The ABC's of Me!

It was harder to think of things than I expected! Maybe it's because I'm lacking sleep. Or maybe because my brain is only running at 76%. Anyway here are most of the letters. I'm working on the rest.

A: Always. I will ALWAYS be there for my children through good times and bad. I know that they will make mistakes, but I will be there to help them through life. (But not by being an enabler.)

B: Better. My family has made me a better person and given me a better life. I hope that I'm able to do the same for them.

C: Clowns. I don't like them. They scare the *bleep* out of me! My children will never have a clown at their birthday parties. Thank you Stephen King. Sorry kiddos.

D: Daddy J is an awesome dad. That is all.

E: Exhausted! Mommy J has a 2 month old and a 3 year old and Mommy L has a 5 year old, a 2 year old and a less than a month old baby! Yeah we are definitely both exhausted right now!

F: Fortuitous timing. A few years before Honeybee's arrival I actually thought that I might not want children. (Go teach in a very tough school system with no support if you want the best form of birth control!) had it not been for Honeybee's surprise appearance we probably still wouldn't have children and would be missing out greatly.

G: Gastrointestinal Distress. Being a mommy, I've experienced heartburn and morning sickness that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies. I have now been peed on, pooped on, and puked on in every conceivable color and texture. Ew.

H: Helicopter parent. Even though I would go to the ends of the earth for my children. I will never be the kind of parent that hovers around my children and not let them learn how to live life for themselves. I'd be doing a great disservice to them by doing everything for them. And if I ever unwittingly do, please shoot out my propellor.

I: I

J: Mommy J. Yup that's me. I'm the oldest (and wisest - heehee) of 4 kids. Mommy L is kid number 2. We have 2 brothers as well.

K: Kitchen. My favorite room in my house and where I spend most of my time. (there were many jokes

L:

M: Me. I am often guilty of putting me last. I need to keep reminding myself that sometimes I need to make sure I am taken care of too.

N: Neurotic - yes that is me. I freely admit it.

O: Organized will never be me no matter how I try.

P: Pout lip- it's my kryptonite. I crumble whenever I see it (babies only- this doesn't work with the hubby).

Q: Quick reflexes. Since Honeybee became mobile my reflexes are ninja quick!

R:

S: Superheroes. Well yes we mommies are superheroes but that's not what I mean here. I love that my husband has shared his childhood love of Batman and other superheroes with our daughter. They watch the old 1960's Batman series (with Adam West) every night and he has passed on his action figures to her which they play with all the time.

T: "That" parent. Yes I am always terrified I am being "that" parent.

U: Up (the Pixar movie) The beginning of this movie gets me teary every time I watch it. If you don't get even the least bit misty eyed when you watch it you must have no soul! I was bawling like a baby when I was pregnant and saw this.


V: Violinist. That was me in my old (pre baby) life. And while I'm no longer a performer, I don't really miss that life. I wouldn't trade being mommy for anything.

W: Why? Fortunately, Honeybee has not picked up this common kid habit. Unfortunately, she has started asking the same question over and over again. Even after I answer it!

X: X- rays. One of the (many) things that have been the cause of my ever growing list of neurosis. Long story. I'll save it for later.

Y:

Z: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz! huh? Oh sorry I must have dozed off again. Seriously, I need more sleep.

Giveaway for Cloth Diapers

For all you cloth diaperers or those who are curious or want to try, The Bewitchin' Kitchen is hosting a giveaway for a Mabu Baby Eco diapering system!

http://www.thebewitchinkitchen.com/2012/04/mabu-baby-baby-gift-guide.html

Oh Boy, I may have finally lost it.

Dear dude in the poorly suped-up Civic,

1. Your stereo is too loud if it is shaking my whole house while you are stopped at the end of my street.

2. Why the heck are you stopped at the end of my street? This is the suburbs.  No one is going to challenge you to a race here.

3. You are not the Drift King! The fact that you put this on your car is evidence that you almost certainly can't drift nor are you a king of anything.

4. The fact that you would use a c-level series of movies as your life inspiration is sad.

5. Stop pretending you are just hanging out and ask someone for directions. Or better yet go 2 blocks away to the gas station and ask them for directions and stop reverberating my house!

Thank you,

Mommy J

~*~


Dear Mommy J,

You are officially an ornery old geezer. And don't deny that one of your favorite movies is The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

Sincerely,

Yourself

~*~


Dear Self,

At least I recognize how bad this movie is!  Which is why I like it.  That and the Hulk Car.

