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....

Crazy Avy

I thought I'd share some fun photos of Aves. Peruse at your leisure...

First of all, who sleeps UNDER their pillow? Weirdo.

PJ and Avy at the official Tommy Trojan statue on USC campus.

On the carousel at Santa Monica Pier.

STICKER FACE!

After our "Pilgrim and Indian" art & craft. Sitting with her Horton Elephant and Ovejita.

Daddy and Avy in their aprons cooking dinner.

That's my girl.

Wicked!

When PJ's parents came in town, my adorable spouse surprised me with tickets to see the musical Wicked. We had a chance to see it in Chicago over a year ago, but decided not to for one reason or another. It was great to finally see what all of the fuss is about. I have taught so many young singers who are infatuated with the music from Wicked, that I eventually read the book. I couldn't recommend the book....too graphic and actually kinda boring....but the musical was great. It took all the good parts of the book and left out the junk. The music, costumes, dancing, orchestra, singing, scenery, everything was wonderful. We had a great night out without the kiddos.

Halloween

So it took me a few weeks, but I'm finally getting around to blogging about our Halloween adventures this year. Avery was allowed to choose what shapes she wanted the eyes and nose of the jack-o-lantern to be, and whether he was happy or sad. We named him Jack (how original, I know!!) and she loved watching his face glow in the dark.

Alex had Avery's hand-me-down Ducky costume for trick-or-treating. It was so warm here that I took it off him after a few houses. Isn't it nice to know that the ducky tradition continues with our second child?
We all went to the local rec center for a huge Halloween party with lots of fun decorations and tons of games geared towards toddlers.

PJ and I were bumblebees (yellow duct tape on black clothes---but someone lovingly referred to us as "jailbugs"), while Avy was a hula dancer. What a great Halloween!

Bert is it

Avery loves to watch old Sesame Street skits on You Tube. Among her favorites is this Bert and Ernie skit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1xq0Rr4vFE

Here is her version of it with daddy

Quite the little actress, huh? She peters out a little at the end, but it's pretty true to form. And you can hear our Homer Simpson clock talking about donuts as it chimed the hour in the background. So funny.

This makes me want to home school

School holds surprise 'Gay' Day for kindergartnersParents outraged at public elementary's secretive 'coming out' event
Posted: October 22, 20089:34 pm Eastern
By Chelsea Schilling© 2008 WorldNetDaily

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Some parents are shocked to find their children are learning to be homosexual allies and will participate in "Coming Out Day" at a public elementary school tomorrow – and they claim the school failed to notify parents.

One mother of a kindergartner who attends Faith Ringgold School of Art and Science, a K-8 charter school in Hayward, Calif., said she asked her 5-year-old daughter what she was learning at school.
The little girl replied, "We're learning to be allies."
The mother also said a Gay Straight Alliance club regularly meets in the kindergarten classroom during lunch.

According to a Pacific Justice Institute report, Faith Ringgold opted not to inform the parents of its pro-homosexual activities beforehand. The school is celebrating "Gay and Lesbian History Month" and is in the process of observing "Ally Week," a pro-"gay" occasion usually geared toward high school students.

The school is scheduled to host discussions about families and has posted fliers on school grounds portraying only homosexuals. According to the report, a "TransAction Gender-Bender Read-Aloud" will take place Nov. 20. Students will listen to traditional stories with "gay" or transgender twists, to include "Jane and the Beanstalk."

Some parents only recently noticed posters promoting the school's "Coming Out Day" tomorrow – celebrated 12 days after the national "Coming Out Day" usually observed on Oct. 11. When WND contacted the school to confirm the event, a female representative replied, "Yes, it is scheduled on our calendar."
When asked if the school made any efforts to inform parents, she refused to answer and said Hayward Unified School District would have to respond to additional questions. However, the district did not answer its phones or e-mails, and a voicemail recording would not take messages. "Coming Out Day" is not listed on the district's online school calendar.

Some of the parents contacted Pacific Justice Institute for representation when they learned the school was pushing pro-"gay" events for young children without warning.
Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, said opponents of California's proposed ban on same-sex marriage, or Proposition 8, often say the measure would not have an effect on public schools – but this is one of many recent developments that prove otherwise.
"Do we need any further proof that gay activists will target children as early as possible?" he asked. "Opponents of traditional marriage keep telling us that Prop. 8 has nothing to do with education. In reality, they want to push the gay lifestyle on kindergartners, and we can only imagine how much worse it will be if Prop. 8 is defeated. This is not a scenario most Californians want replayed in their elementary schools."

Concerned individuals may contact Faith Ringgold School of Art and Science by calling (510) 889-7399. The Hayward Unified School District can be reached at (510)784-2600 or by filling out the district contact form.

I couldn't say it better myself:

Eloquent post on why we should continue to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

http://voteyesonprop8.blogspot.com/2008/10/prop-8-its-impact-great.html