Losing my Groove

My friend posted recently about finding her groove, in regards to mothering two children. That got me thinking....I feel like I am losing mine. At one time it felt easy, almost too easy.

Well, not so much now. BigZabba is going through what I can only call separation anxiety. It is very challenging for me. I am not sure how to handle it. Situations where she was once happy and content are now full of raw emotion and stress. She cannot explain why she is so upset, only that she wants to be with me. She has become clingy, needing me to do nearly everything with her. I thought things were getting better, and maybe in one sense they are, but even today she had a meltdown about playing at MOPS with children that she knows very well. So we left.

LittleZabba is a generally happy baby, until 4:00pm hits. Then my super smiley happy baby turns into a crying maniac. She could be teething, maybe her schedule isn't agreeing with her and she needs to sleep more..I don't know. So my solution to that is after going through the crying baby checklist; is she hungry, wet, dirty, hurt, tired, I can only guess that she is tired, so at 5:00pm she has gone to bed. (I know one hour isn't that long, but I just cannot handle one hour of crying..I start to go a little crazy. Even BigZabba starts to say things like, "when will she stop, what is wrong with her?") She must be exhausted because once she is in bed she sleeps all night. I guess I can't really complain since my child will sleep from 5pm - 7am, but having a kid that goes to bed that early makes having any kind of evening very difficult.

Anyway, I know this is just a season of my life that is currently challenging. But it is still challenging. I guess this is what I get for having things too easy for a while.

Surf's Up

Click to see what DaddyZabba has been working on for the past year.

Surf's Up!

Success!!

BigZabba walked in her class with no crying!! She was pouty and had "the lip", but no tears!! I hope that this is the beginning of a new chapter in our pre-school experience. Her teacher promised that if there were no tears she would get to play with the guinea pigs today. So when the teacher came to get them in their line this morning, she was holding the guinea pig. So BigZabba could see the "prize" and all she had to do was walk in the class with no tears...and she did it! What a relief. The other parents were all watching to see what would happen and when the kids walked in the class everyone smiled and clapped for me. Yeah.

Open Season

DaddyZabba and BigZabba went to the premier of Open Season. BigZabba was super excited. She and Daddy got to ride on a charter bus to the movie, then they played carnival games, won prizes, ate Burger King, saw the characters from the movie, had ice cream, & ate popcorn. They had a total blast.

Hey Dog Breath

While walking near a pet store...

me - "Don't you love the smell of dog food in the afternoon?"
bigzabba - "I don't smell anything."
me - "Don't you smell the dog food?"
bigzabba - without missing a beat says, "Maybe it is your breath."

nice.

Screaming Update

For all my curious readers...the bribe did not work. The screaming wasn't as bad, but there was screaming.

Day 3

Today was day 3 of the screaming adventure. Today was even worse than the previous days, there was kicking, screaming, and yelling "Mommy!" with the teacher holding her, all the way to the classroom. Why?, you ask, and I ask the same question. She settles down very fast, but it is still an emotional time for both of us.
I didn't want to introduce bribery into the situation, but I caved. Tomorrow the deal is, if there is no crying, no kicking, screaming or throwing a fit, we will go to the store and buy Rarity, a My Little Pony she has wanted for some time now. She is very excited about this possibility, but will it work? Only time will tell.

The Screamer

For the second day in a row I have left Pre-School with my child screaming. So sad.

Overheard

While walking back from BigZabba's school I passed a Mom who was walking her kid to school. The child was walking on the grass in front of the school...

Mom says, "Don't walk on the grass."
Child says, "Why?"
Mom says, "Grass is for looking at, not walking on."

Why even have it if you can't walk on it?! Does this Mother let her child play outside? Is the poor kid bound to the pavement? Maybe I am not the "norm", but I think it is great if I see kids playing outside, even if they are playing on my lawn, I don't care. They are kids let them play, let them frolic, let them be free...

Aloha

My parents returned from Kauai this week. These are the fun gifts they brought back for the family. Just looking at the lei makes me long for the sand of Kauai, the warm rain, the sound of the waves, the fresh fruit...ah vacation.

Pre-K

BigZabba is in pre-school! I am so proud of her. DaddyZabba & Grandma were able to come to school to see her first day. She walked right in, did what her teacher said and didn't flinch when it was time for us to leave. After school I asked her what her favorite part was...snack time.
Today, her second day of preschool, she got to sit in the "share chair" and talk about the grasshopper that she caught in her bug catcher. She was the hit of the class. I am sure all the little boys must have thought that she was just the best ever..."a girl who likes bugs and has a bug catcher...she is so cool." She is very excited about preschool and loves getting homework. I will remind her of that when in 4th grade she hates all her California Mission work.

So Sweet

BigZabba to DaddyZabba while making pancakes...

"It is so fun cooking pancakes with your Daddy, especially your Daddy who loves you so much."

LittleZabba is on the Move

She is officially mobile. It may not look like the traditional crawl, but significant forward progress was made (from the blanket to the toy). Watch out world!

We Hit 200

AllyZabba has sold 200 items! I wonder how many miles of thread that is?

Making Memories

The last few weeks DaddyZabba has been working many hours. So we have tried to do fun family activities on the weekend to make the most of family time. Here are some highlights from our weekend fun..

Fun times at the beach. Relaxing, cooking hot dogs and of course, eating smores.

Fun times with Auntie & Uncle & Cousin Zabba. It was a warm day so we spent some time at a nearby fountain cooling off.



Going ice skating for the first time was a blast for BigZabba. She was a little hesitant at first, but she soon was ready to go around again and again.