Brothers

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Leo and Daniel did pretty well with our cross-country trek yesterday.  Leo got wingy occasionally, but was entertained by "Kung Fu Panda" and "Ferguson on the Farm" via DVD (thanks to Ellie for lending us their car DVD player!!!). 

Daniel had a lot of time spent in "get me outta here please" fussy-crying, which Leo seemed able to ignore completely, but twice when I clambered to the back of the van to check on them, Leo was sitting in his car-seat next to Daniel's, calmly holding his brother's little hand.

"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero." ~Marc Brown

NFP Awareness Week...

Betcha didn't know there was a week for NFP. Then again, there's a week for everything. Anyways, I'm impressed with the folks over at www.1flesh.org and www.iuseNFP.com, check them out. They are witty and fun and have lots of science and cool graphics going for them.

Things that actually come out of Moms' mouths...

Generally about once or twice a day, I think to myself, "did I actually just say that?!". "don't put your feet on the baby please" "don't put your feet on the baby's head please" "Leo, no feet on the baby!" Then there's the now ever-popular, "no sitting on the baby!" This morning, I hit a new low. I said, "can you please get some coping skills?!" That's right folks, my 22-1/2 month old boy needs to man up. Also, I think we can tell who needs to practice coping. :) So what crazy (or crazed) things have you said to your kids?

Toddler torture...

Does anybody have any brilliant ideas on how to get a 22 month old boy to sit and be quiet at church? ...yea. Didn't think so. ::sigh:: I won't write a post about how screaming children should be welcome at Mass or about the annoyed glances I received today when Leo was, shall we say, less than decorous...let's just say that we need practice. Two year olds were created to give mothers patience. Or an aneurysm. So much of life is about perspective and attitude. A very pleasant man at church today told me that he had had five kids, and this is the best time of my life. Seriously?! Ummmmm, did he notice my son eating Chapstick? Did he see my sticky frazzled self trying to look presentable in public? Why is it that we don't appreciate the situations we are in whilst we are in them? I thought today about this whole attitude thing on my drive home. I had to take a detour to avoid construction. SO annoying, right? Yes, but the road was falling apart. If the road workers had come to me ahead of time and said, "hey, we're going to add about 5 minutes to your drive whenever you come home from town, but we'll fix this awful on-ramp for ya" I would have said, "Deal!". The thing is, life doesn't come to you to let you agree to the annoyances in exchange for the good stuff. We have to remind our own selves each day, that by being born into this world, we have said, "Deal!". And this is a no-take-backs-caps-lock-shield kinda deal too. I have to remind myself to accept the toddler torture in exchange for all the good to come. Like, when he learns to drive.

"Just enjoy..."

My favorite advice so far about having two little guys now has been, "just enjoy the boys".  It is easy to fall into the spiral sickness of not getting *anything* done around the house, feeling bad about it, then not feeling much like doing anything...etc. etc. ad infinitum ad nauseum. 

I told a friend (one of my second moms) that I wasn't really sure what I should be doing.  She gave me the golden advice. 

Now, when I start to feel exasperated, I think to myself, "just enjoy", and things get much smoother.  Why should I hurry Leo along on our walk?  Just enjoy.  Why shouldn't he play longer on the tractor?  Just enjoy.  Why shouldn't we have ice cream for every meal?  Okay...just kidding (kind of...)! 

"Just enjoy the boys" may seem akin to "stop and smell the roses", because it is.  The thing is, however, that cliches become that way because there is a truth in them.  Life does go that quickly, and those boys will grow up too fast for their new momma. 

So, for now, I'm going to try just to enjoy them. 

My baby stole my popsicle.

The thief in person.

My baby stole my popsicle.  Yup, it's the truth.  He flat out came over and took it from me.  I wanted that popsicle.  My throat was sore. 

We think perhaps he has entered the stage of the terrible twos early.  About 7 months early.  Maybe he'll get over it in time for the new baby?  He screams "NOOOOO!" at me all the time.  Where has my nice little son gone? 

Anyways...this is the plight of all parents, I think.  As children grow and adapt to the world around them, we too have to grow and adapt to them.  ....and learn how to find good methods of de-stressing to ensure the fact that they will survive the day. 

Parenting isn't fair.  Your baby can steal your popsicle, and you have to deal.  :0)