You know you're a mom when you can watch your three year old throw up his entire dinner on the table, the floor and himself, and then quickly clean up the table, the floor and the child and go back to eating your dinner. I know, because it happened to me.
Kelan had been complaining of a stomachache all afternoon and had not eaten anything since breakfast. He was a bit feverish and also mentioned that his right foot hurt. Who knows what was wrong with him, all I knew was that it was dinnertime and he wanted to eat bunnies and cheese (for those non parents or grandparents - this is mac and cheese with pasta that is shaped like bunnies). So I figured I would let him eat them if he wanted. Big mistake.
Within seconds of Kelan saying his stomach hurt again, he threw up all his bunnies (I don't think he even chewed them on the way down, because whole bunnies were pouring all over the table). Not a problem - we have baby wipes! I swear I will never cease to be amazed at how useful these things can be - I use them for EVERYTHING. I wipe Kelan down completely and move him into the living room (he's feeling MUCH better by this point). Dan starts throwing bath towels on the table and floor to catch the runaway bunnies and Lauren, unfazed, is still eating her bunnies. I "baby wipe" the table, the floor and Voila! good as new.
So good that I return to my dinner of heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Meanwhile Dan is taking his unfinished plate into the kitchen - he cannot eat another bite. All I can think of is that you NEVER waste an heirloom tomato. They are seasonal and quite possibly the best tasting tomato...ever (and this is coming from someone who does not even like tomatoes).
Maybe it was the tomato that kept me eating or maybe it is just the fact that this is not the grossest thing I have had to endure these past few years. I bet if you were to ask any mom out there they would say that their "gross out index" has changed dramatically since the birth of their first child (hell, the birth alone can do it for some). I guess I looked at it like my son really needed help, and that I was really still hungry.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Just a Little Help and Kindness
This morning while the kids were eating breakfast I noticed that my husband, Dan, had circled an article for me to read in the Seattle PI. It was about how a father tried to take his toddler and baby in the stroller on the bus (loaded with groceries) only to be ordered to collapse the stroller and carry the bags, kids, and the stroller itself on board. Metro bus rules. So instead of a "compactly loaded vehicle with baby and toddler inside, [they] have a tangle of wheels, metal bars, bags and towels spread across the aisle and two howling kids to hold. Profuse perspiration, high stress. And no seat." Turns out that the bus driver still had a problem with this father (the stroller - apparently - was not collapsed enough) and in turn asked the father to get off the bus. Seriously.
I was incensed! In fact, there were many comments online against this poor father who had tried to have one less car on the road on a Sunday. I immediately wrote a letter to the editor in support because I too have been asked to collapse my stroller with a new baby and toddler in tow. It is a nightmare to juggle and carry a baby, toddler, stroller and diaper bag onto a bus. Adding insult to injury, I wasn't even offered a seat (people are definitely possessive of their seats here - I remember when I was 9 months pregnant with Kelan. I rode the bus home every day after work and lost track of how many times I had to stand with my fat swollen throbbing feet with my huge belly protruding into the other passengers at each jerk and stop of the bus - but that's another story).
It's now after lunch and I am still upset about all the comments made to this father about how he should not subject the rest of the bus riding public with his stroller and kids, that he should have just taken his car, etc. These ignorant people seem to think they came to this world by themselves, and dammit that's the only person they are going to look out for (you just know these are the same people who talk loudly on their cells in crowded buses). To hell with the mothers and fathers out there who need just a little extra help. I know for me, that the smallest gestures (like offering to take my grocery cart back to the store after I have unloaded groceries and kids) can often turn my day around if I'm having one of those challenging moments.
