john's mom works

just a little read while on the pot ... we've not really made a lot of progress on the potty training front. which is actually not a very accurate statement, because really, we haven't been trying very hard. i know in my heart that john won't go to kindergarten in diapers, so it's just not something we've been stressing about. but i have definitely noticed that john is seeming less-than-happy about a poop-filled diaper lately. and he very often tells us he wants to go to the potty (although that very often corresponds with being out in public and him being bored and wanting something to do ... and has very little connection to any actual bathroom-related activity). so last night, when john looked at me and said, "i go poo poo, mommy," i responded, "do you need a fresh diaper?" and he said, "no, i not go yet." so i said, "would you like to go poo poo on the potty?" and he said, "yes ma'am!" ...

in case you just can't get enough of me (she said knowing you want to put duct tape over her mouth) ... Today I Want To Be a Stay at Home Mom Three Things I Never Thought I'd Say (and Then I Had a Child)

i have two suckers, one for each of you. john is getting taller. how do i know? last night we were having our usual cuddle session in his rocker in his room. he lays on my chest with his head nestled into my neck and we "nuggle" for a few minutes before he goes to bed. only last night, he kept pushing my chin and face and head away, saying, "mommy, get you head out the way!" after a few minutes of struggling, i realized the problem - his body is getting longer, so he no longer fits in quite the same way that he has in the past. so i said, "it's ok baby - you're just getting big." he interrupted and said, "i not big, i very little." i patiently explained, "yes, but you're getting bigger. and we just have to figure out how to fit when we snuggle now that you're getting bigger." he looked at me long and hard before he touched my cheek and said, "mommy? you crazy." *   *   * a litt...

first, i have finally culled a few of the awesome pics that nana and her friend l took while john was in town. there were tons to choose from, but here's the cream of the crop: creative trike riding package delivery route watching where he's going daddy's home-made blocks! on the playground at mommy's office awww, what a cute family john's first time swinging alone! a preview of my little tigger the family that reads together ... where's waldo? so why, pray tell, have i been so quiet? i've been writing ... but i've been reworking old blog entries and putting together some new material for my gig over at yahoo! (their exclamation point, not mine - it's cool that i'm writing for them and all, but come on!) some new stuff they've published of mine: First Person: 5 Steps to a "Perfect" Credit Score How Purple Hair Made Me a Better Mom 10 Things No One Told Me Ab...

this is the face of glee. don't worry, he's sitting in daddy's lap. on our way home from school last night, john kept saying, "i want to drive!" and he wouldn't accept my answer of "give it 14 years or so, baby." so last night when we got home, the whole family piled into the front seat of daddy's car so john could "drive" us around. he was in rare form, turning the steering wheel, flipping the windshield wipers on and off, and having daddy help him honk the horn. i'm glad we did this now, because he won't be fooled long - we did turn the car on so he could see all the lights, but he obviously didn't go anywhere. and that was ok, except for one moment when he said, "no, i want to drive OUT THERE! go THAT way!" as he pointed over our shoulders and out the garage door. to which i repeated ... "give it 14 years or so, baby." *   *   * the driving interlude was a very pleasant break in wh...

same kid, different outfit ... we had a very full weekend with the visit of nana and L - more on that tomorrow, with pics pics pics because they are awesomely prolific photographers. for today, let's just meditate on the very different facets of my little bugs personality, as pictorially represented in the above photos. it's clear that john is negotiating some of the same urgent societal issues his mom tries to tackle: rugged bear backpack or sassy pink pumps? and no, i didn't let him wear the pink shoes in public.

john told me he was making dinner for me. hope i like goldfish! well, our guests made it safely in late last night - so nice to see mom-in-law and L! they're troopers - it's a 650 mile trip that they drove straight through. this morning, john was hanging out with nana while i got ready for work, and he decided he wanted to "make stuff." a few bowls, pots, and stirring devices later, he said, "mommy, i making you dinner!" so i guess i'm in for a goldfish flavored treat ... nana, L, daddy, and john came to meet me for lunch today, and i tell you what - that was a bolt of sunshine in a long friday. the day's almost over, and i'm happy to see the weekend come. happy weekend, all! enjoy!

