A Devoted Mom's Tale

Advice from a 2-yr-old
Sometimes, Tamsin's smarter than we give her credit for. She's learned to apply the principles of what is or is not OK to various aspects of her life.

• [In reference to Snuffleupagus on Sesame Street] We don't pull trunks.
• We don't pull the horse's tail or he will be sad.
• We don't hit penguins.
• We don't hit cars.

It's My Party
For Christmas last year, we gave Tamsin a tent to play in in her room. Lately, she's been wanting to sleep in it most of the time. Kenji made a little bed in there with a small pillow and a bunch of stuffed animals, so it's a nice comfortable place for her to sleep. One night, about 20 minutes after we'd put her down to sleep, she came out of her room saying she needed to sleep in her bed because her friends (also known as stuffed animals) were having a party in the tent. So Kenji put her down in her bed and she went right to sleep.

Grammar Snob, Party of One
One day as I was watching videos on YouTube, Tamsin joined me on the couch. When the video was over, she said "Oh my *)^%." Not sure how to respond to this new word usage, I just shook my head and said, "No." Tipping her head in confusion, she asked, "Is it Holy *)^%?" Yeah, I'm raising her right - she'll talk like a sailor, but it will be grammatically correct.

Story From the Lost Period
We turned Tamsin's carseat around to forward-facing about 6 months ago - in May or June. Whenever we'd drive somewhere, she'd start asking me "Are those big rocks?" I had no idea what she was talking about until one day she asked at a stoplight so I was able to see where she was pointing. Straight at the Wasatch Mountains. I just answered, "Yes, those look like big rocks. They're called mountains."

Ursula and Ludovica?
When we first found out the twins were girls, we asked Tamsin for naming advice. She very quickly named them "Bear" and "Ludo." We do not know the origins of these names, but they stuck. In the intervening months, we've been unable to agree on names and have gone back to the drawing board on several occasions. At this point, with less than 3 weeks to go, we're thinking Tamsin may have been on to something and we'll just have to name them Bear and Ludo.

Six Months of Updates

Yeah, a lot has happened in the past few months....

Dirty Hippies Everywhere
When we were visiting Kenji's sister in August, we took Tamsin into Berkeley. We told her we were going to look at dirty hippies. So as we're walking down the street, Tamsin pointed to people as they passed and asked us, "Is that a dirty hippie? Is that a dirty hippie?"

There's Nothing Like Toddler Praise
Tamsin likes to praise us when we do something. Anything, really. If she asks what color something is, once we tell her she says, "That's right. Good job." Lately, she's been asking me where we're going when I buckle her into her carseat. So, I tell her library, park, Grandma's house, the store. When we get there she always happily and excitedly says, "You found it! Good job!"

Excuses Excuses
So, I haven't updated in several months. There is a reason for this. In April, we unexpectedly found out we were expecting a baby. In June, we found we were actually expecting two babies. Preparing for twins and pregnancy has been, well, interesting. And tiring. And provides a ready-made excuse for not updating my blog.

In an interesting twist, the name "Tamsin" means twin. Were we subconsciously channeling the future when we picked that name?

Where's the mommy love?
A few weeks ago, Kenji asked Tamsin what she loved more - her mommy or her binkie. She promptly, and matter-of-factly, replied "My binkie." More recently, she has refused to give me good night or good bye hugs and kisses. She will only give them to the babies in my belly. I feel so second-rate.

It's About Time...

More Tamsinisms
* Macaroni & Cheese: Monkey cheese
* Meatloaf: Buffalo

Everybody's Got an Appetite
The other night Tamsin was sitting on my lap, being a little silly. She kept asking "Are you hungry, Mommy?" Then she turned to Kenji, "Are you hungry, Daddy?" Back and forth and back and forth, almost to the point of annoyance. Then she turned to the bookcase, "Are you hungry, Harry Potter?"

I Just Can't Remember Anything
Tamsin likes to tell us she forgot. We tell her it's time to put on shoes to go somewhere, "Oh, I forgot." Tell her a toy is downstairs, "Oh, I forgot." Tell her she's stinky and needs a clean diaper, "Oh, I forgot."

