Comments on: artful

By: wn

wn — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:45:30 +0000

The only only ONLY thing that makes lets me do ANYTHING for myself/around the house/etc….is the fact that by some miracle of G*d (or Allah, or whoever else I get to thank)….Felix is in bed by 6:30pm….every night. Yes, you read that correctly. And while he is not really a “needy” child…he is a crazy/active/daredevil/constant liability of a child. He is the child who dives headfirst down the stairs….just because….or perhaps even the child who tries to ride the dog…off the couch…just because. Being his parent requires eagle eyes that NEVER leave his body or else much screaming and bruising ensues….he is wonderfully exhausting.

Thank god he sleeps (he has to, I guess…after all of that running around)

YET despite the fact that I HAVE my evenings… I still mostly stumble around for the few hours I have to myself every evening….depleted….trying to prioritize how I will spend my waning energy (dishes or blog?). Let’s not even talk about weekends…suffice to say that there is ALOT of tag-team parenting….for sanity sake, mostly.

And frankly…as I consider a 2nd…(actually we are doing more than considering, we are actively trying) I find myself slightly terrified that I will likely get a child who does NOT require as much sleep….and that I will in turn lose my mind…..

And I really really REALLY wish I was kidding…

By: Kyla

Kyla — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:49:43 +0000

Hang in there. It does get easier, you’ll get yourself back in bits and pieces.

Take a photo and toss them…keep a few special ones. KayTar has a lot of her very arty things decorating her bedroom walls.

By: lo

lo — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:39:07 +0000

I have a quote on my fridge that sums it up for me….”in raising my children, I have lost my mind, but found my soul.”

By: BHJ

BHJ — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:53:46 +0000

We throw a lot of it away when she’s not looking. But there’s so much to save, so much of that weird evocative figure drawing that resembles the art of primitives and madmen. This morning I found a bunch of red and purple paint on the back of the house. This was not her finest work.

The disruption of my solitude was and continues to be the biggest JOLT. The disparity between their desire to narrate every aspect of their lives as they live them and my desire for them to just stop talking… huge. Ocean size.

By: Beck

Beck — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:49:07 +0000

I liked being a mom to little kids but I was all full up by bedtime, lemme tell you. I achieved absolutely zip besides making supper each day and playing with the kids. That’s it! For years! I think people who accomplish much more during that time do so by ignoring their kids, frankly.

By: pnuts mama

pnuts mama — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:14:48 +0000

oh my god, woman, everything you said. the hour when her preschool overlaps with his nap? i live for that- i call it a mental recharge of my batteries. and then there is this time, this late night that spins away until i am far past what will be an acceptable amt of sleep for me, which i also need.

these sweet lovely young ones, i love every fiber of their beings, but they suck the marrow from my bones. i flail wildly from wishing for alone time to dreading when they fly far away from me, a giant emotional rollercoaster.

the peace of being alone, it is salve.

By: George

George — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:56:02 +0000

Get you on the all-consumingness. I’m not really for that. If I had the kids all day every day I’d be blithering mess. In fact, as we speak I’m shooting daggers at A, saying ‘don’t please’ as she attempts to push me off the couch with her feet (this is after telling me she doesn’t want me to touch her).
The pictures? I use them for wrapping paper. Grandparents love it, kids don’t even look at it. Works well for everyone.
Liking the new blog look by the way. Is it really old? Am I showing just how long it’s been since I’ve been here?
We’ve been the house of ill for awhile now. Completely behind on study. Good excuse?

By: Carol

Carol — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 04:47:14 +0000

As an introvert who longs to become a parent – this is the part that frightens me most. I NEED my quiet time in order to function.

If I have an extraverted or particularly needy child – gawd help both of us.

By: JuliaKB

JuliaKB — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:20:17 +0000

You live in my mirror, yes? I, too, am an extrovert with a profound need for own, uninterrupted headspace. I end up sacrificing sleep for it, which, as you can easily guess, is not a good long-term solution. I also lucked out with Monkey liking to play by herself (and now read), though the Cub is much more of a mama’s boy. He has his moments, but they come unpredictably, and only in very particular circumstances (usually if we are playing on the floor and he suddenly gets interested in something on the other side of the room– he can then head that way to explore, buying me about 10-20 mins of peace, but only if I do not dare leave the room, though slinking onto the couch to join my laptop is sometimes acceptable).

By: emily

emily — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:00:52 +0000

This is the most eloquent piece I’ve read on the “Being a mommy is tough and shit” thread. (Mine has not been published anywhere because it sounds exactly like those quotes up there.) Thank you for making our collective and inevitable lament sound so lovely and, in turn, ok. We’ll make it, right?

Artwork: I have a few pieces from when my older girls (12 and 11) were in preschool. One is a 2′x3′ self portrait of my middle daughter. It’s on orange construction paper and looks precisely like a Halloween mask. So I had it laminated and we hang it with our Halloween decorations every year. We give a lot (!) as gifts to grandparents who live far away. Also, a few of the girls things are framed around the house which makes them feel official. Right now, my 3 year old is into gluing leaves onto a page. Lord help me. I can’t find the door handle on the fridge!