At about 9 months old, my sweet, calm, relatively quiet baby morphed into a wildly spirited, highly energetic, little boy! He gained a little mobility, took off full throttle, and hasn't looked back (except to let us know he is testing the boundary). I will admit I was not prepared for this. I mean, one minute he was laying on the floor playing under his little gym and the next he was crawling all over the house, climbing on EVERYTHING, and putting everything possible in his mouth. I felt like I needed two extra hands just to keep up with him. I only wish I had half the energy he has!
Don't even get me started on diaper changes, getting dressed, or heaven forbid, trying to leave the house in his carseat. His strength amazes me...he is as strong as an ox and as agile as a fox. As much as I don't want him to, I think he may have a career in football. All of this - his strong willed self, his curiosity, his adventurous spirit, his total lack of fear, his total "boy-ness"- was for me, exhausting.
Begin a stay-at-hom mom really became a challenge for me at this point. I was trying to keep up with the laundry, dishes, meal preparation/cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc. all while trying to entertain, encourage, and love on Sweet Jack. Needless to say, I was failing miserably at it all...low mom/wife point for sure. It took a tearful phone call to my mom (THANK YOU) to help me realize that my 9-5 (well 24 hour but you get the point) job is JACK. Not the laundry, not the dishes, not the cleaning (don't look in my bathroom!!), not the errand running. Just Jack.
This has definitely been the most challenging (and least expected) part of becoming a mom. I thought I would have it all together all the time. WRONG. But I can admit it and I have learned from it (well, it's a learning process). For this season, life isn't about having it all together all the time. It's about being together all the time. It's about joyful giggles as we run around the den. It's about impromptu trips to the park to swing and slide. It's about painting on our highchair tray with green beans and butternut squash. It's about sweet sleepy snuggles and all of the amazing "firsts" this little miracle is learning each and every day.
Because of this realization, our new motto is "Whatever Works". If taking out every single pot, pan, and cookie sheet and banging them with every spoon and spatula, that's what we'll do...because for that day, that "noise" is the most beautiful music I've ever heard. If it means standing in the carseat or driver's seat for 10 minutes before we can actually leave the house, so be it...where do we have to be anyway? If it means carrying Jack home from our walk while pushing the stroller (over 1.5 miles, people!) that's what we'll do and I'll be thankful for my awesome mom arms! If it means loads of laundry and piles of dishes waiting to be done...SO BE IT!!
My life these days makes me think of this poem:
Don't even get me started on diaper changes, getting dressed, or heaven forbid, trying to leave the house in his carseat. His strength amazes me...he is as strong as an ox and as agile as a fox. As much as I don't want him to, I think he may have a career in football. All of this - his strong willed self, his curiosity, his adventurous spirit, his total lack of fear, his total "boy-ness"- was for me, exhausting.
Begin a stay-at-hom mom really became a challenge for me at this point. I was trying to keep up with the laundry, dishes, meal preparation/cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc. all while trying to entertain, encourage, and love on Sweet Jack. Needless to say, I was failing miserably at it all...low mom/wife point for sure. It took a tearful phone call to my mom (THANK YOU) to help me realize that my 9-5 (well 24 hour but you get the point) job is JACK. Not the laundry, not the dishes, not the cleaning (don't look in my bathroom!!), not the errand running. Just Jack.
This has definitely been the most challenging (and least expected) part of becoming a mom. I thought I would have it all together all the time. WRONG. But I can admit it and I have learned from it (well, it's a learning process). For this season, life isn't about having it all together all the time. It's about being together all the time. It's about joyful giggles as we run around the den. It's about impromptu trips to the park to swing and slide. It's about painting on our highchair tray with green beans and butternut squash. It's about sweet sleepy snuggles and all of the amazing "firsts" this little miracle is learning each and every day.
Because of this realization, our new motto is "Whatever Works". If taking out every single pot, pan, and cookie sheet and banging them with every spoon and spatula, that's what we'll do...because for that day, that "noise" is the most beautiful music I've ever heard. If it means standing in the carseat or driver's seat for 10 minutes before we can actually leave the house, so be it...where do we have to be anyway? If it means carrying Jack home from our walk while pushing the stroller (over 1.5 miles, people!) that's what we'll do and I'll be thankful for my awesome mom arms! If it means loads of laundry and piles of dishes waiting to be done...SO BE IT!!
My life these days makes me think of this poem:
Mother, O' Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth.
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due,
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek - peekaboo.
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew,
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo.
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo.
The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow,
But children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
~ Ruth Hulbert Hamilton