I am reminded of the time I took Kelan to his first movie. Disney's Ratatoullie was playing at our neighborhood theater and I took Kelan to the 12 o'clock show. Kelan was playing with the seat and climbing in and out of it when I noticed this prissy little man glare at me. I tried to make nice by explaining that this was his first time in a theater and that he would be sitting for the movie (note that the lights had not even dimmed at this point). He looked at me and said, "I hope so, or we can move". Excuse me? Did he just cop an attitude because he thought his little movie experience at a kid's film during prime kid hour would be compromised by a kid? If it was that important to him, maybe choose another time? He actually decided to move before the lights went down but I noticed that karma got him and his boyfriend because a family with a crying baby and toddler sat down right next to him. I couldn't help but smile.
I'm even amazed at the reproachful looks I get at times when our family is out to eat - at family friendly restaurants. I have seen couples wanting to have an intimate dinner at a family friendly restaurant at 5:30-6pm (prime kid hour) give me dirty looks! Go to a different restaurant if you don't want to hear little voices and some baby cries. We do not go to non family restaura
nts out of respect of other diners - you never know what you're going to get with Kelan and Lauren (and they are actually quite good in public). In fact, Dan and I even tip more than we used to because of the mess we leave.
I know kids can be challenging and there are those people who do not want to be around them. Fine. But you need them more than you realize. Our children (who already have a debt when they are born due to the mismanagement of this Administration - but I digress) will be the ones working, governing, and caring about us when we are old. It actually is in your best interest to be kind. That's all we're asking.
I was incensed! In fact, there were many comments online against this poor father who had tried to have one less car on the road on a Sunday. I immediately wrote a letter to the editor in support because I too have been asked to collapse my stroller with a new baby and toddler in tow. It is a nightmare to juggle and carry a baby, toddler, stroller and diaper bag onto a bus. Adding insult to injury, I wasn't even offered a seat (people are definitely possessive of their seats here - I remember when I was 9 months pregnant with Kelan. I rode the bus home every day after work and lost track of how many times I had to stand with my fat swollen throbbing feet with my huge belly protruding into the other passengers at each jerk and stop of the bus - but that's another story).
It's now after lunch and I am still upset about all the comments made to this father about how he should not subject the rest of the bus riding public with his stroller and kids, that he should have just taken his car, etc. These ignorant people seem to think they came to this world by themselves, and dammit that's the only person they are going to look out for (you just know these are the same people who talk loudly on their cells in crowded buses). To hell with the mothers and fathers out there who need just a little extra help. I know for me, that the smallest gestures (like offering to take my grocery cart back to the store after I have unloaded groceries and kids) can often turn my day around if I'm having one of those challenging moments.
I am reminded of the time I took Kelan to his first movie. Disney's Ratatoullie was playing at our neighborhood theater and I took Kelan to the 12 o'clock show. Kelan was playing with the seat and climbing in and out of it when I noticed this prissy little man glare at me. I tried to make nice by explaining that this was his first time in a theater and that he would be sitting for the movie (note that the lights had not even dimmed at this point). He looked at me and said, "I hope so, or we can move". Excuse me? Did he just cop an attitude because he thought his little movie experience at a kid's film during prime kid hour would be compromised by a kid? If it was that important to him, maybe choose another time? He actually decided to move before the lights went down but I noticed that karma got him and his boyfriend because a family with a crying baby and toddler sat down right next to him. I couldn't help but smile.
I'm even amazed at the reproachful looks I get at times when our family is out to eat - at family friendly restaurants. I have seen couples wanting to have an intimate dinner at a family friendly restaurant at 5:30-6pm (prime kid hour) give me dirty looks! Go to a different restaurant if you don't want to hear little voices and some baby cries. We do not go to non family restaura
nts out of respect of other diners - you never know what you're going to get with Kelan and Lauren (and they are actually quite good in public). In fact, Dan and I even tip more than we used to because of the mess we leave.
