My Alligator Purse

This shouldn’t even be my post. I should have my husband write this as a guest author. But we all know that won’t happen. If you want to read his works be prepared with a technical dictionary and go to Paralipsis, his blog. So you are stuck with my account of the day my kids learned to ride their bikes sans training wheels.

I think I need to start off the story when Lainy Ann was still a wee baby. Caskey started researching how to teach kids to ride bikes. He spent hours reading different blogs and finally settled on the right strategy for teaching her. She was 1. Ever since then when I say its time to help Lainy Ann ride with 2 wheels, he replied with, “its easy, removed the pedals”. Since tools fall under his category is parental responsibility it hasn’t happened. But this summer I had a few goals for the kids; one of which was riding bikes without training wheels.

Since its a holiday weekend and we have NO plans (and I like it that way) and I don’t want to go anywhere and fight the crowds I figured it was the perfect weekend to commit the time to this. I figured it would take most of the 3-day weekend. The hardest part of the process was ferrying the bikes one at a time up to our house in the trunk of my car. Then Caskey set to removing the pedals and training wheels and fitting the kids for the right bike (we had 3 to choose from).

There is a school of thought that thinks the skills should be broken down into smaller pieces. My kids have been able to effectively pedal for a long time, but the balance was the main issue. However, by giving them a bike without pedals (seat lowered to the bottom setting so their legs will comfortably rest on the ground, an undersized bike works well for this) they are able to scooter around and work on balance without worrying and the starting and stopping or the pedaling. We had a nice collection of new and old bikes to choose from so the kids were adequately fitted for their bikes.

This is such a popular theory that companies now sell bikes for the explicit purpose, but save your money, simply removing the pedals is a much less expensive solution. However, if you like to shop (like I do) check out the Step2 and Kettler versions of this training bike. Or if you are really fancy their is a European version too from One Step Ahead (I love their catalog!)

All of the above bikes make promises of children learning faster. Its really true. We spent a total of 2 hours teaching the kids to ride their bikes. That includes all the tinkering required to move seats and removed pedals. There were only 2 falls and no band-aids. It was a very painless experience that I wish we had done 12 months ago.

This endeavor has been so successful I am seriously considering teaching William to ride a 2-wheeled bike next week.

We have doing a lot of learning about the value of money lately. I usually compare a purchase to the price of everyone eating at Mc Donald’s. So when they ask for a toy I compare the cost of it to the cost of other things we do or will be doing. Just recently the children had to earn back their scooters by doing chores at $0.10/ea. Now they have connected hard work with payment and money, which you can then buy things with.

So when Connor heard that his good buddy was coming over to play he knew he would need his bike at our house, instead of at Grandma’s where it usually is. The problem is it doesn’t fit in my car. I told Connor that we weren’t going to be able to bring it home. He came up with the idea that Papa should bring it in his truck. So he dug all his money out of his piggy bank and put it in a ziploc bag, safe for the travels to Grandma’s house.

When we got there he shoved all the money into Papa’s hands. Papa was quite surprised as he wasn’t sure why he was being given money. So we talked Connor through the process of asking Papa for a favor. Papa told him that delivery of a bike was cheap, only 11 cents. Connor counted it out for Papa and the following day we had the delivery of a bike.

Lainy Ann has informed us that she is running away from home. She doesn’t want to, but she has to. Apparently she was done tickling yesterday and the game continued. So, since we don’t listen to her she will have to leave.

So I set down the ground rules which led to another outburst of tears.
1. She can’t cross the street.
2. She has to live with someone we already know.
3. She can’t take any of her belongings that I have purchased.

So are there any takers on our block? Remember, she can’t cross the street.

There are many types of screams. The one I hear most often is the my-sibling-is-bugging-me-Mo-om. There is the frustrated-scream, which is usually high pitched and annoys me as early as 10 am which prompts a no-more-talking-for-the-rest-of-the-day-rule. But on Saturday is was a we-are-going-to-the-hospital-scream. I was in the shower when I heard Caskey yell, “Leslie come here”. So, here I came, dripping wet and left the water running in the shower. One look and I new it was time to go to the ER. Connor and Lainy Ann were so helpful in gathering things for the diaper bag, cleaning the water off the floor, and cleaning up the front yard as we got read at a break-neck speed. No shower for me though.

Then I started the phone calls. I wanted someone to watch Lainy Ann and Connor so they wouldn’t have to wait with us at the ER. Unfortunately my most frequently used babysitters were out of town. So I started on the 2nd tier. The ones who will help, but I hate to intrude on their family life. Score! I found someone who wasn’t doing something on a Saturday night. And the bonus, she is on the way to the hospital.

