Moster has a cold, and it is adorable

Monster has had a cold for the past couple days. In fact, the other night we thought we were going to be taking her to the doctor for croup. A few minutes by the steamy shower and the bark was gone but the next day it was replaced with a slimy runny nose, cough, and watery eyes.

The way she refers to her symptoms is so unbelievably cute. I have to force myself not to laugh. For instance, she came up to me yesterday morning and asked me sadly why her eyes were sweaty.

And I'm sure it is just me but she looks adorable when she is cute. Her face all red and puffy, eyes swollen half shut. Don't get me wrong, it breaks by heart to see her like that because I know she feels awful, but she is still cute. Oh, a mother's love.

She also was drinking Traditional Medicinals Just for Kids Organic Cold Care Tea. She looked so grown up sipping on warm tea. I hope it helps her recover a little quicker. If nothing else, I would like to think the tea was soothing. I know when I have a sore throat or cold drinking tea helps me feel better.

For dinner tonight I made Chicken & Dumpling soup. I wish I could share the recipe with you all but it is an old family recipe and I actually know how much of anything I put into it. I just add ingredients to the dumpling dough until it feels right and shake in seasonings until the broth tastes right. I started it at 9:00 this morning and let it simmer on the stove all day long. Monster loves my dumplings so it was my way of getting her to eat chicken noodle soup. I'm hoping that between the tea, soup, and extra hugs and kisses she will have a quick, medicine free, recovery.

Fun on Friday no. 3: Monster's zoo scene

Fridays are laundromat/grocery store days at our house. Not my favorite day of the week. Monster has been staying home with her Dad since she's been having a hard time behaving in public. So when I get home, its our special play time together. I went to help Alien with something when I hear "Mama, look, I made a zoo." I can't get over hubby & I's cake topper as zoo visitors! Way to improvise, Monster!

Resolutions

I have never been fan of New Years Eve. After years of something always going terribly wrong and the night turning out a complete disaster I have grown to pretty much avoid all things New Years Eve related. But Monster is old enough now that given the opportunity, she could really have fun with it.

When I was a kid my parents always had a platter of crackers with meat and cheese and sparkling grape juice. My sisters and I would take turns "serving" everyone, as if we were at a fancy party. Maybe I will run to the store this afternoon and pick some stuff up to pass down the tradition.

Thanks to YouTube we can even watch a video of the ball dropping from a past year. This way she won't have to miss out on it entirely. There is no way she is staying up late enough to watch the real deal.

This afternoon we can make party hats and noise makers.
I will teach her: What makes a year? What is a resolution? And why do we make them?
(Confession: I think New Year's resolutions are a bunch of B.S. Maybe that's because I have never been able to keep one (I know I'm not alone here). I have just never liked the idea of making promises to myself just to break them a month or so later).
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to come up with something. After all, I'm going to be explaining to her that everyone has room for improvement. Goals to work towards. There should be no reason I can't make a promise to her to better myself in some way. Let her hold me accountable.

Now to come up with a realistic resolution...

If you are looking for a book you can read your preschooler/kindergartener on the subject, Amazon.com has a digital copy Barn Yard Betty's First Ever New Year's Resolution by Claire Wynne as low as free with Amazon Prime.

Thankful Thursday no. 5: SAHM

This week I am thankful that I do not work outside of my home. One of the perks of being a stay at home mom is that I never have to worry about driving on icy roads or in the rain or dark. If the kiddos wake up early and I am feeling like a zombie, I can stay in my jammies all day. Or if they sleep in, I can too! I am here to prepare meals for my family so no one has to rely on "convenient meals". I am always home when Mr. I is off work. While I was also working we rarely got to see each other. But most importantly, I get to spend quality time with Monster and Alien. When Monster was the age Alien is right now I got to spend two days a week with her. The rest of the time I got to wake her up in the morning and put her to bed at night. I can also go grocery shopping whenever I want. I can take the kids to the park or zoo without trying to squeeze it into a busy schedule. These days are so special to me. I really am very lucky.

Wordless Wednesday no. 4: Frosty the Snow....pile.

Fun on Friday no. 2 - Barbies

Despite having played with Barbies myself as a young girl I never really wanted Monster to have any. I didn't want her growing up thinking that's what women were supposed look like. I figured there were plenty of other toys that would be, well, better, and she would be perfectly happy without them. Fast forward to present. She see previews for Barbie movies on some her her other DVD's and begs to watch them. I cave. She loves these movies and while I would not go so far as to say I like them, I don't hate them. She could be watching worse. She has also been gifted a few Barbie dolls since her birthday this summer and started taking interest in actually playing with them. Today she talked me into playing Barbies with her. My confession: I had a blast. Our Barbies went to the park, on a tractor ride, they ate ice cream, and watched the fireworks. It brought back so many memories from my own childhood. Who would have thought that playing with Barbies would end up being such a special bonding time for her and I?