Big Green Monster

I need some serious booger help, ladies. I know it's perfectly common for kids to pick their noses and eat it. But I really thought that by age 5, we'd see a sharp tapering off of this habit, at least in public. Not so much. N picks her nose all.the.time. And when she has a cold, she stubbornly refuses to give a good strong blow into a tissue, opting instead for little sniffs that allow her to s-t-r-e-t-c-h the boogers out as long as they can go, over and over.

We've warned her about the social stigma associated with nose picking (since the plain and simple "it's disgusting" doesn't seem to be making any headway), and she just giggles. Sometimes, she showcases her rich vocabulary in describing the wonderful taste of her boogers, just to drive us crazy ("But they're delectable, Mom!).

The only strategy that has had minimal success in getting her to quit is to have her go wash her hands each and every time that we catch her in the act. I like this consequence because it's logical, and it forces her to stop mid-activity and think about what she's doing. Unfortunately, this consequence sucks if we're not at home. If we're on our way to the bus stop, there's no time to turn around and go home to wash. If we're in line at a store, she knows perfectly well that I won't get out of line to take her to the bathroom. And sometimes there's just not a bathroom nearby. I don't feel like a squirt of Purell would be the same, because she likes it too much.

I know that this is one of the few things in life that she has total control over, and that it's a demonstration of power on her part. But I'm worried that soon she'll be labeled a nose-picker and kids will be cruel to her because of it. Any ideas? I'd be ever so grateful!

Sad Soggy Swimmer

So we started swimming lessons this fall with Sully and Lucy. Sully LOVED it. Jumped right in. Was gliding under the water after the first lesson. 4 weeks and he graduated to the next level. Total natural. Well I quit those lessons, A) because they are stupidly expensive. It's a month long membership for $60/kid. If there's a holiday on your swimming day (like Thanksgiving during our Thursday lessons) you don't get your fee prorated. B) Lucy isn't old enough yet to go into lessons without a parent. So that means I'm with her in the parent-tot classes. Totally cute water bonding right? WRONG. Sobbing, screaming, I-don't-want-to-sing-your-goddamned-songs little toddler. C) It's a freakin' hike. Took about an hour and 15 minutes to get from my school, to Sully's school, to Lucy's school, to swimming. D) Swimming lessons were during our normal dinner time. Need I go on?

Sooooooo....DU was running a special in December where you got $10 off of a 7 week session if you signed up the day we had a snowstorm. Random. So I did it. $79 for 7 weeks. I put him just the lowest level so he would be confident in his new class. After a 6 week break from lessons, we started our new class. There were 4 little kids, Sully being one of the oldest at 5. The teacher came over to introduce herself and all signs were pointing towards awesome...she has the exact same color of bright orange hair as Sully, is equally covered in freckles, and her name is LUCY! Perfect? Nope. He sits down on the side of the pool and starts sobbing. This lasts, I crap you not, 15 of the 30 minutes he's in lessons. The last 15 minutes he whimpered through all the basics he'd mastered at his old lessons, acting like he'd never been in the water before. The teacher came up and just said he needed to regain his confidence in the water. Fine. But they could stand to raise the pool temp a wee. Poor kid was freezing. She suggested a swimming cap and rash guard. Done.

Week 2 was an improvement. After much pep talking, he confidently walks over to the side of the pool, decked out in a rash guard and super awesome swim cap...and starts wailing. But this time for only the first 12 minutes. WTF? Again he reluctantly gets in the pool after 15 minutes and struggles through the second half of the lesson, checking to see if I'm still watching every 2.5 seconds. I mean seriously. AND I was hoping to put Lucy in the same class when she turns 3 in a month. I had mentioned this to the instructor and she laughed thinking I was just playing some kind of cruel joke. Nope. Totally serious lady.

Tonight is week 3, and I'm armed with a sucker bribe. Zero tears = Prize sucker reward. I keep telling him to trust his teacher, that he'll be warmer in the water, that he needs to get comfortable in there before summer camp this June. I'll be keeping you posted but would love possible solutions other than stooping to bribery...which I've already done...Whoopies.

Welcome!

This is a space where 4 friends, from very different backgrounds and spread across different states, join to solve the problems we face as parents. Between us we juggle work, stay at home momdom, farmer's markets, CSAs, ballet, swimming, lacrosse, summer camp, hellish teachers, playground mishaps, cooking healthy, packing lunches, wine tastings, managing a budget, husbands, dogs....and of course our beautiful children. And away we go....