containing the crazy while maintaining the fabulous
Welcome to Camp Mama. We opened this week. It’s a free camp. Electronic devices are allowed. The goal is to make the day go by as quickly as possible for all participants. Counselor might drink. Campers will take quiet time from 1-230 (at least here). And damn it campers will enjoy themselves (ha!).
Read MoreVolcanoes! This is a perfect activity for any day that you are looking for something different to do. (It goes especially well with the Floor Is Lava! game that is very big right now at my house).
Get a little science in, maybe some vocabulary, have fun! We didn’t study volcanoes or take a deep dive into the science behind much of this - I’m saving that for this summer - we have plenty of time!
Read MoreLast week, we worked on the the letter “I” … and our project was ICE CREAM.
Much to Teddy’s surprise it was making ice cream.
We made double chocolate, coconut milk ice cream, and then had banana splits. It was simple, fun, and NOT messy.
Until we ate the banana splits that is :-)
Read MoreI unpacked my car this afternoon from my morning trip to @homegoods. Teddy was zooming around, 🚴🏻 without his helmet, and whining how hungry he was for a smoothie. I was sticking to my guns that I was almost dinner time and getting called *the WORST mama EVER* while simultaneously yelling 📢 at him to *come back here RIGHTNOW and be safe*.
Read MoreFour years ago, July 27 to be exact, Teddy had life saving open heart surgery at Children's National Medical Center. (You can read the story about his condition and surgery here ).
Three years ago this week he started walking.
Two years ago this summer Teddy was running around at his first beach trip.
This summer Teddy started swimming and jumping off the side of the pool and became a LEGO master.
This year Teddy will start his final year of preschool.
Read MoreWe made it through another trip around the sun. Teddy is “this many” [shows four fingers]. Teddy had an awesome year being 3, he rocked it, really. Now I am holding on for dear life and hoping that we make it through this year in one piece.
Yep … that’s the face
I was told to watch out for the Terrible Twos and when Teddy hit three I heard “ahhh, he’s a Three-nager now.” But none of that hit our house. I walked through the world smug and smiling with my joyful and sweet little boy, thinking, “Not my kid.” Never once did he run away from me in public or throw a tantrum in a store.
No one told me about age four. No one warned me my kid was going to become a possessed manic. I knew he would stop napping eventually, but become an exhausted sleep monster? I knew he would be smarter, but a manipulative genius? I knew he would get older and change but who is this person in my house?
We have hit the Fucking Fours. I”m here to give you fair warning that they exist.
It happened all at once. One day he was a cute, toddling, little cherub and the next he was a lanky, leggy, fast and loud, maniac. I was convinced I needed to consult a therapist for this sudden change in behavior.
In desperation, I asked my trusted group of friends what the heck was going on, was my kid going phsycho or was this some developmental phase I wasn’t prepared for.
My friends told me that yes indeed 4 year olds suck (phew, my kid wasn’t turning into a Lifetime Movie headliner) and this phase is actually called the Fucking Fours. The **what?!** you say.
The Fucking Fours … because they are fucking loud, fucking annoying, fucking scream-y and fucking tantrum-y and it’s fucking exhausting.
My mind knows that this is a really hard age for kids, they are not (for the most part) trying to be jack-asses. It’s an in-between age, between baby/toddlerhood and real childhood. Full of BIG emotions and ideas but not quite ready to handle them yet. Life is starting to become real and scary. It’s the age of no more naps but damn he needs a nap. Now he he tired and cranky by 4pm and wired again by 5pm but so ready for bed it isn’t funny.
I want to scoop him up and cuddle him and make it all better when he is crying so hard that he says “I can’t stop the tears” but he won’t let me, he needs to figure it out on his own terms. It does makes it that much sweeter when he is ready for a snuggle and a kiss though.
He may not always be in the mood to hold hands, he might be running away at break neck speed, but he still always replies to my I love you with “I love you all the way around.”
The fucking fours are master manipulators. They are aware of what you are doing and how to work around you. Maybe it’s a stand off, maybe it’s a tantrum, maybe it’s tears. Something will work today for them to get their way. At least it often does in my house. Is today going to be the day that mom just doesn’t want to deal with any tears/screaming/mess and gives in to that cookie before breakfast? Probably.
The Fucking Fours are sometimes so fucking cute
Fucking Fours like to press boundaries with all things making bed time super enjoyable. The once loved bath is touch and go. Getting ready for bed is a delicate matter hinging on whether you set out the right pajamas and have prepared the correct books. No? Well then back to square one, after he’s calmed down. But as he gets sleepier, he gets more cuddly and wants to read more (ONE MORE BOOK JUST ONE MORE!!!) and you lay in bed and sing songs like you did just a few months ago.
You tuck that long lanky kid into that big boy bed and the Fucking Fours slide away and he’s just your sweet little boy.
Until 1:47am when he screams your name and demands you sleep in his bed …
CES, the holy grail of all things gadgety and new. Whether you are in the market for a a TV that rolls up and hides away, amachines fold your clothes for you, a smart hair dryer, or a helicopters that is going to partner with Uber, there was something for everyone at CES 2019 😮
I narrowed down my favorites to the top dozen or so items that you should check out in 3 categories Health and Fitness, Baby & Kids, and Lifestyle. Read on and see what you need
Read MoreI ran into a friend the other day and we started talking about how we view ourselves as moms. She said she didn't feel like she was a great mom because she was short with her kids, unable to deal with the whining and arguing, and felt like she yelled and pushed back too much.
