Thanks, Mom

Thanks, Mom, for your everlasting love & support. Happy Mother's Day!

Summer Sandals

{salt water sandals}

Aren't these sandals delightfully classic?

I googled 'leather sandals for children' after striking out a number of times at Gap, Old Navy and Joe looking for a simple and inexpensive pair of sandals for Eloise to wear this summer. I lean towards inexpensive because they inevitably get destroyed with endless trips to the park, beach and exploring in the garden and I will always really, really love jellies.

Salt Water Sandals came up in my search and looking into the company a bit more it turns out they've been making their "Original" for over 60 years, which explains why these look like something my Mom may have worn. They come in colours from classic navy and brown to pale pink and my favourite, silver. Even better, you can take your wet and dirty Salt Water Sandals, pop them right in the washer and air dry them to good as new. I'm sold.

It's interesting to find a balance of footwear for children that is both stylish and comfortable. My Mom pushes for 'good shoes' but I find myself more attracted to the not-so-good shoes - the ballet flats, jelly sandals, cute sneakers - and finding 'good' sandals that are also attractive is tricky. We are NOT a teva family.

I think the Salt Water Sandals are a perfect balance and they'll take Eloise from the beach to dinners out all summer long.

Madeline Says Merci

{madeline}

We've been having some, um, challenges with Miss E over the past month. Her two year old self constantly tests my patience and I feel like a broken record by the end of the day trying to positively, yet firmly, encourage good behaviour and kindness. Manners require constant reminders though I am always pleasantly surprised when I get an un-prompted "pease and sanks you."

I met a friend for brunch last week and, knowing the tricky time I've been having with Eloise at two, she gave us the most darling book, Madeline Says Merci: The Always be Polite Book. Madeline was a personal favourite of mine growing up so in my opinion this book was a hit before we even cracked it open.

Eloise loves the pictures in this charming story and I love that it speaks to everything from greeting adults to being considerate and apologizing. Written by Madeline creator Ludwig Bemelmans' grandson, John Bemelmans Marciano, this book is just a little modernized with phrases such as "teasing someone isn't cool" but still classically Madeline.

 

We've been reading it every night before bed so if I'm lucky perhaps Eloise will sharpen up her manners though osmosis?

Friday Finds

A friend pointed me towards Miki and Alex, an online clothing boutique for kids, and I'm so happy she did. Their clothing is affordable and unique, and these tutu dresses pretty much make me swoon.

{miki and alex}

At $24.00 a piece they are almost too adorable not to order one in mint and coral. Eloise is going to coordinate perfectly with the bridesmaids at her Auntie Lindsay's upcoming wedding!

Whe-are-you?

I'd say I spend about 90% of my day trying to get stuff done and entertain Eloise simultaneously. Without tv this involves countless creativity and lots of effort, and I often wish for a Mary Poppins "And snap, the job's a game!" moment when I'm stuck. If only it was that easy.

I also attempt to do approximately 27 things at a time, only somewhat successfully. Trying to pack lots into a short amount of time makes sense at first but always leaves me somewhat frazzled and inevitably five minutes late for nearly everything. When I am running behind it is only natural that I forget or lose things. This doesn't sit well for Eloise who's patience runs thin when I promise her we're going to the park/store/a playdate/her activity and have her fully dressed in the foyer while I run around. To keep her happy and occupied I've started asking her to help me find things by saying, "Oh keys, where are you? Hmm ... do you think they're under here?" which buys me a few minutes while I complete one of the nine other things I need to do (or convince myself I need to do) before we leave the house.

Clearly this game has caught on and Eloise now uses "Where are you?" on her own terms with her toys. "Whe-are-you Baby Emma?" when her doll is buried beneath peeps and "Oh Mama, whe-are-you" when I attempt to pee alone. She makes a game of searching for favourite books and the dog, it's very cute. And useful when I need a moment to finish up a task.

I lost lost my car keys for all of last week and basically gave up looking for them after checking all of my usual hiding spots like my coat pockets and the depths of my purse (so sticky). The "Where are you?" game was no use, though Eloise did try to help, and I eventually found my keys in the bottom of a bag of newborn sleepers stashed under her bed. Not where I would typically keep keys, but I threw the bag under her bed in an effort to do a two-minute-clear-the-clutter-tidy and it almost makes sense that this is where they would end up. Almost.

