life with a new baby
Archive for November, 2009
Stay at Home Moms vs Working Moms
Nov 22nd
I think this continuous war between some stay-at-home moms (SAHM) vs working moms is completely asinine.
I have the DVR set up to record all the Dr. Phil shows… then when I have time to watch an episode or two, I’ll go through them and delete the ones that don’t seem interesting and I’ll watch the ones that catch my eye. Today I watched an episode about SAHM’s vs working moms and let me tell you… the debate got a bit intense.
Well, pretty intense for the Dr. Phil show…
SAHM’s were seated on one side of the audience, and working moms were seated on the other. Both sides were throwing words back and forth like invisible daggers. Admittedly, the worst were the SAHM’s… they were really attacking the working mom’s with a vengeance. There was this one lady in particular who was vocally opining about how ALL mothers should stay at home to raise their children, and if they have to go back to work, then they shouldn’t have had children in the first place. It was insulting and I could feel myself trying to melt into the couch from sheer embarrassment from just watching people behave so childishly.
I am a SAHM.
Because that’s what is right for me and my family.
But it certaintly doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone. I know that I am not nearly perfect enough in my own life to have the audacity to shove my views on someone else, judging them when I have no idea what their life is like behind closed doors.
You can’t judge someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.
And I don’t really want to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.
I don’t get what the big deal is. I don’t understand why women engage in these Mommy Wars.
I don’t understand why moms try to EAT OTHER MOMS’ SOULS.
Why does it matter if one mom chooses to go to work? Who cares if another mom chooses to stay at home with her kids? Each mom is doing what she truly feels is the best for her and her family.
To moms who bicker about how other moms choose to raise thier kids, I say get a life. If you’re gong to EAT SOMEONE’S SOUL, eat one belonging to a rapist or a murderer. Leave all the well-meaning moms alone.
Ah, if only I could rule the world, right?
My First Trophy!
Nov 21st
A few days ago, Nancy at If Evolution Works awarded me my very first trophy!! Thank you, Nancy! A couple days later, Submom at Secret Inner Life, also awarded me this trophy.
I’m new to all these blog awards, trophies, and such, so hopefully I’m doing this right!
So I’m fairly sure that I am supposed to pass this trophy along to the blogs that I love to read. Of course, there is Nancy’s blog, If Evolution Works. She covers a variety of topics with a great sense of humor. And Submom at Secret Inner Life… I love reading her blog as well. She has an amazing sense of humor and a quick wit that keeps me coming back to read more. And I know that Jane at They Call Me Jane already has this trophy as well, but I would like to pass it along to her again anyway. Amber, the Whispering Writer is another blog I also like to read, along with a new blog I recently found that I really like, The Sky Is Falling. She is a new blogger who is entertaining and hilarious.
I always leave with a smile after reading the above blogs. Thank you, ladies, for providing laughter and entertainment!
So I know I don’t have a whole list of blogs to parade before everyone… I’m in the process of prowling the dark recesses of the Internet, looking for more wonderful blogs to fall in love with and stalk enjoy.
Thanks again Nancy and Submom!
Boogers in Abnormal Places
Nov 20th
So today, after I laid Nathan down for his nap, I tip-toed quietly out of his room in the hopes that he wouldn’t notice my departure.
I successfully make it to the living room and am about to sit down and enjoy one of my pre-recorded episodes of House because lately, for some reason, I cannot sleep when Nathan naps. I have been plagued with this fear that something’s going to happen to him… he’s going to die of SIDS or he’s going to get his legs stuck in the crib railing and rip them off or he’s going to morph into a little moth and flutter his way out of room.
YOU NEVER KNOW.
I’m just terrified that something will happen to him, something that I could have prevented if only I had been awake. These feelings won’t go away. In fact, they’ve been getting stronger. I’m not normally one to subscribe to superstitions, but lately I’ve heard so many stories about babies passing away unexpectedly that it has started to weigh me down, like if it happened to this person then it could happen to me.
I’m sure these feelings will pass soon, these New Mommy Jitters. Nathan is nearly 9 months old now. He’s made it this far; I don’t see why he would suddenly pass away out of the clear blue.
So anyways, I stay awake so I can keep checking on him after he falls asleep. IF he falls asleep. So I was sitting there, about to turn on the TV when my ear starts itching.
