Obladi Oblada

So much has happened since I last wrote a blog post. I've WANTED to write so many posts (the one about Ember's three year old check up, the one about Oren's obsession with his own nostrils, the one about Emmy CONSTANTLY asking me to pretend to be the “mean mama” from Cinderella), but I've had no time or energy to write. And now it is daunting and overwhelming to even attempt to write a “catch-up” blog post. But if I don't write and publish this post, I know that feeling of “block” will just multiply and balloon, and soon I will be considering discontinuing this blog.

So here is my attempt at summing up the ridiculously busy, very emotional last few months that have passed relatively undocumented.

Ember turned three years old (THREE YEARS OLD!!) on October 13^th. That same day, my father-in-law (Grampy, as he is now referred to for the kids' sake), whom I love and adore, had a stroke. The weeks that followed were (and continue to be) a whirlwind for our family.

I don't want to say too much about Grampy, or his recovery, or the impact this experience has had on my husband, our family, etc., because of course it is a private family matter. All I want to say is that I am incredibly inspired by Grampy's will and motivation, and by his ability to face this totally unexpected, shocking challenge with amazing strength of mind, body and spirit. I truly hope his recovery will be swift and complete, and that he will quickly return to participating in all of the activities he loves – fishing, walking, gardening, etc. We will all do whatever we can to support him in his recovery.

Aside from that, I've been adjusting to life as a stay at home mom. I've gotten used to the fact that there are good days and there are bad days in stay-at-home mothering, just as there are good days and bad days when working at any job. There are days when I feel like I have finally hit my stride, and have finally figured out the secret to being a happy parent, and the key to raising happy, well-rounded, somewhat well-behaved children. And then the NEXT DAY happens, full of tantrums and hair-pulling and pee pee accidents and exhaustion, and I feel like I am back at square one, that I have millions of things to learn about parenting, but absolutely no energy to actually LEARN those things. And then the NEXT DAY happens, and all is miraculously fine and good again.

Watching the two kids has gotten more complicated, especially since Oren started walking... and dancing... and spinning in circles until he gets dizzy and falls down on the ground. He is a joy-filled child (most of the time) who loves cuddling and snuggling and eating markers and pulling all of the tissues out of tissue boxes. He also, unfortunately, LOVES grabbing Ember's toys right out of her hand. He also LOVES pulling Ember's hair. He also LOVES pinching her hard on the arm. He also really LOVES stealing her juice.

Emmy retaliates by loving her brother a little TOO hard. She will play “smooshy head” with Oren, which basically consists of grabbing him and smooshing his head REALLY hard against her body. She also attempts to “carry” Oren by grabbing him around the neck and lifting UP (nearly decapitating him). She also LOVES giving Oren hugs that closely resemble strangulation.

Watching Emmy and Oren interact is a little like watching an episode of The Three Stooges (Oren would be Curly and Emmy would be Moe). But, because I am Em and O's mama, most of the time I am so concerned that one of them is going to land the other one in the emergency room, that I am unable to truly appreciate the comedy of it all. So my solution is to play the part of peace keeper, which means I just throw my body between the two kids and offer them snacks as a distraction.

And now we are on the edge of winter, which means soon each week will likely have one or both of the children ill with some rare disease, and our house will be full of used tissues and baby Tylenol, and playground visits will be replaced with visits to the doctor. I AM going to try to think positively, though, and will try to use the winter months as an opportunity: an opportunity to teach Em to recognize all (or most) of the letters of the alphabet, an opportunity to teach Oren new words, and an opportunity to eat Snoopy Snowcones on a daily basis.

I am not going to lie. I DO miss working outside the home. But the minute I think about returning to work (which I think about A LOT), I look at my two little mischief makers and wonder how I could get through a full workday without seeing their beautiful, silly faces.

So life continues, with each day being it's own unique adventure. I am hoping that I'll be able to blog a bit more often during the winter months, but I can't make any promises. These kiddos of mine require lots of time, attention, and brain power!