The first thing I thought was, **I feel that way, too. We all do. **
Read MoreMost meals I try to make all around family pleasers. Sometimes though, I'm craving something that I know my toddler won't like. Oh well, kiddo! Sometimes mama gets to enjoy a meal without your fingers in it!
Read MoreOn this special day, let’s hear it for the men!
Let's hear it for the men that were there for us when we were little and needed our knees bandaged, daily. When we wanted to play Candy Lane and Pretty Pretty Princess, daily. When we were surly teens, talking back and skipping out on curfew. Bandaging our hearts when they got broken for the first time.
Let's hear it for the men who displayed to us what a father should be.
Let's hear it for the men who were there during those 9 crazy months of pregnancy and all 22 hours of labor.
Read MoreThree years ago we brought you home. Now you are three years old. You just seem so big and mature.
You conquered this last year with ease , if not grace, and I have a few wishes for you for this coming one:
I hope you never lose your adventurous spirit… keep on being the most fun kid at the park.
Read MoreA year has passed since I have started this blog and started documenting our lives and my musings. A year with a child can seem like an eternity, the days creeping by so slowly, then BAM, you look back and the 365 days have flow by in the blink of an eye. Things are ever changing with kids, their needs and wants and favorite colors. And just as you are focused on how much things have changed, you can be surprised by how much they stay the same. Time is a strange beast and nothing shows you the power of it more than kids.
Read More'Twas four nights before Christmas and all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even Rudy and his mouse.
The decorated tree gave off a warm glow,
adorned with ornaments from long ago. [really there are no ornaments on the tree, Teddy took them all off]
Teddy in his crib drifting asleep slowly,
Snuggled and dreaming of RoboCar Poli.
I in my new Lulu joggers and Papa in a charcoal mask,
we had just settled in for a long winters nap. (i.e. we were in bed reading and falling asleep at 9pm)
[at 12:09am]
When out of the monitor arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter!
Up! Up! - the stairs I went like a SWAT team.
All while my husband continued to dream.
In this day and age where actors and politicians and media figures, men whom our sons would once have looked up to, are falling from grace for harassing and disrespecting women it is oh so important to teach our sons the strength of positive social behavior. Being a parent to a boy is a huge responsibility, it is our job to make sure our sons grow up to strong, kind, respectful, empathetic people and break this cycle of bad behavior.
Read MoreDear Exhausted Moms of New Babies, Moms of Toddlers holding onto guilt, Moms struggling to make the "right" decision, this message is for you.
Read MoreTo be on time is to be 5 minutes early. That is how I rolled before Teddy. I was early to class. I was early to work, I was early to lunch dates with friends.
Then I had Teddy, he was 9 days late. Ever since then I have struggled to regularly be on time.
Now I am that friend, the one that is always late or at least seemingly so. The one that comes zooming in breathlessly begging for forgiveness, again.
Read MoreTo the dad who fist bumped me as we passed each other stroller running, each with a sleeping kiddo, thank you ...
To my running "tribe", who answers all sorts of questions, at all hours of the day and night, and is always there for a good laugh, too, thank you ...
To my best friend of 30 years, whose son was born within days of Teddy, who I cried on the phone to those first few weeks (I don't even remember what it was about, but I know I needed it), thank you ...
To the friend who lets us barge into her house, good day or bad, thank you ...
To Teddy's favorite people at Trader Joes, who play with him while I grocery shop, thank you ...
Read MoreRecently Jimmy Kimmel revealed his newborn son's heart condition. To most families this is a gut wrenching story that you can empathize with but is a distant concept.
But to 1% of families, like ours (and a number of dear friends') with child born with a congenital heart defect, this story brought back flashes of our kiddos' struggles. Having a child who is sick is difficult in it's own right; having a child sick when they are first born is terrifying.
Teddy was born with multiple congenital heart defects (CHDs) and had open heart surgery at 2.5 months old. He is now 100% and should have no lasting ill effects. Zach and I are constantly reminded how very lucky we are to have Teddy as part of our lives. He is a sweet and spunky kid who has brought us tremendous joy.
Read MoreYou created me as much as I created you - Mother to Child
Becoming a mom is the most powerful, earth-shattering, life changing thing to have ever happened to me. People will tell you that your life will never be the same, but there is no way to begin to contemplate what is about to happen.
Through all my years of schooling - we are talking a lot of school - I never felt fulfilled. Law school left me questioning who I was going to be, not knowing.
Read MoreDear Teddy,
Today we celebrate you turning 2. It seems like it was just yesterday that your father and I saw you for the first time, looked into your eyes, touched your hair, held you, and watched a piece of our hearts living outside of our bodies.
When I first held you I fell in love with you because you were mine - my child, a sudden embodiment of my heart and soul.
Read MoreFollow our house renovation on my THIS OLD(ish) (TOWN)HOUSE page.
Hope you have fun!
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