Into The Frahers: September 2011

Monday, September 26, 2011

Football Sundays

Much to my husband's chagrin, I am not a big football fan. I will watch a game here or there when I feel a connection to the team which is pretty much limited to LSU, FSU and the Saints.

Although I may not be the most enthusiastic of fans. I try to be sure the kids show their support. Here we were on a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon, watching the Saints trounce our new home team, the Texans. Hmmmm. I sense future conflict.

Did you see that play?

Our future linebacker, practicing his grip on the ball.

Eventually, however, the kids got bored and found other ways to entertain themselves. Like flooding the pantry floor with Rice Krispies.

Who? Me? You have no proof!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Debate Observations

Rarely do I dip into politics on this - mainly family oriented - blog. But sometimes I just can't help myself. I am not working for (or against) any presidential candidate this cycle and although I don't know how I could with little kids, it is tough to sit on the sidelines at times.

Due to the late hour of the GOP debate last night, I was finally able to watch one, in real time, uninterrupted. So I thought I would share some of my own observations.

Before last night's debate, I would have said that Rick Perry is still holding his own. I was of the opinion that he had been over-hyped and could never live up to the expectations set before he even entered the race. I feared another quick rise and fall such as Fred Thompson in the 2008 cycle (but for different reasons). He and his team have been very organized and disciplined and have done remarkably well so far.

Perry did well for the first 45 minutes or so last night. But then man did he slide. He stumbled over his words multiple times and was almost incoherent during his attempted flip-flop attack on Mitt Romney. It was painful to watch. Perry also has a legitimate immigration problem and he didn't help his cause in the way he defended it last night. Giving preferential treatment to illegals on their college tuition over legal Americans is just wrong. And that does not mean I am lacking in compassion as he implied during the debate. As Rick Santorum correctly pointed out, no one is suggesting illegals shouldn't be able to go to college, but why offer them a taxpayer subsidized education when other legal students have to save and borrow - or some must choose another less expensive school.

Romney has emerged from these debates unscathed and looking like the statesman. It pays to have been around the block before. He is doing well and did a very good job of making it seem like Perry didn't know what he is talking about. Of course, Perry helped him with that perception last night. Romney didn't seem to get hammered as much last night about his healthcare plan in MA but he has also learned how to respond to those criticisms.

Over the past two debates, Bachmann has been fading into the background. Even her retina-burning bold red suit (not good for TV) couldn't draw more attention her way last night. To her credit, she found a way to interject herself on the Cuba discussion. But then she disappeared again for far too long.

Santorum, on the other hand, has had strong debate performances. This may prove troublesome for Bachmann in Iowa. But their performance in Iowa is really inconsequential to the outcome of the primary. Sorry, my Iowa friends. Just my opinion. Neither have had the resources to gain needed traction in other early primary states.

Huntsman, Cain and Newt are all smart guys but they don't have a shot at this point so it's not even worth discussing. The audience members seemed to be big fans of both Cain and Newt though. If Newt ran a campaign as sharp as his debate performances, this would be a very different race.

Ron Paul and Gary Johnson are sideshows. Period. Although, without a doubt, Johnson delivered the funniest line of the night. For those who missed it here is his quote...

“My next-door neighbor’s two dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than this current administration.”

Overall, I think this is Mitt Romney's to lose. But campaigns are a funny thing and have a sly way of turning on a dime. A few months is an eternity in politics. Anything is possible before next year's primaries. Consider that four months ago Pawlenty was a force to be reckoned with and he's already out. Or that this time four years ago (when I was working for Romney in FL) we were very concerned about Giuliani. Oh yeah - did you forget he ran? See what I mean.

The next big test will be fundraising results at the end of this quarter. Hopefully we'll start to see the field narrow a bit. Nine candidates on a stage is a bit much.

So there you have it - my two cents worth.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The Potty Training Chronicles

I'm calling this the potty training chronicles because I fear there will be many many installations. Many.

First of all, let me just say, I know Sydney is barely two. Lay off on the potty training, right? Don't push her, right?

