Rewards and the price you pay.

Reward:

Rito didn't get up until 8:15am. Leaving a happy perky Mamamama to chase him around. Alas, with all that sleep I have an obscenely perky and spirited Rito to chase around.

The price you pay: 

• Rito has learned to open drawers today, so my pots and pans are always clanking about. 
  


• Today Rito wanted to play with this treehouse toy and I keep all the extra little animals in a cheap "purse" so they stay contained and accounted for. So now he is walking around our house carrying a purse and talking like a little old lady. Should I be concerned? ;) 


• The temper tantrums OH MY GOD! All I have to say is Linda at Purple is a Fruit summed it up perfectly today. Her little Riley and my Rito seem to be cut from the same cloth some days. 


• Two days in a row now Rito has decided not to eat breakfast, which ends up making him cranky because he is hungry but he won't eat. It is a vicious cycle I tell you! I endured a temper tantrum over who the heck knows what at breakfast time... I think it was because I wouldn't let him stand on the kitchen table or drink my coffee. All I need is a toddler on caffeine. Dear god, could you imagine? Oy.


• Currently Rito is chasing BuddyLove around with a decapitated snowman toy. This is the only reason I am able to update the blog before naptime. 
  

And I must say minus the temper tantrum this morning, today has been a great day with my little guy. Now if I just could get him to eat something. 

Favorite Baby Things

You know when something fun happens, you think "Gee I should blog that". Seriously I have tons to blog about, but after a weekend of weddings and wedding showers (4 weddings this summer 3 of which I am going to, one that Dad! was able to make it to) I am seriously burnt out. Add to the fact on Thursday night Dad! and I thought it was a good idea to drink a bottle of wine and follow up with "El Presidente's" (giant margaritas) Friday was a slightly long and painful day. Oy. Oh and then there was Friday night at DogMama's house where we drank a batch of her Sangria, good times I tell you. Add in a wedding with an open bar, and you have a Mamamama who is now sticking to water for a couple days. Mmmmm water. 

So back to the blog post. I thought I would list a few of the things I really liked having for Rito as a baby. It is amazing how much stuff you really don't need and what you end using the most surprises you. I have decided that when friends and family have babies in the future I am not buying clothing but instead some items from this list, because seriously we got way too much baby clothing. 

The Raz Baby Raz-Pak.

This was the handiest little thing ever. I initially used it for portioning out formula when we went out, but now it houses crackers, cookies and other snacks for the day. I think it is the one thing we will use even after Rito is done with it. 

Kipiis Bib Clips 

Pretty useful, with this handy set of clips I don't have to worry about keeping a stack of bibs on me when we go out. Anything can be a bib with these. Rito also likes to play with these when he is sitting in his car seat. Whatever works right?

Bosom Baby Breastfeeding Pillow

Love Love Love this pillow. Rito is 14 months old and is no longer breastfeeding yet we still use it all the time. I like it because it isn't crescent shaped (we all know what pillow I am talking about) and is really big, so Rito still fits on it for our night time cuddles.  It also makes a great pregnancy pillow (I bought it when I was 6 months pregnant) and the cover is removable and washable. Dad! has also been known to use it as a pillow for TV watching. 

Nuby Stuff

I just love this brand. They make the best (I think) sippy cups I tried, they don't leak and you can get two different straw sizes which is great since Rito will have nothing to do with the sippy styled cups. I love their cutlery, it has large bowls in the spoon, so you can shovel larger amounts into the babies mouth Their ice teethers are the best! Rito loves the duck one shown below and is plain happy to chew on the duck beak. 

Now there are many more things I could add to this list but I have covered my favorites. What are your favorites?

Decisions

You know how everyone has an opinion? 

What I want to know is what the heck is everyones problem with Dad! and I making the conscious decision that Rito is going to be an only child? 

