Results tagged “being a mom” from Momtourage: Blogger Knows Best

Our friend Hunter has sticky fingers and I don't mean from his juice box.  After our play date yesterday, he helped himself to a gratis Snickers bar from the deli.  You see, he wanted Reeses Pieces and a Snickers but was faced with an awful choice when told by his mum that he could only have one.  We didn't realize he had taken the Snickers until we were down the street and he had finished his Reeses only to begin working on the Snickers!  His mother was furious!!  She told him off, gave him a time out, made him go back and apologize and pay for it and it did not end there.  There was an embarrassing conversation over dinner with his father about his crime which resulted in him losing all Wii privelages this weekend.

Sorry I've been away for so long.  I've missed blogging and all the comments from my readers but I had my big Endometriosis Surgery in June and that took me out of commission for literally 6 weeks.  Not kidding.  I'm just starting to feel normal again.  Just to give you a quick update:  I still have my ovaries but only one Fallopian Tube...so we're now officially Reproductively Challenged.  One of my friends asked me recently if I got pregnant, despite my age and my issues (reproductive not psychological) would I keep the baby?!  I was like are you kidding?  Of course!  I would want to have the baby Jesus.  Speaking of miracle babies, above left is the latest addition to our family, our  new niece, born in February.  She's now 7 months old and cuter than ever.

Among the many bits of advice I've received as a mother, 'enjoy every second because it goes by so fast' rings most sage at this stage in my sons' development. I know this - How did this giant 6 year old replace the baby that I held in my arms seemingly yesterday? But in times of stress, when the boys are fighting and I just need 15 minutes to myself, I sometimes find myself rushing things in my head. 

by Kris

I should be looking forward to this afternoon. My oldest son is being picked up from his Kindergarten class to go directly to a playdate with his best friend. She lives less than a block away from us and her sitter is fantastic - patient, kind, resourceful. I know that she can handle whatever comes along.

And boy do I fear that something will come along. And although you probably wouldn't guess it from meeting him for the first or even the second time, my son is a special needs child. Most of the time he is absolutely fine - engaging, intelligent and creative. Functional. But just when I am lulled into hoping that our problems may be lessening, it happens.

  Finally, a Hollywood actress is doing more with her breasts than just flaunting them on the red carpet.....and people are upset?  I generally don't write about celebrities unless they're doing something monstrously stupid or ridiculously funny because let's face it:  they're over exposed; completely boring; unimportant; narcisstic; and mostly irrelevant.  However, this story really has me intrigued.  Apparently, Selma Hayek, was in Sierra Leone and breastfed a malnourished baby boy....whom she's not related to.....(pause)....okay.   Sounds good to me....right?  Sounds like she may have even saved the baby's life.  So.....isn't that a good thing?  Haven't people ever heard of wet nurses?   Wouldn't you share your breast milk with a starving baby?  I don't see a problem. 

by oneofhismoms



I thought today I'd blog about sleep training.   How it sucks.  And how when the woman who gives you help with it has twins.  And when you have a friend with twins you realize that everything you do with your baby could have been twice as hard.  Or maybe I'd blog about  the two week wait advent calendar I invented.  How very proud I am of the idea, for my friends who are still TTC.  Then I had to go to a funeral today.  A funeral for a baby.  Then, I couldn't think of anything trivial.

per.mis.sive - adjective 1. habitually or characteristically accepting or tolerant of something, as social behavior or linguistic usage, that others might disapprove or forbid. 

by Kris

Because it is my best friend's 40th birthday and because there is a winter special on (buy 3 nights, get 2 free) I have arranged to spend five nights with her at a yoga retreat in the Berkshires. If you had asked me last week how I felt about it I would have said, "Excited!" But as the day of departure draws near, my forebodings increase. It's not the expense or the thought of treacherous winter travel that bothers me. And I always have a great time when my friend and I are together. In fact it's one of those rare relationships where we can be out of touch for months, even years and just pick up as if we had lunch on the previous day. The problem is that I have never been away from my two sons (ages 4 and 5) for that long before. Frankly, I'm scared.

We are just winding down a (for the most part) highly successful family vacation out on the West Coast. I say successful because if there ever was a situation that was ripe for disaster this was it: a shared household of 12 family members, complete with a nightly dinner rotation and an informal chore sharing structure. Oh, and 5 of those people are children ranging in age from 16 months to 16 years. And oh yeah, my two boys (aged 4 and 5) are "rambunctious." I guess that's the kind way to describe it.

