A Reminder For Myself

Today we had one of those mornings:  the boys weren't interested in breakfast, and (my fault!) they weren't even dressed yet when we sat down to eat.  When I finally gave up on getting them to eat enough to get them through until snacktime, they didn't want to cooperate in getting dressed.  Jason is capable of getting himself fully undressed and dressed, but I had to keep reminding him (over and over and over) that he can't go to school unless he's dressed.  Jackson is certainly able to help get himself undressed and dressed, but today he was just maniacally laughing while I tried to get the job done.  On top of it, Jackson just stood on the porch watching while Jason and I got things settled into the van.  I was ready to just turn around and stay home for the day.

As we drove, I was able to remind myself that we can't expect more of people than they are able to provide.  Yes, I have aspirations, but when it comes right down to it, if I expect 2 and 3 year olds to be self motivated, focused, and follow along every single day, I am setting myself up for disappointment.  I have bad days (without a doubt).  What that tells me is that I need to spot a bad day for my boys as quickly as I can and just go with it- give them what they need so I can do what I need- and we will all have a less stressful existence.

This is how I try to respect my boys and their changing moods:  some days we will celebrate growing boys' milestones, and other days we will celebrate getting to school before the school day is over.

Traveling Lessons Learned

We are still recovering from our first trip out of town with both boys that did not involve visiting family.  It was a wonderful milestone, and it really made me wonder why we don't travel on our own more often.  We do travel out of state twice a year to see our lovely families in Oklahoma and Ohio, and before the boys were both walking, that was enough travel for me!


If the whole idea of traveling with babies and toddlers is foreign to you, I recommend Travels With Baby.  It is a thorough discussion of traveling long distances by car and plane, with tips for overseas trips.  While I learned a lot from this book, I most appreciated the discussion of *why* you should travel with kids, or, more appropriately, why not?  An infant will need to be fed, diapered, and helped to sleep just the same whether you are home or away, but the scenery change can do a world of good for parents who enjoy travel.  All you need for travel with kids:  careful planning and knowing that unexpected things will happen along the way.

For now, I will just detail our efforts to prepare to fly with a 3 year old and a 1 year old. 

Routine Troubleshooting

As my Jason nears his third birthday, I've spent a lot of time thinking about those last few months before we became parents.  I already knew I would take a year off of work, and I knew I would most likely not return to my engineering career very soon, but I had no idea what to expect from stay-at-home-motherhood.  Oh, the assumptions I made!

Sitting at my desk at work, I'd daydream about being able to cook the healthy dinners that my work schedule didn't allow.  I imagined all the cleaning and organizing I would finally tackle.  I imagined getting outside every day to take walks and water the garden.  Nice ideas, but far from my reality.