For the last couple months Dad! and I have discussed whether or not Rito will have a sibling. At first we thought that we would in another year or two try for another baby. Recently though we have come to the decision that one child is what is right for our little family. We put a lot of thought into this and have our reasons for wanting an only child and some are listed here: 

• I (Mamamama) am an only child. Did I ever wish for a brother or sister? Yes, when I was 7 I wanted a little brother. The novelty of that idea wore off. Do I regret not having a sibbling? Nope. 
  
  
• Dad! has a younger brother. Did he get any enjoyment out of his brother as a kid? Not really. In fact they didn't get along too well until Dad! was out on his own and they didn't live together anymore. Does he wish Uncle-J was never born? No, but being an only kid would have had it's perks too. 
  
  
• Being an only child was great. I had an opportunity to travel overseas with my parents, and they always took me out with them to nice places because one child was "easy to handle" in public. 
  
  
• People feel that kids need sibblings to play with, I don't believe that. I was forced to make friends and be outgoing to keep myself occupied. 
  
  
• With less children, my Mom and Dad could afford to have me in sports and music lessons. This may sound lame but now at days kids activities are both time consuming and very expensive. Juggling between a couple kids could prove to be impossible with multiple children. 
  
  
• I like to work part time. With more then one, I have to give up what I do for a living and I worked long and hard to get where I am (and I only work 2 times a week). Call me selfish, but I like to have my own spending money and help out with household expenses. 
  
  

There are many other reasons, but what kills me is when friends, family and co-workers all weigh in on the fact that they think having an only child is the wrong decision or selfish. I am not advocating for ALL families to have only one child, do what is best for you. But for the McSleepy household, this is likely the right decision.

Seriously, what gives?

Because nothing seems to be made in the USA (or Canada) anymore.

I don't know about my loyal readers, but I am personally sick of crap made in China and that crap being recalled for all sorts of safety issues. I have no problem with me being in danger, but when you piss with my son and his toys; it is time to open a can of whoop ass. 

Today I found a website full of links and information about Chinese made goods, and it even calls for a partial boycott of Chinese made items (because a 100% boycott is near impossible). 

If you choose to add them to your blog you will be entered into a contest for a  $50.00 American Apparel gift card. Info on the contest is here. 

Go ahead check them out! 

Regaining Control of my Living Room

I always thought I would be one of those uber-cool hipster parents that had no brightly colored baby crap strewn about their house. Before I had Rito, I envisioned him playing with neat stacking cups and brown monkeys that blended with the "decor" in our home. I thought we would spend our days reading books, listening to British import music, playing little games like patty cake and going for nature walks with BuddyLove in the ravine beside our home. 

Reality bit me in the ass. Hard. Who has time for all of that? There is laundry to get done, you know. 

My home is a shrine to all things toddler, including the big three: Fisher Price, Little Tykes and Other Plastic Crap Made in China. Primary colors now dominate our serene beige and brown (and some may say bland, so be it) color scheme and plastic things that sing and make noise are always eating our batteries. 

Why did I deviate from my idealistic bullshit ideas? Anything for 10 minutes of peace, that's why. 

Now that Rito has a ton of toys strategically placed (thrown.... left behind and abandoned) throughout our home we have come to the mighty conclusion that we need to develop the final room in our basement to be a playroom. Rito has some cool big wood toys  like this huge bus that need to be built and played with, but it takes up so much room that we really needed extra space to put it in. 

Dad! and I never really have anything we want for gifts, because let's face it we both have good jobs and pretty much buy what we want. What we really are short on is handy skillz (actually we are fine at handy, more short on hours in a day to do things), and the idea of developing the last room in our basement seemed like a logistical nightmare that we kept putting off. 

Enter my Mom (who we can blame for the huge bus, but it is a cool ass bus).

LoudGranny (my Mom) has no handy skillz either but she is fantastic at hiring men, writing cheques and deciding that shit needs to get done. So for this year's Birthday and Christmas gifts for Dad! and I, we are getting a playroom courtesy of LoudGranny. I have spent the last two days picking out flooring (cork) and french doors. Later this afternoon is an outing to the hardware store to investigate lighting. The demo of what was in that half done room was finished yesterday, and once a couple more decisions are made the construction will start. 

