Okay, this has nothing to do with parenting or the Navy, just random musings on a Friday when J has duty. So, I am facing down my 10 year high school reunion. I have been hemming and hawing over going since I found out about it. There are just a few people that I want to see, which is fine, but there's another problem. So, I was a nerd and I was in JROTC. I thought it was so important. Now that I am in the real Navy, I am painfully aware of how nerdy this was. So here's the issue, I have ABSOLUTELY no desire to go back and talk to people about how cool JROTC was, cause it wasn't, not at all, we were nerds.
Here's another thing. An ex-boyfriend found me on facebook and started emailing me. I really have no desire to think about him again. So I have been ignoring him, which I feel kind of bad about, but not really. I don't have anything to say, it was over 10 years ago. I am married, I have a kid, and I live a completely different life. There is no longer anything for us to even remotely connect on.
I like facebook, I really do. I love finding old friends that I never would have otherwise. I like being able to keep up with people that we have to move away from. However, there are some people that I wanted to leave in my past. I don't want to relieve those memories, I don't want to think about who I was back then. I feel like I have grown so much as person that I can't really relate who I was back then. Ah well, technology isn't perfect.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
With B, can a 30 minute meal really take 30 minutes?
Getting ready for my week home alone with B. The hubs is on the ship and will soon be getting underway for a short period of time, leaving me and B all by our lonesome. I have done this before many times and know that this is certainly something that I can handle without issue. I just don't like it.
Yesterday, I realized how much things have changed with the just mom and B situation. I got home at 5 and quickly changed and feed B. Then I had to make dinner for J and I. Previously, I would put B in the highchair, throw down some Cheerios, and get to it. Not so yesterday. B just wasn't having the whole highchair thing. He whined, he cried, he threw things (a SUPER annoying habit), and blew raspberries. Finally, I gave in and let him loose on the floor. BIG MISTAKE. While stirring my enchilada sauce, he dumped the dog bowl. Then as I was trying to clean that up, he started pulling pots and pans out of the cabinents. All of this frukus had gotten the dogs riled up and they started circling both me and B. Needless to say, my 30 minute meal took much longer than 30 minutes.
I keep finding myself getting frustrated. With B, with the dogs, and with cooking dinner. I then got frustrated with myself because I only have 2 hours with B before he goes to bed and I was mad at him for being a baby! I feel horrible anytime I was time with him because it feels like we have so little of it. I know this is a normal feeling, I know that I shouldn't be too hard on myself. However, I can't help it. Being in the Navy where I leave for months at a time, I feel like I need to take in all the moments I can. Especially now, I blink and it seems like B has learned something new or changed in some way.
So, as a result, I am going to take advantage of this one on one time. I'm going to get frustrated (there's no way not to), but I am going to move on and enjoy the special moments I have with him rather than stressing and analyzing.
Yesterday, I realized how much things have changed with the just mom and B situation. I got home at 5 and quickly changed and feed B. Then I had to make dinner for J and I. Previously, I would put B in the highchair, throw down some Cheerios, and get to it. Not so yesterday. B just wasn't having the whole highchair thing. He whined, he cried, he threw things (a SUPER annoying habit), and blew raspberries. Finally, I gave in and let him loose on the floor. BIG MISTAKE. While stirring my enchilada sauce, he dumped the dog bowl. Then as I was trying to clean that up, he started pulling pots and pans out of the cabinents. All of this frukus had gotten the dogs riled up and they started circling both me and B. Needless to say, my 30 minute meal took much longer than 30 minutes.
I keep finding myself getting frustrated. With B, with the dogs, and with cooking dinner. I then got frustrated with myself because I only have 2 hours with B before he goes to bed and I was mad at him for being a baby! I feel horrible anytime I was time with him because it feels like we have so little of it. I know this is a normal feeling, I know that I shouldn't be too hard on myself. However, I can't help it. Being in the Navy where I leave for months at a time, I feel like I need to take in all the moments I can. Especially now, I blink and it seems like B has learned something new or changed in some way.
So, as a result, I am going to take advantage of this one on one time. I'm going to get frustrated (there's no way not to), but I am going to move on and enjoy the special moments I have with him rather than stressing and analyzing.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
B has never been a good napper. Since day 1, naps have been a battle. I would put him down when he looked and acted tired, rubbing eyes, yawning, falling asleep sitting up, the boy would sit in his crib and scream. So I tried another tactic of putting him down BEFORE reaching this point. Maybe he was overtired and that's why he couldn't get to sleep. Wrong. The boy hates naps.
