Screaming and Crying...

 As I sit here in my recliner, the sound of baby cries fills my head. I can't ignore the sound, I can't concentrate on anything but the sound. Why is it that before you have children you notice a baby's cry because it annoys and irritates you, but then once you are a parent you notice the cry because you know something is wrong and you are the one who has to make everything better. I am a parent but I must honestly say that I do not always feel like I have to fix what is wrong - sometimes it seems as though my baby cries just to cry. Almost as though he knows I am trying to relax (finally) after having a long day, but he doesn't want to allow me the time to relax and enjoy myself.

I start thinking back to what life was like before marriage and kids - it was peaceful, I was full of life, and I didn't feel like I was tied down so to speak. I love my boys and love my husband so please don't take me wrong but I think it's nearly impossible for me on nights like this to not remember what it was like when I was in high school, or even my first couple years in college.

I feel like tonight is my night to ramble so please bear with me. Ten minutes later and baby is still crying. Some people reading this might think, "What is wrong with you? Just go get the baby!" It's so much fun to hold someone else's baby, but it's so tiring to take care of your own. Is that wrong of me to say that? I guess these are just words from a tired and weary mom. My life was sailing along smoothly but the past few weeks have been full of speed bumps and obstacles. Now as I try to enjoy the calm seas for only a moment, the storm still rages in the other room and I can't ignore it (him).

Broken families...

How would you feel if your young child broke one of your most priceless items? Would you get angry? Would you try to fix the situation, and offer a solution or replacement for the broken item? We all would handle the situation in different ways. Some of us would become angry at the child and wonder why he was so careless. Others would be more sympathetic and realize the child was sad because they upset you and their one desire was to please you.

The broken item for me is not actually an item, but rather a family. It is a family that has always been near and dear to my heart - with four kids in the picture, there is not just one broken thing but several. Broken hearts, broken home, broken trust...and the list goes on. Much like the child that is sad when he breaks your special item, when a marriage is broken children feel as though they were the ones who broke it. Those kids look into your eyes and try to figure out if you are going to scold them or try to fix what they destroyed.

I could rant and rave about how angry I am with specific people in this situation, or I could step up and love the children that are broken and hurting.

So, what does this have to do with being a busy mom? Along with leading a busy life there are always obstacles thrown in my way. Have you ever been driving down the street on a windy day and suddenly, seemingly from nowhere, you see a trash can hurtling towards your car. You swerve to miss the trash can but it hits the car anyway, leaving a noticeable dent on the side of the car door. That is how this situation has been for me - the trash can (the divorce) was thrown in my path and now a visual dent is shown all over my face.

Writer's note - I am not the one going through the divorce.

Sleepy Head

Sleepy Head...

Teething Ring

My toddler has always been mischievous, but the other day he definitely put the icing on the cake!

I was working on some business stuff, when my son walked in my bedroom. He had a strange look on his face, and I could tell there was something in his mouth. So, I quickly asked him what it was that he had. I was pretty sure it was something he didn't need or knew he wasn't supposed to have.

He held his hand up to his mouth and spit it out. It was a ring... but not just any ring...it was my "wrap it up" ring. This is a large ring that I sell from Premier Designs and has several pieces that all look like they're wrapped around each other - it's indeed just one ring though that looks like several different rings pieced together. So, I punished him because he knows he isn't supposed to play with (or chew on) my jewelry.

When he was younger, I made the mistake of letting him play with my jewelry because I thought it was so cute when he would put my bracelets or necklaces on and say, "preeey." It's still cute but he has to learn what he can touch and can't touch. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes after being punished and said, "mama...arm....arm." As he pointed to his arm, I thought maybe he had done something to hurt his arm...but as I pulled his sleeve back there was my watch! I then understood that he was trying to communicate with me that he knew he wasn't supposed to have it on and he was willing to take it off.

