Dear 2010,
I didn't like you. You've had some really nice highlights, but for the most part, I'm really glad to see you go. I have high hopes for your successor!
Although you were not great to me, you've taught me some things that I'd like to remember:
1- Family is the most important thing. Nothing can bring you more happiness. Place the ones you love at the top of your priority list, and all will be good in your life.
2- Cherish every moment you spend with your children. Life is not always fair, and bad things happen. Never be in a position to look back in time and wish you would have spent more time with them.
3- Minimize. Less is more. When you spend less time focusing on "things" that make you happy, you will find what truly makes you happy.
4- On a lighter note, I've also learned that Max Factor 2000 calorie mascara is not available in the US anymore. This totally bums me out. Best. Mascara. Ever.
So, I don't know how many people actually read this, but I wish you a very happy and healthy new year!
AJ
Friday, December 31, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
The Drama!
I'm not sure what is behind my son's latest antics, but they are quite dramatic!
I can't even pinpoint when it started, because it was subtle....but he has started to say "my leg hurts" when he either wants attention or wants to divert attention. What the heck?
It seemed to begin innocently during meal preparation time. I would be trying to get dinner together while he played in the next room, and he runs into the kitchen and says "my leg hurts". So I stop, take a look, and determine that nothing is wrong. He sometimes requests a BooBoo Buddy, sometimes requests that I play with him, but most times moves along.
On a few occasions, he cries while grabbing his leg and saying that it hurts. Usually after some hugging and re-assurance, he calms down. Problem averted.
He will even say it sometimes in very casual conversation.....like at Thanksgiving when I was sitting at the table talking with family. He walked up to me and calmly said, "My leg hurts. Come play with me." Everyone looked at me funny, and I just told them he says that when he wants attention. Mother of the year, baby.
Skip to last night. Oh my. This kid was fine. Really fine. I said it was time for dinner, and he ran into the kitchen. When he saw the plate of noodles (the kind he loves), he screamed, "No want those noodles, my leg hurts!!". He started crying hysterically. Out of control. Huge tears, red-faced sobbing. We tried the BooBoo Buddy. No. I hugged him, asked him to show me where it hurt. He pointed to his knee. I asked him to sit at the table, HE LIMPED to the table while continuing to cry hysterically for 15 to 20 minutes. Nothing worked....until I asked him if some chocolate milk would help his leg. STOP. what? chocolate milk? YES. Crying stopped. Leg is better. Milk was drunk. Noodles were eaten.
What the hell? Seriously kid. You confuse me. I don't know where this came from, but I hope it stops soon. It tears at my heartstrings to think you might be in pain, but it really pisses me off to think you are doing this for attention. I don't think we could lavish more attention on you if we tried.
Matt says we should ignore it. But what if it really does hurt? Is this crazy? Why would he limp? It really is never boring at our house.
AJ
I can't even pinpoint when it started, because it was subtle....but he has started to say "my leg hurts" when he either wants attention or wants to divert attention. What the heck?
It seemed to begin innocently during meal preparation time. I would be trying to get dinner together while he played in the next room, and he runs into the kitchen and says "my leg hurts". So I stop, take a look, and determine that nothing is wrong. He sometimes requests a BooBoo Buddy, sometimes requests that I play with him, but most times moves along.
On a few occasions, he cries while grabbing his leg and saying that it hurts. Usually after some hugging and re-assurance, he calms down. Problem averted.
He will even say it sometimes in very casual conversation.....like at Thanksgiving when I was sitting at the table talking with family. He walked up to me and calmly said, "My leg hurts. Come play with me." Everyone looked at me funny, and I just told them he says that when he wants attention. Mother of the year, baby.
