Toddlers

I cried inside of Whole Foods the other day. It wasn’t planned, though is any cry ever planned? But it was needed. A little back story: Maverick has been cutting his molars on top of the other teeth coming out which in turn are making his gums bleed. We’ve also hit the stage early in toddlerhood where he’s learning right from wrong, also known as the terrible twos (cringe). And he wants to walk in every store, which is fine until he starts taking everything off the shelves, or walking too far ahead (since he’s too old to hold my hand). So that being said, most days are testing for me, but we’ve made some headway. The other day a friend came...

My husband and I had finally settled down for the 30 minutes we spend alone together each night on the couch before passing out from utter exhaustion. The clock said 9:15pm and I was just about ready to "relax" (whatever that means these days) when we heard it. "It" being the high pitched shrieking. From across the house. We both sunk further into the couch. My husband, who works incredibly hard for our family and is typically at work 12+ hours a day, jumped up. He's been better about that lately, truth be told. I wonder if he senses our babies slipping away, too. He tried but there was just no settling her. She screamed and screamed. And howled. Screamed some more. He...

Play Should Be a Dirty Word Do me a favor. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath and think back to your childhood. Go back as far as you can. Now, what was your most favorite thing to do? You were playing, right? And chances are, it was something outside. I bet you can remember that feeling with clarity, the sights, sounds, smell. And I bet your hands, feet, face and clothes showed the evidence. Now, hold on to that thought. When I give tours to prospective families of our preschool and tell them that children learn best through play and that is always a dirty endeavor, about half look at me as if I just cursed them out, think I’m...

After 2.5 years as a stay-at-home mom, I reentered the corporate workforce. Finding childcare was stressful to say the least, and I wasn't really sure what to look for.  My criteria were something along the lines of affordable, keeps my kid alive, and doesn't have a wait list of 2 years. The transition was very smooth, and Etta Mae was very happy with her new daily routine.  I accepted from the start that there were going to be things that wouldn't thrill me about daycare.  But I was committed to giving the benefit of the doubt as long as she was happy and healthy. Naturally, I got to know the teachers and aides in the 2-year-old hall.  And despite my...

I am currently 9 months pregnant with bouncing boy No. 2, and I could not be more excited. Overall, this pregnancy has been a breeze compared to my first. Only one day of morning sickness, so much less worry, and I have confidence that I know what I'm doing and am getting myself into. I'll admit I was a little nervous of the idea of being pregnant with a toddler running around, but instead of it being this terrible thing I was expecting, its been pretty great and even hilarious at times as I've even noticed a few things we have in common now.  And just think, my lucky husband gets to deal with us both! 1.  We can't focus...