dude mom

weekend wrap up //

April 14, 2015 by Rachel 2 Comments

Friday //

After a long day at work and a long day at the sitter for Moosh, we wound up at our favorite local indoor play place, Café O’Play, to try and burn off whatever energy he had left.

He had fun, but that quickly turned into a meltdown. So we headed home thinking the dude was just exhausted. And he was. So we put him to bed and Chad and I settled into bed to watch Going Clear on HBO. If you haven’t seen this documentary, go right now and watch it. Totally messed up!

Well Moosh never fell asleep. Like, he really wouldn’t. Three-plus hours of him talking in his crib. Finally at 11 PM, still wide awake and screaming “MOMMY!” from his crib, I ended up bringing that booger into bed with us. He finally fell asleep; we didn’t. That always makes for a fun night.

Saturday //

We slept in for as long as we could. But we had places to be! A couple of months ago I registered us for a visit and tour at the NASA Glenn Research Center. Moosh was ornery, considering he was running on a few hours of sleep. But he was a champ. He sat through a 35-minute “safety” discussion (which was mostly a discussion and powerpoint presentation on the history of aviation).

When we visited the Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory — also known as the “Dome of Silence;” where they test noise-reduction methods for aviation. Chad was intrigued, Moosh was bored. Luckily the giant dome was sound resistant so everytime he yelled “MY CHOCOLATE MILK!,” which is his go-to crazy-pants, I’m-so-tired, phrase, very few people were interrupted from the tour.

It was definitely a really cool facility. But nearing the two-hour mark really put Moosh at his limit. We planned on grabbing a real sit-down lunch afterward, but we decided to just hit up Earth Fare. We needed to grocery shop anyway so we grabbed lunch first to calm the beast (aka – Moosh), and then did all of our shopping!

I seriously LOVE family grocery shopping. I love that time we spend time together planning meals and planning for our week. By the time we came home, we were well past a time to actually get Moosh to nap; so we all just relaxed for most of the afternoon. But I had a massage scheduled for 8PM. At first I thought “WHY in the WORLD did I schedule this for a time that is way beyond PJs-o’clock?!” but it really was exactly what I needed.

Sunday //

We slept in, thanks in large part for forgetting to bring the baby monitor to our room! Ha! Woopsie! It was a beautiful morning so we headed out to the Towpath Trail to get in a run/family walk! I ran for a few miles and caught back up with Chad and Moosh in the stroller. And I’d like to say that I made the most of the beautiful day, but in truth I cleaned the whole house and napped in bed for about 2 hours while Chad watched baseball. Perfection!

While Chad and Ari went back outside to play, I finished up the dinner that Chad started — taco salad bowls with Chad’s homemade cilantro slaw and avocado! Delicious!

You would think after a long weekend, short on sleep, Ari would be ready for bed at an early hour. But nope! He wanted to take a late-night trip with me to Target for a few odds and ends. Anyone out there deal with a 2-to-3 year sleep regression?? I’ve read a little about it, but I cannot figure out if that’s what this is!

It really was another fabulous weekend. And I couldn’t be happier. <3

life with a toddler // upgrading to a big boy room!

April 12, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

When we were prepping for Ari’s arrival some 3 years ago, we decided to turn our upstairs spare bedroom — the room right across the hall from us — into his nursery.

We painted, we prepped, we crafted, and we put all of the furniture together. Well, the best laid plans, friends. Cause we used the nursery for all of about 2 months (and those weren’t even the first months of his life) before we decided that his room really should be in the downstairs bedroom. It mostly had to do with it being a room with more airflow — cooler in the summer and easier to keep warm in the winter.

All of the decor and effort I put into his nursery? Well it’s all still in that room. Nothing other than furniture was moved down to his new room. And none of the things I crafted match the new room at all. Not even in the slightest.

So I’ve been slowly but surely making his new(ish) room his own. Ari is actually still sleeping in his crib (cause he hasn’t figured out he can climb out yet!), so the day he realizes he can get out of his crib is the day we officially ‘transition’ his baby room to a big boy room!

I’ve slowly been creating a more toddler themed room. And although I’ve jumped back and forth between Ari’s two favorite themes — choo choo trains and pirates — we’ve decided to stick to what he loves most: trains and transportation! Ha! Well, specifically trains. But this kid loves all forms of transportation. Seriously.