the latest edition to the fleet john found a tractor buried in the sand at the playground the other day. it was the night we were there late, and we were the only ones left at the park. it was also somewhat broken, so we made the judgement call and brought it home with us. it was in rough shape. sand was in every little crack and crevice - it poured out every time you moved the thing. it was a mess. so i set it aside to clean later. and then i forgot about it. but john saw it yesterday before bed, and he was beside himself because he wanted to play with it. but it hadn't been cleaned, so i promised him i would take care of it for today. so in the midst of cleaning house last night (my mother in law arrives today - had to make sure the house looked something close to ok!) i took time to detail the tractor. small brush, running water, a good scrub, and soon it looked good as new. i'm thinking i missed my calling as a tractor detailer. *   *   * i'...

don't bother telling john he's a little kiddo on a big playground - he's got this beast tamed. in an effort to shed some of the ice-cream-induced padding i've put on since we found out about the miscarriage (and, frankly, the everything-else-induced padding that was there before ), i've decided it's time for john's mom to get active again. right now i'm still somewhat limited on the intensity of activity i'm supposed to do, so we're starting out small: the past two days, john and i have gone for walks in our neighborhood when we get home from work/school. monday night we walked for about 40 minutes and covered nearly 2.5 miles - not bad pushing a stroller and talking about every truck, tree, and squirrel we encountered along the way! last night's walk was shorter, but punctuated by some time at the playground at the end of our neighborhood. there were some big kids having soccer practice but john had the playground mostly to h...

when we got to school this morning, john wanted to go on a slide - very specifically, THAT slide. as a part of our night-night routine, i often tell john a story, and frequently sing songs as well. so it comes as no surprise that he's recently started to tell stories to me, too, and to sing songs. i thought i'd share the lyrics to john's version of 'twinkle twinkle little star,' per last night's performance. "twinkle twinkle twinkle star how i how what you mommy h i j k ellmenohpeee up above sky so high twinkle twinkle twinkle star!" but the piece de resistance last night was john's story that he told me. typically i tell him very short stories about toys that like to play with john and his best friend buddy. they encounter some kind of trouble, john and/or buddy and/or daddy saves the day, and they go back to playing alllllll dayy looong. so john informed me that *he* was going to tell *me* a story. and it went like this: "o...

it took about 40 takes to get three usable pictures of john with his sock on saturday at auntie's house, we had a conversation about the bane of spoiled milk in a car. in college i left a whole gallon in my car once, and it stank for weeks. nowadays that particular stench typically derives from a neglected sippy cup stashed under a car seat. and my cousin's girlfriend, raven, shared that she'd done something similar with some shrimp once, and we had a lovely conversation about the many horrible smells that might be found in a vehicle. and then today, raven sent me this link:  Casey Anthony and I have one thing in common. Just one. it was so good, i had to read it to my husband. and while i was reading it aloud, john came careening into the kitchen with a well-padded (clean) hiking sock on his hand. he proceeded to bop me with it, laughing hysterically, while my husband and i laughed hysterically at the content of that blog. we all had tears in ou...

the lighting in ihop leaves a little to be desired ... but my company at breakfast was perfect. i told myself i would take it easy this weekend. after all, i had surgery - albeit very minor - on friday morning, so i would need all the rest and laying around i could get, right?  but saturday morning, i woke up feeling REALLY good. pretty much normal, actually. and when i saw a commercial on tv for ihop and their pumpkin pancakes, i couldn't resist ... so we headed off for delicious pancake breakfast. and, despite having to wait about 20 minutes, we actually had a great family breakfast. john got his very own plate of silver-dollar pancakes, eggs, and bacon, so goodness knows he was happy. and after breakfast, it was off for a haircut for my shaggy-haired little monster. he didn't like it much - did a lot of wiggling - but at least he didn't cry the whole time like he did last time. and that was a MIGHTY full morning for a wee peanut, so he crashed hard on the ...