We recount the story to the ER folks. William had his helmet on and ready to go outside to ride his scooter. He tripped on the front rug as he was heading out the door and landed on our shoe rack/shelf. the kicker? Its the same shoe shelf that got him in the temple nearly 18 months ago and prompted his first set of stitches. *sigh*

The 2 little boys had fun running around the ER while we waited. My biggest ER tip: bring favorite toys and lots of snacks and bribes. I feel like an old pro now and was able to advocate for wrapping him in a sheet instead of strapping him down to a stretcher. The Lidocaine was the worst part, as it always is. But William held very still while he got his three stitches. Four hours later we headed home, just a tad late for bed.

Or is it Shawn? Lainy Ann starts screaming our a warning or in fear, “Sean”! Who is Sean you ask? Our pet Roly Poly.

We are having some yard work done and poor Sean has had a bad day. First he was dug up and his home of ivy was destroyed. Then he was man-handled, um, kid-handled. He has a house of bricks and they gave him some food of berries and sticks. No dirt. I don’t know how well he will do living in his new home But they have been entertained most of the afternoon; gathering, collecting, and building. As the workmen got ready to leave they first used a leaf blower to get rid of the extra dirt on the driveway. Poor Sean was caught in his own roly-poly-tornado.

UPDATE: He was found and has been returned to his rightful place; a brick house in the driveway. Poor Sean will be squished later when I decide to move my car . . . . .

A friend and I were chatting about how lucky we are to live in an area where there are so many educational opportunities for children. I am planning on visiting a lot of them this summer. But for now I want to get the list together. Please be patient as its a work in progress.

Kidspace Museum
This one is the most obvious. We have been dozens of times and they have lots of special events too. If you can afford it a season pass is worth it.

Skirball Center
Located at 2701 North Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049
They are currently having a hands-on Noah’s Ark exhibit. Also, Thursdays are free admission.

La Brea Tar Pits
Located: Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits 5801 Wilshire Blvd.Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 934-PAGE (7243)
Its a smaller museum so you can easily get through it in half a day. It is very stroller friendly, however expect to pay for parking. You can also have a child’s birthday party at the museum.

Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, CA 91108 (626) 405-2100
This is more than a Library. It is acres of gardens, a library, a children’s garden which includes a water play area, and even a brunch or tea on special occasions. It is a real treat. Please check before going, but I believe third Thursday of the month is free admission.

Descanso Gardens

Griffith Observatory/Park

Griffith Travel Town

Petersen Auto Museum

Dodger Game

Los Angeles Zoo

Miracle Mile - Many Museums

Getty Center

California Science Center

Other Websites with things to do:

http://golosangeles.about.com/od/lawithkids/Things_to_Do_with_Kids_in_Los_Angeles.htm

This last month has been a busy one. And since my blog is down you all got spared the multitude of entries detailing these tiny accomplishments. As we near the end of the school year, and in our house, a bunch of summer birthdays I am reminded that although my kids are growing up and doing new things and having “firsts” that means they have had “lasts” too.

Alexander no longer does laps around the coffee table. A hundred times a day I would put toys on the coffee table just so he could cruise over to them and toss them to the floor. Round and round he would go, only left, around the coffee table. I could put things out of reach and not worry about him making a mess or hurting himself. But that is all over now. He has recently learned to crawl, roll over, get into a sitting position, pull to standing (sometimes), and flop down and crawl away from the coffee table. He still however, only cruises left. Now we are concerned with keeping doors and gates closed so he doesn’t play in the toilet or fall down the stairs. I can’t even remember the last time he only went left around the table . . . .

William is officially potty-trained. Its been going on for months, but this week we were out of the house the whole day and there were no accidents. He even told us when he had to go pee and poop. Its quite an accomplishment and we will be celebrating with some new underwear. Although changing the last poopy diaper isn’t a fond memory I will likely cherish, it is a last I don’t remember happening. He will be turning 3 in a few months and he is truly on his way to being a big boy. In fact, there isn’t much about him that screams baby anymore. He has been sleeping in a bunk bed for 6 months now. He is diaper-free. And every time I turn around I see him helping or doing it “by myself”. He likes to help in any capacity; emptying the dishwasher, making a peanut butter sandwich, packing lunches and folding clothes. He is actually good at helping now.

Connor is reading. I can’t believe it. He isn’t even sounding out the words, he has a magnificent sight-word vocabulary if you consider that he is 4 1/2. The kids quiz each other on math facts in the car. Just the other day they exclaimed how strange it was that this other little boy doesn’t know what 3+3 is. After all, he is 4 years old, he should know what 3+3 is.

Lainy Ann will be in 2nd grade next year. She has been pestering me for weeks to start walking to school. She spends her free time writing stories and to-do lists in her journal. Her play-time is largely made up of organizing. She cleans her room, organizes the boys into a new game, or rearranges all of the outdoor toys and furniture into a house. She has become more aware of other people too. She spends her time thanking me and giving out hugs and kisses. She is always buttering up her father telling him he did a good job making dinner or fixing a toy. Its amazing how she is already working her feminine-wiles.

