I came to the realization last night that I’m not as great at this working mother thing as I thought I was. This thought occurred to me while I was watching Maddie play on the porch after her bath in nothing but a shirt. I was waiting for Bill to get back from CVS with diapers. We ran out in the morning and I had no clue. Oh, did I also mention that he was getting dog food? I’m embarrassed to admit that we actually ran out of that the day before. Don’t start dialing up the MSPCA. She’s fine. She eats all the kids’ sandwich crusts and doggy treats that Catherine gives her. She didn’t appear to be too hungry anyway.
I thought I had fully prepared for my busy week back at work. Bill had grilled up a bunch of meat for dinners for the week. I made sure the house was spotless and laundry was done on Sunday. All we needed to do was keep up with it during the week. Well, the plan was clearly not thought out well when I asked Catherine to be on “pee pee watch”. “Keep an eye on your sister and tell me if she pees on the floor”. What kind of mother am I? I don’t have a clue how to get this all accomplished. There is just not enough time in the day. I have another busy week at work coming up. Yes, I think I have enough diapers. Dog food? Perhaps.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Girl Day
One thing that I am learning as a parent is that plans are worthless. I was so excited about my new schedule at work. I am on a four day work week so I’m now home on Friday’s. I started calling this “girl day” since it’s just me & the kids. I make something special for their breakfast and I make it a point not the clean while they are awake. The day is all about fun. We play outside (weather permitting) and I let them dig in the dirt (and eat it in Maddie’s case). We make homemade pizza for dinner when Bill gets home.
Sounds great, right? I thought so and that is why I was completely shocked to hear “I hate girl day!” from the back seat of the mini van. One tired/cranky child can totally spoil a days plan. What really is there to hate? The chocolate chip pancakes? Oh, it must be all the time she spent on the swing set. Or maybe it was playing dolly with me & Maddie? I may never know. I try not to be offended. This is the same little girl who said “there are not enough butterflies here” when we visited THE BUTTERFLY PLACE in Westford. If you have not been there let me break it down for you – there are a million butterflies there!! Everywhere. They land on you. You will never see that many butterflies in your whole life combined.
My one saving grace of the day was when Bill got home. We made pizza together and then put the kids to bed. I was looking forward to ending “girl day” with the company of a man. I had the hot tub nice and hot and it was a beautiful night out. We sat on the couch with a glass of wine to relax for a few minutes while the kids were getting settled in for sleep. I was reading the paper and turned to Bill to say something (a very witty remark, I am quite sure!) and found him sound asleep!
Plan schman. I went to bed at 8:30pm that night. Girl’s day needs some work, I think.
Sounds great, right? I thought so and that is why I was completely shocked to hear “I hate girl day!” from the back seat of the mini van. One tired/cranky child can totally spoil a days plan. What really is there to hate? The chocolate chip pancakes? Oh, it must be all the time she spent on the swing set. Or maybe it was playing dolly with me & Maddie? I may never know. I try not to be offended. This is the same little girl who said “there are not enough butterflies here” when we visited THE BUTTERFLY PLACE in Westford. If you have not been there let me break it down for you – there are a million butterflies there!! Everywhere. They land on you. You will never see that many butterflies in your whole life combined.
My one saving grace of the day was when Bill got home. We made pizza together and then put the kids to bed. I was looking forward to ending “girl day” with the company of a man. I had the hot tub nice and hot and it was a beautiful night out. We sat on the couch with a glass of wine to relax for a few minutes while the kids were getting settled in for sleep. I was reading the paper and turned to Bill to say something (a very witty remark, I am quite sure!) and found him sound asleep!
Plan schman. I went to bed at 8:30pm that night. Girl’s day needs some work, I think.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Don't ask if you don't want the answer
Catherine has two imaginary friends. Scratch that. They are imaginary “mommies”. Should I be concerned about this? “Melissa” and “Jessie” are constantly asking Catherine to do things….go to the store, call them on their cell phone, etc. (Interesting how I can’t get her to anything for me!)
The other day I was looking at Catherine and I said “you are the cutest little girl. Where did you get that from? Was it from me?”. She looked at me, leaned over, and whispered in my ear “no, it’s from Jessie”.
Nice.
The other day I was looking at Catherine and I said “you are the cutest little girl. Where did you get that from? Was it from me?”. She looked at me, leaned over, and whispered in my ear “no, it’s from Jessie”.
Nice.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
5 going on 16
Please note: names have been changed to protect the identity of the underage
Today I was unlucky enough to get a glimpse into the future of the dreaded TEENAGE YEARS! Catherine was in the other room and started yelling to me "Mommy, Amanda wants me and Tommy to come over for a play date". "Sure, that's fine" I reply. Then I heard her say something after that but I KNEW that she could not have just said that. I asked her to repeat it. "Then we're going to get naked!". Okay, I need to take a moment here. For those who don't know - she is FIVE. Barely five. Like, she just turned five a couple of weeks ago.
I am in shock and say "oh no you are NOT! Why do you think you're going to do that??!!". Catherine replied "Amanda said we'd take our clothes off in the bathroom together and then put them back on and have our play date." Now, I guess I probably did not handle this the right way because Catherine said "I never should have told you!". Are we already doing this already? Seriously? There really should be a parenting class on this or something. I was totally unprepared. It is a scary thing being a parent in the age of teen pregnancy and cybersexing (or whatever its called). If Maddie starts talking about a naked play date anytime soon we are moving to a deserted island!
Today I was unlucky enough to get a glimpse into the future of the dreaded TEENAGE YEARS! Catherine was in the other room and started yelling to me "Mommy, Amanda wants me and Tommy to come over for a play date". "Sure, that's fine" I reply. Then I heard her say something after that but I KNEW that she could not have just said that. I asked her to repeat it. "Then we're going to get naked!". Okay, I need to take a moment here. For those who don't know - she is FIVE. Barely five. Like, she just turned five a couple of weeks ago.
I am in shock and say "oh no you are NOT! Why do you think you're going to do that??!!". Catherine replied "Amanda said we'd take our clothes off in the bathroom together and then put them back on and have our play date." Now, I guess I probably did not handle this the right way because Catherine said "I never should have told you!". Are we already doing this already? Seriously? There really should be a parenting class on this or something. I was totally unprepared. It is a scary thing being a parent in the age of teen pregnancy and cybersexing (or whatever its called). If Maddie starts talking about a naked play date anytime soon we are moving to a deserted island!
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