A Mother's Day Interview

As part of my Mother's Day gift, I asked Hubby to poll the girls with the same set of questions they answered a year ago.  Some of the results were the same, and all were just as fun.  Of course I can't capture their baby speak here in black and white, but I'll admit [again!] that I hid at the top of the steps to listen to their answers.

If your mommy were an animal, what kind would she be?

A: a cow

B: a horse
[Um, thanks???  I can only say that the girls hold cows and horses in high regard, so I guess I'll take it!]

What is Mommy’s favorite TV show?

A: Sasha show

B: Too Cute
[A "Sasha show" is what we call it when our cat shows out for us.  I loved that answer!  And "Too Cute" (on The Animal Planet) is the only TV show the girls have ever seen / have ever known me to watch...so no surprise there.]

My mommy is as pretty as……………

A: a flower

B: a flower
[Awww!!!  Last year, they each said I was as pretty as they are, which had me in stitches.]

I love my Mommy because...............

A: she's sweet.

B: she makes good food. 

My mommy says the most important rule is……………

A: to play nicely

B: to be careful
[They ARE listening!]

What does your mommy do while you are napping?

A: she works

B: she exercises
[I was glad to hear them not say, "She plays on Pinterest and eats bon-bons."  Hahaha!]

What food does your mommy make best?

A: zucchini

B: waffles

My favorite thing to do with my mommy is……………

A: play with her

B: read
[These are the exact same answers as last year...so sweet!]

Nobody is better than my mommy at…………

A: cooking

B: cooking

What makes your mommy laugh?

A: when I do funny things

B: everything

We kicked off the day with a very rare breakfast out, which was such a nice treat.  I got flowers, a card, and chocolate from the hubs, and the girls each made me a card in preschool that had me crying at the crack of dawn.  Happy Mother's Day to me!!!

And this blog post would be incomplete if I didn't wish a very Happy Mother's Day to all my mommy friends...who inspire me, cheer me on, and generally help keep me sane.  I am blessed to be part of an awesome community of strong women!

Self-portrait at the zoo yesterday.  I need longer arms!  :)  :)

The Silver Lining of Sickness

The girls have been sick this week, in some ways, sicker than I’ve ever seen them.  Technically, Baby A was sicker when she had the flu when she was two, followed by a sinus infection, but I just don’t remember my babies ever being so pitiful.

It started Sunday morning with what I thought – and hoped! – was a random throw-up from Baby A.  I approached breakfast cautiously, but both girls ate well and played like they do every day.

About 10:30, though, Baby B threw up, and the rest of the day was full of the same, from both girls…in between changes of clothes and loads of laundry.

What has been so striking to me is how poor the girls have felt.  Every other time they’ve been sick, they might have fussed more than average, but they still played on some level.  They might have wanted some extra snuggles, but they were still up and about.

This time, though, all they wanted to do was lie on a blanket on the floor.  Sometimes they wanted me to read to them, but other times they just wanted to lie there.  They slept off and on, but they mostly just rested.

It was the most pitiful sight, and it just tore at my heart to see them.  Still, I couldn’t help but be thankful as I watched them.

I was thankful for the opportunity to be here with them.  

 I know when they’re in school, Husband and I will be juggling sick days, alternating who stays home and for how long.  Now, though, I don’t have anywhere else I need to be.  I can be here with my girls in my entirety, heart and soul, and that just feels right.

I was thankful for the opportunity to just “be” with them.   

They rested so peacefully, and it was such a blessing to sit in the stillness of their slumber.  I watched them sleep, and listened to them breathe.

At times the girls wanted me to read to them, or to draw with them, but mostly they just wanted me to be there.  I sat for a long time both days with my hand on A’s foot.  A couple of times I snuggled between the girls and dozed myself.  They just wanted their mama.

A few other things I was thankful for…

·         That the girls were sick at the same time.  It was hard to manage (especially at one point when they were throwing up at the exact same time), but I’m hoping this means we’ll get the virus over with as expeditiously as possible.  And I didn’t have to manage a special diet for only one, which is usually pretty excruciating. 

·         Seeing the girls help each other.  When Baby B first threw up, I was right in the middle of her mess.  Baby A ran to get towels for me, opened the door to the bathroom for me, and helped me get the things I needed to give B a bath.  And several times, when one baby would start coughing, the other would come rushing over with the bucket, even before I could react.  Seeing the sisterly caring – akin to a motherly instinct – in action was so very sweet.

·         That the girls are old enough to use a bucket.  In all the action we had, I only had to clean one tiny spot on the carpet.  That definitely made things more bearable! 

