The No Spill Sippy Cup

Some random thoughts on sippy cups.  Now that Calvin is out of bottles, we are into the world of Sippy Cups.  I don't remember disliking sippy cups the last go around as much I do now.  Maybe it is the advertising "No Spill".  There is nothing no spill about it!  Every time Calvin drops his cup, it spills.  One actually had written on it "No Spill only works when upright."  Isn't every cup no-spill when upright?  I gave him a cup in the car today and he actually unscrewed open the cap.  Fortunately, I think it was almost empty anyways.  The valve makes the cup almost exactly like a bottle.  Occasionally, we even find ourselves holding Calvin and the sippy cup like a bottle.  With Laci, we had the same brand of sippy cup and the lids were all interchangeable.  Most of her old cups are broken or pink flowers.  For whatever reason, right now we have several different types of sippy cups, lids and valves floating around the house.  But they are all blue with cars and trucks on them.  :)  It's encouraging to remember that like all phases, the sippy cup phase doesn't last forever and soon enough he will be drinking and spilling out of regular cups like Laci.   

Peanut Butter Strike

I don't know about you but there are certain things that we are very brand specific about.  Jif Reduced Fat Peanut Butter is one of them.  We love peanut butter and eat a lot of it.  I am creamy and Charlie is crunchy.  We have tried other brands and types but we are so hooked on Jif Reduced Fat Peanut Butter that anything else just tastes funny.  But this summer and last summer, it appears Jif has decided not to make crunchy reduced fat.  I don't know why.  Charlie calls it the "peanut butter strike".  Charlie goes on searches at any grocery store he drives by to find this peanut butter.  It is his summer mission.  Occasionally he will find the creamy version and stocks up buying 4 jars at a time.  I saw 7 jars of Jif Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter in my pantry this morning.  Hopefully that will last a few weeks or at least until the strike is over and we can get the crunchy kind again.  And start buying reasonably quantities again.

A little goes a long way...

A little goes a long way.  That has become a new motto in our house.  I have found it has lots of practical uses and may be a good guide for life. My first use of the motto was for make up.  Laci obviously doesn't wear make up but I started saying it when she puts on chapstick, her makeup.   I figured it is never too early to learn that a little makeup goes a long way.  Then I started saying it with the bubble bath.  A little bubble bath can make a lot of bubbles.  A little chocolate syrup goes a long way in the milk.  Then Laci started repeating it to me.  She really does listen to me!  Tonight I was pouring her some juice.  "A little goes a long way" she reminded me.  We still mix her juice with water and she doesn't complain.  A little juice goes a long way in a cup of water. 
The next lessons that lessons that I hope she learns with this motto are how to treat people.  A little kindness goes a long way towards people.  A little thank you goes a long way.  I'm sure that there are many more applications for our new motto that we will learn though the years.  But I like the way it is starting.

Dinner

I could blog about our great weekend.  About Laci's first time tubing and how I loved sharing that experience with her.  She loved it.  Or about this morning's impromptu dip in the lake even though we didn't bring her swimming suit and I let Laci swim in only her underwear even though she is clearly too old for that.  Or about the rough night I had because neither kid slept well away from home.
Instead, I am going to write about our dinner tonight.  It was a simple dinner - peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit salad and chips.  While I made the sandwiches and fruit salad, Laci set the table and put the fruit salad in our bowls.  She carried everything over to the table.  It was so cute that instead of clearing the table of the newspapers, she just put everyone's plates on one side of the table.  It's a good thing we all like each other because we were sitting very close to each other.  Calvin was exhausted and kept screaming at something - maybe the jelly sandwich that he had never had before or the strawberries.  I think he still had cheese on his face from lunch.  He finally calmed down and ate his dinner.  Laci only ate her fruit salad until we threatened no bedtime snack without eating her sandwich.  My favorite part was when Charlie poured all the crumbs from the bottom of the chip bag onto his plate.  His face was priceless when Laci spilled most of the chip crumbs onto the floor - the floor he had just finished sweeping.  :)  It was a bit of chaos and a bit of quiet wonderful.  These are the moments I will miss when the kids are grown.  The moments that go by too fast.  The night ended with baths for both which is it's own bit of challenges and chaos!

