Category: kids

kids

health, kids, mommyhood

Another Day, Another Vitamin

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I may not do a lot of things consistently when it comes to the boys nutrition, but I am religious about giving them a daily multi-vitamin. Since I have been frequenting my local Walgreens due to my family’s varying degrees of illness, I remembered to pick up a fresh supply of children’s vitamins. There wasn’t much of a selection so I grabbed the largest one I could find that happened to be Flintstones Gummy vitamins. I had grown up consuming the hard, candy-like chewable variety of Flintstones and I had a fleeting wave of nostalgia overcome me. The next day I didn’t think twice as I passed around the Flintstones. I grabbed a couple and popped them in my mouth. I was quite surprised to realize they were like rubber cement. I could barely gnash and gnarl my way through them. I look up and see little T.Puzzle has one in his mouth and is fighting his way through it. His face is red, his fists are clenched and he is grunting like a crazy ape.

“These are hard to chew,” I manage to sputter out.

“No they’re not,” states Full Speed.  “All you have to do is swallow them whole.”

My heart drops to my shoes. My mind immediately races to the thought that these vitamins are a serious choking hazard. I thought the whole idea of a multi-vitamin was to preserve and protect my children’s health not endanger it.

Needless to say when I was at Target today I stocked up on loads and loads of SOFT, chewy vitamins. No worries dear readers, T.Puzzle and Full Speed will live to see another day.

gratitude, happiness, kids, mommyhood

End of an Era

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I must be in shock. I am not feeling sad that little T.Puzzle’s crib is disassembled and gone. I thought it would be harder. Maybe I’ll feel an aftershock at some point.

I think I’m adjusting well to this transition for three reasons. First, we put it off for so long and the thing was on back-order for so long, that I was thankful it was finally here. I kept picturing T.Puzzle telling his future therapist that his Mom kept him in a crib until he was sixteen. Secondly, he’s a big kid and his crib was frail. I was certain there would be a horrible crash in the night and Mad Dog and I would find T.Puzzle buried under the collapsed rubble of his crib alive, but visibly disoriented. And the third reason is that a part of me way deep down in the secret vaults of my Mommy reality; I never, ever, ever, ever (am I making myself clear?) again want to have a newborn as a permanent resident of my home. So the crib leaving my house was symbolic that my newborn days are forever behind me. It didn’t feel sad, it felt like freedom. I often wonder if that ‘i want a baby’ feeling eventually comes or if I will have any regrets. I’ll let you know just as soon as I send little T.Puzzle on his way to college.

It’s the end of an era. My little guy loves his new bed.

health, kids, parenting

If They are Alive, All is Well

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The only thing worse than being sick, is having to take care of a sick kid while you don’t feel well yourself. I have contracted what T.Puzzle had and it has manifested as body aches, sore throat and a double ear-ache. I slept a ton yesterday and went to bed early. I was woke up at around eleven p.m. as I heard a desperate, screaming Full Speed. I was so out of it but connected the dots quickly as Mad Dog brought him stripped down to our room.

“Did he puke?” I ask.

“Yep,” is all Mad Dog says.

It takes a lot of effort but I get myself up to lend a hand. I’m heading to his room to start cleaning. Since I feel so gross myself, I am unable to begin. The smell is overwhelming and normally, as a Mom, I have a stomach of steel, but since I don’t feel well myself, my stomach is a quivering mess. I must give props to Mad Dog, he dealt with the clean-up and I dealt with Full Speed.

I showered him, changed his pjs and made a makeshift bed of a sleeping bag, towels and bowl right next to me. He was pretty shook up but drifted to sleep quickly.

I still feel awful and am barely functional. Mad Dog is in charge. As long as my kids are alive, all is well.

kids, mommyhood, self-discovery

Life Balance

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The boys had been home all day. This is a recipe for disaster. Mad Dog had wanted to watch his Steelers in the afternoon and I went to see a movie. When I returned home, swords were flying, T.Puzzle was crying in spurts and the energy level within our home had reached a dangerous level. Since the football game was winding down I suggested we take them to dinner.

We decide to take them to the recently opened Panera. The boys are wild once we are inside and I have to drag them to a booth so Mad Dog can order in peace. They are boisterously loud with their assorted cars and train engines. I try to shush them to no avail.

“Mom, it’s the CARS that are being loud, not US,” explains Full Speed.

Whatever.

The food comes and T.Puzzle decides he hates his food and his drink. He is shimmying up and down and all around the booth. I’m trying to breathe deeply to cope. All I really want to do is staple him to his seat and force him to eat his overpriced grilled cheese. Alas, no stapler is handy so,……deep breaths instead.

“Mom, I have a surprise for you when we get home,” says Full Speed.

“Is it a nanny?” I ask.

“No, it’s my soccer game,” he replies. I know that sounds adorable but the soccer game is one that he got in his stocking and he doesn’t like it. It frustrates him because he can’t master it. Therefore he is constantly “giving” it to me and his brother.

I had that moment in the booth where I wished my life was different. I wished my boys were calm and mild-mannered. I wished that I could eat a meal from start to finish without having to pay a babysitter or wait until nine o’clock at night to do so. I wished that my boys shared their thoughts and emotions in quiet tones and only cried because they were genuinely sad and not genuinely throwing a manipulative tantrum (such as the one T.Puzzle was currently presenting to me).

Those wishes are far off and possibly may never happen. All I have to survive on is the hope that someday I will find my equilibrium in motherhood and that the personal sacrifices I have made (and they are different for every Mom and every caretaker out there) are worth it. Keep reading and let’s hope that together we find that balance in all our lives….

gratitude, happiness, kids, mommyhood

To All A Good Night!

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As we prepared our home for Santa’s arrival there was much discussion concerning the placement of his cookies. Full Speed reasoned that we put them in his line of sight directly across from our fireplace. He was very analytical about it and very sure. He stood in front of the fireplace and reenacted what Santa’s point of entry would look like to prove the accuracy of the cookie placement. And, prove it he did.

T.Puzzle threw his two cents in by imitating Santa’s laugh all through the day. ‘Ho, Ho, Ho,’ could be heard from one end of the house to the other. I believe his belly even shook a little like a bowl full of jelly.

Late in the day we settled in front of the television outfitted in our superhero pjs. With popcorn in hand we watched the movie ‘The Santa Clause’. Somehow, it managed to capture their attention for its entire length. That is a Christmas miracle in and of itself.

Then it was time for the official reading of ‘Twas the Night before Christmas.’ I don’t know why I torture myself into having this tradition. One year Mad Dog had to hold Full Speed upside down dangling in front of the book to keep him interested.  T.Puzzle was a babe at the time and fussed throughout. Last year went more smoothly but not quite the peaceful reading I had imagined. This year, they were more invested but it was about three pages too long. I really need to find a shorter version so my boys stay put. Something like, ‘Twas the night before Christmas and to all a good night,’ just might be the ticket.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!