Cordy Archives - Page 47 of 56

Nov 13, 2007

Parenting Is A Full-Contact Sport

And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

I’m still finding it hard to focus too long on my computer screen today thanks to a sudden meeting of Cordy’s occipital bone with my nasal bone on Sunday.

We were up very early in the morning, thanks to her Houdini ability to open her bedroom door, even with a doorknob safety cover on it. (Note to safety device makers – this one DOES NOT WORK!) In my half-asleep state, I prepared breakfast, turned on the TV, and promptly found a pillow for my head on the couch. Soon, Cordy had eaten breakfast and came over to the couch, wanting to snuggle. She crawled up next to me, facing out with her head on the pillow. I pulled the blanket up to cover both of us and tried to return to my semi-asleep state.

I don’t know why she did it, but she suddenly jerked her head back quick and fast, sending the back of her (hard!) skull into the soft tender parts of my face. For a moment, I could actually “see” pain as everything looked brighter, then darker. White hot electric pain shot through my nose.

For her part, Cordy seemed unaffected, although she did climb off the couch, rub the back of her head, and say, “I have a boo-boo, mommy. Kiss it better?” Somehow, the last thing I wanted to do at that moment was kiss the sore spot on her head that resulted from her attempt to make my nose concave.

I don’t think my nose is broken, but it’s quite possible she cracked the bone. It did bleed, but no black eyes. (Although how can you tell if you have permanent dark circles under your eyes?) Two days later, and I can still feel the ache up into my forehead and eye sockets. But my nose isn’t crooked, so it just has to heal on its own.

Aaron told me the story of how he broke his mother’s nose as a toddler in a similar incident. All I can say is that I really didn’t want to be a part of this family tradition.

Never let your guard down, folks. There are no personal foul penalties in parenting. Investing in a helmet might be a good idea, too.

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

Speaking of rough and tumble children, I just reviewed The Daring Book for Girls over at Mommy’s Must Haves. Somehow I think this will be Cordy’s favorite book when she’s older.

Filed Under: Cordy ·

Nov 9, 2007

Haiku Friday: Toys and Villains

By Christina ·

Lead paint, toxic drugs
No toy is safe anymore
Wood blocks for Christmas?

First there was small magnets posing a danger, then lead paint, and now poisonous chemicals that can lead to a coma or death. Seems like every toy is a little death bomb waiting to pounce on our kids. I may be sticking to organic fabric and wood when shopping for gifts for the girls.

Ninth of November
Halloween is over now?
Tell that to my kid.

I’m not sure which is worse – listening to Cordy beg to watch Mickey’s House of Villains for the 78 gazillionth time, or having to sit through it again. Cordy will not accept that Halloween is over, and I’m slowly going insane from it. I think even at Christmas she’ll be walking up to Santa, saying “Look, mommy, a red monster! Happy Halloween!”

To play along for Haiku Friday, follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. What’s a haiku, you ask? Click here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your generic blog URL). We will delete your link if it doesn’t go to a haiku. If you need help with this, contact Jennifer or myself.

3. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button above.

So flex those mental muscles and join Jennifer and I for Haiku Fridays!

Filed Under: Cordy, Haiku Fridays ·

Nov 1, 2007

Halloween House of Horrors

By Christina ·

Halloween was a lot of fun – Cordy made a cute pirate/goth vampire (she still wouldn’t wear the hat), and lots of candy filled her bucket. I went with her for trick or treat, and we were done in under an hour.

But the real fun of the night was at our house, where Aaron scared the bejeebus out of kids with his costume and our child-eating pumpkin was a big hit.

Here was Aaron’s costume:

Pretty simple, but the faceless mask really creeped out many kids coming up for trick or treat. At one point, I was outside when three children approached the house. Aaron was inside the darkened house. As I reached out to give the first girl candy, the three of them suddenly screamed and ran away as fast as they could.

I turned around to see what spooked them and saw Aaron coming out the door. They saw him approaching the glass door, and in the darkness, they only saw a featureless white face coming at them. These weren’t little kids, either – I’d guess they were six, eight and nine years old. I couldn’t help but laugh – Aaron wasn’t even trying to scare them!

The youngest of the three kids ran so fast to get away he lost a shoe in our yard. And he refused to come back for the shoe, or for any candy. The two girls came back, although they armed themselves with plastic swords to make sure they’d be OK. Finally, Aaron had to take the mask off and return the shoe to the scared boy’s mom in their car.

