A wonderful Dad

Behind every great mom is a wonderful dad... or in my case.

It might be a little late but I wanted to say Happy fathers day.    My husband keeps me grounded, makes sure I don't go off the deep end.  What i would do without him I don't know.

We took dad to the races - drag races.  My daughter loves loud cars.  Even in the womb she would become very active around cars.  Oh joy!!

So in honor of my husband making it past year one he got to go to the races, something I know he has missed.  Of course at home his races now consist of a wagon, a toddler that jumps ships while the wagon  is moving and chasing her down the street.  That's only a little different right?



"When I was a kid, I said to my father one afternoon, 'Daddy, will you take me to the zoo?' He answered, 'If the zoo wants you, let them come and get you.'"

Jerry Lewis

The shuffle

Holy Cow Moment #?:  Why did becoming a mom erase my unease with most functions that used to cause me  discomfort?  Oh right, it's because once you have a child what is there to hide?  No less then ten people saw me - i mean saw ME! My poor husband tried to keep my modesty but the nurses and doctors and specialists certainly don't.

I still participate in certain 'pass times,' but I still find them funny just less vital then I used to.  Such as the bathroom stall shuffle. Why is it we see someone in a stall and we have to move over, not one, but two. If there are only two stalls it seems to cause a standoff for the parties involved. News flash...you are in a bathroom and so am i -i think i know what happens.

That said we all do it. Maybe its the idea of privacy. Which.is only an idea since there are no walls...in fact the small stalls barely cover you below the knee.  The other thing a find entertaining as a mom, is in general you always have someone watching you 'do your thing'.  My toddler doesn't seem to get personal space ever.  I think what goes through her head is: "Mommy is sitting.  Cool, lets climb on her."  Just one more reason mom's somewhat have to stop caring about certain social idiosyncrasies.

So, Although I will automatically move over to a stall not next to an occupied stall i still find this to be funny and somewhat ridiculous.  As if one stall is going to hide what you are doing.  Maybe it is human nature because my daughter hates when I change her and someone else is around.  Maybe we are born with modesty? - well some of us anyway.

Why Child Why ...

Holy Cow moment #?:  Has anyone else sat at wondered, "Why Child Why?"

This morning as I am trying to do what I love, something to take my mind off the stresses of reality I find myself saying these three words, why child why.
A letter to my child:

"Dear Toddler,
   I believe you came home with the wrong parents 1 year ago.  We sleep, you do not.  This in itself is enough to make me believe something went amis. 

Oh child of my loins,  real people need at least eight hours of sleep.  From Dr. Someone and another Dr. Someone else, they suggest that toddlers sleep around thirteen to fourteen hours.  Perhaps we should switch out I want to be a Princess  for medical reviews and journals so that you understand the key words here. 

Oh darling daughter, learn to speak big people talk.  Mommy can't understand you and the high pitched squeal you have so aptly developed in order to communicate needs to go. Mommy hears you loud and clear i do not need a special alarm notifying me that i might have missed something.

Oh sweet little girl, mommy is a few steps away from placing you in a clean, comfy box on the side of the street forgoing any profit just to get a few minutes peace.  Midnight is not a bed time, it is time for bars to close, creepy stalkers to return home and little girls to sleep.

Ah my darling peanut, please stop the idle chatter and rest your tiny head.  Even mommies are human and frankly this one is going to crack like an egg. 

                                                                                     All my love,
                                                                                       Mommy - although i am still questioning if you are really mine or not.

P.S.  Please stop finding new things to injure yourself.  I didn't even know that you could hurt yourself with an infant brush - although how you got this in your crib I will never know."

While she sits ....recap of the first birthday

Holy Cow moment: Children take a very long time to eat... so now i can blog while she so meticulously chews.

I simply wanted to recap my daughters first birthday.  Overall i think it was a success but you always wonder what the guests think.  Too bad for me i am not a mind reader. 

The day started early - too early because i had some skewed idea that baking cupcakes would be a wonderful idea.  Four dozen later i decided that was a stupid idea.  I made tiny chocolate roses to adorn the tops of each and try to tie them in to the Tangled theme.  I made a dozen little cups of blue jello where a small orange sail boat sat, also to be in theme with Tangled.  In the end it didn't make or break the party.  A one year old is too small to appreciate anything, i guess i am glad i nixed a lot more ideas. 

