Keep track of the triumphs and trials of Mommyhood

:)

I’m dreading it!! Andrew’s been getting up kind of early anyway. Next Monday it’ll be 5:30 am (feeling like 6:30pm). I might try to keep him up later a little more on Friday and Saturday nights.

Then I stop to think of all my friends who start putting their kids to bed at 7pm. We definately are later than that, but we take a bath(every other night – dry skin like his mom) brush his teeth and read 3 books, then it’s to bed without a fight. He’s really good about it. His friends battle on until 9 or later anyway. I like our relaxed routine.

or being a parent? Being a parent can really kill a marriage. I swear, I almost packed the kids up last night and left. Barry has a tone of voice that really makes me question whether I should be afraid of him. It is so mean. It rarely comes out, but it really shocks me when it does.
Claire can me gassy after bottles. I can keep her calm and it can really depend on the time of day how fussy she gets. Barry takes care of her from 9pm to 12am. He’s around her only 6 hours a day. He doesn’t know the tricks and is too lazy to get off his ass and walk her around. So she screams when he takes care of her. He got pissed off yesterday when he was trying to watch the end of the tigers/twins playoff game and I was putting Andrew to bed. What a jerk. When we talked about it later, I asked what I was supposed to do about it. She’s better than Andrew was at that age. I’ve tried to tell him some of the tricks that work for me. She’s going to get better. I finally told him that he could call the %!& pediatrician and ask her the questions if he won’t trust me.
Whew. Of course, the complete lack of intimacy doesn’t help at all~~

Sorry to vent, but thanks for letting me get that off.

Last weekend, Audrey and I had a slumber party in the living room after Clara went to bed. It was such a good time. The night included:

• Making caramel apples
• Soaking our feet in my foot spa and rubbing each others tootsies with special foot cream
• Slathering our faces in a refreshing face mask
• Running out to the store in our pjs to stock up on supplies including donuts for the morning
• Baking Pillsbury ghost cookies
• Painting our toenails then reading magazines while they dried
• Climbing in our sleeping bags and watching a Scooby Doo cartoon movie
• Finally falling asleep a little after 11:00

I think this is something we’ll do every couple of months, and when she’s a little older Clara will be able to join us for the fun times.

Claire’s been getting a lot of gas lately. It isn’t interrupting her evening sleep, but her naps might be affected a little the last two days. I can feel the gas bubbles in her tummy. She’s on Enfamil and she’s doing well with that. It’s nothing like the drama we went though with her brother.
I have a friend the loves Colic Calm. She gives it out like candy. Her son did have a lot of problems from the start with eating, etc. I’m just not sure I want to start giving Claire “medicine” that isn’t from the doctor. We’ll see if she gets better as she ages and her sucking improves. (she still gulps and leaks a lot while eating)

Andrew has always been pretty easy to get to bed. He is starting to resist it a lot more. I say the cure is to start earlier. He was almost a zombie when I said it was time to go to bed and he walked right into his room. We laid down & started reading. Then he said he had to potty. (I didn’t want to discourage it, but he really hasn’t gone potty on the toilet in months) then he wants to brush his teeth( why can’t I remember to do this!). Then he’s hyper and it’s too late.

I say we change it and stop the tv after bath and just read. His dad really has to stop rough housing at bedtime, too, but he doesn’t listen to me when I suggest that it isn’t helping. Ugh. I hate that my 2 year old goes to bed at 9pm. His friends all go to bed at 7:30 or 8!

Lately I’ve been trying to fix my mindset when it comes to dealing with the more challenging side of parenting (and life in general). I too often find myself thinking of things as chores. I have to put the girls to bed, I have to give the girls a bath, I have to fix dinner, etc. I’m trying really hard to see all of my interactions with my kids as the gifts they truly are. So, I don’t have to put the girls to bed, I get to put the girls to bed. I don’t have to give the girls a bath, I get to give the girls a bath. I don’t have to fix dinner, I get to fix dinner. It’s amazing how much better I feel taking care of these daily tasks when I remind myself to see them in a more positive light.

Awhile back, one of my best friends from high school lost her youngest child, an 11-month-old girl. Realizing that she’d give anything for the chance to put her little girl to bed again reminds me that nothing with my girls should be a hassle.

and I was exhausted. We’d relaxed and I thought Andrew was ready to sleep. I went up to bed for my own nap. About 20 minutes later I hear a banging on the wall. The first thing that hit me was the smell of a messy diaper. (no, thank goodness andrew has never messed with the contents of his diaper…no smears on the wall or anything) The entire contents of his bookshelf were on his bed or strewn across the room. He was jumping on the bed banging his silver cup on the wall.

Even after a diaper change, he takes almost an hour to get back down. By then, I couldn’t sleep. Baby girl is so squirmy that it’s hard to sleep lately. So I missed my nap.

I’d love to be the worlds best mother and I’d love to say that I want to be with my child 24-7. But, I’m glad I work out of the home, too. It’s hard work staying at home:) Kudos to all of you that do it. There was a mom at swimming that was very militant about her decision to stay home with her kids. I don’t question anyones decision to work out of the house or stay home. I’ll support you in whatever you do. She clearly hadn’t run into much support in the past because she was to the point of insulting my decision (saying that her kids were more important than money and she could never leave her kids just so she could afford pedicures,etc) just to justify hers. Luckily, my toes hadn’t seen the inside of a nail salon in months:)

I’m concerned about the frequency and severity of Andrew’s diaper rashes. Andrew’s a.m. teacher isn’t watching this at all, I fear. I am sending him to school today with a happy stomach and a clear bottom. Last Monday he was in the same condition and it only took one day before he had a horrible rash. If he gets one again this week, I’m going to call the administrator. I’ve never cared for this teacher and I feel she’s too lazy to properly do her job. When she was in the infant room, she was always on her but rocking a child in a bouncy seat with her foot. Uggh. I am not paying $200/week for this.

I’m just trying to figure out why anyone would want 18 kids!! We just got home from dinner and we were tidying the garage when I noticed poo on Andrew’s back. He had a blowout! So I dragged him into the bathroom and started stripping him down. My pregnant tummy couldn’t handle it, so I threw up…in the bathtub. So now I have to clean up his poo, my old dinner, and all before I can put him in the bath.
Next time, he’s going to get hosed down in the garden! Ugh!