Of course, their fear level started out high when they had to walk past our Jack O’ Lantern:

I tried to tell them they had nothing to worry about, since he had clearly eaten. Ah well.

Filed Under: Aaron, Cordy, family time ·

Oct 30, 2007

The Future Songwriter

By Christina ·

We were watching Backyardigans last night while eating dinner. (Yes, we’re lazy and have dinner in front of the TV on occasion.) As usual, I’m never allowed to eat my own meal – Cordy will gobble every last bite of her food, then rush over to demand half of whatever I’m eating. There’s something about mommy’s food that makes it sooooo delicious.

On this occasion, it was my Lean Cuisine Margherita pizza, and I really didn’t feel like sharing. I only get 300 or so calories from this meal, and I’d like to enjoy every last one, thank you very much.

Cordy started with her normal begging for food. “Pizza for Cordy?” she asked. “No, you had your dinner. This is mommy’s dinner,” I countered with my standard response.

This exchange continued for a few minutes, and then she was quiet. The Backyardigans episode we were watching was the Secret of the Nile, and the song “Please and Thank You” was being sung at this moment. (For those who watch, it’s the song that Tasha and Uniqua sing at the end.) Suddenly, out of nowhere, Cordy comes up to my chair and starts singing along with the song, only with different lyrics:

Peeeez an fank you are da seeee-cwets of da pizza!
Iiii waaaan some of da red pizzaaaa, it’s weally yummy!

She continued on from there, but Aaron and I were laughing too hard, tears in our eyes, to hear the rest of her original song.

I had no idea she was a songwriting talent.

And yes, she got some of my pizza.

Filed Under: Cordy, daily life, family time ·

Oct 30, 2007

I’m Crazy, How Are You?

By Christina ·

Wow, I haven’t updated since Friday? Where did my weekend go?

Oh yeah. That’s right. I have two girls who won’t give me a moment’s peace.

Seriously, how do you convince a five month old that she does not need to scream loud enough to alert social services because I had the nerve to put her down on a fluffy soft blanket on the floor, surrounded by a bunch of developmentally stimulating and appropriate toys, for just five minutes so I can make myself a frikkin’ sandwich? The crying and fussing is hard to endure, especially when you’re trying to enjoy lunch, or go to the bathroom, or give her big sister a little attention.

I remember that Cordy was a high-needs baby, too – at least I thought so at the time. Someone forgot to give Mira the message that she’s the second child, so it isn’t all about her. Putting her in her swing, in her bouncy seat, on the couch, in her crib, or any other surface (Bumbo on a countertop edge?) that isn’t my lap or my hip is a serious offense.

No problem, you might say, just get your rest during her naps. That would be fine, if she took real naps. Her naps consist of 3 catnaps lasting 15-20 minutes during the day.

Believe me, I’m not trying to play the “who has to endure the worst baby?” game, because I know there is someone out there who has a baby with some sort of aversion to sleeping all night long or a baby with a shriek that can break glass. Mira has a smile that would make your heart grow three times its size, and she is so cute when she sleeps. And Mira does sleep well at night. It’s just the other 13 hours of the day that are the problem.

But enough of that rant. It wasn’t our entire weekend, and we did actually have some fun! Aaron and I took the girls to Boo at the Zoo for some trick or treat practice. Kids are encouraged to come in costume, and community sponsors have treat stations set up throughout the zoo. Fierce animals and a candy high…woo-hoo!

It went really well, and for the first time in ages, we had a pleasant day out with no meltdowns from Cordy. She loved getting candy put in her pumpkin, even if she doesn’t know what it is. (Totally serious – she has no idea what candy is. Chocolate brownies are another story, though.)

Cordy’s costume was cute, although she refused to wear the hat. And without the pirate hat, she didn’t look much like a pirate. More like an Anne Rice vampire, thanks to the lace frills and her pale skin. Maybe we should have added a little fake blood and dressed her as Claudia from Interview with the Vampire?

Mira wore her Princess Leia outfit, including her hat. Several people did double takes as they walked past the stroller and saw her. It was cold on Saturday, but Mira’s costume is made of felt so she didn’t mind at all.

Pictures of the day, thanks to Aunt Katie: