Random Health Wisdom

I think that I will start posting little pearls when I am reminded of them. Some of them will likely have no reference included though be assured that I learned it somewhere reputable :)
#1 Don't drink "from concentrate" juice if you want to drink juice. It simply is not juice, it is sugar mixed with a little bit of leftover fruit parts. Even though it says 100% juice most of the time, if it says from concentrate, you might as well be drinking kool-aid. Instead, pick juices that say "pressed" or "not from concentrate"- they are all fruit without the concentrating process and high fructose corn syrup. Or get a juicer and make your own.... or just drink water and eat your fruit whole- that is better for your body pH anyway.

Out of Sight Out of Mind

"Mom- there's something wrong with my toe"
I have heard this same sentence with various nouns substituted for toe at least a hundred times in recent memory. When you are three years old, the dramatic comes easy and there are never any shortages of bumps and bruises to complain about. In fact, it is amazing that most little boys grow up with their toes still attached with the way they fearlessly conquer their tiny universe- he falls a LOT- he whines quite enough as well but when he says the SAME sentence over and over, it might be time to check into his complaint. It is easy to glance over his body at bathttime and make sure everything is in working order, but some of those spots aren't as easy to see- like the stinky dark crevices between his toes. It is this excuse that I (the good "doctor" momma) use for missing that my little athlete has athletes foot!!!! Bad mommy! My poor man has three crusty, peely, nasty sport toes on one foot. Apparently I need to wash between his toes a little more often so that FUNGAL LESIONS are spotted a little sooner. Anyway- I am sure it won't be the last time and it can't be too bad since he bathes with baby sister several times a week and she is fungus-free (as far as my keen observation skills can spot). Knowing is half the battle and acknowledging his complaint is probably more important than the cure, but for now his yucky little outbreak is swathed in raw garlic oil in hopes of clearing it up without 'tough acting tinactin' or something of the harsh variety. By tonight he might just have fungus-free stinky garlic toes...... and a new larger pair of tennis shoes!

Happily On The Road To Fungus-Free

Friday was National Wine Day- it is ironic because it is also the first time I have had red wine in a LONG time. I have had an occasional glass of white here and there but I am nursing so it doesn't happen very often. Well actually what is ironic is that said wine also made me sick and thus I will not be indulging in quite a long time.... It was seriously weird- I had 2 glasses, not 10- and that thought was in my head the entire time that I was puking in the bathroom. Anyway, I was baffled and not a little embarrassed. I think it was some weird reaction to the tannins maybe, honestly I don't know but it was not cool. It served one good function, and that was to remind me that college was not ALL good. I had been really missing the old times this week because of the lovely spring weather that always takes me back but when I woke up Saturday and felt just fine and snuggled with my cuties all day without the thought of finals, I was happily rooted in the present. Who'd have thought wine would do that?

<---------- there went my day

I am soooooo overwhelmed right now. I have totally been absent from blogging this week because I barely have time to brush my teeth, much less write, but today I just dropped my kids at the sitters and bought an iced coffee (yum) and decided I was going to take 30 minutes to myself before getting the day rolling. I am unfortunately at minute 21.....
I work from home (well most of the time- I do teach too, but only for about 10 hours per week). When I say this, moms always respond "Oh you are sooooo lucky! I wish I could work from home" to which I grit my teeth, smile and tell them how I am indeed blessed. And it is true- it IS a blessing- but to those of you who do this or who know me, it is NOT easy to balance. There is so much that goes into it because you don't have your work space to escape to if you need to actually get your work done. As a result, I feel in a constant state of treading water- there are always insurance calls to make that I didn't get to because the kids were hanging off me and yelling or the house to keep presentable for me patients, or all the teaching prep/grading that I have to do here because I don't have an office at school.
But yes, it is wonderful to be here with my kids much of the time and to not get out when the weather is yucky and I do take them to the sitters for a few hours each week to actually see patients here without the madness. I do have the best of both worlds (working and staying home) but I also have the worst of both worlds. When you look at it though, I am sure no mom ever feels like they are caught up- if you are a stay at home mom, you have stay at home kids which means there are a zillion more things to deal with than if you took them to a babysitter everyday. If you are a full-time working mom, then you have to crowd all your parenting and housekeeping into the fewer hours at home. It is always hard but always worth it. For me, my life is totally a double edged sword but it is our sword. Hopefully I wield it well enough.
And now I am at minute 32 so I guess I better get to work.
A friend once told me to set a timer for 15 minutes and for that time devote all your energy to the task at hand whether it be paperwork, playing with the babies, alone time or cleaning. It sounds like it would help on some of these days but I must admit I've never done it. Anyone else have some ideas??
Ahhhh mminute 33!!!

