Tag: mommyhood

children, gratitude, happiness, humor, kids, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Twice the Fun

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Mad Dog is home!  Hurray!

We are all glad he is here but I have a question.  Why is it that even though I spent 24/7 with my boys over the past several days, they still insist on being attached to my hip even though their Dad is home?

While Mad Dog was watching the Buckeyes and the boys were building a train track, I attempted escape to the lanai to write my blog post.  I soon had a visitor.  Not only did he have to sit near me, he had to sit practically on top of me.

 

Me and My Shadow

 

And then there were two…

 

Good thing they are cute!

 

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children, humor, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, self care (or lack thereof)

Losing It

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Pumpkins, photographed in Canada.
Image via Wikipedia

 

Here are some signs that I am losing it ever so slightly while Mad Dog is away:

1. T.Puzzle wore his nighttime pull-up to school (thankfully, it was dry!) and I didn’t realize this mistake until 6:30 pm that evening.  He proudly announced he kept it ‘cwean and dry all day’.  Good for you, son.

2.  I enthusiastically told my boys that I bought light up pumpkins only to discover that these magical squashes needed batteries that were not in my possesion when I really believed I had some.  That kind of squashed our night.

3.  I lost Full Speed’s tae kwon do belt again.  It’s almost as if his purple belt is made up of Mommy-repellent thread.  I literally can never find it when I need it and I’m usually in a time crunch (in OCD terms this means I’m actually running on time and not my normal fifteen minutes ahead of schedule).

4.  I’ve been laughing out loud while viewing the ‘Penguins of Madagascar‘ cartoon with the boys.  Those penguins crack me up.  Or, maybe I am simply cracking.  A fine line I’m sure…

5.  Any reserve tank of extra patience has been completely diminished and I have lost all calm ability to answer every question, validate every comment or observation and give my complete, undivided attention to T.Puzzle’s and Full Speed’s every utterance or behavior.  Really.  Empty.  Gone.  Goodbye.

6.  I am cheesing out on the nighttime story ritual.  I’ve only managed to do it twice in Mad Dog’s absence.  Like I always say to my kids, “Don’t show me you are sorry with you’re words, show me you’re sorry with your behavior.”  I promise, I’ll do stories tomorrow.   Really.  Honest.  Absolutely.

Good night!

P.S.:  We quickly recovered from our absence of batteries and I was able to run to the store to replenish our supplies.  The pumpkins have been enjoyed by all.  So, the system is imperfect but the results are good.  That’s all you can ask for when you are ‘solo’ parenting.

[wpvideo TPXm7YOR]

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children, gratitude, happiness, humor, kids, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, self-discovery, self-image/self-acceptance

Perfect

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When Mad Dog is out of town for work, I decide this is the time in which not only do I have to be supermom, but I have to do it perfectly.  My belief system, as crazy as it sounds, deems it necessary that if I can keep my boys happy and smiling while Mad Dog is away, then I must be doing my ‘job’ right.

Let me say it right now.  This is insane.

So what if Full Speed is angry I made him wear a jacket to school this morning (it was cold, yes, 60 degrees in Florida is considered cold)?  So what if T.Puzzle pouts because I didn’t have his favorite kind of pancake readily available for breakfast (Confetti Pancakes by Aunt Jemima in case you are wondering)?  Oh, and let’s not forget my minor meltdown because Full Speed’s new teacher scheduled an open house with only three days notice.  It took a phone call to my sister who thankfully answered to tell me what to do.  It was so simple.  Skip karate, have Mad Dog’s Dad watch the boys and go to the open house alone.  Brilliant.  Absolutely brilliant.

Why didn’t I see this simple solution?  Because my inner perfect Mommy critic told me I needed to take my boys to karate like I promised Mad Dog.  He didn’t know there was an open house when he left and neither did I. For some reason, I couldn’t deviate from my original plan.  My sister gave me the permission I needed so I could.

Thank goodness my sister was a voice of calm reason.  I guess that’s why if you are lucky enough to have one, you are infinitely blessed because they can come through for you in the most unexpected and very appreciated ways.

Maybe I can let my inner critic soften a little bit or at least offer her a shot of tequila (I mean loosen up, girl!), and stop looking at how I am falling short of perfection.  I need to flip my belief system upside down.

How about all the times Full Speed and T.Puzzle shared a genuine giggle with me while Mad Dog is away?  Or how ‘Dust Buster Tag’ is their new favorite pasttime (my floors are cleaner for it)?  Or how about the basic fact that they are clothed, fed, bathed and quite simply loved (even when they are angry and/or pouting)?

Love is patient, love is kind…, it’s anything you want it to be except perfect.

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mommyhood, tantrums

Whatever

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The boys woke up in good moods. This always helps on a Monday. I corralled them into our bathroom, grabbed their clothes and started to help little T.Puzzle undo the snap and zipper of his pjs.

“No!” he screams. “I do it myself!”

Soon he realizes he doesn’t have the dexterity to open the closure.

“I need help!” he recants.

I reach for the flap of fabric, pop it open and start to unzip him.

“No! I do it myself!”

Whatever.

T.Puzzle also got angry at me at breakfast. I attempted to pull apart his mini waffles, like I do every morning, and he couldn’t believe I would have the audacity to do so.

Whatvever.

A three year old is a lot like a moody, teenage girl. How do I know this? I used to be one. Payback is, well, you know…

That is until he takes two of his mini waffles and fashions them into a toilet seat. I can honestly say, I have never done that. Not once in my former teenaged life or in my current situation.

At least I found it mildly humorous. Of course, I didn’t let little T.Puzzle know that. He would have somehow managed to use this information against me.

humor, mommyhood, self care (or lack thereof)

Three Sheets

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I had started to function a little better. I no longer had body aches, my fever was gone and I was sleeping less during the day. All signs that I am on the road to recovery.

Yet, it didn’t feel quite good enough. There still was some missing piece of good health that I was unable to find. My ears and throat were still sore and aching and I fatigued quite easily (some call that motherhood).  Oh, and I had acquired massive cold sores that now covered my upper AND lower lips (ouch!). They are super-attractive, too.

When I woke up and told Mad Dog that I was better but would most likely need another three hour nap that afternoon, he said enough is enough. Off to urgent care you go. Yuck.

I was so out of it I forgot my license when I registered at the walk-in clinic’s front desk. My subsequent evaluation by the P.A. determined I had no serious infection. Instead, my sinuses are seriously messed up. They are so swollen they are putting pressure on my ear canals and throat, thus the incessant pain. I was prescribed a nasal steroid and an OTC decongestant with pain-reliever. Give it a week the P.A. said, and see how it goes.

I hope it goes well. Since Mad Dog is basing my health on how much wine I’m consuming (which as of late has been none), I hope that soon I am back to my old self and three sheets to the wind.