What is it with glasses?

It's fascinating to me that young babies can not resist a good pair of glasses. As I sat watching my daughter play with her Dad this morning, I was struck by how his spectacles were some form of baby crack. She would not stop attempting, despite my hubby's best effort, to pull them off of his face...as if this was the best game in the entire world. She just had to get them off of his face and would stop at nothing. Forget peek-a-boo! (this is a gazillions times better her little mind was thinking). I don't wear glasses and so I am thankfully spared this little tete-a-tete. I do get a really strong yank of the hair if I'm not careful though. That little bugger!

3 short years

I have been thinking a lot about where I was 3 years ago today. It was WA's official due date and he was still highly content on the inside. I was peeing constantly, had no room for anything larger than an apple, was exhausted and had just started maternity leave. I was huge, it was hot and my in-laws (whom I love) were staying with us in our two bedroom condo in Hoboken. Needless to say never in my life have I wanted to check in to a hospital more than I did then. That afternoon we went to my OBGYN for a final check-in and he offered to induce, as he was just about to go away for the 4th of July weekend and I was already 5cms dilated. We really loved my doctor and wanted him there for the birth, so we debated the offer a bit. Ultimately we chose to let nature take it's course. Stupid, stupid, stupid. One week later and WA was still happily doing the backstroke on my bladder, I was ten times more irritable, my Mom would literally jump out of her seat every time I called to pass the time and my in-laws needed to get back to Ohio. That was then and now, when I look at my self proclaimed "handsome" boy, I can hardly believe 3 years have already passed us by.

WA tells it like he sees it

This past weekend WA and I hit my all-round favorite store, Target. We needed to get some more "big boy underpants" because this 3 year old little boy is burning through them like nobodies business. Yes, unfortunately potty training is proving to be a little bit messy. My hubby stayed in the car with IA. She was napping and, to be honest, Target just isn't as much fun when you have the entire crew following you around. So WA and I went inside to run our errand (and pick up a few other things. come on, it's nearly impossible not to in that darn store!). In order to get to the undies, we had to beeline through the toddler clothing department. WA has developed a real love of "fun" shirts...his two current favorites being a Rolling Stones shirt with the "Sticky Fingers" tongue on it and a black shirt with a series of Warhol-esq boom boxes across the front. So as I walked through, I was glancing at the shirts to see if there might be something WA might enjoy. I pointed out a couple to him, but there was nothing deemed a "must have", so we kept going. About half way through the department, WA looks up at me and says "Mommy, I'm handsome". Umm....ok. The kid is 3 years old and ALREADY knows it?!? I don't really praise him about his looks and, as anyone who knows him can attest, my hubby is certainly no gusher. So I'm thinking either some of his daycare friends think he's the bomb or the kid has got an ego that might cause me some serious headaches down the road.

This morning WA woke up in a cuddly mood. As such he invited me to join him to stretch, cuddle and get the "eye-boogies" out of his eyes. As we lay in his bed snuggling and chatting about the day to come, all of a sudden he says "Momma, an F!". I was completely confused, but then he pointed up to the ceiling where the window blinds had left a reverse shadow in the shape of an abstract "F". For some reason, perhaps it was because the "F" really was pretty abstract, I was overcome with a feeling of pride. Is there anything sweeter than seeing glimpses of your child's development in motion? I think not.

Pregnancy aftermath

These days when I look in the mirror, the first thing I think is "Who the hell is that?". Having two kids...for me...has been a disaster. Not only do I have a collective 20 extra pounds on my never very petite frame, but my once ringlet curly hair is completely straight and frizzy to boot. My face looks like a teenage boy (hormone induced acne, oh joy!). My thighs? Forgetaboutit. My chest? That ceased being mine a while ago. While I can't attribute my ever present wrinkles to my two kids, that's probably more thanks to years of life guarding with minimal sunblock, they aren't doing much to lighten my self image. Having a baby can be tough on any woman, but I feel like I look around at some of my friends who have recently had babies and they look fantastic. Maybe they are feeling the same way, I don't know, but I'll tell you one thing....among all of the wonderful things about being a mom that make me feel amazing and complete, I'm finding that a healthy self image is proving the hardest for me to recover. Thankfully I have a hubby, who even though he probably secretly agrees with everything said above, still loves me for me. And trust me, I would not trade any amount of long shiny locks, a clean dewy complexion or a slender booty for my two amazing kids.

Bye-bye infant, hello baby!

I decided recently that my daughter, 7mo old IA, has turned the corner from being an infant to a full fledged baby. What does that mean exactly? Well, for one thing she lets us know she's there. If you leave her for too long in one spot...hello vocal cords...she's not happy. If you sit at a table with her, she's grabbing everything in sight and attempting to shove it in her mouth. She can roll over on to her stomach, but can't roll back the other way, thus getting her self stuck in a position that she's not so fond of (see vocal cord usage above). Not that this transition is all bad. In fact, I really love this age. She's more expressive and just started to say "Da-da" (although not necessarily aimed at my hubby), she's starting to smile more too (she's definitely my serious kid...where WA would smile at EVERYONE when he was IA's age, IA is more apt to give you the stare down) and she's making a full hearted effort to crawl.