·         And, on a bit of a silly note, I got a backwards kind of kick out of seeing B cuddling with the bucket as she napped at one point.  Our girls don’t have loveys, but I imagine it would be even cuter if she were snuggled with a teddy bear.  :)

And I’m the most thankful to report that the girls are on the road to recovery.  No vomit yesterday, and they were up to playing yesterday afternoon.  They’re up to mischief this morning, so you know that’s a good sign.

Sometimes these forced slow-downs are a good reminder of how blessed we are, as well as a reminder to look for silver linings, even amid sickness and strife.

Showing You My Ugly

Julia posted a few days ago that she'd had a very un-Pinterest-worthy day.

Boy, do I know what she means.

There are days when the clean dishes don't get put away until after lunch, and the dirty dishes don't make it to the dishwasher until supper.  The clean laundry threatens to break the backs of the dining room chairs, as it awaits folding and putting away.  The girls' toys didn't get put away properly the day before, and they've strewn every plastic dish, every block, and every piece of dress-up garb all over the first floor.

I don't tend to blog about those things.  That's just the way things go sometimes, part of life with little kids, I suspect.  And I feel a little bit guilty about that from time to time, that I mostly show the pretties...the clever things our girls say and do...brilliant light bulb moments I've had as a parent...pretty artwork...newly-organized play spaces.

Every week Julia hosts a great link-up, called "Mama Loves", an opportunity to showcase tips and tricks that make our lives easier...maybe even the subject of Pinterest envy.

This week, Julia is daring us to link up our "real lives".  I know we all have them, we just don't always show them.  I've been inspired...seeing photographic proof that other folks' dishes also pile up...that not everyone has a brilliant color-coded laundry center in which they press and fold each piece of laundry immediately as it comes from the dryer...that other children also find it necessary to pull out every.single.toy they own.

I wasn't brave enough to take you on a full tour of the house (that would certainly have resulted in a too-long blog post), but here's a snapshot of one of the things that drives me C-r-A-z-Y...my kitchen counter.

This is the area to the right of my stove.  I always have two knife blocks, napkins, salt and pepper mills, olive oil, and a few bottles of wine.  I'm OK with that.

On the wall to the left of the refrigerator, I have a two-tier basket with fruit, and usually a couple of loaves of bread beside that.  I have my stand mixer, and a bread box, as well [which is full of pictures and electronic chargers...but that's another post!].  I'm OK with that.

It's the enormous pile of craft supplies and school projects that were giving me the major heebie-jeebies.



Since I took this picture on Monday, I'm proud to report that that counter space is clear.  I put my craft supplies away in the upstairs bedroom (which had to wait until the girls were in school).  The school projects, though?  Those have been stashed in the pantry.

I guess the next logical step would be for me to take a picture of the stack o' stuff in the pantry, right?  I just don't have the energy, though...it's depressing!

I say all this to say, there's always SOMETHING.  When my counters are gloriously clean...that means there's something, somewhere else.  There's only so much space...only so much time...only so much energy.

When I'm caught up on laundry, that probably means I didn't have time to sort the mail.  When all the paper is filed, that probably means the laundry looms.

While there are occasions that threatens to make me scream...or cry...or run away...I mostly just accept it's part of the package deal these days.  We all do the best we can.  And it's all relative.

But it is refreshing to remind ourselves everybody juggles the day-to-day in some form or fashion...and to occasionally giggle at each others' messes.  :)

Hop on over to Julia's blog to check out other slices of "real life".  I found it quite therapeutic, myself!

It's My "Normal"

I had coffee last night with a few of my mommy friends, and we were laughing about those moments when you pause to think, “Holy cow…I have TWO KIDS!”  Another friend said how she wrote the word ‘Mom’ as she was coloring with her boys, and she stepped back to think, “Wow.  Yes.  That’s me!”

Our girls are 3 ½, but I still relate to that sentiment very easily.  For years I’ve had those realizations at random intervals.  It was always a funny sensation, but a very real one.

I have realized something different within the past couple of weeks, though.  I haven’t had any of those realizations lately.

The most poignant example was the girls’ preschool open house.  I dressed my girlies, got their paperwork, and we headed in that morning.  We were all excited to see their classroom, meet their classmates, and reacquaint ourselves with their teachers. 

I was having fun, watching them explore, chatting with their teachers, and meeting some of the other parents.  It wasn’t until another mother said, “Are you the twin mom?” that it struck me our family was a little different than the others there. 

The other parents were watching one child explore the different stations.  I rotated between our girls, and I tried to hang back and take in the atmosphere, too.  It was very neat for me to be able to see how our girls interacted with new people and new environments.  It was neat, and fun…and “normal”.

After the open house, I took the girls to eat lunch.  I later realized how “normal” that felt, too.  The girls split a sandwich.  I ate half of my sandwich and boxed the other to bring home.  We all went to the potty together, and no one licked the floor.

