Why must these things be even a part of our lives? If you have children, I think getting the cold is a sure sign you are a parent or at least work around parents. When we didn't have kids and hubby worked in the office he would still get a cold and bring it back to me. Well last week was a killer and I'm not sure even as I type this how I survived. I was miserable and I know I went through a couple of boxes of Kleenex. I learned a long time ago that instead of suffering the raw I blew my nose too many times look was to get the kleenex with lotion. You also don't know how bad colds can be till you are in the middle of suffering from one. I could barely skype that week because it made me so dizzy. I was lonely, in the middle of trying to just survive with two little ones, and I wanted my own mommy. I even told my mother that she should fly here just to take care of me. Hubby tried as best as he could to give me breaks and to let me sleep if he came home for lunch, but I felt I could go to bed and stay there the whole time. However, as a mom you just can't. Kudos to those moms who have to stay on bed rest during a pregnancy and have a toddler at the same time. I honestly don't know how they do it. My toddler tore my house apart and I didn't even have the energy to stop her.
I am just now catching up on laundry and yes I still did my towels on Monday. For those of you just reading this one page then you should go back to tips of the week because that is the day I picked to always wash my bathroom towels. I think it is important even when you are sick to try to maintain some level of sanity because it will just be worse when you wake up from your cold induced state. I knew the moment I started to feel better was when I started to clean the kitchen. It had looked like a mini bomb had gone off that whole week while I was out. No I hate to admit to that of course, but this is a mommy truth and I would hate for you to think I'm perfect. Ha! Didn't I tell you once about how I couldn't see how all these mommy blogs make themselves out to be so darn perfect looking? Well no mommy is perfect and if I ever come across as a know-it-all then call me out on it.
Hey, we could go back to the days of MTV when they actually played videos and had The Real World with that guy named Puck keeping it real for us. Please don't make me use their tag line of the series, but hopefully I keep it real enough on the blog that you aren't screaming FAKER as you read my last sentence. Anyway, you should look up what happened to Puck. I can't say I'm too surprised by how his life has turned out. He did antagonise the guy who was terminally ill and I can't say I feel sorry for Puck at all. I do believe in karma and although it might take a few years, it will eventually happen. Case in point, I had a classmate while growing up who was just mean mean mean. She tormented me and excluded me from all those reindeer games. Well I have found out she got a divorce because she was cheating on her husband and her kids really weren't too happy with her. I chalk it up to karma and how she treated not only me, but others around her. Funny she even told a mutual friend of ours to tell me hello and I thought wow miracles do happen! Although I don't foresee us singing kumbaya with one another anytime soon. It is hard to shake the memories of torment that I had to endure from her and others of her ilk.
As a mommy, I worry about this for my own kids because I don't want it to happen to them. I want them to grow up without the teasing and torment that happens so often in schools. I don't think adults are necessarily blind, but sometimes we are so overwhelmed with just trying to make it through the day especially when we are sick that we fail to see what is truly happening in front of us. I am sure it is a crossroads that will come up and how I answer their questions I don't know yet. I spent a good decade doing martial arts and a little part of me wants to teach them how to defend themselves against bullies and when you should just walk away. I know I started out whining about my summer cold and it materialised into whether or not I will teach my kids how to kick ass and take names instead. However, sometimes thats what blogging is all about and both colds and bullies ruin the fun albeit just in a different form. I suppose as a mommy, I probably shouldn't have used that word up above either, but come on I said I wasn't perfect and when is kicking someone's derriere sound tough? HA! I can guarantee you it doesn't. Say it out loud if you don't believe me. Did you do it? Well I have a little while before I decide if I need to teach them those things. Right now they need my love and for me to laugh with them as they swing and use the slides in the park. One mommy moment at a time. I'm afraid I'll blink and I'll be at their high school graduation next.
