children, health, mommyhood, parenting, self care (or lack thereof)

Motherhood!

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Frick school picFrack's school picIs it counterproductive to take pictures of your kids as they are on their way out the door to have their pictures taken at school? I couldn’t help myself because they were too adorable. And they still let me dress them alike. Yeah, I’m one of those annoying Moms and I love it. I won’t do it forever. Just until they are eighteen or get a job and leave my house. No, I’m kidding. I’m realizing the window for alike dressing is soon to be closing. Until then, my boys are going to rock it out identically.

I’m still sick and achy. Now it seems my overall body soreness has crept up to my neck and my throat is hurting. I think my fever is back (although I’m guessing it never left to begin with) and I’m feeling yucky. I sucked it up today as best I could. This was the first day both boys were back at school in long while and I needed to take advantage of their absence. I cranked on errands and household duties. I held strong for the first part of the day and now I feel like a pile of well, you know what.

I’m sure that if you if you are reading this you are thinking ‘Go to the doctor you silly girl!’ (yes, I like to imagine you referring to me as a girl as much as possible, when you are over thirty it helps). I will in due time. If you are a Mom (or Dad for that matter) and are reading this you understand that I still have at least another day or so of being miserable before I make time to go see a healthcare professional. As a parent you have to be sick in a major, major way to allow for a medical intervention. It’s too inconvenient. When you finally do have a spare moment, you find that you have a list of about one hundred and thirty-seven things on your to-do list that take precedence (oh, like I don’t know, making sure your family has clean underwear or maybe food). And you know you always, always could pack up your kids and take them with you to the walk-in clinic but who in their right mind would want to do that? If you weren’t sick before you go, you will certainly be sick (mentally) by the time you leave there.

All I hope is that by Full Speed’s real birthday celebration this Saturday I feel my best. Otherwise, no amount of liquor or consumption of Transformer-decorated-sugar will get me through. I only have myself to blame (oh yeah, and motherhood, too!).

children, health, mommyhood, potty training

Drive Like the Wind

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birthday hatEverything in my body hurts again and worse than it did yesterday. Fortunately, Full Speed was at school for the day (I brought in cupcakes for him to celebrate his birthday with his class – check out his cool hat) and T.Puzzle was surprisingly well mannered throughout the day.

The drop off of Full Speed was a little harried. Full Speed’s  class was heading back to the other side of the building for their ‘specials’ class (art, music, movement and such). I normally get him there well before they head out but I was sub-par today and wasn’t very timely.

T.Puzzle got nervous and confused in the melee of five year olds. He got turned around and I took my eyes off of him for a second to give Full Speed a goodbye smooch and he darted out the door into the main lobby. He attached himself to a woman who had on a similar pair of pants since that is what is at his eye level, and was ready to go with her for the day. I managed to snatch him up before he exited the building. Whew!

Grandma was entering just as we were leaving. She had to pick up Lil’ Superman (the boys’ three year old cousin) for a doctor’s appointment. As soon as T.Puzzle recognized his Grandma he drops my hand like a dead fish and says, “Bye, Mommy. I go to Grandpa’s house (he still calls her Grandpa which is highly entertaining).”

After a few screaming moments when the realization sunk in that he was going with Mommy and not Grandma, we head back home.

Thankfully, he recovered nicely and even took a two and a half hour nap! Thank, God.

sweet frickity frick

I’m almost to bedtime (boys are watching a show as I tap this out) and sincerely hope Mad Dog is home soon to assist me. Drive like the wind Mad Dog, drive like the wind!

