Believe it or not, I'm actually having a battle right now as I type. Every night it's the same battle. Tell Aiden it's time for bed, he gets in and out of bed several times as he makes up excuses and tries to manipulate me into letting him do anything besides going to bed. We always start in his room and he often either finally ends up going to sleep as I sit stirring with irritation and anger after at least a half hour long battle...or...he makes his way out to the living room where he eventually crashes on the couch or floor since at this point I'm so pissed and just want him to go to sleep no matter where it's at. At this point he could sleep on the kitchen table for all I care! All I know is these battles need to end pronto! I absolutely hate ending our nights on a negative note. I get upset with him, lose my patience and my me time begins with frustration and anger as I crack open a bottle of wine or beer to relax and try to enjoy what little adult time I have.
Just in the time I've typed this Aiden has moved from the living room floor, to the couch and now back to the floor. It comes down to the point of me just having to ignore him. I either turn off the tv and listen to some music, or turn something on that's of no interest to him so eventually he could care less what's on, get bored and fall asleep while he obviously fights every second of it. If he only knew how amazing sleep is! One day he'll learn and then I'll be dragging his ass out of bed each morning for school!
We recently ordered custom made bunk beds for the boys that are being delivered tomorrow. We have high hopes that the wow factor will make Aiden want to sleep in his own bed, and for the whole night. I have yet to mention that even when I do successfully get him to sleep in his bed, every night or early morning he makes his way down to our bed where he once again takes control and hogs my side of the bed often forcing me to sleep on the couch. Yup, we have major issues on our hand. No need to point that out to me. Anyways, I know the bunk bed idea could totally backfire on us, but we have our fingers crossed...tight! He has told us that sleeping up high would help so the monsters and ghosts can't reach him. Smart kid, right?!
Okay...nobody speak, nobody breathe! Aiden has crashed! I will soon move him to his bed and see his sweet face again around 3 in the morning as he crawls into bed with me and Don. Not the end of the world. It could always be worse. I just hope and pray that our battles become less and less as he learns there's nothing to fear, sleep is a wonderful thing and mommy is here for him forever!
Sweet dreams Aiden....now pour me a glass of wine!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The Never Ending Wrath (and laughs) of Liam.
I can't even begin to tell you how much of a sweet handful my little Liam is! I know I've mentioned this just a few times before, okay, maybe a few hundred times, but his wild and crazy actions never cease to amaze me every day. All I can say is there is never a lack of entertainment and madness in the Sweet household! I suppose it's better then a boring household, so we'll keep Liam around and keep our fingers crossed that he doesn't destroy our entire home, or my sanity, in the mean time.
Aiden was nothing like Liam when he was a baby. He really never got into much and was quite content with whatever toys we put in front of him. He liked to play with the kitchen pots, pans and utensils, but for the most part he wasn't a very curious baby getting into everything like Liam does. I honestly don't remember Aiden even once rolling the toilet paper all over the place. And he never really got into any cupboards, or we'd have put the child safety locks on them, which many are still lacking and giving Liam a free for all way too often. Aiden was never a climber and didn't feel the need to explore the unknown much, unlike Mr Liam who is all over the place from the top to the bottom of the house. It's so interesting how brothers who came from the same parents can come out so different. Aiden is much more difficult now as a sassy and demanding preschooler then he ever was as a baby. Lets just hope Liam is the opposite and gets easier and more laid back with age. Hey! Wishful thinking never hurt anyone! :)
Every day is a new day with Liam and I swear he finds something new to get into all the time. He has this mischievous enjoyment of shaking our lamps until they fall and in some cases even break. He also loves to shake the living room end tables until everything on them is on the floor. It's nuts! He recently shook one of our end tables so much that the bolts came loose and were later found on the floor! Yesterday he shook the lamp until it fell over onto him and into the Christmas tree. Good lord! I have no idea how this tree is still even standing! It may only be partially lit, missing a string of cranberry beads that Liam broke and missing several ornaments that are now broken as well, but the thing is still standing so that's all that matters!
Yesterday Liam also shook another side table that has a built it lamp on it until the lamp shade fell off! This is his favorite table to shake, rattle and just about roll across the floor. I have no clue what the fun is in this game of his, but I sure hope he gets over it soon. Sometimes I can't help but laugh because he looks right at me, gives me a little stinker grin and runs full force ahead to the table. As I'm yelling no at him he just laughs at me. Can you believe this kid?! He laughs whenever I say no, like yeah right mom! I'm going to do what I'm going to do and you can't stop me!
