A MUST share

Last night I gave Chloe a wash cloth to wipe up some water she spilled on her pajamas before bed. She wouldn’t let me take it from her before she went to sleep. So, figuring no harm could come of sleeping with a wash cloth, I relented. I checked on her a half hour later and found this: So many questions…

Monster Ploys

Chloe is 2½ and is exhibiting the classics symptoms of the plague known as the “terrible 2’s.” It’s forced me to reevaluate some of my parental schemes (trickery, bribes, praise etc) and lead me to some unconventional techniques. I affectionately call them “Monster Ploys.” I know; an explanation is necessary:

For whatever reason, Chloe likes Monsters. I think it’s because she adores the book The Monster at the End of This Book or maybe it was a recent viewing of the movie: Monsters, Inc. Either way, monsters are a new source of amusement for her. And, so I have decided to capitalize on the opportunities her monster infatuation presents. Here are a few of my new –seemingly highly effective- parenting techniques:

1) Monster Treats: Dinner time is can be a definite source of frustration. Some days she eats great; others – well – require more creativity (to put it nicely). So, the thought came to mind: MONSTER DESSERTS! In order to get Chloe to eat her dinner, I told her I’d make her a Monster Ice-Cream Sandwich. At first she was reluctant but, did eat! And, the fruits of her labors presented themselves in the cutest Gluten and Lactose Free Monster Ice-Cream Sandwich. WHICH SHE LOVED!

THIS, OF COURSE LEAD TO:

2) Monster Baths: Is simple; just add green bath crystals to her bath water. I considered food coloring but, thought better. The last thing I need is a GREEN toddler. But, the bath crystals seem to provide the appropriate amount of “monsteriness” and they DESOLVE. Instead of saying “its bath time” and then wading through the inevitable whines – and, my favorite – running away naked… I say “it’s time for a MONSTER bath” and she’ll get in herself.

With the success of these two Monster Ploys, I’m madly searching for more ways to “monsterfy” all the have-to’s in life that my dear Chloe makes SOOO much more difficult than necessary. Like: Monster Socks, Monster Car seat, Monster Toothbrush, Monster Hair Dresser, Monster Vegetables (I may pull out the food coloring for this one) and Monster Naptime etc…

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Fun at Bonka's Cabin

Labor Day weekend we got to travel up to my Dad’s cabin. Chloe had a great time playing with her grandparents, aunts, uncles and Cousin Ryder. Her uncle Brian and uncle Tyson attempted to show her the fine skill of air hockey. Not quite sure she got the hang of it but, she looked cute!

OCD Already...

In September we took Chloe to the small water park in the San Tan Village mall. She LOVED it! It took a couple minutes for her to warm up to the idea of playing in the water but, once she got the hang of it – she really had a blast.

That was UNTIL six leaves scattered on the fake grass underneath a tree caught her eye. In an instant, her time of play and enjoyment became a mission to rescue, bathe and neatly arrange these stranded leaves on a bench near where we were sitting. At first the pattern was cute and amusing, and then it became curious and slightly concerning.

Until there were six neat leaves on the bench, one by one she would:

1) pluck the leaf from its precarious position on the grass 2) rush it with the utmost immediacy to the fountain of water 3) give that poor dirty leaf a very thorough bath 4) then walk it calmly over to the bench 5) methodically place it in its proper position 6) if at which time, the leaf did not appear sufficiently clean, it would immediately repeat steps 2-5. 7) retrieve the next poor leaf and repeat

I had to let her finish her mission, I respect OCD tendencies. But, once she was finished – I rushed her away. As she was engrossed in this pattern, I was frantically searching the premises for more unfortunate leaves and found MANY. What was meant to be a quick 45 minutes at the water park could have turned into an evening of OCD related indulgences; I can’t subject my 2-year old to that…

Instead I treated her to dinner at In and Out Burger (our new gluten-free favorite – cheers to a fast food company that appreciates food allergies and a very YUMMY special protein-style cheeseburger)!

Almost Betty Crocker... Almost.

Chloe and I tried our hands at home-made bread making. I don’t know if anyone else in the world experiences this but, I have HUGE anxiety issues when it comes to cooking or baking something for the first time. I obsess over the ingredients, the instructions, the EVERYTHING… I feel so out of sorts and out of control. And, this was no different when trying to make my first loaf of gluten-free bread. But, instead of being a total control freak about the process, I decided to have Chloe help me. Even though, I’m pretty sure I said a thousand times, “don’t touch that, it’s hot!” “let Mommy help you crack the eggs” or “let’s wash your hands again” we managed to make (or at least set-up the bread maker properly to make) a small perfect loaf of gluten-free bread. And, we had a great time bonding in the kitchen. Double Success! Now, as for the bread – it DEFNINTELY looked more perfect than it tasted. There’s something so disappointing about gluten-free recipes; maybe it’s the mixture of brown rice four, tapioca flour and xantham gum… I know: who’s heard of such ingredients? Blech! I’m still searching for the PERFECT GF Bread Mix…