And what better time to make a change to his bedding than when we’re transitioning him to a big boy toddler bed??!! I know I won’t be able to avoid Thomas 100%, but having some train-neutral sheets and blankets would be awesome!

For me the one thing that really makes a room special are all of the little things, those special touches, that bring a room together. First up, I looked at some personalized gifts from Minted.com! Their line of art prints, many of which are customizable, are adorable.

What better way to go with the train & transportation theme than a personalized door sign!

It’s going to be difficult to pick just one or two as a central piece of art for his new room! In addition to the personalized art, Minted.com has adorable home decor prints. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t start planning other projects for around the house just so I can incorporate more art!

Adding other “pieces” in to round out the theme will be fun. I’m hoping to be able to locate some old street signs from one of the unique little shops we have around here!

The key to doing all of this is doing with an element of “surprise” for Ari. I just need ONE weekend away (hint, hint, Mimi and Poppy!) and I’m certain I’ll be able to get it all done!

Thank you to Minted.com for sponsoring todays post.

the art of juggling // TFAWM an update of sorts

April 9, 2015 by Rachel 1 Comment

Guys. Let’s just cut to the chase: It sucks. Working and being the mom of a toddler sucks the big one. It’s exhausting. And I constantly feel pulled in a thousand different directions. And it is the fault of no one. It just is the life of a mom. Because moms put that kind of pressure on themselves completely on their own. I try to do it all well; but something always suffers. The thing I’ve learned in the last couple of years? The thing that suffers will NOT be my family.

Still, there are people — WOMEN MOSTLY — who say “When you’re at work, 100% focus on work; when you’re at home, 100% focus on home.” Newsflash: It isn’t that easy. For one, being a mom isn’t something you can ‘shut off.’ There’s always a parent-related to-do list that’s ongoing (ie. “Target trip: Pick up diapers after work; Must leave at exactly 5PM to make sure I pick him up from the sitter on time.”). My mind is always juggling these things. And we’re pretty much always on call for an emergency. Sure, when you’re at home with your kids, those things happen. But imagine getting that dreaded call or text from the sitter while you’re in the middle of something important at work… your mind instantly wanders because HOLY CRAP MY KID HAS AN EGG ALLERGY AND NEEDS TO BE RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL. (Yes, this actually happened).

And when I pick him up from the sitter my thought process is as follows: “OK, I need to get him exhausted. I’ll take him to the play place for an hour. Then home to eat a super quick dinner. And then maybe a bath? Wait, who am I kidding. We won’t have time for that. It’s straight to bed. Then I have to clean, do laundry and the dishes. Maybe I’ll get to sit down for an hour before bed? Probably not.”

Really the juggling consists of dropping the ball — A LOT. I just pick up the balls and start juggling again. You kind of just have to roll with the punches and imperfections that come along with doing it all.

And for every mom who I hear say “Well I did it with TWO kids.” or “So-and-so is doing it without a problem,” I. Don’t. CARE. They are not me. And I am not them. We are all different. The one thing that binds all of us is motherhood. And that is what should unite us. Whether you are a working mom, a SAHM, a WAHM, a part-time working mom, whatever — we are all juggling.

Some have found their niche. For some that means juggling a mega career. For others that means spending all day everyday at home with little ones. And there is no judgment in which of those paths you choose to take and make your own.

Wherever each of us is on the spectrum, we’re all just doing the best that we can with our personal circumstances. For me? I thought I wanted to be a working mom. Now? Now it’s becoming clear that this path I chose may not be the best for me. Or for our family. Especially if we ever want to expand it further.

And that’s OK. I’m evolving. Perhaps I’m not evolving to everyone standards…. but I don’t need to. I’m evolving based on mine and my families needs. And I’m tired of feeling sorry about it; I’m tired of feeling guilt about not wanting my career to be my main goal; and I’m tired of explaining and/or defending myself. So I’m no longer going to. That’s all.

Sidenote: I recognize that I’m completely lucky to have a partner who is completely supportive. This mommy thing would be a lot harder on my own. But from all of the two-parent mamas I’ve spoken with, the consensus seems to be that moms take the day-to-day child-rearing burden — but fret not dads — we choose that on our own!! And if you tried to steal those things (like making doctors appointments, scheduling swim lessons, etc), we simply WOULD NOT LET YOU. No offense. Moms are just weird like this. 🙂

Additional sidenote: I don’t have ANY idea where this post is/was headed; but I just needed to put it out there. So here you go, universe. Until next time.