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Surviving the Stages

8 Mar

“This too shall pass.”  I know it’s a quote/saying/belief that is commonly used in times of mourning or hardship but for some reason it feels good for me to apply it to where I am right now.

I know it could always be worse but I’ve been having a really hard time dealing with the difficulties of raising a 4 and 2-year-old.  And I’m not talking about just a few incidents here or there with them. I can handle that fine (or at least I think I can).  What’s really getting to me is the constant fighting between the two of them, Nia giving me major ‘tude whenever I try to talk to her about her actions and Nate’s aggressive behavior that doesn’t seem to be getting any better.

Right now the major thing that’s getting me through this is knowing that I will get through it.  I realize that it is just a stage and it will eventually end.  I also realize, however, that after it ends, another stage will start! Hopefully, it will be the sharing, caring and listening stage. I can dream right?
 

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It was all fun and games…

23 Feb

Snow Angels

Having a Blast

 

You might be thinking – what was I thinking?  I couldn’t help myself though.  Nate was watching a cartoon and the little boys in it had on their hats and mittens and were having a blast playing in the snow. He looked at me and asked, “Snow?  Nate play?  Hat?”

What was I supposed to do?!  He was so sweet and I could tell how much he wanted to bundle up and dive in to the white stuff.  It would have never happened if it wasn’t for my sister and brother-in-law.  Whenever Brian mails us something, he loads it with stuff like the packaging peanuts.  I usually cringe when I see the stuff because it can make such a mess – it’s so funny what you’ll do for your children.

For the record though, about the mess, it took about 15 different runs of the Dyson to collect all the pieces – and there’s still some of it lingering around on the carpet and in my hair!

It was EVERYWHERE!

It was totally worth it

 

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Patience Wanted: Apply Here

18 Feb

Stay-at-home mother of two, ages 4 and 2, is in need of patience immediately.  Must be willing to work long hours, lift 30 to 60 pounds (depending on whether both kids want to be held or need to be separated) and endure a short-tempered boss who loses it when asked the same question 20 times in a row.  Must have a proven track record of handling unnerving situations with ease while maintaining a calm composure.  Salary is negotiable between a bag of chips and a pint of Ben-n-Jerry’s.  Benefits include a few beers or a White Russian at the end of the day.

So there it is – my somewhat confession that my patience is gone.  Lost.  Or maybe it just ran away.  For Lent this year, I didn’t give up junk food, chocolate, cuss words – I made a promise to try and be more patient.  Well, the first weekend of Lent just so happened to be the trip to Philadelphia – so much for keeping it together then.  Now though, I feel as though I still haven’t really been trying.  The littlest things set me off – I already wrote about Nia asking me the same question over and over again (even though I answered her 2 or 3 times already) or repeating “Nate” over and over again until my eyes want to bulge out of my head as it pops off and explodes (I think Nate feels the same about that one).  Nate’s tantrums have another kind of effect on me.  I more want to bury my face in my hands and start crying.  He’s just exhausting.  Then there’s the both of them together.  The SCREAMING.  Oh my goodness.  The SCREAMING.  I know I’m going to be deaf.  I can almost feel the damage happening as the shrieks pierce my ears.

Well, so much for my period of peace as the kids rest.  I just heard Nate throw some things out of his crib.  As long as he doesn’t have poop on his hands like he did yesterday – I’ll be fine. Well, I’ll try to be anyway.
 

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Hotel Bathroom Blog

8 Feb

So here I am – in a fancy Philly hotel with a beautiful view of downtown – trapped in the bathroom as I agonizingly wait for Nate to stop fake crying and fall asleep.  Don’t worry, I’m not dropping the kids off at the pool or anything like that –  I’m just sitting on the beautifully tiled floor hoping that they clean it really well.

Nate and I should be at a wedding rehearsal with Andrew and Nia right now but the little angry man decided he was going to have a terrible-two fit and not eat and not take his nap.  (I mean, what did we think?  We did just have him strapped in his car seat for the most part of the last 24 hours!)  Nevertheless, a No-Nap-Nate wasn’t going to work for us because there was no way we would have been able to make it through a church rehearsal without causing a major scene.  Nope.  We – number 1 – aren’t that brave to test it out and – number 2 – aren’t that stupid to test it out.