To top it off he is a major food thrower. At first he would just throw a piece of food onto the floor to let me know he's done. Now it's become another little stinker game of his he likes to play just to drive me crazy. He will literally look right at me, get a huge shit eating grin on his face and chuck food clear across the kitchen as I run over to attempt to stop him. He laughs and he laughs. All I can say is it could be worse. I could have carpet in my dining room and oh what an even bigger mess that would create. Yesterday I gave him some fresh rotisserie chicken that he's always loved. He took one bite, spit it out and chucked the rest all over the floor. I picked the mess up as he started to chow on his mac n cheese. Sure enough, moments later I was picking up mac n cheese from not just the floor, but the counter, the stove, the coffee maker and the dishwasher. Talk about a good arm on the kid! Hmmmm.....maybe I should sign him up for baseball soon?
Liam might be a huge handful, but he is as sweet as sugar and brings tons of smiles and laughter into our chaotic home as well. He is way ahead of his age, as the second child tends to be, but of course because he's my child he seems like a genius to me! He has amazing eye and hand coordination and even already eats with silverware! Aiden didn't do that until he was two and a half! One of his most favorite things to do is put coins into their piggy bank. It's adorable! We just might have an accountant on our hands! I'm just thankful he hasn't ate any of the coins....yet!
I'm such a proud mama. I know my boys aren't perfect and honestly I prefer it that way. I'm not a perfect parent and I'm okay with that too. Parenting and perfectionism mix like oil and water....it doesn't work and only makes for one stressed out and unhappy mama! My boys might piss me off daily, but the sweet comments they make and the little loving gestures they do out of the blue and the smiles and laughter they bless me and Don with always outweigh the things they do to tick me off and stress me out on any given day.
Aiden was nothing like Liam when he was a baby. He really never got into much and was quite content with whatever toys we put in front of him. He liked to play with the kitchen pots, pans and utensils, but for the most part he wasn't a very curious baby getting into everything like Liam does. I honestly don't remember Aiden even once rolling the toilet paper all over the place. And he never really got into any cupboards, or we'd have put the child safety locks on them, which many are still lacking and giving Liam a free for all way too often. Aiden was never a climber and didn't feel the need to explore the unknown much, unlike Mr Liam who is all over the place from the top to the bottom of the house. It's so interesting how brothers who came from the same parents can come out so different. Aiden is much more difficult now as a sassy and demanding preschooler then he ever was as a baby. Lets just hope Liam is the opposite and gets easier and more laid back with age. Hey! Wishful thinking never hurt anyone! :)
Every day is a new day with Liam and I swear he finds something new to get into all the time. He has this mischievous enjoyment of shaking our lamps until they fall and in some cases even break. He also loves to shake the living room end tables until everything on them is on the floor. It's nuts! He recently shook one of our end tables so much that the bolts came loose and were later found on the floor! Yesterday he shook the lamp until it fell over onto him and into the Christmas tree. Good lord! I have no idea how this tree is still even standing! It may only be partially lit, missing a string of cranberry beads that Liam broke and missing several ornaments that are now broken as well, but the thing is still standing so that's all that matters!
Yesterday Liam also shook another side table that has a built it lamp on it until the lamp shade fell off! This is his favorite table to shake, rattle and just about roll across the floor. I have no clue what the fun is in this game of his, but I sure hope he gets over it soon. Sometimes I can't help but laugh because he looks right at me, gives me a little stinker grin and runs full force ahead to the table. As I'm yelling no at him he just laughs at me. Can you believe this kid?! He laughs whenever I say no, like yeah right mom! I'm going to do what I'm going to do and you can't stop me!
To top it off he is a major food thrower. At first he would just throw a piece of food onto the floor to let me know he's done. Now it's become another little stinker game of his he likes to play just to drive me crazy. He will literally look right at me, get a huge shit eating grin on his face and chuck food clear across the kitchen as I run over to attempt to stop him. He laughs and he laughs. All I can say is it could be worse. I could have carpet in my dining room and oh what an even bigger mess that would create. Yesterday I gave him some fresh rotisserie chicken that he's always loved. He took one bite, spit it out and chucked the rest all over the floor. I picked the mess up as he started to chow on his mac n cheese. Sure enough, moments later I was picking up mac n cheese from not just the floor, but the counter, the stove, the coffee maker and the dishwasher. Talk about a good arm on the kid! Hmmmm.....maybe I should sign him up for baseball soon?
Liam might be a huge handful, but he is as sweet as sugar and brings tons of smiles and laughter into our chaotic home as well. He is way ahead of his age, as the second child tends to be, but of course because he's my child he seems like a genius to me! He has amazing eye and hand coordination and even already eats with silverware! Aiden didn't do that until he was two and a half! One of his most favorite things to do is put coins into their piggy bank. It's adorable! We just might have an accountant on our hands! I'm just thankful he hasn't ate any of the coins....yet!
I'm such a proud mama. I know my boys aren't perfect and honestly I prefer it that way. I'm not a perfect parent and I'm okay with that too. Parenting and perfectionism mix like oil and water....it doesn't work and only makes for one stressed out and unhappy mama! My boys might piss me off daily, but the sweet comments they make and the little loving gestures they do out of the blue and the smiles and laughter they bless me and Don with always outweigh the things they do to tick me off and stress me out on any given day.
