Wife, Then Mama

So Miss Baby turned 2 in January.  Right afterwards I started to work a little on potty training her, but then Spiderman came to live with us and was 3.5 but still in diapers, so I had 3 kids in diapers and I just didn't care at that point.  At the beginning of June Spiderman when to live with his mom, and so I decided I needed to work harder potty training Miss Baby. Although she is doing really well, we have had a few mishaps.  Like when my Michael, my mom, and I were sitting watching TV while Miss Baby played with blocks on the floor and I noticed it smelled bad.  I figured Little Guy (who is NOT potty training, but has had a number of mishaps of his own *shudder*) had pooped and I would change it after the show.  Then Michael was like "Um, guys, she is covered in poop."  Which she was. Some how, Miss Baby had neglected to notice that she was cover in poop, and went right on playing.  She was NOT pleased to be stuck in the empty bath and have po...

She was crying a lot, and she almost made me cry a couple times, because I am a big loser, and always wonder if the kids really love me and feel attached.  But today I found out that Miss Baby most certainly loves me.  I was laying right next to her, but she couldn't see me, so once she asked to "see Mama", which was sweet.  Then she asked for a kiss, and I said I would kiss her belly, but she said "Kiss face", so they lifted up the cover so I could give her a kiss.  And when she got unwrapped she practically flew into my arms.  She also really wanted to go home. On the way home, Grandma Lisa and Mama spoiled Miss Baby rotten. After we left the hospital we had to go pick up some ibuprofen and neosporin.  My mom has a teeny tiny car, with only two doors, so the logical thing to do is run in and leave the kids in the car, but Miss Baby was crying softly, and begging to go in with me, so I let her.  She was very good in the store, so it worked out oka...

We didn't have to wait in the waiting room for more than 5 minutes, then we were brought back to the Emergency Room.  Miss Baby behaved really well, standing nicely on the scale, sitting still, saying thank you, etc.  The nurse took her vitals, cleaned her wound, wrapped it up, and said the doctor would be in soon.  She also came back with a sticker for Miss Baby. I don't know how long we waited for the doctor, because I wasn't keeping track, but I don't think it was very long, although Little Guy was doing his best to make it seem like forever by being as cranky as possible.  The doctor came in, looked at it, said she would definitely need stitches, and then said the nurse would be in to numb it in a few minutes. The nurse came in and numbed it topically, rewrapped it, and showed us the remote while she was in there.  We turned on Duck Dynasty and sat for a while.  I don't really know how long it was, less than a half an hour, because it was only one e...

This afternoon my mom and I took the kids shopping at Value Village.  Little Guy and Miss Baby were pretty good, but got a bit cranky towards the end, while I was trying on clothes.  My mom had a couple things to try on too, so she went in and I took the kids.  As soon as my mom got her pants off, Miss Baby tripped over her own feet and face planted onto the cart.  Most of the time I have the kids get themselves up, see if they are okay, and tell them it was a good fall, and they move on.  I was pretty sure that this time was going to be a lot worse then usual.  Unfortunately I was right. I had been holding Little Guy, and I stuck him back in the cart seat and picked her up.  She was bleeding profusely from her forehead.  Apparently, on some carts, the covers of the wheels are sharp metal and that is where she landed.  Thankfully she didn't fall 1/2 an inch closer or it would have been REALLY bad, with an eye injury.  I called for my ...

Most of the time when we judge someone it is from a tiny snapshot of their life.  It is a small moment that we see and decide we must know how they live their life based on that one moment. You see a mom screaming at her kids in the grocery store and assume she must be an angry mom that always yells at them.  And maybe you are right, but maybe you are wrong.  Perhaps she is actually a really great mom, but she has a headache, and the kids have been fighting all morning, and the dog crapped on the floor before they left, and she got the grocery shopping almost done, only to find out her bank account was overdrawn.  Then her kid asks her for a candy bar, which she has already said no to 3 times, and when she says no again, starts throwing a tantrum.  At which point, who wouldn't be yelling? Other times we judge someone because they make different choices than we would. I get this one a lot.  I mean people don't say it to my face (much) but you can alway...

I was going to be an attachment parent, until I had kids in my house.  I used to think it was terribly cruel to let a baby cry when you could comfort it*.  Then I realized that if I wanted to have any time to myself in the evenings, the kids would need to learn to go to sleep on their own. Most of the time it works fine, and after a few nights they didn't even cry that much.  When the baby was tiny I cuddled him to sleep after a bottle most of the time, and when Miss Baby was little I would cuddle her to sleep on the weekends, but after a few months she would just watch TV with me rather than drift off, so that had to stop (which made me a lot more sad than it did her). Sometimes I have let them cry WAY longer than I felt comfortable doing, but at the same time, I wasn't going to let them just get up because they threw a tantrum.  Miss Baby once threw a 5 hour long fit rather than take a nap.  Yeah, you read that right: FIVE  HOURS !!!  It was insa...

I went to the park and noticed that a lady was sitting in the car on a nice day while her little girls played.  At first I was like, "How lame is that?!?". Then I realized that A: It wasn't lame at all, her kids were getting the small amount of freedom legally allowed at the park these days. B: Even if it was lame, maybe she was getting a much needed break, while her girls got to be physically active and have fun. I actually intentionally ignore the children at the park now, they are much more daring and at the same time much more careful when they don't think I am watching (I am watching).  Yes, I brought them home wet and covered in dirt yesterday, but they had a lot of fun, and if I had thought to bring a book I could have got a lot of reading done in the 2 hours we were there.  (Side note: I don't think kids understand what "Look Mommy!" means.  They do not appear to be satisfied with you simply doing as they requested and looking at what they ...

I was going to spank my kids. Then it turned out I couldn't have my own kids, so the kids I take everywhere with me are foster kids.  Which means that I am not legally allowed to spank them. So when you see the mom out with her kid, and one of the kids is being a horrible brat and really should get turned over a knee, try to remember that maybe she legally can't do that.  There have been a few times that if Miss Baby were MINE she would have gotten a spanking, but since she isn't I just have to try to reason with her (which works GREAT at two by the way) or put her in time-out. Maybe she was abused as a child, so spanking seems like abuse more than discipline. Maybe she has anger issues, and and spanking might quickly escalate to a beating. Maybe it just seems wrong to her to hit her kids. Like with bottlefeeding   just remember that just because it isn't YOUR idea of the right way, doesn't mean its the wrong way.