DATE ARCHIVES : May 2012

Memory Book Bust

   Before I had kids I remember thinking I would be one of those Moms who would put Martha Stewart to shame when it came to pictures and scrapbooks. I would have the best little memory book for baby, documenting every breath, every moment, every word. Two kids and one big reality check later, I have not lived up to my expectations.
  
   With child number one, I kept up with the memory book for the first year or so. Despite being a picture whore, there are hardly any photos in the book where it says, “insert photo here.” Where are those precious pictures? On the computer or on my phone, of course. For those that know me, you’d think I’d have those pictures printed out and date stamped. Wrong. The majority still need to be printed. I made a mental note for that to be my winter project this year. Well, it’s almost summer and I’ve gotten nowhere.

   Here’s the big epic fail. With child two, I think I only have the first two months of that damn memory book done. Every time I think I’m going to catch up, something comes up. What you ask? I have no clue. Maybe a dirty toilet, a load of laundry, writing this blog, perhaps just life in general. I just know it’s not getting done and it’s starting to get me mad.

   I don’t want my kids to look at their books when they get older and have them be crappy. I’ll have plenty of memories to tell them, but it would be nice if they could see and read about their little lives. I don’t want them to think I didn’t care enough to get it done.  But, it’s kinda hard when you have one who wants to eat the pictures and another who wants to use them as a canvas.

   So what’s a mom to do?  It would be great if good old Martha would come over and help me. I have some other projects she could get crackin’ at while she’s here! Since that’s not going to happen, it looks like it’s just me,  my pictures, my printer , and my memory that have a lot of work to do. Does anyone really keep up with these things?

Yes, I Am Mom Enough

   I know I’m late to the latest mommy wars battle royale, but I was too busy being “mom enough” to my two little girls to carve out some quality time with my laptop without passing out on the keyboard. If you haven’t seen or heard about the cover of “Time” magazine which shows a woman breastfeeding her three year old son, then you must have been under a rock for the past week. The cover article talks about “attachment parenting” which supports things like co-sleeping and long term breastfeeding.

  First and foremost, I have to say if things like breastfeeding your child past their first birthday and letting them sleep with you works for you, then great for you. But, slapping a headline “Are You Mom Enough?” to an image of a woman breastfeeding a kid with a full set of chompers really irks me. As a Mom, I already feel pressured to be some type of sleep deprived multi-tasking superhero who can still look semi-decent 24/7.  I don’t need someone to suggest that I need to carry my kid in sling and breastfeed her when she’s old enough to down a T-bone in order to be classified as a good mother. As you may be able to guess, I don’t co-sleep with  my kids (at least not voluntarily) and I’m not into breastfeeding once my kids break that first tooth. Just not going to do it. Period. 

  With all that said, I think I’m a pretty darn good mother and so are millions of other women out there. My children are loved, fed, and well taken care of. Both my kids had breast milk and formula. They are fine. I’ve never carried them in a sling. They are fine. My children sleep by themselves, except of course when my oldest gets out of bed and climbs into mine. Does she sleep with us sometimes? Yes. Is it annoying? Yes. Do we try to get her back to her be? You betcha. But, they are both fine.

   I don’t think women need to be pressured to conform to a certain type of parenting to be considered “mom enough.” What works for you and your family, may not work for me and and mine, and vice versa. I think when we start labeling parenting “styles”, we get off course. We all want the same thing in the end…to have happy and healthy children. If you want that and strive for that everyday, you’re “mom enough” in my book.

A Mother of a Day

  As a mother there are days, and then there are days with your children. You know those days. The ones that have you ready to tweeze every hair out of your head or go play in traffic or maybe tweeze every hair while playing in traffic. Whatever the case may be, kids can trade their halos for horns in a millisecond and drive you insane.

  So, what kind of things would make you want to buy a one way ticket to Zimbabwe? Let’s see. For starters, your kid saying she has to pee everywhere you go although she has had nothing to drink for awhile. Then, when you get to the bathroom, she simply says no and walks away. Deep breath. Perhaps, it’s having your baby contort her body as she desperately tries to free herself from her stroller as if she’s possessed. Did I mention this is happening at the mall where you just wanted to buy one thing but end up leaving because you’re so annoyed?

  Wait, there’s more. How about having one child lick the wall, while the other uses your floor as a teething ring? Or one of my faves, having a bottle of water poured on the floor just for the hell of it. Then there’s the constant fighting over toys between one child who says everything is hers and another who can’t tell the other one to stop. Don’t forget the projectile vomit all over your arm and hands and in the crevice of your rings. That may be my fave.

  All of this can really make you want to curl up in a fetal position and just hide. But you can’t. You’re the momma. All of this craziness comes with the territory, like it or not. They’re just kids, but it can still drive you nuts. Maybe that’s why there’s one whole day dedicated to us for what we deal with the other 364.Happy Mother’s Day!