Trouble with Two

I hate to admit it, but 'they' were right in labeling them the terrible twos. Chris and I agree that since turning two Eloise has traded her sweet, quiet, cuddly baby self for a sassy, stubborn, endlessly energetic little person. She constantly challenges us and it is exhausting. I continuously remind myself that I am the one in charge and I am the one who gets to make the rules but sometimes I just don't have the energy to fight her anymore. We take many of moments of reflection throughout the day - often at her suggestion - but I feel like I am always nagging Eloise to listen, not scream, use her words, stop hitting, please share, mind her manners and on and on. I don't want to be the naggy mom!

As her language skills develop I'd expect Eloise to become more adept in expressing herself but she usually just reverts to screaming whenever she doesn't get her way or god forbid, someone tries to take something away from her. With her friend Ruby she is especially challenging as the girls inevitably want the same thing at the same time which results in one or both of them screaming, though it's almost always Eloise.

I feel like turning two has made Eloise into a brat. She is high maintenance these days and in order for us to get her to do what we want all the parameters have to be just right, or her idea. Mealtimes are a constant battle as there are a very limited number of foods she will eat (pasta, oatmeal, apple/apple sauce, yogurt, chicken and eggs) and because she is still so slight I am not ready to pull the "well this is what we're having" card. Bedtime is no better and we've just come to realize that getting her down will be an hour long process and that we'll end up with Eloise padding into our room at 2am to get into bed anyway. I'm sure the right thing to do would be walking her back to her bed, but by that point I give up and at least she stays asleep (albeit sometimes violently) until the morning.

The trouble with two is that it keeps changing. Every week Eloise learns a little more, gets a little smarter and pushes a few more boundaries. I know she is just testing the water but the kid is making me crazy!

What is a Cake Pop?

I've always been a little confused by cake pops. They are so pretty to look at, but I've never understood what exactly they are made of. Raw dough covered with icing? Lollipop shaped cake?

Molly is obsessed with the trendy treat (what seven year old wouldn't be?) and since she was staying with us this weekend I promised her we'd try our hands at making them. In the process I discovered they are not uncooked dough (thank goodness) and actually quite simple to make. I cheated and used a boxed cake mix and jarred frosting, but I imagine they would be a billion times more delicious with my Mom's chocolate wacky cake and homemade chocolate butter cream as the base. Ingredients aside, this is how we made our cake pops:

13 x 9" sheet cake (as I mentioned, I made these with Molly and she chose Betty Crocker rainbow chips cake mix. Obviously)
Frosting (we used vanilla to match the cake)
1 lb melting chocolates
Mini rainbow chocolate chips

Bake the cake as directed, using a 13 x 9" pan. Once completely cool, crumble the entire cake (minus a few nibblies, oops!) into a bowl. Add about a cup of frosting to the cake crumbs and mix everything well. The mixture should be dough-like in texture and simple to shape into a ball. If it is too crumbly, add more frosting. Form the mixture into balls freeze on a parchment lined baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, use a double boiler to melt chocolate. Once cake balls have frozen, stab each one with a lollipop stick and dip into the chocolate, covering completely. We (messily) rolled our cake pops in mini rainbow chocolate chips but you could go au natural. Let the chocolate harden by poking the lollipop sticks into the holes of a colander (genius!). Or, if you're lazy like me and bored with the project already just set the cake pops back onto the parchment. I assure you, a flat bottom cake pop tastes exactly the same.

*WARNING: Do not feed to two year olds. Eloise was up until 10:30.

This is what we ended up with. Not great, but Molly was happy so I was too.

Moment of Reflection

Eloise is two, and like other two year olds her behaviour at times can be a challenge. Refusal to listen, tantrums, not sharing and hitting are a few of the interesting changes we've seen in Eloise since she became a full-blown toddler. I know these behaviours are all part of her development as she learns to verbalize and communicate how she's feeling, but the hitting concerns me a bit. We've noticed she hits mostly out of frustration, but it's still not acceptable around here.

