Teach Me How to Mommy

I really don't, but I'll listen to one. I know these days you're not supposed to say, "I don't have time" for things, because in actuality we do.  If I cut out a workout, did a little less cleaning and got rid of all the social media on my phone then I'd probably have time to read a series of parenting books.  However, there are some things that bring me joy and I am not willing to part with them (yet). Which is why I'd like to offer a quick recommendation.  Amy and I both listen to podcasts.  I know she listens on her commute and I find time while I am cleaning at night or the rare times I am able to complete a workout without numerous little people screaming my name.  One of our favorites is Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert .  It's relatively new so don't feel like you'll have to sketch a year of your life to catch up. This week he had a child psychologist ( Dr. Wendy Mogel) come on and chat about parenting (in today's worl...

This is a quick review in case you ever thought of traveling to the Dinosaur Place in Montville, CT.  Long story short, regardless of the travel, price and heat, this place is still worth it. When Jerry gets home every night the first question he asks is, "Which adventure did Mom take you on today?"  Shortly after, he states that he wishes he could be there.  Even though I Snapchat all our adventures for him he still gets pangs of jealousy.  Understood - I'm exhausted but it's for all the right reasons. So this weekend we took the kids to the movies for the first time ever.  The experience was great, but the movie kind of sucked.  Cars 3?  I guess I should've seen 1 & 2.  There was a lot of talking in it - you know like the cars talk to each other a lot.  I kept waiting for the great music - there was none!  Give me Trolls! So on Sunday we thought we would keep the adventures going.  We received a gift card two years ago (...

Just a quick note.  Amy and I planned one last mombloggers night before we start back to work.  Well, maybe we can fit one more in...but this one will be hard to beat. We started the evening by grabbing a quick drink at J. Tims.  I parked about a mile away from the door, yet we still found seats.  The quick stop was made even sweeter by meeting up with Bobby (our friend's husband).  He was such good company.  We had quite a #sess on our Olympics obsession.  Who knew you could spend an entire happy hour on how amazing the women's gymnastics team is? Their skills, their smiles, their make-up, their voices, THEIR BODIES! My God those bodies! No, this is no exaggeration this is exactly where our seats were.  Ouch! Anyways, even though we were 15 minutes early the only seats left were the ones in the front row.  We considered another movie (What the F is Sausage Fest?).  We also considered going back to the bar.  But the purp...

This morning the kids and I went to breakfast and then went to a local store that has fruits, veggies, some farm animals and cute little Melissa and Doug things.  We go often - it's one of those regular joints you can always add to a morning or afternoon to "stretch it out a bit." The store connects to a warehouse in the back where they keep flowers and materials.  The doors were left wide open to this area.  John saw it first and noticed three (THREE) little toddler tractors and battery-operated cars.  They were John Deere and Mickey Mouse and were obviously for a little boy just John's age.  It obvious to me that they were for the worker's kids.  You know, they weren't put there for my kids - although in my kids' eyes I hadn't taken them to a little market, I had taken them to Disney World. I am the adult so I could tell customers probably weren't allowed back there, but to my kids the doors were open and there were toys.  It's a pl...

Recently, Amy and I have been talking about our comfort zones and how they have been shattered (purposely or not) this summer. 5 minutes into our visit and my anxiety is through the roof. Markers on Nana's new deck. AHHH! I am working on being a little more impulsive .  Instead of having everything scheduled for the kids, I am trying to go with the flow.  Hence, this week I decided to pack a few bags and bring the kids to the beach.  Of course I am lucky to have a place to go (thanks Mom and Dad).  I packed enough for a few days thinking if it goes well we will stay, if I get too tired or things are too hard I can leave. I have a lot of pride so escaping was never really an option, but boy I came close.  The kids started pushing the limits immediately.  What can I climb?  What snacks can I pillage? Where can I run off to?  And, of course the ever popular how late can I stay up? With Jerry these questions and rebellions are easily manage...

Just this week we have had lot of visitors.  Some visitors were scheduled (Nana and Uncle Justin) and others were surprises - neighbors and friends. In general I am not the biggest fan of surprise visits.  I am a planner (teacher much?) and so when I am caught off guard I am not at my best.  I got worse when I had kids.  If a visitor came when they were napping I nearly had steam coming out of my ears.  Yet, having kids also forces you to become flexible, so I often sometimes go with the flow. The visitors this week have brought such joy to my home.  A visit by Uncle Justin made John into a temporary cuddle monster.  He doesn't readily go to other people that aren't, well, me.  Yet when Justin drove up in his BIG diesel truck he was a puddle of hugs.  Justin's visit is another story altogether - I'll share when I am ready to embarrass myself (which also may be NEVER) . Unfortunately, every time someone came over my house this week my ho...

