Mommin' It Up!

November 10, 2009November 10, 2009

Fail Whale

Today could very well prove to be my ultimate (to date, I’m sure there’s more to come) parenting FAIL.

I drop Kate off at my grandma’s on my way to work in the morning, and then my grandma takes her to school. As I left this morning, Kate told me she wasn’t feeling well and that her throat hurt and her back hurt (enter my suspicion – throat and back ailments aren’t a typical combination). She seemed ok, so I headed on, but about halfway through my commute she called again to tell me she wasn’t feeling good (despite her nutritious breakfast of cinnamon rolls and ice cream, which of course was the only thing that could possibly make her throat feel better). We agreed that Grandma would take her temperature, and if she didn’t have a fever, she’d go to school.

Great.

Except she called me again about 15 minutes later, still insisting that she didn’t feel well and she couldn’t go to school. I could, of course, be totally wrong about this, but I really do not think she is sick. Moms can tell these things, right? Yeah, famous last words. So in any case, we decided she would go to school and I said if she still felt bad there, she could have the secretary call me. I am banking on the fact that once she gets there, she will be fine.

However.

After I got off the phone with her, I checked my calendar and wouldn’t you know it, today is the day Kate will get the H1N1 vaccine at school. This day totally crept up on me. I was planning to prepare her for it, but I totally didn’t, and I was afraid that if I called her and told her after all we had gone through debating her attendance today anyway, that it would be a giant disaster.

So now she’s headed to school as we speak (or I type), blissfully unaware of the fact that she’s going to be vaccinated today. Unless, of course, she does know about the vaccination because of school announcements (the same way she found out about the skating party last week that I was conveniently not going to mention), and that’s where this entire problem is coming from.

Or maybe she is sick, and I didn’t believe her. And if she is sick, she shouldn’t be getting the vaccination. And that, my friends, would be a parenting fail of epic proportions.

September 18, 2009

I Want My Baby Back!

A few weeks ago when Joshua started school, I was very nervous about how he’d like it and about how Sophie and I would be without him. The good news is, he LOVES school, he’s doing great, and Sophie and I are having great days together one-on-one.

The bad news is, although Joshua is apparently very good at school, he grows horns and a tail at 3:15 every day when he walks through the door. From about 3:15 to 5:00 pm every day, he is cranky, tired, fussy, and sometimes disrespectful. He has also discovered a new Olympic sport which practices hard at every afternoon called “Aggravating his sister”.

The other day after school, I don’t remember why exactly, he pointed his finger at me and mouthed off when I asked him to do something.

“Do you talk to your teacher like that?” I asked.

He made a HORRIFIED face. “NO!” he gasped, as if it was the worst thing I had ever suggested.

“Then you don’t talk to me like that. You respect me and behave for me just like you do your teacher!”

Needless to say, I am punishing him appropriately. Seriously, I don’t take that crap.

BUT. On one level or another, it continues. And Emily says since Kate has gone to kindergarten, she has become much more needy and emotional.

So tell me, when do these kindergarteners get over this? Please say it’s soon! I miss my sweet baby boy!

August 25, 2009

My Baby’s at School

I just got home from dropping Joshua off at kindergarten. He did SUCH a great job. Miraculously, neither of us cried. His only wavering moment was when we said a quick goodbye. He said, “But who will tell me what to do?”

“Mrs. Krumlauf will,” I reassured him, and Bobby and I got while the getting was good.

But we didn’t want to leave him.

Fortunately, his classroom has two windows that sappy parents like us can peer through, and his desk was positioned so that he had his back to us, so we watched him as long as we could.

If I could, I’d watch him all day! I’m going to miss him so much today, my little boy. How can I leave him with someone else for 6.5 hours a day? Who will make sure he eats enough bites of his fruit and CHEWS for that matter at lunchtime? What if he can’t get his pants snapped after going to the bathroom? What if another kid HURTS HIS FEELINGS??? I can’t take it.

But I guess I have to.

Joshua is the kind of kid who will love, love, LOVE school, and do well at it. I know he is ready, and I am SO proud of him. But dangit, I am gonna miss havin’ this sweetheart little guy home with me every day. Wouldn’t you?