Play area police.
Aug 25th
Rain, rain, go the eff away!
I say this with mixed emotions. Most of me is completely hating the rain right now, but the homeowner, lawn owner part of my really likes it. It means our near lifeless grass which we’ve watered (according to the water ban) with no avail, is now getting a grand old drink and beginning to look green again. But this is day four of rain and the girls and I are beginning to go stir crazy.
Over two of the past four days we’ve visited malls. And apparently so did everyone else. They were both crowded and filled to the brim with kids of all ages. We got some shopping done and had some delicious lunches in the foot court, but we also had some too close encounters in the play areas. See, I’m used to going to the mall in the winter during the week when there is no one there except for me, some old ladies, and a few other SAHMs. So, going to the mall int he summer when school is not yet back in session is a whole ‘nother beast!
Our mall’s play area looks a lot like this one:
It has a little club house with a slide and a tunnel and then 2 or 3 other climb in/sit in play structures. The flooring is soft and it’s enclosed with benches. The sign at the entrance specifically states that the area is for children under 42 inches tall and that children must be supervised by a parent/adult at all times. However, no one mans the entrance or makes sure that people abide by these rules.
So, on Monday, we ate lunch and then hit up the play area. It was teeming with children of all ages and heights. I knew it wasn’t going to be an enjoyable time. Just as I was about to scoop the girls back up and leave, a boy, probably 8 or 9 years old and well over 42 inches tall, clotheslined Brinley and she fell to the ground. He kept right on running. No one stopped him or came over to see if my kids was ok. I took the girls out and went over to the “Member Services” booth. I asked the lady working there if anyone checked up on the play area to make sure that people were playing by the rules. She was very nice and said not typically but that if I had a problem that she could call the security guard over. I said yes, please and left the area to do some shopping. When we returned to the play area it was much more calm and the girls got to play for a little bit.
Today, we went to a mall again (I know, I know but sometimes you just gotta get out of the house!). Again, this mall was crowded but I expected it after seeing the mall on Monday. We did a little shopping and then went to have lunch. After lunch we went to this mall’s play area which is almost identical to the other one. It was pretty crowded but most of the kids seemed like they belonged there. I decided to assume the role of “play area police” today. I wasn’t mean or rude, but I stood watch near the slide for a bit. Kids have a hard time waiting in line for the slide and I was simply there to help them remember to take turns. (I was also watching out for Nora as she climbed the stairs.) So anyway, Nora made her way up the stairs and then down the slide. Once she got to the bottom she was so proud. She stood up and started clapping. Within a fraction of a second, one of the too big kids ran by her and stiff armed her to the face. She fell and he kept right on running.
Now if Brinley, who is almost four, gets bumped into a little too roughly I usually let her work it out and things are fine. But it’s a different story when a 7 year old boy stiff arms your 15 month old daughter to the face. So, I did what any other mean concerned mother would do. I stopped the boy and told him that he should slow down and watch where he was going. I reminded him that the play area was for small children and that if he was going to play here he really had to be careful. He apologized. I’m not sure where his parents were but within a minute or two he was gone from the play area. I win!
So, yes, I’m THAT mom. I refuse to stand idly by and watch my sweet little bruiser girl get stiff armed to the face by a boy who is clearly too big for the play area. I just wish some parents would be more responsible. I know the day will come when my girls are just on the cusp of being too big to go in the play area. They’ll beg to go in and I’ll have to tell them no. Rules are rules. And they’re there for a reason. ::Stepping down from my soapbox::
Just like her sister.
Aug 23rd
Raising two daughters is truly an amazing thing. My girls are 2 years and 8 months apart. They annoy the crap out of each other yet love each other so much. The dynamic is both heartwarming and nerve wracking at the same time. From the moment Nora was capable, she has made it a priority to do exactly what her big sister is doing. She mimics Brinley to a T. If Brinley is reading a book, Nora is reading a book. If Brinley is coloring, Nora is coloring. When Brinley brushes her teeth, Nora wants to brush hers. If Brinley is having a drink, Nora needs a drink. If Brinely has to go potty, Nora has to go potty. And it’s not just the activity that she has to copy, it has to be done the same way – sitting in the same chair, coloring the same picture, going through the same motions, using the same cup.