As chaos reigns, steal a moment. That is my best advice this week. The other day while our little girl was at the table making another mess and the baby in her bouncer, our paths crossed for just a moment and my husband and I hugged. It was probably the best moment for me. Don't forget you have a partner in crime and you NEED one another. I don't want to be an empty nester looking at this person beside me and finding myself that I don't know him any longer. These are what those stolen moments are for. It still might happen to us and I hope it doesn't, but I'm going to do my best to prevent from saying "I don't know you and I don't love you anymore." How cruel would that be? You just spent a couple of decades raising children together and now you don't have anything in common. We found common ground before children and survived quite a few years without them so its important to me to keep that connection alive.
Now you might scoff about one simple hug, but it can truly save your sanity and connect you to the person you decided to marry. Now I don't always listen to when I need to slow down and to provide that loving support. I'm frantic to solve the chaos going on at that very moment. However, the other day proved to me that I still need those moments and I'll try to accept them more. Thinking of hugs, I enjoy reading Dear Prudence and there was a woman who was getting hugs from a co-worker. She said her husband never wanted to provide any cuddling and she resorted to accepting hugs from another man. I think this is a dangerous realm for her to be in and I'm glad my hubby still wants to give me a hug. It made me realize how lucky I am! So steal a moment away with your spouse and enjoy it even as chaos reigns around you. The house isn't on fire so go ahead and get your hug today!!!
As Moms, we sometimes mistakenly drive around parking areas as if we are cruising the boulevard in the old days when we were young, dumb, and single. Instead of checking out who else is driving their vehicles, we look longingly at other vehicles to see if they are going to pull out of a parking spot closest to the store. Wait though! Just wait! Seriously, why are we checking out the areas closest to the store? Those parking spots shouldn't be even in your Mom Radar. The ones you really should be coveting are the ones closest to the cart holders. Okay so you might just leave the cart wherever if you are a Mom and don't want to leave the kids in the car to put the cart away. However, this truly solves your dilemma in regards to making sure the ever patrolling public doesn't accuse you of being a bad parent and you can truly place the cart where it belongs. Btw, bonus points if you can find a cart holder that has a couple of clean carts in it so you can put the kids right into the cart and push them into the store!
As I navigate the waters of having two children under the age of two, I'm besieged with a constant
messy house and trying to survive on very little of sleep. I keep hearing how children will be different and it is definitely true. Our toddler never slept and did not need to be held. Well during my pregnancy with this last one, I seem to recall telling hubby that I wanted a cuddler. Wow wow wow and wow! I should eat my words right now. Our baby wants to be held all the time...literally ALL THE TIME. Someone told me they got their business started while holding their baby, but I think the game changes when you have two of them. I have wanted to blog and the other day I tried writing a post. Really I did. I got the title completed that you see and two words, "As I." The baby started fussing and I had to stop. Although if it comes down to it, I think my kids are more important than my so called feelings on a blog. This isn't Doogie Howser where each episode you learn a lesson about life. I believe there was a 90s show called my so called life too. Claire Danes I thought was in that one. I'm so sleep deprived I'll let you research that one.
Yes, I'm very sleep deprived and instead of blogging I'll go and lay down to take a nap. Naps are rare because when one sleeps it seems the other wants to be awake. It is a tiny miracle when both are down at the same time and trust me I try to navigate this. The newborn who rarely wants to be put down gets heavy at times and I just need to rest. It is so crazy how different they are. I did read how newborns have the inability to comprehend you just put them down. They cannot tell if it was 30 seconds or 10 minutes. All they understand is they are not being held any longer. It really is the syndrome of What Have You Done For Me Lately. Those moments I desperately crave just two minutes by myself. Case in point, I have been trying to have a decaf cup of coffee this whole week. I need maybe three minutes to grind the beans, steam the milk, make the brew, and pour it into my coffee mug. Sounds very simple, but for a new mom it is NOT. Not at all. I can down a good cup of coffee in just a couple of minutes and even trying to juggle the kids, but it takes concentration to actually make it. Sadly it took me till today to find the time.
