Giving up metal

Violet and Eva Rose like to listen to the Disney station on Pandora radio.  I’ll admit a good bit of the songs on there I know and sing too, but I have to dip back into what music tickles my ears. I have to take a listen to something that I like. These aren’t always something I would call “kid friendly”, since I always leaned towards the more heavier end of rock. From grunge to metalcore, I always liked tapping into that rage, let some things off my chest just by listening to it. It would get me amped up. Let me know that the pain was justified and lifted just a little.
There’s something about being in a mosh.
Well, that was my old life although I let the girls listen to it every so often but I can tell they don’t really enjoy. It’s an aquired  taste. And they are too young to be that on the level of anger and frustration, in touch with the dark part of their soul. Too young to be angry over anything except maybe not getting the candy at the checkout line.
  Don’t get me wrong though I love all types of music and expose  them to everything. It’s just that something. Some. Thing. About that mysterious deep tone, heavy beats down on the drums, the screaming…it’s all a release into this minor chord that ties it together.
I can not tell you how much
I MISS BLASTING LAMB OF GOD WHILE DRIVING
I can’t do that anymore.  That and smoke cigarettes.  I’ve always been a nervous wreck when driving but I’ve managed to get it together for my kids. Most of the time. I’ll confess to road rage before, and I’m sure six feet under or iwabo didn’t help. But I intend to provide the safest and most comfortable  environment for my baby girls. So that means bye-bye to some of my old habits. Hell sometimes I feel like I’ve said bye-bye to a couple of things in life for them. And it’s all totally worth it.
  That being said music taste is something they can develop on their own. I can listen to mine when theyre asleep. I’ll gladly put up with listening  to “Frozen” songs on repeat for all day, everybday.
 

Babies in Pittsburgh

These first two pictures are taken at the well know Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh. It has beautiful walking trails and is a great spot for sight seeing. It’s literally on a point jetting out into the water where the Allegheny river meets with the Monongahela river and they together form the Ohio river. It was really interesting to walk around the fountain and see all the bridges, trains, and the famous Duquesne incline. The girls and I just stood there watching it all go by for a long time. It was pretty amazing and therefore became one of our favorite spots downtown.

This beautiful all wood playground is located in Highland park. It became a favorite for us because the entire structure is easily climbed (both by my toddlers and by myself) there are winding steps, tunnels, large platforms, and not to mention it is huge.
Another thing that made this place a favorite play spot in Pittsburgh was the park and walking trails set in a natural landscape. Right next to the playground is an area of some large bolders. Some are crumbling and make some nice stacking stones. I wish I knew what type of rock it was, maybe slate, because it was so interesting to see the way them would fall off, almost like in little sheets. Flat and smooth. Perfect for atacking, like I said. We loved it and I need to go through my old pictures to add some from this lace, highland park.

This is Monroeville community park, it’s got a great paved walking trail, playgrounds, gazebos, nicely planted paths and this kewl grass maze. The girls and I went there a lot when we lived closer to the city. My understanding is its build on an old landfill.

Meet ups are a joke

So I have been trying to find, join, or organise play groups for the girls and I. Ive never been succussful at creating a meet up so I thought I should look on this website called MEET UP. They have every kind of meet up you could imagine, but like I said, finding a nice play group with kids the same age and mommies with similar parenting is top priority.
I found a meet up group titled, Growing Krunchy Kids….no I don’t know what the krunchy is in reference to (and maybe that’s of some significance) But it looked like a nice group of women with children close in age to Eva and Violet. So I asked to join. And about a day later I got a response back. It was I guess the “head mommy” asking to know more about me. Granted, when requesting to join I had to fill out what seemed like a freaking survey (I guess to weed out the riff raft) about my children, what we like doing, my parenting ideas, etc. And if that wasn’t enough! LOL!!
Really? I just wanted to join a group so my kids can have friends, does it really matter if I plan on home schooling? Or shop at farmers markets? I just don’t know. I think it’s a little over the top here. I can understand they want to know more about me but thats why I have a meet up profile and that’s also why I completed the form provided just so I could ask to be apart of this clique, or cult or whatever this is turning out to be.
Even after the fact that I”ve filled out the form, talked with “head mommy” and have been asked a number of questions plus told there is a membership fee! I STILL haven’t been added to the meet up group….
Good thing I’m already a part of some other play groups that don’t feel the need to know the insides and outs of my family before they feel comfortable letting me join. Because really, it’s about the kids playing, and not some bitches judgements.