Uncle Daddy
I've been watching my sister's kids a lot lately. As a result, Tamsin has started calling us "Uncle Kenji" and "Aunt Rachie." It's so funny to hear her walking around asking, "Uncle Kenji, Where are you?"

1 or 5 - There's no Difference
I was watching my sister's kids yesterday and was being pretty strict with them because Tamsin has been sick and I wanted her to get some good, undisturbed rest. Anyway, since they were being so good, I gave them each a marshmallow for lunch. After he had finished, my 5-year-old nephew came upstairs to tell me he was still hungry. "Aunt Rachie, can I have another marshmallow? Or 5?"

My New Project

Shortly after Kenji gave me my awesome camera for our anniversary last year, I heard about a photography project that I wanted to try. I've finally gotten around to starting it. The idea is that every day for a year (for 365 days) I have to take a picture of...something. I'm currently one week into it and think I've had some pretty good results. We'll see how it continues over the next 51 weeks.

So here it is, my 365 project. Please feel free to look and comment.

Something I Made

A few months ago, my brother came to me with an idea for his wife's Christmas present. He wanted to take one of their wedding pictures and put ghost-like pictures of his kids around it. Having just installed Photoshop on my computer, I was game to help him with it. After getting the picture from him, I decided to clean it up. In the end, adding the kids' pictures was the easy part.

So here we go. Before:
After:

Things Tamsin Says That Make Me Laugh

* She yells "stuck" while in her carseat.

* She calls her Etch-a-Sketch an "A-B-C-D"

* She calls the harmonica "Buffy"

* Whenever she cries for no apparent reason, we tease her about having a hard life. Now she'll say "Hard. Life" when she's crying.

* She gives hugs and says "Love you" to many things. "Love you, Daddy. Love you, Monkey. Love you, water."

*My sister Robyn is "Wawa" in Tamsin-ese. Robyn's daughter, Danika, is "Ca-la-la."

* Corn is "corner"

* She talks about Santa a lot. However, when asked if she wants to go see Santa, she very quickly and vehemently replies "No Sinta."

* She pretends to snore when she's playing "Sleeping."

* All deer (reindeer, regular deer, etc) are called "Oh dear."

My Little Genius

Here are some pictures of Tamsin in the snow. It took longer to dress her in snow-appropriate attire than it did for her to decide the snow is cold and she wanted to go in the house. And why do kids feel the need to eat snow? Whenever we walk out the front door Tamsin has to grab a handful of snow and put it in her mouth. Every. Single. Time. Why???? At least she has deemed the snow "Nummy."


















































And Now for the Genius Part
Some video of a pop quiz given to Tamsin just before Thanksgiving.

What's In A Name?

Working Titles
Tamsin has always loved books. Her favorite toy is her books. Her language skills are now at the point where she can request each one by name. Sort of. Most of the names for her books are pretty obvious - Fish for One Fish Two Fish, Mooney for Marvin K. Mooney, Moon for Goodnight Moon and Duck for Cuddle for Little Duck. Others are a little more creative, like Mama Mama for Inside Outside Upside Down (from the last page of the book) or Sheep for Time for Bed (the cover). Bear could be Brown Bear Brown Bear or Baby Bear Baby Bear or Panda Bear Panda Bear. My personal favorites, though, are Goat for Dr. Seuss's ABC and Doctor No Monkeys for Eight SillyMonkeys.

More Names
Tamsin has started naming her Little People. The guy wearing a hard hat is named Hat. The girl in glasses is named, of course, Glasses. She'll run across the room screaming Glasses or Hat looking for these toys. I think this is hilarious.

Update:
Apparently Dr. Seuss ABC book is now BeeCees.