You may think the gift is more for Rito, but think about it first...... We are regaining some control of the main floor. 

And that is the best gift I can think of right now.

Never Ever did I think........

I would ever say the following as a mother: 

No Rito! Do NOT put your maracas in the central vac outlet!

If we lived in a town where there was ample parking day or night.....

The McSleepy family would look just like this: 

Rito

Mamamama

Dad!

What is really scary is that Rito is bang on.

Toddler Batteries Chart

One of my favorite bloggers is Secret Agent Josephine. She writes these long posts about her life living in her rented home on the beach with her talented photographer husband and cute little Baby Bug. I am usually envious of her trips to Starbucks and Sprinkles Cupcake Bakery but today I have another reason to be envious. She has put into pictures and graphs what I have spent HOURS trying to explain to people. 

Behold the Toddler Batteries Chart. A sheer work of genius.  

Toddler Batteries

Thanks to Brenda for letting me add it to my blog. Even the times are almost bang on for Rito's daily performances. I may be giving this chart to everyone that takes care of my little guy. 

Only in this town.......

can you get away with putting a couple dozen gerbils in a pen and calling it a zoo.

This morning Dad! and I took Rito to the zoo for the very first time. We had grand illusions of enlightening Rito with train rides and active animals in their habitats. Needless to say we were disappointed to find out (after buying train tickets) that the train was CLOSED for repairs for the WHOLE day. The cashier? Obviously not so bright. And the animals? Not so active and sometimes even embarrassingly absent from their habitats. Rito did love the monkeys (even the not so evil ones) and the Merry-Go-Round but hated the paddle boats (probably the sticky hot life preservers they make you wear in 3 feet of water). Overall, it was nice to spend some family time together but the zoo was a bit of a bust.

Lets hope I at least get a good nap out of Rito after all the excitement. 

Letters to my Son. 13 months.

Dearest Rito,

Mamamama has had a run of fantastic days with you. I really like the nice little toddler stage you are in this week. You have been sleeping quite well, taking nice long naps and being generally pleasant during the day. Even the temper tantrums have been at a minimum.

This week you have been eating very well, and yesterday you even ate ribs for the first time at LoudGranny's house. We have started trying to eat with a fork, but sometimes you forget what end goes in your mouth and need to be reminded which way it all goes. You really like stabbing tortellini with the fork and are pretty proud of yourself when you get it on the fork AND into your mouth in one try. So far letting you eat with a spoon by yourself is a disaster, and there is only so much yoghurt I can handle washing off the walls.

The most exciting thing this month is how you have turned into a full time walker. For the last few months when people asked if you were walking yet, we always said "Yes, but he likes crawling better". Now your primary mode of transport is walking and you crawl when you lose your balance. Climbing has turned into a favorite exercise with you, and nothing seems to be off limits. You climb on the couch, the coffee table and the dividing wall between the kitchen and family room, some day Mamamama is going to have a heart attack watching you climb everything in sight.

The Evil Monkey is still your favorite toy, and you like to grab his tail and rub it in circles around your left eye when you fall asleep. It is so cute. Around the house you have a little toy airplane that you push around and around the main floor while laughing your butt off. I fail to see what is so funny but the look of joy on your face when you do this warms my heart right up. Dad! bought you a cute little lookout tower and slide for the backyard, and you really love that, but you like to crawl up the slide and down the stairs which is just a little backwards.

This month has been pretty warm and Dad! and Uncle-J have invented a new sport with you, extreme wagon rides. Usually this involves putting you in the wagon and running around on bumpy ground pulling you as fast as they can, and sometimes they add in a big water hazard (the sprinkler). You love this game and could play it all day, unfortunately none of us is in good enough shape to do it for a long period of time.

I am looking forwad to what Month 14 is going to bring.

Love you more that chocolate,
Mamamamama

P.S. I am so thankful you were not in the car with Mamamama when that dingbat hit my car at the crosswalk. If you were in the car Mamamama would of been in jail for opening a big can of whoop ass on that girl.