Friday, December 9, 2011
All I Want for Christmas is my Sanity
I would give anything to be able to take a glimpse into the home of another stay at home mom with two boys to see how she does it and if she is often just as overwhelmed as me. I know I'm not alone, but to be able to physically see that other moms deal with the same issues I do on a daily basis would honestly do my sanity wonders.
99% of the time I absolutely love being a stay at home mom and wouldn't trade it for the world. However, on those other 1% days I ask myself if I'm the right person for this challenging job. Today is sadly one of those days. I hate feeling this way and am always caught off guard by the feelings as well. These feelings are often followed by me hiding out in the bathroom and quietly crying as I try to decompress, take some deep breaths and suck it up to do what I have to do...caring, nurturing, teaching and loving my boys endlessly no matter how crazy they make me at times.
This morning started out good. I got some terrific sleep filled with some sweet dreams, including one of my hottie celebrity bad boy crush Eminem. You can't not wake up with a smile on your face after dreaming about him! Hee hee hee! Anyways, the boys got up and played well together...at first. That quickly changed and lead to some massive fights followed by loud cries and a river of tears. There is nothing worse then having to deal with screaming and crying kids first thing in the morning while you're still trying to wake up and start the day off on the right foot. It was quite obvious that the wrong foot got the best of our household and my head soon began to throb. Aiden had two time outs by 8am, I had already lost my patience several times and the wrath of Liam had quickly begun to torture our house and everything in his path!
The minute I try to do something as quickly and as simple as going downstairs to make our bed and pick out my clothes for the day, I return upstairs to find Aiden had crashed Liam into the Christmas tree on his ride-on bus creating a huge needle mess, the toilet paper had been completely rolled out all over the bathroom floor, Aiden had eaten candy off the gingerbread house breaking off chunks of the icing all over the kitchen counters and Liam was playing with the disgusting toilet plunger. Wow! It was enough to make my head spin! Maybe on other days when I hadn't already lost my patience I would have been able to handle these findings with a much more positive and humorous attitude, but thanks to the way our day had already started I was by far in no mood to clean up mess after mess all while trying to keep the boys from not killing each other too.
Challenge? To say the least! It's like one of those days when I used to work outside the house and all day long I had to repeat to myself, I love my job, I love my job, I love my job....because most days, I do.
This is when my positive attitude comes into play. I take lots of deep breaths, hug my boys, remind myself how grateful I am and things could always be worse. Then at night after I put them to bed, I pour myself a glass of wine and unwind to start all over again the next day.
Thank God Don and I get to have an adult only night out tomorrow because we both need and deserve a break.
So Santa, I have been a very good girl this year and have been dealt an awfully bad life hand one too many times in return. I understand that that's life sometimes, but it'd sure be nice if you could sprinkle some of your Christmas magic over my household this season so we can put an end to the darkest year of our lives with a light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Erin
99% of the time I absolutely love being a stay at home mom and wouldn't trade it for the world. However, on those other 1% days I ask myself if I'm the right person for this challenging job. Today is sadly one of those days. I hate feeling this way and am always caught off guard by the feelings as well. These feelings are often followed by me hiding out in the bathroom and quietly crying as I try to decompress, take some deep breaths and suck it up to do what I have to do...caring, nurturing, teaching and loving my boys endlessly no matter how crazy they make me at times.
This morning started out good. I got some terrific sleep filled with some sweet dreams, including one of my hottie celebrity bad boy crush Eminem. You can't not wake up with a smile on your face after dreaming about him! Hee hee hee! Anyways, the boys got up and played well together...at first. That quickly changed and lead to some massive fights followed by loud cries and a river of tears. There is nothing worse then having to deal with screaming and crying kids first thing in the morning while you're still trying to wake up and start the day off on the right foot. It was quite obvious that the wrong foot got the best of our household and my head soon began to throb. Aiden had two time outs by 8am, I had already lost my patience several times and the wrath of Liam had quickly begun to torture our house and everything in his path!
The minute I try to do something as quickly and as simple as going downstairs to make our bed and pick out my clothes for the day, I return upstairs to find Aiden had crashed Liam into the Christmas tree on his ride-on bus creating a huge needle mess, the toilet paper had been completely rolled out all over the bathroom floor, Aiden had eaten candy off the gingerbread house breaking off chunks of the icing all over the kitchen counters and Liam was playing with the disgusting toilet plunger. Wow! It was enough to make my head spin! Maybe on other days when I hadn't already lost my patience I would have been able to handle these findings with a much more positive and humorous attitude, but thanks to the way our day had already started I was by far in no mood to clean up mess after mess all while trying to keep the boys from not killing each other too.
Challenge? To say the least! It's like one of those days when I used to work outside the house and all day long I had to repeat to myself, I love my job, I love my job, I love my job....because most days, I do.