Operation Neighbor Hit Me, Neighbor Fix Me

I am in the middle of Operation Neighbor Hit Me Neighbor Fix Me.  I like to give elaborate names to small projects.  Last Friday, on my way to work, I was hit at a red light.  It was a small hit and I almost didn't stop.  It seemed like a hassle and I assumed it wasn't a big hit.  Is it a hit and run if the person who is hit runs?  But I figured I should do the right thing and stop.  The guy who hit me was really nice.  He admitted that it was his fault and would take care of any repairs.  It looked like it could be a simple repair and just painting the bumper.  We exchanged information and I went on to work.  I didn't want to get a police report because that seemed like a hassle for something so small.  I talked to him later that day and realized he lives 3 doors down from me and across the street!  We were about 5 miles from our neighborhood when this happened.  I told him I would get some repair estimates and call him back.  Monday morning he emailed and asked if I wouldn't mind taking it to the dealership near our house.  His friend is a manager there and would give him a good deal.  He had been so nice and I knew he was paying for this out of his pocket so I wanted to help him out.  I took it over there to have the friend look at it.  It turns out the friend is his neighbor, 3 doors down from me.  He said that he has a guy that comes in Friday mornings to do those kind of small paint jobs and he would take care of it.  He would even give me a minivan to drive.  I told him that Thursday nights would be hard to drop off the car because I have the kids alone.  He said that it wasn't a problem and he would drop a minivan off at my house and pick up the car Thursday evening and bring my car back Friday night.  How convenient is that!  So tonight, he called at about 6:30, came over, dropped a minivan off and took my minivan back to the dealership.  He'll just drive my car home tomorrow.  I thought that getting this small repair done would be a hassle but it has been fine.  It's an unconventional way to meet people in the neighborhood.  Another reason I really like my neighborhood!

Some Gems from Laci

Tuesday nights, Charlie is usually out of town.  Last night, Laci and I had some great chats.  Laci is starting to be a great conversationalist - both for content and mis-content.  I wrote them down to share with Charlie.  

Me: Laci, who are my brothers and sisters.

Laci:  Aunt Laura, Uncle Rob and Uncle Jake (close enough - we'll accept).

Me: Who is Daddy's brother.

Laci: Aunt David (close enough - we'll accept)

I let her watch the beginning of MasterChef with me.

Me: I do not like that hat Suzy is wearing.  (Suzy was wearing a hat similar to a beret.)

Laci: Mom, it's a princess hat.  Everyone loves princess hats.  Everyone except my boy friends. 

Laci: I love the girl with the sparkly hair.  I want her to win.  I want to try her food.  (Yes because Laci loves risotto).

At 9:40, I have gone into Laci's room several times to tell her to go to sleep.  She has rearranged her bed so she is upside down in the bed.
Laci: Okay, this time I will really go to sleep.  (Really, why didn't you go to sleep the last 4 times I have been in here!) 

This morning as I was brushing my teeth, she came in the bathroom.

Laci: The storm is scaring me.

Me: Don't worry.  It is moving through fast.

Laci: Not fast enough.

Calvin Stands - Reprise

By himself this time!  I think his training is really paying off.  Last night, he was using the doll stroller as a walker which is significant because the doll stroller is very unstable and in the past he has not been successful in walking with it.  His balance is getting better.  He even let go a few times and stood for several seconds.  I clapped and cheered.  Laci came over and had a look on her face like "What is the big deal?  I have been standing for years.  No one claps for me!"  

Last night during his bath, he did not follow directions when I told him to not dump the bowl of water out of the bathtub or onto me.  Instead, he continually dumped the bowl of water out of the bathtub and onto me.  He does have enough hair now to make the alfalfa sprout on top of his head.  That makes any bath just a little bit more fun.