Terrible Twos

In the past two weeks, Munchichi's language has exploded! She was previously pointing at things, instead of using words, but now speaks in complete sentences and can clearly express her needs, wants, dislikes, etc. Where did my baby go? All in all, I feel like I'm adjusting to a new child and it has its share of frustrations! Now that Munchichi feels confident speaking, she also feels confident screaming, kicking, yelling, and saying "No way" when she doesn't get exactly what she wants. Patience is a virtue, but that doesn't make it easier when your child is throwing a fit at church, in a store, on the street, you name the place, Munchichi has thrown a fit there! I guess I have Mommy amnesia and forgot how difficult the twos are. I wish that I could wave my magic wand and we would be past this stage...I'm not completely naive though, I recognize there will be drama at every stage of my girls' lives. On the other hand, Munchichi is also telling me when she has to use the bathroom and trying to go on time. I had to bribe Goose with M&Ms (2 for pee-pee and 4 for poo-poo), along with a sticker chart which resulted in toys. Wow, the lengths we go to as parents to train our kids! It may not be the right way for everyone, but it worked for Goose. Hopefully I won't have to go there with Munchichi! I complain now, but I don't know what I would do without the drama - it keeps life exciting!!

Settling

After a week of moving chaos, we are finally settling into the new house. I will be contributing many treasures to the church rummage sale in a few weeks. As they say, "One person's junk is another person's treasure." By "they", I have no idea who even said that! Goose hasn't noticed the smaller amount of treasure in her closet. I was able to sneak stuffed animals and random toys that she never plays with into boxes. I actually felt paranoid at one point, as if I were stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. Enough with the quotes! Goose and Munchichi sleep great at night and play hard in the backyard during the day. We do have a HUGE spruce tree in our backyard which is a source of fun for the girls, but the leaves are already a bit out of control. I need a power raker for Fall fun...or am I thinking of a leaf blower? Our small above ground pool turned green in less than two days - perfect! I have no clue how to restore the pool to its beautiful blue hue. When is it unhealthy for the girls to swim in a green pool? That is a hypothetical question really, I didn't let the girls swim. I head back to school in two days, and I always ponder the same question at this time each year, "Where did the summer go?" I didn't accomplish everything on my to do list, but I spent quality time with the girls and we had fun adventures which is priceless!

Moving Day, Days, Week?

We are moving once again. It has been a year and a half since we last broke out the U-Haul boxes and filled them with all of our things (mainly all of the girls things...how do they collect so much junk in such a short time?) I'm trying to be super mom and put things away immediately, but it's difficult when I have to chase the girls around and supervise their fighting outside. This is just day 1 of hopefully only 3, maybe 4 days of back and forth torture. The struggle is worth every moment though because the house feels like home even without all of our things. That is such a good sign. We also have super friendly neighbors with a 2 year old and a baby on the way. Monchichi will have a playmate! The girls absolutely love the backyard complete with a wooden playhouse just their size. Goose was so surprised to find her kitchen and table and chairs in the playhouse this afternoon. The smile on her face melted my heart! Monchichi loves the playhouse for a totally different reason - she can take the kitchen plates and dig in the dirt. My own Pig-Pen! We have rose bushes down one side of our yard and grapevines behind the pool that taste so sweet! When all of the hustle and bustle slows down, I look forward to quiet evenings on the porch, enjoying the stars and relaxing. I hope to stay in this house for a long time (famous last words). I want stability for the girls and I like the school district that we live in. It's still a year away, but I want Goose to go to a good school.

Sibling Rivalry

It is amazing how Goose and Monchichi can get along perfectly one minute, and then yell and kick each other the next. If Goose has one of Monchichi's toys, then she immediately wants it and vice versa, eventhough there was no interest in the toy beforehand. These squabbles led Goose to make a sign for her bedroom door stating, "No You Monchici." In other words, "Keep Out Monchichi." Goose even drew a picture of Monchichi to illustrate her phonetic representation. I thought about not letting her put the sign up, but I need to let Goose express her independence. Thoughts of my teenage years as an only daughter spring to mind and then I ponder raising two teenage girls under the same roof. How do parents survive? I was a pretty good kid, but I did give my parents a run for their money from time to time. All I can do is demonstrate patience, compassion, and love, and hope that the girls internalize those values.

Our life

I have two daughters, Goose - 4 1/2 and Monchichi - 20 months. They are constantly moving and keeping me on my toes. Here is an example of our life in a given week: Goose was the smart one to let me know that my bathroom was flooding this morning after swimming. I was soaking my bathing suit in the sink and forgot to turn off the water. She said, "Mommy you really shouldn't waste water", as she turned off the faucet. Every towel I own ended up on the floor and it looks like I will have to replace one of the drawers due to water damage. Bummer! Fast forward to happy time at The Wiggles concert in Sacramento - the girls rocked out and since no one was sitting in front of us, they owned the space. Too cute! Goose asked if we could take Monchichi back to the hospital again for the second time this week. Where do kids come up with these things? Monchichi only threw one major tantrum today when we were leaving Red Robin's restaurant. She still wanted to pretend to play the driving game - mean mommy!

Hello World!

This is my first Momstr post. I have two little girls at home and look forward to sharing the joys and pains of parenting. More to follow.