Friday, September 30, 2011

Nickname: Blackhawk

So, Shooter had to work late tonight, end of month for his job = he has to close = late night getting home.  I decided to go pick up Parker and go on a little dinner date with him.  One of our local McDonald's has the only Toddler Playplace in existence so I thought that might be a fun thing to try.  Yea, not so much....

First off, I had to travel North from the house and that's something I try to not do too very often.  I just prefer the shopping and restaurants and such in the areas South of our house.  Secondly, it nearly drove me to drink because people were not following the rules - I like it when people follow rules!

I mean, really....it's a TODDLER Playplace.  That means your kid, who is 5 feet tall and weighs 90 pounds and is 8 yrs old, shouldn't be running around all crazy like while my 2 year old is trying to have some fun.  Your kid, who insists on pushing my kid off of toys, is about to get a smack down laid on him.

I had a really hard time sitting there and letting Parker play....I had to fight the urge to become one of those hovering Moms....one of those.....helicopter Moms.  I want my kid to be safe when he plays with other kids.  That means I prefer that kids who are 8-13 not play in the same area with my 2 year old.  That means that I prefer that the child who is about to cough up a lung not breathe on my child.  That means that I really don't care for another toddler grabbing my son's milk cup from my hand and trying to run with it - and the Mom just sit there.

I want my kid to be socialized....but I'm beginning to think that I can just let day care be that socialization and that we're going to hibernate at our house the rest of the time.

I seriously don't want to be a hovering Mom - I want my kid to experience the world....but can't I just have it on my own terms and at the speed at which I'm most comfortable?

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Yank my Mom Card - reason #46349

Okay....so last Friday I broke down and decided to take Parker to the doctor.  He'd had this little rash that was sticking around and I couldn't rid it with cortisone cream so, after a week, I figured I should get the dear pediatrician to take a look at him.

Honestly, I figured he'd gotten into something that irritated him or got some bug bites - he has incredibly sensitive skin after all.  I really figured the pediatrician would tell me I was being too cautious and send me on my way.

Oh no......as I go about explaining the various places where I've noticed this "rash", he's nodding his head and looking Parker over.  I then mention - very casually because it really meant nothing to me - that he had had a ulcer in his mouth, on the left side where his cheek and gum meet.  I figured his gum was irritated because we're due for 2 year molars on the bottom and his 1 year on that side really busted his gum open in a serious way.

Well...at the mention of the mouth sore, the pediatrician's head pops up and he looks at me with this knowing look he has....he asks if he's run any fevers?  No.  Acted like he felt bad, lethargic?  No.  Then....he turns his hands over....looks at his feet....then the dreaded words come from his mouth....

Hand.  Foot.  Mouth.

How could I not have known????  I start apologizing to the doctor...like that's going to make it better.  Then I apologize to Parker for not having figured it out. 

Seriously though, all other Mom's that I know who've dealt with Hand, Foot and Mouth have had kids who were terribly sick, sores all over their mouths, running fevers, awfully lethargic.  My child, who spikes a fever at a mere sniffle - acted completely normal for the entire time he was "sick". 

Oh well....chalk up another reason why I should have mom Mom Card yanked.....but you'll have to take it from my cold hand.  ;-)

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Opinions, everybody's got one!

So....My toddler is becoming increasingly opinionated.  He's suddenly wanting to weigh in on the shirt he wears to school, what pajamas he wears at night......even going so far as to declare opinions about dinner before he's even tasted it.

One night we sat down for dinner and Parker asks, "What dat ting?"  I tell him that it's chicken and he'll like it.  I get a "Mmm, 'kay" in response.  Then we have this exchange:
 He points to the next pile on his plate, "What dat ting?" 
"That's a bean salad, you'll like it." 
"Me uh no like 'em beans, Mommy" 
pause
"What dis, Mommy?" 
"Those are cucumbers baby, you'll like them."
"Me like 'em."

