Here Comes the Sun

It’s that time of year again. The time of year when trees start to get their buds, flowers start to pop up out of no where, and insects literally come out of the wood works. This is also the time of year when I begin to lose my mind.

Up until this point in the winter, I at least have the sun to help me wake up in the mornings. But now, now I have to try to rise without the sun shining…and I’m not very good at that. So who do we have to blame for this lack of sun in the morning? Well, a few people actually.

Benjamin Franklin is credited with proposing something similar to Daylight Saving Time in 1784, but nothing ever came from it. George Vernon Hudson was an English entomologist who worked shift work and therefore, in 1895, proposed a two hour shift in time during the warmer months so people could take advantage of extra light in the evenings. Hudson’s proposal was introduced to the House Of Commons in a bill in 1908, but was not passed. Germany and it’s allies first implemented Daylight Saving Time in 1916 as a way to conserve coal. After the U.S. entered the war in 1917, politicians decided it seemed like a good idea, and DST was passed in 1918.

So now that we’ve had a little history lesson, what have we learned? What I’ve learned is that Daylight Saving Time is an antiquated ritual, not unlike the electoral college, which has good points, but mainly needs to just be done away with. I guess until that happens I’ll just have to be happy with more light at night, and start having my coffee automatically brew in the morning.

Thus Begins a New Era

It is my personal belief that not only can you measure a child's development based on his age, but also based on phases. Currently, Aj is in the "Push Mommy's buttons until she explodes in a storm of anger" phase. Until now, Caleb was in the "Hanging out doing what Mommy asks me to and being hyper" phase. This was quite the relief considering his previous phases: "I'm a cutie so I'm going to try to get away with as much as possible"; "Mommy will get tired of punishing me if I keep doing the same thing"; and "It will be a miracle if you live to see five".

Now, however, we are entering a new phase. Thus begins the era of "I'm going to act like the other kids I see." You can imagine how thrilled I am about this, considering I find other children terribly annoying. The worst is when he tries to imitate their laughs and mannerisms. I actually told him the other day that I don't want other kids, that I want Caleb. He got it for about five minutes. Unfortunately, this takes hyper to a whole new level. I understand what it's like to have a lot of energy, so normally I let it go for as long as possible before I tell him to chill out. The problem is, now when I tell him to chill out, he continues to act ridiculous until I'm forced to yell at him. Sometimes even after I yell, he keeps it up. I'm going to have to start coming up with creative punishments for this one.

So if you're a mother who sees her child going through this phase, take heart. You're not alone. I'm sure it can't last long....right?

Play Ball!

It's that wonderful time of year when spring training begins and kids all over the country start signing up for little league. Last night, Caleb and I went to the local municipal building to sign him up for baseball. You can't imagine how excited this kid is! He was practically jumping up and down in his booster seat on the way there! I'm excited that he's finally going to have a good outlet for all of his energy, but there's a few things I'm honestly not too excited about.

I know that with my husbands work schedule he won't be able to make all the games. I know that for the most part, I'm going to have to cart Caleb to practice and games by myself. No, I'm sorry, not by myself. I'll have Aj to keep me company...Heaven help us. That's going to be the really interesting part: me keeping Aj occupied while simultaneously trying to watch Caleb play. Should be fun.

Here's what I'm really excited about: the look on Caleb's face when he gets his first hit in a game; his reaction the first time he catches the ball; practicing with him in the yard and watching him get better and better. I can't wait to watch him play and learn about being a good sport. I'm happy he has an opportunity to make new friends.

Overall, I think this is a wonderful experience for both of us, and I can't wait to let the good times roll!

Play ball!

Above All Else

There will be many times in our adult life that we are required to do things we don't want to do. We will deal with mediocre jobs because they pay the bills. We will suffer through all the tasks we are required to do in a day because they happen to be part of life. As much as we hate it, we do it, and for no other reason than we are supposed to.

A problem arises, however, when things other people require us to do interfere with being a parent. The question then becomes, "What in the world should I do?" The answer, simple as it is, isn't easy: your children come above all else. We give up things we love all the time for our children. For instance, there have been many times I wanted to go to a concert, or a sporting event, or a party, but couldn't because of the kids. Those are things I readily give up, knowing when I chose to have kids, it was my choice and would require me to give some things up. If we can give up things we want to do for our children, we should be able to give up things that would affect our parenting.

