sac4kids.com Blog

I was making the bed yesterday and Patrick was, well, doing Patrick things.  You know, like running back and forth across the room for no particular reason, jumping, doing somersaults, etc.

I was putting the case on the pillow (my BRAND NEW pillow…it is so soft and lovely…ahhhh) and I looked over at Patrick, yelled, “Pillow fight!” and bopped him on the head.  Well, that was the most hysterical thing he’d seen all day.  He laughed and laughed, and I continued this course of, “Pillow fight!” and bopping him on the head, his back, and his tummy for several minutes.

But alas, all good things must come to an end.  I had to finish making the bed.  Contrary to popular belief, Mary Poppins does not live here. So I gave Patrick one more giggle infused bop on the head and then continued with my work.

He, however, had other plans. He took the pillow off of the bed and started to hit himself with it.  My husband walked in and commented, “Is Patrick having a pillow fight with himself?”  I looked up and answered, “I do believe he is!” through my giggles. We watched as he continually pushed his face into the pillow, lifted it off and then bopped himself on the head.  Over and over again. At one point, he hit himself so hard that he fell over.

This, by far, was the most hysterical thing that WE had seen all day.

Have a pillow fight with someone today (or maybe yourself)!  Smiles, guaranteed!

Patrick was Grouchy today.  With a capital “G”.  Too much parade yesterday? Not enough sleep?  Who knows, but he was GROUCHY!

One would have thought I was torturing him trying to get him to eat a sandwich. We went to music class and he hardly participated.  Went to the park and he wanted to go home early.

An early nap time it was…

Except, a hour into it, he pooped.  And then…there were these wonderful people on the roof removing the gutters for replacement later in the week.  What great timing!  Ugh…..

Short nap + already grouchy kid = Oh no!!!!

Tonight should be fun.  I can only hope he’s not coming down with something.

Calgon take me away…..

Asked of me at work:  Are you Irish?

Me:  Nope.  The only thing Irish in my life is my son’s name!

Irish or not….

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

At the Old Sacramento parade

So I survived my two days alone…and I highly recommend it!

The best part?  Waking up, making coffee, and getting to GO BACK TO BED!  I finished a book that I’ve been reading for months, watched all of my DVRed shows, aimlessly surfed the internet, ate toast for dinner, and spent four hours running errands one day.

The worst part? Not hearing that little voice saying,”Hi,Mama!  Choo choo, Mama!  More show please!” I really did miss the little guy.  A lot.

But I still hope that the boys will take another trip someday!

Since I’ve had Patrick, I’ve been a bit more creative about reusing common household things instead of throwing them out.  In school assemblies on the subject, they always show the kids how they can make robots and mysterious contraptions out of soda cans, newspapers and other miscellaneous junk.  Add a leftover bit of tree branch that you found on your last nature hike and “Volia!” You have your very own piece of “Tell me about your project.”

So, in keeping with the idea of reusing, I’ve started to save some yogurt containers. My purpose was simple.  We would use them to make fruit popsicles so that hopefully my anti-berry son would get some healthy nutrients into his system.  I can’t take credit for this idea.  A nutritionist speaker that I heard last fall gave me the idea. Amanda Louden’s blog

Patrick, however, had other ideas.  He has turned them into yet another non-toy.  He stacks them.  He unstacks them.  He sprinkles them throughout the kitchen and watches them roll around.  He wears them on his feet.  And of course, he bowls.

The newest trend in footwear...

Feet...taken by Patrick himself!

p.s.  We still haven’t made popsicles.

p.p.s. For the record, his father dressed him that day…yes, those are pajama pants!

I’m home alone.  Like really, A-L-O-N-E.  For the first time in over two years.  Well, I’ve been in our house alone before, but only for a few hours that tick, tick, ticked away way too quickly while I raced to enjoy my freedom. This time it’s for two DAYS.  Patrick and his day went off on their first boys only trip.  Up to the redwood forest to see the big trees (and do whatever it is that boys do when girls aren’t around). Actually, I was invited to go along, but after weighing the two options…alone for two days, seeing big trees….hmmmmm….the answer was plain to see!

So for the next two days, I’m in our house ALL BY MYSELF!  What does this mean?  Sleeping in, watching what I want to watch on tv, drinking my morning coffee in bed with a book, leisurely grocery shopping, going to the bathroom without somebody banging on the door….I am so excited!

I get to remember what my life used to be like long, long ago.  Where in the world did I put that body glitter anyway?

My name is Denice and I have a two year old named Patrick.  I created this blog to allow others to share in our fun!

Happy reading!

Let the fun begin!

Okay, so I don’t shop anymore.  Not like I used to shop anyway.  I used to know every store in every mall, when Macy’s had their sales, when the GWPs were… Shopping was a past-time, a hobby, entertainment, and more.  Ahhhh,those were the days….

Now?  I know a DIFFERENT kind of shopping.   I know when diapers and toothpaste are on sale.  And I get excited when there’s a coupon for Kleenex in the newspaper.

At our last girls’ night, I was talking about how it’s hard for me to find Vans shoes for Patrick.  He has pretty wide feet (poor thing, like his mama) and Vans seem to fit him really well.  Thanks to my good friend Colleen’s gift of two pairs of them, he has sported Vans for his entire walking career.