Wow.  I wrote that whole last paragraph in peace.  I don’t hear Nate anymore.  That, of course, doesn’t mean he’s sleeping but still, at least I don’t have to be tortured with the whines anymore.  Nope, instead I’ll just be stuck in here – me, some toiletries and this computer until the battery dies because I left the adapter out in the room.

At least I have a yummy (free) dinner to look forward to tonight!  I’ve already got my fancy jewelry on that I got for Christmas!  I just hope I don’t smell like Eau-De-la-Toilet!

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The Best Hints Ever

3 Feb

Lately, Nia’s been playing this game where she’ll say, “Momma, guess what I am.  I have wings and I fly.”

I pretend like I don’t know and that I need some help. To that she replies, “It starts with a b-b-b sound. B-b-b. B-i.  B-i-r.  B-i-r-d.  Bird.”

It is the cutest and most interesting thing – watching her try to quiz me and then sound out the answers. I don’t know where she learned it but it amazes me and leaves me asking, who is less than 3 feet tall, completely adorable and super smart?  N-n-n.  N-i.  N-i-a.  Nia.  My Nia.
 

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Why ya gotta diss the mermaid?

31 Jan

Sometimes I just don’t understand people.  They pass judgment left and right but never look at themselves with those same eyes.  Here’s my beef –

I’ve been trying to check out more and more blogs written by moms – partly because I’m looking for people who are going through the same things I am so I know I’m not the only one and partly because I am curious about how other people write about/capture their experiences. (You know, the whole art of it all and stuff.)

Well, I kind of wish I would have stuck to my old reliables!  I feel so dirty to have cheated on you!  And for what?  So I could get all pissed off after reading one mom’s opinions?  In one post she talks about how she’s banned The Little Mermaid from her house because Ariel is an anti-feminist who gives up her legs, her voice and her family after just seeing a man who’s twice her age.  The mom thinks she’s being a good parent to keep something like that from her children.  Fast forward a few blogs later where she posts pics of herself with her laptop on her lap and her sleeping child (appears to be between one and two years old) sleeping on her stomach right next to the computer.  I’m sorry, but before you go and say you are such a good parent by shielding your kids from the bad example that is The Little Mermaid, shouldn’t you consider the example you’re setting by choosing your computer over your child?

Now, I’m not saying using the computer around our kids is wrong.  (Please, I’m totally guilty of that and in some cases, people are paid to have their computers around all the time.)  My main issue with this mom is that she doesn’t see how skewed her thinking/actions are.  It’s cute to have my child drooling on my computer but not cute to have them enjoy a Disney classic? Besides, what about what Prince Eric did for Ariel?  He sacrificed his life to save hers and fell in love with her even when she didn’t have a freakin’ voice!  Now it may just be I’m feeling all passionate about this because I love my girl Ariel!  Sure, there are some days when I wish I hadn’t shared my love of Disney movies with Nia at such an early age (she already has every princess doll) but then I think why not?  THEY ARE MOVIES AND MOVIE CHARACTERS.  I mean, if my child thinks that the only way to deal with someone who is different or a confrontation is by grabbing pitch forks and torches while singing “Kill the Beast!” or the only way to get what they want is by going to see a gigantic witch octopus then I have a lot more to blame than a movie.

What’s really messed up about all of this – if it wasn’t for her dissing my BFF Ariel – I probably would have thought the picture of her child sleeping next to her computer was cute too!  I’m a total psycho!
 

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“Go to sleep, Nate!”

17 Jan

Nate used to be so wonderful at taking naps.  He would eat his lunch and then say “Night night” and that would be all it took.  I would carry him to his room and he would put his thumb in his mouth as he clutched his blankie and then  he’d curl up in his crib full of stuffed animals and random toys (his new favorite is an old Fisher Price plane).