When it comes to discipline I'll admit I'm a little lost. I know children respond to clear boundaries and discipline, I just don't like time outs. I think gussied up 'time out chairs' are gross and forcing a child to face a corner is basically shaming. I think my problem with time outs is that they are negative and don't really solve the problem, especially when the problem can't be aptly communicated. I'm not saying I don't agree with a child taking a few quiet minutes to themselves when they're acting up, but it's our job as parents to help them understand why and how their behaviour is unacceptable. By sending a child to sit on a chair or face a wall without explanation is not going to help them learn how to change their behaviour next time.

When I misbehaved as a child I was sent to my room to think or had privileges taken away, or both, neither of which scarred me or require what my Mom calls 'couch time'. My parents explained the why when I was in trouble and, as far as I'm concerned, that makes all the difference. (Keep in mind this was at a time when most parents were still spanking.) As a younger child privileges were taken away in the form of toys which my Mom kept in a basket on the top of the fridge, in sight but far out of reach. Good behaviour earned the toys back and my mom used this technique well into my teens when privileges revoked meant my cellphone or car. I still think the loss of privileges is a brilliant method of discipline.

In the process of learning to discipline Eloise I've coined my own very new age-y parenting term: Moment of Reflection. Go ahead and laugh, but it makes perfect sense to me: when Eloise misbehaves we talk about it, then I ask her to take a moment to herself in her room to reflect on how she could have behaved differently and why it made me upset. After her moment she apologizes, we hug and then it's done. There is no point in having a moment of reflection when Eloise is mid-tantrum, so at these times we just hug until she is able to explain what she needs and we find a resolve (which may be a moment of reflection).

Eloise hit Chris today and right after asked for a 'moment' then walked herself into her room. I'm not sure if this means she really gets the fact that this gives her time to clear her head and think about her behaviour or if she is just in the process of outsmarting me. We'll see, this is only the beginning.

Once Upon a Potty

Remember the book Once Upon a Potty from when you were little? I do. So when I spotted this 80s-era gem at Superstore a few weeks ago I scooped it up in hopes that Eloise would take to it.

Classic, right?

And she has! Eloise likes the book so much that we read it every day and on Sunday we had what may be a breakthrough with the potty in nearly a month. We've had lots of naked time recently as Eloise is what I'd call a 'free spirit' and in her nakedness I think she has realized that there is nothing to hold onto any wetness. Running around naked the other day Eloise elected to use the potty. She managed to pee not once, but twice on the potty that night so we did a string of happy dances and covered her in stamps. We also found a cute potty chart (thanks Pinterest!) and some of her 'ol fave, Nemo, stickers to mark off her progress.

{pinterest}

Today I was on my way back from meeting a client and called my Dad at home to check in on Eloise. While we were on the phone Eloise started to pee but stopped and successfully made it to the potty, all on her own. She was naked, of course, but maybe being all free and easy is the key to no more diapers?

Good Morning 'dame

It's been a little quiet around here lately. Not here as in life, but here as in the blog. I am back to overwhelmingly busy (but did it ever end?) and between work and work, Eloise and Chris, the blog takes a backseat. I hate to repeat myself but I constantly wonder if it will ever feel like one day doesn't just bleed into the next. Apart from busyness, Eloise is extremely fun and we are so enjoying her budding personality. Every day means a new word and a new expression and we're finally having some success on the potty. But that's another story.

Last week Eloise started her very first ballet class with my very first ballet teacher and I cannot begin to tell you how it makes me feel to see the whole thing go full circle. I've had visions of this day forever and pictured my one-day daughter following dutifully, pointing her toes and extending her hands into a lovely fifth position. I was reminded that she is only two when she chose not to listen and spent the majority of her first class in the middle of the room, spinning.

At the start of each class the teacher greets the little ballerinas by saying, "Good morning, ladies!" to which they reply, "Good morning, Madame!" Eloise has been repeating, "Good morning, 'dame," every morning since. She is taking the class with her girlfriend, Ruby, whose mom, Sarah, had the same type of dreams for Ruby's natural talent. At least Ruby listens! Eloise was so out of control excited by her first class that we had to have words in the hall (twice) when Eloise refused to hold my hand or participate, even if Ruby was leading by example. In the car on our way to the next class I asked Eloise what she was going to do at ballet. "Hold hands," she said. "And wisten."