Skip to last night. Oh my. This kid was fine. Really fine. I said it was time for dinner, and he ran into the kitchen. When he saw the plate of noodles (the kind he loves), he screamed, "No want those noodles, my leg hurts!!". He started crying hysterically. Out of control. Huge tears, red-faced sobbing. We tried the BooBoo Buddy. No. I hugged him, asked him to show me where it hurt. He pointed to his knee. I asked him to sit at the table, HE LIMPED to the table while continuing to cry hysterically for 15 to 20 minutes. Nothing worked....until I asked him if some chocolate milk would help his leg. STOP. what? chocolate milk? YES. Crying stopped. Leg is better. Milk was drunk. Noodles were eaten.
What the hell? Seriously kid. You confuse me. I don't know where this came from, but I hope it stops soon. It tears at my heartstrings to think you might be in pain, but it really pisses me off to think you are doing this for attention. I don't think we could lavish more attention on you if we tried.
Matt says we should ignore it. But what if it really does hurt? Is this crazy? Why would he limp? It really is never boring at our house.
AJ
Saturday, November 20, 2010
I'm having a very strange day
This morning started out very normally. Cy was awake at 5:30am and wanted to play. Of course. Its only a Saturday...why would a toddler want to sleep in? I was able to get him to lay in bed with us until 6, but then I heard this " I want a waffle, and juice, and a vitamin". Um, okay...sleeping time is obviously over.
We're still dealing with the daily Pooping in the Pants. Since he didn't poop yesterday (bonus for me), I knew there would be something coming today. We were going to a friend's house for playgroup, so I gave him this decision:
1- Wear pullups and poop as needed. No repercussions.
2- Wear underwear and poop on the toilet. If poop happens in the pants, the trains would be dismantled for the entire day.
He decided underwear. Great.
And then he pooped on the toilet DURING playgroup. What? Okay. I'll take it. But, strange. This is the ultimatum I should have started with a month ago!
Skip to grocery shopping. I started shopping quite normally. I was on a semi-tight time budget since I had a haircut scheduled for 4pm. Half way through shopping, I was looking for the perfect apple, and some lady walked off with my cart. No problem....this kind of thing happens all of the time, right? Well, I said, "Excuse me, I think you have my cart", and psycho shopper lady says (quite straight faced), "No, this is mine".
Now, the darned cart was halfway filled with groceries that I had already picked out. It contained my reuseable bags. It had MY handwritten list. MY LIST. MY handwriting. I tried again, and said I was pretty sure that it was mine. Nope, she looked at me like I was crazy, and walked away. AND SHE CONTINUED SHOPPING USING MY LIST. What?!?!?!
I didn't want to further confront this obviously crazy person, so I got another cart and started to re-shop. Without a list. OMG. What a disaster.
But, I made it home in time to unpack the groceries and go to get my haircut. Cool. I was anticipating that this would be the best part of my day. NOPE.
My stylist totally skipped the 10 minute chair massage that they are supposed to start with. Bummer. She totally acts like she doesn't recognize me. She barely makes any conversation. OK. Fine, we all have off days. Then, she cuts a chunk of hair on the front/side of my face that makes it look bad. I asked her to fix it, and SHE MADE IT SHORTER. Oh my. This made it look worse. Now its totally weird looking, and I'm not happy.
She says, "Oh, I see what part you don't like, and I totally agree...but that's just how your hair lays".
WHAT? SERIOUSLY?
I think I'm on the planet Weirdo today. I'm hoping a good night's sleep will help me to start tomorrow with a fresh perspective and keep the weirdos away from me.
Or maybe its me? Yikes.
AJ
We're still dealing with the daily Pooping in the Pants. Since he didn't poop yesterday (bonus for me), I knew there would be something coming today. We were going to a friend's house for playgroup, so I gave him this decision:
1- Wear pullups and poop as needed. No repercussions.
2- Wear underwear and poop on the toilet. If poop happens in the pants, the trains would be dismantled for the entire day.
He decided underwear. Great.
And then he pooped on the toilet DURING playgroup. What? Okay. I'll take it. But, strange. This is the ultimatum I should have started with a month ago!
Skip to grocery shopping. I started shopping quite normally. I was on a semi-tight time budget since I had a haircut scheduled for 4pm. Half way through shopping, I was looking for the perfect apple, and some lady walked off with my cart. No problem....this kind of thing happens all of the time, right? Well, I said, "Excuse me, I think you have my cart", and psycho shopper lady says (quite straight faced), "No, this is mine".