Lucy and John are at the stage where they are starting to fight.  It's kind of cute at the beginning, and then turns immediately un-cute.  Since they are of different sexes I don't have anything to compare it to.  When my sisters and I fought we used really hurtful words until one surrendered.  Sure maybe there was some hitting when we were young, but we knew exactly what to do to get the other one to stop (insult them) . Sidenote - Once you tell your sister that she is adopted and that's why she looks different then there is really nowhere else to go from there (that "she" was me and I am still a little shaky on my heritage).   These two are different.  John is very VERY physical.  I have seen him hit, pinch, slap, push and kick his sister.  It's a cross between not being able to communicate how he wants and being instigated by his sister.  We've had lots of chats and time outs and overall he is doing so much better.  Lucy's no...

Vacation has started off with a bang.  We have done so much in only a few days.  In fact, one day after nap I had sketched in time to just "chill".  Lucy asked, "but why aren't we going anywhere?" Time to relax a bit I guess, which was what was on tap today after a weekend of touching trucks, running around at the beach and visiting with BOTH sides of fantastic grandparents.  Good sleep and naps were the number one priority and also the start of "Mommy's School" (will give more details later). So today involved a short park trip, but mostly just being with each other.  When I was ready for pre-nap activities, they were ready for naked sprinkler.  Go, go, go. As we were snuggling and getting ready for what is currently a 2-hour nap John said, "I love trucks."  To which I said "Well, I love you."  To which he replied, "I love poop." Which gets me to my main point.  One thing I have realized recently is ju...

Kelly has shared with us before .  She's a super teacher mommy.  She'll tell you about a breast and bottle feeding journey below.  Whether \feeding came easy for you or not, it's more about the worries that come along with being a mom and the lengths you'll go to fix any issue.  Ultimately, moms know best right? Right?????? As an educator we always talk about how early intervention makes all the difference in the world for children. But how early is early??? Gus and I struggled from day 1 with breast feeding, and taking the bottle wasn't much easier. The bottle ended in both of us covered in half of the milk. As he sucked and slurped and garbled and squeaked, the milk would pour out of the sides of his mouth. I was blistered and cut and defeated. I joined a breast feeding support group which was amazing. All of the moms and the lactation consultant had great ideas, but it all came down to one thing, something didn't seem right. Gus had an undisco...

The vacation I (and teachers and students) worked so hard for is quickly coming to a close.  This week has been equal parts fulfilling and trying .  After the whole family recovered from the stomach bug and the weather decided to catch up to normal it has been wonderful.  No more puke, brings on a lot less whining and my kids are beginning to act like themselves.  There was a point (Tuesday afternoon) that I thought, how will I do this all summer?  Literally, how could this possibly work?  Why have I heard "Mommy hold me" 10000000000000000000000 times before 10 am rolled around?  Why have I cleaned the same area 10000000000000000000000 times only to see it worse the next time?  Turns out half of that is just normal behavior (at least for my kids).  But also, we were all still sick, exhausted and cranky.  It was pouring rain and still cold and we were just getting our appetites back.  I was going to throw in the towel that day ...

Don't mind my face in the picture.    I had just spent over an hour putting Colin's train table back into perfect working order.It doesn't usually bother me when it's played with and out of order.  But for sommmmmme reason, it drove me nuts the other day.  Colin and I were playing... he was Chugga Chugga Choo Chooing away, and I was putting some tracks together for him to play with... and then next thing I know... I  was alone in the front room, Brian and Colin were snuggling and watching Elmo two rooms away, and I was crawling around looking for missing pieces.   I found the pieces, I was trying to put it together without the directions (because I thought I was a ballllller mom), I failed, and used the directions.   An hour later -- order was restored in the world of the train table. and then........ Colin came running in --  Chugga Chugga Choo Choo -- there goes Mommy's hard work.   Thank god I got a pic...