Well I am blogging for a brief moment and I am amazed I am actually working on a new post. Things I took for granted especially when I just had one baby in tow are now long gone. I think all mommies should feel like Gollum saying "Precious" when there is just a smidge of peace. Last night at almost midnight, I thought I would have a chance to write a condolence card and guess what?!? Hubby kept interrupting me discussing such mundane things as how he added more water to our cat's food dish so she would eat the rest of her meal. Yes I am being quite serious. I think your spouse, children, and even pets have this innate sense of when you are trying to accomplish something without them. They can happily spend hours in the same room with you not chatting with you very much then all of a sudden when faced with that you are not 100 percent focused on them, they strike. Have we been reduced to hiding in places our families can't find us? One mom told me today she shuts the door to the bathroom to get little things done. I don't want to resort to that. I want them to respect that I am not a door mat and for them to not fall into the same trap as my newborn. See What Have You Done For Me Lately Syndrome doesn't just affect the very young. It strikes at any age...
Now with this video I'm not trying to insinuate the rest of your family are sneaky little hobbits and you as Gollum, but dang the part where he says "he wants it, we needs it, must have the precious" is how I basically feel about alone time!!! Ha!
Where has time gone? I know it has been a little while since my last random thought and maybe its a good thing I haven't been on. Seriously! Last week, our sixteen year old kitty went downhill quickly due to kidney failure and on Thursday we decided to put her down. It was probably the most difficult thing I have had to do in about five years. My husband travels for his job and so I literally spent almost every single day with her. I was completely crushed I had to say goodbye and if you have lost a pet you have had a long time, you end up grieving for them. I am still grieving for her, but the reality that she will never be here again is starting to sink in. I know this is not the most happy post, but I think I needed time away from my blog and to come to terms with everything.
Her litter mate stopped eating for two days which did not help and only started when we came back from the vet office without her sister. I have been trying to give her extra attention and to make sure her appetite is back. They had a love hate relationship which I found entertaining. They could sleep next to each other and later they could fight and hiss at each other like crazy. If you have never heard a cat fight, the best way to describe it would be a bar brawl at full tempo. Although my favorite fight scene would have to be between Colin Firth and Hugh Grant in Bridget Jones's Diary. Most fights are not so comical, but this one is. I really am going to miss the ruckus that my two fuzzballs would make when attacking each other. They never harmed each other and in sixteen years I never had to take them to the vet for their love fights. It was love, right?!?
Anyway, I have traveled down memory lane these past few days and I think the memory that keeps coming back is the one I was making a road trip from Colorado to Texas. I had a jeep back then and it was loaded to the gills with even the spare tire on top. I probably looked like a traveling hoarder although in reality I was just a college student headed home. The two fuzzballs were with me and I was traveling 80 mph when all of a sudden my passenger back tire comes flying off past me. I watched it go up the side of the on ramp and stop. The jeep literally just came to a halt and I think I was in complete shock. Apparently, the people who had rotated my tires did not tighten the lug nuts back on very well. I heard quite a few times from people I was lucky my vehicle did not roll over and that I survived. Well all three of us survived that day. Now I have to live without one of those kitties and this just proves to me we went through so much together.
Yes, I think I have more random thoughts these days with having a newborn than an entire paragraph. I am still trying to remember my name at times. If sleep deprivation equaled love then I would definitely win the love award for the year. Seriously! What do you call sitting up trying to not doze while you put your daughter back to bed? You know the head bobble that we all do as parents. I think last night I might have gotten a full hour of sleep and I'm not sure how I functioned without coffee. Maybe my body remembered what it was like just a year ago. I am abiding my time to actually finishing a whole tv episode without falling asleep in the evenings. Yes, I know I will get achieve a whole hour someday again. I have so many Dr Who episodes to catch up on though that I'm not sure if I'll get through them before summer is officially here. By the way, who is NOT loving the new Dr Who? I really miss those Ponds. I think I miss sleep more though!
As a new mom, I researched baby monitors very carefully and finally threw my money down on a product called AngelCare Baby Movement and Sound Monitor. It got great reviews and I kind of ignored the not so positive reviews on Amazon. I should have read them and I wish I had. As I recall, the monitor was closer to 200 dollars when we purchased it. They no longer cost that on amazon anymore as I have noticed. It is probably because they are too complicated to use. Hubby even said he considers himself a pretty savvy technical guy and I would have to agree with that, but when something frustrates him then its definitely not a good product.
