Parenthood is like playing Monopoly...

Sometimes, being a working parent is like playing Monopoly.  You have to carefully plan your strategy, but when it falls through, you have to have several back up plans to count on in order to stay in the game.  This week, I felt like I was just getting control back over my life, my house, everything...when all of a sudden, my daughter has what appears to be an asthma attack.  God love her, she doesn't have asthma and we can't figure out what caused it.  The Dr.'s say its croupe, but one 2 hour episode doesn't make her sick.  After visiting the Dr., the pharmacy, and then heading home, she slept and played quietly most of the day, with my hovering watchful eye on her every move, waiting for it to happen again.

That night, when it came time for bed (usually, but tonight she asked for quiet time at 6:30 so we went to bed at 7:30), we put her between us in our bed so if she made any noise we would be sure to hear her.  We (my husband and I) slept fitfully that night, but had no further instances of breathing difficulty.

Now, in hind sight, the event must have been caused by some outside influence and will probably never happen again.  I now feel like the completely overbearing and uptight parent that I probably am, but fight not to be.  In that instant when I woke and found my child having difficulty breathing all I could think of was that I needed to fix it and ensure it didn't happen again.  That mommy gene that some of us have (whether or not you have children, you can have that gene) kicked in and I took over her care. My hubby even volunteered to stay home with her that day, I just couldn't leave that to him.  Had it been a cold, a cough, or even a bout with the flu I would have happily allowed him to spend the day with her, but that event scared me and I needed to convince myself that she was ok.

So does this make me a bad or at the very least, over bearing parent.  I don't really care.  I love my baby and want to make sure she is ok.  That is all that matters to me; as long as what I do doesn't harm her and she is safe and healthy to the best of my ability, then I am doing my job.

Valentine's Day

I have to say, of all of the holidays, Valentine's Day is my least favorite.  I don't know if it is because growing up I rarely had a boyfriend at this time of the year or if it justs seems fake.  All the candy and stuffed animals just scream diabetes and cavities and wasted money to me.  In fact, all of the crap I see exchanged at work (I am a teacher and the kids think their life is over if they don't get a $5 stuffed animal and candy for all of their BFFs) irritates me.  They spend more time gawking at that than actually working.  As the meanest teacher ever, I actually gave a test today so that they would calm down some! However, all that dislike aside, it is my daughter's first Valentine's Day party today, and I have to say, I like that. 

I spent two hours last night cutting up fruit and cookies and making marshmallow pops for about 10 (including older kids) kids for my daughter's first ever Valentine's Day party.  I have to say, tired as I was I enjoyed every minute.  I couldn't stop smiling.  I never realized how much I could enjoy doing something for someone else!  I even decorated and stuffed bunches of Dora valentines (which of course my little princess picked out). 

I am truly sad today, however, that I am not a stay at home mommy (although if I was there would be no party-so keep that in mind while reading this).  I am disappointed that I will miss out on this first.  I got to be at her first Christmas party because it was during a holiday break. I want to watch her stuff valentines in the different containers the kids made yesterday.  I want to watch her open them with joy and excitement.  I want to watch her stuff her face with sweets!(boy she is her Pop-Pop and Papa's girl!)

But I will have to settle for making her a mini pizza for dinner (her favorite) and watching her open whatever her daddy got her and what I get her.  She is so spoiled!  But we love her more than you could imagine!

I can't wait until preschool!  By then I will just have to convince myself that I will have to take time off of work to participate in those events.  I will not miss out on my daughter's life-even if mine suffers a little! :)

Battle of the Bed, part 3

Ok, so I am not the genius I thought I was.  Last night, I put Leah to bed awake.  Which went much better than in the past.  No crying or fits, just hugs, kisses, and goodnights.  However, this was a trick move on her part b/c at 1am I heard her crying and wandering through the house.  I, however, took the upper hand when I gently led her back to her room and comforted her as she fell asleep, in her bed.  It is going to be a long time before I get accustomed to resting again I can see. 

Battle of the Bed part 2

Ok folks... I am a genius!  I have figured out why Leah won't stay in her bed!  We have been allowing her to fall asleep with us and then carrying her (still asleep) and putting het to bed.  So when she wakes up at night she is in a strange place (compared to where she went to sleep) and she is all alone where when she fell asleep she was with either myself or her daddy. 

I put her to bed, sleepy but awake, last night.  She slept all night in her own bed!!!!  I rock!