Not so long ago, I gave up a career in which I could be making good money so I could be home with my kids. I knew this job wouldn't allow me to call out if the kids were sick, and I would be away from them for over 12 hours a day three to four days a week. Many other people can do this, and it works out just fine. But for me, the thought of it was sickening, and I gave it up.

We all have to make tough decisions in our lifetime, but let's all make sure that we consider our children first and foremost, and I applaud those who do this successfully.

My Little Stinkbug

Three years ago today, I received a phone call at five in the morning asking me if I wanted to have a baby that day. Because I was extremely uncomfortable, my response was, "Absolutely!" Over the river and through parts of Delaware we went to the hospital, and were in a room by seven AM. Almost as soon as I was in a gown, my doctor came in and broke my water. It wasn't long before the contractions I had been having for weeks got stronger and more painful. Epidural- please and thank you. For one reason or another, it took them three tries to get the needle in the right spot. I think the bruise it left was the exact size and shape of Texas. Anyway, by the time the anaesthesiologists were finished, I was eight centimeters dilated. How's that for progress? Enter doctor, who I thought was going to say, "OK, I'll check on you again in a little bit." Instead he says, "Awesome, let's get ready to push." Not what I was expecting to hear two hours after my arrival at the hospital. Twenty-five minutes after I started pushing, Arthur Jay made his grand entrance into the world! To this day, he is my little stinkbug! Mommy loves you!

It's Going to be a Long Summer.

What President's Day means to children:

I have a four day weekend? Awesome! I can play and have fun! I can stay up later and watch movies! I don't have to wear my uniform! This is going to rock!

What President's Day means to parents:

Crap. They have a four day weekend. They're going to want to stay up later, and I'm going to have to deal with their whiny butt all day.

I know this sounds awful, but after my experience this past weekend, it's pretty much the truth. I tried to make it a pleasant weekend for everyone, but my most valiant efforts failed. I let him stay up later and "read" his books. Sunday, we spent the majority of the day hanging out on the couch watching Star Wars. They even went to Chuck E Cheese for a birthday party on Saturday! Don't get me wrong, it was really nice getting to spend time with Caleb, and he got to spend time with his Daddy on Monday going on a walk through the woods, but by Monday night all I could think was, "I'm so glad he's going back to school tomorrow."

Go on, call me "Mother of the Year", I know it sounds horrible. And it is. But mothers of hyper little boys will probably understand. He and Aj were constantly fighting over toys, begging me for something, whining at me or just running around yelling for no reason. Needless to say, it can be frustrating and wearing. All I know is that it's going to be a really long summer, but at least I'll be able to let them play outside.

Another Lesson to Learn From My Child

Yesterday was a pretty long day for Caleb. After waking up at about 6:30, in typical Caleb fashion, he went to school all day, then came home and immediately we packed up and went to his grandmother's house. He got to play there all night while my husband and I went out for Valentine's Day  dinner. We didn't get home until almost nine, and his usual bedtime is seven. To say the least, he was tired. He was so tired he was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Most mornings, I don't have to wake him up so he can get ready for school. Most of the time, he's awake before I am, and sometimes he's already eaten breakfast by the time I get up (there's at least one good thing about Poptarts). Well this morning, apparently he needed some extra sleep. When I woke up, both kids were still sleeping and the house was completely quiet. Oh how I wanted to crawl back into bed. Well, something made me stay up, against my better judgment, and a few minutes later Aj woke up. So there we sat, watching TV and trying to figure out if I should wake Caleb up or not. I decided I wasn't going to wake him up, and if he missed school, so be it. The kid is five years old and hasn't missed a day of school yet. I don't think one day would hurt. So at about 20 after seven, he comes strolling out of his room rubbing sleep from his eyes. I asked him how he was feeling, and he said, "Oh I just had to sleep a long time. I have school today?" At this point, I literally have 20 minutes to get him ready to go. However, I decided if he could get ready in time, he could go to school and we started to it. He scarfed down some breakfast and I threw a few bucks in his folder so he could buy lunch. And in no time flat, and with a little to spare, he was ready to walk out the door before the bus was here.


Once again, I'm amazed by the dedication of my child. He was so tired this morning, and probably would have spent most of the day on the couch watching TV. Instead, he woke up with an eager heart and did what he had to do. If only I could wake up in the morning with that kind of conviction and inspiration. Maybe we can all learn a lesson from our children, who do what is expected, because it is expected, even if they don't feel like it.