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Zachary stuck a screwdriver in an electric socket today- he’s fine and the fireworks didn’t harm anything, thankfully. But do you want to know the worst part? I was standing less than two feet away from him when it happened, changing the baby’s diaper. Oh wait, there might be one worse thing. Remember what I do for a profession? Teach parents to keep their kids away from light sockets….
My weekend could not have possibly been more different than the last one. Joe was working this weekend so I was home with the kids. I don’t know how people do this full-time. By last night, I was an exhausted, drooling mess. Here are some highlights from a Mommy only weekend….
Nursing the baby while sitting on the bathroom floor reading to Zach while he tries (successfully!) to pee on the potty
Taking both kids to the store by myself. Zach insisted on walking and not being in the cart. ”Momma, I WILL listen. I WON”T run away, I PROMISE.” He actually did great- our only causalties were Honey Nut Cheerios and chocolate ice cream. He thankfully parted pretty easily from the Fruit Loops and didn’t see the huge isle of easter goodies…
Saturday evening- the baby spikes a fever! Yee-HAW!
Making macaroni and cheese from scratch… then Joe gets called to the hospital and neither of the kids like it so I’m the only one who eats it. Sigh. This is why my pants are tight.
Packing both kids up for a stroller ride- Zach in the stroller and the baby in the pack. (Maybe I did earn my mac’n'cheese?)
Did I mention the baby still has diarrhea? Did I mention that we use cloth diapers?
Happy Arlo, feet always kicking happily where ever we are- backpack, stroller, playing. Couldn’t ever be a sweeter baby, even with a fever and diarrhea. He just started to army crawl this weekend and can sit on his own now. What a big guy!
Oh and the PANCAKES. I am so sick of pancakes. Zach is addicted to them. Our latest creation is pumpkin pancakes, I make them from scratch and used to think they were yummy but I’ve totally overdosed on them now. They contain the only vegetable that has entered his little body in the last few months. (Other than the time I snuck in carrots. HAH!). Unfortunately, any beneficial nutritional value is probably completely taken away by the amount of sprinkles he wants on his pancakes. Another big sigh.
Dinosaur egg pancakes and Christmas Sprinkles
Is it bad to love your kids the best when they are asleep?
Zach napping on the floor after a late night and early morning
The best thing though about a mommy weekend, is when it ends and you get Daddy back!
Joe and the kids
Yesterday was Sunday- I was on call and between the office and home it was BUSY! My day went something like this….
The day starts at 5:45 when Zach wakes us up… “Momma, I want a movie and a picnic… Momma put your clothes on and start my movie”. (Ok, VERY bad habit to plop your kid down with food and TV first thing in the morning, but when your kid wakes up every day before six, this is what must happen to keep sane.) Joe gets Zach set up with his movie and then a few minutes later the baby wakes up… sigh. I leave Joe in bed so at least one of us can get some more sleep and head down to take care of the baby. And what do I find? A great big poopy diarrhea diaper. Great. Over the next two hours, I get both kids and myself fed, pump some breast milk, shower and change three more poopy diapers. I even get Zach to pee on the potty(!!) though it cost me three jellybeans (the kid will get potty-trained but he won’t have any teeth left). I make the brave decision to leave Zach in stegasaurus underwear (surely he will not disrespect poor Stegie with an accident) and then rouse poor Joe and head into work. My pager goes off three times on the five mile drive to work.
At the hospital, I discharge three patients and admit two more. Then in clinic, I see six more patients (and clean up after the one that pukes) and afterwards it is back to the hospital to check on a few more things. I race home around noon so I can nurse the baby before his nap and get home just in time to change two more poopy diapers! (The record should state that Joe changed several while I was gone including poor despoiled Stegie. We are so not ready for underwear yet). I get both kids down for their nap and put an exercise video in the DVD player. My pager goes off every few minutes during my video and then it is back downtown to see a few more sick kids in clinic…
I get home and play with the kids for a while so Joe can escape diarrhea land to ski for a bit. And surprise! Pager goes off again and I’ll have to go back to the hospital to admit another patient. So I make dinner, put Arlo to bed and head back to work through a blinding snowstorm (seriously, I do not have a good imagination and could not make this up). I get back home around 9pm, finish sorting the two loads of laundry and crash into bed and fall asleep almost instantly… then it is midnight and the baby is crying and it starts all over again…including more diarrhea…
And you know what? I’m really not complaining. I love my life and family and job and am lucky to have an such an amazing husband. But it is CRAZY sometimes what I have to juggle as a working mom. It won’t always be like this (or will it?!) and someday I’ll have time to twiddle my thumbs… but in the meantime, wish me a good night’s sleep, because it starts all over again tomorrow!
We just got back from visiting Grandparents in LA and traveling with Joe’s brother’s family to Loreto, Mexico. We had a great time- mostly being lazy and soaking up some sun while the kids played. Here is what I want to remember from our trip:
Airports are hell for parents. Tackling Zach after he races through the security line for the umpteeth time. (“Zach, I need you to have your listening ears turned on in the airport.” ”No, mama. They not on. Batteries are broken”) Deciding which screaming child to hold on the airplane and then wondering why they decide to finally fall asleep just as the plane lands.
Zach and Henry on the beach in Loreto
Watching the boys play in the sand on the beach and remembering playing with my sister and cousins on the beach as a child. Seeing Zach hop in a kayak with Joe without any hesitation and paddling out into the ocean. Waiting on the beach for them with Arlo while he plays in the sand for the first time. Zach asleep in the kayak when they return.
Arlo in the sand and Zach snoring in the kayak
Long nights with frequent wake up calls from the baby. Zach sleeps sprawled out between Joe and I. One night Arlo doesn’t sleep well and smells exactly like a margarita. Mom doesn’t drink the next night. Or maybe I shouldn’t have fed him ceviche?
Four cousins getting to know each other. Bonding over cheerios, dinosaurs, race cars and filling the fountain with rocks. Aunts and uncles learning about their nephews and things like hydras and bakus (thanks to Henry). Arlo’s chubby white legs, usually covered with clothing, kicking happily while he watches the older kids play.
Joe and Zach on the beach in LA
In LA, watching Zach soak up all the attention from even more aunts and uncles and cousins and even telling them “I love you” with no prompting from us. Racing around with him on the beach with Joe while the baby sleeps. Watching him play trucks with Grandma Fran and read night-night stories with Grandpa Ray. Feeling bad that we completely trashed Grandma’s nice house- though I think we are forgiven already.
Fran and Zach in the courtyard
We’ll be back soon I hope. Thanks for the great family time everyone! And thanks for the weather for giving us sun, sun and more sun since we returned to 20 degree weather and snow on the ground.
