Reality mom?

So I was reading that Kate Gosselin works out two hours a day and lives in a million dollar house...what mom has that as her reality? Just sayin'.

Sleeping

How can this child need so little sleep these days? Honestly, no naps, fighting sleep until 9:30 - 10 p.m. and waking up at 7 a.m., sometimes 6 a.m. WTF is going on in that giant head of his? I did read that bedtime becomes a fear at this age, but I asked him why he doesn't want to go to sleep and he said he misses us and thinks we are doing fun stuff. DUDE, staring at the television brain-dead from chasing your crazy tail around all day is NOT FUN STUFF - GO TO BED!

Ramblings

I am beginning to wonder if all my time at home is making me paranoid. I have worked to create balance for our family. But I am thinking that there might be a thing as too much balance. I am looking forward to finishing a pain in the ass home improvement project and moving on to other things. Scattered, bored, tired, blah.

This is why I have been absent

Hi Internets,

I have been gone from the blog world for a bit because I have been either too busy, or had nothing of merit to say. So, here is what you missed...

I can again carry small and fabulous handbags because there are NO MORE DIAPERS!
We mailed O's binkies to the babies
The pool opened and my kid now knows how to swim
We went to Disney World furthering his love of Princesses (HA)
And finally, planning a third birthday party

Oh, and I started a small business with the love of my life, so we are both working part time, you know, same old same old.

So I guess the next milestones are chronic ignoring, expert eye-rolling and driving.

Now, that I am actually writing, I have SO MUCH TO SAY, so, I guess stay tuned, or get bored with my lack of consistency. Either way!

Something to think about

Almost every day, I feel really, REALLY lucky to raise my child. The last few days I noticed more and more grandmas taking on the role of primary child-rearer. I know my mom would LOVE to do it. Which made me realize that my mom's generation was one of the first ones to work outside the home.

In my parents case, they had no choice really, they needed two incomes to provide for their family. They worked split shift while I was little so one of them was home with me at all times. But that generation of mom's didn't get what I have now and what their mom's had before them. And alas, they are being called upon by their children to do what they missed the first time around. In some ways, it is really cool, but in others, I know how tired I am after playing with O all day, I can't imagine what it would feel like to be 20-30 years older.

It only took 10 months

I am really getting into this job now. I run errands with him and he is a delightful companion. I never panic about having to do something with him, because I get it now. I feel like I am his mom and I owe it all to my husband. Thanks for this time!

Funny, I thought it would be a shorter transition, but it wasn't and I am grateful for the time it took for me to adjust. It is so fun to be doing this with my time.

He is growing so fast. I am glad I was there for it!

Sorry for the delay

Much going on here the past two months, visiting grandparents, taking some trips and coping with the ever changing world of parenting a preschooler. Plus, winter made me terribly depressed and I just couldn't muster a negative blog about living in freaking Ohio.

So, the funny thing is, it is after 10:30 a.m. and my kid is still asleep. This is the most peculiar thing in the world. New world record. Shattering the previous record of 8:45 a.m. I could REALLY get into this! I am getting a glimpse into the teen years.

Right now, he eats, sleeps and argues. He is either a shark, a preschooler or a teen. I can't say he argues every day, but once a week without fail, we butt heads. And at the end of that day, he tells me "I love you SOOOOOOO much" about 1,000 times. Ah, the pushing of boundaries to make SURE your mom loves you!

And now, we have mischief...

Today was a first for us, O locked us out of the house. That little goof is starting to behave like a real little kid. For two and a half blissful years, you could count on him doing nothing but good, and, now, twice in one day...

Prior to locking the family out of the house, he was spotted with an ink stamp. Minutes later, he had said ink stamps all over his face and clothes. Normal? Yes. Normal for O? No! Happy? THRILLED, truly thrilled.

I love that is is breaking rules and acting up. He got a little scolding for the lock-out job, but the stamps, that was FUNNY! Actually, both of them were funny, because honestly, why did we forget the house keys...

Now, this is getting fun!

And then they are just a little more grown

Six months ago, we attended a birthday party of a neighborhood girl. She is much older and the party had older kids AND it was at a gymnastics facility. O gets reserved in crowded situations and is not one to follow the leader, which he gets from me AND his dad. This combination did not lend itself to an enjoyable time following LOTS of older children as they try new things.

But, this past weekend, less than six months later, we went to the same facility with his peers and did the same activities and he rocked them. He was willing to try everything. He showed a fearlessness I had never before seen in him. It was such a joyful experience. I am grateful to that family for this party and my boy for his willingness to try and my husband for allowing me to have this time off and myself for having the patience not to nag him either way.

On being OLD

I turned 39 today. And despite never feeling old or worrying about aging, this one is hitting me like a ton of bricks. I am sad, lost, a little. Basically, I never thought about being a mom of a toddler with 40 staring me right in the face. So, needless to say, I am doing some quality self medicating and hoping against hope these feelings of old, decrepit-ness pass. The gravity and the bags under the eyes, OMG!

The only good thing right now is that my hair looks FAB, at least that's one thing to hang onto until my fingers cramp.

I guess I am getting a passing grade

Best complement:
"He is such an honorable little boy"
-babysitter

That felt good!