Battle of the Bed

     There are many schools of thought on sharing your bed with your child.  Some say it is the only way to go and co-sleep from birth on into childhood.  Others say you should never do it.  I say, is there a way to avoid it?!?
     I have a two and a half-year old who has struggled with the transition from our home in Georgia to my parents home in Florida to our new home here in Florida.  (who wouldn't struggle with all that uncertainty?!?)  When we moved in with my parents, we had a set bed time routine and she was content at 8:30 every night to kiss everyone good night and march confidently to her crib and wait to be lifted in.  We left her in her crib until we settled into our new house, but she never slept well.  We started letting her sleep with us some so that we could all get some rest; which turned into a nasty habit.  We then bought her a toddler bed (Tinkerbell with a canopy-totally cute!) and made a big deal out of her 'big girl bed' and sent the crib (which changes into a toddler, twin, and full size bed) to my in-laws because they didn't have a bed with a rail for her to sleep in.  This loss distressed her for a little while, but she doesn't mention it now.  She does however beg to sleep in our bed every night and we battle at least three mid-night visits a day.  She needs so much support and reinforcement that we aren't leaving her and she isn't alone.  You would think we had dropped her off somewhere and didn't come get her for a week!  The most we have left her is over night and that nearly kills us!
    Experts everywhere-what do you do now?  I put her to bed every night, crying.  She goes to sleep for three to four hours and then begins to wake up and wander the house crying and looking for us.  She eventually, depending on my exhaustion level, ends up with us and all of us sleeping soundly. 
     I truly love her and want her to feel safe.  I just don't know what else to do.  I guess it will just take a while for the evening routine to set in.  I just don't know if my husband and I will survive the transition!!!

Nosy Neighbors

Some people just hate what their neighbors do.  Maybe their dogs bark too much or their music is too loud; maybe they don’t take care of their yard the way you like or they don’t take care of it at all.  In any case, there isn’t much you can do about it because you don’t own the property, they do.  With this in mind, some neighbors have apparently never heard the old adage, “Good fences make good neighbors.” 

Lately we have been barraged by neighbors expecting my husband and I to change the way we do things… to suit them.  This just isn’t going to happen.  One, my husband is stubborn; and two, we like the way things work at our house, why would we change them?  We have had one neighbor come multiple times to tell us our dogs bark too much, however, I guess we are supposed to ignore their German Sheppard barking at our dogs for hours at a time.  Another neighbor had the gall to tell us that our security lights are too bright, and he only lives next to us part time. 

I just don’t understand what goes through people’s minds sometimes.  I guess they don’t realize that, in fact, the Earth does not revolve around them and that other people do things the way they see fit. 

So far we have bitten our tongues; but I feel sure they are soon to be educated about fences and neighbors. 

Cooking and the Working Mom (or Dad!)

Cooking can sometimes seem like the most daunting task in a day!  It requires time, planning, effort, and sometimes, creativity!  However, with a little bit of effort it can seem like less of a burden!

One thing to do is to make a weekly menu.  It doesn’t have to be set in stone or adhered to no matter what, but this tells you what you will need that week at the grocery store so you don’t have to stop in daily and make best friends with the cashier. (and it might save you a little bit on groceries as well!).  What I do is look at what is on sale each week and try to plan a daily menu with my weekly grocery needs-my menu is planned around the weekly ads  and my stockpile (I am a mediocre couponer-so when I can I use my talents for my family’s benefit!).  However, if you are lucky enough not to have to pay attention to the price of food items, then just sit down and plan what sounds good for the week. 

Once you get your haul home and put away, keep your menu close at hand.  Keep in mind what extracurricular events you have during the week and plan what meal to have what night based on the time you will have to prepare it.  For example, I have a meeting this week after work.  That night we will be having crock pot roast so that it will be ready when I get home from the meeting. 

This brings me to my next point…If you are limited on time in the evenings; make best friends with your slow cooker.  With this wonderful invention you can insert all ingredients in the morning, turn on the slow cooker, and it will be ready and waiting on you when you get home in the evenings.  You can make anything from chili to soup to even roast and potatoes!  There are several sites that focus just on slow cooker recipes.  Crokin’ Girls, a newer blog, even posts YouTube videos with directions of what to do for different meals. 

So, to summarize… take a little time on the forefront to plan and purchase materials so that they are all on hand-this will save time when preparing a meal.  In addition, slow cookers are a working parents’ best friend!!!