I have an idea for a Speed 3 movie. It’s a mom driving around a mall parking lot, unable to stop at any stop signs because if the car so much as slows down then one of the two boys in the back seat will wake up and scream. And as any mom of two knows (me now being one of them), it’s virtually impossible to get them both to nap at the same time, so it’s well worth breaking the law and aimlessly driving around in order to keep that nap going.

Included in the movie will be the scene where my mother has to open the car door and pretty much jump out of the moving vehicle to run in and get our Clinique bonus, and then leap back into the car as I roll by to pick her up, speeding away before the door is even closed.

Labels: Mommyhood

I’m counting down the days until I will be on my own with two kids. I’ve had the amazing benefit of having my husband here followed by my mom since I am technically still not supposed to lift Sam (yeah right!) because of the C-section. So I still don’t know how I will handle this mother of two thing. Right now the suspense is killing me. For every meal, every tantrum, every failed nap I think, “How will I do this when it’s just me? How will we eat? How will we rest? How will I get Sam out and socializing and not let him go crazy with boredom? How?” And I know it all works out and we will just have to get in the groove, but I won’t know how it will all work out until I actually see it happen.

I’d like to know that no one will feel neglected (including me and my husband) but I’m not just not sure I will ever feel like I’m not neglecting someone at some point ever again. So far what I’ve learned about parenting two is that if, at the end of the day, I feel good about my interactions and time spent with one child then my immediate following thought is that I didn’t spend enough time with the other. I’m thinking I may feel that way every day for the rest of my life, or at least until they move out.

On a happy note - I have pictures:

And look what we found by the side of the road! Sometimes an activity will find you.

Labels: Mommyhood, Pictures, The Little One, Toddler

People always talked about how different the second child would be from the first. My response was always that he wouldn’t have a choice; I knew I’d never be able to do the things for a second baby that I did for Sam. Sam was the crankiest, fussiest, colicky-est little thing I’ve ever seen or heard of. Others agreed. For example, while other parents were heading out of the house with infants sleeping in their car seats, even taking them into restaurants while in their car seat, Sam would scream the moment he was placed in it from day one. So every time I wanted to leave the house I had to consider how long of a drive it would be and ultimately if the activity was worth listening to Sam’s primal screams for the duration of that drive. This also included the stroller - Sam would absolutely have NOTHING to do with any stroller of any kind until about 7 months old. He would tolerate being worn in a sling or front pack for short durations of time, which is how I survived those first months.

So when Robby fell asleep in his car seat for the first time Hubby and I just about passed out. Since then we have learned that as long as he is in motion, Robby will generally sleep in his car seat, be it in the car, in the stroller, or in a cart. AWESOME! This means that I can actually take Sam out to playgrounds and so forth in the mornings, which makes me so happy. I’d envisioned a Fall and Winter of the 3 of us being stuck inside the house, Sam having to amuse himself while I tried to console a crying baby all day every day (again, Sam cried CONSTANTLY so that’s what I thought all babies did). That’s not to say Robby doesn’t cry or that we don’t have difficult times. Try coming around our house any time after 4:00pm and you’ll see what’s up. Or try having him sleep on anything but your lap when we’re home and you’ll hear some serious protest. But if I am able to take Sam out for some hard core play in the mornings while his little bro sleeps and is content, then we are already doing better than I’d expected. Hopefully I haven’t ruined it all by writing it down…

Proof:

Labels: Pictures, The Little One