Now, the darned cart was halfway filled with groceries that I had already picked out. It contained my reuseable bags. It had MY handwritten list. MY LIST. MY handwriting. I tried again, and said I was pretty sure that it was mine. Nope, she looked at me like I was crazy, and walked away. AND SHE CONTINUED SHOPPING USING MY LIST. What?!?!?!
I didn't want to further confront this obviously crazy person, so I got another cart and started to re-shop. Without a list. OMG. What a disaster.
But, I made it home in time to unpack the groceries and go to get my haircut. Cool. I was anticipating that this would be the best part of my day. NOPE.
My stylist totally skipped the 10 minute chair massage that they are supposed to start with. Bummer. She totally acts like she doesn't recognize me. She barely makes any conversation. OK. Fine, we all have off days. Then, she cuts a chunk of hair on the front/side of my face that makes it look bad. I asked her to fix it, and SHE MADE IT SHORTER. Oh my. This made it look worse. Now its totally weird looking, and I'm not happy.
She says, "Oh, I see what part you don't like, and I totally agree...but that's just how your hair lays".
WHAT? SERIOUSLY?
I think I'm on the planet Weirdo today. I'm hoping a good night's sleep will help me to start tomorrow with a fresh perspective and keep the weirdos away from me.
Or maybe its me? Yikes.
AJ
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
VOTE!
I love to vote. The first thing I did when the day I turned 18 was to register to vote. This didn't help me to win any popularity contests, but it was really important to me.
I like the idea that we elect public officials to REPRESENT us. Seems like lately, politicians have lost sight of this, and I'm not sure why. They are supposed to work for us. I think the only real time they try to act like they remember this is during election time.
Voting Day certainly does shake things up and open a few eyes, and this year it should be a doozy. Mid-term elections haven't been this exciting in a while....and I know I'm going to be up late eagerly awaiting the results. I even bought popcorn. Yes, I'm that much of a dork. And I love it!
So, quit your complaining, and go DO something. Let your voice be heard.
VOTE.
I like the idea that we elect public officials to REPRESENT us. Seems like lately, politicians have lost sight of this, and I'm not sure why. They are supposed to work for us. I think the only real time they try to act like they remember this is during election time.
Voting Day certainly does shake things up and open a few eyes, and this year it should be a doozy. Mid-term elections haven't been this exciting in a while....and I know I'm going to be up late eagerly awaiting the results. I even bought popcorn. Yes, I'm that much of a dork. And I love it!
So, quit your complaining, and go DO something. Let your voice be heard.
VOTE.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Potty Training Regression
The title of this post is my latest Google search. UGH.
Why is this process proving to be so difficult? Here are my theories:
1- I have an extremely stubborn child.
2- My child has an extremely stubborn mother.
3- My child's goal in life is clearly NOT to "make me happy".
By my calculations, he was what I would call "potty trained" about 3 months ago. However, for the past few weeks, he has decided to poops in his pants (the peeing is still in the toilet). The last straw was this weekend when he pooped NEXT TO the toilet. Really. This kid gets it. He is being willful and defiant. Awesome. Future leader, right? ;)
Anyway, starting today, he's back in the diapers. It was his choice. I told him last night that if he continued to poop in his pants, he would have to wear diapers. This morning when getting dressed, he requested a diaper, so that is what he is wearing today. Not my favorite solution, but I'm out of ideas.
I don't really know the "rules" of this parenting thing, but this whole situation has gotten me very frustrated. I know that I'm not supposed to show him that I'm frustrated, but that just seems silly.....because I AM. I'm trying to be sensitive to his needs, while at the same time acting like cleaning up poop doesn't bother me....but it does. It wouldn't bother me if I thought he was actually having accidents, but he's doing this on purpose. My husband says he is probably just going through some developmental changes, and needs us to back off and give him some space on this. Why does he always seem so level headed about these things?