Literally, I feel like Friday night was two hours ago.  Grocery shopping done, laundry ready to be folded and a good episode (I am five episodes behind) of O.J. vs. The People.  It was set to be a fantastic weekend.  At times it was, swimming lessons were great, dairy queen at night even better.  At times it was frustrating like when the washing machine started leaking, stopping, humming, buzzing and breaking. Add in the fact that your husband is at a fantasy baseball draft that lasted 48 hours (give or take 10 hours) and time really zoomed by. So when Amy and I did our weekly playdate and the kids started doing this, I felt so connected to them.  I too feel like doing this (at least 5 times a day).  I envy you for doing it with such lack of inhibition.  These must be my children (and also the child of my #soulmatebestfriend). Happy Monday to you all.  Hoping all of you have a 4-day work week and that the snow melts into green grass, 7...

After last week I think it's safe to say my house has been touched by each and every one of the icky illnesses that a family could endure.  Yes, that includes croup, colds, stomach bug and the ever popular hand-foot-mouth virus.  (Wait, I just realized there are a few we didn't get..how common is scarlet fever these days?).  Every illness has been viral and so there have been no antibiotics to ease the pain or quicken the pace of these damn things in my kids' bodies.  In short, much of the winter we have been in and out of the doctor's office and waiting for the discomfort, sniffles, pukes, lack of sleep and hours of whining to dissipate. Last week I pulled into the school parking lot only to be called immediately by daycare.  John had puked all over the breakfast table.  This has never happened to me before.  I have always been able to call out of work with some advanced warning.  (Having flashbacks of a stomach bug last year that had me s...

Just this week I was "tied up."  The kids were not in eye sight, but I heard them.  Then all of a sudden I didn't hear them.  It could've lasted 30 seconds or 5 minutes, I don't remember, but all of a sudden I was like what happened.  Was one of them sitting on the other?  Were they half way up the stairs (in socks)? Were they playing in the bathroom (the worst possible scenario)? No they were 10 feet away from me and Lucy was reading to John.  By reading I mean explaining the picture (she's smart, but not that smart).  He was sitting in awe of her. (The details of them being only half-clothed and sitting on the ottoman are not important). I am sure many moms have had these moments.  I have too, but there was something about me not being present while it happened that made it that much more special.  They love each other even when I am not there (hovering).  True siblings.  Sometimes I think back to the time that Jerry and I...

My sister and Kelly are best friends raising best friends too. This week you will read a guest post from a new mommy, a true favorite of mine.  I have known Kelly Peterson for almost 30 years.  It can't be 30 yet because she's not 30, that's the only limiting factor.  Our mothers are best friends, therefore even if we didn't like each other our lives would be intertwined.  Luckily, she's a doll.  A truly lovely person who (luckily for the world) created a smaller, male version of herself a short time ago.  Gus is four months old and his nursery is "explorer" themed.  Kelly and Cole take his photograph next to a big stuffed broccoli and did I mention they named him Gus?  No, it doesn't get any cuter. Kelly is really talented.  She can re-do furniture, decorate homes, take photographs, make dream catchers, act and make people laugh. She's also a second grade teacher.   Exactly, she's one of those type of girls, except she's also real...

Sometimes you hit it just right. On a whim Amy and I met at the local trampoline park for a play date.  We brought our husbands (ok, they brought us).  All kids felt well and even though the line was hella long, we got in and had a blast.  The only reason I am even typing this right now is because my kids are knocked out (jumping, running, balancing, falling, sliding, and free-falling = an awesome nap). Even though it took Colin a few minutes to love it (which he did) and Jerry and I got "talked" to for numerous rule infractions, it was a great time.  There were no injuries (parents included) and the kids left red-faced and smiley. I only had to hold back once from knocking a kid out.  That's a record...

Amy's post reminded me that I have a book that I purchased in preparation for a long, cold winter.  Knock on wood we have been lucky.  The kids and I were outside throughout much of December and only now (Februaryish) do we actually have snow on the ground.  I will take this weather any day.  Flashbacks of last year make me shudder. Anyways, I bought this book "The Toddler's Busy Book."  I breezed through it when I didn't quite need it (fall) and then I forgot about it.  It's hard to remember all those good things you do.  Like when I went on a rampage hiding Christmas toys for days in hopes of retrieving them on days that the kids got bored.  I still can't freaking find them all.  When I was pregnant I definitely walked around with my brain not connected to my body.  I thought it was hormonal.  I do similar things now but can't blame it biology..now it's just "mom brain." I just looked through it again and I am bit relieved b...