Afternoon Snack

Little Man spent the 3 minute drive home complaining about his nose. Unfortunately due to what I think and hope are allergies, his nose is crusty. This evening it seemed especially crusty so I told him to wait until we got home so I could get same saline and/or warm water on it. It would be gentler on him to clean it that way. After multiple repititions, he calms. I get him in the house, put stuff down and go to take his shoes off.

"Mommy I get it! I get it!"

Huh?

I eat mommy? I eat?

Eat what? Nooooooooo.

Too late.

Flashes of Brilliance

Little Man and I were going through flash cards tonight. I made sure to mix them up with ones he would know immediately and new ones. I could tell by his face the second he recognized the picture. As he called out the word he would leap on me.

I held up a new one. His face lit up and he jumped up to hug me as he cried "MOMMY!"

It was a picture of a queen.

Unexpected #2

John and I were sitting outside enjoying some wine but the chill in the air became a little much since we were in short sleeves so we moved in doors. Good idea since I forgot to bring the monitor out. No sooner do we walk in then I hear Little Man crying. My heart breaks as I think he's been wailing for Goddess knows how long. I race upstairs but can tell from the lack of hysteria, red face and sweaty hair that he had just started when we walked in.

I calm him, lay him back down and stay with him as he is still restless, grabbing desparately at my arm any time I move one muscle, fearful that I am leaving him. I don't have a clue what is going on - bad dream, another tooth, painful eyes (he's had goopy eyes the last few days any time he wakes up) - I don't know.

He starts crying again, a little on the hard side and he sits up. I wrap my arms around him and ask him what's wrong. He shifts, looks around and asks for....

....Daddy.

You want Daddy?

Uh huh. Daddy.

Ok baby. Hold on. I'll go get Daddy.

Thankfully Daddy was at the bottom of the stairs.

How Bizarre.

The Unexpected

Well this was unexpected.

John had Little Man almost all weekend. Not that I was away. I went into mode. Going into mode can be dangerous. I'm sure you've received the joke about Adult ADD. You go to the mailbox to get the mail but you notice the car it dirty... yada yada yada. When I get in mode, I can end up living that joke. It started Saturday. John took Little Man to the park. I started going through clothes he had outgrown. I went downstairs to get a plastic tub to store the clothes in. Got distracted. I don't even remember what distracted me. Needless to say, the clothes still aren't put away.

So what did get done? Quite a lot actually. The wallpaper is gone from the living room (yes, wallpaper still exists much to my dismay, especially in my house). The wall is patched an almost completely sanded. The main floor was vacuumed - yes, I vacuumed and then sanded. Brilliant am I. The kitchen floor is washed. The dining room is clean although still not entirely void of some clutter.

The front lawn is devoid of some weeds. In order to get rid of all that have taken over, we will need to lay new sod down. I didn't get quite that far. The Moss Roses are planted. The hanging plants hung. The front porch and steps are swept. Overall it looks decent. Not perfect as there is still the crack in the porch to contend with but we are getting there.

The back deck is now void of all leaves. The furniture is rearranged and the hanging plants are well - hung. I've decided they will look better on stands then hanging from the fence but I was too sweaty and dirty to make a trip to the store at that point. Oh and the umbrella is back over the table. Finally.

I'm sore. I'm tired but I'm enjoying the fruit of my labor. Gotta love wireless. It allows me to sit out on the back deck with a glass of wine and my laptop. How did we ever survive before wireless?

Even bath time went a tad better than normal. But the best part of this entire weekend? Little Man spent so much time with Dad, when it came time for one of us to sit with him while he fell asleep - he asked for Daddy!

I was shocked. I was almost rendered speechless (damn hard to do. The kid is only 2 so he needs more practice). I did a mental happy dance and tried to keep the extreme glee out of my voice when I called John back into the room.

Do I dare hope? Do I dare believe that maybe, just maybe this Mommy Only Phase is just a phase and has an endpoint? Is it possible?