Like every other normal person on earth, I scratch it. I felt something small and hard. I grab it with my fingernail, assuming it was a piece of ear wax. Normal people get ear wax.
It was not ear wax.
IT WAS A BOOGER.
A dried, crusty ball of Nathan Booger.
I know it was Nathan’s booger because earlier in the day, I tried to lay him down for a nap unsuccessfully. After a few minutes of hearing him cry, I relented and rescued him from his comfortably plush prison.
He had snot all over his face, his hands… crusted in his eyebrows.
I wiped the snot off, but apparently, I didn’t get it all off of his hands because shortly after that, he inserted his finger in my ear. That was when he must have deposited his booger.
I am beginning to realize I can’t exactly say I have a normal life anymore… I had a displaced booger temporarily residing in my ear.
Not really normal, huh? Well, actually… it just might be normal for a Mommy.
The Curious Case of the Malfunctioning Body Wash
Nov 19th
Last night when I was taking my usual shower, something strange happened. No, I didn’t have an epiphany on how to accomplish world peace. Nor did I compose a soon-to-be renowned symphony with my awesome mind power. No, I was just bathing myself.
I felt… soapier than usual.
Kinda slimy.
I thought my body wash had started to rot. I don’t know if body wash can rot or not, but I’m telling you, this stuff was really slimy and weird-feeling on my skin. I thought MY BODY WASH HAD MALFUNCTIONED. So I slowly raised the loofah to my quivering nostrils and took a whiff.
PANTENE.
That’s what I smelled on my loofah. So apparently, in my sleep-deprived state, I slathered SHAMPOO onto it. Not the body wash that was sitting RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. No, I lathered it up with SHAMPOO.
Shampoo that’s in a bottle that doesn’t even remotely resemble the bottle of my body wash.
How does this happen?
Sleep deprivation.
Nathan, of course, didn’t let us get much sleep last night either. The little guy has been bright-eyed and bushy-tailed since early this morning. I just laid him down for his nap, and I can hear him in his room talking to himself.
Trying to be LIKE HIS MOMMY.
“Nya nya nya nya! Oye Oye Oye! Rar MA MA!” he says. So I sneak through the hallway and peek my head into his room.
He has kicked one sock off, dislodging it from his foot like water off sliding off rocks. Those naked toes are wrapped around one of the crib rails, clinging to it with a tenacity to be reckoned with. His other foot still has its sock on, so the sock-foot and his arms are flailing aimlessly in the air. Those arms flail around until one of them randomly strikes the base of his mobile, the part attached to the crib rails.
CONTACT!
Instantly, all his senses are awakened. He rolls over, still managing to keep his naked toes wrapped around the crib rail while draping the other leg over it. Like a human pretzel. He starts banging at the base of the mobile, fingers splayed, searching for buttons or lights or KNIVES or whatever baby fingers are looking for whenever they roam all over an object.
Nathan, 6 months old, playing with his feet instead of sleeping
Satisfied that he is okay, I slowly edge away from the doorway.
The floor creaks.
DAMN YOU, CREAKY FLOOR.
I immediately pause in The Stance. (I mentioned The Stance here, during one of Nathan’s naptime failures.) My heart thuds loudly in my chest. I wonder crazily if he has super-sonic hearing and can hear my thumping heart.
I breathe. Slowly.
Nathan’s searching fingers pause briefly over the surface of the mobile. He waits a few seconds, apparently waiting to see if there is any more creakage. Satisfied that the world has not come to an end behind his back, he finally continues exploring his new find.
I continue to slowly back my way down the hallway, mindful to avoid the especially creaky parts of the floor. And now I sit here, listening to Nathan muttering to himself as I type this. He’s got to be tired. How can he not be tired? But alas, he is apparently not tired.
Let’s hope he takes his nap. Not only for himself, but for me as well.
Because mommies need naps, too.
Recent Comments
Aww thanks, Tina, it was good to see you too! I wish I could have talked to you more... I ...
I'm sorry you all had a rough go yesterday, but it was good to see you both :) I have ...
Thank you, I appreciate that. It's so cool to hear people say that we look alike... I've been told there ...
Awww... what really nice photos! You two look so alike, especially with the way you smile.