So what was frustrating about the AngelCare you might ask. Well we were definitely excited when we got it. It was the after getting it that was when the trouble started. We had a heater in her room and a sound ocean machine to help her sleep. We didn't think those would be an issue, but the AngelCare was so sensitive that it picked up the slightest noise and we had to go back to looking at the settings. We fixed the setting so it wouldn't pick up the ocean sounds and heater and go off, but then you couldn't hear it at all. We would test it and couldn't hear the other even speak in a reasonable tone. So it was either going off all the time or not going off at all. By the way, when it starts beeping, it is the most irritating sound.
With all the hassle of trying to set it up for sound level, we did not even make it to the motion detector phase. Although some of the reviews of having to turn it on and off in the middle of the night because you picked the baby out of the crib to change their diaper made me realize it was not the most convenient monitor. Amazon was fantastic about having this item returned and it is one of the reasons I enjoy shopping with Amazon. I had waited quite some time to finally box it up and send it back and Amazon did not give me any grief about it.
Our next baby monitor was the Motorola 3.5 inch video screen with night vision and zoom. It did not have the baby motion detector, but definitely had video which AngelCare did not. I absolutely loved it!!! Now the life of the battery is not my favorite part of the Motorola baby monitor and they really need to increase battery life because it seemed like I was always grabbing the electrical adaptor for it and plugging it into an outlet. You can definitely get another battery which is something I need to do now, but sometimes you just don't have the time or keep forgetting you need to get one.
We started using it right after we stopped using the co-sleeper in our room and put her in the crib. So far it has been going strong for almost a good year. I have had no issues with it and yes I can hear the heater, but its not so sensitive that it the only thing I can hear. It is more of a background noise and the sound of my daughter is very clear on the Motorola. The video is the best part I think and we watch her with this parent glee and it has become our newest entertainment. There are buttons on the monitor so you can position the camera and keep up with your young ones movements in the crib. Our daughter was not a fan of the music option on the monitor, but maybe yours will enjoy it. Of course they have a volume control and I believe we have ours set on the second lowest one and that is enough for me to wake up. I am a pretty light sleeper so it really depends on how deep you sleep. Motorola even has a walkie talkie feature on it so if you need to speak to your child through the monitor you can. Overall, a very cool set up for us.
I recommend this baby monitor pretty highly. However, I have a friend who purchased one through Babies R US online and paid for it by a paypal account. Motorola guarantees the purchase for a year. Well Babies store only will accept returns I believe for 30 days after purchase. Her Motorola worked great for awhile then started to have lines at the top of the screen where she can no longer see the temperature setting on it. Motorola had been giving her a bit of a run around because she used her paypal account. Well finally I took it upon myself to get a hold of corporate regarding my friend's issue and they did help her with this issue, but it should not have taken this much effort to get such a simple issue fixed. So if you plan to buy their baby monitor I would NOT use paypal as a form of payment.
with that guy named Puck keeping it real for us. Please don't make me use their tag line of the series, but hopefully I keep it real enough on the blog that you aren't screaming FAKER as you read my last sentence. Anyway, you should look up what happened to Puck. I can't say I'm too surprised by how his life has turned out. He did antagonise the guy who was terminally ill and I can't say I feel sorry for Puck at all. I do believe in karma and although it might take a few years, it will eventually happen. Case in point, I had a classmate while growing up who was just mean mean mean. She tormented me and excluded me from all those reindeer games. Well I have found out she got a divorce because she was cheating on her husband and her kids really weren't too happy with her. I chalk it up to karma and how she treated not only me, but others around her. Funny she even told a mutual friend of ours to tell me hello and I thought wow miracles do happen! Although I don't foresee us singing kumbaya with one another anytime soon. It is hard to shake the memories of torment that I had to endure from her and others of her ilk. 
