Weekend Wrap-Up.

As per usual, I have nothing of note to report from the weekend.  As is the case with little kids, it seems like each day is both filled with nothing extremely eventful and is also very significant.  Shall I explain?  So glad you asked.  We don’t do much of anything in particular on any given day.  Our hours are filled with vague activities like “playing.”  But at the same time, each day marks a small shift in their constant slide towards big kid-ness.  With Claire, there’s almost something new everyday.  And although Avery’s developments are less obvious, I can see her personality unfold each day as she comes into her person-dom.  I love it, and I hate it.  I revel in each accomplishment and development, but I also want to firmly swaddle each of them and hold them like newborns. 

Now that I have that out, here are some highlights from our weekend of nothingness/everything-ness. 

 

Suspicious.

A few months ago, I purchased Avery a tennis racket and a few, foam practice balls.  She had no interest.  Less than no interest.  I couldn’t even get her to bat the ball around one time.  Suddenly, this past week, she loves to “play” tennis.  I may be giving her too much credit, but should I be suspicious that her sudden love of my favorite sport conveniently coincides with us cracking down on her due to her recent outbursts?  Hmmmm.  If so, well-played.  I have my eye on you little, sneaky, adorable AJS. 

Wishful Wednesday.

How I long for Wishful Wednesdays of past when expensive and frivolous shoes were the only thing on my wishlist.  This Wednesday, I wish that I was not having a small-ish sized war with my dear AJS.  Welcome to Wishful Wednesday: Bad Child Edition.

Side bar.  I’ve noticed that many, shall we call them Mommy blogs, focus on the delightful aspects of their children.  This is generally my tendency, too.  Mothers love their children.  End of story.  So when talking with others, we all tend to gloss over all the bad things our little darlings do because (a) our little ones, at their core, are pure and sweet and (b) no one wants to admit his/her kids are bad because it makes him/her look bad as a parent.  But, I think honesty amongst parents is important.  It’s similar to when friends tell you about the births of their children and it’s all unicorns and rainbows.  Then you have a child yourself and think “ugh.”  A beautiful end result, but a terrible process all the same (in my experience).   Side bar over. 

For the past couple of days, one of my favorite human beings has been giving me fits.  I will spare you the details both because you likely don’t want to know the details and also to spare AJS’ tiny reputation.  At its best, I would say we’re having the ultimate battle of wills.  As crazy as this may sound, I think that if AJS was an adult, she would totally win.  She has a stronger will than I do.  Sometimes I think she’s an evil genius.  Then I remember that she is a three-year-old.  Over the past few days, my constant mantra has become “she is 3, you’re an adult, you must win.”  We have tried everything – speaking sternly, spending time alone in her room, etc.  The only thing we have found that is (somewhat) working is taking away her toys.  Her room used to look like a toy store.  Now it looks somewhat like a nicely decorated hotel room for a child.  When she’s bad, it’s horrible.  The real problem is that once the badness has subsided and the “real” AJS has returned, the guilt sets in (mine, not hers).  In a couple of particularly poignant moments, Avery said to me “Mommy, at least you didn’t take away my clothes.”  And also, “Mommy I am mad at you because you did something bad to me.  Do you remember when you took away all those toys?”  Cue the urge to throw my arms around her and give her all her toys back plus one zillion more.

Thus, my wish is that by next Wednesday the real AJS will have returned.  And then I can give her the toys back.

A Little Post.

Just a little post about two little girls who spent a very small portion of one morning in a lime green canopy.  One little girl showed the other littler girl the ropes.  But the littler girl still kept slipping out from time to time.  And those little girls did not allow their mother to join them.  That gave this mama a little glimpse of life to come when these two little girls start ganging up on me.

A Song For Claire.

Dear Claire,

Did you know that we have a song? Well, we do. When I walk you at night before bed, we like to sing a few bars of Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Of Of You.”  It sounds a little creepy when I describe the song by name, but we focus on the chorus, the “I love you, baby” part, naturally.  Not the most modern song, true.  But you are nine months old, so we try to keep your music selection G-rated.   I’m telling you this because I feel like someday we might both want to remember. There might be a day when you think you’re grown up and don’t need me but you really do and you want to channel me.  Or there might be a day when you really are grown up and don’t need me and I want to channel you.  On those days, I may need to listen to our song, and hopefully I will be able to see your chubby, solemn, tired face staring at me, just the way it was last night before bed.  Because (if it’s quite all right) I need you, baby.

Love,

Mom

Friday Photos.

