I'm Back...

It’s been 373 days (give or take a few days...) since my last blog post. And I’m back… mostly because my mom has taken to cyber-stalking me on Facebook and coming to all the wrong conclusion about 10 word posts. She needs a little more information about what’s going on in my life so I’ve decided to try and re-start the blog.

I say “try” because there have been some changes since I wrote my last post, mainly that I’ve gone back to work… full-time. So this is no longer a blog written by a stay-at-home mom to try and keep her family in the loop about the daily goings-on and maybe let another stay-at-home mom know she isn’t alone. Instead, it’s now a blog written by a working-mom who can barely keep it together. It will still be full of chaos and mayhem and lots of photos. The big difference is where I go during the day.

So, to get you up to speed, here is what the family has been up to over the past year:

• Chloe is now 2 (going on 25) and she has brought my mother’s curse to fruition. She is just like me… opinionated, stubborn, and a handful.
• Evan is now 4 (going on cutest boy alive) and has settled into himself. He finally understands consequences, follows direction, and gives me plenty of free time to handle Chloe. Oh, and he has totally fallen for the elf. And while I use it as a bribery technique, I do have some concerns about him constantly asking me if he is being good or bad…. $25 to his therapy fund.
• As a family we’ve seen some really great local parks / attractions (Great Falls MD and VA, Kilgore Falls, MD, National Zoo, Glen Echo Park, MD Renaissance Fair, Green Meadows Farm, etc) and we’ve had some adventures (Chincoteague, VA / Assateague, MD with friends, Luray Caverns, Shenandoah National Park, Pine View (family home in the Poconos), Walt Disney World and trips back and forth to New Jersey).
• For work I’ve travelled to Tucson, AZ, Denver, CO, Dallas, TX and Orlando, FL. Which means that Brian got to figure out how to be a single parent while I was away. It was a rough beginning for him but he figured it all out – especially once he decided his main mission was just to keep the kids alive while I was gone.
• I’ve lowered my standards for the definition of clean and I do a lot of cooking on the weekends which has worked out so far (oh, and I bought everyone extra pairs of underwear in case laundry doesn’t get done quite as often as it used to).
• And, I’ve started working out. About time to lose the “baby weight”… you know, since I haven’t had a baby in our house for over a year.

So I don’t know what I’ll be writing about, but I’m sure it will be entertaining and I know it will give my mother a sense of ease. But since I never have a plan about much of anything I’m pretty sure it will work out. Because one way or another it always does.

Until then, enjoy these 2 beautiful children:

Evan at Great Falls, VA

Evan and Chloe playing dress-up

Evan and Chloe playing dress-up... again

My two sleeping beauties

Chloe licking the whipped cream off of a beater while wearing her Spiderman pajamas

We're Home

Florida was wonderful... good weather, good times, and good family.  Evan got to pet a horse and Chloe got to play in dog beds.  So everyone was happy.

As our coming home gift to you I thought I would share with you our genius way of getting two kids around the airport (interesting how genius is also highly irresponsible):

(This one was right before the almost-fall)

(As you can see by her head Chloe was in the stroller) 

Everyone made it to the cart safe and sound.  I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Almost Turkey Time

Chloe is sick.  She has been unable to get off my chest for about 2 days.  She hasn't been sleeping either. Thankfully Brian convinced her to take a car ride and sleep so I could breathe for a couple of hours.

We leave for Florida tomorrow and I'm not blogging from there.  So have a Happy Thanksgiving and I failed NaMoBloPo or whatever it was.  I'm not good at commitments which is amazing that I've been married for 8 years.

Evan is REALLY excited for Thanksgiving.  He keeps telling me it's almost Turkey Time (which is from a Silly Bus song... if you haven't bought their CD for a child you know yet, do it now - seriously, I don't make any money off of this but I actually love their music and so do my kids) and then he tells me Christmas is next.  We have caught on to the holidays.

And, the most exciting thing today... Evan's legs are finally long enough to ride his bike.  Check out these videos:

(I sent this one to Brian and he asked me if I think Evan is compelled to sing... and yes, I do)

The problem is that going uphill is VERY difficult for him (he just started out after all) so I have to carry the bike (and it isn't light).  But the bigger problem is that if we take the bike around the block, the street parallel to mine is awesome for him because it has a low slope down (that is where I took the videos) but then we turn the corner and my street has some serious uphill action.  But if I go around the block the other way then he will have some serious downhill action.  I mean, do people really have bigger problems than this (I'm kidding... I hope you know, it just all the sudden sounded ridiculous that these are my issues).

Gobble gobble.

Random Photo Friday

Last night I was looking through our pictures and came across so many memories and so much cuteness that I thought I would share them with you (and I'm a little crazy today since I'm trying to clean my house, go out to dinner tonight, have a good weekend, and be prepared to go to Florida on Monday... which of course brings up a whole other how am I going to blog from Florida moment so I'm not sure about next week).

Anywho... on to the photos:

Evan - just a couple weeks old - where did all that squishy-ness go?

Evan - in our first apartment in Atlanta - he is starting to look more like the guy I know.

