Believer in Balance

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Steam Secrets
2007-05-14 17:06:00
We have two full bathrooms upstairs. One large one for me. One smaller one for Wonderful Husband and our three daughters. Although Super Pooper isn’t in there showering or brushing her teeth yet, her two foot stinky diaper genie is in there so my hubby definitely “senses” her presence. I don’t call him Wonderful Husband for nothing! While this arrangement may be unfair, I can say for a fact that one contributing factor in our twelve years of marital bliss is that we have never shared a bathroom! Of course this does not mean I am not peppered with questions throughout the various stages of my toilette. (To the French, this means the process of attending to your personal appearance. We drop two letters from the word and make it the shitter. Talk about lost in translation!) Anyway, it’s usually the moment I step into the shower that my girls need to ask me something (and of course whenever I pick up the phone.) “Mommy, can I wear a tank top?” “Mommy, where can I find cl...
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What Motherhood Has Done to Me
2007-05-09 20:15:00
Before I was a mother, I would rarely say I was sorry because I didn’t want to admit I was wrong. Now that I’m a mother, I’m quick to say I’m sorry to my daughters, and I’m working on it with my hubby. Before I was a mother, I would avoid holding babies because I was afraid they would cry. Now that I’m a mother I carry babies with ease and know how to soothe them. Before I was a mother, I was an only child who longed for siblings. Now that I’m a mother, I’m part of a vast sisterhood. Before I was a mother, I would speed up to prevent anyone from cutting me off on the road. Now that I’m a mother, I drive safer with and without my girls in the car because it’s not worth the risk. Before I was a mother, I would put up with situations I was unhappy with. Now that I’m a mother, I’ve learned to be assertive when necessary to make sure my children are happy. Before I was a mother, I often couldn’t understand my mother’s perspective. Now that I’m a mother, I un...
More About: Motherhood , Done

Any Given Mom Day
2007-05-04 17:22:00
4:00 p.m. Kids get off school bus.4:05 p.m. Using drill sergeant tempo, get kids to unpack their backpacks, use the bathroom, eat a snack, put on soccer uniform, grab violin/music and get into minivan, while checking homework, packing diaper bag, then frantically changing baby out of puke smelling shirt into unbelievably annoying outfit with too many snaps before wrestling with infant car seat and hustling out the door.4:25 p.m. Begin 35 minute drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic for 30 minute music lesson.5:00 p.m. Breastfeed baby while checking cell phone messages and writing checks to pay music teachers. 5:30 p.m. Hand violin teacher hefty check and explain that it’s for four sessions instead of five sessions because daughter’s class trip conflicts with one lesson. 5:35 p.m. Have contentious discussion with violin teacher after she begrudgingly smirks and says she’ll let it go THIS time, but next time I’ll have to pay for the lesson or find ...
More About: Given , Give

Lucky Mommies
2007-04-29 05:44:00
I wish I could say I knew Liz, Christina, and Tammie, but I don’t. So, of course, I didn’t know they were pregnant and expected to give birth very soon. I had just finished movie night with my kids and sat down to my new favorite pastime . . . blogging. I went to one of my new favorite sites, Izzymom, and decided to check out whom she enjoyed reading. That brought me to Binkytown, which brought me to a virtual baby shower, which brought me to Shower Me, Baby! on mothergoosemouse. There I stopped. Wow! I yelled for my husband to come to the computer so I could show him. Okay, I admit, I was a wee bit more excited about it than he was. Just a smidge though. I was just so impressed by what fellow mommy bloggers were doing for three of their own, I had to share it with someone. He was the closest.Since I’m new to the mommy blogger circle of friends, I opted out of the baby shower games of trying to guess whose baby and belly was whose, which mommy was which in the baby pictures, a...
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I Tried Not to be Insulted, but Failed Miserably
2007-04-26 19:37:00
Today is “Take Your Future to Work Day.” It used to be called “Take Your Daughter to Work Day.” I can only assume that little boys all across the country got pissed so they changed it. My oldest daughter, Sweet Angel, gets to go with daddy for the first time this year. (Feisty Girl hates that she has to wait for the future to be considered the “future” they’re referring to.) Anyway, Sweet Angel could only participate in the afternoon programs because she had a state test this morning. While I put no stock in those stress-inducing, let’s blame the teacher assessments, I tried to be the responsible parent and have her take it anyway. So, a few days ago I made arrangements with my hubby to drop her off at lunch time. I said to him, “Should we all have lunch together or would you prefer it be just the two of you?” (Lunch was not provided, so they had to go out somewhere anyway.) Wonderful Husband appeared ambivalent, so I dropped the subject. I didn’t want to crash...
More About: Tried , Miser , Trie , Insult

