Personality Change

By now you would think I would know that if my kid turns from happy and loving to whiny and cranky that I would know what's instore for us. My little one was completely cranky and irritating the other day so I added an extra glass of wine to my evening regimen. Unfortunately that only helped a little and made me a little extra sleepy. Of course in the morning my little honey wakes up with a croupy cough and a fever. Guilty mother that I am I begin kicking myself knowing that after having an older one with the same genes I should know that change in personality = uncoming cold/fever/ills. Oh well, live and maybe learn for next time.

On Demand

On Demand

I feel like time moves so fast. Lately, it seems like it's moving even faster because of all the "on demand" services now available. Books, music, movies, TV shows delivered immediately. You don't have to wait for anything anymore. I feel like we are finally living like The Jetsons. I barely remember life before the Internet. Guess what?? Our kids wont ever remember a time without it.

Progress is great, but all this immediate gratification makes me sad sometimes. As a kid, if I needed the answer to a question, I went to my dad. If dad didn't know I moved on to another smart relative or I had to do some real research. Now, forget it, right to the computer, no search for a smart person, just Google it.

When I was growing up, if I liked a song I had to go to my local record store and embarrass myself singing a tune to the clerk so I could buy the album. Say "album" to your kids and wait for the weird look, they barely know what a photo album is much less a record album. I love when we are riding in the car with the radio on and one of my daughters asks to hear the song again and I say "I don't have the song its on the radio". My little one has no idea that songs are not always available instantaneously.

Remember when you wanted to record a song on your "boom box" and you had to wait hours listening to the radio to catch it just in time. Heaven forbid you were on the phone or in the bathroom when the son came on and you couldn't hit play and record fast enough to catch it. I recall not so long ago rushing my kids to bed or getting my friend off the phone just so I could catch one of my 8:00 shows. Now with my DVR I can finally enjoy my children's bedtime or the inevitable phone interruption and not miss a single second of my favorite show. No more waiting for a commercial to throw in a load of laundry or grab a snack.

What will our kids wait for? How much more time saving technology will they experience? Scary to consider.

Hope They Get the Best of You

When we have children everybody says “hey she looks so much like you,
or oh my, they look like twins.” Whatever, the outside is what
everyone sees and comments on. My mom used to always tell me that I
got the best of her and the best of my dad. I always thought that was
a nice way of looking at it and as an only child probably the fairest
statement. When I am with my girls I forget who they look like. What
stands out to me is what traits of mine or my husband’s I recognize
and of course what I can or can’t take credit for. So, of course and
this could just be a fantasy, I believe my girls have inherited the
traits I most envy in my husband. My husband has a great sense of
direction and a ridiculous ability to adapt and conquer any technology
he gets his hands on. If you turn me around on my own street I will
get lost and if you give me a calculator I will find a way to jam it
up. Both our daughters seem to know the right direction to travel in
whether walking or in the car. Even my three-year-old recognizes her
Grandma’s neighborhood and when we get reach Grand Street by car or
bus she tells me right away that we are on Grand Street. My favorite
is watching them on the computer, with their video games or even my
personal favorite, the DVR. I NEVER instructed them, nor can I really
help them most of the time and yet my seven year old can program all
her own shows on the DVR and replay them at will. My three-year-old
can find games on the computer that even her older sister cannot
locate. My finest day, maybe, after they graduate college, will be
the day they teach their dad to work some new technology he cannot
figure out and/or give him directions to a home he has already been
to. One can dream!

The Order

It’s not like my children don’t tell me to what to do all the time,
but I can’t say I always listen. As parents we are constantly ordered
around whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. My 3-year-old has
taken to giving me her breakfast order the night before just to make
sure I get it right. More likely she just wants to get me back in her
room at bedtime and needs something to say to me. Mind you, my
daughter wants the same thing pretty much every morning, so it’s not
like she needs to tell me. All kids, at least the ones I know, eat
dinner, have dessert (maybe) and then suddenly one hour later are
hungry again. This drives me crazy because I always say at dinner when
my children are ready to bolt from the table with unfinished plates,
“eat so you are not starving one hour from now.” You know you are all
doing the same thing! I hate not giving them more to eat and at the
same time I hate feeling like a short order cook at a diner. I feel
like at some point the kitchen has to close. Usually I am able to
change the subject away from snacks but sure enough right before bed I
get the call in the distance “MA”. I go to the bedroom after I am all
settled on the couch searching for something on the DVR, “what is it?”
I ask. “I’m hungry,” says my little one. I tell her “it’s bedtime,
the kitchen is closed.” Then, of course, there is the order, “okay
mama, in the morning, I want a waffle, on a Sponge Bob plate, with a
big girl fork”. “Okay, my love.” Order taken.

How Do Babies Get Out?

How do babies get out?