This is when my positive attitude comes into play. I take lots of deep breaths, hug my boys, remind myself how grateful I am and things could always be worse. Then at night after I put them to bed, I pour myself a glass of wine and unwind to start all over again the next day.
Thank God Don and I get to have an adult only night out tomorrow because we both need and deserve a break.
So Santa, I have been a very good girl this year and have been dealt an awfully bad life hand one too many times in return. I understand that that's life sometimes, but it'd sure be nice if you could sprinkle some of your Christmas magic over my household this season so we can put an end to the darkest year of our lives with a light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Erin
Monday, December 5, 2011
Just Another Walmart Adventure
This morning I was anxious to get out of the house with the boys. Why exactly? I'm not too sure considering it's only 19 degrees and snowing. I forget how much work it is bundling up both boys and myself just for a "quick" trip to the store. But if I don't suck it up and venture out, we'd be stuck inside all day everyday for the next several months as winter has clearly arrived.
So, needless to say, the boys and I bundled up this morning and began just another one of our Walmart adventures that almost always never cease to amaze me. Whether it's the people we see, something we find, or something one of the boys does, a trip to Walmart usually never fails us to be a form of pure Sweet family fun and entertainment. Wow! Did I really just say that a trip to Walmart can be entertaining???!!! What has come of me???!!! Either I need to get out of this town or I'm getting old and it no longer takes much to entertain me.
We begin with some simple grocery shopping. I come across these cute toddler juice bottles with Tigger on top to sip the juice from. I hand it to Liam to keep him occupied as he seems thrilled to have it in hand. He continuously plays with it and tries to drink it as we finish our grocery shopping and head to the kid's winter boot department as we came to discover Aiden's boots no longer fit him so he had to wear his rain boots yesterday to play outside in the snow. I begin to have Aiden try on boots, which quickly became a whining and complaining battle with me having to threaten him that we won't go look at toys if he doesn't cooperate and try the boots on. Next thing I know, the Tigger sippy thing from the juice is on the ground and Liam has poked a hole in the juice cover and was proceeding to drink it and spill it all down the front of him! This is something he loves to do at home as well. He gets into the fridge, grabs a little smoothie, pokes a hole in the top with his teeth and sucks on it until it's either gone or spilled all over the place. Anyways, I become distracted with the juice fiasco, put the Tigger lid back on and toss it into the cart. I finally get Aiden to try on a pair he picked out himself - camouflage ones of course - and he miraculously likes them and they fit. He tosses them into the cart and we're officially "done" shopping.
At the end of each of our shopping trips there I always let the boys look at the toys for a few minutes if they were good. For the most part they were this time, so onward to the toy section we go. Not to mention this gives me some time to scope out toys to get them for Christmas as well. Liam is now cleaned up from the juice, we got all our groceries, got Aiden new boots and were having fun checking out all the new toys that have come in since our last visit when all of a sudden Aiden says, "Mom, my shoe is missing!" I look down at his feet and sure enough his shoe was missing! Did I seriously forget to put his shoe back on after trying on boots and he seriously just walked across the entire store with only one shoe on?! OMG! I couldn't help but begin to laugh hysterically. We instantly rush back to the boot section and sure enough there was his shoe. Thank goodness it was still there! We quickly get his shoe back on and head to check out when Aiden picks up a candy cane filled with candy Runts. I agree to get them for him and we once again, head to check out. As I quickly whip our stuff through the self checkout lane I all of a sudden hear a quiet crash and there went the plastic candycane onto the floor where it broke open and Runts went everywhere. I silently began to count to 3 in my head just waiting for the explosion of cries and tears that were sure to follow. 1, 2, 3.....whhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mom is always right! Thankfully the checkout lady was very sweet and understanding and sent someone to get him a new candy cane. The poor boy could barely breathe by the end of the incident. Hmmmm.....maybe I should keep a bag of Runts around for bribery if he loves them that much.
By the time I was done checking us out and putting everything in our cart I was in need of some serious deep breaths. I bundled us back up and headed back out into the cold for the drive home. Thank you Walmart for the laughs, tears, smiles, good deals, people watching and pure craziness that lead to our little adventures and break up the monotony of our days at home. Until next time....
So, needless to say, the boys and I bundled up this morning and began just another one of our Walmart adventures that almost always never cease to amaze me. Whether it's the people we see, something we find, or something one of the boys does, a trip to Walmart usually never fails us to be a form of pure Sweet family fun and entertainment. Wow! Did I really just say that a trip to Walmart can be entertaining???!!! What has come of me???!!! Either I need to get out of this town or I'm getting old and it no longer takes much to entertain me.