I need to remind myself to enjoy the ‘lasts’ as much as I look forward to the ‘firsts’. As Alexander approaches his first birthday I have been really focused on him waving, talking, and walking. But instead I should enjoy him for who he is now. Because before long he will join the smelly-ranks of my other 3 grown-up children who like to spend long hours outside pretending and riding bikes in the street. Not sitting on my lap and snuggling.

If you peruse my blog you will see stories of my too-smart-for-their-britches kids. I love them to pieces, but their intelligence can be maddening sometimes. My husband like to joke that with four kids in the family they will be able to out-smart me before I know it.

Well, it seems Alexander is taking after his siblings in the smarty-pants department. The other day I was putting a blanket over his head and playing peek-a-boo with him, but after about 3 turns I began talking with Caskey. Well, that wasn’t good enough. He pulled the blanket over his own head and began to giggle. Sure enough, when I said “Where’s Alexander?” he pulled the blanket down. We had to repeat the game several more times with him putting the blanket over his head.

He has also followed in William’s footsteps and discovered how very yummy the power cord to my laptop is. William rusted out 2 power cords and my goal this time, aside from the obvious - to avoid electrocution - is to not have to buy a new one at all. He has started his mini-tantrums when we take the power cord or other deliciously dangerous item away from him. But now he is hiding his vice. I discovered him under the coffee table. He had pulled the cord under the table so he could suck on it in peace and out of sight. Now that I have secured the cord out of reach he is hiding under the table with other items. I have caught him with a rock, a pencil, and lots of carpet lint all in his mouth.

He is copying now too. If I jiggle him and sing and then stop, he will then bounce and babble. Its absolutely adorable. And I know that all other babies do the same thing. But this is my baby doing it. So I find it much much more adorable.

If you know me at all you know that I can be a little controlling. Nothing makes me happier than being in charge of my environment and “keeping house”. Every time we stay at a hotel I spend the first 10 minutes rearranging things and sometimes furniture. Its really no wonder I became a teacher.

I promised myself that no matter what our bedroom would still remain a sanctuary. So I decorated our room with our prized possessions. Then we had Lainy Ann, she moved into our room - her clothes, her baby bathtub, her bassinet.

And so it went. We added baby gates, moved breakables up higher, moved the tupperware drawer lower, and baby locks on everything. Then we moved. I didn’t even bother unpacking the breakables this time. Our bedroom became the storage room piled high with too-small clothes and a dusty bassinet. But at least my yard was still nice.

Then they got old enough to play outside by themselves. Once again I gave up. The kids had taken over my yard - but I was proud of them as they dug my boxes out of the trash and created robots and forts and dinosaurs. Most of the time my yard is trashed, literally. There are boxes and broken toys all over the yard and if I dare throw them away, well, you can imagine the uproar.

But this weekend I lost my last spot - my driveway. The kids spent the weekend dismantling our brick drainage system, you know, the one that keeps my garage from flooding, and rearranging the bricks as an obstacle course in the driveway for their scooters. They dug MORE boxes out of the trash and placed them strategically as well. I had to park on the street. At least the grass is green, somewhere under all that stuff.

Mother’s Day becomes so much more special when you are the mother. It got even better once the kids started school and I got popsicle stick picture frames and pasta necklaces and a bouquet of paper flowers. I even get to spend some one-on-one time celebrating with my child at the preschool. The last few years they have hosted a Mother’s Day tea with mini muffins and apple juice in tiny cups. We sit in tiny chairs, make a craft, share a snack and take a pictures. We wear too-big hats and feather boas and have “tea”. Its fun to play dress up with your child for a little bit.

This year the school hosted a Mother’s Day shopping spree. We went to the ‘food court’ for our snack. In the pet store we glued paper fish onto paper fish bowls. At the show store we stuck jewels and buttons onto paper shoes. At the flower store we used dot markers to decorate our coffee-filter-flowers. And the jewelry store had all the supplies for beaded necklaces.

I try to do all the stations first with one child and then the other. After all, its the perfect opportunity to spend one-on-one time. Its at the preschool, so there are plenty of activities for the other child to do while he waits. First William and I visited all of our ’stores’, took a picture and I opened my popsicle picture frame gift. I had asked Connor to play with his friends and wait for me. But when I got to his room to start shopping with him he looked at me like I had 2 heads.

Me: Okay Connor, Let’s shop!
C: Now? (exasperated)
Me: yes! (excited to play with him)
C: really? (in a bored voice)
Me: well, not really. We are going to pretend shop at the preschool.
C: Do I have to?
I started to say no, but then I realized “Yes, you do”

So he hung in for barely 2 stores. He kept asking to go back and play with his friends. I can’t believe he is growing up so quickly and loving his friends so much. My husband says its only a matter of time before its his girlfriend, instead of his friends, that are the priority. At least I still get to kiss and hug him in the morning, sometimes.