Two larger then life braids, a felt banner and some balloons made up the remainder of the party decor. 

Each child left with a balloon, bubbles, some crap slinky that was stuck to itself - although i hope every mother enjoyed unsticking them, some temporary tattoo's and chalk.  What else does one give to a large spread of children at, again, a 1 year olds party?

Well here's a photo, hope you enjoy.

Overall - the 'tower' was a fail, my daughter was grumpy by the end but we still loved seeing everyone.  We are blessed to have great friends and family.

Adrenaline

Holy Cow Moment ?#:  I have seen the stories where a mother has been able to lift a car off their child due to adrenaline.  The love of a child is extraordinary.  I too have seen this in my life… I can kill a spider if the said arachnid if threatening my child.  Okay.  So this isn’t really the same as lifting a car but it is no small challenge for someone who is petrified, as in I need boots to step foot in the yard for fear of an attack – well maybe not boots but shoes none the less.  I get the hebbie jebbies so bad I can’t rest when I know a spider is in plain sight.   (Please see a previous post for further explanation).

To date I have killed four – count it FOUR –

1.       Killed a spider that was on the bathroom floor.  I know it was stealth crawling to get to my daughter – okay so she happen to be across the room in the closet but he looked shady to me.

2.       Killed another arachnid foe on the wall.  I know he was arriving by air to attack from above; sort of like a Halo Jumper.  Yes, my daughter was actually in his path.

3.       Spider three was found at daycare. I think he was tired of my daughters theatrics but alas he had to go.  This one was actually a joint effort.  Three woman – two teachers and myself.  Oddly enough I succeed and saved my devil – I mean darling – from any bites.  This spider was not stealthy, it was a blatant attack – I am positive.

4.       Spider four happened to catch me by surprise and although I normally am a rational person (okay not when it comes to spiders) he caught me off guard and was smashed in the process.

I can say spider 1-3 were 100% piousness even if not deadly.  Thank you Google for giving me nightmares.  Spider 4 was unidentified and therefore I can’t say.

SO sorry to my previous post that said I would research a spider before killing – I will work on this.  Spiders give me the creeps just like aliens.  If I saw an alien I don’t know that I wouldn’t try and kill it and ask questions later – granted if they were cute and furry like a dog I would most likely pause and ask if they were here as a foe or friend.   

Where are all the dads?

Holy cow moment ?: Where are all the men?  By the children of course.  Finally a perk – or a use – for the fact most men are simply big children.  They can think on their level and play with them...is that a little harsh?

My daughter turned one this past week.  A milestone and a sign of success all in one.  She made it the first year without major incident and mom and dad survived.  The phenomena at the party was that all the mothers were in the kitchen hanging out while the dads were the ones with the children.

The real men in our lives are not the ones pictured in novels or the ones in the movies who oose testosterone.  Okay so they obviously oose testosterone, they are men after all.  But you know what I am saying.  The real men, the ones who captured our hearts, the ones who we look for each day and the ones we dream about (I hope) are the men who were sitting on the floor around a tiny Disney Cars ball pit while their children played. The house was filled with tiny screams of joy and lots of male laughter.

The sight that warms my heart and makes it feel so full it might explode is when I see my husband playing with our daughter.  Laughing with her, throwing a ball or two for her – I hate to tell him she isn’t a dog but she likes it. 

These are the real men in our lives.  It doesn’t make them any less a man to have a daughter, or any less a man to play princess dress-up.  It doesn’t make them less a man because they can’t go out to the bar.  In fact in my mind it makes the men I know more attractive to their spouses because it means they are no longer concerned with what the public thinks.  It takes a real man to be a daddy.  As the cliché goes, any man can be a father but it takes  a special man to be a dad. 

 This post is a holy cow I am more in love with my husband today then I was one year ago.  No a baby wont fix a relationship, yes a baby will try yours and bring out little fraying threads but in the end if you already had a good relationship all the small trials and tribulations will help you grow as a couple and show your straights and weaknesses.  No we haven’t had a baby free date as of yet but I don’t mind. I don’t feel like anything is missing, we are closer then ever before – granted that might be because when we have five minutes alone we make the best of it.  There is no more taking either person for granted – we don’t  have the time.