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.”

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Weekly Winners May 18-24

wwlarge.jpg
Hosted By Sarcastic Mom

I missed Weekly Winners last week due to all the hoopla surrounding my friends wedding! But I do plan on participating every week. This week I am featuring some pictures of our playdate with Emily and her kiddos.

Joshua, my sweet, innocent boy

joshupants

Kate zips her way through the tunnel
thru the tunnel

Sophie, too pretty for her own good
just beautiful

Speaking of pretty…
kater is cute!

Cousins and buddies
skip along cousins

Ok, I know this is blurry, but I couldn’t resist sharing Sammy’s smile with you!
Sammy smiles

Here are some photos of my family having fun at home this week:

Bubble boys
bubble boys

The Bubble Machine = the best $8.99 we ever spent!
bubble mania!

For real, the BEST $$ ever spent!
bubble crazy!

Concentrate!
concentrate!

See Joshua Run!
hippity hop

Well that’s it for me this week! For more great photos, head over to the Weekly Winners HQ at Sarcastic Mom!

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A Month of Sammy

Today is Sam’s one month birthday. Forgive me if this post isn’t as eloquent as the occasion calls for, but I am currently nursing him and typing one-handed on a wireless keyboard that’s about out of batteries and requires me to hit each letter 86 times before it shows up on the screen. Maybe I’ll use text message shorthand. Oh wait, I don’t know any.

I can’t believe he’s a month old already. I scares me how quickly time passes. My maternity leave is 1/4 over… a thought that makes me want to cry.

I have absolutely loved this past month with Sammy. I don’t know if it’s because I’m already used to being a mom or if it’s just the way the hormone cookie crumbled, but this initial post-partum time has been much easier for me than it was the first time around, and I’ve enjoyed it so much more. (Kate, someday when you read this blog, know that it wasn’t you, it was me. Really.)

Sammy has taught us a thing or two during the past few weeks, though, I never dreamed pee could actually travel that far. He’s hit the curtains, the wall, and his parents more times than I can count. He is also quite the spitter. Kate spit up a total of about 4 times in her life, so this is new to us. But Sam spits up all the time. So much so that he’s had two baths today. It’s funny how quickly I’ve become accustomed to being covered in spit up. Actually, since Sam still spends at least part of the night on my chest, some mornings I can’t distinguish the spit up from the pee from the breastmilk that’s covering me. Nice, huh?

It’s been fun, too, to see Kate take on the role as big sister. She’s generally been great about the whole thing, but we’ve had to threaten her with time out if she continues to bother her brother while he’s sleeping. Not that I don’t want her to love on him or anything, but for the love of God leave him alone while he is asleep! But really, it is so sweet to see her want to hold him and help us with his diaper changes and baths. I look forward to seeing them become good friends.

Kate’s take on breastfeeding has been pretty amusing. She called me in her room at 3:00 one morning and said “Mommy, how do you actually make milk for the baby?” She has also offered to “help” feed Sammy by “squeezing out the milk.” She’s anxious to give him a bottle, and I’ve tried to explain that that requires me pumping, so she keeps asking me when I’m going to “put on the machine.”

I don’t know if it’s just that I realize how quickly time passes now that I’ve seen Kate grow up so much in four years, or that, to borrow the phrase from Mom-101, this is baby number last, but I have had a strong desire to spend time with Sam holding him, nursing him, or just looking at him in a way that is new to me. It sounds so corny, but every day has been precious. I love him so much.

And as I got all sentimental there for a second, I look down at him adoringly. He looked up at me and proceeded to up chuck all over my lap. It’s a good thing he’s so cute.

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