Parenting
I Have 2 Kids Under 2!
“Wow!” “Congrats!” “We are so happy for you!” These are statements my husband and I heard over and over again when we told people we were pregnant with our daughter. Later, when announcing our pregnancy with our son, the reaction couldn’t have been more different. Most people thought we were joking. Some said, “Really?” and “No way.” Others even said, “You know how that happens right?” and “Was it an accident?”
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Victory Chant!
Seven and a half hours. Seven and a half hours! I'm repeating it over and over in my head. It's my new victory chant. It's a chant that means things are starting to work. Things are starting to fall into place. Jason and I are starting to sink into our new lives, after five weeks of blindly wading through these new waters...
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Sexual Abuse: How Do You Talk to Your Kids About It?
As a parent, your job is to tackle the tough issues. And sexual abuse has to be one of the most difficult topics to discuss with your kids. …
The Schlep
Three days ago I finally got the hell out of my house. I think a lot of you were right--that six weeks thing was a little excessive, and now that I look back on it I don't even know if my doctor meant six weeks before we go into public, before we go into crowds, or before we go insane. I think the excessiveness might have had a little to do with post-H1N1 hysteria or something.
Even though I've had a few outings here and there since her birth--to her doctor's appointments and mine, for example, it took four weeks for me to work up the courage to start really incorporating my baby into my daily life and to take her with me alone, without help schleping the mass of stuff that comes along with a baby. Without backup on standby if she throws a fit. Making a four-week-old fit into a 23-year-old's life is easier said than done...
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Itinerary for a One-Month Old
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Too Soon to Be Left Alone?
I make really stupid decisions sometimes. The problem with me (or perhaps an amazing attribute), is that I’m great at justification, rationalization and twisting an idea just so, to fit what I need. Typically, the fallout of being built this way just lands on me. Ok ok and Anson too, as this super power also extends to arguments and the ability to twist things in a very nuanced way. Back to my stupidity, though – I had two situations come up recently that I think I might have blown. They both involve leaving Roan unattended, not for a very long time, but still – unattended...
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The Mom I Thought I'd Be
Before I met my husband, I wasn't so sure that I wanted to have kids. Having had chronic hypertension since age 17 and having encountered doctors who warned of the impracticality of pregnancy for me, I questioned whether I really wanted to go through the stress of carrying a babe in a body that was not best designed for it. I pondered the possibilities ... perhaps my future prince charming and I would adopt, maybe we could beg one of our friends to be the bearer or we could spoil our nephews and forever be the cool aunt and uncle. The last postulation seemed most likely because while I loved kids, I was never really good at the little ones. I've always had a quick temper and my sister was the nurturer of fam -- not I. Being the cool aunt seemed like an achievable goal to me.
Then I met Adam...
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Eat, Sleep, Poop.
I wish someone would have told me how little there actually is to this beginning phase. Not that it isn't ridiculously complicated, but there are really only three things I've had to work on mastering so far.
The eating phase, the sleeping phase, and the pooping phase...
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Homeschool? Hell No!
I'm like Olivia, the pig. I can do a lot of things. But there are a hell of a lot more things that I can't do.
For instance, I can't fly without fear, speak in front of large crowds, cook artistically or drive an 18-wheeler (though I'd love to try).
And I can't, under no circumstances, absolutely NO WAY! NO HOW! homeschool my children.
By the time Esme returns to school next week, she'll have missed seven days of classes because of the back-to-back blizzards. We've filled the days with snow play, sledding, walks, dress-up, art projects, books, indoor races, hide-and-seek, making treats, eating treats, fighting, cleaning, imagining.
But, she needs to go back to school. I want her to go back to school. I'm just not capable of engaging her academically for an entire day. Josephine and Desmond only go to preschool three days a week - three hours at a time - but even they need something more than I'm able to give.
Here's the problem: I lack the inspiration, the creativity and most especially, the energy to keep them as interested - as entertained - as their teachers do.
I can do it for summer vacation. Or the Christmas holiday. Happily. And even with a sense of great sadness when the break ends. But I can't fathom the idea of spending all day, every day, all year for the next 16 years with all four of my kids. Just trying to imagine the idea makes my eyes bleed and my brain melt.
If that's terrible, I'll cop to terrible...
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