He tries said cucumbers and decides pretty quickly that he doesn't like them.  I'm determining that he has a pretty interesting palate...he's not so into the crunchy stuff, which is what excites me about food.  He promptly spits out the cucumber and says, "Mommy, me uh no like 'em cucubers."  I explain that I'm happy he tried them and that it's okay if he doesn't like them.  From there, however, the toddler who "no like 'em beans", ate most of what was served to him.  Yesssss!

Since then, he likes to tell us when he likes or dislikes something.  Most funny was the night he declared that he liked cauliflower.  This was much to my amazement, as I wasn't aware that he'd had it before.  We soon found out that it wasn't the cauliflower he liked, but rather the dip he was licking off the cauliflower.

And just yesterday, when I went to put on his blue sandals (that went with his blue shorts and his yellow/blue shirt) he says, "NO MOMMY!  Brown shoes."  I reasoned with him for a few min and then gave it up...why bother, it's a little thing and I'm not sweating it!  So we put on the brown shoes...with the blue shorts....and he looked cute as a button.  :-)

I'm  having a pretty fun time finding out who my little man is on the inside.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Today's installment of things that annoy me

So...wanna know how to get me to roll out of bed on the wrong side?  Wanna know how to really throw my day into the crapper before it's even begun?

Decide that you are going to be stupid and not set your alarm.

Better yet.....
Decide that you are going to be stupid and not set your alarm.
Then decide that it is a good idea to call your boss (MY HUSBAND) at 5am to tell him that you'll be late for work even though you're walking out the door and end up at work on time so your boss (MY HUSBAND) can't even write you up for being STUPID.

When you decide you're going to be stupid....it doesn't just affect you...or your boss....it puts your boss' wife in a really crappy mood.  I had at least another hour of good sleep waiting of rme...but NOOOOO....you had to be STUPID!  I'm fighting off a cold and that hour of sleep would have been so nice. 



Monday, September 26, 2011

I know where my brain cells went during pregnancy

So....shall we talk about how my son's mind is like a steel trap?  Shall we?  Let's just say you musn't tell the child ANYTHING that you don't want him to remember with absolute clarity.  Take for example....

Shooter and I went away this weekend for a delayed anniversary trip, our anniversary is near the beginning of September, and Grandma and Grandpa came to baby/house/dog sit for the weekend.  While we were away, we found a neat little gift shop that had some of the same sock monkeys that Parker has at home.  We bought a little, tiny one as he's now in this stage of categorizing everything - and I mean EVERYTHING - as Daddy, Mommy, Baby. 

Let me take a tangent here....the child categorizes his Mater cars, his Lightning McQueen cars, his french fries, his sock monkeys.....it's a terrible addiction that he has.....

Anyway...so after about 4 hours of having Baby Sock Monkey, one of its arms falls off.  No reason why, Parker had barely looked at it.  Shooter haphazardly says, "Leah must have gotten him."  Leah, our miniature schnauzer, who has a soft spot for stuffed animals - meaning she likes to rip them to shreds.  Well, Parker wasn't the least bit happy about it...proclaims that Baby Sock Monkey is "bwoken" and that "Lele got 'em".  I tell Parker that Mommy will fix it and take Baby Sock Momkey to the doctor to have him stitched up.  After several minutes of the same conversation repeated....and repeated.....we finally got Parker in to his crib.  He would then lay down only to pop right back up and repeat the conversation about how Lele got the baby sock monkey and now it's broken.  Argh...I'm about to live the book I've heard so much about, I fear.  But finally we got Parker settled with no more peeps about baby sock monkey, or Lele or doctors.

I go in to wake the little man up this morning...and his first words were, "MOMMY!!!!!".  Well, no, actually, they were "Baby Sock Monkey bwoken, where he go?"  "On the shelf sweetie, Mommy has to take him to the doctor today."  "He bwoken, arm huuurt, Lele got 'em". 

Our poor dog will never live this down and I fully believe she's innocent of all wrong doing.

Again, you can't tell the child anything...he remembers it!  Every detail burned into his toddler brain like the plot to his favorite Cars movie.  This is going to be a long trek through childhood with him. 

:-)

L.