Now I really can't complain, we put him in the crib between 6:30 and 7 and we don't see him again until 7 in the morning. We have never had issues with nighttime wakings. Even when he was a little baby, he would wake up, eat, and go right back to sleep. Heck, I even had to wake him up every now and again.
This whole nap issue has really came to a head this weekend. We had just gotten back from vacation and there was really a lot of stuff that needed to be done around the house. I needed to have some time where I could accomplish things without worrying about where he was and what he was into. So, after an acceptable amount of time awake, I put him in the crib. Screamfest. I go in, calm him down, leave again. Continue screamfest. Finally after over an hour, I went and got him up. I know that he's tired, he knows that he's tired, but he just can't handle being in the crib during the day.
Honestly, I don't care what he does during his nap time, he can play in the crib all he wants, just as long as he is quiet (ish, can a 9 month old really play quietly?), but I really feel that he needs the opportunity to take at least one nap a day. I am willing to give in and allow him to take only one, but we still really need that one, even if it's only for an hour. I am truly at a loss for what to do next, everyone involved still needs naptime to occur, but I just am not sure how to make that happen.
Now I really can't complain, we put him in the crib between 6:30 and 7 and we don't see him again until 7 in the morning. We have never had issues with nighttime wakings. Even when he was a little baby, he would wake up, eat, and go right back to sleep. Heck, I even had to wake him up every now and again.
This whole nap issue has really came to a head this weekend. We had just gotten back from vacation and there was really a lot of stuff that needed to be done around the house. I needed to have some time where I could accomplish things without worrying about where he was and what he was into. So, after an acceptable amount of time awake, I put him in the crib. Screamfest. I go in, calm him down, leave again. Continue screamfest. Finally after over an hour, I went and got him up. I know that he's tired, he knows that he's tired, but he just can't handle being in the crib during the day.
Honestly, I don't care what he does during his nap time, he can play in the crib all he wants, just as long as he is quiet (ish, can a 9 month old really play quietly?), but I really feel that he needs the opportunity to take at least one nap a day. I am willing to give in and allow him to take only one, but we still really need that one, even if it's only for an hour. I am truly at a loss for what to do next, everyone involved still needs naptime to occur, but I just am not sure how to make that happen.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The Dirtiness Tipping Point - How Dirty is TOO Dirty
What is an acceptable level of filth? How dirty can my house be without seeming slovenly? At the current level, will people consider me an unfit mother? These are the questions that I asked myself last night as I was preparing for a visit from my mother-in-law. I honestly can't believe it has come to this. Muddy paw prints, dust bunnies, laundry sprawl. Previous visits, I cleaned the whole house and never thought twice about it. I would sweep, mop, clean bathrooms, everything. I always wanted company to think the best of me and that meant a clean house with wonderfully cooked food. Now, I can barely muster the energy to change the sheets.
What happened? When I was pregnant, no problems, I could clean with the best of them. When B was little, still no issue. Plop him in the swing and clean away. But now...he's mobile. I can't just deposit him somewhere like I used to. I can't put him down and trust that he will entertain himself with what is next to him. He crawls, he climbs, he searches out danger and nastiness. I can't count the number of times I have turned back to find him with a cord in his mouth or munching on a delicious wad of dog hair. The child has more bumps on his head than hair (and my kid has a lot of hair). We have already, in just a few short weeks, had a busted lip, cut cheek, and massive fall. AND I WAS WATCHING HIM THE WHOLE TIME! I can't move fast enough to keep up with this kid. Even with constant attention from mom and dad, the boy finds ways to hurt himself.
So, at the time that B goes to bed, blessed 7 pm, I am so exhausted from the constant running, catching, taking away, putting up, and picking up, that the thought of sweeping, mopping, cleaning the bathrooms, is just too much to take on. So I find myself wondering just how dirty is too dirty. Sorry, Nance, this visit isn't going to be me putting my best foot forward, it'll just have to be one tired mommy waving her surrender flag.
