4 posts tagged “parenthood”
Reader Advisory:
If you have already had and raised your children - read on and smile back on your own memories and relish that they are simply that - memories.
If you are in the midst of raising young children - read on and you can commiserate with me.
If you haven't had children yet - DO NOT READ, just remember that children are the most wonderful things in the world and go have some for yourself!
Why it takes 45 minutes to get to the park
First Coulson has to get dressed because, of course, it's the middle of the day and he's only wearing underwear. But this isn't so easy because too many of his clothes "don't feel comfortable" so we have to go through a few sets of shirts and shorts (yes, shorts -- I know it's December, but it was 78 degrees out, thus the trip to the park). Once he finds a pair of socks that aren't "too tight," he puts on his shoes, and I have to tie them, double tie. Then I need to change Charlie's diaper before we leave and also change him into shorts. Charlie wiggles throughout getting dressed, but settles down for shoes and socks because he loves to wear things on his feet. I opt for velcro shoes for him. Then Coulson cries out that his shoes aren't tight enough. So I have to untie his shoes, un-double tie, and re-double tie them as tight as I can. At this point Chester the dog decides he needs to do his business outside as well. Since I don't have a fenced in back yard, I have to take him out on the leash while the kids play nicely (thankfully) in the yard. As I take Chester back in, I decide that I should also use the bathroom before we leave, so I grab all the kids and take them inside again. (This is the point where Coulson usually decides he needs to go number 2, which adds another 15 minutes to our departure time, but somehow I escaped that fate this afternoon!) As I fill up the dog's water bowl before we leave, Coulson accidently lets Chester out of the house. And Chester runs. So I grab the leash and Charlie and follow Chester up the street, holding my breath as he runs out in the road in front of cars coming around a corner. A friendly neighbor helps me catch him and, with a toddler on the hip, I drag Chester down the sidewalk and inside the house. I stop Coulson from climbing all over the the seats in the car, get Charlie buckled in, get Coulson buckled in, get myself buckled in and we are off to the park!
*** I fixed the link, so if you tried earlier and were confused by the "This is great" link, try it again! ***
Several months ago, my friend Anne introduced me to dooce, a professional blog. The writer of the blog, Heather, also happens to be a stay-at-home-mom whose daughter was born the day before Coulson and their similarities are striking. She's so brutally honest about her eccentric, quirky, stubborn three-year-old and it's such a relief to know that there are other kids out there like Coulson. (I have a nice rant about Coulson's latest quirk all ready for another blog entry...)
She just re-designed her website, so her most recent entries aren't that interesting to new readers. But it's her entries about her daughter Leta that I love, so here are some links to some of the ones that make me think, "This is just like my life!"
This is great - From when Leta was almost 2 years old - this could/probably has happened at my house!
From now on all questions will be answered with Because
She also writes an entry once a month as a letter to Leta, telling all about the things going on in Leta's life that month. (Thus the inspiration for my Celebration blogs of Coulson and Charlie.)
It happens in every mom's life, although hopefully before her kids go off to college: The first time she leaves her kids. I had previously left Coulson for a max of 2 days, but this is the big one. I have left both boys for 6 days! And not only that, I've gone clear across the country. Casey and I are in Seattle for a big ER Doc conference. My emotions have been on a roller coaster since I started planning this trip. At first I debated bringing the boys, but I realized it would be an entirely different trip with kids. So then I got really excited about going alone with Casey. And spending time by myself while Casey is at the conference. I can exercise and read books and knit and explore the city and eat great food. Being a stay-at-home-mom with toddlers, time to myself is a rare, rare, rare experience. The thought of being cooped up by myself in a hotel room all day is glorious! And then I thought about leaving the boys and I would start to cry. But then - after a typical exhausting day chasing the boys and inventing new stories and new games and p
laying cars and legos and feeding them and wiping bums and (trying) to clean up the house - suddenly it wasn't so sad to go with Casey to Seattle.
And now we're here in Seattle. We left the boys at Casey's folks last night. It was rough (for me, the boys did fine). I cried and was pretty bummed and I had a real hard time sleeping. For weeks I've been thinking that alone time would be the ultimate (and sometimes feeling guilty that I felt that way), but once they were gone, I realized that I really do love what I do as a stay-at-home-mom. I miss their smiles and laughter and the funny things they do. They are the sunshine of my life.
But now I'm here and Casey and I are having a great time. The flights were easy and I got to read and knit. We've been able to walk around Seattle a little and visited Pike' Market. I've been able to enjoy the ease of traveling without kids. And Casey and I are looking forward to a great week together!
When I was a kid, my mom somehow always knew when I was up to no good. It was like she had a sixth sense about these things. When I got older I wondered if I would ever be as good as a mom as she and be able to detect mischief brewing. As it seems lately with my 3 year old, a sixth sense isn't required - he'll just tell me.
A couple nights ago in the bathtub, Coulson is playing with a toy cup. He looks at me with a sweet smile and says in a sing-songy voice, "Don't watch me." Thinking he's planning to give me one of his "gifts" (usually a toy wrapped in a washcloth), I pretend to cover my eyes. He proceeds to pour the cup of water directly onto his brother's face - he knows this is a forbidden activity. As I pull him out of the tub, he cries in his defense: "But you weren't supposed to see it. I told you not to watch!"
This morning at breakfast he claimed to be cold. Now if you have spent any time with my son lately, you know that he is perpetually in his underwear. Being the cheap home economist that I am, I plan to break this habit in the winter by keeping the thermostat low. So when he complained about being cold, I told him he should put on a shirt. But no, he wanted a blanket. I insisted on the shirt. He replies "No Mommy. You take the shirt back to my bedroom, then I'll sneak in my bedroom and get the blanket. Is that a good deal?" Um, no.
And later today, I told him not to bang the toy airplane into wall and left the room to go clean the kitchen. One minute later, he comes into the kitchen and says, "I tricked you Mommy. I banged the airplane softly." Thanks for the info kid; now give me the plane and take your time-out ;-)
