Holding Down the Fort: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
I started this blog when I decided to stay home from regular lawyering to be with my two kids. I wanted to chronicle my experience from working full time as a lawyer to being a stay at home mom. Life has certainly got in the way of regular blogging, but times are a changin' at our house. The oldest was just 2 1/2 back then, and I am getting ready to send him off to kindergarten in three days. The baby is now in a big girl room and just about out of diapers (hello, extra $50 a month!). So, I have been reflecting lately on how eventful this staying home journey has been. Full of ups and downs, moments of shame and victory, and containing the longest consecutive streak of "gym shorts days" of my life. So here are a few of the most memorable moments of taking on the daily task of full-time home management - the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.
THE GOOD
Two words: Beach and Pool. Enough said. Snuggling in the bed in the morning. Getting to come up with crafts and songs and activities to do with them and feeling accomplished when they are successful. Being there for preschool parties and field trips. Actually being home and having supper cooked when my husband gets home. Knowing their personalities well enough to understand that you don't truly parent your children exactly the same - and that's OK. Play dates, homemade forts, movie days and backyard obstacle courses. Having a strong hand in their spiritual upbringing. Watching them become friends with each other. Seeing the first steps, hearing the first words, cheering as they swim across the pool alone for the first time or finally figure out how to put on their own clothes. Love. This. Stuff.
THE BAD
Whining, whining and crying. And whining. Zero bathroom privacy. 24 hours a day. Accompanied by inquisitive stares and random questions regarding differences in anatomy. Play date disasters (I don't wanna play with him!). Lifting or exposing of "no-no zone" body parts in public, such as the expected front shirt pull down with a "these your boobies?!" remark and the not so expected back of the skirt lift in the ticket line for a Double A baseball game. Realizing that they have learned to turn the TV on themselves when you walk in on them watching an intense episode of Criminal Minds. Sibling arguments over whether it's a diaper or a pull-up. Sibling arguments over toys. Sibling arguments over everything possible.
THE UGLY
Having to leave a full cart of groceries in the store because of a quick deterioration over a chocolate donut. Screams of "MOMMY, I'm pooping! Help me, help me! Oh, the poop! The poop!" in an otherwise quiet, but very public, room. Learning the benefits of door locks after being walked in on in the shower by my son and a neighbor boy. (Yes, it happened. Yes, it was totally horrifying.) Battling Little Miss Must Be Naked. Getting a little too upset over spilled juice on a freshly mopped floor (definitely guilty). Realizing that little boys must think of their anatomy as an attached toy.
I'm truly resisting quoting from The Facts of Life theme song here, but suffice it to say, all of the above has made and continues to make this adventure in raising little ones the best time of my life. What a privilege to raise them, hang out with them, teach them and love them. And what a joy to put them to bed at night for just a little bit of reprieve!
THE GOOD
Two words: Beach and Pool. Enough said. Snuggling in the bed in the morning. Getting to come up with crafts and songs and activities to do with them and feeling accomplished when they are successful. Being there for preschool parties and field trips. Actually being home and having supper cooked when my husband gets home. Knowing their personalities well enough to understand that you don't truly parent your children exactly the same - and that's OK. Play dates, homemade forts, movie days and backyard obstacle courses. Having a strong hand in their spiritual upbringing. Watching them become friends with each other. Seeing the first steps, hearing the first words, cheering as they swim across the pool alone for the first time or finally figure out how to put on their own clothes. Love. This. Stuff.
THE BAD
Whining, whining and crying. And whining. Zero bathroom privacy. 24 hours a day. Accompanied by inquisitive stares and random questions regarding differences in anatomy. Play date disasters (I don't wanna play with him!). Lifting or exposing of "no-no zone" body parts in public, such as the expected front shirt pull down with a "these your boobies?!" remark and the not so expected back of the skirt lift in the ticket line for a Double A baseball game. Realizing that they have learned to turn the TV on themselves when you walk in on them watching an intense episode of Criminal Minds. Sibling arguments over whether it's a diaper or a pull-up. Sibling arguments over toys. Sibling arguments over everything possible.
THE UGLY
Having to leave a full cart of groceries in the store because of a quick deterioration over a chocolate donut. Screams of "MOMMY, I'm pooping! Help me, help me! Oh, the poop! The poop!" in an otherwise quiet, but very public, room. Learning the benefits of door locks after being walked in on in the shower by my son and a neighbor boy. (Yes, it happened. Yes, it was totally horrifying.) Battling Little Miss Must Be Naked. Getting a little too upset over spilled juice on a freshly mopped floor (definitely guilty). Realizing that little boys must think of their anatomy as an attached toy.
I'm truly resisting quoting from The Facts of Life theme song here, but suffice it to say, all of the above has made and continues to make this adventure in raising little ones the best time of my life. What a privilege to raise them, hang out with them, teach them and love them. And what a joy to put them to bed at night for just a little bit of reprieve!
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