Sincerely,
Mommy J

~*~


Dear Mommy J,

Do you realize you are writing letters to yourself?

Yours truly,

Self

~*~

Dear Self,

Yes, yes I do.

~Mommy J

PS: I need more sleep, or coffee or both.

I Can't! My Arms Will Break!

For the most part, Honeybee is taking the arrival of her little brother well. She loves to hug and kiss him and "help" me take care of him. Although, there are some things that I've noticed she is doing to get my attention away from him such as saying "I can't!" to things she is quite capable of doing or "I don't know." when she knows perfectly well.

Another thing lately has been to want me to feed her. I don't mean nursing her (thank goodness for that!) but to spoon feed her yogurt or hold her cup for her while she drinks.

So the other day, I was working on the computer at the desk with a bottle of water. Honeybee comes over and asks for a sip.
"Sure, go ahead." I say not removing my eyes for the screen.
"No Mommy. Feed me!"
Seeing as so much of my time and attention has been spent on the baby lately, I give in and hold the water bottle up to her mouth. Unfortunately (for me), in order to keep working and hold the water bottle for her I have my arm at a 90 degree angle to my body, with my elbow pulled back behind me. Not the most comfortable position. So every time I think she is done drinking I put my arm back down for a second of relief and she says "More water Mommy!"

I realize I could easily have remedied this pain by stopping what I was doing and giving her my undivided attention, but since I had been neglecting the blog so much  for the months leading up to Monkey's birth I mistaken thought I could multitask.

After about 10 minutes if trying to type with one hand and hold the water bottle behind me. I finally said to Honeybee "Sweetie, I can't hold the water like this, my arm's gonna break."

"Yes?"  She says innocently.  "ok" and she patters away to play with a toy that is suddenly more interesting than me and my water bottle.  I resume two handed typing.

About 5 minutes later she returns and asks for more water. "It's right there, you can just take it." I say, motioning to the table.

 She replies with a bit of terror in her voice: "I can't Mommy! I can't!"
"Yes you can."
" No, Mommy! My arms will break!!

A quick bit of wisdom

It's no secret that I love our pediatrician, but at Honeybee's yearly checkup yesterday, he said something that I think bares repeating. (hmm... It bears or bares? Crap! This will bother me all day- someone help me out.)

Back to the point. It was in response to my neuroticness about trying to be a good parent and doing things right for my children and not putting them in therapy- my words not his. Actually, I had just asked several questions regarding whether her behaviors were normal and about her general development and he responded:

"She has been a child her whole life, you have only been a parent for 3 years. She's the pro at it."

This is so true, my neurosis about parenting stem from being feed contradicting information on what I should be doing and how I should be parenting and how no matter what I do, I am doing it wrong.

But Honeybee knows what she is doing. Being a child is what she has done everyday from the minute she was born. I need to just trust that she is doing that just fine.

Biggest and Fastest Scare of My Life

At dinner tonight Honeybee and I were having a typical toddler food standoff. After discussing eating tactics with her pediatrician i realized that I needed to be firm about her eating better foods. My refusal to let her eat goldfish crackers for dinner led to her refusal to eat a small cube of chicken, 1 piece each of broccoli and cauliflower (which by the way she picked) and a half teaspoon of mashed potatoes.

But the doc said that a skipped meal here and there would not be harmful to her health and being hungry might entice her to eat a vegetable or two so I held my ground: no snacks and no treats if she didn't take a bite of her dinner.

Somehow she managed to convince Daddy J to sit on the floor and eat his dinner at the kids size table with her. Honeybee is trying every trick she knows to try to get me to give her something else to eat and progresses to rolling on the floor. She's talking to Daddy and laughing and then is suddenly quiet.

"What's wrong with her?" Daddy J asks me as he can't see her from where she is. I look over at her as he is nudging he with his foot (he still can't see her) and she is face down on the floor. She doesn't respond to being nudged and in an instant I was stricken with a chest crushing fear. I scoop her up I my arms and she is completely limp! Near panic, I call her name several times and she finally makes a sound somewhere between a groan and a whine and squeezes her eyes tighter. I keep trying to get her to respond to me: "Honey what's wrong? Are you ok?"

Then she opens one eye and gives me a look that I recognize all to well when I wake her too early and she says with sheer annoyance "I'm sleeping!"

I love how kids can fall asleep anywhere.

Happy spring holidays

Happy Easter, Passover or Chocolate Bunny Devouring Day (Or whatever you celebrate this time of year) to all our readers!

We're off to spend some quality time with the Mommies' families.