A Little of Me and a Lot of Tamsin

It's Been an Unproductive Week
Things I was unable to do while my computer was broken:

• Look up the number for the laptop repair place
• File my unemployment claim - yes, there is a phone number, but I have no idea what it is
  
• Entertain my child with endless viewings of Elmo's Song and Hey Ya on YouTube
• Shop for various things like a holiday dress/outfit for Tamsin, step stool, Christmas gifts and a food mill
• Add a shopping cart to Tamsin's wishlist
• Watch TV - does anybody still watch when shows are actually broadcast?
• Update my blog (I honestly had started an update before the computer died)
  
• RSVP to a couple of parties
• Prepare and print November invoices for my piano students
• Send resumes to the few available marketing jobs in order to receive my unemployment benefit
  
• Check my bank account balances
• Check my credit card activity to make sure no one is using my missing card
• Call the credit card company to report aforementioned card as missing

My Genius
I know it's a cliche, but I really do think that Tamsin is smarter than other kids. For example: Sometimes I put a hanger in her bedroom door hinge so that she can't shut herself in there - she can close doors, but is unable to open them. Her genius does have limits. Anyway, one night Kenji was putting her to bed and I was trying to close the door. I was unable to do so because of the hanger. Tamsin saw my struggles and repeated "hanger, hanger" several times. After complimenting her on her awesome problem solving skills, I closed the door. Of course, now she says "hanger" anytime we close her bedroom door, so I'm beginning to wonder if she thinks "hanger" means "close the door." Sort of the way she thinks "more" (both the sign and spoken word) means "I want that." Maybe she's just confused rather than intelligent.

I Don't Know What This Means
A couple of weeks ago, my brother's kids spent the night at our house. My 3 year old neice left her baby doll and Tamsin has adopted it as her own. (Parenthetical Sidenote: My neice, Callie, calls the doll Tamsin and Tamsin has decided the doll's name is Callie. I just think that's funny.) This is one of those dolls that will laugh, cry, or say "mama" depending on where you squeeze her belly. For the first few days, Tamsin asked us to make the doll laugh for her, and then she'd giggle back. Now, though, she asks us to make the doll cry. She is very insistent about it crying and becomes upset if we squeeze the wrong place and the baby laughs instead. Once we manage to find the magic cry button, she hugs the doll and pats its back, being a comforting mommy. So, at least she has some empathy. I'm a little worried about the potentially psychopathic need to "hurt" the doll first.

Photo Dump

Some pictures of my beautiful girl:

Stories From Vacation

What's In A Name
Tamsin has a beloved stuffed dog that she (or we) has always referred to as "Puppy." We stayed a week with Kenji's sister...and with her dog, Jesse. Tamsin now refers to her puppy as "Jesse."

My Polite Daughter
While we were in Seattle, we went to the park a lot. One morning we were there rather early in the morning and there were several bums still sleeping in various spots. Tamsin said "hi" to every one of them.

Climb Every, um, Slide
One morning at the park, Tamsin was playing near the slide with some other kids - one was 18 months and the other was about 2.5 or 3. Anyway, they were all trying to climb the slide because...well, I don't know why. Anyway, Tamsin was halfway up the slide before I really figured out what she was doing. She managed to get to the top without any help from. The 18-month-old need a hand to get up and the older boy didn't make it all. My kid is stronger than the big boys.

Reading is Fun
We spend most of our vacation at Kenji's grandmother's house. Across from the stairs leading to her basement is a bookshelf. Whenever she had the opportunity (which was often), Tamsin would get a book (usually some kind of novel), sit on the bottom stair and "read" it.

Um...Clever Update Title?

Bah-bye
Saturday night, we were all sitting in the living room. Kenji was looking up music videos on Youtube. Tamsin was pulling books off the shelf. I was playing with my camera. Suddenly, Tamsin grabs a book (No Cry Sleep Solution), says "Bah-bye" and walks down the dark hall to her dark room. It was so random. Maybe nobody else will think it's funny, but Kenji and I couldn't stop laughing at her.

