13 mornings, Alexis has asked if it is "San Cisco" time yet. With every airplane we see in the sky, Alexis reassures herself that it is not going to San Francisco. After all, the plane going to San Francisco cannot be departing without us on it. Makes perfect sense.

  Alexis is ready for vacation.

  What I don't think she is ready for is the 4 hour direct flight from Minnesota to California. Alexis is a good traveler. No, scratch that, she is a great traveler. But she is still a 2 1/2 year old on an airplane for 4 hours. It will be her fifth flight, but the longest straight stretch of time. I used to try to find direct flights for us because they make life so much easier. Now I think it might make life a little more inconvenient.

  Let me regale you with my basic tenet of air travel with a child: throw the rules out the pressurized triple-paned window. Give the child whatever he wants*. Candy, DVDs, juice, popcorn, markers, Play Doh, you get the idea. For the sanity of every single person in the airplane, make your kid think that flying is the single coolest adventure he could embark on.

  However, for a 4 hour flight with my toddler, I think it might not be enough. I have flown with her a few times by myself and this flight with a second adult is making me more anxious than those. I have the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD, the Word World DVD, stickers, coloring books, dry erase boards/markers, M&Ms, lollipops, sugary snacks, salty snacks, tons of books, her Taggie blankets, and a couple favorite stuffed animals. Even with all that, I think I am going to be entertainment central. For 4 hours. And I am going to be like the flashy, loud, brand-new Christmas morning toy after 90 minutes. Thrown into the corner and forgotten for her favorite book.  Hopefully I remembered to bring that one.

  Here's hoping she doesn't kick my ass.

  When we return, I will post with a review of how the flights went!

*Exception: headphones for DVD players/tablets and no loud electronic toys or musical instruments. There are 182 other people on the aircraft who don't think your child is adorable, interesting, or gifted.

Who Created Moon Sand?

  Moon Sand is this magical sand that is for the indoors. It never dries out, it is highly moldable, and comes in bright fun colors. Alexis got the Bake Shop set for her birthday, which has pink, purple, and white sand, plus some extra blue sand. Needless to say, all her sand is now purple, which she loves. Everyday Alexis wants to make cupcakes with frosting, tarts with fruit, and big cakes. She molds them and then takes them over to her IKEA kitchen to bake on her cookie sheet. She uses an old house phone as her business line and ends each call with "Thank you for your business, bye bye!". So creative, clever, and non-weather dependent.


  I despise Moon Sand. It is sand, so it gets into everything. Every crack. Every crevice. Under fingernails. Between toes. I cannot sweep it up. I try repeatedly, but I just cannot get it all. Also, Alexis wants me to play it with her every time. I am the master baker, stirring the sand in the stand mixer. Forming all the minuscule treats and adhering their frosting caps. Patting the tarts and creating the large cakes, making the flower decorations to place on the top. Then I need to pretend to eat them and gush over how fabulous they are. Finally, I make half the pretend phone calls to Daddy so he can order custom-made treats "for pick-up or delivery?".


  Alexis needs to learn how to play with this onerous toy on her own. I don't mind doing it with her occasionally, but it would be much better if this was a solo endeavor on her part. I don't need to develop my fine motor skills or use this as an outlet for my creative genius. I would like to leave those things up to Alexis. I will ooh and ahh over her lovely desserts and even be her delivery woman, but I want to leave my fingers out of the Moon Sand!


  So far, Moon Sand might just be the world's worst invention. And my 2 year old loves it.

Potty Training - A Parent's Everest

   I haven't heard of a Kindergartner going to school not being potty trained. So why all the fuss, stress, and worry over the toilet? Some parents do infant potty learning, many parents begin when their child is a toddler, and a few others are forced to wait until their child is old enough that intense bribery works.

  There is pressure from society ("most children are trained by 2"), grandparents ("you were out of diapers by 18 months; one day I just said 'sit on the potty' and you did it), and daycare centers ("our policy is that your child cannot move into the preschool room until he is 33 months or potty trained"). But in reality there are basic body functions that cannot be forced, barring medical intervention via tubes, if the child is not ready, like sleeping, eating/drinking, and excreting.

  Alexis is not quite 2.5 years old. Since she has always been a fastidious child and a fast learner, I bought some underwear before she showed any interest. Being the Type A freak I am, I wanted to make sure that if she wanted to wear panties one day I would be prepared. Well, about a month ago she did decide that she wanted to wear underwear and try sitting on the potty. Over the course of 8 days, she had many makes, became an expert at holding her pee (I am talking for like 7+ hours), many misses, and never once attempted a poop. Her biggest hurdle was focus; pausing in her day to go sit on the potty and focus for just a couple seconds before resuming her activity. Then one day, about a week later, she went cold turkey on the training and requested diapers again. Okay by me.

  That last statement is the amazing thing in all of this. For me, I think I handled the Alexis-led potty training as well as I am ever going to. I was anxious about it because I want her to succeed. But I didn't vocalize any of my frustrations. I think Alexis felt relaxed to make the choice, to pee or not to pee.

  I currently believe Alexis doesn't have the emotional maturity to work on potty training and lacks a little body awareness. Again, part of the learning is knowing when you have to go (pee-check), being calm enough to eliminate in the potty (pee-check), and being able to tear yourself away from your toys to go do it (eh). When I say body awareness, I am referring to BMs. Just yesterday we were upstairs right before Quiet Time and she was running around naked. When she chooses to be naked, I remind her that since she is not wearing diapers she needs to try to go in the potty because we do not pee on the floor. "Okay Mommy!". So she is playing and then she stops and looks at me, bends over a little, and says "Mommy I toot!". I looked at the floor and said "No, Alexis you pooped." This little girl is a rule-follower who loves announcing her toots. Clearly she doesn't quite have the difference between fecal states of matter down yet. Good to know in terms of potty training.

  I am sure Alexis will reach an age at which I get more frustrated if she isn't grabbing the concept of using the potty. In another year if this is still an issue, I will likely be implementing the sticker charts, M&Ms, and big prize techniques that are more appropriate for a preschooler. But until then, I am approaching it in a very she-will-get-it-when-she-gets-it approach. I make sure she knows she is loved whether she pees in the potty, diapers, or her underwear. I encourage all parents to just relax and let your kids lead you down the path of using the potty. They will get it.

  I will end with the following vignette. Alexis knows the proper anatomical body part names of everything. Yes, everything, and she has known them for months. She likes information and I see no need to teach her cutesy names for things. That being said, about a week ago, we came inside from sand and water play. Because it was right before bedtime, she was naked before we went upstairs to get ready for sleep (I swear she wears clothing most of the time). I reminded her that since she is not wearing diapers she needs to try to pee on the potty or tell me she needs a diaper. She instantly ran over to the potty. Being that Alexis is a rule-follower, I thought there had been a miscommunication and she thought she needed to sit on the potty regardless of personal need. I told her once that she doesn't need to sit on the potty unless she needs to go. "Okay Mommy!". After a couple minutes of sitting spread eagle on her potty chair, Alexis unabashedly looks down between her legs and exclaims "Mommy! My vagina is working today!". She peed. Hooray for small victories and the simple excitement of a toddler.