 

I was so much happier to get this question then how do they get in.  Whew!!!  I had my first baby naturally (whatever that means) and my second c-section.  So I quick ran through where the first one came out and then got to the interesting scar for the second one, hoping to not have to explain how it got in or how that tiny little spot lets out a kid.  My mom was sitting with me for this and then she got in the act showing her scar.  I don’t know why my 6 year old always has to ask this question when I am unprepared.  Can’t she submit an agenda?  I need to be prepared with more professional mommy answers.  I was lucky my mom was a fantastic explainer and very open in our conversations regarding all things sexual or body function related.  I hope to mimic that but am somehow more of a prude than my 65 year old mom.  How did that happen?  I am also very aware that my 6 year old loves to share personal conversations with EVERY SINGLE child she knows, and some she just meets in the playground.  I of course had to remind her that unlike sharing stories of her friends or cousins rashes she is not to share our latest discussion.  I expect tomorrow it will be on the blackboard of her first grade class.

Inspiration

Generally I like to write funny things.  Things that I know all parents can relate to. Even when you feel you are alone you find out that so many others are experiencing exactly what you are. Today I got really inspired.  My oldest daughter is very similar to me in looks and personality.  Of course, we all try to work on our flaws by teaching our kids how to be better than we are, to reach for the stars and believe in themselves.  I took my daughter to an ice skating party today.  My daughter has never ice skated and I am no pro.  I am not even a terrible amateur.  My status could well be described as pitiful.  In fact, when my ever-supportive best friend found out I was headed to the rink she laughed me right off the phone.  (Hmmmfph!!!) Why I was the parent who ended up taking my daughter-- when my husband has skated in his adult life, and would have made a much better teacher-- I don’t know. I can only suppose I was thinking about hot chocolate and the sidelines. So, I take my daughter to the rink and am about to dump her off to the very capable instructors when I see the terror that I often see in my own face when taking on something new.   I even tell my daughter that for fear of getting stitches she doesn’t have to skate if she doesn’t want to.   I try to be supportive with the you-can-do- it, try-your-best attitude, but against my better judgment and a huge dose of parental guilt I go put on a pair of skates.  I was nothing short of embarrassing-- clinging to a 2-inch ledge of wall since there is no railing to hold on to.  I was thinking how much I hate the ice, the cold, the fact that I can’t dance to the great music playing for fear of getting stitches when an ice guard tells me there is a private party and we must vacate the wall.  “WHAT???!!!”  I say, “we can’t get across there”-- an obvious tremor to my adult voice.  The ice guard takes pity on us and lets us slide. Thankfully, not literally.  We make it what feels like three miles back to the start and--lucky us--it is time for pizza.  I almost bend to kiss the ice but fear I will never make it back to standing.  We have our pizza and I am trying to stall when we visit the facilities and my daughter says, “Hey Ma, I think that we can do this”.  “Really”, I answer.  “Yeah, ‘cause I know that practice makes perfect and if we try really hard we can skate without the wall”.  “Really”, I answer.  Now I am afraid and trying not to show it because my daughter isn’t and I don’t want her to be. She goes on with her little determined self and makes me get back on the ice and try to skate without touching the wall. After a while I give up (after all there is hot chocolate waiting for me in the nice, safe party room).  She does several more rounds, takes a spill on the ice, recovers and commits to getting away from that wall, and being the brave girl I wish I was.  That’s my inspiration.

The Law of Supply and Demand

Why is it that the toy that never gets played with gets cried over when finally discovered by a sibling or a stranger?

 

I am thinking of putting a stranger on my payroll that plays with all the unused, unwanted toys in my house till they regain their popularity.  It would certainly be cheaper than going out and buying more toys we have no room for.  For now I will just ask my toddler to play with the giant Bratz microphone or the dusty dance mat that barely makes an appearance from its spot under the bed.  Then of course her big sister will suddenly renew her interest in them.

 

I have always been an advocate of hiding the excess birthday gifts for rainy day surprises but you can only get away with that till your kids are like 3 (if your lucky).  In an apartment it is kind of hard to hide toys, they are usually under a bed or in the bottom of a toy chest.  There’s a spot my kids never look.  Good reason never to have a toy chest unless you plan on rotating it every 2 weeks so they will actually know what is on the bottom.  You can also get a clear bin so at least your kids can see what’s on the bottom.  I can say with absolute certainty that no more than 5 toys per child are actually popular at any one time in most households.  We all know our children have their favorites but everything else is mainly junk we can’t wait to get rid of but won’t for fear that our children might miss it or the person who bought it three years ago may decide to pay a visit and notice it gone.  For me it is a real cleansing experience, pardon the pun, to get rid of excess toys.  The best way to do it is either alone or with the promise of something new if the old moves out.  Better yet, let’s teach our kids to give their unwanted toys to charity.  Happy Spring cleaning!