memories

v-day with my boys

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

Last year, I had big plans for how Valentine’s Day would go and I remember that I was disappointed. (Oh, I just have to laugh looking back at that post.  And Dex was sooo tiny!) This year I had no expectations, procrastinated until the day before to buy the boys anything, and the day came and went just about like any other.  With a couple of exceptions — 1.  Ryan’s parents dropped by with bakery cupcakes for the boys.  2.  I did get them each a book and a store-bought, heart-shaped crispy rice treat.  Fancy, aren’t I?

The crispy rice treats waited until Friday to be eaten, because those cupcakes deserved top billing for sure.  I’m not saying that I took a bite of Theo’s and/or Dexter’s.  I’m just saying I bet they were good. Pics!

They polished those puppies off in record time and were not interested in the books I got them at all.  Even though they both about made me cry when I read them to myself at Kohl’s the day before. 
For Dexter:
For Theo:
Oh, right. Valentine’s is supposed to be for us grown ups, too, right?  But doesn’t everything kind of become about the kiddos once you have them?  We did get out for a nice dinner on Friday night by participating in a kid-swap with a couple of friends.  They watched our boys Friday night and we watched their boy Saturday night. I have to say that I enjoyed Saturday as much as Friday. It was just fun to have a friend over and watch the boys interact with their buddy. Must. Do. This. More often!
Hope your Valentine’s Day was better than the average day. 
xo,
~C~

our first Christmas

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

Oh, that’s right.  This was Theo’s third Christmas and Dexter’s second.

But it felt like our first real Christmas.  It was important to me that we spent Christmas as a family, at our own home, on Christmas day.  I figured at 2 yrs and 9 months and smart as a whip, this would be the first year that Theo would really “get” it.  Santa.  Waiting until Christmas to open presents.  Leaving out treats for Santa and his reindeer on the fireplace hearth.

I had a lot of big ideas about traditions we would start this year and envisioned a picturesque scene of the gentle glow of our tree next to the crackling fire as we sat around on the floor nearby reading The Night Before Christmas and sipping hot cocoa, while wearing our coordinating Christmas Eve pajamas.

Well, per Theo’s request, we ended up with LED lights that let off more of a neon illumination than a warm glow. Our fireplace is gas and does not crackle.  We don’t have a mantle (yet) so the stockings were hung on the entertainment center. I was too tired to make hot cocoa and the boys had very little interest in The Night Before Christmas.  We did read it to each of them separately before they went to bed.  I threw some new pajama pants for myself and Ryan in the cart at Target a few days before Christmas and ordered the boys’ from Carters a week before that because I couldn’t find any in the stores by that point. So pieces of my vision fell into place but this house is not yet what we want it to be.  We’ll get there eventually. Maybe.

Theo making some treats for the reindeer.
Our tree in our very blah, unfinished living room.
Puzzles from Santa.
Play table from Pop Pop and Nana.
Work bench from Grammy.
Regardless of what wasn’t perfect, our “first” Christmas was.  Ryan’s parents stayed the night with us so they could be there to watch the boys discover their gifts.  I cooked all day on Christmas Eve so that we could eat leftovers and lounge around in PJs on Christmas Day.  Wise thinking there, if I do say so myself.

Their faces were priceless.  They loved (almost) every gift.  I’m just not a proper mom if I don’t give my kids some toothbrushes and socks for Christmas, right?

They woke up early and quickly discovered their unwrapped surprises.
Noticing their tiny Toy Story figures and some play food for their kitchen.
Trying out their new table.
And puzzles.
Just as I predicted, Dexter was pretty excited that Santa left him some cleaning supplies.
Stockings!
Watching a movie some hours after all the excitement.

We went to Cincinnati for New Year’s weekend to celebrate Christmas with Ryan’s sister and her family.  Then we went to Tennessee to celebrate with my family once Penelope was born.  That’s about a 3 week long celebration!

With cousin Spencer.
More presents!
Aunt “Chelle”
Nana, Pop Pop, and their 3 very adorable grandsons.
So just short of 2 months AFTER Christmas, there you have it.  It was wonderful. Perfect just the way it was.  We’ll always remember it.  One of my favorite things about it was that we were snowed in the day after Christmas, when we were supposed to go back to work. So we had an extra day, just the 4 of us, to continue celebrating, playing, and enjoying.  Perfect.
xo,
~C~

most embarrassing moment #5156

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

Picture it.  Sunday after Thanksgiving 2012 around 1600 hours Eastern Standard Time. 