a pretty face to go with a yukky story. it's 11 after minute and i'm awake. not for any bad reason you might suspect: i'm actually still feeling great. still haven't needed and pain meds. i think i just slept so much all day (and then had too much oh-so-delicious iced tea ... with caffeine) that i'm just now starting to fade to black for the night. and if you have a weak stomach (nothing gory about my surgery - just a lovely child vomit story) you can stop reading right now, know we're all ok, and have a fabulous night. anyone still here? ok. so john is on a lot of medicine right now for his hand. well, not a LOT, but he does have to take two daily doses of antibiotics plus several doses a day of benadryl. and he's actually a great medicine taker, typically, even of the yukky ones. he just sips them down out of the little syringe, sometimes with a grimace, but no major problems. but. tonight, we made a strategic error. he took a cool bat...

dr. john's prescription for mommy's recovery. last night we dropped john off at P & R's house to play with their awesome kiddos, L & S. the kiddos are a little older than john, but their youngest (a boy) and john wound up being fast friends. they've played together before, but last night apparently john had crossed some developmental threshold that allowed them to truly play together, not just side by side. they would play in one room, discuss their plans, run into another room to "see how fast airplanes go in the kitchen!" then bounce back to the first room to do more planning. plus, we got serenaded by L's burgeoning piano skills and got to spend some awesome time with P & R who are wonderful friends to us. it definitely put me at ease leaving john in such caring hands, and knowing he'd have fun overnight and the next day. we came home and ate the delicious dinner that other friend L had dropped off earlier in the day (if she ever ...

the star is from daycare yesterday - i just couldn't scrub it off because of his tender swollen skin. the plan for today, originally, was for my husband to go to work and spend his day wrapping things up so he could be off tomorrow, me to go to work to do the same, so i could leave at 2pm for my pre-op appointment (more on that in a sec) and then for us to convene at home for one dear friend to bring us a much-appreciated dinner before we brought john to another dear friend's house to stay the night so he wouldn't have to come to the hospital with us at 5am. oh, the best laid plans. instead, we woke up to john's hand all swollen up and angry red. i hoped we could get him in early to see his doctor, then i'd take him to daycare and i'd head to work and we'd continue the plan from there. and we did get a 9am appointment ... and it is just an angry angry bug bite of some kind, that john's little system reacted to. but the doc said john needed to...

look at my messy makeup ... i promise i will pay this off in a minute. john has been playing a very mysterious (to me) game lately. he will reach down with his fingers as though he were picking up something small and skinny, touch my face, and say, "you want candy on you face mommy?" nearly every day, he would play this game. and i just couldn't figure it out. why would i want candy on my face? and when i tried to "eat" the "candy," he said, "eeeww yukky, mama! don't eat that candy!" until finally, two nights ago when we were getting ready for bed, he added something new. after putting candy on my face for several minutes, he said, "you look pretty, mommy! you beautiful!" and the next morning, he came into the bathroom while i was doing my makeup, and he said with glee, "you put candy on you face, mommy!" so. i guess to the two-year-old eye, all those colors DO look like candy. i was getting my ver...

boy's best friend so, a confession first: i am losing my mind. it seems that my poor little brain has reached its capacity or something, because the degree to which i am successfully navigating this "balancing act" is rapidly decreasing lately. this afternoon right about the time i finished posting my earlier blog, i suddenly stopped in my tracks, virtually paralyzed. the overwhelming thought that filled my mind was: you didn't let buddy back into the house this morning. i wracked my brain - could i come up with one little glimmer of a memory of latching him safely into his kennel? or even letting him in the back door? but try as i might, there was no such glimmer. i quickly became convinced that buddy was in the backyard alone all day. for some dogs, that wouldn't be a problem. plenty of dogs spend most of their time outside. but buddy is first NOT an outside dog. he likes to go outside to play, but not to stay. he belongs inside. and second, he...

typically speaking, john's favorite place on the couch is the far left side (as you look at it). that's where he snuggles up to watch his movies, eat a snack, or snuggle under the blanket. except, of course, when mommy sits at the far end. then john stops one micro-inch away from sitting on me, as close as he can possibly get to me. and leaves the whoooooole rest of the couch unused. a boy can't get close enough to his mommy, apparently! (and i love it. although, i DO look forward to a time when i get to go to the bathroom by myself. that doesn't happen often these days!) --- i have never been a whiz in the kitchen. i don't really even like to cook, though of course i have learned and can get by well enough to feed my family. (though thank goodness my husband is a better and more adept cook than i, and he does far more than his fair share of the cooking chez john.) but on sunday afternoon, i needed to bake some muffins for us to eat for brea...

