Politely Defiant

Hubby and I work encourage E to use “please” and “thank-you” on a regular basis.  I can tell it’s working:

RJ:  E, can you help Mommy pick-up the toys?

E:  No, thanks.

Hmm… I guess it was in a question form…

We are also teaching him about being kind to Z.  This is also working:

Z:  (Trying to grab toys from E)

E:  Z, please don’t touch my toys.

Z:  (Completely ingoring E because he’s 1 continues to grab toys.)

E:  Z, I said please.

Z:  (Still ignoring E because he’s 1, successfully grabs a toy and starts to run!)

E:  (Grabs Z’s shirt, yanks him back, and snatches his toy back)  Z, I’M TRYING TO BE NICE!

Ah, brotherly love.

Lucky

Most days, hubby stays home with the kids during the day so I only have a few chores in the morning:  get dressed (myself that is), change diapers (the kids), and nurse the little one (soon that chore will drop off).  Other tasks that I generally try to accomplish include getting the kids dressed and getting the older one to eat breakfast.  But if I don’t–it’s no big deal.

Today I had to do it all.

Hubby was not staying home.  And he was gone early.

I had prepared as much as I could the night before: packed the diaper bag, washed the bottles, got little one’s baby food ready, packed my pump, and prepared an overnight egg casserole (I hate cereal and try not to eat it).

I debated getting up at 5:30, but decided that 6:00 would do as long I wasn’t going to hit snooze like I do many mornings.  (I ended up hitting snooze once but got up mid-snooze–I call that success).

I was mostly ready by the time I heard the kids at 6:45.

The pack-n-play folded up like a dream.  Usually I fight with the “easy-push” buttons to collapse it, but not today.

My bribes were effective in getting the two-year-old to eat the eggs.  We were able to find both shoes with just a short hunt.  And he didn’t cry to wear his “Cars” shirt.  The motorcycle shirt was just fine today.

We were out the door by 7:45.  Traffic was a dream.  I pulled into the parking lot of work within 5 minutes of my targeted time.

Yeah, I was lucky today.

Playing “mommy”

My 2-year old, like all 2-year olds, mimics what he sees.  So it shouldn’t have surprised me when I noticed him playing “mommy”.

He filled up the compartment on his truck with toys.  Rode it around the basement a little bit.  Got off the truck and yelled: “Home from work!”  Took all the toys out of his truck and said: “Put my bottles away”.

Apparently, just like mommy does when she comes home from work with little brother’s milk that she pumped during the day.

He also likes to snatch my breast shield off the counter, put it on his belly and proudly exclaim, “Mommy, I’m pumping!”

Love that kid!

My children are worth more than that

I’m always a little disappointed when I see articles calculating the cost of raising children.  In this latest article one child can “cost” as much as $377,040 over the first 17 years of that child’s life.  (Now 1/3 of that cost is housing–housing?!–don’t I already live in a house when I have the child…is this really an extra cost?)  Anyway, I find these articles sad because I know both my children are worth an unknown amount more than $377,040.  My children may require me to spend my income in ways that I didn’t spend it before kids, but the knowledge and joy I’ve gained from having my children is uncalculabe.  For example, I’ve become increasingly patient and much better at communicating.  And the great big smile from my little one  that greets me every morning is the best jump start to any day.  In the background, of course, is my 2-year old whining about wanting an apple and crying that he wants to stay in his wet diaper… but all that fades away when he asks me for a hug while I’m doing my hair and make-up in the morning.  I love my kids and believe they’re worth every dollar (and more) I spend on them (defintely more, since they get a lot of hand-me-downs!)