The Red Sox may have won the World Series and caused Hell to freeze over but there are still somethings that are in the Realm of Impossiblity. Tomorrow I will exit the Twilight Zone and go back to my "comfort" zone of being at Little Man's beck and call.

But tonight - tonight I will lock myself firmly in place and enjoy the last few moments of peace and quiet and wine.

Camping out

We ran an experiment tonight. John is camping out with Little Man in the living room. They are supposed to head north to visit Granny and Grandpop soon. The Irish Contingency is moving in with Granny and Grandpop. The house is not big enough to house them never mind throwing my husband and imp into the mix.

So John decided a trial run was in order. After putting him in his pjs we told him we had a surprise for him. John grabbed his pillow and books. Little Man was confused. He grasped Puppy, Monkey, and Lion and then me in a death grip.

We went to the living room and I laid out his sleeping bag and pillow. Excitement set in. I breathed a little easier. John read to him and then it was time for bed. He headed for the stairs.

No baby. You and Daddy (I accidentally typed Daffy - freudian?) are camping out in the living room tonight.

Huh?

We get him in his sleeping bag. John gets comfortable on the couch (cheater). I shut out the lights. No go. He wants lights on. I try lights down the hall. I get his night light from the room. Nope. He wants the hall light on. Ok.

I walk back into the living room to kiss him goodnight. He looks like he is bordering on being terrified. I try to talk him down. He realizes I am not staying and grabs on tight to me. I explain that Daddy is staying with him and if he's not comfortable he can go upstairs to his room. It takes a minute or two. I am just about to give up and let him go upstairs when he changes his mind and decides to give it a try.

I head downstairs fully expecting to hear them marching upstairs within a few minutes. That was several hours ago. I just went upstairs to raid the fridge. John is on the floor next to Little Man. They are both snoring away.

Step one was a success. Now to see what happens around 4 AM - his normal time to crawl into my side of the bed. Gates secured. Mommy is getting sleep tonight!

Lady bugs, hot dogs and chicken

We had a good night tonight. Little Man managed to pick up a tiny ant without squashing it and let it crawl all over his hand and arm laughing and yelling "It tickles!" the entire time. He was enthralled. Of course he was calling it a lady bug but hey what's the difference?

It took several minutes to get him in the house. I had to bribe him with a banana. I was carrying my stuff and his stuff. My arm was about to fall off. Normally when we walk in, he starts demanding I take his shoes off (mom's house rule - no shoes). Tonight he took off running for the bathroom.

"Bye! See you morrow!" As he shuts himself in.

Bye. Don't forget to take your shoes off.

He opens the door.

"Bye! See you morrow!" As he shuts himself in.

Bye. Don't forget to take your shoes off.

Et cetera. Et cetera. Et cetera.

I coughed up the promised banana which immediately prompted a request for a hot dog, no chicken, no hot dog, no chicken, no....

Do you want a hot dog or chicken for dinner?

"Yes."

He eats. He plays. I get some cleaning done. I move upstairs in order to vacuum his room. He still isn't a fan of the vacuum. I'm half way through his room when he changes his mind and decides he wants to come up with me. He helps me finish his room so I decide to continue with the guest room and the hallway.

Bad idea. His comfort level has plummetted and he ends up curled up in his bed with paci and puppy crying his poor little eyes out. Man does he hate the vacuum. I stop. I soothe. I convince him to let me finish the hallway and then we are back downstairs to play.

Comfort level does not increase. He pops himself in the head with his puzzle's "fishing rod". Wrap him in my arms and pull him into my lap and he calms.

Then out of the blue, he decides he wants yogurt. He hasn't been on a yogurt kick in weeks. Whew, thankfully I have some in the fridge. Aw shit - expiration date is way past. Melt down ensues. I walk away. He follows. Whew. Needed him out of the kitchen in order to distract and I am successful!

For 5 minutes. He starts to melt again. This time he asks for his paci. Nope. No way. You only get that if you are going to bed.

"PACI! I want my PACI!"

You only get your paci at bed time. You know the rules.

