Just like us

  There is no greater joy for me than watching my children grow. I have the gift of being the first person to really know them. I get to see the ins and outs of their personalities. To some extent I can already see the areas in which they will likely excel and the areas in which they will struggle. This is my job! I am here to truly KNOW these boys. To understand their strengths and their faults. I will be there to cheer them on and encourage them. To help them, teach them, and love them. I will be there!

  My little Owen reminds me a lot of myself. I worry about that sometimes. It causes our interactions to often be, umm...lets say difficult. I will often be heard saying, "He is so strong willed and independent." These sound like great things, but when you are talking about a three year old that is not always the case. We spend a great deal of time butting our hard heads together. In these moments I don't always enjoy my job. It would be easier to just give in to his three year old will, but being a mom is not supposed to be easy. Challenging, rewarding, a blessing, yes! Easy, no! So, I fight the battles, deal with the tantrums, dole out the discipline, all in the hopes of rearing a well rounded, confident, yet humble child.

  As fun as it can be to see ways in which my children are like me (when it isn't driving me crazy), I think it is even more exciting to discover the ways they are like Sean. My sweet husband is smart, funny, quirky, a wonderful musician, and he can get a bit obsessed with things. Since the time we started dating I have enjoyed hearing stories about his childhood obsessions. From wanting to wear a sweater everyday to be like Mr. Rogers, failing an eye exam ON PURPOSE so he could have glasses like John Lennon, to falling off his bed and breaking his arm whilst hanging up a picture of JOHN STAMOS. Haha! Sorry, honey! I couldn't help myself. He did have great hair. 

  Anyways, back to the point. Owen is very impressionable just like his dear old dad. I love this about him! He has developed an adorable obsession with the show Blue's Clues. Everything comes back to Blue's Clues! When I tell him he needs to wait for something he will sing the waiting song and say, "Joe had to wait in the line on Blue's Clues. Sometimes we have to wait for things." When someone asked him about his birthday he said he had cupcakes with sprinkles. Not true, but Blue had sprinkles on her birthday cupcakes. He walks around the house singing the songs, talking to "side table drawer" and writing down clues. He has an actual "thinking chair" notebook and a stuffed Blue. He wants to have his notebook and Blue with him at all times. In the car. At the store. He sleeps with Blue while the notebook waits on his headboard for him to wake up. I cherish the moments when I am able to just sit and watch him sing, play, and most importantly write down clues. In these moments he is just having fun. He is innocent, uninhibited. He is just playing. He is not struggling for control or to discover his place in the world. The battles, the struggles, the discipline they are important, but these moments are important too! I want to remember to make time to just play, pretend, create with my kids. They need this. I think I need it too. I need time to just enjoy them. 

  So, thank you, Sean, for passing your crazy, obsessive tendencies on to our first born. They have brought me much joy and reminded me my job isn't always work. I love you!

Go away! I just want to pee alone!

Becoming a "mommy" has definitely been one of the greatest joys of my life, but there are definitely days when I can't stand that word! "Mommy, mommmmy, mooommmmy!" Sometimes I just want a break or a quiet room to hide out in for a few minutes. Yeah right! I can't escape the constant "needs" of my two sweet angels long enough to use the bathroom in peace, much less take a real break! It's as if they have some sort of potty radar. Even if I get them engrossed in an activity and try and sneak away to "do my business" privately, they somehow know! This is the moment Owen decides he "needs" some water, a snack, a missing toy, you name it, and so the "mommys" begin. Sadly Owen is not the only one demanding my attention at these inopportune moments anymore. Now that Caden is super mobile he not only wants to be in the bathroom with me, he tries to climb into my lap while I'm sitting on the throne! It's not as though this is a long process and they miss me. It can't take more than a minute, or two if I really take my time washing my hands, for me to get back to them, but they aren't having it! So, I spend my bathroom "breaks," ha,  telling Owen where he left whatever it is this time, or to hold on a second, blocking Caden with my foot so he doesn't touch the toilet, and trying to get out of there as fast as possible! I long for the day when I can, again, be guaranteed privacy in a bathroom with a toilet not covered in little boy pee (that's a discussion for another day), but until then I will hope for speedy potty breaks while simultaneously hoping everything else slows down. After all, sooner than I want they will not "need" me so much, and the "mommys" will decrease until they are replaced with a more mature "mom." I know I will miss my mommy title when that day comes so for now I'll TRY and enjoy all the "mommys" as they come.