Now what?
We leave for vacation Friday night. Since we'll be driving something like 5 million miles, we decided we needed to get the brakes checked before leaving. So I dropped Tamsin off at my sister's house, took the car into Les Schwab and walked down the street to use the WiFi at a coffee shop. About 90 minutes after I got here, the technician called and said we needed to replace the brakes (not really a surprise). They'll be done sometime this afternoon. So what am I supposed to do for the next XX hours? There's only so much internetting one can do. And how much longer can I sit here without order another latte or something?

So, this vacation we're going on...
I'm worried it won't be an actual vacation. Exactly how does one relax with a 14 month old, in someone else's (un-babyproofed) house for 2 weeks? Not to mention the logistics of packing - how much of everything do we need? What am I going to leave behind only to discover Tamsin absolutely NEEDS it to avoid a meltdown. I can't handle the stress of this vacation. I think I'm ready to come home now.

More Tamsin
* We've been teaching her some sign language so she can communicate with us a little better. We taught her "all done" to let us know when she was done eating. In her head, though, it means "unbuckle me from this highchair/stroller/carseat so I can go play."
* When she wakes up in the morning, she makes her "all done" sign and hands me my glasses to let me know it's time to get out of bed.
* She dances to anything - any sound that's remotely rhythmic: the phone ringing, the sound of sandpaper, the clink of a spoon on my coffee mug, fireworks.
* For a while, all drinks in our house were either beer or water. My morning coffee was beer. Her morning milk was water. Now everything is just water, including beer.
* She would spend all day outside if given the chance. As soon as breakfast is over in the morning or she wakes up from her nap in the afternoon, she starts asking for " 'side" and brings me her shoes.
* This child loves shoes. She becomes ridiculously excited in shoe stores.
* Her words for "butterfly" and "pacifier" sound exactly the same: Biee.
* She somehow managed to save a phone number into my phone. Smart girl.

Miscommunication

Words Tamsin uses but doesn't seem to understand:

Soft: used for all textures in her touch and feel books - even the prickly hedgehog texture gets a "soft" from her. Also used while hitting you in the face.

All done: This is actually a sign we taught her so she could let us know when she was finished eating. Except now she uses it any time she wants down from her chair, including when you first put her in it and she hasn't eaten a thing.

No: Used in response to any question. Also used when she's about to get into something she knows is forbidden.

Eye: She does know what an eye is. However, when asked "Tamsin, where is your eye?" she proceeds to poke mommy in the eye while saying it.

Ball: Again, this can be used correctly. Or it can be a piece of fruit. We've actually had to resort to hiding the fruit basket at mealtimes to stop the cries of "Ball, ball."

Bye-bye: She says this at random times during the day, but rarely when somebody is leaving.

All Over the Place

It's Only Funny When It's Someone Else's Kid
Tamsin knows the word "no." She uses it in context about 90% of the time - the other 10% is just repeating the word over and over and over and over and...Anyway, when I say "no" to her, there's a 50/50 chance that she'll listen to me. The most annoying is when she's headed toward the garbage can, the hearth, the accidentally-left-open bathroom door, wherever, saying "nononono" as she walks. I always thought it was cute and funny when the parents of toddlers relayed stories of this nature. When it's my toddler? It's just annoying. OK, it's actually really cute and funny. She also says "uh-oh" as she throws pieces of food off her tray. I think that's pretty cute and funny and annoying, too.

My Brave Girl - or Not So Much
Tamsin had her 12-month well child visit yesterday. She received 2 vaccination shots and did not cry. A little screaming, but no tears. When I took the band-aids off later in the day, though, you'd have thought I was beating the poor child the way she cried and screamed. At the visit, though, she was 29.5 inches tall (70th percentile) and 20 lbs 1 oz (35th percentile). Looks like she's growing into a tall skinny girl.

Blog Visitors
Once upon a time, I mentioned I had signed up for Google Analytics to see how many readers I have. It also shows me where my readers live. After my last entry my blog must have been featured somewhere because suddenly I had readers from India, Brazil, Mexico, Sweeden, Honduras and Argentina. I really want these people to come back because I like the idea of being an international, cosmopolitan blogger.