"Ok. I clean up now"

It is 6:30 PM. Bed time is an hour away. He doesn't care. He cleans up his toys, hands me puppy and asks to be picked up. It's an hour before bed time and he's ready. I carry him upstairs expecting him to change his mind.

Nope. He plops his little behind on the changing pad. Helps me put his PJs on. Picks out books and says he wants to sit in my lap for books. Instead of the usual 3 books, I read him 4. When we finished the 4th, I was prepared to grab a 5th but Little Man had other plans. He scrambles down from my lap and climbs into bed. It isn't even 7 PM yet. I turn on his night light. He tells me to turn it off. Who the hell is this kid?

Now before you think he promptly put his head on his pillow (he did) and promptly went to sleep - he didn't.

All and all it was good. It was fun. It makes me regret having to work tomorrow. Good thing its Friday.

Mother's Day

Mom is there for the first bloody nose. The first scraped knee. The first egg on your forehead. She picks you up. Cleans you up. Smothers you with hugs. Let's you know it will be ok and sends you on your way braver yet wiser until the memory fades and you give yourself a reminder.

She is there when Monster in the Closet threatens to come out. When the thunder rumbles. The lights go out. The bad dreams strike at 2 AM.

She is even there when you decide the paper provided is not a big enough canvas for your masterpiece.

She is there when you break her Waterford Vase. Literally. Meaning you don't get a chance to at least try gluing it back together.

She is there when you send a fireplace poker through a plate glass window.

She is there for your first heartbreak.

Your first fender bender. In her car.

She is there opening the door for you at 2 AM. Your curfew was 10 PM.

She is there through all of it. And even though she may occasionally threaten to send you into next week or to take you out the world entirely as is her right since she brought you into it, she stays by your side.

Sometimes you wonder why.

And then one day you go and have your own child. And you quickly realize that all her patience has paid off.

She now gets to revel in the fruits of her labor. She gets to sit back and watch you reap the karma you sowed.

Happy Mother's Day Mom. I love you.

Home Sweet Home

I pick up Little Man from daycare today and get my usual running attack hug while yelling "MOMMY!".  This of course is immediately followed by "I go home now". So off we go. He points out every bus and motorcycle on the road. Tells me we go "that way" which of course is the complete opposite direction of where we are going. It takes 3 minutes and we are home. He crawls out of the car and promptly announces:

"I go home".

Yes dear. I know. We'll go inside now.

"No. I go home"

We are home dear.

He looks at me quizzically and says "No. I go home now".

You don't like our home?

"No. I like. I go home now".

So where are you going?

"I go home now".

Where's home?

KEEGAN! And he's off and running to play with his friend. I'm still not sure where home is...

Results

Excuse me while I dive head first into the world of cliches. I'm results driven. Immediate results are preferable. The faster technology becomes, the faster I want it; expect it. Forget give it to me by COB. Forget ASAP. I want it all and I want it YESTERDAY. In a nut shell, I have the perfect personality to raise a child.

Whining, especially when done in an attempt to get one's way drive me freaking NUTS. It's Little Man's consistent modus operandi of late. Sweet Mother I hate it. I'd move to Florida if it meant never dealing with whining ever again. Nothing against Florida but flat and heat are not my idea of an ideal place to live.

Born out of frustration, I sent him to his room one night until he calmed down. He calmed himself. I calmed myself. It was a win-win (shit - still stuck in cliche hell. Sorry). So any time the meltdown started, I marched him to his room.

Yesterday it finally dawned on me. I haven't marched him to his room in awhile now. A few weeks into this and Hot Damn we have results. He starts to whine. I remind him that I don't tolerate whining. He doesn't stop so I ask if he needs to go to his room. Each time he has calmed himself faster. This morning it took less than 60 seconds.

So that's what everyone means about staying consistent. Maybe I'm figuring this out after all.

Old McDonald - Little Man Style

Old McDonald's farm now has a motorcycle.

Mommy and Daddy are on the bus doing something (mind out of the gutter folks) going wah wah wah all through the town.

And it made fighting rush hour traffic to Wegman's slightly more enjoyable...