Like Mother, Like Daughter
2007-04-23 18:11:00
I got some great feedback after my last post entitled Battery Induced Sleep when I shared that Super Pooper only napped well in the swing or bouncy seat. One mom said that she’d “been there, done that,” while one dad asked where he could get a bouncy seat in his size! A fellow mommy blogger even shared her experience and recommended that I use a pillow so Super Pooper doesn’t get a flat spot on her head from sleeping in the same position too long. Frankly, that never occurred to me, so I really appreciated the tip! But it was my mom’s feedback that brought everything full circle. One of those moments when I realized that what goes around, comes around. Or in this case, what goes backward, comes forward. (My attempt at a swing metaphor, forgive me.) That said, my mom reminded me that I too used to spend a lot of time in the swing.(Yes, that’s me sunbathing topless.) However, I suspect I was in the swing a bit less because they didn’t have battery operated ones back then...
More About: Mother , Daughter , Like

Battery Induced Sleep
2007-04-18 21:38:00
Is it bad that Super Pooper only naps in the baby swing? Well, that’s not entirely true. She also naps in her bouncy seat and car seat. It’s not that I haven’t tried putting her down in her bassinette, cradle and crib (yes, she has three beds), it’s just that she doesn’t stay asleep there very long. While I worry my reliance on battery induced sleep will come back to haunt me when she’s too big for the swing, I’m quick to forego my feeble attempts to get her to sleep lying down so she’ll take a longer nap. Nap time is crucial to the work-at-home mom! So this is my rationalization. A well-rested baby is a happier baby. Therefore, when my dad saw her head flopped over to the side and asked, “Do you think that hurts her neck sleeping like that?” I hesitate just long enough to dismiss my first thought of maybe, but she’s asleep and respond, “She slept in the womb all hunched over. She’s fine.”
More About: Battery , Sleep

The Battle of the Bottle Is Over
2007-04-16 19:06:00
The battle of the bottle is over . . . and not a day too soon. Today is my last day of maternity leave. Well, actually, my last day of maternity leave was April 2, but that day came and went because Super Pooper refused to take a bottle. And when I say “refused” I don’t mean in the “no, thank you” kind of way; I mean in the blood curdling, acts as if being skinned alive, screaming kind of way. In our battle of the bottle, we employed multiple tactics while Super Pooper used just one . . . the aforementioned blood curdling scream. While our strategies failed miserably, her maneuver made us manic. Like my trusty dictionary says, we were in “a state of abnormally high excitement, especially because of tension.” Tension would be putting it mildly. After several minutes of Super Pooper’s earsplitting wailing, Wonderful Husband became Desperate Husband. He would thrust her at me with a pleading look that said “Please make her stop!” Ah, the power of breasts. So of cour...
More About: Over , Battle , Bottle

The Sleep-In Closet
2007-04-13 17:34:00
The kids are off school this week. So with that comes a lot of simultaneous conversations each day. You know the kind where one of your children starts talking to you and the other one insists on talking to you at the exact same moment. “Mom, you won’t believe what happened . . . Mommy! Look at this . . . Mom, then she said this . . . Mommy, are you watching? . . . Mom, did you hear what I said? Ah!!! Sometimes I maneuver these three-way conversations with ease, other times I feel so over-stimulated I’m going to implode. It must have been during one of these concurrent chit chats that I said “Sure, honey.” to one daughter’s question and the other one thought I was answering her. So, you can imagine my surprise when I went upstairs to kiss them goodnight again and didn’t find Feisty Girl in her bed. (I always check on them before I go to bed and give them one more kiss for the day.) I had a moment of panic before my mind did a quick rewind. Something she said about her ...
More About: Sleep , Closet

That Fish Had the Sixth Sense
2007-04-09 22:12:00
At exactly the same moment I finished Friday’s blog entry about hoping we don’t kill the neighbors’ fish, Feisty Girl yells to me, “Mommy! It’s floating!” I’m seriously not making this up. The irony was palpable. Although there were six fish in the house at this point, I knew the odds were against us. Sure enough, one of the neighbors’ fish died on our watch. My first thought . . . Oh, shit. My second thought . . . this is so going in my blog. I believe that fish had “The Sixth Sense .” It wasn’t here six hours before it kicked the bucket, or in this case, the fish bowl. I believe that fish not only felt the aura of the six dead fish that used to live here, but also saw their decomposing bodies swimming in the bowl with him. I believe we scared this fish to death. What other explanation could there be? Fish Killer was at work. Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Fortunately, when Fish Killer, Sweet Angel and Feisty Girl went next door and return...
More About: That , Ense , The Sixth Sense