What happened? When I was pregnant, no problems, I could clean with the best of them. When B was little, still no issue. Plop him in the swing and clean away. But now...he's mobile. I can't just deposit him somewhere like I used to. I can't put him down and trust that he will entertain himself with what is next to him. He crawls, he climbs, he searches out danger and nastiness. I can't count the number of times I have turned back to find him with a cord in his mouth or munching on a delicious wad of dog hair. The child has more bumps on his head than hair (and my kid has a lot of hair). We have already, in just a few short weeks, had a busted lip, cut cheek, and massive fall. AND I WAS WATCHING HIM THE WHOLE TIME! I can't move fast enough to keep up with this kid. Even with constant attention from mom and dad, the boy finds ways to hurt himself.
So, at the time that B goes to bed, blessed 7 pm, I am so exhausted from the constant running, catching, taking away, putting up, and picking up, that the thought of sweeping, mopping, cleaning the bathrooms, is just too much to take on. So I find myself wondering just how dirty is too dirty. Sorry, Nance, this visit isn't going to be me putting my best foot forward, it'll just have to be one tired mommy waving her surrender flag.
Monday, February 22, 2010
The Great Food Battle
As a result of our recent trip to Disney World, B has become much more comfortable with eating table food. He certainly prefers certain things to others (anything with sugar is VERY high on the list), but he is generally a good eater who will try almost anything. The problem is that I just don’t know how to proceed from here. It seems that when he eats table food, he eats much less than when he eats food from the jar. There is a lot more playing around and loss of focus when new things are placed on his tray for him to feed himself.
B has also wised up to the fact that table food is better than baby food. I can get him to eat baby food when there is no other option presented, but if we are eating something, he turns his nose up at the baby food or spits it out. I know that at some point he will totally give up baby food and, really, it’s cheaper and easier when he does. No more buying separate food, no more special trips to the store. However, I am concerned that he just won’t get enough to eat. I know that kids won’t starve and they will eat when they are hungry, but still, he just doesn’t eat as much and gets fussy. I guess that I can just feed him and, if he’s hungry, he’ll eat. That just seems mean though.
This is one subject where the hubs and I just flat out disagree. J thinks that he shouldn’t be eating table food at all, that we just need to worry about baby food. I know that he worries he won’t get as healthy of food and won’t meet his required amount of fruits and veggies. And he’s kind of right, we don’t eat bad by any means, but we certainly never meet our number of veggies for the day. I look at this as an opportunity for all of us to do better, he looks at it as another way we are going to screw B up. As I do my meal planning for the week, I am already adding in some new things just for B. He’s going on table food and we are eating better. That’s the only option. We can’t go back to baby food.
B has also wised up to the fact that table food is better than baby food. I can get him to eat baby food when there is no other option presented, but if we are eating something, he turns his nose up at the baby food or spits it out. I know that at some point he will totally give up baby food and, really, it’s cheaper and easier when he does. No more buying separate food, no more special trips to the store. However, I am concerned that he just won’t get enough to eat. I know that kids won’t starve and they will eat when they are hungry, but still, he just doesn’t eat as much and gets fussy. I guess that I can just feed him and, if he’s hungry, he’ll eat. That just seems mean though.
This is one subject where the hubs and I just flat out disagree. J thinks that he shouldn’t be eating table food at all, that we just need to worry about baby food. I know that he worries he won’t get as healthy of food and won’t meet his required amount of fruits and veggies. And he’s kind of right, we don’t eat bad by any means, but we certainly never meet our number of veggies for the day. I look at this as an opportunity for all of us to do better, he looks at it as another way we are going to screw B up. As I do my meal planning for the week, I am already adding in some new things just for B. He’s going on table food and we are eating better. That’s the only option. We can’t go back to baby food.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Back from the Big Trip
We did it. We survived it. We took a 9 month old to Disney World and we lived to tell about it. It wasn't always pretty (sometimes it was down right ugly), but we had a lot of fun, made a lot of good memories, and took a ton of great pictures.
I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but my grandparents were spending two weeks in Orlando, so we could get free lodging and there were discounted tickets for the military, so we jumped at the chance to take a significantly reduced price trip to DW before J starting getting underway all the time. We knew that it would be tough to take B, but we also knew the memories would be great ones.
I have to admit, I love DW. I get so excited to go there. We went their on our honeymoon, we went to Disneyland for my birthday, we took a Disney Adventure. All within 3 years. Yes, it's a lot, but it's just a fun experience. The ease of planning, the special touches when there, and the memories that come home with are unmatched in my opinion. Now I am not saying I want to take a vacation there every year only, but I really do enjoy visiting.
