You'll Always Be My Baby

I often forget how spoiled I have become in the past year with having two children who predictably go to bed in the evenings and allow me to have time to myself and with Classic Old Spice but there is nothing that jolts that realization back into my brain quicker than a babe that for some reason (molars, allergies, ear infections - the list is endless) won't sleep.
Just last night my little guy (the one who is not occupying my womb) had the most difficult time sleeping and cried out at half hour intervals for about two to three hours. Each time I went to check on him, he was sitting straight up in his crib with the very most pathetically-sad expression while belting out a heartbreaking cry that would melt even the heart of Joan Crawford (remember the spooky "Mommy Dearest" movie? I think of her every time I throw away a wire hanger). You would have to be the most cold-hearted person on the planet to not pick this little muffin up out of his bed and cuddle and hug the daylights out of him. Yes, I am fully-aware that the "sleep experts", particularly the one I swear by (Marc Weisbluth, Healthy Sleep, Healthy Baby), say to never pick up a crying older baby from their crib hence they will simply be conditioned to your cuddles and love and do this each night, but sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind and go with what your mommy instinct tells you to do. Mine told me to pick that little Bubba Boo up and sit in that infamous green rocking chair until he settled down a bit so I did it. Immediately, I was shocked by the length of him - though my lap is pretty much non-existant right now since I am 40 weeks pregnant, I was still baffled by how much he had grown in just the past year alone. I was transported to a year ago when he was a little three month old peanut with acid-reflux and colic and cried constantly; it is amazing to think he is now this little being that laughs, claps his hands, dances to all kinds of music (particulary likes the "Happy Working Song" from the "Enchanted"movie and Dierks Bentley), walks, runs, runs some more, runs, and runs. He has recently taken to climbing on anything he can climb upon and has figured out how to open the door that leads from our hall to the garage - something Missy Moo just figured out how to do within the last six months or so. The physical prowess of boys is baffling - especially when your first child is a girl. Regardless, as I held this little guy who is trying to assert his independence from me but yet still needs me for love when his molars are hurting and will lay his head on my shoulder in the quiets of the night, I admit that I take advantage of the opportunity. He is so much on the go these days that to get cuddle time during the waking hours would alarm me - it would mean he was ill or injured because to hold him longer than 30 seconds invariably results in the arched back, "squirmy worm" pose, as Missy Moo calls it, and, if he is really angry, will add his high-pitched shriek that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand at attention. As he transitions from babyhood to the toddler world, to, eventually, preschool world, elementary world, preteen, God-forbid, teenage years, he will always hold the face I see now. The blonde curls that get curlier in the humidity and after running in the sprinkler, the chocolate brown eyes that replicate his daddy so closely it is scary, and well, the dimples. I have talked enough about the dimples but alas, they melt me. He will always be my baby - so much so that I am sure I will become one of those mothers that his wife/girlfriend will hand the phone over to him some wintry morning and say "It's your mother. She wants to be sure you are wearing your coat and that you have a scarf, gloves, and hat..." I am certain that later that same day, the same said woman will be having cosmos with her girlfriends and say things like "Samuel's mom is just so overbearing. For God's sakes, she called this morning to see if he was wearing his coat!" I know this because I have been that woman and said similar things about guys I have dated and the one I married. Now that I am a mommy, I get it - I will try my hardest not to become this (I am also fairly certain that if I do, Classic Old Spice will deprive me of all communication devices) but even if I don't make that call someday, it will be in my heart. And of course, not just for Bubba Boo. I marvel at the young girl Missy Moo is becoming - I love the sweet and funny things she says and I am astounded by her beauty and innocence, and yet, when I look into her eyes, I see the sweet face that greeted me upon exiting my womb and turned my world inside out by forcing me to wear my heart outside of my body. There is nothing like the birth of the first though you of course love all of your children and cherish each of their birth stories. What they all have in common? Even when they are 40, this mommy will still see the face of that baby...

Grossology

I will be completely honest and admit that I was not really prepared for the immense amount of occasions that I would be discussing bodily functions in such detail before I became a mother - I have found so many times recently that I am no longer caught off-guard by talking about bowel movements and their contents/shape/color/size or the fact that I would be having a discussion with my three year old about where and where it is not appropriate to wipe "boogers". Let's simply look at just this past 24 hours...As I have mentioned before, I have a small (OK, BIG) problem with bladder control (those keeping track, I am STILL pregnant and due next week) these days and the smallest sneeze, cough, or laugh can force me to have to change my pants (thank God Missy Moo is now potty-trained - she is the only person who is home during the day that does not require frequent change of drawers). So after my doctor's appointment today, I treated myself to a fantastic chicken salad sandwich and Sunchips from one of my favorite deli's in Indianapolis. While driving on 465 West, the smallest of small Sunchip went down the wrong pipe and forced me to cough deliriously and yes, you guessed correctly...Suffice it to say, I then was forced to put napkins in my panties in an attempt to absorb the small accident that had occurred (is this TMI - even for my blog? Oh dear...I have lost my filter). I can only imagine what the drivers around me were thinking as they saw an almost 39 week pregnant woman driving down the interstate reaching into her panties...Luckily, this was a small leak (I have learned to flex down there very quickly) and was quickly rectified so I was able to move on to finishing my lunch and retrieve Missy Moo from summer camp in a timely manner. We made it home only to discover that she needed to have a "poopie" and became quite alarmed when it appeared to be blue and truthfully, I did as well. Just as I was about to call her pediatrician since I was convinced she had some rare disease of the bowels, I remembered the cupcake she ate with fluoresent blue icing on July 4. There is was, making another appearance for us all! I was then able to get Bubba Boo down for his nap and moved on to Missy Moo where I read a quick story and tucked her in. I was sprinting for the door (I MUST sleep for at least an hour in the afternoons these days) when Missy Moo says "Oh mommy - I had a booger but it is gone now." Of course, I stopped in my tracks and calmly asked her where she placed this "booger" at which she replied, with a proud smile, "on top of my Dora Talking House." Sure enough, there is was in all of it's glory thus prompting me on the forementioned discussion as to where and where it is not appropriate to wipe our noses. I must admit that her response was priceless - she simply stated, in her three year old innocence, "Oops - sorry, Mommy." Now who could ever keep a straight face on this one? And while Missy Moo is the subject of most of this grossology just today, it is usually Bubba Boo who takes the cake in this category. A few nights ago, the poor little guy had a horrific-smelling diaper, was wet from playing in a bowl of water outside not to mention sudsy due to his fascination with bubbles, had a runny nose, and one could see actual dirt on his face. Yes, "all-boy" I know and of course, would I take them any other way? Now as far as Classic Old Spice goes, I plead the spousal confidentiality card on this one...