Friday, November 30, 2012

Hoarders 2032

"On the next episode of "Hoarders", season 26, episode3:
Meet T, young, bright, talented, and beautiful.  But her secret is going to bury her alive..."


My current, irrational fear for my daughter's future - hoarding.  She has been very attached to a few items recently and there are others that she rotates in and out, but wherever she goes, she is burdened with all the things she feels compelled to carry with her.  The regular items include Mimi&Binky (when we let her, trying to keep these for bedtime only), drumsticks, and Teddy.  Other items have included DVD cases, purses, new Mimi, Baby Doll, and a weird play mobile attachment part that resembles a question mark two feet long that T calls her "umbrella".  She even insists on sleeping with these items, as uncomfortable as they may be.

I've tried to suggest that she has too many things to carry and offer to help.  This is met with responses like "No, that's mines," or "I had it first".  Apparently, she is already prepared to her younger sister to start stealing her clothes.

"Where my DVD case?" says K.

In this picture, I really wanted to get a cute shot of my coordinating girls and tried to pry away the DVD case, Teddy, and High School Musical purse (filled with an assortment of items), but she refused. At least I got the smile!

So, I don't know if this is normal 2.5 year old behavior (I'm sure it is).  I'm watching closely though.  I've had first hand experience with cleaning up after a hoarder and it was horrifying.  Excuse me now, as I purge four trash bags full of clothes to donate...

On a side note, the other day, T said, "Look Mummy, there are three many birds!"  Puzzled, I asker her to repeat what she said, and again she stated "three many birds."  It took me a couple of minutes to figure out she hears me say "too many" (as in she is carrying too many things) and assumes I say "two many".  Thus, the logical toddler interpretation for even more of something would be "three many".  I need to figure out how to clarify that for her, right after I explain one snowman, two snowmen.  :)

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Zombiemom

Friends of ours from T's and K's daycare just had a baby boy, their second child.  After 63 grueling hours of labor, he entered the world at 7lbs7oz.  A beautiful bundle of joy that I won't be visiting anytime soon.

Its not that I don't want to see the adorable little newborn and the beaming happy parents.  But, I have two very good reasons for not visiting in the near future.

1: I'm sick with a cough.  Enough said.  No one should ever go visit a newborn if they are sick.

2: I don't want to burst their bubble.

Let me clarify #2 a little bit.

I'm exhausted.  I haven't slept for more than 4 hours in a night for a long, long time.  Too often, 4am is when I start my day.  Even if I can get K to have a good sleeping night, something else fills the void.  Door bells being rung at midnight, T coming into our room asking where her binky is, our dog barking at something outside or just being creepy (seriously, why does he stand between us at night and just stare??!!).

Sure our new parents-of-2 friends are also tired.  Their first is just about 3 years old, and after 3 days of labor, I know they are wiped out.  But that's a different kind of tired.  You have a whole lot of adrenaline going, you're excited about your growing family, you've been able to store up some reserves for the sleep drain that's coming.  Nearly 8 months after K's arrival, I am plain worn out.  I don't have anything left.  There's no adrenaline, no reserves.  I'm running on empty.  I can't remember where I park my car anymore, and I can barely make a full sentence.

So, even if I weren't sick, I still wouldn't be visiting our friends right away.  Just the sight of me might send them into tailspins regarding the adventure they are now on and fill them with questions and doubt.  They deserve to be able to go into this era blindly, blissfully, ignorantly happy with thoughts of "I know we can, I know we can" chanting in their heads.  They'll figure it out soon enough.  By that point, hopefully, we're in a different phase ourselves where the little people in our home are sleeping soundly through the night and I can look back and say, "Oh, yeah.  That was rough, but you'll get through it," with some element of confidence.

So, Congrats M, K, and big sister A!  I hope you didn't actually read this and lose all hope!  Get whatever rest you can!  I'll be bringing you dinner soon, even if I only leave it at the doorstep and run!


yep, that looks about right.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

All night long

Although I was a little young at the time, I consider myself a child of the 80's.  I can sing most of the musical repertoire from the era from memory, watched every family sitcom, and was quite the fashionista (insert mental image of paint splattered T shirt, tied at the waist, over spandex with my Punky Brewster sneakers.  One of my favorites was Lionel Richie.  Dancing on the Ceiling was a big hit for me and I loved watching the music video (remember those?), pretending I was up on my ceiling. I had no idea what half of those songs actually meant.

Another favorite LR song of mine will forever be changed.  As I sang along to it quite loudly in lab (I was solo this morning), I realized that it must be K's theme song.  I've never heard of a baby being quite so happy to be awake in the middle of the night.  Through her BAs, DAs, AHs, grunts, and squeals, I can actually hear her sing:

We're going to Party, Kalamu, Fiesta, forever
Come on and sing my song!

All night long (all night), All night, (all night)
All night long (all night), All night, (all night)
All night long (all night), All night, (all night)
All night long (all night)


Oh baby girl.  If I didn't miss you so much during the day, I might be a little more annoyed.  But I can't help it, you are so darn cute when you babble like that!  So, I will listen to you sing, (all night long), and smile and try to sleep.  So now, my favorite LR song is a favorite for another reason.  It will forever remind me of this short span of time when you were so happy just to be awake at 1:00am.


Monday, November 5, 2012

Monday Blues

I'm missing the girls something fierce today.

With B working this past weekend, we had a lot of mummy-daughters time.  A lot.  You'd think I'd need a break.  I just want to get back to them and hug them and kiss them.  I feel like Elmira from Tiny Toons!



Mondays are hard on us mums, but they seem to be hard on the kiddos too.  On Mondays, T is clingier than usual when we get to daycare.  Before that, she's a bear to get  ready, doesn't want to get dressed, won't give up her Mimi-Binky.  K is still a little oblivious, until its feeding time at daycare and then she wants mummy a little more than the rest of the week.

We had a great weekend though.  I am savoring every moment I get with my girls.  How can I not love it when I get to enjoy moments like these?