Eat your chocolate

Yesterday, I was having trouble getting Little Bean ready to go the Dentist... so I bribed her with chocolate. Is that wrong?

Mom, (I) peed in the bathtub

Ah... to be that young, honest and free again.

10 Reasons Why My Husband ....

... Should Not Cook Dinner

1. He doesn't clean-up after himself while cooking
   
2. His cooking is not as good as his Mother's
3. He uses every pan available
4. He doesn't look at my menu and uses up all the ingredients for the week
5. He thinks he is giving me a break - meanwhile I am running after Little Bean
6. We don't have an air vent
7. He calls me into the kitchen several times to find certain objects
8. There is a chance he will make my least favorite dish
9. Should I wait for dinner or should I go to bed ... is sometimes a toss-up
   
10. We don't own gas masks
    

... Should Cook Dinner (Sometimes)

1. I get a hour break from chasing Little Bean to clean-up the kitchen
   
2. He almost cooks as well as his Mother
3. He cooks better than my Mother
   
4. I get to go to the store again
   
5. We can tell friends/family that we do use the cookware gifts they gave us
6. Windows are opened and the house is aired out (even when it is 2 below 0)
7. I get my exercise running back and forth
   
8. There's a chance he will make my favorite dish
9. He enjoys cooking
10. His cooking clears our sinus'

Confessions of a Mom

Lately, I have been overly tired and lacking creativity (note the slow post production).
Why? Well... we can't get our 21 month old daughter to sleep in her own bed!

When we are out and about, Little Bean can really shine and impress people. Her communication skills are excellent, she does somersaults, walks backwards with her eyes closed and displays her ability to use the potty. A true toddler star (too innocent to be a show off). I often hear from other Mothers and Grandparents about their children/grand children's lack of speech at 18 -24 months and their shock that Little Bean is already potty trained.

I smile big in hopes to hide the bags under my eyes and answer their questions on her amazing skills. I usually fail to tell them, the inside story. The struggles at home, that cause turmoil inside me ... as for Little Bean, she is happy with her set-up.

I don't mind that Little Bean shares our bed, it is just hard to admit to other mother's who have children in their own beds, in their own rooms and no longer breastfeeding by 6 months. (Hopefully you can't see that last part. Thats another confession.)

We never set out to intentionally co-sleep or breastfeed beyond 1 year, like some families. It just worked out that way. Now what do I do?

Why is there so much pressure to start detaching from our children when they are 6 months?

Even Doctors are trained to put pressure on parents. Our family Dr. did. After a year of well-child check-ups, she confessed that she had similar issues with her daughter who is 6 months older than Little Bean. At Little Bean's 18 month check-up, she continued with the cautions and pressure, but also added, "eventually she will decide to stop when she is ready... "

I guess right now, I just need to accept and embrace our lifestyle. Especially knowing, we have a healthy and very happy little toddler.

My Mother: The Mother In-law

My mother is not my mother in-law, but she sure fits some of those stereotypes of a mother in-law... whatever that may be. Whenever she comes to visit, the stress level in our house rises 10 notches. And she was here over the holidays. If you noticed, I haven't posted for the past couple of weeks. Too busy trying to keep everyone happy, including my mother.

Which stereotype does she fit into, you ask? That is kind of hard. She is not a cookie cutter sort of woman. She is not mean or angry... thats me. Really, it is hard to describe my mother. I guess she is a good mix of a lot of those Mother in-law stereotypes. I do know, she is good at getting under my skin and making my husband's blood simmer (to put it mildly!). Actually, I think that is why my older daughter loves her so much.

When I was a teen, her favorite pastime was embarrassing me in front of my friends (note: my dad could do this without trying). When we were trying out the latest dance moves, my mother would come and join us. Never catching on to the latest moves, but just doing her own unique, out-of-style dances. I would watch her face and she would have this little grin that told me she knew she was making my life miserable. Not to mention her singing. Oh! I just knew it was coming when she would pick my friends and I up from school to take us home. On our way, she would let us play our favorite radio station, which was cool.... but she would sing along (not cool) and sing all the wrong words (very uncool). I would tell her to "please stop", but I learned quickly, that my balking only fueled her drive to continue on with her embarrassing behavior. What do you do with a mother like that?

Anyway, as a Mother in-law she pressures my husband into shopping at the grocery store for things she doesn't need. She feels we don't have things that she can eat during her visit, even though, her breakfast, lunch and dinner is prepared for her and she eats it happily.

Just the thought of my husband and my mother at the store makes me laugh. My husband treats the grocery store like a corn maze--one you have to get through quickly (When I shop with him, he always manages to get the cart. Two minutes later, I am 2-3 aisles behind, with an arm full of food.). On the other hand, my mother takes her time, stops and samples everything, talks to the worker passing out samples and pretends she is interested in buying. (What am I talking about, she's not pretending, she sticks the product in the cart and moves on to the next sample!) During the process, she manages to spill food on her shirt and wears it like a badge of honor as she continues her shopping. Meanwhile, my husband is at the other end, the "finish line" and has all the groceries he thinks we need. Thank goodness they have their own carts.

When they arrive home, my husband unloads his 2 bags of groceries and helps my mother carry in her 10 bags of groceries and gives me a look. "The look." Let me translate that for you: I will turn into my Mother someday and if that happens, he will have to buy another house in a different country, in order to maintain sanity.

Now I ponder

Just received my new Wondertime Magazine today. For those who don't know this magazine, it's a (breath of fresh air) Parenting magazine. I love reading this magazine, when I find time.

...Well, I had a little bit of time the other day.

So I skimmed through my copy and came across an article about "Why babies throw things" . Little Bean, loves to throw things, so this article was worth my time. Basically, the answer to the question was curiosity with gravity; and cause and effect.

...hmmm....okay.

Doesn't answer why Little Bean narrows her eyes, aims and pegs us with her peas. Well, maybe cause and effect. Effect: we jump and duck to avoid the flying object, Cause: Little Bean's target practice; all of this affects her in a way that she laughs so hard!