We begin with some simple grocery shopping. I come across these cute toddler juice bottles with Tigger on top to sip the juice from. I hand it to Liam to keep him occupied as he seems thrilled to have it in hand. He continuously plays with it and tries to drink it as we finish our grocery shopping and head to the kid's winter boot department as we came to discover Aiden's boots no longer fit him so he had to wear his rain boots yesterday to play outside in the snow. I begin to have Aiden try on boots, which quickly became a whining and complaining battle with me having to threaten him that we won't go look at toys if he doesn't cooperate and try the boots on. Next thing I know, the Tigger sippy thing from the juice is on the ground and Liam has poked a hole in the juice cover and was proceeding to drink it and spill it all down the front of him! This is something he loves to do at home as well. He gets into the fridge, grabs a little smoothie, pokes a hole in the top with his teeth and sucks on it until it's either gone or spilled all over the place. Anyways, I become distracted with the juice fiasco, put the Tigger lid back on and toss it into the cart. I finally get Aiden to try on a pair he picked out himself - camouflage ones of course - and he miraculously likes them and they fit. He tosses them into the cart and we're officially "done" shopping.
At the end of each of our shopping trips there I always let the boys look at the toys for a few minutes if they were good. For the most part they were this time, so onward to the toy section we go. Not to mention this gives me some time to scope out toys to get them for Christmas as well. Liam is now cleaned up from the juice, we got all our groceries, got Aiden new boots and were having fun checking out all the new toys that have come in since our last visit when all of a sudden Aiden says, "Mom, my shoe is missing!" I look down at his feet and sure enough his shoe was missing! Did I seriously forget to put his shoe back on after trying on boots and he seriously just walked across the entire store with only one shoe on?! OMG! I couldn't help but begin to laugh hysterically. We instantly rush back to the boot section and sure enough there was his shoe. Thank goodness it was still there! We quickly get his shoe back on and head to check out when Aiden picks up a candy cane filled with candy Runts. I agree to get them for him and we once again, head to check out. As I quickly whip our stuff through the self checkout lane I all of a sudden hear a quiet crash and there went the plastic candycane onto the floor where it broke open and Runts went everywhere. I silently began to count to 3 in my head just waiting for the explosion of cries and tears that were sure to follow. 1, 2, 3.....whhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mom is always right! Thankfully the checkout lady was very sweet and understanding and sent someone to get him a new candy cane. The poor boy could barely breathe by the end of the incident. Hmmmm.....maybe I should keep a bag of Runts around for bribery if he loves them that much.
By the time I was done checking us out and putting everything in our cart I was in need of some serious deep breaths. I bundled us back up and headed back out into the cold for the drive home. Thank you Walmart for the laughs, tears, smiles, good deals, people watching and pure craziness that lead to our little adventures and break up the monotony of our days at home. Until next time....
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
The Christmas Tree vs Liam
For the past week or so my husband and I have been discussing the issues with putting up a Christmas tree and having our 15 month old wild child Liam in the same vicinity as the tree all day, every day. We have a strict family tradition of getting a real tree. However, because of Liam I brought up us getting a fake tree for this year only. All I could picture was Liam yanking at the tree and needles constantly flying everywhere. Or him even eating the needles and pooping them out! Yes, these were seriously my thoughts. Don shot my idea down saying we'd still get our usual real tree and just teach Liam not to touch it. Ha! I'm sure he can easily make that decision because he wouldn't be the one chasing the baby away from the tree all day long.
I eventually mentioned the dilemma to my mom who advised us to skip getting a tree all together this year. I know her Christmas spirit is a bit dim this year due to the recent passing of my dad, but I agreed with her that going without a tree for one year isn't going to be the end of the world of hurt anyone. All it would do is save me from insanity, in my eyes, but in Don's eyes I was being a scrooge and because we have kids they can't have a Christmas without a tree. I understand his point of view as well, but once again, he doesn't have to be the one home all day fighting the endless battle to save the tree from being destroyed by our ball of energy, wild boys.
In the end, Don won me over and we continued our family tradition by going to get our beautiful and lovely smelling real tree yesterday afternoon. We got the tree up, lit and decorated and it looked great...and even stood up straight for once! We looked around at our nicely holiday decorated home and it felt and looked wonderful. I simply love this time of year and all the home decor that goes along with it. I can feel my home come to life with lights, color, the life of the tree, fresh pine scents, cheerful music and pure bliss. That is until...do do do do.......do do do do.......the little ever so cute monster Liam is let loose and the battle of the tree vs Liam begins!
