Tuesday, April 19, 2011

“Mom, Did You Know….”

The timer is on. 10 minutes. Write. GO!

The baby is sleeping. The boy has a play date next door.

Before I launch into my scatterbrained thoughts today, I have a question for Ms. Manners. What is my reciprocal responsibility to a nanny-led play date? Am I expected to return the favor? Host? If I don’t, do I “owe” the nanny some consideration? Or my neighbors who pay her? Since keeping watch of the kids is her paid employment, by accepting another under her watch, as directed by her employer, is she accepting more responsibility? Or is that part of her current job description of keeping the children in her care happy and engaged? Presumably, she has freed her hands a bit by having a playmate over as hopefully all she has to do is referee every once in a while. (I’d like to think my child is well-behaved and plays well with others. I have been told this, but I also take this with a grain of salt. How often do people speak the truth about your child?! Especially people you just met? )

I always want to remember these days of staying home with my children. I’m already starting to get nostalgic and to romanticize these days because the Boy starts kindergarten next year. Is it possible? My world changes again. I want to hold him in my arms always. To protect him always. To answer his gazillion questions always. To watch yet again another episode of “Phineas & Ferb” with him. To play Star Wars Legos and have my hand cut off once again by Darth Vader. To remind him again and again to flush the toilet and wash his hands….WITH SOAP!

Yesterday, we did our one errand for the day – a trip to the pet store. While in the car, these thoughts are my son’s stream of consciousness:

(1) “Mom, do you know what the Bermuda Triangle is? It’s a circle that sucks ships into the ocean.”

(2) “Mom, did you know a squid can swallow a shark?”

(3) “Mom, did you know that an octopus has a hole in it to squirt out ink?”

(4) “Mom, do people’s hearts still work once they are broken?”

(5) “Mom, I do not want to work. I want to stay home with the babies.” How are you going to earn a living? Who is going to pay the bills? How are you going to eat? “My wife! She can be a farmer.” (I guess he finds my job of blissful domesticity alluring. Although now I’m trying to impart of him that I do have a “job” even though I don’t leave the house every day like daddy.)

(6) “Mom, I never want to get a tattoo because I don’t want to hurt.” Who told you it hurt? “You did! You said that they made little holes in your skin to put the ink in.”

(7) “Mom, I want more Jedi Legos.”

That’s all I jotted down while at the stoplights. They make for interesting and entertaining conversations for sure!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

My To-Do List Mocks Me. And Other Challenges.

I have been meaning to post several times in the last two weeks, but just never have found the chunk of time to write a complete thought and then upload. I have a few unfinished posts that may never be developed fully. Such is a life of a mom with a newborn. Again I reiterate that I do not have deep, developed thoughts at this point in my life. My schedule is not my own. I live in 5-10 minute intervals. Or usually with the thought “How much time before the baby wakes up?” Like now, I can hear her stirring. I have set my timer for 10 minutes and will write what comes to mind and then post whatever that may be.

Operating under a time crunch, let me list my life in a nutshell ( Must lover bullet formats!):

• Much thanks to my parents who visited for 10 days to help me when Hubby returned to work. They were a huge help especially with the Boy, chauffeuring him to preschool and keeping him entertained. At that point in time, baby girl and I had a wicked sleep schedule still where we were awake into the wee hours and still got up frequently. I’m proud to say that in the past 2 nights she has been sleeping up to a 5 hour intervals (knock on wood!).

• Also much thanks to my father for doing yard work. Really it is so nice to stop looking like THE RENTAL house of the neighborhood.

• Both Mom & mother-in-law and Hubby are encouraging me to hire a cleaning service. For some reason, I feel like this is truly indulgent for a stay-at-home mom since isn’t cleaning one of my primary duties? But since I apparently suck at maintaining a clean, clutter-free house and because I’d much rather spend my precious time actually interacting with my children (and not being pissed off from cleaning), I will investigate how much a weekly service will cost. I hear from my friends who came out of the woodwork on Facebook to confess that they already use a cleaning service and that it is well worth every penny. Who knew?!

• I am working on birth announcements and thank you cards. One day I might actually send them out. It’s all about working in batches. I had originally wanted to include a quick update to my friends and family especially those who are not online. But I may never send them if I have to find the time to write a coherent letter of good tidings.

• I went grocery shopping today with both kids. Let’s just say that activity is the major accomplishment of the day. Little girl cried the entire drive home. I assumed she was hungry. She was, but she was more angry with the blowout that occurred at some point. So the groceries sat in the car while I changed her and nursed her. Thirty or so minutes later, I finally got to the groceries. I need to remember that I will probably only get one errand done a day if/when I have both kids are with me. (Note: I may never get my nails done again! I need to find an hour for this sometime this week!)

Saturday, April 2, 2011

IT’S FRIDAY! SNIPPETS FROM MY WEEK

COCKTAILS

I should be having a cocktail tonight to celebrate my husband’s promotion, especially since the grandparents are here. However, I forgot. Going about my business and just flat out forgot! We were going about our usual routine of Pizza & Movie Night, and the whole idea of cocktails completely left my brain. Oh well. We wouldn’t know where to go and probably would feel like fish out of water anyway.

Movie Tonight: Tinkerbell & the Great Fairy Rescue

GRANDPARENTS & FOX NEWS (Must be a generational thing!)

My parents are here to help me out with the boy and baby. Since their arrival, the TV has been on 24-7 between the boy and the grandparents. The boy watches Phineas & Ferb every day over and over again. And when his attention is finally redirected, then the grandparents have Fox News on continuously. Megyn Kelly, Geraldo Rivera covering Libya (really?! He’s considered a serious TV journalist now?), and the O’Reilly Factor have been my companions all week. However, I do put my foot down with Glenn Beck.

HEART ATTACKS

The last person I thought would have a heart attack had one this week. She maintains her weight, eats right, exercises, and has from my viewpoint what I considered a healthy lifestyle with minimal stress. If she can suffer a heart attack, then it makes me want to throw in the towel with doing my body right. Because truly will my efforts make a difference?! She is a nurse and works at a hospital. Thankfully, as soon as she realized that something was wrong, she was taken to the ER and hooked up to the EKG machine within 10 minutes from when the symptoms started. One of her arteries was 90% blocked and she had stents inserted. Supposedly, she goes back to work on Monday. Just craziness!

WIFEY SPLURGE FOR THE WEEK: Fake nails