What I Love About Having Young Kids....

I went to visit a friend of mine a few years ago.  I didn't have any kids and she had a, gosh,  I think 2 year old at the time.  I was exhausted after a day of her life.  It seemed so constant.  I asked her how life had changed and she said in a lot of ways everything is slower.  I was baffled by this.  Now I understand what she was saying.  I love that my life is indeed slower.  With two young kids I find myself saying no a lot more to different events, people, things in my life.  We are always home by at 8:00 or earlier.  Life shuts down from 1:00 - 3:00 each day as we all nap or at least the kids do.  Yeah it might take 15 minutes to get out the door but you can spend 2 hours at the museum just running around and playing.  Life is slower and sweeter and, yes, more tiring at times but I find I only do what is really necessary.  Children make you prioritize in ways that nothing else does and it is always surprising to me how little you really need to have, do or acquire.  I love my kids for teaching me what is important in life.

Awesome Christmas Present

So I had to brag about my mother-in-law for a moment.  She got the kids the best Christmas gift this year!  Every time we go to a museum or play area that has a grocery store the kids love it, especially Fia.  Heck, the last time we went to Aldi's she told the cashier that this was her favorite store.  So for Christmas Sharon got them an extra grocery cart for Nico (we already have one), a cash register with a scanner and all kinds of "groceries".  She had saved empty boxes, jugs, containers and can for a few months.  She washed them out, put this special rubber type tape on the edges of the cans and covered the boxes with a transparent wrap.  Now Fia and Nico have their own grocery store in the basement.  I cleared out our "art cart" since Nico was wreaking havoc on it anyway and now it is the grocery store.  They LOVE it!  So while they got a lot of cool things this was definitely the best!

Go to stories

Ok so you have already probably have had some stressful times in the past few days and I am sure that in the next few days you will have some more stressful moments.  I offer you no false promises of total serenity or peace filled days but what I offer you are go to stories.  I "go to" these stories in my head when there is turmoil all about me and I need to get away in my mind.  They always give me a little giggle and then I feel better able to cope.  Here are two of my favs.  I am sure that most of you have already heard these but there always good for a laugh.

The Yeast Infection

When I was pregnant with Nico I would get yeast infections all the time.  Yuck.  I hate medicine and would always kind of forget about the intense pain during the day but then at night when I especially didn't want to go out to the drugstore it would be unbearable.  So one night it was truly just absolutely  horrible.  I had irritated the area further trying to rid myself of the itchiness so I remembered reading on the internet (such a reliable source, huh?) that vinegar helps.  I got an old washcloth and soaked it with about a cup of vinegar (because more is always better right?) and placed it on the irritated area.  Burning?  Hmmmm........that burning sensation must mean that it's working right?  OH MY GOSH......BURNING!  BURNING!  BURNING!  I quickly remove the washcloth and now there is no more itching, just pain.  I look up the next day wondering who the psycho is that recommended this...........ummmm, it was a teaspoon of vinegar in a warm bath.  I guess the whole cup needed to be diluted a bit more.

A Walk Through the Neighborhood

I love taking early morning walks with the kiddies when it is warm.  We get out there bright and early.  One morning after my bowl of cereal and cup of coffee I gather Nico and Sofia up and load them in the double stroller.   We are about halfway home when it starts......oh my gosh, I feel as if I am going to have to go to the bathroom, I mean really go.  I am pushing about 65 pounds worth of kid and stroller and I have to go to the bathroom.  It is warm, I am sweating and I have to go to the bathroom.  I pause for a moment and think I am just going to bend down for a second and try to hold it together.  This makes it worse.  I am almost running down the hill to my street - then I stop - it is never a good idea to run when you have to go to the bathroom.  I have ten houses to go.....I can make it.....I can make it.....I did not make it.  I actually pooped my pants.  I am now walking through my neighborhood with poop in my pants.  I pray that my aunt is not going to stop me.  I pray that the neighbor lady with her dog will not stop me.  I pray that no one sees I have pooped my pants.  I am no longer going to drink my coffee BEFORE my morning walks or have any dairy products.

So when things get a bit stressful or tiresome you can always think at least my (I have no idea what word would be the least offensive to everyone so I leave this blank) _______  is not on fire and I have never had to walk through my neighborhood with an underwear full of poop.  Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

Shameful............

This morning started out rough.......really rough - Nico cried for an hour - the little man was sleepy and well, so was I.  I tried feeding him again, playing all his favorite games with him, giving him a drink, holding him - no go.  It was so frustrating.  Fia was fine but antsy.  And that's when it happened........I cringe thinking about it but feel I have to be honest and forthcoming in order for you all to know the truth...........I put in an HOUR AND A HALF movie and let the whole thing play at 8:00.  Now you know.................I have just turned my year old's brain to mush.........well, he actually watched about 30 minutes and conked out but Fia and I watched the whole thing cuddled on the couch.  Best part of the day so far!

