The Hits Keep Coming

Yes, it's another sinus infection. I took the 4 year old to the pediatrician this morning and, thankfully, it's nothing more than that. As soon as I hear him cough, I break out in a sweat and start panicking about bronchitis and chest x-rays. I don't know how I'm going to survive raising 2 boys. You would think by now I'd be used to the sickness -hell he's sick every month! But I'm like Pavlov's dog I guess. One cough and the heart races with perspiration right on its tail. I worry about him since he is prone to bronchitis. I just hope we can keep pneumonia at bey until he grows out of this. The pediatrician was happy to inform me that kids average about 1 - 1.5 colds per month. Guess my guy's right on schedule then! As we're waiting much too long in the pediatrician's waiting room, I'm watching baby boy play with the toys while sitting on the floor amidst all the coughing and fever-stricken children. I'm sure 48 hours from now, I'll be in a sweat yet again as he progresses into some form of the germs he was surrounded by this morning. It's going to be a long winter.

Put On A Happy Face

So the 4 year old definitely has something by way of illness going on again. Not sure if it's just a cold or a sinus infection or what. How long has it been since the last episode? Two weeks? So this morning I'm struggling with whether or not I should send him to school. It's an easy day for him - gymnastics. It would be the first time at gymnastics and I would drive him there. I really want him to go but I'm not sure he's up for it. I'm sure he would be once he got there, but, for some reason, he really plays sick with me. With the hubby, he sounds and acts much better than when I come in the room. I love my little guy, and I only want what's best for him. I'm just not sure who the act is for - me or the hubby. . .

Stepford Mom?

So we went to another child's birthday party yesterday. Ugh - the dreaded birthday parties. This was a family party for a 4 year old girl. This party boasted pony rides for the kids. Seriously - how many of these who-can-outdo-who parties do I have to attend??? There have been jungle gyms, magicians, face painters, petting zoos - all for children who will come to expect bigger and better next year. To date, we have not had a children's party for either of our boys yet. I figure when the oldest turns 5 (uh-oh, this coming May), we'll probably do our first friends party. I'm dreading it. What am I going to have to pull out of my butt to put on a show for these already-spoiled 5 year olds? I swore I would never try to keep up with the Jones' for my children's parties, and yet somehow I'm feeling like I need to do something. I thought he would invite 5 friends over for some play time in the yard, some pizza and cake, and a treat bag to take home. Now I'm actually contemplating a face painter. Or something bigger. See what living in the suburbs does to you? I'm turning into one of those moms - scary!!!!

Saturday Snapshot

I just love their expressions here, especially the 4 year old. We all went to a pumpkin farm near my in-laws' house on a beautiful fall day.

The Case of The Missing Sock

My kids lose everything. I have no idea where everything goes, but it's not anywhere I can find it. Crayons, puzzle pieces, game pieces, books, dvd cases, craft project pieces . . . you name it, they've lost it. I doubt I have 1 complete game in my house. I can probably open a crayon store based on what's underneath the sofa. Some days I just don't care and chalk it up to another day in my life. But then other days I get so frustrated. Why are the children so careless? Can't they keep track of anything? The most troublesome part of all this is that they don't seem to care they've lost something. The 4 year old might say, "Oh, the last piece of the puzzle is missing? Oh well. That's ok, mom." No, it's not!! It makes me crazy. Isn't this part of learning responsibility? Clearly, we're going to have a problem in that department.

Scared Safe

I watched The Lovely Bones last night on HBO and found it hard to get the movie out of my mind. I wonder why bad things happen to some people and not others. For instance, I grew up in Jersey City in the 70s and didn't leave until 1990. My parents let me out in the morning and I was typically out on the streets all day until it was time for lunch or dinner. Nothing ever happened. No one ever tried to abduct me. And this goes for everyone else I knew and went to school with at that time. This was the city, not the suburbs. Nowadays, all I hear about is abductions or attempted abductions or missing children or molested children found dead. I can't understand why some children are chosen and some are not. Why didn't anything ever happen to me? I'm thankful it didn't, but why didn't it. Timing? Street smarts? Neighborhood? I'm not sure. This movie scared me since I have a 12 year old niece and 2 little boys of my own. I don't think they have the wits about them that I did growing up in the city. I wasn't afraid or intimidated by anyone or anything. I want to raise my family the same way. Perhaps that makes a difference. It sickens me to think that acquaintances or neighbors can be responsible for these vile crimes against children. I'm not sure how to approach instructing my children to act around others. I don't want to raise scared children and I don't want to raise rude children. I want to have safe children.

What's With the Names?

I think it's time to revisit the child-naming situation. Yet another celebrity has decided to name her child something odd: Egypt. Really? Egypt? Are you seriously going to take your child to the park and yell "Bad Egypt. Don't touch that, Egypt." Come on with these names already. It's not even just crazy celebrities choosing these names anymore. The general population, sheep that we are, have decided to hop on the ridiculous naming bandwagon. Apple. Rumor. Brooklyn. Truly. Blanket!! These aren't even names. Can't we stick with real names when we name our children, Joe, Steve, Mary, instead of where and how and why they were conceived. These children will have this name for the rest of their lives. What 40-year old man wants to be called Blanket?????

Reflections of a Blog

I'm flabbergasted. I have so much running through my head right now, I'm not sure what to write about. Let's start with this blog. I hear/read about bloggers having so much success with their blogs, and I get annoyed. I thought I'd be much more coherent in my blogging, much more interesting. I'm 1 of a gazillion mom bloggers out there who write about the same stuff. What their kids are doing. How tired they are. How frustrating it is being a mom. Blah Blah Blah. My blog is crap, and no one is reading it. No filter, my ass. I must be filtering something because I'm so uninteresting. I think I need to turn this up a notch. I know I bitch about time - I have no time. The kids keep me going all day. I'm too tired when they're in bed. At least when I do write something it should be worth someone else's time to read it. Tomorrow - another day - a more interesting entry.

Another Day

And the 4 year old is coughing . . . again . . . Oh Autumn, how I love thee . . .

How I Love Thee . . .

When the family is healthy, there is no better time of year than the fall. I absolutely love this time of year. Everything looks and feels so much clearer, crisper. The colors are simply stunning. The air is actually breathable. And there is so much to do. It still gets warm enough during the day for a trip to the park or beach. There is apple picking and pumpkin picking. There are fall festivals galore. There are yard sales and flea markets. There's a road trip to see the leaves changing colors. There's decorating for Halloween. There a costume parties and parades. There's a simple walk in the neighborhood while pulling the kids in a wagon. I love the feeling of a cool day and a warm sweater. For me, there's nothing better.

Martha Stewart Doesn't Live Here

Keeping up with this blog has proven to be difficult, but I am determined. The past few weeks have been hectic. Both kids were sick as was I, I started selling some items on ebay again, I'm driving back and forth to preschool, I'm enjoying the beautiful fall weather, and I'm trying to keep the little one busy so I have time to blog. That last one is a near impossible task. He feels the need to be near me at all times. If he can't climb up on my lap, I must be in view. I had a mini-breakdown the other day because I couldn't get anything done around the house without him hanging on my leg. My house is a disaster area, and some days I just can't stand looking at it. There are toys everywhere, folded clothes on the sofa and now holiday stuff is starting to pile up with Halloween approaching. Underneath that is a layer of dust and dirt that MUST be cleaned up. I really need to get a good cleaning in before the Christmas decorations come out otherwise I won't get to that layer of filth until January. I wonder if anyone would even notice. Unfortunately I would, and that's all that matters.