B seemed to really enjoy the trip, if for no other reason than spending the week with his great-grandparents. Boy, was he spoiled. He ate all kinds of junk, got held almost constantly, and had constant attention. He seemed to enjoy meeting the characters, he wasn't scared at all. He laughed pretty darn hard at Pluto (I think old Pluto reminded him of two certain naughty puppies that weren't there) and just smiled and smiled at Tigger. He also went on some rides, he rode It's A Small World more than once and spent much of the ride yelling at the characters.
This trip was very different from previous ones, we didn't do as much, we went home much earlier each day, and we had to schedule our day out a lot more. It was a very different experience, we saw a lot more detail this time because we slowed down. We saw more parades and shows. It was nice to stop and take in the hard work.
It was a much needed break, but there is so much to do tonight! Ah! I need another vacation.
I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but my grandparents were spending two weeks in Orlando, so we could get free lodging and there were discounted tickets for the military, so we jumped at the chance to take a significantly reduced price trip to DW before J starting getting underway all the time. We knew that it would be tough to take B, but we also knew the memories would be great ones.
I have to admit, I love DW. I get so excited to go there. We went their on our honeymoon, we went to Disneyland for my birthday, we took a Disney Adventure. All within 3 years. Yes, it's a lot, but it's just a fun experience. The ease of planning, the special touches when there, and the memories that come home with are unmatched in my opinion. Now I am not saying I want to take a vacation there every year only, but I really do enjoy visiting.
B seemed to really enjoy the trip, if for no other reason than spending the week with his great-grandparents. Boy, was he spoiled. He ate all kinds of junk, got held almost constantly, and had constant attention. He seemed to enjoy meeting the characters, he wasn't scared at all. He laughed pretty darn hard at Pluto (I think old Pluto reminded him of two certain naughty puppies that weren't there) and just smiled and smiled at Tigger. He also went on some rides, he rode It's A Small World more than once and spent much of the ride yelling at the characters.
This trip was very different from previous ones, we didn't do as much, we went home much earlier each day, and we had to schedule our day out a lot more. It was a very different experience, we saw a lot more detail this time because we slowed down. We saw more parades and shows. It was nice to stop and take in the hard work.
It was a much needed break, but there is so much to do tonight! Ah! I need another vacation.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Daddy's Bad Day
While at work today, I got a CALL ASAP 911 text from J. So I immediately jump on the phone...disaster has struck. B fell off the couch, straight onto his face. My hubs was in a complete panic. He was afraid to pick him up if he had broken something. So I calmly (while I was in total panic on the inside) instructed him to pick him up and call the Doctor. I hung up and waited. During this time, I began calculating how long it would take me to get, how long it would take me to get to the hospital, what B would need to pack. Basically, I began preparing myself for the worst.
I wait 10 minutes and called back. My hubs reported the doctor said B would be fine and gave him some warning signs to look out for. Then J breaks down in tears. While heading outside to get the phone number from his car, he fell on the ice and hit his head on the bricks. He's hurt now as well. So, I have my two main men at home with head injuries, and here I am at work.
I wanted to leave and come home and take care of everyone, but I couldn't. I had to stay at work. I had to stay because I had a job to do, but also because I needed to let J take care of this. For both of us. J needs to build his confidence with B. He rarely has tough days, he is constantly worried. If he could handle this, he would be a lot better off. But, also for me. I needed to trust J enough to handle this. I needed to let someone else take care of my baby. When I go on deployment, I can't run home, I have to trust that J can do the same job that I can.
It was tough, but I stayed. I trusted J. And, you know what; everyone was in one piece when I got home.
I wait 10 minutes and called back. My hubs reported the doctor said B would be fine and gave him some warning signs to look out for. Then J breaks down in tears. While heading outside to get the phone number from his car, he fell on the ice and hit his head on the bricks. He's hurt now as well. So, I have my two main men at home with head injuries, and here I am at work.
I wanted to leave and come home and take care of everyone, but I couldn't. I had to stay at work. I had to stay because I had a job to do, but also because I needed to let J take care of this. For both of us. J needs to build his confidence with B. He rarely has tough days, he is constantly worried. If he could handle this, he would be a lot better off. But, also for me. I needed to trust J enough to handle this. I needed to let someone else take care of my baby. When I go on deployment, I can't run home, I have to trust that J can do the same job that I can.
It was tough, but I stayed. I trusted J. And, you know what; everyone was in one piece when I got home.
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