The Fish Killer Strikes Again
2007-04-06 19:44:00
I’m not out of bed five minutes this morning before Feisty Girl comes into the bathroom while I’m showering wearing her tiara and cheetah print pajamas and tells me something that puts a shot of terror through my heart. While I was asleep (the kids have today off and yes I’m blessed to be able to sleep in while my six-year-old goes downstairs very quietly so she can “sneak” extra T.V. time. It’s a win-win situation really. She gets extra T.V. and I get extra sleep.) Anyway, while Super Pooper and I were still in bed, our neighbors who are going to NYC this weekend (the ones that can’t make the egg hunt) asked if we would watch their goldfish for the next three days. I gasp while washing my hair as Feisty Girl shares how she said “Sure.” and reached out to take their fish bowl. Her sleeping mommy would’ve said yes also, but with a major disclaimer . . . Fish Kill er lives here. Fish Killer has already killed six goldfish, including one LAST NIGHT! (I blame Fish Kil...
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Feisty Girl Advocates for Work-At-Home Moms
2007-04-05 18:32:00
Ah!!!!! I’ve got so much to do today. I really need Super Pooper to take a long nap. Please! Please! Please! Sleep well and sleep long. No, I don’t have a big meeting and I’m not finding a cure for cancer; I have to get ready for my annual Easter egg hunt! While it may seem trivial to some, it is a big deal around here. What started off as me hiding eggs for Sweet Angel when she was two years old, has evolved into a neighborhood tradition. I’m expecting ten kids this year, but five couldn’t make it. The little boy next door made my day when his mom told me that although he had been really looking forward to their upcoming trip to New York City to see some Broadway shows and do some sightseeing, that once he received my egg hunt invitation (it’s gotten to the point where I actually send invitations now) he wailed “I don’t want to go to New York City!!! I want to go to the egg hunt!!!” Ah, it makes the organizational challenge of buying gender specific goodies small ...
More About: Home , Work , Girl , Moms , Cate

Parenting is Easy . . . If You Have Nothing Else to DO!
2007-04-04 19:35:00
What do I mean when I say I’m a Believer in Balance? Hmmm. Good question. Thank you. See what happens when you work at home by yourself. You start talking to yourself. I often bounce ideas off of Super Pooper, but she’s indisposed at the moment. Is that the word I mean? Let me look it up. That word has been around since at least 1988, so let me see what my dictionary says. It says indisposed means “slightly ill.” Nope. That’s not what I meant. The little cutie is just taking a nap. Anyway, where was I? You were about to tell them what you mean by Believer in Balance. Oh, yeah, thanks for the reminder. You’re welcome.The concept is not new. All work and no play, etc. etc. You’ve heard it all before. Yin Yang (not to be confused with Yuengling, which if you drink enough will throw off your balance!) Great taste . . .less filling. How did I get on this beer kick? Between my recent pregnancy and now nursing, the taste of beer is barely a distant memory. Anyway, I believe m...
More About: Parenting , Have , Renting , Easy , Rent

Super Pooper, Feisty Girl, Sweet Angel and the Fish Killer
2007-03-30 19:53:00
This is my first blog entry. Ah! What to say? Where to begin? I’ll start with the cast of characters in this suburban dramedy. Wait, I’ve got to make sure I spelled dramedy right. I’m super anal about having everything spelled correctly. (Talk amongst yourselves for a moment.) Okay, I’m back. Not in the dictionary yet. Give it time, all sorts of new fangled words end up there eventually, like blog for example! Wait, I just looked up blog and it’s not in my dictionary. When was this thing copyrighted? 1988. That makes sense. It was given to me as a gift for my 18th birthday. Not cool, I know. It came from the same woman who bought me tools and an interstate map for other birthdays. I never did like her. But here sits her lame gift after all these years. How did this all come up? Oh yeah, my suburban dramedy. I’m going to use fake names to protect the innocent. Nah! They’re not that innocent and that’s not really why. Honestly, I’m going to use nicknames so no one Go...
More About: Fish , Angel , Super , Sweet , Killer