Evan's First Birthday... E-A-G-L-E-S (which is only slightly embarrassing to say now but we still bleed green).

Evan goofing around as my camera was just starting to die... he was probably about 14-15 months old here.

Evan and I at the Fernbank in Atlanta... and look at my belly - Chloe's first camera appearance.

The Little Girl all cute and whatnot in our house (FINALLY) in Atlanta.  She was about 12 weeks old here.

Chloe - the first camera evidence of mischief... look at those eyes!

 

Chloe - first swing experience, about 6 months.  She doesn't look so excited here but now you can't get her off a swing and God help you if you try to use HER swing at the park (PS - gotta love Hanna Anderrson... she is still using that same coat, gloves, and hat and they are from last year).

Evan - About a month ago before his most recent haircut.  He was making me a pie.

Chloe - about a month ago, in Target, trying on a Captain America hat (with Evan running away from us in the background).

The Ugly Truth about Motherhood

No, this isn't a post about a picture of me in sweatpants, a stained shirt, and unkempt hair (although I'm sure you could get a picture like this from me about once a week... or every morning).  It isn't even anything ugly about bodily fluids even though you will come in skin-to-skin contact with most of them (remember this post).  This is a post about a motherhood truth that most moms know but it isn't often talked about (probably because we are too buys dealing with the truth... I don't think this is a secret or anything).

And here it is... you will not always like your children.  In fact, for me, I'd say on a weekly basis the split is 50/50 on like/dislike.  But I think I've figured out why and they "why" might just be one of the fundamental problems of motherhood (and I'm assuming the same rings true for fatherhood on this... so let's just call it parenthood from here on out).

So, these small creatures come in to your life.  At first they are totally dependent on you (and I'll let you know when that stage ends) and then little by little they gain independence.  All sounds like a good plan... right?  Well, here is the problem.  From the very beginning, even when they are fully dependent on you to do almost anything (except poop, pee, and cry because they got that down from the get-go) they are their own people... with their own likes and dislikes and their own opinions.  And to make matters worse, before they are verbal you have to figure out their likes and dislikes and then once they are verbal (or once they can get their opinion across without being verbal like Chloe) their likes and dislikes will rarely coincide with your needs at the time. 

So, for instance, you need to go to the store.  Chances are your children don't want to.  Now, I'm not saying you give in to your child but be forewarned that your child will use every bit of control he/she has to let you know the store is a no-go.  They will throw fits, "lose" their shoes, take off their coat when you turn your back to put on the sister's coat, and various other temper tantrums.  You can punish all you want but at some point you need milk, eggs, and bread because even prisons carry at least those rations in the kitchen so your family should get the same treatment.  Of course, once you get to the store, everyone will tell you how adorable your son is as he walks around the store singing to everyone and how adorable your daughter is when she smiles and shows her dimple.  And you will say "thank you" but you will think "I will gladly leave them with you for a week so you can enjoy their cuteness for even longer."

Oh, and I know there are mothers/fathers out there reading this post who turn their nose up at me and believe their children are not like this.  These parents will claim their superior parenting skills have so worked that their children obey them immediately and the likes/dislikes of the child coincide with that of the parents'... and that this was the parent's doing.  I'm hear to tell you that is a crock.  That in fact these are the reasons your children "obey" at the moment:

1. You may have one of those children (I've heard these exist) who just aren't very strong-willed.  Your child might just not have as many opinions as my children do.  Guess what, these children are born this way, you can not take credit for this (just like I can't take credit for the fact that my kids don't cry when they get their haircut... to quote Lady Gaga, "they were born that way"... I can't believe I just quoted Lady Gaga).
2. Your parenting might indeed have worked to the fact that your children are afraid of the punishment (I'm no talking beating... could be as easy as time-out) and therefore immediately obey.  But you know they are plotting right?  They are sitting there right now thinking of all the disobedient things they will do when they are teenagers just to get back at you. Go ahead, look at them right now sitting there quietly... plotting.  And don't worry if you think they won't be able to come up with any "bad" things to do, I'm sure my kids will be able to help them out.

Now, I'm not talking about huge things your children will do to make you not like them... I'm just talking about every day things.  Like:

• Evan deciding he didn't need to listen to me at The Little Gym and instead he chooses to run out the front door while I'm trying to get Chloe in her jacket so I have to take off after him with Chloe.
• Chloe deciding she will eat any and all processed foods EXCEPT the one I put in front of her for lunch.
• Chloe telling me she is done with her dinner by throwing her remaining food on the floor.
• Evan deciding that screaming is an appropriate form of expression... anytime and anywhere.
• Chloe thinking that at 18 months she no longer needs a nap.

You know, when I write these things they don't really sound bad.  But I swear, when you are in the middle of corralling two children and one of them decides they want to be doing something different with or without your permission, at that moment, you just don't like your kid. 

But it's all okay, because just as fast they will make it better by doing something cute (something that also comes from them having their own likes and dislikes, see how this can make you crazy) like needing to pick out their own clothes for the day and ending up looking like this:

(Sunglasses, winter coat, pajama pants, and fireman rain boots... too cute)