Some Zzzzs.

I don’t know if it is the getting older thing.  Or the mom thing.  Or the time to myself thing.  Or some other thing.  Sleep has been evading me lately. 

I text my sister Elise who is away at college regularly at 2 am.  Because she is the only other person I know in the world who is up at 2 am when normal people are fast asleep.  She watched Goonies last night and she called it a BORE.  What is wrong with her?

I play Words With Friends.

I blog.  I Facebook.  I Tweet.

I watch Jimmy Kimmel and then some seriously crappy TV... this is what happens when you live without cable.  

Yes, I know that media / electronics / stimulation doesn’t help the situation.

Neither does the 8 month old who wakes up in the night.

Or the almost five year old who wakes up ridiculously early in the morning.

I lay there and try to will myself to sleep and think about punching the Davester since he is the kind of person who can hop into bed and be sawing logs ten seconds later.  Of course I could punch him, but he would wake up for mere seconds and be back to sleep in a blink.  It is maddening and jealousy inducing all in one.

So spill it, are you an insomniac too?  Or one of the lucky ones who can fall asleep in seconds?  What are your fall asleep tips?

Leap.

This day only happens once every four years… kind of like cleaning out my closet or getting 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.  It’s a rarity. 

We’re having friends over for dinner and indulging in the almost 60 degree weather which is unheard of for February in Ohio. 

What are you doing to make this leap day special?

Tutu.

Tate, my sweet girl, you are 8 months old today.  How is that possible?

You light up every time Finnegan is around.  He comes in the room and you immediately start smiling and laughing and trying to get his attention.  He doesn’t always love the fact that you like to steal his toys, but he tries to be a good big brother and lets you take his favorite superhero from time to time.

 

Your daddy is wrapped around your little finger.  He picks you up and you snuggle into his shoulder.  You’re still throwing out DaDa to his delight, we both know you don’t know what you’re saying, but he still loves it.  {And doesn’t let me forget it.}

You are trying some new foods.  Yesterday, it was potatoes and you loved them.  You are still loving most fruits and veggies, but your hatred of baby food peas lives on… we did try a few mashed up ‘real’ peas and they were a hit, so there is hope for you yet.  You especially like pumpkin, zucchini, and banana. 

As much as I would love it if you stayed put, you’re on the move.  You are standing by yourself for a few seconds, as soon as you realize that we’ve let go of your finger, you slowly sit down.  You are crawling like a madwoman and cruising furniture like a pro.  I am awaiting those first steps with a mixture of excitement and dread because I know when you start, you just won’t stop.  You are also cracking us all up with your dancing.

 

I love this age, Tate.  You smile and laugh, great big belly laughs with screeches thrown in for good measure.  You are an absolute blast to have around.

Happy 8th month, we can’t wait to see what is next.

Real Moms.

We’ve had a rough week here.  It’s never just a typical rough week, everything that can explode at once, does.  I suppose it’s a blessing and a curse that we don’t half ass things here at So Wonderful, So Marvelous.

Oh, no my friends.  We do shit up right.  A teething, snot filled baby who unbeknownst to me {while I was on a conference call and Daddy was watching her} managed to fall and now has a shiner like Rocky.  Oh, did I mention that the aforementioned snot is impeding her ability to sleep more than two hours at a stretch, nurse, or be put down for more than 10 seconds?  She has also lovingly passed her germs along to me. 

A four year old who is either the most helpful, loving child on the planet or a crazed, tantrum throwing madman.  The latest battle?  It is over 5t versus 4t jeans.  He apparently believes that 5t jeans are way too big even though he has, in fact, been wearing them since Christmas.

I can’t even talk about the state of this house.  I mean, we’re not at Hoarders level, but my mom is still appalled when she stops by unexpectedly.  I’ve also been working on a few projects and I apparently have lost my ability to have a job in addition to being a mom. 

When we have weeks like this, I start questioning both my sanity and my ability to handle this whole mom thing.  The doubt starts rolling in and it eats away at my resolve that I am, in fact, awesome.

A real mom would know how to soothe a screaming baby who wakes up because her teeth hurt and in her thrashing, head butts you in the face. 

A real mom would know her baby just has an awful cold and wouldn’t schedule an unnecessary doctor visit. 

A real mom would remember the tissues and not have snot on her shirt. 

A real mom would make sure there were vegetables and fruit at every meal and not serve pizza for dinner because of poor planning. 

A real mom wouldn’t let her child break the ‘no TV on school days’ rule just to have another hour of sleep. 

A real mom would know how to juggle work with family life. 

A real mom doesn’t stay in her pajamas until preschool pick up, she would also shower before noon.

A real mom would be able to handle getting three hours of sleep.

Here it is though, my peeps, I am a real mom and so are you.  Things are not always calm.  They are not always going to go my way.   There are days of sheer perfection and there are days weeks of crazy ass chaos.  The house will be a mess.  I will step on Wolverine & Captain America first thing in the morning and I will run out of freaking coffee.  It happens. 

I pick my battles and sometimes I don’t win.