Happy Thanksgiving To All, And To All A Good Night

It's so great to be home! Four Thanksgivings later, it's so good to be home! My brother used to say that holidays were a time for families to suffer together. Well, even at the age of seven, he was a very wise boy! I am so sick of Turkey I could gobble.

My question is this. What happened to monotony? What happened to tradition? Heck, what happened to my shoes?

My lovely, very innocent, niece got the holiday off to a bang by explaining to my 3-year-old that those turkeys thawing in the bathtub actually used to be ALIVE! Well, HOLD YOUR FORKS! I'm really surprised she didn't throw up. (She's thrown up for less). My son, on the other hand, seemed to be afraid that there wouldn't be enough to go around. He crammed enough turkey in his mouth to feed a family of four...take note...not once did he choke...or chew.

Thanksgiving II consisted of a house full of 1st cousins, 2nd cousins, step-cousins, half-cousins, aunts, uncles, my grandmother, and a few people that I would swear crashed our dinner. I was so ashamed at how long it had been since I'd been home, that I didn't dare question them.

Number III lasted 2 hours, and we ate Bar-B-Que. What a relief!

After a six-hour "joy ride", we finally made it to our final stop at which point Tes-tos-ta-boy revealed his new trick of nodding his head for "yes". (He is just a doll. Even if I do say so myself.) He nodded so hard that he lost his balance. Did I mention that the size of his head still makes him top-heavy?

I'm so glad to be home.

My heart is broken. I sat up to watch the news tonight, really just to check the weather, so I would know how to dress the kids for tomorrow. (Translation: which dirty clothes to pull out of the laundry room.) Instead, a different story got my attention, and I don't care about the weather anymore. It seems a 22 month-old baby was found dead in our area today. The news lady said that the cause of death was unknown, but that there were scars on the child's hands and feet as a result of his mother admitedly scalding him for "excessive" crying. Oh, I don't even know where to begin. My heart is just broken.

Tes-tos-ta-boy

I feel a long night coming on...My 18 month old son is on steroids for recurrent ear infections. Almost like clockwork, he goes to bed at 7:30 every night...except tonight. I would swear his strength, will, and charm have all skyrocketed in the last 12 hours. He is flashing a remarkably charming sly smile as he stands atop the dining table and squeals in pride. What should I do? I'm laughing so hard it's hard to move very quickly! This is so unlike him.

These amazon links are just killing me! The last time I looked there was a book entitled Myths of Motherhood. I haven't actually read the book, but who needs a book to tell them that motherhood is full of myths!? No one tells you the truth when it comes to parenting. No one tells you that at some point your children will decide that potty water is a condiment and that it takes kids an hour to get dressed and only 3 seconds to get undressed in the middle of the cereal isle.

Ah...Fresh air. We got away this weekend. Not far away, but far enough that only the dog-sitter knew where we were headed. Money's tight so we actually went into a nice restaurant and ordered one meal to split between the four of us (My husband was the only one who was embarrassed). Mostly we were just happy to be away and together. It also helped that we all had pop-tarts in our pricelined hotel before leaving for our special evening.
The most enlightening part for me, though, was realizing that stressful situations are where I like my kids the most. They trust me there. No one argues. No one asks "why". No one runs around crazy like a chicken with their head cut off. They just stand perfectly still at my side and hold my hand. They trust me. I am their comfort and security. Those moments are why I became a parent. So open wide the gates of stress! Bring on the crowded malls and noisey restaurants! Welcome the strang smelly men who insist on talking to small children. MY CHILDREN NEED ME!
WOW! How refreshing!
Then BAM!
My sweet sweet child actually sat on the potty, still wearing her underwear, and pee peed.
I love being needed.

Intro

I feel as if I'm introducing myself to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting...Hi, I'm 30 years old, married, the mother of two small children (3 & 1),and I think my children are trying to kill me by emotional suffocation.
I spent my day today moving our food out of our pantry. It doesn't matter to where. The point is why. Toys have taken over my house, not just in quantity, but in location. Every room has what might as well be land mines scattered throughout the carpet and rugs...Almost all of which make loud long-winded music when kicked at 3:00 a.m.
My solution of course is consolidation, and sadly, consolidating those toys is more critical to my existence than having a usable pantry.