Will Work for Food
I know this is the wrong time of year for students to start piano lessons, but I've been advertising for 2.5 weeks and have only had one tiny, little nibble. I need a lot more nibbles before the fall so that I can have a full studio. So, if you live in the Salt Lake City area and want piano lessons, please visit my new, not-so-state-of-the-art piano teacher website. Or, you know, just go there and critique it. Or, maybe, just visit it because you're curious. I'm good with any of those reasons. Because, of course, I'm tracking visitors to that site on my Google Analytics page.

It's Been a While

You'd think I'd have more time for blogging...
I lost my job 2 weeks ago. I can't help but be relieved and, well, happy about it. I hadn't been happy there for a long time - I remember wanting to quit within the first 6 months on the job. Kenji and I have talked about me becoming a piano teacher full time. But losing that set income for something less sure was too scary a step. But, now I have the opportunity to do it. And hope it works out. Fast. We can't have me without any income for very long.

She talks. And never shuts up.
Tamsin has a lot of words now - in addition to "boo" (chronicled earlier this year), she can say mama, dada, book (which sounds very similar to boo), wow, see, this (as a question) and cheese. She also says "baaa" and "datsy" a lot, but I haven't been able to figure out what they mean. I'll take suggestions on that.

Update: Right after posting this entry, Kenji informed me that Tamsin talks in her sleep. He went in to make sure her blanket covered her feet, she rolled over, held her hand up, said "see," then rolled back, all without waking up.

Only 4 Years left until the Big Itch
We celebrated our 3 year anniversary on the 20th. It's strange to think we've only been married for 3 years. It seems like a whole other life when I think back to the days before I met Kenji. And have I ever mentioned how great he is? He does all the yard work, shares cooking and cleaning duties, takes care of Tamsin and rarely complains even though I can be a nit-picky, naggy brat a lot of the time. Oh - and for anniversary gifts? I gave him a wallet and belt (3 is the leather anniversary) and he gave me a digital SLR camera. Yeah, I suck and owe him big time. But, I am totally loving that camera.

My Odd Child
Tamsin is a strange eater. Like many kids, she loves cheese. That has become one of her main sources of protein. She also loves beans - as long as they are black beans or baked beans. Pinto beans get thrown from her tray (one by one) and we'll try red beans tomorrow. She has eaten any veggie we've given her - peas and green beans are her favorites, though carrots rank pretty highly, too. But she won't eat fruit. No bananas, no peaches, no oranges, no mango, no grapes - you get the idea. Want to know what she will eat? Grapefruit and lemons - loves them. I don't get it. At all.

Birthday Girl
Tamsin turned one yesterday and we had a big ole party for her on Saturday. Just a few pictures (taken with the awesome new camera) chronicling the event:

Balloons














Sharing dinner with her boyfriend














Opening presents with Mommy
















Cake!

And...She Walks

We actually taped this last week. Since then, she's managed to walk on uneven grass and also in sandles.

Two Little Things

My Need for Validation
I've found another way to validate my online self. I signed up for Google Analytics so that I can track readers of this blog. It appears there are 12 of you. Actually, I'm probably one of those 12. I might be 2 of those 12, now that I think about it since I access this blog from home and work so there would be 2 IP addresses. And I check for comments on a very regular basis. Because, you know, I need validation that people are reading what I write. I'm just going to go ahead and assume that you're enjoying it, too, since there are some repeat viewers according to the analysis. But, Yay! 10 readers.

Destiny
Tamsin and her boyfriend are spending more time together. Last weekend she kept hitting him until he cried and then he tried to eat her hair. During dinner, they kept stealing each other's food. I'm telling you, these two are made for each other.

Unrelated

My New Favorite Commercial
I was watching other stuff online when this commercial came on. I laugh out loud every time I see it.


Seeing Double. Again
From my Facebook home page.

