The Other Side of the Fence

Staying home ain't easy.  I will first preface this in saying that I love the chance that I have to be with my son each and every day and those of you that have to take on a part time or full time job with parenting earn my highest respect. My list of benefits would greatly out number this list that many of you will find as petty.  Yet everyone has their "grass is always greener" aspects of life and these would be mine.
1. Minimal adult interaction.  I do try to get out to a baby/momma aerobics class and do frequent the park, but nothing is like having an adult conversation that does not revolve around teething or nap times. I find it difficult to discuss the situation in Libya with a fifteen month old.    
2.  Abundance of snacks.  You are home all day and therefore all of your favorite foods are right at hand, not carefully packaged in your lunch bag for portion control. 
3.  I probably spend 60% of my day in the kitchen. Making breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Cleaning up from each meal, and then again foraging for snacks that I don't need.
4.  Feeling of being chained to the house by the ever important feeding and nap times.  Initially nursing made it virtually impossible to leave the house, now trying adhere to the nap time so that meltdowns aren't inevitable by dusk make me feel quite antsy for outdoor exposure come nighttime.  There have been times where I have only left my house in 4 days to go for a walk or a run in a 2 mile radius of the house.  I don't know what is going on beyond First Colonial Rd.  
5.  I am quite proficient at keeping myself busy with day to day chores and monthly tasks in housework.  Yet when it comes to finishing my child's scrapbook that hasn't been touched in a YEAR, no dice.  Long term projects or ones that are involved go by the wayside. If I cant do it in 15 minutes, then it isn't going to happen.  
6.  I do still have those lingering feelings of being an unproductive citizen when I have to tell people that I no longer teach and I stay home with my son.    I have happily accepted this role as a SAHM, but do feel that maybe I should use some free time (what the hell is that?!) towards the community.
7.  Financial strain.  Luckily we have been living on one income for many years now and my husband and I tend more to be in the tightwad category, but nothing takes the fear out of knowing that each paycheck has to be carefully scrutinized and any major delineations from this may send me into a panic.  
8. Superwoman complex.  Due to #6 and #7, one may feel a sense of duty in needing to do it all in order to make a contribution to the family.  In the year or so that I have become a mother, I am learning that it is unfair to assume that the stay at home person needs to take care of positively everything in the house and it is also impossible.  
9. Mommy needs a break too.  Some of you are blessed with children that will nap for 2 or more hours at a time.  Never mine, unless he was sick.  The second I shut that door for a nap, I am off like a sprinter to complete as many tasks in the span of 45 minutes to sometimes an hour and a half I could get completed.  This does not mean that I have a opportunity to catch a show or enjoy a cup of coffee (or a meal for that matter) sitting down. My son does go to bed early, but by that time I am so wiped that my poor husband and I just sit on the couch like sloths, unable to come up with a menial conversation.  
10.  Appearance failure.  I always thought it was silly that 1950's housewives cleaned and cooked in dresses and pearls, but I do think there is some bearance on feeling the need to get dressed up each day and one's self esteem.  These days, dressed up means wearing shoes instead of slippers, having matching sweats on, and drying my hair yet only because it is cold outside. I tried to look like a normal human a few times in case the mailman comes to the door, but eventually I was covered in boogers, squash, and bleach spots on my favorite shirt.    

15 Month Snapshot

I admit that I have been a terrible blogger as of late, chasing my son around takes up much of my free time and renders me a vegetable on the couch after bedtime most nights that I am quickly falling behind in my updates. 

I find it truly amazing and terrifying how much my little guy is growing up these days. It seems that we took a trip for the holidays and brought back a completely different child who can communicate, walk, and whose little personality is becoming plain as day.  At our check up, he is still falling off the charts in size, but his chubby cheeks and insatiable appetite are no verdict on his measurements.  He finally had 3 teeth bust through at the age of 15 and a half months, and I have to constantly remind myself that I have another task to take care of at bedtime.  He loves to be outside in any weather, is more interested in the wheels of cars than he is at the playground equipment, can actually sit still and look a books for several minutes, yet is otherwise in constant motion. What mother doesn't do a little comparison to other kids? My child vs. my neighbor's child.  The little guy next door will stand and watch as my son runs and touches the cars 3 doors down, then falls in a puddle, runs to our front stoop and throws the dirt out of the planter, pulls a handful of leaves off a bush, and does about 3 laps around our driveway.  This might happen in the span of 5 minutes.  Wow. You wonder where I have been huh?  I am learning that I need to keep this one entertained with mobile objects; so the exercise ball is once again a family fave, any cylindrical object is now a toy, and my dog is willingly becoming a pony.  
He will still eat just about anything, but has definitely found favorites in bananas (nanas), bread, Cheerios, and eggs.  It is definitely like having mini version of my husband when it comes to meal preparation!  
The doctor also wanted basically a list of all the words that he can say, I know he has many things that he can say, yet under the pressure I forgot about half of them!  Let me try some recall here: nana, mama, dada, good girl(for Sierra), good, hot, ball, agua, bread, milk (ma), mas (more), bubbles, bath, dogs go woof woof, monkeys go ah ah, cats go mah, tick tock for clock, bike, car, bell, hat, I'm sure I could figure out more, but this is better than what I produced at the doctor's office!
He definitely has sorted out his likes and dislikes, animals capture his attention, he does not like being told no, and is happiest when I let him run around and discover his world, especially our garage!  I am once again happy to have the opportunity to bear witness to the changes that happen on a daily basis. 

It's About Time

This looks like torture to get a tiny glimpse

I feel like I have been posting about impending teeth for some time now, and I must say that I blame my major lack of knowledge on the subject led me to believe that teeth were right around the corner almost a year ago.  This parenting learning curve is a tough path man.  We now officially have a tooth, my dear boy must have caught on that his much younger buddies were beginning to out-teethe him so he felt that at 15 months it was time to knuckle up.  I must say that I think the painful part is when the teeth are coming towards the surface, as my little guy has actually been sleeping longer the past few days. 
Good-bye gummy grin, I will miss you.