It’s crazy how much she wants to be just like her big sister. Last night, Nora really proved just how much she wants to be like her big sister. You see, a little less than two years ago, Brinley had her first visit to the ER. She fell and hit her head on a wrought iron fire place basket and wound up with six stitches right in her hairline on her forehead. Nora wasn’t yet born back then, but she was with us through it. She was a mere 8 weeks along in gestation. I know she was taking note of it all.
How do I know this? Well yesterday we had a BBQ. It was raining so it turned into an indoor event. After we had enjoyed our food we headed down to the family room to play some Guitar Hero. The kids were making a phenomenal mess with the toys and the adults were taking turns playing Wii and supervising the kiddos. It was just about 7pm and we were getting ready to call it a night when we heard a loud thud. We all turned toward the direction of the sound and saw Nora face down on the brick fireplace hearth. I ran over to her and turned her over and she had a gash on her forehead that was bleeding a lot. I picked her up, brought her upstairs and put pressure on the wound. It just so happened that we had both a doctor and a nurse in the house. Once the bleeding stopped, both doctor and nurse had taken a quick look and Scott stopped vomiting (he has a weak stomach at the sight of blood), we got in the car and headed to the hospital. We left Brinley home in good hands with our friends.
Now I am not a fan of Emergency Rooms at all (not that I can imagine anyone is). The wait is always very long and it’s no fun to see all of these sick/hurt people waiting for care. But I have to say, it was as good of an experience as a visit to the ER could possibly be. We were in and out of there in less than an hour and a half. Nora, unlike her sister, did not require stitches. The doctor was able to use Derma-Bond glue to close the wound. Though both girls hurt themselves on or around a fireplace and had their wound on the same side of their forehead, Brinley’s was up much higher near her hairline while Nora’s is more right in the front of her forehead. It fits her personality. She’s a bruiser.
She will not be out done by her big sister!
Addiction.
Aug 19th
I have an addiction. It’s not a drug addiction. Well, maybe it is. Caffeine is a drug, right? I’m addicted to iced coffee. Or maybe just coffee in general. But more specifically Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise since I’ve mentioned my DD trips in many posts. It’s bad enough that Brinley has even memorized my ice coffee order and points out every Dunkin’ Donuts when we’re out asking me if I forgot to stop. For years, I’ve always ordered the same thing: medium French Vanilla iced coffee with milk and sugar.
Well, yesterday I pulled into the drive-thru on my way out for the day. I don’t usually look at the menu because I always get the same thing. But this time a rather large poster caught my attention. I looked up to see a phrase that said something along these lines “The best of both worlds – chocolate and coffee together.” And right there was a picture of a mocha flavored iced coffee. Now I’m not really one to try new things and I love my iced coffee so much that I’d hate to sacrifice such a thing by ordering something new and then not liking it. But, for some reason, I decided to give it a try.
That was a mistake. And not in a bad way. It was TO.DIE.FOR! I can’t believe it took me this long to try it because it was amazing. I love chocolate almost as much as I love coffee so putting them together was sheer perfection. I’ve had mocha flavored drinks in the past but usually they’re too overwhelmingly mocha-y for my taste. I prefer to actually taste the coffee in my drinks because I love the flavor. I don’t just drink coffee for the caffeine, I drink it because I truly enjoy the taste. So now I’m in big trouble. Yesterday Scott informed me that we need to cut down on our Dunkin’ habit because it’s getting a little crazy. (He’s just as much an addict as I am.) Apparently we’re spending about $80/month to support our addiction. That’s on top of the coffee that we already drink at home. Yikes! Not to mention, all that sugar and milk is probably not helping in the fitness category either.
Any suggestions on a less expensive, more healthy addiction that’s just as delicious?
Just remember.
Aug 17th
Long before I was a mother I knew that when I had children I wanted to be home raising them. It’s the way I always envisioned my life. But, I never thought about it from a financial standpoint. In my mind, all I saw was myself getting married, having children and being home to care for them. It wasn’t until I was actually part of the working world that I realized not working would mean not having an income. It’s not that I didn’t understand the fact that not having a job = not making money, I just never really, fully, though it through.