Feebee can't focus........
9 minutes ago

Katie cannot focus what so ever..
11 minutes go

Calming Interlude

Match Made in Heaven
Sunday we went to the aquarium with Tamsin's boyfriend and his parents. He's five weeks older than her and, truth be told, they really haven't spent much time with each other. At any given time, one of them is sleeping (him) or having a meltdown (her). After the aquarium, we went to lunch and their highchairs were placed side by side. Silly girl couldn't keep her hands off of him. Actually, she was trying to grab his food, I think. Or she was hitting him.* But then, he was taking her bottle. And don't even get me started with the toys. Somehow, someday, these two little persons will look at each other and realize they've been in love since before their first birthdays.

*Tamsin was in a very hitty mood this weekend. When the waitress was leaning over the table, Tamsin was hitting her bum. I wonder if she's still too young to understand "personal space."

Lean, Mean Machine
I've been working out for about 2 months now. I usually get 3 to 6 workouts in each week. Whether I work out that day is very much tied to how Tamsin slept the night before - a good night means a workout day, a bad night means no energy. Anyway, I think I'm starting to see results. I can feel more tone in my thighs and glutes. Now, no one is going to look at me and think I have a toned body. In fact, most people looking at me will only see the layer of fat covering the more toned muscle, but *I* know it's there. Now I wish all that work would translate into a smaller dress size - I miss my clothes.

New Milestones
So, I posted the video of Tamsin's first word last week. What I didn't get on video was the unsupported step she took between the couch and her piano. This was followed by 2 steps at her uncle's house this weekend. And, apparently, 3 steps last night chasing me when I left the room. I'm so proud of her...and a little scared, too.

The Countdown Begins OR Week 2

Day 8 - Sunday
Two birthday celebrations and I managed to avoid sugar at both of them. That was not an easy feat.

6 days to go.

Day 9 - Monday
Donut day again. Why did I choose 2 weeks instead of 1 week again? I'm beginning to wonder if sugar actually does serve a purpose...

5 days.

Day 10 - Tuesday
This is really starting to suck. Everything has sugar. Seriously, everything. Did you know that Wheat Thins have sugar in them? Why does a wheat cracker need sugar? Last night I told Kenji maybe I should relax my rules a bit, but this morning I think that's a bad idea. Maybe I need this second week of no-sugar to really understand how much I'm eating. Last week it was a fun little experiment. This week is driving home the point. It's still getting really old. I feel like I can't eat anything - there's only so much fruit a person can eat, y'know? Whatever.

Only 4 days left.

Day 11 - Wednesday
I kept dropping things all day. Do you think it's because I don't have enough sugar in my system any more? I'm just going to assume that's the cause rather than my natural propensity for clumsiness.

3 Days to go.

Day 12 - Thursday
Wow. I've been at this for 12 full days. Weird. I think what I'm missing most is grains. I don't eat a lot of bread, but I do like crackers. I really love multi-grain crackers with some cheese. But I have yet to find a cracker* that doesn't have sugar as one of the first few ingredients. It's really discouraging. Like I said before, there's only so much fruit my body can handle.

*We have some rice crackers that don't have sugar, but they don't really satisfy the grain craving. They're tasty (really tasty!), but it's just not quite right.

2 Days until the glorious sugar binge. Or you know, maybe just a chocolate bar.

Day 13 - Friday
I'm satisfying my sweet and grain cravings by eating a piece of whole wheat bread (that I made myself!) with honey. Hopefully eating this first thing in the morning will help me avoid the frustration I've been feeling later in the day.

1 Day left.

Day 14 - Saturday
Final day. I made it. As a retrospective, I really doubt my eating habits are going to change as a result of going without sugar for 2 weeks. I am more aware of how many products contain sugar, but, the truth is, I don't eat a ton of those products anyway. I did miss eating crackers, but that was about it. I know I shouldn't be eating a bunch of desserts and drinking sodas on a regular basis, so I only do it occassionally anyway. This has been a good and valuable experience, but, like I already said, I don't think I'll be eating too much differently in the future.

Day 15 - Sunday
I had chocolate-peanut butter rice krispie treats for breakfast.