No...not a goatee....

No, Jonathan is not advanced for his age and growing facial hair... nor are these pictures of messing eating. THESE pictures are the result of mommy being on the phone and Jonathan being TOO quiet... I went to check on him. He was in my bathroom, in the make-up drawer, applying "lipstick".... only it was mascara. How can you not laugh?

A moment of peace, please!

This is a shout out to all those mommies out there who can't ever get a moment's peace to relieve ourselves (in the truest sense of the word). Never, ever are we allowed the privacy or quiet solitude to use the facilities. Can I get an Amen? If the door isn't locked, then one or both of my kids are in the bathroom with me, playing with the water in sink, trying to sit on my lap (I know.. gross!) or asking for a drink. I've started locking the door. This usually promotes the wailing and nashing of teeth on the other side of the barrier... which, although technically ALONE, does not make it quiet time by any means. Just once I would LOVE to get through an entire page of a catalog before the whining starts. Today was the same except for one wonderful time this morning when I actually did have some quiet, which then makes me wonder..."What are they in to out there?" until I heard a small little voice saying "Mommy?" from the other side of the door. Unlike times past, no screaming just the cutest, tenderest jesture... a small 22 month old had came under the door looking for my touch. When I touched him gingerly with my toes, the giggles errupted and the game was on. I have to say, it was the most fun bathroom time I've had in a long time. I wish this for all my mommy friends...

Why is he naked?

This is the question I have now been asking myself at the end of every naptime and every early morning for the past week.
Jonathan's latest trick... the removal of ALL clothing, including diaper. No matter how many layers, zippers, snaps, duct tapes (just kidding) he gets through them all. And when asked "Where are your clothes?", he politely points to the place outside of his crib where they have been discarded.
Now, why, I ask you, does he do this? For the ulitmate prize, you see... the greatest toy ever invented... do I need to say it? I have been inquiring to my friends who are also raising little boys if this is "normal" or if I should be worried that this is an unhealthy obsession and one brave mommy confided in me her own doctor's response as to when he would stop playing with his "toy"..... "When he's 90 or so"

Share?

Do you think they are sharing? Welcome to my world on Wednesday, September 3rd.
The funny part about this... they were actually fighting worse before Delaney saw that I had the camera or that I was watching. They were both screaming seconds before. It's a shame my poor deprived kids only have a few grains of sand and one pail to play with.

Blankie!

It had to be done...

Please don't judge me... you would have done the same.

It's been dragged through the sandbox, off the stroller, into the bathroom. It had seen much cleaner days...

Yes, I'm talking about "Blankie"... Jonathan's Blankie. He adores that thing!

I made one fatal mistake today though...I put Blankie in the washing machine (long overdue) and left the laundry room door open. He saw... he saw his blankie in the midst of the other dirty clothes just out of his reach. I was reminded of a sad scene in the movies when the object of their desire is so close, but just out of reach and the pain on the actor's face as he touches the glass that separates them.

"Blankie, Blankie, Blankie....."

I had to drag him out of the room and close the door, explaining that blankie was only taking a bath and would be clean soon.

To make matters worse, blankie was not done being washed before Naptime came to call. I guess he'll be talking about that with his therapist one day.

But for now, I am grateful that my little buddy has something in his life, besides his family, that brings him such comfort and joy and sorrow when it's missing.

How to keep it together... an essay by a struggling mommy

Okay, that sounds worse than it is... It's just that I'm coming off of 3 days without my hubby. (he's home now, thank goodness) and I'm just tired.

It's also a great segway into these wonderful words of wisdom that I read today in my Parents magazine. It really made me stop and think....

"Memo to Mommy" lessons from our little ones:

• Stop freaking out about the mess! There's always time to clean--but how often do we get to make mud pies?
  

  Love me, even when I'm naughty. I'll only be this age once
  

  Be patient. I do everything for a reason, but I don't know enough words yet to give you an explanation
  

  Let me do it. I know you can do it better, but sometimes experience is the best teacher
  

  Don't expect too much of me. I want to do what you ask and make you happy, but I'm still little
  

  Don't try to reason with me when I'm having a tantrum. Trust me--I can't hear you over my own screaming
  

  Keep your promises. It's all about trust. When I'm a teenager, you'll understand why it's so important
  

  Don't keep asking me if I've been good. I'm not even sure what that means, but if I was bad I'd never admit it!
  

  Don't let me think that you're perfect. I feel a lot better knowing I'm not the only one who makes mistakes sometimes.

I can think of one great example for the "Let me do it" file. Delaney wanted to help me vaccum the kitchen floor with the wand. It was hard to stand back and watch her slowly do it but it was worth it all seeing the satisfaction on her face when she had completed the task. Mommy had to "finish", or so I thought, until I sucked up her polly pocket's doll shoe that she had missed on purpose. Serves me right...I had to dig through the dirt to retreive it for her from the emptied canister. Lord, help me to slow down and enjoy the small, wonderful things in my life... my kids especially.

Go Cubbies!

One of "The Girls" from Chicago came to visit me in Pittsburgh this week, Erin Leyden. We used to joke that we were the same person because we liked so many of the same things, did the same job (I took over her job when she got promoted), laughed at the same jokes. We just "get" each other. When we first met, I had just moved to Chicago from Pittsburgh and I was commenting on the abundance of squirrels in Chicago. She looked at me and asked "Do you have squirrels in Pittsburgh?" That broke the tension and we both burst into laughter. She's an awesome friend and one that I admire so much for her strength. A year and a half ago, her second son Emmett started having seizures at the age of 2 1/2. It was terrifying and he was having up to 200 a day. Erin was pregnant through all this will their daughter Clare. I can't even imagine what hell their life was for the year before they were finally able to find the right combination of drugs/therapy to control Emmett's seizures. Now here's where the strength comes in... she turned that negative into such positive, creating the AEOF (the American Epilepsy Outreach Foundation) to help other families get information and support when someone they love has been diagnosed with the condition. They are striving to change the face of epilepsy so that it's not such a stigma against the person. How selfless is that? She's awesome and I love her!

So she surprised me and booked a ticket to come to Pittsburgh when she new the Chicago Cubs were in town playing the Pirates. So I got us 4 tickets, invited Tiffany and Laurie to join us and the girls had a grand ole' time a the ball park. Noshing on some nachos and peanuts. Yum!

We had such great seats and there was never a stall in the conversation. It was the best night out with the girls (especially ones who didn't really know each other)

The next day wen went down to Station Square for lunch at Hard Rock, a ride on the incline, ice cream on Mt. Washington and then off to the airport for her to fly home.