Red Crayon vs. Vomited Blueberries

Here we embark on an involuntary quest to determine which of these lovely stains is actually harder to get out of carpeting. Note I said involuntary. "Why on earth do you care?" you ask. We care because we have to care. We don't have a choice. Can't leave a rainbow of crayon or regurgitated blueberries on the carpeting forever. So, you'll thank us later, I promise. At some point in your parenting, you too, will be charged with a stain that you'd rather leave to rot. But, you can't.

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Baba had been coughing. A lot. And, it was nearly impossible for her to stop. We intervened with some meds - because, well, who can sleep when you're coughing every 10 seconds? Turns out that the combination of medicine, with the constant aggravation to her larynx and lungs ended in eruption.

And, more than just once. Like, every fifteen minutes for five hours. It was not pretty. (Perhaps I mentioned the blueberries she had for dinner?!)

Kinda reminds me of when I was pregnant with her. And, everything I ingested came right back out again.

If you're a parent, you've likely experienced the wretched experience that is chasing tail after a vomiting child. Worse if the child can't or is too young to make it to any sort of toilet - as in Baba's case.

Therefore, the five hours consisted of constant sheet changes, new pajamas, blankets, towels and a dab at the rug whenever possible. Thankfully, she recovered quickly and those hours were the only hours she was plagued by this ick.

The carpet? That's a different story. The evidence remains, despite how hard I attacked those blueberries.

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Meanwhile, 750 miles away, someone else at another household decided that it would be a good idea to draw a pretty picture for his Momma. How nice of you, Brother.

Brother and Sister were playing nicely in the playroom while Mommy was in the kitchen preparing dinner.  It was quite lovely actually as they were playing and there was no screaming emanating from the playroom for a good 15 minutes. I was happily cooking away so that dinner would actually be ready by the time the kids got hungry. A miracle.

It may have been a little too quiet, now that I think about it.  Quiet is always a warning sign for something in this house and it is never a something good.  At the time, it just did not register in my brain that was thinking of 23 other things I needed to do that evening, which included leaving the house in 30 minutes for a meeting. 

I finally wandered over to the playroom to gather those cute little cherubs for dinner and what do my eyes behold?  Brother is standing in the doorway with a huge smile and says: "Look Momma, I made you a pretty rainbow.  AND it's a race track!" 

You're lucky we didn't show you the blueberries...

I look around trying to figure out where this lovely rainbow racetrack was located and then I look down...at the floor.  Yep.  Said masterpiece was drawn in crayon on our just 4 days prior freshly steam cleaned (of course!) cream-colored carpet.  Lovely indeed. 

At first, I gave no reaction.  Because while I was extremely annoyed at the new item on my to-do list for the evening, I also knew it wasn't the end of the world entirely and there were far worse things that could have happened or been broken.  As my husband remarked later, "Isn't drawing in crayon on the walls or floor some sort of childhood right of passage." 

The thing that got to me the most was that the weekend before I had literally spent the afternoon cleaning this exact carpet.  After having a serious chat with Brother that we do not draw on anything other than paper, I spent a good portion of the night re-cleaning the carpet.  And, after several rounds of scrubbing all of the crayon was gone.  Except for the red crayon which sadly is still visible enough.

As the professional carpet cleaner apparently did not quite cut it, I am currently researching home remedies that remove crayon from carpet.  Specifically, red crayon.  Until then, a red circle marks the spot. 

What was it about that night in these two houses?  Maybe it was something about that full moon.

How I am Breaking the Rules the Second Time Around

If you've been around here for awhile reading about both mine and Sarah's journey through parenting, you may have noticed that we truly try to emulate the title of our blog.  Two (or To) Parent Simply.  And, I really do try to. 

But, recently I have noticed that I may perhaps be internalizing this motto just a little too much.  Maybe I am getting a little too laid back?  Or, maybe now that I have two kids I am just too busy that I am becoming "lazy," for lack of a better word, in certain areas of my parenting? 

"They" say that with your first born you go a bit overboard with everything and then with your last born you totally slack off and let them get away with murder.  This was definitely true in my childhood (let's just say I was basically on lock down while my sister, the baby, got, well, babied) and it's looking like it is going to be also true with my children.  Shoot.

I know I am not alone here in cutting corners or "forgetting" to do certain things now that there are two kids to attend to.  I also know that so many moms (and dads too) feel guilty over every little thing they do or don't do for their child that they feel they should be doing, like keeping them up past their bed time.  (Ahem, Sarah.)  Rules and schedules need to be broken once in a while in the interest of living life and having fun.  Trust me, the memories that are made when the schedule is forgotten will last a lot longer than the fact that the kid is a little tired or cranky.  They will adjust.

Some parents may be appalled by what I am about to confess. (Possibly even my partner in this blog.)  But, don't be.  I feel guilty about each of these items for a few seconds and then move on with my life.

- I cannot remember the last time I washed, disinfected or even wiped off my daughter's pacifiers.

- I hear you are supposed to give new foods to babies one at a time for a few days to ensure there is no allergy. And, to not give foods that are known to give reactions.  So, that pureed strawberry-mango combo at 6 months was a bad idea?  Oops.

- I have tried to limit the screen time for both kids.  However, there is no other earthly way possible to accomplish anything when they are both home and awake.  Therefore, CJ, the three year-old, does have TV privileges and so by default does EM, the 18 month old.  (She even knows how to turn on the TV and work the Ipad.)

- I am pretty sure my oldest did not have juice until he was at least 2 years old.  EM, however, of the words she knows well, regularly requests "apple."  And we give it to her.  (Watered down of course!) 