Quiet Support

Sometimes we experience little moments that remind us that we are not alone, in more ways than one. It has NOT been easy lately- I feel like maybe my son is leaving the last half of his threatening third year in a giant blaze of tantrum glory. It is my hope that he miraculously wakes on his birthday as a sweet civilized and socially aware little man, but right now I just pray for a little daily peace. Several times this morning I asked for patience and guidance out loud, or just for a sign that I am doing okay. And then I randomly came across a St. Ann medal. She happens to be the patron saint of mothers, so this gave me significant pause but what was really amazing is that I truly don’t know where it came from. So thank you for the sign—I guess I am doing okay.

 

The Evolution of Name Calling

Last week Nolan called me "stew". I actually should spell it "stu" because he was in the midst of the word stupid when he realized that he was making a big punishable mistake. He rapidly learned that we don't call people stupid, among a slew of other words from who knows where he picked up- at least one came from the movie Cars; from the truck that calls Lightening McQueen a moron (or boron as it was repeated by my son) but I digress. He caught himself before the word came out but I felt like since the intent was there, he still deserved a time-out. I said, "Nolan, what did you call me?" to which he replied "What mom? I said stew- it's dinner". Touche. I had to laugh (inwardly) at his quick thinking and alas, he didn't get the time out. Now he has taken to calling us random innocuous names that can't get him in trouble but for the tone of his voice. Aaron was called a "wrinkle" this morning and me a "dump truck" (which was morphed into from the word dumb.... Even though we realize that we still have a lot of work to do, at least I need not fear outbursts of real curse words in church.

It turns out that Nolan does not see me as a mean momma (see previous post) but instead a snack distributor and sleep time enforcer. If I enter a room after any absence greater than 5 minutes he says one of two things: "Can I have a snaa-yack?" or "I'll go to bed in 2 minutes"..... I suppose he could say much worse so I will take it.
PS- Tonight's bedtime was without incident (so far)

Guilt and other mommy feelings

This parenting thing is HARD. Not just a little bit of a challenge but a cram for an entire semester and then still feel like you are winging it kind of thing... really freaking hard.
We have been shut into our house for days- weeks actually- because of winter onslaught and I am tired of all day arguments with 3 year olds and non-napping infants. It doesn't matter that I know better than to argue with someone without a fully formed frontal lobe, the kid really knows how to push my buttons. And he throws one heck of a tantrum.... so do I for that matter (I guess he is paying attention to at least one thing I say/do). Discipline has started to feel like a chore for me and does not seem to be working at all. I know I am not alone in this and truly I understand that the age has everything to do with it. One of these days my sweet faced boy will actually be "sweet" again but for now I just go day by day. Also he is completely jealous of his mommy hogging and perpetually enchanting baby sister! It is impossible to even out the attention since I nurse her 4 times during the day and she is in that clingy separation anxiety stage. So how do I make him feel loved and supported when half the day I am attached to his nemesis and the other half of the day he is in time-out for smashing her face into the floor or yelling at me??
Did I mention this is impossibly hard?! I am the primary disciplinarian because I only work part-time but at the same time, I feel like it is up to a mommy to be the ever present rock of support for a kid- the one who kisses the ouchies and tucks them into bed- acting a mom is an oxymoron for sure.
We have a deal that he gets 3 songs when he gets tucked in bed but in return he has to whisper and be quiet to not wake up baby sister (see earlier post)- entirely a work in progress. Tonight he ran yelling onto his room, slammed open the door and jumped into bed with a war cry. In return I told him (gulp- i knew the firestorm that would ensue) he was going to bed without a song because he was not quiet, that I loved him and would see him in the morning. Enter legendary tantrum, complete with screaming at the top of his tiny lungs, an awakened screaming baby to match and another headache for mom and dad. I retrieved the baby and my husband went to explain to him why it went down like it did. Hard enough, but then the guilt sets in. I am nearly in tears myself because I am again with the other baby while he cries himself to sleep in the other room BUT to go sing him his song would certainly be counterproductive.
Anyway, I just wanted to lament the feeling of a loss of tonight's happy little bedtime. The only consolation is that the under-developed, tantrum-prone neuroanatomy of a three year old will probably not remember me forever as the viscious mommy who ditched him in his time of need for his crying baby sister... but I will remember :(