To all the S.A.H.M.

To all the stay at home moms…
The ones with the family near by, the reliable babysitter or Nanny. The ones that have a husband who knows how to put the babies to sleep, clean or cook. To the ones that get the recognition of being selfless, overworked, overwhelmed, and unappreciated. To the stay at home moms that are told they are doing a great job, that are reassured that they are good mothers.
I hate you.

Family dog

  We had been wanting to get a dog for a while but waited a long time before looking for one seriously. It was more of my boyfriend’s idea since I am a crazy cat lady but I love all animals none the less so I didn’t fight it too hard. Even though I was pregnant with Eva at the time and I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. I made it clear no puppies. And I would prefer an older dog that had been around children and cats. Something already trained and out of the really playful and chewing on stuff phase. He searched and searched, we met with a few and none worked out. I was being strict because I was going to be the one with the dog most of the time, and i had to feel comfortable.
  Then he told me about an ad on craiglist about Bailey, a 7 year old female white German shepherd. She’d been raised around kids and all sorts of animals. She met all my qualifications and so we set out to meet her.
   When that hillbilly pulled up in his run down minivan and she hopped out, malnourished, missing hair, infected skin, I just didn’t know what to think. Well, Bailey did. She jumped right into our car. She clearly wanted to get the hell away from that dude and I don’t blame her.
  The next day we had an appointment with the vet. She obviously had been neglected and they said she was underweight and riddled with infections but otherwise was healthy. We got antibiotics for her skin and ears, flea treatment, all her shots and a license. That was that, we finally had a dog.

  Now I’m forgetting to mention the best part here and what encouraged us to help Bailey as much as we did. She was the most obedient, friendliest, easy going dog we had ever met. I mean, talk about lucky. We hit the fucking Jack pot! She ignored the cats (they eventually warmed up to her and now cuddle with her) and she is EXCELLENT with the girls. She doesn’t even need a leash to be walked and through out the day I just let her go in the yard to do her business and she comes right back when she’s done. Easiest dog ever.

  Bailey has her accidents and battles infections every once in a while but all on all she is more than I could have ever imagined. After a number of uti’s and the diagnosis of colitis (irritable colon) and incontinence, I try to remember just how far she has come and that these things are really minor.  So what she gets into the trash sometimes, makes a mess, and gets the shits. So what she needs meds so she doesn’t leak. She’s a part of the family and she has become quite the guardian for myself and my children. I feel safer in my home with her here.

  Not to mention all my life I have wanted to go to the park and walk my dog. With my children. It’s the most rewarding (yet sometimes frustrating) thing I can do outside.

We always get so many compliments on how beautiful she is and how well behaved. I can’t wait for the weather to warm up so we can enjoy our outside time at all the different parks and go on adventures to find more walking trails and visit playgrounds. I really could not have gotten any luckier with Bailey….so glad we found her.

White German shepherd cheese: http://youtu.be/AoCxqVSIGQE

Sad Disney movies

We all know and love Disney movies so it’s almost instinct to watch your favorites with your babies. The girls and I had seen some of the princess ones and they didn’t really hold their interest too much. So I put on The Lion King. They love cats so I figured this would be a hit and it was. Both Violet and Eva sat there intently.
  Now came the part when Mufasa, Simba’s dad is thrown off the cliff by that asshole Scar. I glanced over at Violet, and oh my gawd, she was crying! Big tears were swelling up in her tiny eyes as she watched Simba run to his lifeless body on the ground. I was actually shocked.
  Did she really grasp what was going on, what just happened??? How could she? Was it just the tone that was being set, the expression on their cartoon faces? I just couldn’t believe that violet, my 2 year old, was understanding the concept of death. Or maybe she wasn’t and was just perceiving it as he fell down and got hurt. But she realized that mufasa was gone after that scene. She felt some empathy for little Simba and there was no mistaking that.
  It scares me to think just how much she understands…
 