All this to say, my ring now has teeth marks in it which unfortunately isn't covered under the company's guarantee. But, I think he now understands that he needs to leave mama's stuff alone. Here's hopin' ;)

Sleepy Head

Although this is my typical post on Mondays, I realize I missed my deadline this week and I do apologize to the few faithful on my blog! To make up for it, I put a video on instead of a picture.

Interactive cartoons...

So, I must admit that I am one of those parents who allows her toddler to watch television from time to time. The last time my son was at the doctor's office, we were told not to let him watch any television. I would definitely be able to do that if I wasn't a full-time student, and running my own business. I do put a limit on how much time he watches the t.v. and typically try to make sure the shows are good for him!

In fact, while I am typing this blog entry, he is currently watching "Little Einsteins" and I can hear him counting right along with the characters in the cartoon - "one, two, three...four"...and it's impressive to me that he's not even 2 yet and he already knows how to count to ten.

I have never seen a young child who interacts so well with these cartoons that are specifically aimed at toddlers. I think it's adorable when he plays along with the show but I have yet to catch it on video. His favorite cartoon so far is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and while he watches this show, he gets a kick out of EVERYTHING! At the beginning of the show, there is a song that he sings along to and dances to. At the end, there is a song and he once again sings (well, more like yells) and dances to the song then at the end of every show he says "BYE" to Mickey as he disappears from the screen. But, perhaps the cutest thing about him watching shows is when the character asks if they should do something. For example, he was watching Mickey 2 days ago, and Mickey says "Should we help Minnie?" And my son yells out as loudly as he can, "NO!!!" I could not stop laughing...I guess as a parent, it's funny but you may not find it as funny without kids...it would be funnier if I could catch it on video too!

So, while I go about with my busy schedule, my son enjoys singing, dancing, and counting...what's wrong with that?? ;)

Ink laptop

No I did not miss the "p" in my title. It's true, ink does NOT belong on laptops, although I don't think it does any serious damage. In the midst of my busy life, I often come across various messes that my son has made - this is HALF the reason I am always so busy!!! One mess I recently cleaned up was eyeliner on the walls in the hallway - yes my 2 year old had wandered into the bathroom, stolen some of my eyeliner, and decided it would make BEAUTIFUL artwork all over our apartment walls. If you have kids and have had this issue, if anyone ever told you to make your child clean the mess up and that would be punishment enough, this isn't always true. But, that's another story for another day.

I was on a business call for about a half hour and had been busily washing the dishes - after two days of not doing them, they had really started to pile up and I could no longer ignore them, or attempt to. I hung up the phone and a thought crossed my mind, "boy my 2 year old has been VERY quiet." Any parent who has experienced this knows that what comes next will only be trouble - a toddler is rarely quiet unless they're getting into some kind of mischief.

I look toward the hallway and here comes my child, complete with black hands and I knew immediately what he had gotten in to. ALL my business supplies are in my bedroom (which is where my computer desk is) and he had found my business stamp and stamped EVERYWHERE. I went to the bedroom, and where my once white laptop had been setting, there was now a black and white speckled laptop. The keys were all black instead of white, my papers on my desk had been stamped and now all said "Lorry Traver Premier Designs Jeweler." What a way to CONTINUE my busy day! I definitely had to walk away for a minute so I didn't get too upset!

But, to my surprise it came off so easy. I grabbed a couple wet wipes, and got the laptop cleaned off. Of course my son had to stand with his nose on the wall, a form of punishment I borrowed from my sisters - it typically works unless your toddler is good at quietly making an escape. He did that a couple times and thought he was hilarious!!

All in all, today was a reminder that if I can't handle a toddler and a baby, it's a good thing I can't get pregnant again!! Life is too busy to add anything else - but I would never trade my boys in for the world! They are my pride and joy and even though I was slightly upset about the ink incident today, I do have to admit that it was pretty funny to see his artwork; his creativity was shining through!

Sleepy Head...