Stop yelling at me!

We were leaving the pool the other day and both the kids and I were at the limits of our patience.  As I put my 2 year old into the car, he started screaming for a snack that I didn't have.  I tried reassuring him that we would be home in 5 minutes if he would just get in the car, but he continued screaming and fighting me.  My 4 year old daughter can get herself into her seat (and usually buckle it) so once I had wrestled the little guy into his seat,  I proceeded to get in the car and start it.  When my daughter started yelling too, it pushed me over the edge and I yelled "stop yelling at me!"  I always feel a little guilty when I yell at my kids. On this particular day,  I blame the sun draining me of all energy (I come up with a myriad of excuses depending on the moment).  Anyways, I turned around as I was reversing the car and my daughter had her lips pursed, pointing to her unbuckled carseat with wide eyes.  She had stopped yelling as instructed, poor thing.
Mom of the year ...

Conversing with a 4 year old

We spent the weekend at the beach on a high school beach retreat. Our 4 year old had a blast getting to hang out with all the older kids and leaders.  One night, she hopped into one of the leader's laps to have a chat. Here's how the conversation went:
Leader "what is the best thing in life?"
Daughter "people"
Leader  "what is the worst thing in life?"
Daughter "boo boos"
Leader "if you could do anything for a day, what would it be?"
Daughter "I'd play"
At this point in his recounting of the conversation, I was feeling pretty good about her cute answers. And then he kept going ...
Daughter "and I'd pee in my pants"
Mom of the year ...

Here's my number, so call me maybe?

First off, I want to say "Happy Mothers' Day" to all the amazing moms out there!  I'm sure many of you are wondering how the "Mom of the Year" celebrates such an important holiday.  Well, I started the day with a solo run (ahhh ... ) then spent the next hour getting three children ready for church (aghhh!!!).  After that ruckus, I was ready for a break so we dropped them all off at nursery and headed for the coffee shop (yes, we are those people that spend Sunday school hour at the local coffee shop).  I was kind enough to leave my phone number with the baby room since he is only 3 months old and still exclusively breastfed.  About halfway into my coffee date with my husband, I realized that I had left "said" phone in the diaper bag ... in the nursery room.  I sipped a little quicker and headed back to check out the scene.  Fortunately no babies or old ladies rocking babies were permanently scarred today.
Mom of the year ...

Locked in or out?

So as expected, playing zone defense has been occupying most of my time these days, leaving little time to blog about my many award-winning performances at motherhood.  I am, however, accumulating lots of material between my sleep deprivation and thinning patience.  After a particularly  long day recently, my 4 year old daughter decided to lead a rebellion against me.  As of late, she has been my easiest child but that night, nothing was easy.  I finally asked her to stay in her room to scream her head off instead of having to listen to her cry for no good reason.  I shut the door but she kept opening it and coming out.  So I did what my instincts told me ... I locked the door and shut it.  It was at that moment that I realized I had not locked her in but had instead locked myself out.  Oops!  Fortunately, it unlocked as soon as she turned the knob again to escape her room.
Mom of the year ...

Seasoned pro

3rd child is here and I suppose you are all ecstatic to see a blog post (finally) from such a seasoned pro at motherhood. This little guy's arrival, however, has given me a few doubts about how much I have learned in my past 4 years as a mother. For starters, I landed in labor and delivery twice in "false labor."  What is the point of timing contractions if Doogie Howser (I swear the resident wasn't a day over 16) is going to look you in the eye and tell you it's not real labor?  I suppose he was right since the baby waited an entire week to make his appearance.  Nothing worse than having to take the walk of shame back to the car at a hospital where you worked for 6 years. Fortunately we had left all the luggage in the car so as my husband reassured me - "at least you don't have to walk back carrying a boppy!" With my confidence a little shaky, I was pretty hesitant to go back to L&D but I made it and the baby arrived safe and sound.
On my first outing with our new addition, I walked him to a park a couple miles away.  As we were getting ready to head home, he started screaming and I realized he was soaked - classic "pee around the diaper" move. Unfortunately for him, this experienced mom had neglected to pack a change of clothes. (I should mention it was February and quite chilly outside).
Clearly, my experience is paying off.
Mom of the year ...

Daddy's turn

I suppose it's the fact that this is my 3rd pregnancy, or perhaps the fact that I have been pregnant the majority of the last 4 years, but I am definitely not loving my gravid state these days.  I hear other expectant women talk about the thrill of feeling their baby kick or the excitement of setting up the baby's nursery.  I just keep thinking about how excited I am to start losing weight and running fast (or at least faster).  As excited as I am about our newest addition, I am just having trouble enjoying the means to our end.
The other day, my daughter was looking at me and hugging the baby.  "Mommy," she said, looking at me with her naive little face, "I think the baby is getting too big for you to carry.  It's time for Daddy to start carrying the baby."  Hmm... now there's an idea.  I guess she's in for a rude awakening later in life.
Mom of the year ...

Go Daddy!

If you've been following this blog, then you already know how much my 2 year old son loves basketball.  While my daughter watches cartoons, my son and I curl up in front of my computer to watch the Tarheels play basketball on Youtube.  He does a great job of cheering for Carolina and pointing out Ramses but today I noticed him saying something new.  "GO DADDY!"  At first, I was sure I had misunderstood him since his articulation isn't perfect.  "GO DADDY!"  Sure enough, that's what he was saying clear as day.  I am planning to take him to some games this season but am a little worried about the looks I may get when he starts cheering for "Daddy."

Mom of the year ...