Loving on groceries

Man, it's been a busy few weeks!  Why are the last weeks of school so darn crazy?  Also, how is it that school has been out for 1 week today but it already seems like it has been an entire month?

But having nothing to do with that, my almost 20 month old has the weirdest habit!  Most of the weird things he does I think, "Oh yeah, been there done that.  One of the other kids did that too" - but with this one, I'm not sure any other kid on the planet has done.  If they have let me know and maybe we can start a support group.

Baby crazy pants throws an absolute fit if he cannot hug every single item I put into the grocery cart. 

As you can imagine this proves quite challenging for some items I purchase:

1) Bread, buns and things of that sort.  Why does he hug these much harder than anything else I purchase?  Probably because they are squishy and "hug" back? I have many many bags of crumbled hot dog buns currently residing in my pantry.  The geese at the park are going to LOVE us!

2) Chicken, meat, etc - plain and simple I am not going to give my kid salmonella just so he won't scream.  I apologize to all other shoppers within ear shot.

3) Frozen items - they are cold and then he screams, I don't give them to him and he screams.      Lose, lose situation there.  

4) Glass bottled items - he has a penchant for throwing the item on the ground after he has loved it within an inch of it's life.  Fortunately I figured that out before we sent some poor unsuspecting shopper to the hospital.

This week he upped his game to wanting to kiss the items. 

Where does this go next???

Good thing he is cute.

My 9 year old daughter is a hoarder

Our daughter's room isn't huge and so she had the great idea of getting a loft bed so as to make more space for herself.  We had the genius idea to listen to her.

I just went up there to change her sheets - which by the way is the biggest pain on the planet.

OH MY LORD. Here is an inventory of what I found:

Note - I am known for exaggeration.  i.e. "I had a million things go do today!" or "Literally I wet my pants because I was laughing so hard" - neither of those statements would be true.  This list below sadly is the honest to God's truth.

27 stuffed animals (granted they were varying sizes, some tiny, but still that is insane)
5 socks
a trash can (clean fortunately but wtf???) filled with 13 books
8 other books strewn about
1 body pillow
1 regular pillow
a sleeping bag case -not the sleeping bag, just the case it goes in
7 water bottles. SEVEN!  Photographic evidence below

3 sleep masks
1 flashlight

Where is there actually room for her in this bed?

Mark my words, this child will be on a future episode of Hoarders and will have dead cats buried under 11 years of newspapers. This is a problem.

Resposibility and riding a bike

My daughter learned to ride a bike about a year ago. I haven't seen her since - anyone know where she is???  Not really, but she LOVES hopping on and riding to her freedom and I think it is wonderful.  However, we have learned that with the privilege of riding a bike comes some responsibility on the part of the parent and the child.

1) Look at your child before they leave

My kids know they are to always wear their helmets.  It is never an argument, it is not uncool to wear one.  It just isn't anything.  However sometimes (often/all the time/constantly) kids forget things.  A few weeks ago my daughter was 1/2 way down the driveway when I saw that she didn't have on her helmet. I pointed that out, she put it on and was on her way. The oversight was a complete accident on her part. Not 10 minutes later she had a major wreck by running into a trash can.  She was pretty scraped up and even cracked her helmet.  Thank goodness I had caught a glimpse of her riding off without her helmet.  Who knows how injured she could have been if she had not been wearing it.

Also check to ensure they are wearing proper shoes for riding and proper clothes - nothing super loose and flowy that could get caught up in the spokes.

2) Map out their routes

Hop on a bike and ride the routes with them.  Riding it yourself is the only way you will know what kind of road/riding conditions they may encounter. Pick specific points they they are allowed to venture to.

3) Watch your time

A few days ago  I told my daughter not to be gone long.  What does that mean to a 9 year old?  Apparently 2 hours.  I was in such a panic by the time she got home (and after I drove the neighborhood for a 1/2 hour looking for her) that I cannot even tell you. She had been having fun at her friend's house and just didn't realize that much time had passed.

Now, before she leaves, she puts on a watch and I show her specifically when she is expected home. Bonus - she is getting much better at reading a watch!

4) Text me!

The scary situation a few days ago could have been avoided if the adult at the house where she was playing had texted me and let me know she was there. So simple.  A quick text when she gets there and a quick text when she leaves.

Super easy things to do and now we can all just relax and enjoy the freedom she has gained from riding a bike. Happy Summer!