© COPYRIGHT HEATHER SPOHR 2011 All rights reserved. This content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.

Annie sings songs all day long. ALL DAY LONG. And really, it’s pretty stinking cute. She has even gotten to the point where she’s started making up her own songs, or changing the words to songs she already knows (example: the lyrics are “all my friends are different,” but she’ll sing, “all my friends are…REILLY!” or “all my friends are…APPLES!”) She’ll come up to me at any given point in the day and say, “Mama, SING!” Since she is repeating everything, I’ve taken the opportunity to sing educational songs…or, educational SONG. I really only know one.

if you can’t see the video above, click here.

We are available for parties!

© COPYRIGHT HEATHER SPOHR 2011 All rights reserved. This content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.

“Look, Mama! Pwincess Fishies!”

Yes baby, mermaids are princess fish

© COPYRIGHT HEATHER SPOHR 2011 All rights reserved. This content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.

This is what we see any time we try to leave Annie:

Arms outstretched, head back, mouth turned down, brow furrowed, with frantic pleas to be picked up up UP UPPA! The separation anxiety is strong in this one.

We’ve tried a few different tactics to deal with her separation issues. Sometimes one of us will distract Annie so the other can slip out the front door. This only works about 50% of the time because freaking Rigby goes crazy and Annie has learned that means someone is going out the front door. Sometimes we’ll sneak out the back door, which usually results in Annie eventually realizing someone is missing, and then she spends the rest of the time walking around the house going, “Daaaaadaaaaa, where arrrrrre yooooooou?” And then, of course, there is the regular blatant leaving, which results in an epic crying child for the remaining parent.

And this is when she still has one of us at home with her! When Mike and I go out together we always leave her with my parents, which still results in a melt-down but they are so relaxed about the whole thing that the situation isn’t as stressful as it could be. On the other hand, we can’t leave her ANYWHERE else. No gym daycare or anything like that. The last few times I tried to leave her at the gym daycare she had such massive freak-outs that the women in charge weren’t comfortable with me leaving her. I couldn’t blame them.

I keep waiting for these separation fits to get better, but they seem to be getting more intense and I don’t know what to do about it. I have started bringing her along on outings and errands, or just skipping them all-together, anything to avoid watching her little heart break. And I know that’s exaggerating, but for example: a couple evenings ago, we ran out of milk, so I said I’d run to the grocery store. Annie’s dinner was almost ready so it wasn’t a good time to just bring her along. She saw me walking to the door and sprinted after me saying, “Mama, nooo! Annie go! PUH-LEASE Mama! PUH-LEEEEEASSSSE!” I gave her a hug and a kiss and told her I’d be right back, and then I walked out the door to her sobbing. When I came back ten minutes later, she was still sobbing. I took her from Mike and she hugged me and then said tearfully, “Mama STAY.”

I AM NOT MADE OF STONE YOU GUYS! But I guess I have to be.

Who am I kidding, I’m never leaving my house without her again.

© COPYRIGHT HEATHER SPOHR 2011 All rights reserved. This content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.

The following post and giveaway is sponsored by HGTV’s House Hunters, yaaaaay House Hunters!

Like I mentioned last week, Mike and I are super-fans of HGTV’s House Hunters, and tonight the new season for House Hunters International is starting 10:30/9:30 central on HGTV. I will be live tweeting it (with the tag #HouseHunters), but I am ALSO giving away an iPad 2 via HGTV,  pre-loaded with their HGTV to GO iPad app.

You can enter to win HERE  between now and 3:00 a.m. PST on February 17, 2012. (UPDATE: THE CONTEST IS NOW OVER) I will be tweeting the link to enter as well!

All the rules for the contest can be found here, but here are the highlights:

HGTV House Hunters Giveaway Sweepstakes Official Rules – No purchase necessary to enter to win. A purchase does not increase your chances of winning. Open to legal US Residents, 21 years of age or older. Void where prohibited.

Good luck! I really like being able to give you guys stuff. I hope you do, too!

© COPYRIGHT HEATHER SPOHR 2011 All rights reserved. This content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.

This post is Sponsored by Old Navy. Shop the funtastic Kids & Baby Sale, now through February 22nd.

There is a winner!

And that person is Chelsea:

Congrats, Chelsea! I really wish I could give all of you $500. I have the best readers, I am so lucky.

The Old Navy sale is going until 2/22, and you can print a coupon for $10 Off here.  Woo hoo!

© COPYRIGHT HEATHER SPOHR 2011 All rights reserved. This content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.

Mike saw this picture and said, “aw, how cute!” But she isn’t being cute…she is giving me the, “mom, are you DONE yet?” face.

© COPYRIGHT HEATHER SPOHR 2011 All rights reserved. This content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.

It’s preschool enrollment time around these parts. I had no idea because I live under a rock and I constantly forget that Annabel isn’t five months old. I mean, I know she isn’t, a five month old wouldn’t roll her eyes at me or say NO! to every question, but you know what I’m saying. She’s still my widdle baybee.

Anyway, Mike and I have been talking about it and we’ve decided to start her when she’s three and a half, which means I have a year until my friend Tara reminds me again that it’s preschool enrollment time. Mark your calendar please, Tara. My child’s entire educational career is depending on you.

The one thing we definitely want to do in the interim is get Annie signed up for some different classes. I’ve wanted to do this since we moved here, but wanting and doing are two different things and I’m a slacker. I was reminded of this when I got the local parks and rec community classes schedule in the mail a few days ago. I’ve been looking at all the options, and there are a lot, including many with the suffix of, “with mommy!” Like, “learn to paint with mommy!” or, “introduction to preschool with mommy!” or, “self-defense with mommy!” Kind of weird, but whatever.