Now crawling is a process and every kid goes through it. My fiery redhead is not loving the process though. Girlfriend has got a temper! When she is on her belly, she kicks her legs furiously in an attempt to propel herself forward. Doesn't work. She then throws a fit until Mom or Dad come to the rescue. She is almost there. She can push up with her arms and can tuck her legs under, she just hasn't figure out how to coordinate it all yet. It's fun to watch this process, but I have to ask....am I ready for the mobility of a crawler? Can't I have a few more months of happy baby who sits in one place....please?:)

When your kid is "that kid"

Today on the playground after school, WA, IA and I were chatting and playing with LP, AK and their mom. It started out very pleasant, with Mrs. B and I having a nice chat and LP and WA running around on the tennis court like "crazyheads". It was nice....that is until WA became "that kid". AK, who is about 6mos older than IA, was crawling all around (at lightening speed I might add!) and having a grand old time checking out the wood chips and old leaves. The sun was shinning, the weather perfect and then WA runs over to AK and pushes her down to the ground. Nice. My kid the bully. Usually WA is pretty gentle (for a 3 yr old boy), especially with IA, and so this behavior had me wanting to crawl away faster than speedy AK! Well, that was until WA went over and tackled LP. Oh man, this kid is killing me. Now I know AK and LP's mom didn't, and doesn't, think that my kid acts like this all the time, but even still when this sort of thing happens....it's horrifying. Why is it that if your kid is the one that's tackled you're able to graciously pass it off as "being a toddler" (as Mrs. B did), but when it's your kid who's the brute...you suddenly want to have invisible superpowers more than anything in the world?

A full-on hockey obsession

WA is consumed with hockey. It's not love, it's not fascination, it's obsession. At 3 years old I think he feels like our driveway is the Joe Louis Arena, that his Dad is Wayne Gretzky and that the Zamboni is God's gift created just for him.

Usually I try and hang out with WA for a bit at daycare in the morning. The kids in WA's room love to chat, show me various toys, have me read to them, do puzzles or give me high-fives. WA, on the other hand, can not wait to set up a makeshift game of hockey using plastic bowling pins and just about anything that will roll on the floor. Luckily his friends seem to love it, and his amazing teacher, Ms. C, keeps it tempered so that no checking transpires. Ms. C is also teaching WA that if he does not use "his listening ears", he has to go to "the penalty box". So earlier this week, Ms. C told WA not to "high stick", her attempt at avoiding the kids whacking each other accidentally. WA wasn't listening and so Ms. C repeated her request. WA then voluntarily walked over to the sink and sat on a small stool, which the kids use when they wash their hands, and said "Ms. C! I'm in the penalty box!". It was very cute, I couldn't help but smile.

Every night, after WA comes home from school, the first thing he'll ask is "Momma, can I play hockey?". Rain or shine the question is asked. Napped or not napped, the question is asked. Starving or full, the question is asked. Mostly we try and humor him and play street hockey in the driveway before heading in for dinner, but sometimes the weather (or our energy level) doesn't cooperate and disappointment ensues. I suppose these instances are excellent lessons in "you can't always get what you want", but I hate seeing disappointment on his face over something he is clearly so passionate about.

The upside of WA's single minded hockey obsession is that it has become an excellent bribery tool. I've already gotten a few naps out of it. WA is, and always has been, an awful napper, but when I tell him that he can play hockey if he naps, it's off to dreamland for WA.

I truly love seeing my son enjoy an activity so much, but all I have to say is that in a few short years, when WA is likely playing organized hockey, and the alarm goes off at 5am...it's Daddy that's going to be dropping him off at the rink:).

Why Spiffy and Random?

A quick note to explain the odd title of this blog...

Back in college my dear friend JK and I had a radio show (voted best overall radio show 1994, thank you very much!) and we needed a name. Seeing as the show was going to be composed of music that she liked (REM, Depeche Mode, indy alt rock), stuff that I liked (Neil Young, Phish crunchy deadhead-esq rock) and stuff we both liked (Madonna, Nirvana, danceable-flannel wearing-all over the board rock) we decided we needed a name that encompassed both the eclectic nature of the songs one was likely to hear, but also of what we hoped our personalities would reflect at 5am (the torturous time slot in which our very first show was scheduled). We came up with Spiffyrandomness. To this day that phrase follows me and so I thought it would be appropriate to use to name my blog. Especially because anyone who is my age (kid-full or kid-less) knows just how spiffy life can be and how completely random it is.

Wow

Wow, ok I did it. I'm officially blogging. I'm not the best writer in the world, and I certainly am not the best thinker, but I've recently become really inspired by a new friend who blogs for the sake of archiving memories of her two adorable daughters. I have such an awful memory that I constantly find myself attempting to remember details of years gone by, only to come up blank. I recently said to my hubby "Do you remember when "WA" (my 3 year old son) started crawling?" Crawling? Really? I can't even remember that? Whoa boy. So I'm thinking that this blog will be a great way to archive some things about my daughter "IA" (who is 7 mos) and also record some of the wonderful, and not so wonderful, things my son says and does.

As a side benefit, I'm hoping my West Coast friends, and my bro/sis-in-law, will feel closer to my two young tots. I miss them terribly and really wish they could know my kids better. If this also allows me to feel more connected with some of the wonderful new friends I have made in recent years, bring it on! Being a working Mom can feel very overwhelming and isolating, so I'm giving this blogging thing a go! Wish me luck:).