Bad Mommy

I guess I can make regular contributions to this series...

I was cleaning up after breakfast, to hear Colin saying something to me. I couldn't hear, so I asked him to say it again, and he shouted, "Mommy! I'm riding Cara!!"

I ran straight to the kids... to find this going on.

Choices. Choices.

Joe adores Colin. He tells me everyday, after Colin goes to bed, just how much he loves him. And today was no different - in fact, I think Joe felt a little bit guilty when Colin took a big spill when they were playing together, and Joe's guilt started to eat him up, so he wanted to do something nice for Col.

This is how the conversation went:

Joe: Colin, because you were such a good boy, I'm going to give you some options to choose from.
Colin: Yeah.
Joe: Okay, option #1 is you can go to the candy store and buy a treat.
Colin: (nods)
Joe: Or, you can go to the school, and we can play in the park
Colin: (nods)
Joe: Or, #3, we can.... watch a family movie.
Colin: (nods)
Joe: or #4, we can build a really cool giant tent
Colin: (nods)

then there was silence.... because Joe was running out of really good enticing ideas to spoil Colin with... but then Col breaks the silence with his good idea

Colin: Number five. Triceratops.
Joe: Oh, that's a good idea, #5, or you could play with Triceratops. What do you want to do??

Colin: hmmm........ candy store! LET'S GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I'm perplexed at a couple of things here.... but hey, they're out of the house and I'm sitting here in silence so I'm not going to spend too much time pondering.

Bad Mommy

Part of the purpose of this blog, is to give people the realities of parenthood. I want to set your standards and expectations so low, and erase all this desire to be that super mom. When you're pregnant, your worst enemy is to have ideas of grandeur about motherhood - cause you'll be in for a shock when reality hits you like a brick wall.

So, I'll have a Bad Mommy series.... because... it happens. And don't feel bad when you do it - because we all do it. Even the supermoms do it - they're just too ashamed. But I, Sharon Lo, am shameless.... just ask my husband Joe.

Anyhow, onto my first Bad Mommy post.

I left Cara on the play mat so I could... do some online shopping. Okay, with that said... Old Navy was having a 25% off sale only today, AND it's free shipping, AND you can return things really easily.... so I get excited about shopping online at Old Navy.

Well, as I perused everything (it was a good 10-15 minutes), I clearly ignored Cara (i generally don't pay attention unless I hear whining or crying). When I finally got up, she was literally right beside me, at my feet.

Big Boy Bed

I have the pleasure of bragging. Every mom should be able to brag, because at some point in the future, the very children we are proud of will be the same children that will make us tear our own hair out.

Colin has been sleeping in his big boy bed for a while now (since he was 22 months). We set him up in the bed before Cara came along, so that we could use the crib for her (sensible right?). Ahh... but as the theme of my blog carries on.... 'laziness'.... Cara is not yet in her crib. Why? because the crib is too wide to fit through the door, and we'd have to take it apart and set it all up again downstairs. So... she's been sleeping in a bassinet on the floor.

Anyway, it turns out that our laziness has once again prevailed as pure genius parenting. When we switched Colin into his big boy bed, the crib was still in his room, and yes, I used fear as a technique for keeping him in bed. Fear, in my opinion, is a perfectly fine parenting tactic. We told him, if he gets out of his bed, he goes right back in the crib. And the prison cage thing-a-ma-crib was in plain sight.




And what are my results? Dare I say.... the most pleasant mornings EVER??? He doesn't get out of bed until I get in his room (even though he's awake and shouting), and sometimes he's just sitting there reading a book (I do leave books and toys in his bed for him so he can play or read himself to sleep)??!?!? Yes, my friends, it can happen. Just a little bit of fear and your child will too.

When you let me loose...

The past week was a pretty challenging one. First of all, HUGE thanks to my own mom for helping out when my kids were sick, and then I got sick too on top of it! It turned out to be Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. Not saying doctor's don't really know anything.... (and Joe, yes you are always right about doctor's being a little useless) - but every time I've gone in as a freakish mom that's worried (and stressed out from a sick kid), they just haven't been that helpful (and sometimes diagnose incorrectly!)

Here's what you do as a mom of sick kids. Survive the next 3-4 days, and they'll get over it. If the fever is really high and last for more than 48 hours, then go see a doctor... but otherwise Tylenol, and the tv are your best friends. In my case, get grandma to come over to help cook (my mother is on the neurotic side and goes full blown house cleaning and landscaping which I don't mind). If there's no grandma, hubby's pick up the slack and help cook and clean. The sicklings will ALWAYS want mom... just to be beside them... we're prisoners to our own children.

But they're all better now, and now I may blog my real blog. This was to sum up my week that I've been... a prisoner in my own home. On other weeks it's not so bad, but I'm still always with the kids... they are my social circle now. I'm hardly ever without them, and I hardly talk to other adults without them by my side.

Until this weekend.

I went to not 1, but TWO events. Joe was on super daddy baby sitting duty. The first was a bridal shower, and the second was a late night (so a real party I think??) Farewell party for a dear dear friend.

To put it nicely, when you let this mom out of her cage, I am a crazy social butterfly. I talk a mile a minute, I hug everyone, I am the life of a friggin party, and I talk to anyone and anything about everything under the sun. I don't want to toot my own horn, but if you want a serious fun time at a party - try getting together a bunch of stay-at-home-moms that haven't talked to other real life human beings older than 20 in a while.... it's amazing!! I have ACTUAL things to say, or I can keep that loner (you know, the friend that doesn't talk to anyone but you invite them anyway because you should?) company!!!

And the best part, I make my appearances brief so that I don't saturate the parties with too much butterfly talk. I do have kids to get home to, and a husband that probably is feeding my child goldfish crackers for lunch.

An Joe sure notices it - every time I come home from something social it's like I've gone to a fairyland and came home in a bubble. I'm just a pile of happiness and fluff and sometimes he doesn't know what to make of it.... but he's aware that this mom needs to be 'out' sometimes. Just to get a taste of what the world is like without kids, if even for only a minute.

Rock and Roll Baby Girl

She is just having a stellar month. In her lifetime she has achieved so much - being birthed, latching, learning to projectile poo, and most recently sitting (yet to be mastered). And today she did another amazing feat..... please enjoy the video!

Chingrish

We were just at a restaurant with PoPo, and since we are Chinese, the restaurants we eat at generally have chopsticks. And we let Colin play with them. He makes letters now (not just drums with them) and he was making the letter E.

Me: What words start with the letter E?
Colin: Elephant!
Me: what else?
Colin: ummm..... Eggs!
PoPo: woooww good job Colin!! and Ent! Ent!


Me: no no mother. 'Ant' starts with the letter A.

Good thing PoPo isn't the one teaching him the alphabet.