I used to consider such experiences “Mommy milestones”…the first time I took the girls to eat by myself, to the park by myself, to the pediatrician.

I’m sure there are many other “Mommy milestones” I’ll mark, but it’s pretty cool to realize – particularly after the fact – that these recent experiences didn’t even prompt any butterflies in my tummy.

Mother's Day Interview

One of my blogger friends is pulling together a Mother’s Day post.  To participate, she posed a series of questions for our children to answer about us. 

I gave the list to Hubby for him to cover with the girls, one at a time, while I took a shower yesterday morning.  I was planning to head upstairs…but I couldn't help but perch on the steps to listen to the girls’ answers…they just cracked me up!

If your mommy were an animal, what kind would she be?

A: lion

B: elephant

[I think the idea of a mama lion is pretty fitting.  And while I wouldn’t normally be happy to be called an elephant, I guess I’ll take it since that’s B’s favorite zoo animal these days.]

What is Mommy’s favorite TV show?

A: soccer

B: elephants

[We don’t watch TV in front of the girls, so they would have no clue about this.  I thought they would say “weather”, since I’ve turned on the radar a couple of times during storms.  Soccer is Daddy’s favorite thing to watch…not sure about elephants!]

My mommy is as pretty as……………

A: Baby A

B: Baby B

[Hahaha!  They think a lot of themselves and/or me, I guess!]

I love my Mommy because...............

A: I just do! (followed by a fit of giggles)

B: of Sasha

[Sasha is our cat…no clue what she meant!]

My mommy says the most important rule is……………

A: to sleep!

B: to sleep!

[Yes, yes, YES!!!  Now, if they would just heed that rule!!!]

What does your mommy do while you are napping?

A: files stuff

B: files things

[This cracks me up!  I do sometimes file, but I wouldn’t classify myself as a chronic filer, or anything!]

What food does your mommy make best?

A: eggs

B: sweet potatoes

My favorite thing to do with my mommy is……………

A: play with her

B: reading

[Awww…be still my heart!]

Nobody is better than my mommy at…………

A: making eggs

B: cooking

What makes your mommy laugh?

A: Laughing at me.

B: When I do something funny.

On top of hearing their super-sweet answers, a nice visit downtown and a good lunch together...the girls napped for almost TWO HOURS yesterday...during which I took a nap for MORE THAN AN HOUR!!!  Happy Mother's Day to me, indeed!!!

And Happy Mother's Day to my many wonderful mommy friends who inspire me every day.

The Moment a Mother is Born

Long before the girls were born, I had been called “Mama Mandy” by my friends and colleagues.  I was known as the one who always had Band-aids, hand sanitizer, and extra granola bars for marathon meeting days.  I coordinated office birthday celebrations, and bought sympathy cards to circulate.

During my pregnancy, I was fiercely protective, and – while I was very cautious for a long time about buying anything baby-related – I felt so incredibly attached to my tiny baby girls.

When the girls were born, though, it was hard to describe how I felt.  I still felt protective.  And of course I loved my babies.  But I somehow felt “detached”. 

I don’t know how much of that was related to the NICU experience…that I didn’t get to see them until they were about 12 hours old…that I wasn’t primarily responsible for their care…but it wasn’t the feeling I had expected.

We made it through the NICU, thankful our stay was only 10 days.  We brought our babies home, and I began the task of caring for them.  I had instructions on when to feed them and how much.  I followed those instructions…I loved on my babies…I struggled through emotions…but it still didn’t feel “magical”.

Within our first few days home, Baby A had her first nasty bout with reflux.  There was projectile spit-up, coming out of her mouth and nose, and she was coughing and gagging and gasping for air.  I’d never seen anything like it.

My husband was panicking, yelling at me to call someone.

I tuned him out and focused on my baby.  I reached for the bulb syringe and cleared her nose and mouth.  I was so scared, but I somehow maintained my composure and figured out what to do.

My tiny baby started crying, and then I knew she was OK.

That moment is crystal clear in my mind…the feeling of responsibility…of determination...that moment when something clicked. 

These are my babies.  I am their mommy.  I am uniquely responsible for them.  I can and will love them like no one else.  They breathe.  I breathe.  They are my life.

That’s the moment I was “born” as a mother.

And with each day, with each new adventure, with each new challenge, my love for them grows.  It’s a beautiful thing, and I am so very, very grateful to be who I am to them.

***

 

The idea for this post was inspired by IASoupMama.  She has shared some beautiful (and funny!) reflections on this topic from different bloggers this week.  It's been a lot of fun to read them, and it's been really heartwarming to know that many of us can point to such a "moment".