First Road Trip

This past weekend we had our first road trip with Toots. He did pretty well considering he's only a month old. On the way up he managed to sleep the entire way. A relief because I had been worried I'd be stopping every hour due to a screaming baby. Even Monkey slept most the way and we made good time. Had lots of fun visiting with Robyn and her boys. Can't believe how much they are growing up! Robyn even got some cute shots of the kiddos. You can check them out on her Photo Blog. Coming home was a pretty good too except for the last 10 minutes. Toots apparently had enough of the car at that point and screamed like he was being murdered. I could hear monkey in the back going "It's ok...don't cry...it's ok..". Ahhh sibling love. We'll see how long that lasts.

Child's View on Politics

Whether Democrat or Republican, you should get a kick out of this! A little boy goes to his dad and asks, 'What is Politics ?' Dad says, 'Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I am the head of the family , so call me The President . Your mother is the administrator of the money, so! we call her the Government . We are here to take care of your needs, so we will call you the People . The nanny, we will consider her the Working Class . And your baby brother, we will call him the Future . Now think about that and see if it makes sense.' S o the little boy! Goes off to bed thinking about what Dad has said. Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy goes to his parents' room and finds his mother asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny's room Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed. The next morning, the little boy says to his father, 'Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now.' The father says, 'Good, son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about.' The little boy replies, ' The President is screwing the Working Class while the Government is sound asleep. The People are being ignored and the Future is in deep poo .

Underwear Dust

One evening a husband, thinking he was being funny, said to his wife 'Perhaps we should start washing your clothes in Slim Fast. Maybe it would take a few inches off of your butt!'

His wife was not amused, and decided that she simply couldn't let such a comment go unrewarded.

The next morning the husband took a pair of underwear out of his drawer. 'What the Hell is this??' he said to himself as a little 'dust' cloud appeared when he shook them out. 'April,' he hollered into the bathroom, 'why did you put talcum powder in my underwear?'

She replied .'It's not talcum powder......It's "Miracle Grow".

R&R....Please???

Thats what I need. Plain and simple...I need sleep!!! E has fo some reason decided he either doesn't want to sleep at night or he needs to wake up every hour. The latter meaning that just as I'm dozing off he wakes me up again. This makes for a very long night and me resorting to some drastic measures. Like co-sleeping. That big no-no that I would never in a million years admit to his pediatrician. Not that I understand why they need to know anyways. I always swore I would never co-sleep. No way do I want to share my bed/sleeping quarters with a baby until he's school age. I've heard too many people that are dealing with getting the kiddo out of their bed. Yet here I am doing it. Why?

I need sleep. I need every little second that I can squeeze out from one crying fit to another. Another reason I dread going back to work. How can a person be fully functional after 2hours of sleep every night. Something has got to give eventually and we know it sure as heck won't be the baby. He's as stubborn as I am in that department.

There is convenience in it as well. No getting up and stumbling from one room to the next. I hear a wimper and just pull up the shirt. Problem solved! Course it also results in wet spots for the wrong reasons....LOL

Yes we have the pack n play with the bassinet which I try to use often but convenience wise it's just not cutting it. We unfortunately have a platform bed. For those who don't know it's a bed that sits really low to the ground. So to get him out I've gotta drag myself up, climb over the side of the pack n play and drag him out of what ever corner he has wedged himself into. Then when finished repeat the process. See what I mean now? Its no wonder I'm sleep deprived.

I'm at that point where I fully understand why parents would offer up their savings or a limb just to get a full nights rest. Even a straight 4 hours would be nice. I've even tried taking a nap durign the day while J is in school and E is sleeping. Its inevitable that X will get home early though and bug me till I wake up. Or he messes with the baby and wakes him up. Ugh. It's a losign battle for me. I just try not to think about how long it could last!

We Have A Winner!

J has finally learned how to tie her own shoes! Seriously, I'm amazed. Especially considering in all the excitement and adjustments with E I hadn't really been focusing on teaching her. Apparently she's just been working on it by herself though because yesterday she comes up to me and goes "Look mommy, watch what I can do!" and proceeds to tie both her shoes. Not in one of those lose ones that fall apart with the first step either. A good solid shoe tie. Now, she won't let me anywhere near those shoes to tie them. That independent streak showing it's face again. *Sigh* She really is growing up.

Now if only we could get the finger sucking to end.....

Nicknames

So I've been thinking that instead of using initials to reference everyone I'd come up with nicknames. Make it a little more personal than just using a letter of the alphabet.

We already have one for J which is Monkey. Something we've called her since she was able to walk and climb on EVERYTHING. Don't believe me?? We went to a playdate this past weekend and the one thing she wanted to know was if there was a good tree to climb. She's my tomboy in a dress and becomes more and more like me every day.

