Mommin' It Up!

June 5, 2008

Let’s work on that ‘freezing time’ thing again.

A while back, I said I wanted to freeze time because Sammy was getting too big too fast… now I want to freeze it again, but this time for a different reason.

My maternity leave is almost over. Ok so I still have a month left (I go back July 7th), but still.. it is staring me in the face. And I don’t like it. I want more time to sit and stare at my baby as he’s sleeping, more time to watch him smile.

I know I’ve been really lucky this time around… three months of fully-paid leave is way better than what the majority of women get in this country. I only had four weeks off with Kate, and yet I am dreading going back this time much more than I was then.

I need to just enjoy this remaining time instead of focusing on the countdown to d-day, work on enjoying today instead of worrying about tomorrow. Which really, should be the goal all the time, right?

June 3, 2008

Sole Saga: My Love/Hate Relationship with Shoes

Before I had children, as a professional young woman, I loved shoes. Open-toed, high-heeled, strappy, and always keee-ute!

As a stay-at-home-mom, I still love shoes. Especially those fashionable, outfit-making shoes that make me feel like hot stuff when I slip them on. Problem is, I rarely have the occasion to do so, and when I do, my feet hurt. When I was pregnant with Joshua, my arches fell, and my feet are quite a bit flatter than they use to be. So “normal” shoes really hurt my feet, and going barefoot is worse than wearing heels. So, most days you will see me in shoes like this:

Or this:

They’re so comfortable, and I soooo love them. But let’s face it, they’re not that cute. And I do miss the cute ones. ‘Cause I love shoes.

But I also hate shoes.

When you have a family, shoes become clutter. To try and combat this, I have a tub in the corner of my living room, which I have ~~nerdily~~ cleverly dubbed “The Shoe Box”. I know, I’m brilliant. The Shoe Box works great, when people put their shoes in it. Problem: I’m the only “people” that puts my shoes in it. So, I find shoes here:

(in the closed seat of our old school desk)

And here:

And here:

(my shoe is there because Joshua loooves to get my colorful shoes out and play with them. I swear!!)

And here (with perfect accessory, sparkly toy Cinderella phone):

And when I get tired of tripping over them, I return them to their home, here:

Yikes!! Looks like it’s time to get rid of some shoes…but I love shoes…maybe we’ll just get a bigger Shoe Box!

(Hey you know what rhymes with shoes? Reviews! And I just posted a new one over at Reviewin’ It Up! SO go check it out!)

May 29, 2008

Shot through the heart

Pardon the Bon Jovi reference, but that’s exactly how Kate’s latest you-should-turn-in-your-mom-card comment made me feel!

Kate’s been going through a difficult stage lately… I don’t know if it’s her age, the new baby, or a full moon, but she’s been whiny, attitude-y, and even a little defiant the past couple of weeks. Fortunately, she’s been saving this behavior for Mom and Dad – her sitter and teachers look at us like we’re nuts when we ask if they’ve seen the same things too.

On Memorial Day, we went to the park, and the entire time we were there, it was “Kate, stop that!” “Kate, listen!” etc. When we left, we spent a few minutes in the car telling her that Daddy wasn’t just trying to be a buzz-kill when he told her not to reach under the rusty chain link fence to get the tennis ball, but that it was to keep her safe. After that speech, we stopped to get gas (a $64 fill-up for our Camry, I might add) and while Andy was outside the car, Kate was quiet and contemplative. And then I heard a sad little voice.

“Mommy, am I really that bad?”

(The sound you hear is my heart shattering into pieces). It was so pitiful. I immediately told her how good she is, even when her behavior is not, yada yada yada. But I don’t know how much of it she took to heart, especially since we had been getting after her all day.

The thing is, she is a really good kid. She’s polite, friendly and sweet (ok she is all of these things most of the time), but at the same time, she needs to listen, follow directions and use a nice tone of voice. And lose the frickin’ attitude.

Her comment, though, makes me wonder if we are too hard on her. If we look at this smart, extremely verbal kid and forget that she just turned four.

The experts say to pick your battles, but how do I decide which ones to pick? How do I determine what is normal four-year-old behavior that will subside and what I need to put a stop to? Right now, I don’t think we are finding the right balance.

We’ve amped up our efforts at positive reinforcement and make sure to tell Kate what a great kid she is… because really, the last thing I want her to think is that she’s “bad.”