A Mom's Life

There are reasons why you don't see toddlers at restaurants other than Chucky Cheese. The whole process of going out to eat is exhausting. You must prepare in advance and be sure to pack a bib, a sippy cup, pre-meal snacks and never, ever forget the wet naps. You've made it to the restaurant. Everyone stares at you as you talk to the hostess about seating you in a corner, far, far away from everyone else, with enough space to park your diaper bag and accommodate a high chair. One of you wrestles the baby's jacket off while the other sets the scene: sippy cup and snacks on the table with jelly packets and a menu for pre-meal entertainment. The waitress places the utensils on the table, you push them to the side. She brings you water, you scoop out the ice cubes and pour some into the sippy cup. You pray for the appetizers as you take turns bending down to pick up tossed jelly packets. Everyone mentions how cute your baby is and coos at her in hopes for a smile. There is a ti...

What an amazing gift I have been given. Having a child is faith that life is much bigger than you. Yes, at times she is annoying and is developing into a bit of a pest these days yet my face hurts from smiling so much. When I look at her my heart melts. In the car the other day, I left Andy to sit in the back. She held my hand. Her breathy way of saying "Nana" takes my own breath away. My little love and I shared a day together this weekend for a trip to Albany. She was a total joy in the car ride and I adjusted the rear view mirror so I could watch her expression as we "talked." We covered the alphabet many, many times, counted all the words she can say and said them many, many times. And, as I usually like to do, we did some singing. It's been wonderfully scary watching Caroline react to the world and I get a kick out of her clapping when people clap on TV and when she dances to the Friendly's commercial. Back to the car ride: as we traversed hi...

I'm worried about the summer. I won't be working for most of July and August and I'm looking forward to spending my days gardening, enjoying sunshine, fresh air and time with Caroline. What concerns me is what we'll do together. I'm not necessarily the advocate for scheduling every minute of my child's day. I have a new-mom friend who recently commented to me that she felt guilty for not offering educational activities to her child such as reading. The baby is less than a month old! A full breast and a clean diaper was about as stimulating as life got for my girl at that age. I'm concerned because her daycare offers a warm, safe environment with continuous activities from playing outside to dancing, circle time and finger painting. A change from her day life, her activities at home include following Dingo around, pulling the cats' tails, shutting herself into rooms and vigorously attempting to get into all things out of reach. I've noticed th...

Today was warm, meaning Spring might be on its way. Summer follows Spring. That means I'll want to go swimming and I'll need a swimsuit. This used to be a source of fun and excitement for me when my biggest question was how much money to spend on a tiny piece of spandex. Three summers ago, my swimsuit was my post-work outfit of choice. We painted our house that summer and a bikini was the obvious painting attire option. Get paint on your leg? It's just skin! Wash it off! The bikini was pink with green, tropical leaves. It had a triangle top and the front and back of the bottom were attached by small, wooden circles. Cars would honk at my bum as I stood on the ladder slapping paint onto the siding. I waved back with pride, not knowing that was the last time I would be able to see my upper-inner thighs just by looking down. The next summer was equally fun because I was in my second trimester. I had a beautiful, growing belly and sported several styles of bikini. ...

Having a child makes you want to do everything the RIGHT way. I remember preparing like a New Year's Resolution for all of the good changes we were going to make after Caroline's birth: no more watching TV; no more swearing (I know- good bye F-bomb); no more fighting; eat more vegetables; drink more water; go to sleep earlier. Caroline was going to make us better people. It was just that easy. Being the perfect role model for your child is a daunting responsibility. It's also impossible. We have learned to fudge some of our perfect parenting. Watch a little bit of TV until the baby figures out that TV exists; remind each other to stop swearing and drop as many F-bombs as you can on the car ride from work to daycare; discuss don't argue; sneak veggies onto pizza; drink a glass of water for every cup of coffee; at least sleeping on the couch is better than staying up late. We're on our way to being better. F-bombs and veggies aside, our biggest role model decis...