I know kids can be challenging and there are those people who do not want to be around them. Fine. But you need them more than you realize. Our children (who already have a debt when they are born due to the mismanagement of this Administration - but I digress) will be the ones working, governing, and caring about us when we are old. It actually is in your best interest to be kind. That's all we're asking.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Wigawee Wigawee
Kelan has a problem pronouncing his "L's" - so what he's really saying is, "wiggly wiggly". The sad part is, he's usually holding my bottom when he says this. There's a part of me that just wants to cover up in embarrassment when he does this, but then I remember, it's not embarrassing to him. He just sees things in this world as they are. My bottom is no longer the "buns of steel" they once were (okay, maybe they were never steel, but they were NOT jello). I guess the combination of 2 kids, no time to work out like I should and the bowl of ice cream each night gets me: wigawee wigawee.
That said, I am trying to teach my children a healthy/positive attitude about body image and sex. I know, I know - they are only (almost) 3 and 1 years of age - but I would like to set the stage where our bodies and sex are something we can talk about. That these topics are not taboo and there is nothing to be embarrassed about.
I took a "birds+bees+kids" class with my other co op preschool parents a couple of months ago. It was a class to learn how to talk to your kids about sex and our bodies. Great class. However I was amazed when the teacher said that children should know about sex by the age of five. Five!?! Yep, five. She wasn't talking about the down and dirty details, but just the basics and the real names of body parts. I was a little surprised, but then learned that it's better to learn from your parents (and not their friends who may not have a healthy outlook) and establish trust to talk about important and hard topics. Additionally, we can hope that our kids can learn to have a voice in the awful chance of an inappropriate relationship.
She went on to say that the conversations that you have with your preschooler are about 2 minutes over many months. They are not embarrassing to them (although the parents may not be breathing throughout those couple of minutes). In fact the first time I read this book, "What's the Big Secret" (a introduction to sex for young children), Kelan listened and then said "okay.... let's play trains". The teacher was right, he wasn't embarrassed, just curious in the same way as his wanting to know about how trains work.
Our teacher went on to say that these 2 minute conversations over the next couple of years are WAY easier than attempting your first "sex" conversation with a teenager. Makes sense. Set the stage for an open un-ending conversation now.
So I now try to answer Kelan the best way I can (and will do the same for Lauren) when he asks what my breasts are, what my vagina is, what his penis is, etc. Easier said than done, but I'm working on it.
Right now he's asking what tampons are. I take a deep breath - then answer. He now has a new phrase, "that tampon for your gina?". Is it better than wigawee wigawee? Hard to say.
That said, I am trying to teach my children a healthy/positive attitude about body image and sex. I know, I know - they are only (almost) 3 and 1 years of age - but I would like to set the stage where our bodies and sex are something we can talk about. That these topics are not taboo and there is nothing to be embarrassed about.
I took a "birds+bees+kids" class with my other co op preschool parents a couple of months ago. It was a class to learn how to talk to your kids about sex and our bodies. Great class. However I was amazed when the teacher said that children should know about sex by the age of five. Five!?! Yep, five. She wasn't talking about the down and dirty details, but just the basics and the real names of body parts. I was a little surprised, but then learned that it's better to learn from your parents (and not their friends who may not have a healthy outlook) and establish trust to talk about important and hard topics. Additionally, we can hope that our kids can learn to have a voice in the awful chance of an inappropriate relationship.
She went on to say that the conversations that you have with your preschooler are about 2 minutes over many months. They are not embarrassing to them (although the parents may not be breathing throughout those couple of minutes). In fact the first time I read this book, "What's the Big Secret" (a introduction to sex for young children), Kelan listened and then said "okay.... let's play trains". The teacher was right, he wasn't embarrassed, just curious in the same way as his wanting to know about how trains work.
Our teacher went on to say that these 2 minute conversations over the next couple of years are WAY easier than attempting your first "sex" conversation with a teenager. Makes sense. Set the stage for an open un-ending conversation now.
So I now try to answer Kelan the best way I can (and will do the same for Lauren) when he asks what my breasts are, what my vagina is, what his penis is, etc. Easier said than done, but I'm working on it.
Right now he's asking what tampons are. I take a deep breath - then answer. He now has a new phrase, "that tampon for your gina?". Is it better than wigawee wigawee? Hard to say.
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