P.S.- Mad Dog did get home in time to bathe the boys (yay!) and put them to bed (double yay!). I don’t know what was more amusing. The odd noises coming from upstairs (yelps and shouts) before the bath or a completely naked Full Speed running downstairs to animatedly tell me about T.PUzzle’s unfortunate use of my bedroom carpet as a toilet (just pee this time). Mad Dog handled it all graciously. Thank you.

children, loss of parent, mommyhood, self-discovery, terrible twos

Stinky Socks

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At Full Speed’s mini-birthday celebration T.Puzzle fought tooth and nail when presented with the decorated eggless cupcakes. I wasn’t surprised. He likes to defy everything and anything that I want him to do. I didn’t fight him on it. If he didn’t want it, fine. Of course an hour later he decided he wanted it and ate the whole thing.pa183389

The next morning I woke up feeling incredibly achy from my head to the tips of my toes. At first I thought I was just old then I realized that I was coming down with something. Once the stomach distress set in (I will spare you the details) I knew that I was in for a long, long day.

As I attempted to get T.Puzzle ready for his school photo he threw a fit because I removed his socks from the night before. Heaven forbid that his Mom put on clean socks for him. I sent him screaming to his room. What. Ever.

After T.Puzzle’s drop-off (don’t ask me how I got him to school because I don’t remember) I had to take Full Speed to the Children’s Clinic. Again. Granted we are lucky to have such awesome care. Even so, I was feeling less than upbeat about another trek downtown Jacksonville (you know achy, old body and all). If you ever need to reach me and I’m not home, try the Children’s Clinic, Third Floor, Ophthalmology.

I think my life is catching up to me. The stresses of Full Speed’s surgeries and aftercare, T.Puzzle’s unrelenting terrible twoness and the ever present twinge of missing my Mom have converged on me all at once. My whole body hurts. My whole spirit hurts.

I’m in need of some rest in a major way. Unfortunately, in my line of work I haven’t accrued any vacation time. I guess that’s okay because ultimately I love my job no matter how much I might grumble at its challenges. However, I’m fairly certain my house, my personal hygiene and my overall disposition are going to be less than pleasing in the days to come. I may even forgo clean socks. T.Puzzle is on to something with that one….

children, humor, mommyhood, parenting

Oh Where Oh Where Did Little T.Puzzle Go?

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Where oh WhereMost parents experience this. The time in a child’s development when they master opening doors and (the horror!) their subsequent locks. T.Puzzle is certainly there. For several months now he has been able to open and close doors. Especially the ones that are a single, long handle that you push or pull up and down (kids figure these kind out right quick). He is on the fringe of figuring out the locks on all of our doors, too. Unfortunately, the lock to our front door is a breeze to open. It’s a deadbolt that you simply turn a dial and ‘poof!’ the door is open and you are outside.

T.Puzzle has been threatened within an inch of his life that he is never, ever to leave the house on his own. He is always suppose to wait for Mom before he exits into the world. He has tested this threat on more than one occasion only to find himself in time-out and losing the privilege of the moment (a car, a blanket, or whatever else has caught his fancy). He’s learned to leave the door alone. At least while under my watch.

Yesterday in the late morning I was upstairs showering. During this time T.Puzzle plotted and had attempted an escape through the front door. Mad Dog gave me the full report and T.Puzzle soon realized that even when Dad is watching him, he is required to stay indoors under supervision (I know, what a bummer!).

Later in the evening Mad Dog and I were watching some television downstairs and had put a show on up in our loft for the boys to watch. At some point, Full Speed slinks down and shimmies in between us. He relishes time with both of us without his little brother present. We all watched an episode of ‘Cake Boss’ which is oddly fascinating and kid-friendly (the fire engine cake was spectacular).

It grows quiet upstairs. All we can hear are the cartoon sounds from the television. I turn to Full Speed, “What was your brother doing up there when you came down?”

“I don’t know.” It’s obvious from his tone that he isn’t concerned about anything his brother is or isn’t doing.

“Someone should check on him,” I say.

Mad Dog shouts up, “T.Puzzle, what are you doing?”

Silence is our only answer.

I’m starting to get nervous wondering if he decided to go for an unannounced late evening stroll. I’m hoping he hasn’t unlocked the front door and gone outside.

“T.Puzzle, are you up there?” I ask hoping to hear at least some movement even if I don’t get an answer.

