The Simple Joys of Mommyhood

You know, like that song from Camelot, "Where are the Simple Joys of Maidenhood?"Where are the simple joys of maidenhood?
Where are all those adoring daring boys?
Where's the knight pining so for me he leaps to death in woe for me?
Oh where are a maiden's simple joys?

Shan't I have the normal life a maiden should?
Shall I never be rescued in the wood?
Shall two knights never tilt for me and let their blood be spilt for me?
Oh where are the simple joys of maidenhood?

Shall I not be on a pedestal, Worshipped and competed for?
Not be carried off, or better still, Cause a little war?

Where are the simple joys of maidenhood?
Are those sweet, gentle pleasures gone for good?
Shall a feud not begin for me? Shall kith not kill their kin for me?
Oh where are the trivial joys? Harmless, convivial joys?
Where are the simple joys of maidenhood?

Well over the past 24 hours I've been experiencing some of the "joys" of being a mommy. It started with taking kids to get check ups and immunizations/flu shots. I hate holding my kids down while they get needles poked in them. It just breaks my heart and I can't watch. I have to say they were both troopers throughout this process, and Avery didn't cry at all. After she got her flu shot, she winced pretty hard, and then said, "Now I get a lollipop!" Alex got three shots and one oral immunization. Poor thing.

Avery's behavior was less than stellar at dinner, where she had decided not to even TRY the food we had prepared. We've been trying to crack down on this, and insisted that she have ONE bite of the main dish and ONE bite of veggies before getting down from the table. Well, that provoked the biggest, longest 2-yr-old tantrum we've yet experienced. No amount of coaxing, reasoning, threatening, bribing, cajoling, or begging produced any positive effects. Finally (after 40 minutes or so) she announced she needed to go potty, and while in the bathroom, asked which toys she got to play with in her bath that evening. I told her that if she didn't have her one bite there would be no toys. Well that finally changed her mind. She ran back to the dining room with me (without putting her pants back on first!) and let me put the bite into her grimacing mouth. She choked it down (you'd think it was poison from the sputtering and gagging) and we proceeded to have a pleasant bath and nighttime routine.

On to Alex: he used to be a DREAM sleeper, routinely going 9 hours a night with no problems. But in the past few weeks he has started waking 1-2 times a night to eat. I'm going to start him on rice cereal before bed to help sustain him through the night. In the meantime, I am having a hard time readjusting to sleep deprivation, and have been rather grumpy when we get up at 2 am or 5 am to feed him. PJ is the best husband in the world because he gets up with me when Alex is hungry. I've been a total jerk lately, taking out my exhaustion on Peej at the wee hours of the morning. So, we decided to make a conscious effort to be nice when Alex got up last night. (By "we," I really mean "I"!) So, I fed Alex at 2:30 or so, and then PJ laid him back in bed. Not 30 minutes later, I woke up to the sound of MAJOR spitting up in Alex's crib. I don't know if it was from the shots or not getting burps out first, but I swear the entire feeding was all over his sheet and blanket and neck. Gross. I got him dried off and soaked up the spit up with burp cloths, but decided against changing sheets and giving him a bath at 3am. Instead I moved him to a clean part of the bed to sleep the rest of the night. It's a good thing he's small enough and still doesn't roll over, so I could do that.

This morning I bathed him after he got up, then set him in the living room while I started a load of laundry. I put in all the sheets and blankets and burp cloths from the early morning's adventures, as well as other odds and ends that needed washing. When he was ready for his morning nap, I looked all over for his pacifier....but it was nowhere to be found. I had accidentally PUT IT IN THE WASHING MACHINE! At least I got it out before it went through the dryer and possibly melted all over the place. Lucky for me I have some spares, so he was okay for nap.

Sheesh. I guess it isn't a terrible story, now that I am re-reading this post and have a few hours of perspective. I've definitely had worse days---like when Avery threw up a dozen times throughout the night and we changed her sheets and pajamas at least four times, or various exploding diapers in inopportune locations, or Avery falling and chipping her front tooth this summer, etc....

I'm curious to know what fun mommy experiences you want to share with me to brighten my day!! Leave comments. :-) Maybe I'll start a contest or something....