My mother-in law came to get Owen today to take him for the whole weekend! Happy Mother's Day to me!
Now, I'm one of the lucky ones. I love my mother-in-law. She is a Superior Court Judge. So, I admit, when I first went to meet her, I was scared. I mean, she's a judge. To judge is her job.
Not to mention that she is also married to a man that was our county sheriff for 20 years. I'm just sayin' that on my way into her home for our "meet the parents" dinner, I double checked that I had parked okay.
But, she's the coolest. She is also a dream come true for my kids. I'm not kidding. Ready for this? She has a farm. A full-on, fully functional, funnest place for kids on Earth, farm. Complete with horses, donkeys, goats, cows, stray cats, dogs running everywhere, a barn, a lake...the whole deal. I mean, could you dream up a better Grandma situation???
So, I got Owen packed up this morning and he's off to the farm for the whole weekend!
Oh, don't get me wrong. I love that little bugger more than anything but Mama needs a break. You know what I mean?
A break, you say??? But how, Mom, can you get a break when you still have a newborn to care for all day AND night???
Here's the news flash. Once you've had a toddler, newborns are a piece of cake.
Let's take today, since Owen has left, for instance. Sparkles just tagged along as I treated myself to a day of shopping without the meal and time restraints or the added pressures of things like a "nap window" or using techniques like "redirection" all day long. Nope. Violet just chilled in the sling, then the car seat and finally, rolled around in the Snap N Go with absolutely no complaints.
I went to a restaurant and sat down without a booster or a high chair and ignored the crayons and kids menus and had someone wait on ME. I finished my whole meal all by myself and didn't even have to share it.
That was the biggest luxury of all...Eating! There were no little grubby hands pulling at me to share. This morning right after Owen left, I ate an entire bowl of cereal all by myself. I almost forgot that I could.
You know how Sparkles spent her day? Sleeping. Oh, how I had forgotten...Newborns are such sleepy creatures! How about 5 or 6 naps a day? I tend to my newborn for 5 minutes or so and she's all tuckered out. A snooze here a doze there...so nice.
With Owen I am reading books, rocking, singing, and rearranging the menagerie of items in his crib to comfort him just in an effort to help him fall swiftly asleep.
Some women fear the late night feedings and others, I think, exaggerate the inconvenience of a newborn's needs at night. Last night, Sparkles wanted to nurse every 2 1/2 hours. Now, along with the diaper changes and long newborn feedings, that was a drag.
But, is it really that bad? I mean, it's not like someone wakes you up so you can run a marathon or do a bunch of loads of laundry or something. It's this little angel staring up at you. You pick them up, nurse them, change them and throw them back in the crib. Pretty simple stuff.
Back to my easy, Owen-free day...and how about only having to clean my kitchen once today (Have you read my blog about nesting? I do it even when I'm not pregnant)??? These toddlers! I can give Violet a gourmet meal with a whip of titty. Owen expects like, three meals a day, people!
In fact, meals are often a point of contention. Owen and I are often negotiating, sometimes even arguing. His job is to incessantly test me and my job, I guess, is to incessantly fail.
By the way, can you imagine waking up so hungry and starving that you scream your head off?
Sparkles is always hungry and willing to eat so I can easily comply with all of the books and doctor recommendations on when to nurse and for how long so I can feel like the good mommy that I am supposed to by following all the rules. Owen won't allow such nonsense. I feel like a failure at almost every meal.
Besides demanding a meal here and there, with a newborn all is usually just fine. No screaming, "no!" No outright defiance here...My little angel can't even talk! Yesssss.
And when Violet does have a complaint, it's one of like four things that could be wrong. Hungry? Feed her. Tired? Sleep her. Wet? Change her. Grab a paci to go and it's an easy, breezy day.
What on Earth was I complaining about when Owen was born???
I guess it's the transition from 0 to 1 that is so difficult. The fact that you can no longer just go. That was the hardest for me. When you transition from 1 to 2 it's like, "What? I can't leave the house? Big deal. I haven't gone anywhere in 2 years."
There is also the demise of the "quick errand," the "I'll just jump in the car..." Nope. Quick anything is over.
This fact has inspired my neighbor, Erin. She dreams about a place called, "Drive-thru Land" where mommies never have to get out of the car to buy virtually anything...like shoes and diapers, no longer just limited to burgers and fries. I've been to this place. I call it
Amazon.com.
So, here I am wrapping up an easy day with just the two of us girls. And, really, it has been a blast.
Here is the best part of all. Sparkles has started smiling.
Yes, after 6 weeks of only showing displeasure, what a delight! I think it's God's way. So, when your little one finally does show that she is pleased, you will do anything on God's green Earth to see it again.
So, see? She just can't do a damn thing wrong...and boy, does it make her easy to love.
Happy Mother's Day,
Cheri
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