there's usually a school right there. this morning john and i drove to school/work enshrouded in a thick fog, like most of baton rouge today. when we walked out to the car, as the garage door was opening, john exclaimed, "mommy, snow!" i explained that it wasn't snow but fog, and he happily conceded, "that's right, it's snow fog!" and then the whole way on our drive he kept asking me to make the snow fog go bye bye. oh if only a mommy had that sort of meteorological power!! and while i'm at it, perhaps i can also dispel the fog that i seem to be in. (let's pause a moment and marvel at that terribly clunky transition.) it is hitting home to me that, since i haven't miscarried yet and tuesday is my three-week follow up appointment, it is growing increasingly likely that i will have to go in for the d&c. and i'm not going to lie, i'm a little freaked out about it even though i know it's a totally routine proced...

my boys in profile as awesome as yesterday morning was - as proud as john was of his good mommy and good daddy - last night was terrible. i'm not sure what was in john's craw, but he had a fit that would make any two year old proud. it started with seeing the neighbor kids in the driveway playing. john wanted to play, so we went to say hi. and john turned shy, which is crazy, because he loves those kids. and then he wouldn't share, which isn't like him either. and then he started to sob, so we made our way home pretty quick. but it was too late. by the time we made it inside, the situation had devolved to the point where everything was no, he was crying almost hysterically, and even in brief moments of calm he was still lip quivery and on the edge. he wanted to watch incredibles - but as soon as daddy started to put it on, he shouted, "not incredibles!" and feel into sobs again. this fit lasted about an hour and a half. finally, a little mac...

before (l) - john in one of my tshirts after (r) - cleaned up nice and looking like a big man we have a custom in our house that when john goes to bed every night, i tell him something about his day that made me proud of him. it can run the gamut from being proud that he used his words to tell us something to being proud that he behaved so well in a store or played so nicely with a friend. but no matter how rough the day might have been, i pick something out and tell him i'm proud of him. and i truly thought i was doing this for him - to reinforce that he's doing good things and working hard. to remind him that mommy and daddy are always proud of the good things he does. so imagine my surprise this morning, when i walked into his room because i heard him fussing a little. i had just gotten out of the shower, and still had a towel on my head and another wrapped around me. "good morning, my love!" i chirped cheerfully. "good job taking a s...

pig pile on mommy i propose a survey. what is the funniest part of this picture: 1) that even lying down for a pig pile, john can't sit still for an instant 2) that buddy thought the pie-slice between my feet was the perfect place to rest 3) that little lizard. why am i holding a little lizard? this was just a day ago, and i can't remember. whichever is your favorite part, my favorite part is this: what a picture of perfection that is. i'm not perfect. john's not perfect. buddy's not perfect. (the lizard may be perfect - the jury is still out.) my husband can't be in the pic because he's taking it, so that's not perfect. but the sum of those imperfect parts is pretty amazing. and damn close to perfect. p.s. i am psyched to say that i just had a couple of articles published on yahoo! i'm not a big fan of shameless self-promotion, but if you enjoy the blog you may enjoy these as well. this one  is just a little thought on some music th...

the renowned artist, mr. chuck e. cheese, was kind enough to sketch john and myself. john was invited to not one but two birthday parties this past weekend. talk about being in demand! he's apparently quite a hit in the two to three year old set. once john had accepted the invitations (without hesitation - these are his FRIENDS, after all!), the next step was procuring presents. it is remarkably challenging to pick out a birthday present for a toddler you don't know well. i received all kinds of advice. "you know what john likes, buy something he would want!" or, "you can't go wrong with elmo." or "pick something low-key, like puzzles." the only certainty: nothing that makes electronic noise of any kind. so our family field-tripped to toys 'r' us friday night. we wandered the aisles for what seemed like days. thomas the really useful engine, you say? good luck finding ANYTHING under $20. how about sesame street? there ARE s...