Yesterday Don was off for the day so I had his help keeping Liam either away from the tree or only playing with the unbreakable ornaments that I purposely placed on the bottom of the tree so I wouldn't have a problem with him taking these ones off to play with. So that day wasn't so bad. Today, however, is a whole different story as I'm the only one here trying to control an uncontrollable boy and situation. I did make the mistake of placing some of the cranberry strings lower on the tree, so of course Liam was fascinated by the red ball looking objects and eyed them like his prey until he was finally able to yank an entire string off while I was out of the room for a whole minute or two. Then Aiden just had to fight with him over it and sure enough, the string busted and the cranberries went everywhere! That was my final straw. It wasn't even 9am and I was beyond over this endless battle. It was exhausting and clearly stressing me out, even though I had swore up and down to not let the issue get to me because it's just a tree and just decorations. It's not as though Liam is running around with my wedding ring in his mouth or something insane like that. I get it. The tree is something new. It's pretty. There's lights and shiny objects on it. What 15 month old child wouldn't want to get his hands all over it and play? But it's still one more thing for Liam to get into and me having to spend the day trying to keep him away from it. I thought him getting into the pantry was bad! Hell, at this point he can dump all the crackers on the floor all he wants if he would just leave our pretty tree alone. I know I'm asking a lot, probably too much, so at this point I either need to just let him go and if the tree gets destroyed then so be it or take it down all together. I can't let myself get worked up and stressed out over something that's not going to get any better anytime soon. I knew this was going to be the case, I still gave into getting the tree, so now I have to deal with the consequences. To top it all off I noticed the tree stand is leaking water everywhere. Gotta love icing on the cake!
So I'm afraid to say that at the end of this war....the Christmas Tree vs Liam.....Liam is sure to be the winner!
Good thing I have a huge stock of ibuprofen, because for the next month, I'm especially going to need it!
I eventually mentioned the dilemma to my mom who advised us to skip getting a tree all together this year. I know her Christmas spirit is a bit dim this year due to the recent passing of my dad, but I agreed with her that going without a tree for one year isn't going to be the end of the world of hurt anyone. All it would do is save me from insanity, in my eyes, but in Don's eyes I was being a scrooge and because we have kids they can't have a Christmas without a tree. I understand his point of view as well, but once again, he doesn't have to be the one home all day fighting the endless battle to save the tree from being destroyed by our ball of energy, wild boys.
In the end, Don won me over and we continued our family tradition by going to get our beautiful and lovely smelling real tree yesterday afternoon. We got the tree up, lit and decorated and it looked great...and even stood up straight for once! We looked around at our nicely holiday decorated home and it felt and looked wonderful. I simply love this time of year and all the home decor that goes along with it. I can feel my home come to life with lights, color, the life of the tree, fresh pine scents, cheerful music and pure bliss. That is until...do do do do.......do do do do.......the little ever so cute monster Liam is let loose and the battle of the tree vs Liam begins!
Yesterday Don was off for the day so I had his help keeping Liam either away from the tree or only playing with the unbreakable ornaments that I purposely placed on the bottom of the tree so I wouldn't have a problem with him taking these ones off to play with. So that day wasn't so bad. Today, however, is a whole different story as I'm the only one here trying to control an uncontrollable boy and situation. I did make the mistake of placing some of the cranberry strings lower on the tree, so of course Liam was fascinated by the red ball looking objects and eyed them like his prey until he was finally able to yank an entire string off while I was out of the room for a whole minute or two. Then Aiden just had to fight with him over it and sure enough, the string busted and the cranberries went everywhere! That was my final straw. It wasn't even 9am and I was beyond over this endless battle. It was exhausting and clearly stressing me out, even though I had swore up and down to not let the issue get to me because it's just a tree and just decorations. It's not as though Liam is running around with my wedding ring in his mouth or something insane like that. I get it. The tree is something new. It's pretty. There's lights and shiny objects on it. What 15 month old child wouldn't want to get his hands all over it and play? But it's still one more thing for Liam to get into and me having to spend the day trying to keep him away from it. I thought him getting into the pantry was bad! Hell, at this point he can dump all the crackers on the floor all he wants if he would just leave our pretty tree alone. I know I'm asking a lot, probably too much, so at this point I either need to just let him go and if the tree gets destroyed then so be it or take it down all together. I can't let myself get worked up and stressed out over something that's not going to get any better anytime soon. I knew this was going to be the case, I still gave into getting the tree, so now I have to deal with the consequences. To top it all off I noticed the tree stand is leaking water everywhere. Gotta love icing on the cake!
So I'm afraid to say that at the end of this war....the Christmas Tree vs Liam.....Liam is sure to be the winner!
Liam vs The Christmas Tree
Good thing I have a huge stock of ibuprofen, because for the next month, I'm especially going to need it!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Two is Enough for Me...I think
Yesterday I was grocery shopping at Walmart....yes, I said Walmart, and don't even think of giving me shit for that! I would totally shop at Target or Meijer if we had those one stop shopping choices, but we don't, so Walmart it is. I'll secretly admit, I kind of like it too. Okay, enough of the Walmart talk! Back to my story!
So...like I said...I was shopping the other day and while in the check out lane an older lady started to chat with me. She was watching Aiden and Liam interact together and then proceeded to tell me a funny story about her grand daughter's letter to Santa asking if he can bring her all the toys and nothing for her little sister. I literally laughed out loud and told her that Aiden would seriously ask Santa to just take Liam away. He'd be happy having no more baby brother in his way for Christmas rather then all the legos in the world. Although I write that now, but lately the boys have been playing so wonderfully together and each time that happens my heart only glows with more and more warmth.