Me behind the steering wheel in the middle of standstill traffic, about 3 hours after a long lunch and at least 5 glasses of sweet tea at Buffalo Wild Wings.  That spicy salad really was spicy and it made me really thirsty.  Theo was asleep, but woke suddenly, maybe due to the sudden lack of motion.  For some reason, this translated into him screaming at the top of his lungs for no known reason over the course of the next 15 minutes (that felt like 521 minutes). 

Interstate traffic + me = anxiety. 
Screaming toddler that can’t be reasoned with + exploding bladder = nerves beyond their breaking point.

Anxiety + Frayed Nerves = Complete & Total Meltdown.

I screamed at Theo while he was screaming, just to be louder than him in irrational hopes that he would hear me.  I screamed to let off some of the tension that had been ballooning up inside like, well, my bladder.

Eventually Theo stopped screaming.  My bladder did not.  I begged Ryan for some kind of help. Some promise of relief.  Of course there was nothing he could do.  I threw that Highlander in park and climbed in the backseat, where the windows are tinted ever so slightly darker than the front.  I discreetly grabbed Theo’s Mickey Mouse sippy cup and twisted that lid off at lightning speed.  I pulled my pants down and relieved myself in his cup.  All while avoiding eye contact with either of my children out of humiliation. 

Problem.

Those cups aren’t very big and certainly don’t hold 5 glasses of sweet tea, regardless of how much ice was in those cups to begin with (tea always takes a lot of ice, you know?). There’s this phenomenon of stopping and starting that I had to use and use well.  Long enough to hold this cup in position with one hand while getting a size 5 Luvs diaper out of the buried diaper bag with the other hand.  And yes, after conquering a mild to moderate case of stagefright, I finished the job in that baby diaper.

Never felt more relieved than I did at that moment.  All of the stress and tension of that traffic situation melted away immediately.  I situated myself and resumed my spot in the driver’s seat.  All the while, Ryan was looking out the window with paranoia, and rightfully so, while saying things along the lines of:

Oh my god.
Are you serious?
I can’t believe you’re doing this.
Seriously?

Yes, seriously.  I sure did.  And that was that. Until the next day.

Picture it. The Monday after Thanksgiving 2012. 

On the way to the babysitter’s house around 0730 hours Eastern Standard Time.

Theo: Mommy?
Me:  Yes, sweetie?
Theo:  Why did you pee in my Mickey Mouse sippy cup?
Me:  Thoughtful pause…I didn’t.
Theo:  Yes, you did.
Me: No, I didn’t.
Theo:  Yes, you did Mommy.  In the car yesterday.  You peed in my Mickey Mouse sippy cup.
Me:  Thoughtful pause, accept of defeat.  Oh.  That.  Well, you see, Theo.  Mommy had to pee really, really, really, really badly and there were no potties nearby.  All the cars on the road were stopped and there was nowhere for mommy to get out and use the bathroom.  So I had to find something I could potty in.
Theo:  But Mommy.  That was my cup and I really like my Mickey Mouse sippy cup.
Me: Yes, I know, honey.  I’m sorry.  We can get you a new cup.
Theo:  Thoughtful pause.  Mommy? 
Me:  Yes, Theo?
Theo:  I have a Mickey Mouse cup at {the babysitter}’s house.  Mickey’s riding his bike and wearing a helmet and I really like that cup.
Me:  Oh?  That’s good!
Theo:  Mommy, please don’t pee in my Mickey Mouse sippy cup at {the babysitter}’s house. 

And at that moment, I knew our secret was not safe.  I knew that if I didn’t tell the babyistter what had happened, Theo would tell some version of this story.  She wouldn’t know if it was true. She would be confused. She might think I was making my child drink urine and report me to CPS.  I had to explain. 

Good morning, babysitter, let me tell you my most embarrassing story ever and get your week off to a hilarious start. 

It wasn’t too funny then, but it’s pretty funny now.  Darn kid is too smart for his (my) own good. 

xo,
~C~