As for E I'm thinking of using Toots. Odd name I'm sure your thinking but my reasoning is pretty sound. This kid is gassier than a grown man. And I'm not talking about short little cute ones. I'm talking, loud and long drawn out ones, back to back, and even a little liquid sounding at times. Ewww gross I know. Add the belching to it and I've already gotten an idea of what his teenage years will be like. Don't believe me?? I'll get it on video one day and after you pick yourself up from laughing you'll have to post how right I am!

As for X and myself....no idea. We don't even have nicknames for each other so I'm not even sure what would be fitting. So I'm putting this out to you guys....any ideas???

I Never Understood

When J was born I was a single mom. Her dad being completely uninvolved and requiring a court order just to get him to support her. Even now he hasn't seen her since she was a month old. His choice, not mine. Needless to say I had to find ways to cope and deal with our situation with out going crazy. How did I do that?? I avoided dealing with a lot of issues. Instead I dove head first back into work when she was barely a week old, resulting in a very early introduction to daycare. In being honest I probably didn't even really bond with her until she was several months old because I went back so quickly. In those early days I did what I needed to in order to make sure she was taken care of. Fed, bathed, clothed her. You can't really play with an infant that young and I had never really been a cuddler. Did I love her?? With out a doubt. I'd have fought tooth and nail to protect her. I just didn't feel that connection that so many of my mommy friends talked about. And before you bash me I HAD to go back to work. We don't get paid leave and the bills don't just pay themselves. I did what I had to at the time.

When my mommy friends were talking about being emotional and near tears over going back to work I thought they were crazy. What could be so hard about leaving a baby who does nothing but eat, sleep, cry, and dirty diapers? Who wouldn't want a break from that? I swore I could never be the stay at home mom type. Seriously?? Stay home all day with them? No freakin way! I'd go crazy first....right?

I used to hear all the time "I have no idea how you do it!" quickly followed by "I could never do it myself". Do what? I was doing the same thing they were, taking care of a baby. Right? This concept though is two sided though. Pro's and con's both ways which I'll go into in a minute.

Still, somehow we survived and apparently I did something right. I'm now dealing with a 5 year old who can negotiate like the best salesman, often leaving me at a loss of what to do next. She's fearcely independent and likes things her own way. A product of her infancy/toddlerhood or quite possibly, the spitting image of me. I know a few people who laugh every time I say in exasperation "She won't stop arguing with me!" or "She's so stubborn". They are really quick to comment that it sounds fairly familiar to them or that all to famous phrase..."Wonder where she got that from". Grrr

So where am I going with all this?? With baby E things are completely and utterly different. Having to adjust has been some what of a trial in it's own right but I'm learning how to adjust. Today was a rough day where I was really thinking about all this. And ironically...crying my eyes out too. Definitely not a good thing when your driving down an interstate at 70mph. What brought it on?

I realized that I only have 15 days left before I return to work and baby E learned about the tough world of daycare. Well maybe not tough for him now, he has a little while before he'll care that another kiddo took his toy. Still, he's my baby. And I've gotta leave him with someone else while I go and slave away for a few measely dollars. For at least 8 hours a day I won't be the one that comforts him when he cries. I won't be the one who rocks him to sleep or changes the never ending dirty diaper. I won't be the one who gets warm all over when he smiles, even if it is due to gas. Hey, we take what we can get.

The difference between J and E....it really bugs me now. Not because I love E anymore than J. Not because he's more important or anything. It's because now I have the luxury of caring. I'll have had 6 weeks off work with him. I've been with him 24hrs a day since the day he was born. I've had the chance to bond with him in such a way that just the thought of him pulls a few heart strings. Now I can say that I know how my other mommy friends felt. And now instead of thinking they were crazy, I feel their pain. I sympathize with them and I feel like I could shed a tear for every single working mommy that has to leave their child.

Whats even crazier is I would now gladly stay home with both my kiddos every single day. Well J has school but you know what I mean. I want to see every last one of those firsts that he will have. I want to be the one that is there for him in every way he needs. I want to continue to be here every day when J comes home from school with time for her in the evening because cleaning and dinner is already taken care of. Not rushing around tryign to fit a days worth of work into a few hours at home. I'm no longer the mommy who was slightly detached as a way of coping with a situation. I'm a mommy who is going to cry, and cry, and cry some more the day I leave him in someone elses arms. I'll be the mommy who calls to check on him and takes time to adjust to not thinking of him every moment. **Sigh** I'm going to be an even better mommy. Treasuring every moment I am with my kiddos more than before. No longer taking for granted the few moments that we do have.