My random conversation with the old lady continued. She said that when two of her boys were younger that absolutely hated each other. The older one ended up joining the Army and was sent off to Iraq several times. Years later his younger brother decided to join the Navy and the older brother had his behind. He was so upset with his decision and wanted nothing more then for his little brother to be safe and sound instead of being sent off to his well known future in the war. This story also reminded me of Aiden and Liam. Aiden continuously says how much he doesn't like Liam and wishes he wasn't here, but then there are numerous moments throughout each day when I catch Aiden looking out for Liam's well being, playing with Liam and reaching out to be Liam's big brother who underneath it all truly loves him unconditionally.
The last part of our Walmart checkout lane conversation was about her having 7 boys! Yes folks, I said SEVEN!!! O-M-G!!! I proceeded to tell her that I had always wanted 3 or 4 children, but because I've been blessed with 2 wild boys first, I plan to stop right here in my baby making tracks, because two boys is plenty for me, or so I think, for now. She looked at me with such genuine, caring and understanding eyes that let me know she knew exactly where I was coming from. She then told me yes, it's not easy when the boys are young, but she also informed me how amazing her life is now with them all grown and looking out for her left and right. She said the other say one of her sons called her and she couldn't answer the phone because she was busy doing laundry. He immediately showed up at her house worried about her thinking maybe she had had a heart attack and that's why she hadn't answered the phone. I absolutely love mama's boys who grow up to look after their mom and love her like no one else.
I also look forward to that grown relationship with my boys, but I just honestly don't know if I could handle another little one jumping off my couches, climbing in my pantry and peeing all over my toilets. I think boys are amazing. A huge burst of energy that fills me with a special kind of love where already I can sense them looking out for me and wanting to make sure I am okay, as I also hope they do as adults. I like to think I'm raising independent mama's boys, because in my own personal experience, the mama's boys are the best boys and treat their ladies the best as well.
I deeply enjoy and love being a mom to two vivacious and full of life boys. However, I just don't see a possible third one in my future creating a personal path to sanity either. They are fun and I wouldn't trade them for the world, but they challenge me every other minute and truly make me believe that I am totally satisfied with ending my child bearing years with my little Aries and Leo by my side. Maybe, just maybe, if I was guaranteed a girl round three I'd take that route, or if I lived near more family for more support, but those are not my reality, so at the end of the day I'm very happy with my decision and love the feeling of completeness I now feel when looking at my amazing three boys knowing that this is it and will just hope and pray they give me lots of grand babies in the future to continue the growth of our beautiful family that I love so much!
So...like I said...I was shopping the other day and while in the check out lane an older lady started to chat with me. She was watching Aiden and Liam interact together and then proceeded to tell me a funny story about her grand daughter's letter to Santa asking if he can bring her all the toys and nothing for her little sister. I literally laughed out loud and told her that Aiden would seriously ask Santa to just take Liam away. He'd be happy having no more baby brother in his way for Christmas rather then all the legos in the world. Although I write that now, but lately the boys have been playing so wonderfully together and each time that happens my heart only glows with more and more warmth.
My random conversation with the old lady continued. She said that when two of her boys were younger that absolutely hated each other. The older one ended up joining the Army and was sent off to Iraq several times. Years later his younger brother decided to join the Navy and the older brother had his behind. He was so upset with his decision and wanted nothing more then for his little brother to be safe and sound instead of being sent off to his well known future in the war. This story also reminded me of Aiden and Liam. Aiden continuously says how much he doesn't like Liam and wishes he wasn't here, but then there are numerous moments throughout each day when I catch Aiden looking out for Liam's well being, playing with Liam and reaching out to be Liam's big brother who underneath it all truly loves him unconditionally.
The last part of our Walmart checkout lane conversation was about her having 7 boys! Yes folks, I said SEVEN!!! O-M-G!!! I proceeded to tell her that I had always wanted 3 or 4 children, but because I've been blessed with 2 wild boys first, I plan to stop right here in my baby making tracks, because two boys is plenty for me, or so I think, for now. She looked at me with such genuine, caring and understanding eyes that let me know she knew exactly where I was coming from. She then told me yes, it's not easy when the boys are young, but she also informed me how amazing her life is now with them all grown and looking out for her left and right. She said the other say one of her sons called her and she couldn't answer the phone because she was busy doing laundry. He immediately showed up at her house worried about her thinking maybe she had had a heart attack and that's why she hadn't answered the phone. I absolutely love mama's boys who grow up to look after their mom and love her like no one else.