And I’m back after a brief blog hiatus.  Unfortunately, we’ve been busy addressing round deux of the stomach bug around here.  An admitted downside of having two children.  I suppose anytime I’m absent you can assume that someone is convalescing.  Well, in lieu of some meatier posts that were hijacked by The Virus (we’re happy to call you “Mr. Virus” if you prefer, sir, you’re the boss), here are some pics from the past few weeks.  We have fit in some pleasant moments in between the virus-y-ness.  What are you doing this weekend?  I have lofty, lofty plans, including hoping that no one throws up on me, disinfecting all surfaces in our house, copious amounts of laundry, avoiding general icky-ness, etc.  Happy weekend, friends!

Cheat Sheet: The Second Baby Gift

It seems like special events in our friends’ lives come in waves.  We have summers that are packed full of weddings, and there have been years that someone has a new baby almost every month.  And then there’s the most recent event in both our lives and our friends’ lives – the second baby.  This particular wave is making me feel a little old.  But it’s true.  Just yesterday I purchased two baby gifts for second babies.  Gifts for the second (or third or fourth) baby are somewhat unchartered territory.  For first babies, it’s all there for you in a neatly packaged baby registry.  But the second baby?  You’re almost always on your own.  I actually like it.  I enjoy having some room to be creative and thoughtful and try to get something my friends are really going to love.  I can’t speak as to what everyone likes to get, but here are a few notes about my favorite presents when we had Claire.

Clothes.  I think that clothes are always a safe bet for baby #2.  If, like me, your children are the same gender, it’s nice to get a few fresh items.  I barely bought any new clothes for Claire, so it was fun to receive some new outfits to mix in with Avery’s hand-me-downs.  If you have kids of two different genders, clothes are necessary since the new mom will be starting from scratch.  One thing I enjoy about giving clothes as a gift is that I can splurge since I’m normally just buying one or two outfits.  A few brands I like for newborns – Kissy Kissy, LeTop, and Zutano.  Also, my absolute favorite to give and receive is Hanna Andersson pajamas. 

Blankets/Burp Cloths.  One of my favorite things I received when we had Claire was these muslin baby blankets and burp cloths.  For one thing, our burp cloths from Avery were a bit, ahem, gross.  Also, we are big swaddlers (it’s possible that we swaddled Claire until she was seven months), and the swaddle blankets that are available now are better than the ones when we had Avery.  These blankets were the perfect weight for swaddling without making our little one too hot.  Plus, they’re all super cute.

Novelty Item.  Similar to the clothes suggestion, unlike when we had Avery, when we had Claire, we weren’t buying many “just for fun” items.  We were all business – diapers, bottles, etc.  So I loved receiving some special books and toys just for Claire.  A slight disclaimer, some moms don’t want anymore stuff.  By the time baby #2 rolls around, there’s a lot of kid stuff around.  But I enjoyed having a few sweet items that were just for Claire.  I especially loved this book and this one, too.

The Old Standby.  If in doubt, there are two gifts that never disappoint – diapers and food.  Every family is somewhat in survival mode when a new addition arrives.  So food is always appreciated.  And when Claire was born, she literally went through 10-12 diapers a day.  So diapers are needed. 

So there are my thoughts in nutshell.  I know many moms read the blog, so weigh in on your favorites in the comments section.

Monday Mini-Miracles.

I am not normally a fan of Mondays.  I am not at all an “embrace the week with arms wide open” kind of person.  I am more of a “pull the covers over my head” person.  Today, however, is an exception.  Today, I am appreciative of all the normally mundane moments of life.  One of the most beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard was Claire hungrily and reverently sucking down her bottle this morning.  After a week of the stomach bug, it was music to this mamma’s ears.  So today, cheers to normalcy.  Regular is oh so perfect.

My Week In A Nutshell.

We spent this past week visiting my parents.  I’ll give you some recap posts throughout the upcoming week.  But for now, I think I can give you a simple and effective high-level summary.

One baby + one stomach virus + two painfully emerging teeth + being away from home =

 

And scene.

Wishful Wednesday.

Today, I am daydreaming about these.

Yes, I know, shallow, shallow dreams around here.  Let’s pretend for a moment that these are free (I am loving this hypothetical) thus making the cost moot, where is it exactly I would wear these?  I haven’t given up on fashion since kids, but I do have a few litmus tests for everyday wear – will I be crushed if the item gets spit up on it, would a smear of finger paint improve or detract from the outfit, how easily can sand be removed from the crevices, etc.  I am a firm believer in having a few special items on the shelf/hanging on the rack for those outings without kids.  But I somehow feel I wouldn’t be able to make eye contact with these shoes if I left them idle on the shelf.  So, instead, I ordered some of these from Topshop.

And here’s the beauty with going with the cheap(er) shoe, I bought more than one pair in different colors (just how many pairs is confidential).  Clearly, these pairs of shoes are not interchangeable, but check out these for a similar look at lower price.

As a side note, I’m aware that I have been woefully neglecting the blog this week. We are riding out Claire’s first stomach bug (not a milestone for the baby book), but I promise comprehensive Easter coverage soon.