Well, Vans are not cheap.  Even for little people.  They are close to $30 or something crazy like that.  I, of course, want to pay less.  So, I’ve gone to Kohl’s, but their selection isn’t that great and they are usually out of the size that Patrick needs.  I used to go to Mervyn’s.  I guess I could probably still go there, but I probably won’t find any shoes.  Maybe some cobwebs?

So that led me to ebay.  Ebay has everything!  And I learned about the NWT (New With Tag) label.  I found (and won!) one pair for $17.  And that included shipping!  Yippee! The only downside?  They are three sizes bigger than the size he needs next.  And as much as I keep checking the auctions, there aren’t many new Toddler Vans to be found.

So…back to girls’ night.  Colleen (former Vans shoe finder/gifter), my dear friend of what seems like forever, is still a shopper.  Yes!  There are some of us still left in the world!  (At least until she has her first kid one day.)  At dinner, she was telling me about the Vans outlet in Folsom.  “There’s a Vans outlet in Folsom?” I asked.  “Yes, it’s in the old part by Nike.” she said.  “But I don’t know if they have little sizes.”

“YES!”  I thought.  There’s HOPE!

Well…we went on Saturday and YES they have kids sizes. AND the best part ever….are you sitting down?…this is the best news ever…it MADE my day….

YOU CAN BUY ONE PAIR AND GET THE SECOND HALF OFF!

And the original prices are WAY less than you would pay at any old store.  AND you can find all kinds of sizes!

After much whining about having to take his shoes off so I could size his feet, Patrick is now the proud owner of two new pairs of Vans – one size 8 and one size 9.  And they were only $32!

Are you so, so excited for him?  You should be!  Well, he actually really doesn’t care.  He just knows that shoes=outside playtime.  So, are you so, so happy for ME?  You should be!  Thank you.

My search is over.  I now know where to find shoes to fit my son.  And my husband for that matter.  Thank you Colleen!

Patrick’s favorite part of the trip to the Folsom Outlets?  The fountain.  But when I gave him some pennies to throw in, he flipped out and wouldn’t let go of them.  What a little miser!  And he was SUPER mad when his mom gave one of his beloved pennies to a little girl whose mother couldn’t find a penny in her wallet give her daughter to throw in.  I felt bad for the poor mom.  How are we to know that we shouldn’t empty the five thousand pounds of change from our purses when we go shopping? Just in case our child spots a fountain?  Lucky for me, change is of entertainment value to Patrick, so I always try to lug a few coins around. They just usually go into the fountain!

This one’s for Sharleen…

In these “tough economic times” it is important to prevent waste and be conscious of how much money we  are spending on a daily basis.  Everyone makes sacrifices during “tough economic times”.  “Tough economic times” require drastic measures, like driving less, cutting back on haircuts (pun intended) and eating what’s in the fridge before you head out to the store.

In response to these “tough economic times”, I’ve started to use our freezer much more often.  Before these, “tough economic times”, we would (as many others did, c’mon, you KNOW you are guilty!) buy the broccoli, look at the broccoli in the fridge, say, “We really need to use that broccoli.”, forget to use the broccoli, and then throw away the wrinkled, smelly, wilted broccoli . Might at well just rip up two dollar bills.

Since these “tough economic times” have begun to grace our daily lives, I still buy the broccoli, but now I freeze it before it becomes a science experiment.  I have learned to make Broccoli Cheese Soup from the frozen stuff – which surprisingly (the non-cook that I am) doesn’t go directly into the trash.  In these “tough economic times” I’ve learned that I CAN follow directions, so recipes work for me (sometimes!)

So in these “tough economic times” you, too, can learn to make Broccoli Cheese Soup.

I’ve decided that kids really don’t need toys.  As least mine doesn’t.  Don’t get me wrong, we do have toys.  LOTS of toys. And Patrick does play with most of them.

The most fun? Things that wouldn’t land you a “Good answer, good answer!”  on the Family Feud list  of “Toys That Kids Play With”.

Some of Patrick’s favorites:

• Pots, pans and a wooden spoon

• The garden hose and watering can

• Two bottles of travel sized shampoo (Why?  I can’t answer that – he just totes them around the house)

• Rocks.  Any kind of rocks.

• Money.  Again, any kind.

• Toilet paper.  Good for a multitude of purposes.

• The car.  He will pretend to “drive” for days on end.

Last night when I got home from work, Patrick and I spent half an hour playing a primitive game of “Chase”. That is, I run around like a crazy woman while he sits in a chair and waits for me to tickle him. He could barely squeak out a “More!  Get you!”  he was laughing so hard.  After several failed attempts at reversing the roles, “Patrick, now YOU chase mom!”, I got a decent work out!  I guess it’s much more fun for a two year old to be the “Chasee” than the “Chaser”.

The night before, we had a “tea party” in front of the fire.  Patrick kept busy sloshing his tea around and offering, “Cheers!” to whoever would return the offer.  A big mess, but great memories!

Today, when I got back from my hair appointment (My hair is so much shorter!  And sooo cute!  I love it!) he was playing with a combo of non-toys:  the hose, two watering cans, and rocks.  Always the rocks.

Patrick is so simple.  It doesn’t take much to entertain him.  So, in these “tough economic times”, take note. Kids want to play, but not always with expensive toys.  Try to remember the days before video games took over the world and we made up our own games.  We played outside in a pile of leaves, collected worms and rocks (now I know where he gets the fascination with rocks), and jumped through the garden sprinkler.

PLAY with your children.  They will thank you for it.