I also look forward to that grown relationship with my boys, but I just honestly don't know if I could handle another little one jumping off my couches, climbing in my pantry and peeing all over my toilets. I think boys are amazing. A huge burst of energy that fills me with a special kind of love where already I can sense them looking out for me and wanting to make sure I am okay, as I also hope they do as adults. I like to think I'm raising independent mama's boys, because in my own personal experience, the mama's boys are the best boys and treat their ladies the best as well.
I deeply enjoy and love being a mom to two vivacious and full of life boys. However, I just don't see a possible third one in my future creating a personal path to sanity either. They are fun and I wouldn't trade them for the world, but they challenge me every other minute and truly make me believe that I am totally satisfied with ending my child bearing years with my little Aries and Leo by my side. Maybe, just maybe, if I was guaranteed a girl round three I'd take that route, or if I lived near more family for more support, but those are not my reality, so at the end of the day I'm very happy with my decision and love the feeling of completeness I now feel when looking at my amazing three boys knowing that this is it and will just hope and pray they give me lots of grand babies in the future to continue the growth of our beautiful family that I love so much!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
A Morning of Grief with Aiden
Yesterday morning was an emotional roller coaster ride of grief. It might sound strange, but it was one of the most special moments I've had in a long time, especially because I shared the experience with Aiden who is grieving the loss of his beloved Papa just as much as I am over the loss of my father just 3 short months ago.
Aiden has a wonderful book called "The Kissing Hand". The story is about a mom who shows her son that if she kisses his hand and he is ever without her and missing her, all he has to do is hold his hand to his cheek and remember his mother's love is always with him no matter where he goes. The book came with some cute heart shaped stickers that say The Kissing Hand on them so you can place a sticker on your hand to remind you of that endless love.
Yesterday morning I walked into Aiden's room and he had placed one of the stickers up on his bedroom wall. He told me it was for Papa because he will always be in his heart. He then showed me the two stickers he had placed on each of his hands and said one was for me and the other was for Grandma. I immediately teared up and hugged him tightly as he continued to display his grief and telling me how much he misses Papa.
We then went out into the living room where I was watching the very emotional final farewell to Regis show. They had the cast of "Rent" come on to perform their wonderful song "Seasons of Love" only changing some of the words to match things within Regis's long time career on the Regis and Kelly Show. I have always loved this song and for some reason it now makes me think of my dad. I lost it. So while Aiden sits on the couch continuing to say how much he misses Papa and that we need to get a new Papa, I sobbed while Liam looks at both of us in total confusion and of course a sense of humor. I haven't cried over the loss of my dad in quite some time. People keep telling me the tears will often come out of no where and can be brought on by simple things, like a song or a smell, and they couldn't have been more right.
Aiden and I embraced with tears flowing and it felt amazing to say the least. To have someone, even a four year old, to share those moments with is priceless. I explained to him like I always do that it's okay to be sad and it's okay to cry. When we have such raw emotions come to the surface we need to be sure to just stop what ever we're doing and take the time to feel. It was a much needed release for the both of us and my biggest hope is that by me and Aiden sharing our moments of grief together that we will also continue to heal and find peace together as well.
Missing you now and always Dad/Papa. May you continue to watch over us, rest in peace and live on in our hearts forever.
Aiden has a wonderful book called "The Kissing Hand". The story is about a mom who shows her son that if she kisses his hand and he is ever without her and missing her, all he has to do is hold his hand to his cheek and remember his mother's love is always with him no matter where he goes. The book came with some cute heart shaped stickers that say The Kissing Hand on them so you can place a sticker on your hand to remind you of that endless love.
Yesterday morning I walked into Aiden's room and he had placed one of the stickers up on his bedroom wall. He told me it was for Papa because he will always be in his heart. He then showed me the two stickers he had placed on each of his hands and said one was for me and the other was for Grandma. I immediately teared up and hugged him tightly as he continued to display his grief and telling me how much he misses Papa.
We then went out into the living room where I was watching the very emotional final farewell to Regis show. They had the cast of "Rent" come on to perform their wonderful song "Seasons of Love" only changing some of the words to match things within Regis's long time career on the Regis and Kelly Show. I have always loved this song and for some reason it now makes me think of my dad. I lost it. So while Aiden sits on the couch continuing to say how much he misses Papa and that we need to get a new Papa, I sobbed while Liam looks at both of us in total confusion and of course a sense of humor. I haven't cried over the loss of my dad in quite some time. People keep telling me the tears will often come out of no where and can be brought on by simple things, like a song or a smell, and they couldn't have been more right.
Aiden and I embraced with tears flowing and it felt amazing to say the least. To have someone, even a four year old, to share those moments with is priceless. I explained to him like I always do that it's okay to be sad and it's okay to cry. When we have such raw emotions come to the surface we need to be sure to just stop what ever we're doing and take the time to feel. It was a much needed release for the both of us and my biggest hope is that by me and Aiden sharing our moments of grief together that we will also continue to heal and find peace together as well.
Missing you now and always Dad/Papa. May you continue to watch over us, rest in peace and live on in our hearts forever.
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