On being the center of the universe

We all continue to adjust to being a family. Sounds weird, I am sure, that I say that and we are nearly three years into it. But, like anything that is fluid and always evolving, it takes time. Lately, our little person is becoming that, a little person. He so wants to be included in everything that goes on, which is so nice and heart-warming but also heart breaking:

Steve: the tickets to the concert for your birthday printed
O: did they print my ticket, too?
S: no, just mommy and me are going to the concert
O: (dejected) oh.

OMG, I almost crashed the car when I heard how sad he was that he wasn't coming somewhere with us. Kinda like last week when Steve and I were talking about a vacation and O said that he would have to stay home with the dog. I couldn't tell if he was happy or sad about staying home with the dog. Luckily, this is a vacation he will be going on.

Needless to say, this is a textbook regession of separtation anxiety. It is just so very sad. But, I am sure in a month's time, he will shove us out the door again.

What's up with this?

At about 1:15 every single day, I get very frustrated. My sweet little toddler works my last nerve at exactly the same time every day. I guess we both know when nap time is. I continue to struggle with patience.

Where I've been

Late last year, I contacted some former clients to see if they would be interested in my consulting services, part time. I had a taker and it is working out really well. I like being able to contribute to our family as well as to the industry I so dearly love. My main focus is remains Owen, but, I have a great opportunity to stay engaged for the day when he attends school, and even then, I can work more hours and still be around to pick him up from school. Needless to say, this has impacted my blogging. I can and will do better, please stay tuned.

The Young and Relentless - ep 1

I have been reading lots of books lately about parenting. Toddlers are tough characters, so tender one minute so outlandish the next. The most interesting thing I learned of late is that they treat their mothers differently than their fathers. In some cases, they save up all their mis-behaving for their dear old mommies. I am here to tell you this is T-R-U-E!

O vascilates between snuggly sweetie to arguing, button-pushing tyrant within minutes. The most charming characteristic of late is to never let me have one minute without doing something for him. Making play-doh guys, building block castles, you name it and he wants them all at once. Most of the time, I LOVE IT. I know he will never be this reliant on me for approval again and to cherish it. Plus, this is what I signed up for.

There will come a day when he won't let me pick him up, or make a castle for him. And then, there is the 2% of the time when I need to get to something that I just want to throw a sock at him. But, the best part of me realizes that this is a GREAT personality trait, I have it, too. It is a relentless tenacity to get whatever I want. I am grateful for this trait in him, and in me.

Girls weekend

This past weekend, I got away to Chicago to visit my long-time BFF. She lives there and we are two peas in a pod. Things that I got the check off my list...

Carried a handbag without a diaper in it
Drank cosmos til I fell asleep
Ordered Phad Thai delivery at 10 p.m.
Watched my BFF wash soy sauce out of her hair (hehe)
Slept on a couch
Woke up at 10:30 a.m.
Stayed in PJs until 5 p.m.
Had a girl date
Watched live theater
Watched a What not to weat marathon
Watched 27 Dresses and laughed til I cried

A good time was had by all, although, I really missed my boys.

Can't sleep

I have never been good at falling asleep. Most of my striving little life, it has been due to stress, panic, fear, worry and general insanity. The last two nights, I was unable to fall asleep because I was SO HAPPY. That is a new one, people. I really feel secure in my life right now, which would normally cause me great panic ("when life looks like easy street there is danger at your door" - thanks Jerry Garcia!) But right now, I am blissfully content. I know who I am, what my purpose is and what makes me happy. I know when I am not happy, how to get there. I have no earthly idea how this happened.

Up until Owen, I never thought motherhood was for me. In fact, even through his first year or so, I didn't think this would work out well. I am very different now. I hope it stays this way. I like this, A LOT. Don't get me wrong, I am still striving for the next big thing (opened a consulting business - more on that later), and trying to figure out when I can get that Benz I want, but for the big part of my brain, I feel really confident. I am the most important person in the world to someone who is learning everything from scratch. Not even a month ago this statement terrified me with the huge-ness of it, now, I feel very strongly that I am doing a good job WAY more times than not and I am even getting some delish validation (mommy, I love you soooo much!)

What a crazy turn of events, indeed.

WTF, people?!?

So, my son likes Princess dolls, what's the big deal??

What luck

How lucky am I that I have a toddler who can and will tell me when he is tired and hungry? We avoid more tantrums with this alone. He will literally tell me when he is ready to go to bed and then last week told me, let's go brush our teeth and go to bed. LOVE IT. It is on the Top 10 things I love about my kid list.

Open Letter

Dear Walt Disney Company,

I have purchased two princess products in a row whose heads had come off through gentle play after less than a week. The first one came off in less than an hour. I grew up on Disney, have my son's room decorated with limited edition cels and even got engagede at the park. I am beyond disappointed in how shoddy your product is made. I would exchange my product if I had any confidence AT ALL that the head would remain secure.

Despite my child's affinity for your products, I am sorry to report, I will not be buying any more of your action figures with seams, because unfortunately, they suck. You excel at marketing, but you are woefully inept at producing a product that lives up to the promise. Thanks for making me explain to a disappointed 2-year-old what Super Glue does and why it is needed for people who choose to scrimp on production quality to bolster profits.

Tracey