Confessions of a Bad Mommy #5

1.  I don't eat lunch with my kids - I clean the kitchen, do dishes, etc.  Part of the reason we now have a hot breakfast with the whole family every day is so I don't feel as guilty not sitting down with them at lunch.

2.  I am unavailable from 8:30PM - 5:30AM.  Crying, screaming, whining, coughing is mostly attended by my husband doing these hours.  I have zero sympathy when I am awakened or kept from my evening activities.

3.  I forget to brush my teeth ALL the time.  All those new studies about heart disease or whatever it is you can get by not brushing.....yeah, I am looking at that in about 5-10 years.

4.  I will suck up anything in my horrible vacuum to avoid bending over to pick it up.  My husband shakes his head and rolls his eyes at me whenever he happens to be the one to clean out the bagless thing - Christmas ornaments, silverware, hair accessories, clothing items, etc. have all been found in there.

5.  I will pretend I don't here distress when vacuuming - I just need to get it done - I cannot hear crying arguing, whining, whatever.  It does not compute.

6.  I secretly think I need to have more children so I become less selfish - God is working on me.

7.  I wish smoking was good for you - I miss it.

By the book.......HA!

I was reading an article in a parenting magazine the other day and I started laughing out loud at the first sentence.  "Babies are naturally social creatures who love to interact with people."  I read this to Joe and he actually started laughing, ALOT.  Why did we both find this funny?  Have you met our daughter Sofia?  I was in the nursery at church a few months ago and they were reminiscing about Fia.  Some of the comments - "Do you remember how we couldn't even look at her?  She would start crying the moment you tried to sneak a peek at her.  It was straight to the swing and you had to leave her alone.  She was so cute I just wanted to hold her but she wouldn't let us."  I am glad that I read a few books before Fia was born so that I could have an idea of what I wanted to do and what my parenting style was but after that it's good to just throw them out.  I wasted a few months thinking I was a bad parent because my baby seemed to be in a bad mood quite frequently but you know what?  It really wasn't me.  Gosh, Fia is a GREAT toddler but man she can still turn it off and on.  Joe says I have to stop calling her Sybil but when the child cries and screams for 10 minutes in the car because her shoe fell off and you can't really attend to her and THEN she sees a dog out the window and in a completely normal tone of voice says oh look how cute the puppy is........well, she has earned the nickname!  I guess I have learned that each of my children have certain innate characteristics or personality traits.  For awhile I was mad that I had such an emotional little being in my life, I couldn't see why I ended up with the cranky baby (just striving for total honesty here)  But I learned that I can't change my kids or erase the traits that are inconvenient to me, instead I have to embrace them.  I can see Fia as a passionate young woman, ready to change the world with her intensity and willingness to take charge.  She is a mother to everyone and everything.  She is demanding but in return gives so freely of her love.  She thanks me, unprompted, for making her dinner, for taking her to the museum.  She cuddles rocks, sticks, the hairdryer, anything she can find.  I can see Nico bringing great happiness to so many people through his joyful nature and being able to make things happen with his great energy.    He will smile through anything, he clings to people when he hugs them, no half heartedness here!  He runs and runs and runs until he crashes.  You will be punishing him for getting into the trash, the oven, the stairs, the toilet, the anything and he will just laugh and laugh until you can't even be mad anymore.  My children are mine and I thank God every day for who they are.  

Stir Crazy..........

We stayed home all day today.  This is our usual for Mondays and it has been happening more frequently lately on other days too.  Sometimes these days are the best days and sometimes they are not.  Here are a few ideas of what to do when you are spending the day at home.

1.  First of all, stay in your jammies!  Why get dressed?  This makes the day seem special.

2.  Bake - I mean, really bake.  Make a HUGE mess, let the kids eat some of the dough and then let the kids eat some of the results too.  Don't worry about nutrition or getting it done right or getting it done neatly.  The best things to make are those snowball cookies that you roll in powdered sugar, cutout cookies or dirt pudding.  Kids can help with most of the steps and it is a process to get it done.

3.  Take a bath with your kiddies.  This is one of Fia's favorite things to do.  It's getting a little crowded with the three of us but for some reason it is a lot more fun when mommy is in the tub.  You can always wear a bathing suit and splash around!

4.  Laundry baskets - throw balls into them, cart toys around the house, have the kids ride in them, whatever.  I gave each kid one today and they had a good old time.

5.  Masking tape - both Nico and Fia were loving the tape today.  They were "fixing" the shopping cart.  It took intense concentration and a LOT of tape but it killed some time.

6.  The Box - get a big old box, paint it, put stickers on it, color it, tape streamers on it, whatever craft items you have.  I remember just a few months ago Fia and I spent 45 minutes painting this huge box during Nico's nap.  She had so much fun.

7.  Clean out a closet - ok, I know this doesn't seem like a good idea but it's fun if you forget about doing it in less than an hour, if you are ok about getting interrupted and you just enjoy it.  I like this one because I feel productive and the kids are occupied with discovering all the new stuff in the closet.  I would recommend a hall closet or something like that - not your closet, that is way too stressful!