Now that I have one of my own, it's no wonder A.A. Milne wrote a book of poetry for six year olds.  Something magical happened when Lily turned six on 12/22/08: she blossomed socially.  It was like she awoke from baby slumber into a true, young girl: she's chatting like mad; very confident; sassy; cracking jokes; telling her friends to copy her; had her first sleep over; and is suddenly full of 'poo poo and pee pee' songs.  It's a lot of fun....but it also makes me melancholy for my baby.  Now that we're in this stage of life the curtain has officially closed on 'totland'.  She had her friend Eleanor sleep over last night.  I was so relieved when Lily came into my room for a cuddle after her friend fell asleep.  I was actually heartened to hear her say, "I miss you mama."  I miss you too my darling....but I'm still here for you.  I always will be.

Nope! This isn't a holiday bargain hunting and gathering tale, it is a story of my son's ecstatic reaction to his gifts this year. S is almost 6 now and this year it really sunk in. Not only completely embracing the power of Santa, Advent Calendar making and counting, tree decorating and cookie making BUT Chanukah rituals as well. Dreidel playing, singing the blessings while lighting the menorah and gathering with friends at home for an abundance of latkes and cheer.

by oneofhismoms

He's sitting there in an ocean of wrapping paper.  Pouting.  He's opened the big car and the pirate ship and the play dough ice cream station.  "And what else?"  He's looking for more.  You give him the line you've always given him, "That's a lot of presents, honey.  Aren't we lucky to have so many things?"  You know for sure somewhere, probably within miles of where your three-year-old pouts, there are children who would be completely content with only one of these toys.  How did this happen?  Where is the re-wind button?

by Kris

I grew up in a very small town located in a rural state. There were twelve children in my Kindergarten class and at that time everyone in the town was up in arms over its unprecedented size (so large!). Starting in grade seven we were bussed over an hour to the nearest regional Middle School/ High School. But that only brought my class size up to about 80.

So it is no wonder that I am totally unprepared for negotiating my son's Kindergarten experience at our local city school.

by Kris

Yes, I am typing this entry with one finger. So I estimate that it will take - oh, a good 30 minutes in order to give a simple piece of advice, something that I personally ignored and that got me into this difficult situation.

I know that it is hard for a busy mom to juggle everything. Certain things (laundry, picking up dry cleaning, visiting with friends) may get pushed to the back of the queue. But one thing I learned (again!) today is do not let your own personal health issues get shoved aside. When there is a problem, take care of it immediately.

I was at Old Navy yesterday, and they're already pumping Christmas music throughout the store!  It was so freakin' depressing.  I was like, OMG!  Did I oversleep and miss Thanksgiving?  I didn't even buy my cards yet!  I know the economy is slow so retailers feel they have to do the 'big push' thing for the holiday season but they just pushed me out the door with this.  Where are the Veteran's Day sales this year?  That one always makes me queasy:  Celebrate Veterans Day, skip the parade, just go to the Parade of Shoes.  Now you can have a purple coat to match your purple heart.  The next uncomfortable shopping event after Christmas:  The End Of Guantanamo Bay Sale.....slippers, gloves, hats, stuff to make your long trip back home a comfy one.

by Kris


My sons attend Kindergarten and pre-K at the same public school and as Thanksgiving approaches both classes are gearing up for a non-denominational Harvest Feast. Turkey is being provided by the school, and all families are invited (strongly encouraged!) to contribute a side dish.

Not only are there requests for traditional foods such as mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, there is also a call for dishes 'from your culture.' The more I thought about it, the more confused I became.

Just wanted to let you know that my show MAMA'S NIGHT OUT is coming to Minne-snowta this weekend for three shows!  MAMA'S NIGHT OUT (my momtourage) is comedy by mothers for everyone so you can definitely bring your husband.  Here's all the info:

Diana Ross has nothing on our 5 year old Lily.  Last year, we went through three costumes in one day:  dragon; bunny; and finally a mime.  This year, she went to school as a mouse but will trick or treat later on as a ghost.  Here's costume number one:

Just in case you hadn't already heard, kids are giving other kids their custom-printed business cards. My husband mentioned it a few weeks ago. (He had read an article about it in the paper.) But after an initial snort of disbelief, my mind wandered to other things and I promptly forgot about it. Until yesterday, when 5 year old Sam received a card from a classmate.

I'm a bad Jew. Always have been. In fact, if anything I am a Buddhist. See?! Bad Jew! But when I married a Protestant and had our child, I promised myself to re-ignite the awesome Jewish traditions I've only read about it in books as an adult. It was my responsibility to present my family's faith tradition to my son. And with our move from the Northeast to Austin, Texas soon after his birth, holding onto that tradition became more important. In New York you feel you've done your Jewish duty just because you take a Personal Day from work to fast mid-September and/or know the difference between nova and belly lox.