Siobhan is a fiercely independent baby. If she does not want to be held, she will squirm until she is put down, she is not afraid to stand in front of a room full of people, shake her booty and happily entertain herself.
This weekend was a busy one. We had a lacrosse tournament, a family lunch, a summer pool party and a family dinner to attend.
I will file this blog under the category “WTF” and “Things I Wish I Had Never Heard.”
Our dog, as is the case with most dogs, enjoys a good crotch sniffing. We try to dissuade him, but he persists.
So, the other day, Tom walked into the den and the dog was eye balls deep in Ethan’s crotch, but rather than pushing the dog away, Ethan was bouncing up and down.
In a move that Tom probably regrets, he asked Ethan what he was doing. His answer?
My husband has a “list” that grows every time we watch a movie or a show. This list is his “Hall Pass List”. Celebrities that he is allowed to have sex with should he have the opportunity. He always asks my permission “Can she be on my list?” and I always say yes.
I figure odds are he will never actually meet these people, and should they actually meet, there is probably about a 1 in a million chance that it will lead to sex.
Okay, not quite yet, but the end of the school year is just around the corner. This means that parents everywhere are pondering the perfect end of year teacher gift. I have never been a teacher myself, but I do have several teacher friends, and every year they get loaded with loot when that final bell rings.
Well, I have one sad Canucks fan on my hands here.
We decided to let Ethan stay up for the last game of the Stanley Cup. Not only was it possible that a Canadian team might win, but the Canucks are also Ethan’s favourite team. I should mention this is the team he chose at the beginning of the year, not one he started cheering for because they were winning.
I have written plenty of blogs that never make it to this space because I feel they are too ranty, or too personal, and in some very rare instances because I am afraid of offending people. So, believe me when I say that I thought long and hard before posting this blog. It directly contradicts the opinions of several of my friends and fellow Yummy Mummies, but I have decided that the ladies who may take offense are close enough to me to know it’s not a personal attack, just my opinion.
I had a conversation yesterday that really got me thinking, so much so, that when I went home I forced my husband into one of those highly emotional, crazy conversations men hate.
He talked patiently with me despite the fact that the Stanley Cup finals were on, and I rambled on choking back tears because... well, because I was friggin emotional.
I went on about how exasperated I’ve been with the kids, how hard it is being at work when they are having dinner, the frustration I have felt between the two of us... I went on and on about EVERYTHING!
I have written a few times about how much I hate it when moms judge one another. People who turn up their noses when they see a mom feeding her baby from a bottle, people who treat you like you are beating your child if you put a disposable diaper on them. I just think that these are personal choices and there is no need to judge one another.
When Siobhan was about three months old, it seemed that her teeth were starting to come in; not uncommon, I don’t think. So I started to look for alternatives to the regular Tylenol and Advil relief.
That’s when I first heard about amber necklaces, and I wrote this blog. Shortly after that, @Spearso from The Extraordinary Baby Shoppe contacted me to see if I would like an amber necklace to try. I said yes, please, and a few days later it arrived.
This morning, after going to bed at midnight, my daughter had me up at 5:15am. Not a surprise really, since that is her regular wake up time, but you always wish, when you have been foolish enough to stay up late, that they might grant you with an extra hour sleep.
It’s never the case though.
So, we came downstairs and I got her some milk in her sippy cup and we went into the den where I put my head down on her little Tinkerbell couch in hopes that she might follow suit and possibly, just maybe, she might fall back to sleep.
I decided about 2 or 3 years ago, to stop colouring my hair because, with all the high lighting I had been doing, I was starting to look more like a blond than my natural auburn. I also wanted to see how I was doing in the grey department. So, I grew out my hair, and was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked my natural colour, although there were some greys sneaking in around the temples here and there through out. My solution to that issue was to never wear a pony tail unless I also wore a ball cap... maybe not the best solution, but it worked.
Today, I had the coolest conversation with my ex and my husband. I have to share it with you because it shows the kind of respect that needs to exist for a blended family to work.
So, my ex sent me a text message saying if we didn’t have plans on Sunday, he would like to pick Rebecca up in the morning and bring her back Monday evening. Normally, it would be a no-brainer, yes of course he could, but this Sunday we are having a birthday dinner for Tom, my husband.
So, I’ve been back at work for a couple months now, and it’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Yes, I miss being at home, yes I wish I could see my kids more often, and I’m going to miss a lot of their extra curricular activities, But you know what’s awesome?
I smell good. I shower every day! I wear perfume. I wear dresses and high heels and neck laces. I put on make up and straighten my hair. The other day, I even painted my nails.
I work in an industry where nick names are preferred to real names. I get called Moe more often than not and there are some people at work who probably wouldn’t know who Maureen was if you asked for me by name.
As a kid, I was Mojo after the chewy candies.
My kids don’t want to be called anything but their names. I totally wanted to be able to call Rebecca, Becks (I’m a soccer fan), but she won’t have it. Eleanor doesn’t want Elle or Ella, and Ethan hates E.
Sometimes, you just have to take matters into your own hands. Saturday night, I told my husband that I would be needing to sleep in for Mother’s Day, so he would have to get up with the baby.
When the baby woke up at six, and he was already up, I thought it would be no issue, only Tom wasn’t up to take care of the baby; he had been up being sick. So much for sleeping in.
So, there I was, four kids and me, on Mother’s Day.
Last Wednesday, my daughter Rebecca turned 6. Her big present from her dad and I was an iPod touch. I know, some of you are thinking that’s too young, but I actually find the games on the touch are easier for her to navigate than the DS. Yes, she also has a DS.
Anyway, I digress. So, she got the touch, and we knew she was getting a protective case from her aunt at her birthday party on Saturday, so we didn’t bother to get one for her.
The other day, I was driving home with the girls in the van. Eleanor is 11 and in grade 5, Rebecca is 6 and in Sr. Kindergarten.
I guess in grade 5, they have a mock election, and they get to vote for the candidates that are running in our riding. I had been planning to talk to our kids about the election and the voting process, but I hadn’t done so yet. This is what happens if you don’t teach you kids about politics.
When Rebecca was very small, I had to go to New York for work. I have never, in my life, been so acutely aware of missing another person.
While I was away, I bought a Mommy Journal to write notes to Rebecca. I don’t write in it every day, but just every so often when I have time or something special to share. I have read some excepts to her before, and when she is older, I will give her these writing memoirs as a gift to reflect on our life.
I am not a particularly religious person, but my parents grew up catholic, and I do celebrate religious holidays like Christmas and Easter. Mind you, there is very little religion involved in our celebrations.
Call it commercialism, call it what you like; I call it fun with my family.
I often question the ritual of holidays, like how a rabbit who hides eggs has anything to do with the resurrection of Christ, so I decided to do a little research into how the two went hand in hand.