I really want to get Annie in some kind of dance class. I was watching “Smash” the other night and I was lamenting to Mike that I never really auditioned for anything other than choirs and the like. Then I saw Katharine McPhee’s character had to learn a dance to go with her song and I was like, “oh yeah, I never could have done that.” I can’t dance. So I obviously am putting all my shortcomings into my kid, yaaaaay stage mom. Not like putting her in a dance class will be some kind of water torture:

singing and dancing

twiiiiiirrrrrl

Some parent stick their kids in front of the TV. I stick mine in front of a mirror. If I could find a mirrored TV, life would be perfect. 

Anyway, of COURSE the local community center doesn’t HAVE a dance class for a two year old. Not even “dancing with mommy,” (which is probably good because many children would be harmed by watching me dance). So then I thought I’d put her in gymnastics…and the minimum age for that is three. Apparently there are tons of classes for kids 0-2, and then for three and up. Two year olds are being discriminated against! OK, there is a class where you go on a hike (with mommyyyyyy) but I stopped reading the description because HA the only hike I’m going on is to Topanga Plaza Mall (oy it’s such a hike!).

This obviously isn’t the end of the world, there’s a local gymnastic place and I’m sure there are 187 dance places nearby. It would have been nice to pay community center prices, though. I just want her to try new things with other kids her age, and to learn to listen to adults other than the ones she’s related to and UGH I should just enroll her in preschool, shouldn’t I.

duh, mom

PS today is the last day to enter my $500 give away.

© COPYRIGHT HEATHER SPOHR 2011 All rights reserved. This content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.

Hopefully you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day yesterday, but if you didn’t and are feeling a little down about it, have I got a story for you. I must give you fair warning though – it is not one for the faint of heart. Only those able to handle the thrills and chills of the most nightmarish February 14th should read on!

This creepy tale begins in the early Nineties when Nirvana and Brandon Walsh were all the rage, and I was an awkward, brace-faced freshman in high school. I was not loving life back then, especially since there were two bullies in my class who acted like it was their job to make my life miserable. We’ll call these chumps Biff and 3-D (since those were the names of the baddies in my beloved “Back To The Future.”) Unfortunately, I’m afraid I was more George than Marty when it came to standing up for myself back then.

Me about a year before this dark and twisted tale

There was one reason I did like going to school, however, and her name was Allison. Allison was a blond fourteen-year-old straight out of a Nickelodeon show, and I was smitten. Each day I tried to find a way to talk to her, and if we so much as made a few moments of small talk I was walking on water. Most days though I was too nervous to say anything, and went home glum and probably a whole lot of fun for my parents to be around.

But then Valentine’s Day approached and the school announced that, as a fundraiser, you could purchase a rose, box of candy, or teddy bear that a student council member would distribute to your student of choice with a confidential message on the Big Day. “Let that special someone know you love them with a valentine!” the flyer read, and I decided I would do just that. I would tell Allison how I felt via one of these valentines, and find out once and for all if she felt the same way about me!

Of course, being an awkward freshman boy, I wimped out and did no such thing. So there I sat in class on Valentine’s Day, hating myself, when a student council member entered and… to my shock… handed me the deluxe rose/candy/teddy bear valentine package! I stared at it a moment before opening the card. I nearly fell off my chair as I read the message:

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Mike. How come you’ve never asked me out? Love, Allison. xoxo”

Biff and 3-D’s mocking voices suddenly rang out and disrupted my happy moment.

“Someone bought Mike a valentine? Are you kidding me? What kind of dumbass would do that?”

I glared at them, insulted, and snarled, “Allison sent it. That’s who.” That shut them up pretty quick. The gorgeous Allison had sent ME a valentine!

The next two periods were interminable as I tried to figure out how I would tell Allison I got her valentine and that – OMG – I, like, totally liked her too! It occurred to me the ideal way to do it would be by riding up on a white horse with flowing locks a la Brad Pitt in “Legends of the Fall,” but that required prep time I didn’t have. Instead, I decided to simply walk up to her at lunch and ask her out.

At noon I hurried out of class and looked around until I found Allison eating with her friends at a table in the center of the cafeteria. By this time word had gotten out about my valentine, and as I nervously walked toward her, all eyes were on me. I reached Allison’s table and raised the teddy bear as she looked up at me mid bite of tater-tot.

“Thanks so much for the valentine, Allison. And YES I would LOVE to ask you out!”

Allison stared at me a second before spitting out, “Uh, what?”

“Maybe this Friday? There’s a new movie out that –”

“I didn’t send you a valentine!” Allison screeched like I had accused her of a heinous crime. “Why would I send YOU a valentine?”

I stood there with the wind knocked out of me until I noticed Biff and 3-D pointing and laughing.

“Best fifteen bucks we ever spent! Ha! You should see the look on your face, Mike!”

The two a-holes slapped five over their prank as I dropped the teddy bear and ran off. The whole thing was like a scene from “Glee” except afterward no one sang me a song or tried to comfort me.

So there you have it, folks! If you had a crap Valentine’s Day, take heart in knowing that at least you didn’t have one as crap as fourteen year old Mike! And don’t forget that every crap Valentine’s Day is eventually eclipsed by a great one… like when Heather and I got engaged, or yesterday, when I was lucky enough to spend the day with my two best girls.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

© COPYRIGHT HEATHER SPOHR 2011 All rights reserved. This content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.

Chasing bubbles requires the utmost concentration.

© COPYRIGHT HEATHER SPOHR 2011 All rights reserved. This content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.