- If I hear a kid crying, or even screaming, I do not immediately go running.  I give it a minute or two and see if they can just take care of it on their own.  If it gets louder, then I go investigate.


I think that's enough confessing for one day!  So, am I terrible?  Or, can you relate and if so, what would you add to this list?  Please share so I know I am not alone here! 

Another way being the youngest rocks: Ice Cream!

Mommy's Being Mean

A few days ago I had one of those days. 

Regardless if you stay at home or work full-time, you know the kind of day I am referring to, right?  When nothing goes your way no matter what you do.  When you are tired, the patience is worn thin (or out) and you just need a little space to catch your breath and figure out the next move. When the kids don't behave regardless if you talk in your sweetest, most loving voice or scream at the top of your lungs.  When you also have 15 phone calls to make, several hours of errands to do not humanly possible with two kids in tow, a house to clean and dinner to make.  Let's also throw in a new job to figure out (more on that, later).

By dinner time, I was just exasperated.  Mostly because my three and a half year old and 18 month old would not stop with the fighting over every little toy we own. Which was turning into pushing, shoving, and hair pulling - and that's from EM, the 18 month old! (Side note: I'm thinking this girl is going to be able to hold her own on the playground...)  Who knew that this would even be a problem at these ages?!  Not me. 

Anyway, they were bringing their battle to the kitchen where I was trying to make dinner while simultaneously answering a few emails, return a phone call, and do the dishes.  Screaming and crying ensued over a wooden banana and a wooden steak. 

So what did I do?  The only rational thing of course.  I lost it.  I proceeded to give them a lecture of epic proportions that likely they did not even understand.  I also may have been raising my voice  just a tad.  It wasn't my prettiest moment as a parent but, in retrospect, the entire day was leading up to this and, frankly, I had nothing left. 

CJ, the older, perhaps a little wiser one, responded to my tirade with, "Come on sister. Mommy's being mean. Let's go."  And he took her hand, and walked them out of the room.  They then proceeded to QUIETLY and NICELY play for at least the next 20 minutes.  THEY LEFT ME ALONE.  I literally did not hear another peep.

Moral of the story:  Sometimes it is perfectly OK to get a little fiesty at your kids.  (I'm kidding, kinda.)  They won't like you for it (I promise, that's fleeting) but they may just leave you alone as a result!  And, if they learned even a little something (like, maybe, Mommy is only human, is not a saint, and needs a minute to breathe), it seems like a win-win to me. 

A moment of adoration for big brother.  And it was just that- a moment!

The Day I Got Reprimanded by AK's School for Not Packing a "Perfect" Lunch

I made a pact – with myself and with my newborn child – that I would do my absolute best to nourish her body with healthy foods.  As a full-time working mom who made all of her baby food, it’s been a commitment.  But, then again, I nursed her for 13 months, so I get commitment and I remain committed.

With AK in school every day, I pack her lunch the night before (thanks to T for slapping me upside the head for attempting to pack it in the morning – and for what reason?!)  Her lunch includes all of the necessities – grains, fruits, veggies, dairy and protein.  Recently, however, she’s been resisting her veggies.  I know, I know, shocking, huh? I know it’s a phase, so I do what any veggie-loving momma would do – I put them in everything else.

The Barilla brand of pasta makes pasta with veggies packed right into it – a full serving of veggies in every serving of pasta.  Yes, please.  I put grated carrots in her turkey meatloaf and grated everything into her pasta sauce (broccoli, carrots, kale, etc…)  I also pack her an organic baby food pouch with fruits and veggies in it on top of her full lunch every day.  That way, if she ditches the blueberries, I have tricked her by ensuring she gets those key nutrients in other ways. 

So you get it – I pack healthy, I am healthy, blah blah blah.  Then imagine my surprise when I go to unpack AK’s lunch one day to find this pretty little note from her teachers.  “Dear Parent – please remember to pack food from all food groups for your child’s lunch.”  Included on this pretty little note is a drawing of the five food groups, just in case I had forgotten.  Forgotten?  I am like the antithesis of forgetting. 

Confession alert:  I freaked out.  A little.  OK, a lot.  I picked up the phone, called T, who is my source of support on everything baby  (Duh.  We’re writing this blog together) and I went off.  “Don’t they know…”  “Who do they think they are?”  “Did they not know what that was????”  After I released on her (what are best friends for) and gave her more than an earful, I took my best fine-tipped Sharpie and went to town on that pretty little note.

I wrote down everything I had packed, what food group it had come from and probably inserted just a little bit of attitude.  I then put that pretty little note back in her lunchbox to ensure that they read it the following day.

Fast forward to the following day:  AK is home sick from school.  In a series of messages to the teachers, I tell them they won’t see her, they exchange pleasantries regarding her recovery and then I get up the nerve:

ME:  Quick question:  the note that was in AK’s lunch box yesterday – did I forget something in her lunch?  I was surprised, as I am quite cognizant of what goes into her lunch and consequently her body each and every day.  (Yes, this message took restraint.  I was still quite heated)

THEM:  You are one of the few parents that do an outstanding job on their child’s lunches.  We just had to put this reminder in everyone’s lunchbox because we don’t want to single any parents out.  We are doing this because, sadly, some parents are not getting the proper nutrients into their children during the day.  And, we assure you that this is in the best interest of the children.  Therefore, please don’t feel offended.  You make awesome lunches for AK.  Sincerely, AK’s teachers

ME:  (Tail between legs)

Lessons learned:

1.  Not every thing from your child’s school is directed at you personally.

2.  Trust yourself and your intentions.

3.  For heaven’s sake woman, breathe.