Painting with Tea

  It was an experiment I did with the girls on a day when we just couldn’t get out of the house. I looked through the pantry for all the different kinds of teas I’d unknowingly collected over the years.
  There was the peppermint tea, which didn’t have much color but the taste and smell was something I thought they would notice. There was the raspberry tea I got at the end of my first pregnancy because I heard it could start labor. It made water a pretty red color and worked great as “paint.”
  There was the plain old Lipton tea that I had a ton of, and it made different shades of brown depending on how long you let it steep. And then there was the green  tea, which, yeah you know.
I set out the girl’s plastic tea set, some extra cups and some old empty baby food jars. They dipped the tea bags in each of them, mixed the different colored waters, and wiped the tea bags on paper to make some what turned out to be some pretty strokes of color. All in all it was a really great experiment and they loved it. Was a bit messy but go figure. Will definitely do it again sometime. until then I need to browse through all the different kinds/colors of teas out there.

Paint

I’ve never met children so fascinated by paint before. Is this of my doing? Am I like subconsciously forcing them to obsess over paint? They wake up and want to paint, they paint rocks, their finger nails, paint each other, paint in the bath tub, hell I bet if I let them they would paint the cat. The other day without thought I started serving lunch to Violet before taking her paint brush away, and she started painting her blueberries!
Is it out of boredom? Freedom of expression?? Control over a substance that I’m pretty sure they don’t even completely understand yet…?  Maybe they will be artists when they grow up or maybe this is just a typical phase of all toddlers and I’m just blowing things out of proportion like I always do. It’s fucking paint. Although I’m sure there are some crazy art majors out there thinking oh no lady, paint is more than just a medium, it’s a tool used to let the soul out on paper! Maybe, and if that’s so, what are they saying with this paint? Should I be concerned that sometimes I see things in the paintings, or is that my dysfunction? I don’t know. Paint is paint and they’re kids and its fun.

Apple tree by Violet

Onion

   There is a play area that I take the girls to a lot, especially this winter. Now, I’m the type to just stick to myself. I don’t really go out of my way to strike up a conversation with other moms there. But if one talks to me I have no problem blabbing on with them, despite if I really want to. Some would call me, I don’t know, slightly anti-social. I’m ok with that.
   Anyways, while I was feeding the girls a snack another mom was sitting down with her two young kids (an older boy and girl) across the table from us. I wasn’t really paying attention to her but she started speaking to me….She says glancing at Eva “she looks like one of the onions from super mario brothers…” I guess I gave her a look (I had no idea what the onions from super mario brothers look like) and she quickly said “you know, with her hair sticking up like that.” I just laughed. Didnt know how to respond to that. But seriously? Like what a mean thing to say, no? Am I being too sensitive? Then I thought maybe she was just trying to start a conversation with me. Although, she didn’t say it with a laugh. Or even a smile. Didn’t come off as friendly at all honestly once I think about it.
  Later that day I googled “onion from super mario brothers” and an ugly pixlated image of a cartoon onion popped up. I couldn’t help to think yeah, she was  just being a bitch.

This is Eva Rose as she was that day…with her wild top knot.

Keep their hands busy

Flour dough is safe to eat and cheap to make. Eva is ALWAYS putting EVERYTHING in her mouth. This is my alternative to play dough for her.

Decorate home made sugar cookies by applying icing with a paintbrush. To make easy to paint with icing just stir some powdered sugar into a cup of milk, until you get the right consistency. And oh yeah, sprinkles. We go sprinkle cray cray.

Sorting beans using measuring cups, muffin tins and baking pans. I like to think of it as an intro to math but in reality it’s just another mess for me to clean up.

We don’t like to go outside to play in the snow because A.)It takes more time to get our jackets/hats/boots/mittens on than the time we spend outside.
B.) It’s fucking cold out there and
C.) We get WET and cold. So instead, we bring the snow in. And even THEN Violet and Eva Rose don’t play in it for more than ten minutes.