Then Full Speed shouts, “T.Puzzle, are you here?”

Then out of the blue T.Puzzle shouts, “No!”

Everyone laughs. Here’s the thing, if we can hear you answer the question of your whereabouts, odds are you are in close proximity to us no matter how much you try to deny it.

children, gratitude, mommyhood, potty training, self-discovery, terrible twos

Through the Day

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Frickity

Our good friends down the street had a birthday party for their three year old daughter. I had to go to this party without Mad Dog because of his work commitments (I know, that’s a shocker). I have to do stuff with the boys by myself all the time so that isn’t my issue. My issue is that at birthday parties, my children lose all ability to control themselves and wind up dangerously close to clinical insanity (or maybe it’s me).

I’m not sure if it’s the new setting, the almost tangible party excitement or the fancy cupcakes that set them off. We were there for three hours and I think I had one, five minute intelligent conversation with another adult in that time frame. The rest of the time I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off meeting the needs of my children, making sure that the other children were safe from them and making sure my friends’ home and their many possessions remained unharmed. It was exhausting.

T.Puzzle of course was defiant and spewed out a few screaming ‘no!’ tantrums. He also managed to lock his teeth on his brother’s hand as they fought over some toy. As I placed him in time-out he threw himself on the floor in kinetic desperation. By the time the party was over and I corralled my boys home I was drained and openly hostile with Mad Dog (who had arrived home a few short moments before we did). My hostility multiplied when Mad Dog questioned its existence. I’m sorry but three solid hours of stress will tend to make a Mom cranky.

This evening and all its stress melted away and brought us to our morning. T.Puzzle had a dry diaper after almost twelve hours of slumber! As soon as I realized this I raced to get him to the potty. As soon as I put him down he starts protesting in screaming wails. How on earth could anyone after TWELVE hours not immediately pee when placed on a toilet? I argue with him for a couple minutes. Then I take a figurative step back and realize I don’t really want to be locked in a power struggle over the potty. Our day would start off pissy if we did. So, I give up and leave the bathroom to pick out his clothes for the day. No sooner than my foot crosses that threshold, he pees. He was being stubborn. No way was he going to pee in front of Mommy. That would make her too happy. He wasn’t having any of that.

Despite its frustrating beginning our day goes pretty well. The weather has finally shifted. It’s not the normal thousand degrees with a million percent humidity. There is an actual chill in the air. Who knows how long it will last but it is delicious.

Part of my project for this fall-like day is to make eggless cupcakes for Full Speed’s mini-birthday celebration tomorrow. I go to the bother of driving to the not-so-convenient store to get the eggless mix because I want little brother T.Puzzle to feel included. Who knows if he will even actually eat them?

Once they are baked and cooled (they smell awesome by the way), I ask Full Speed to help me decorate them. I frost them in chocolate and give him the bottle of colored, candied sprinkles. In a flash he has it open and dumps almost the entire contents on one cupcake. I lose it. Mad Dog intervenes which makes me lose it more. I’m upset that Full Speed is wasteful for sure, but ultimately I’m upset because I told him to stop when he first started the dumpage and as soon as I turn my back, he continues to dump it all on one, defenseless cupcake.

The tension subsides after the cupcakes are more or less decorated and then I offer to read a chapter of ‘Inkheart’ to Full Speed out on the lanai. He is happy to do so. We snuggle under a fluffy red, blanket and pick up the story where we left off from yesterday.

Soon we have an unexpected visitor bust through the door and jump up on the chaise with us. T.Puzzle beams a smile at us and shouts, “I BACK!” Full Speed and I crack up. I say, “Well, T.Puzzle, we didn’t even know you had left,” and the laughter continues. Then the laughter takes a life of its own and we giggle and guffaw over funny faces and who knows what else.

Sometimes the pendulum of motherhood swings in your favor, sometimes it swings against you. Your job is to hang on and coast with its motion and when the laughter of the small moments finds you, embrace it with everything you have. Sometimes that’s all a Mom gets to get her through the day.

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