Luckily, when Scott and I discussed having children (even before we were married) we both felt strongly that I would become a stay-at-home-mom.* Even so, when I was pregnant with Brinley we discussed how this would impact us financially and whether or not we could make it work. We weighed the cost of daycare vs. me losing my salary and agreed that we could, in fact, make it work. Although I pretty much had my mind made up about the whole thing even before I was pregnant, it was still very difficult leaving a job that I absolutely loved, teaching. Not only did I have to leave lots of amazing colleagues and an extremely admired principal, but I had to say good bye to students that I had made very strong bonds with. Hard stuff I tell ya!
Anyway, once I resigned and said good bye to my friends, students and paycheck, I was ready to face the reality that I dreamed of. The day Brinley was born my life changed forever. I no longer had a commute, a boss, or a job. It was both fantastic and scary at the same time. My days included changing diapers, folding tiny laundry, and watching her sleep. I loved every single second of it. There were days when I missed going to work and having adult interaction but with time, that faded. I’ve almost reached the point where I’ve been a SAHM for as long as I was a working woman.
Now I have two amazing daughters and my life as a SAHM is exactly what I imagined it would be. We’re busy girls and have lots of fun together. I do lots of cooking, cleaning and chauffeuring and I love it all. But sometimes the person who is really the key in making this all happen gets overlooked or under appreciated. Quite often people will tell me that I am an awesome mother and that I really seem like I’ve got it all down (and I’m very flattered by all of that). But the job that I do would not be possible without an extremely supportive, hardworking, and never doubting husband. He is my rock, my lifeline and my best friend. So just remember, behind every amazing stay-at-home-mom there is an equally, if not more, amazing, hard working, unselfish husband and father.
*Just because I feel strongly that being a SAHM is right for me and my family, I realize that it’s not the right decision, for whatever reason, for every family. I am in no way trying to start a SAHM vs. WOHM debate. The End.
Minus one child.
Aug 16th
I completely forgot how easy it was to have just one child. I’m not trying to belittle the job that any of you parents of one do, but having just one child is cake compared to having two (or more, I’m sure).
You see, on Thursday Brinley asked me if she could have a sleep over at Mimi’s (my mom’s) house. I’m not sure if the idea originated in Brinley’s mind or Mimi’s but that’s a moot point. She’s slept there a few times before when Mimi was babysitting but this was the first time she had asked to sleep over just for fun. After running the idea by Scott, I said that it was ok. We were already out shopping with Mimi when the idea came about and it made no sense for me to go back home and get her an overnight bag so we did what any bargain shopping mom would do – we went to the clearance rack at Kohls. After picking out some princess pajamas and an outfit for the next day we made a pit stop at the car to get her some underwear (I always keep a few spare pairs there in case of an accident). And Mimi has a toothbrush for Brinley at her house.
So we left the store and I took Nora while Brinley went with Mimi in her car (she has a carseat in Mimi’s car too) and off we went our separate ways. When I got home, Nora was ready for a nap. I put her in her crib and felt almost at a loss for what to do. Usually when she’s napping I spend alone time with Brinley playing games or doing things that Nora makes impossible. But I didn’t have to do any of that. So what did I do? I cleaned the kitchen and swept the floors and did some laundry – boooooooring! Then I caught up on some blog reading while waiting for Scott to get home from work.
When Nora woke up from her nap, we played and I made her dinner. She was a joy. She never whined or cried or screamed. When Scott got home from work we hung out, just the three of us. Now of course we missed Brinley but it was really nice to spend some quality alone time with just Nora. We put her to bed and then watched some TV. She slept until 8:45am! When she woke up we brought her in to bed with us. Then we all got up and had breakfast. She was a peach the entire time.
This made me realize something. Nora gets a bad wrap. And it’s because of Brinley. They’re both amazing, wonderful, smart kids but when they’re together they get on each others nerves and often bring out the bad side in one another. Nora is always getting into Brinley’s projects and Brinley is always touching and taunting Nora unnecessarily. Good ol’ sibling rivalry. Don’t get me wrong there are plenty of times when they’re loving on each other and playing really well, but those seem to be overshadowed by the times when they’re annoying each other.
It was really awesome to be able to focus on just one child for a little while. Brinley had our undivided attention for 2 years and 8 months before Nora came into our lives. Nora has never had our undivided attention. I realize that is what happens when you have more than one child but it makes me feel a little bit bad for Nora. It will be nice when Brinley is in school this fall three mornings a week and I get to spend some one-on-one time with Nora. I’m sure she’s going to love it!