I know. I'm with you. I wish she would wait.

But for the past couple of weeks she has been driving us mad wanting to go to the potty. Let me lay out the average daily scenario for you.

I pick her up from daycare. She comes in the house, yells POTTY, runs to the bathroom, takes off all her clothes (all) and sits on the potty. Great you say? What a smart girl? Not quite. She sits there for 3.25 seconds, steps down, runs around like a maniac while I chase her with a diaper, yells POTTY again and goes back to sit on the potty. This cycle repeats itself. Ad nauseam. Finally she'll let me put the diaper on - and then minutes later she pees and declares she needs to go POTTY (caps are absolutely necessary here because she always screams it). And we start all over. Ad nauseam. Again.

Beyond frustrating.

This past week the maddening cycle has also crept into our morning schedule, the moment her eyes pop open.

So today I decided I was just going to let her go. Let her run naked as long as she wanted (and hopefully until she actually went potty). No more chasing her down. Clearly my structured ways are not working so I'll just let it be.

Miraculously she didn't even mention the POTTY until about 30 minutes before bedtime. So there she went. Stripped herself down, sat for 2.75 seconds, got up, ran around, went back to the potty. Cycle was basically the same except I wasn't running around after her.

It sure did feel much less stressful. But I'll be damned if she didn't pee. At all. For an hour. Determined to make this work - for her to actually pee in the potty - we let her stay up late. We were not re-diapering her or putting her to bed until she peed in that potty.

She drank her milk. A big glass of water. We sat on the bathroom floor with her. Sang songs. Played. No peeing. For an hour. Is that even possible for a toddler?

At 8:30, her eyelids drooping, we finally gave in, put her diaper on and sent her to bed.

We clearly have our work cut out for us.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Playtime!

Although Fletcher is still a month shy of his first birthday - he and his sister are great buddies and becoming even better playmates.

She loves getting him into trouble. Coaxing him into the laundry room, shutting the door and watching him eat cat food is among her favorites.

She also likes to remind him where the stairs are. In case he forgot. Which is not likely. That kid likes his stairs. And he's getting fast!

She taught him about the tupperware cabinet and all the fun stored inside!

Of course, he has to take it to the next level.

She is also teaching him about the pantry and all the goodies to be found there.

This evening, as he was settling down to take his final bottle of the day, Sydney rudely interrupted for a little playtime. Just as we were about to intervene on his behalf, we heard them both HOWLING with laughter. Here is the scene that followed (forgive the blurry images - I did not have the right lens handy but wasn't about to miss this).

Thursday, September 15, 2011

My runner

It's become our morning ritual. As I'm putting Fletcher into his car seat, Sydney will "sneak" around the other side of the car, into the driveway and take off down the sidewalk, laughing all the way. She's fast too. Usually makes it 2 or 3 houses down the road before I can catch her.

I suppose I could leave the garage door closed until she was securely fastened in her seat too. But where's the fun in that.

This morning I happened to have my iphone handy as she ran.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Sydney's Birthday - The Details

Details. If you're into this sort of thing.

I debated for a long time whether or not to even have a party. I mean, she's 2! It's not like she'll remember it. But since we don't have any family nearby, I thought a little party - more of a playdate really at this age - would help make the day special for her.

I'm so glad we did it. Sydney had a ball and the whole thing was relatively easy. Except when I made it hard. She gets super excited these days when kids come to play - and we had a lot of kids here that day. Almost 20! She wound herself up so much she ran right into the refrigerator and busted her lip minutes into the party. And although she won't remember it, I have a gazillion photos to commemorate the day so she'll never forget.

So, the details. The theme was Dora - as that is Sydney's obsession - but otherwise the plan was easy. We would set up outside where we already have a great play set and just let the kids do their thing. No need for organized activities. She's 2! However, given that the temps had been 100-110 the past few weeks, I was really taking a risk. Fortunately, we got a little reprieve with temps in the low 90's. Yes, my northern friends, that is a reprieve!