Now, it’s a much different story. He still eats his lunch and tells me “Night night” when he’s finished – but he will not just go to sleep anymore.  I now have to enter his room anywhere from 2 to 3 times and tell him to go “night night”.  Sometimes, I even have to pick up every blanket, animal and toy that he tossed on the floor.  I went through it all today – except this time, I had a helper.

“Go to sleep Nate!”

Nia had had enough of Nate’s naptime antics so she decided to scream at him as she watched television in the living room. I told her that I didn’t think screaming was going to get him to sleep and then I went downstairs to clean. A few minutes later, Nia walked up to me with a toy that was supposed to be in Nate’s crib.  She told me she got it from his room when she went in to tell him to go to sleep.

“He wasn’t sleeping so I just went in and gave him all the things he wanted and he laid down to go to sleep.”

In other words – our little girl took care of her little brother.  I just think that is the sweetest thing and I’m so proud of her.  Wouldn’t you know it?  That angry man is fast asleep – thanks to his big sis.

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Dr. Dad

9 Jan

Ginger-ale on ice – with a straw.

Chicken noodle soup – delivered on a tray with a napkin.

Dishes finished and the kitchen cleaned.

Tucked in nice and cozy – watching whatever I want on television.

All that plus – the kids fed, happy, bathed and kissed goodnight.

He really took care of all of us last night.  I “called in sick” on Monday – well, for as much as I could anyway.  Amazingly, the kids let me lounge around during day – allowing me to get away with a few short book reads and lazy block building sessions.  Andrew came home as early as he could so I could get some sleep as soon as I could.  It was awesome.

Thanks to all of that TLC, I am all better and ready to take care of the next sicky Valles. (I hope we won’t have to do that for awhile though!)
 

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Such a Big Boy

4 Jan

"OOO, Geor!"

I know he’s growing up but it didn’t really hit me until the other day when I took him to the child watch at the YMCA.  Because he’s 2-years-old now, he gets moved up to the big kid room for children ages 2 through 6.

It was so weird trying to explain to him that he wasn’t going to the first room anymore.  He was all ready to bust in that door and bully around those babies.  I told him, “No Nate, you get to play with big kids today!”  He reluctantly took my hand and let me lead him to the other door.  When we walked in, he didn’t look so sure about this whole “big kid” thing.  Then, he spotted all the cool toys. I couldn’t even kiss him goodbye fast enough!  When I went to get him after my workout, he was sitting at the little table and chairs, eating his fish crackers and drinking his juice.  I got tears in my eyes.  He looked so tiny and sweet but yet so grown up at the same time!

He’s been talking so much more now but still not all that much.  In fact, on the morning of his 2nd birthday, we woke Nia up and told her, “Today is Nate’s Birthday!”  Her response?  “Can he talk now?”

One of the cutest things he says is, “Yet go a me!”  Or, “Let go of me!” – said while he and Andrew are wrestling.  And when he says “mommy” now it makes my heart want to melt.  I even have to look over and make sure that it was him that just said “mommy” so perfectly. He also says a few lines to certain movies as he’s watching them.  He especially loves “Shrek.” Those movies even make him laugh out loud and he will even make his Shrek toys talk to each other like they do in the movies.  “Dada!”

Overall, his personality is just so hilarious. He goes from being off the wall crazy – climbing over the back of the couch, standing on his rocking horse – to the sweetest, calmest child – finds his blankie and immediately inserts thumb into mouth.   He’s also so polite.  Today, he kept telling me “Bead do” after I sneezed and at the doctor’s office, he was crying and so unhappy but kept telling the doctor, “Dank do.  BYE!”  (Thank you. Bye.)  She and I laughed and I told her “At least he’s a polite angry man.”  And he’s all ours!

Still a Little Shrimp!

Helmet Head

 

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Zombiefied

5 Dec

Could a music video be brainwashing our baby boy?

I don’t know what it is about this particular song/music video, but every time Nate sees it he freezes and stares.  I mean, it’s a catchy song (the singer is “Feist” and the song is “1234”) and the video is filled with dancers wearing colored shirts but he loves it so much he asks “Again?” or “More?” each time it ends.  Watching it over and over and over…

I just find it so funny and cute that I had to share it.  Enjoy!

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