We are on a mission to find a suitable replacement for my minivan. We spent all day Sunday going around to car dealerships, both new and used, to get an idea of what is out there for us. I feel like we ended up with more questions than answers. I do not know what will come of all of it, but I can tell you one thing for sure. Hannah comes to me this morning and asks,
"Mommy, are we going for any test drives today?"
"No Hannah."
"But Mommy, I really like the test drive!"
Monday, March 2, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Mommy Pissing Contests
I have a dear friend Jess whose son, E, is 13 months old. He is a dear jolly boy, who is very loving and enthusiastic. Jess is a great mom who loves her son and is plagued with the eternal doubt of motherhood: Am I doing this right? I am a tribal elder, with five years worth of experience under my belt. Jess often comes to me with her questions. Yesterday we were at a local play area when she related an experience in the official worldwide "Mommy Pissing Contest."
If you are a mom, you know what I am talking about. It generally starts off with an innocent question or complement, like in Jess' case.
"Your baby is such a sweetheart."
(Ready)
"Oh thank you. How old is your baby?"
(Set)
"He is just over a year. How old is yours?"
"She is 11 months, and driving me crazy with cruising and grabbing things off of the table."
(GO!!!!)
"Oh I totally understand. Little one there has been walking since 9 months, and is now climbing everything he can get up on. He is saying five words, and has been accepted to Harvard. Etc, etc, etc. Blah Blah Blah."
And so it goes. We wonder how the parents get to the point of fist fights on the sidelines of the soccer field. I theorize that it begins in the trenches of KidTime where parents feel prompted to stand up for their six-month-old's honor. I offer Jess assurance that it really is just drama that some overly competitive people feel compelled to create to give their own lives meaning. I am full of it (you know, sage advice!)
Please excuse me now, my 12 month old is asking me to change her cloth diaper and fix her an organic peanut butter sandwich. She is such an amazingly advanced baby.
If you are a mom, you know what I am talking about. It generally starts off with an innocent question or complement, like in Jess' case.
"Your baby is such a sweetheart."
(Ready)
"Oh thank you. How old is your baby?"
(Set)
"He is just over a year. How old is yours?"
"She is 11 months, and driving me crazy with cruising and grabbing things off of the table."
(GO!!!!)
"Oh I totally understand. Little one there has been walking since 9 months, and is now climbing everything he can get up on. He is saying five words, and has been accepted to Harvard. Etc, etc, etc. Blah Blah Blah."
And so it goes. We wonder how the parents get to the point of fist fights on the sidelines of the soccer field. I theorize that it begins in the trenches of KidTime where parents feel prompted to stand up for their six-month-old's honor. I offer Jess assurance that it really is just drama that some overly competitive people feel compelled to create to give their own lives meaning. I am full of it (you know, sage advice!)
Please excuse me now, my 12 month old is asking me to change her cloth diaper and fix her an organic peanut butter sandwich. She is such an amazingly advanced baby.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
What is it that you do again?
When someone asks me, "What do you do?" I wonder if I should get all snarkey and say something like, "I make milk, nurse a baby, drive hither and yon daily at the service of a five year old, all the time feeling guilty that there are at least three loads of laundry waiting, dinner to be planned and shopped for, and dog hair dust bunnies roaming wild on my hardwood floors."Then I would ask what they do, and they would say something lame like, "I'm in real estate."
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The Jennyfer Look
Dr. Matt claims that I have one certain look that communicates various emotions and one sassy attitude. What he doesn't realize is that he has a look all his own. I am going to a meeting of my Beta Sigma Phi (Google It!) chapter tonight, and for some reason Dr. Matt had not remembered. When I reminded him tonight when he got home from work, he gave me the Dr. Matt look- roll the eyes, sigh dramatically, and walk away.
I will think about how I feel when he gives me that look for the rest of the night as I am out by myself, and every time he calls to ask me a question about caring for his own children.
We'll see.
I will think about how I feel when he gives me that look for the rest of the night as I am out by myself, and every time he calls to ask me a question about caring for his own children.
We'll see.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
A New Year- My Post Secrets
I am making a refreshed commitment to write more. Tonight is the start of something new. Even if I have to NAK (nurse at keyboard), I will be communicating with the big wide world on a regular basis.
So, on this Sunday night the kids are fine, Dr. Matt is shorn, and I am writing.
I love Post Secret. Google it. If I were going to send in my own Post Secret, here is what I would say:
So, on this Sunday night the kids are fine, Dr. Matt is shorn, and I am writing.
I love Post Secret. Google it. If I were going to send in my own Post Secret, here is what I would say:
- Instead of using the bulb syringe, I suck the snot from my baby's nose with my mouth.
- Warts make me sick to my stomach. Just looking at them makes me want to puke. I think I might have one on the bottom of my foot, but I am afraid to find out.
- I pee in the showers at the YMCA. I have now taught my older daughter to do the same.
Which is worse, that I could come up with at least ten more totally true facts, or that I don't know which one to send first?
Monday, September 29, 2008
Love Your Sister!
Rachel is becoming more and more mobile, even though she hasn't actually committed to a mode of locomotion. Because of this baby on the move, I have had to start helping Hannah become more aware of little toys that are very appropriate for a four-year-old but not for a 7-month-old. Barbie shoes, dress up jewelry, crayons, and Hungry Hungry Hippo marbles have taken on a whole new level of threat when left in the tall shag of the living room area rugs. After having to remove a Polly Pocket sized cellphone from Rachel's mouth I called my oldest daughter to my knee.
"Hannah, do you know what this is?"
"Polly Pocket's cell phone."
"What else could it possibly be?"
"Barbie's cell phone?"
"This looks like death for your sister. She could put in her mouth, choke, and die!"
Now, I will admit this was both sarcastic and alarmist, but sometimes you have to raise the alarm to get your point accross. So, I kid you not, a couple of days later, Hannah and I came home from out and about and when she walked into the living room, she said,
"Mommy, there is a lot of death on the floor. We better get it picked up."
Point made.
"Hannah, do you know what this is?"
"Polly Pocket's cell phone."
"What else could it possibly be?"
"Barbie's cell phone?"
"This looks like death for your sister. She could put in her mouth, choke, and die!"
Now, I will admit this was both sarcastic and alarmist, but sometimes you have to raise the alarm to get your point accross. So, I kid you not, a couple of days later, Hannah and I came home from out and about and when she walked into the living room, she said,
"Mommy, there is a lot of death on the floor. We better get it picked up."
Point made.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Laughing
It never occurred to me that my laugh meant anything more to my children than a cue to laugh too. Yesterday, I got a shot of reality. I was making a Jib Jab card for my sister-in-law and I also made one of Matt and I. The video was so hilarious that I was LMAO. Hannah was watching it with me and she was laughing too. She kept looking at me and not the video. When it was done, she told me she wanted to watch it again. Typical 4 year old. Then she said the think that knocked me on my ass,
"You watch it again, you laugh. I want you to watch it and laugh again!"
She could have cared less about what was on the screen. I was the entertainment of the moment, and her laugh was in reaction to me. It was like that moment in Monsters, Inc. when you realize that the laugh is so much more powerful than the scream. Even more profound for me was how precious it was to her. The lesson: I need to laugh outloud more around my children.
"You watch it again, you laugh. I want you to watch it and laugh again!"
She could have cared less about what was on the screen. I was the entertainment of the moment, and her laugh was in reaction to me. It was like that moment in Monsters, Inc. when you realize that the laugh is so much more powerful than the scream. Even more profound for me was how precious it was to her. The lesson: I need to laugh outloud more around my children.
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