I've already posted about the cookie favors. Although my back ached for a good 2 days after stooping over the counter decorating these Dora Star cookies, I was mighty proud of my own work - and I am by far my harshest critic! They are super time consuming but very rewarding and so yummy too!

But I almost - almost - made a critical mistake! My plan was to bag the cookies for party favors. I found the biggest, small cellophane bags that I could and thought I had measured to be sure the cookies would fit. But something about that star shape just wouldn't let some of the cookies go into the bag. By the grace of God, I had molded each star point slightly to give it the feel of some action. That minor adjustment allowed most of the cookies to barely slide into the bags - just enough for all the kids. WHEW! After all the cookie cutting, baking, icing coloring and precision of the decorations - I would have cried if they didn't go in those bags. And this would be why we always should do trial runs!

Notice I ran out of creativity and used the manufacturer provided twist ties. I had cute little ribbons to match the Dora colors but just ran out of time and energy to add them.

I wasn't as crazy about the cupcakes. Please know I was not trying to torture myself. I have nothing against a good box mix. But birthday's are special and deserve a little extra effort so I wanted to make them from scratch. I found a recipe online which I thought would be super. I did not do a test batch. My mistake. They looked great (except when I overfilled them).

But I found them a little oily. I'll have to try another recipe next time. Any suggestions?

Thankfully a good heap of icing covers many mistakes. It was delish and that's what most of the kids eat anyway - success!

And I put these cute little Dora toppers on them

Completely out of creativity, I ordered these adorable Backpack treat bags from Etsy and filled them with fun treats for the kids. I had a few rules - there must be some learning involved and there could NOT be anything that would drive parents crazy when they got home.

Sydney was excited about all the preparations that morning and insisted on eating her breakfast in the midst of everything outside.

Sensing a party, she was really amped up, making it next to impossible to get ready, so I finally booted her out of the house with Pat to go pick up the balloons so I could finish preparations.

I didn't get too crazy with Dora. Besides the cookies, cupcakes and party bags, I simply tried to keep a color theme going - pink, purple and orange - with the paper products and some inexpensive fabrics found at Hobby Lobby. Oh, but I did discover a Dora party mix on iTunes. Because every party needs music, right?

Wondering why you haven't seen any pictures of Fletcher? Thinking perhaps he was stuck in the stroller once again while everyone else had fun? Nope. Fletcher - the best baby ever - slept through the ENTIRE party! Three and a half hours total! We actually went to check on him TWICE to be sure he was still breathing. Not sure what got into him but it was a heckuva-lot easier not having to keep one eye on him during the party.

The kids were great, had a ball playing, swinging and bouncing in a fun bounce house borrowed from a neighbor. If you live in a neighborhood with lots of young kids - or have a gaggle of your own - I highly recommend investing in one of these. Even Fletcher got in on the action with Sydney later after everyone left (and he woke from his long morning slumber).

So much for requesting no gifts. Of course Sydney wasn't disappointed - she hit the jackpot!

What a great day!

In case you're curious, here are links to all my resources...

Cupcakes (again, I found them a little oily) - Glorious Treats
Cupcake Buttercream Frosting - Glorious Treats
Cookies - Sweetopia
Royal Icing for cookies - Sweetopia
Party Favor Bags - Etsy Jettabees
Invitations & Cake Toppers - Etsy DesignedByDVB

Monday, September 12, 2011

Photographing Sydney at 2

She is super fast and has already developed a disturbing love-hate relationship with the camera. So young.

Snapping a few pictures to memorialize her 2nd birthday has NOT been easy. I too must be fast and a little sneaky.

But when is it ever easy to capture the soul of a child in a photograph? That twinkle in their eye, the slightly crooked smile or movement paralyzed in time by the limitations of a camera - recognized and understood only by those closest to their hearts.

But I try.

I hope to capture more sweet moments but here are a few glances so far at the precious girl who steals our hearts each and every day.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Sydney is 2!!!

I will post more detail of her fun day later, but wanted to quickly share some of the photos of Sydney's 2nd birthday. And the precious children she is thankful to call friends!