Then my mind wanders to bigger picture items...like: If a 2 year old is able to frustrate me this much over pooping, what does my future as a mother of a teenager hold? Can I do this? Which battles do we really need to stick to our guns on? Why do the "hard times" seem so easy in retrospect?
Then my mind really sticks it to me, and points out crazy parenting makes me: I spend half of the time holding on tight, hugging, kissing, and snuggling the time away. Not wanting him to ever grow out of this stage. Savoring every minute. The other half of the time, I'm yearning for this phase to pass, and looking forward to an easier stretch of time. A time where I can regain some independence from him and regain some of my "old" life. (Although, I'm pretty sure that (realistically speaking) that old life is gone...probably for good.)
I guess the point of all of this is that the problems (whatever they are....pooping, eating, sleeping, tantrums....) come and go in waves. I have try to take these waves as they come and take them for what they are: temporary deviations from the norm. Then I have to realize that the norm is constantly re-adjusting. I guess it is our job as parents to help our kids through these times, and it is our job as spouses to help one another along. Easier said than done, but something to try to remember.
AJ
On an unrelated note: I think I feel like a bit of a curmudgeon lately. I was totally NOT into Halloween, and am (secretly) glad its over. Maybe I just don't like that holiday. It creeps me out, and I don't think its fun. Cy didn't seem to notice that he only went to two houses for trick or treating.
Why is this process proving to be so difficult? Here are my theories:
1- I have an extremely stubborn child.
2- My child has an extremely stubborn mother.
3- My child's goal in life is clearly NOT to "make me happy".
By my calculations, he was what I would call "potty trained" about 3 months ago. However, for the past few weeks, he has decided to poops in his pants (the peeing is still in the toilet). The last straw was this weekend when he pooped NEXT TO the toilet. Really. This kid gets it. He is being willful and defiant. Awesome. Future leader, right? ;)
Anyway, starting today, he's back in the diapers. It was his choice. I told him last night that if he continued to poop in his pants, he would have to wear diapers. This morning when getting dressed, he requested a diaper, so that is what he is wearing today. Not my favorite solution, but I'm out of ideas.
I don't really know the "rules" of this parenting thing, but this whole situation has gotten me very frustrated. I know that I'm not supposed to show him that I'm frustrated, but that just seems silly.....because I AM. I'm trying to be sensitive to his needs, while at the same time acting like cleaning up poop doesn't bother me....but it does. It wouldn't bother me if I thought he was actually having accidents, but he's doing this on purpose. My husband says he is probably just going through some developmental changes, and needs us to back off and give him some space on this. Why does he always seem so level headed about these things?
Then my mind wanders to bigger picture items...like: If a 2 year old is able to frustrate me this much over pooping, what does my future as a mother of a teenager hold? Can I do this? Which battles do we really need to stick to our guns on? Why do the "hard times" seem so easy in retrospect?
Then my mind really sticks it to me, and points out crazy parenting makes me: I spend half of the time holding on tight, hugging, kissing, and snuggling the time away. Not wanting him to ever grow out of this stage. Savoring every minute. The other half of the time, I'm yearning for this phase to pass, and looking forward to an easier stretch of time. A time where I can regain some independence from him and regain some of my "old" life. (Although, I'm pretty sure that (realistically speaking) that old life is gone...probably for good.)
I guess the point of all of this is that the problems (whatever they are....pooping, eating, sleeping, tantrums....) come and go in waves. I have try to take these waves as they come and take them for what they are: temporary deviations from the norm. Then I have to realize that the norm is constantly re-adjusting. I guess it is our job as parents to help our kids through these times, and it is our job as spouses to help one another along. Easier said than done, but something to try to remember.
AJ
On an unrelated note: I think I feel like a bit of a curmudgeon lately. I was totally NOT into Halloween, and am (secretly) glad its over. Maybe I just don't like that holiday. It creeps me out, and I don't think its fun. Cy didn't seem to notice that he only went to two houses for trick or treating.
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