Look Back and Laugh: The Bedtime Battle

They should give out gold medals to parents. The kind of stamina, endurance, and drive it takes to raise a child is comparable to that of an olympic athlete. It's you versus the child. Who will win? When it comes to putting my little one to bed at night, you know I have had my struggles.

It used to be the crying, but that isn't as much of a problem anymore. Now that he is a talker (and what a talker he is!) he will try and manipulate you into coming back in the room to get him out of his crib. The bedtime routine begins with a diaper and pj's then once he is all ready for bed we read a story together, I put him in the crib with a bottle and I read a chapter in the Bible out loud. Then I start the musical frog and off I go.

About a minute later you hear THUMP followed by "Oh no I dropped my bottle" Which is interesting how one drops a bottle when they are laying down in a crib and it some how lands on the floor. This can also be applied to blanket or pillow.

Then comes "I need Pee Pee, I need toilet. I NEED TO GO TOILET!" when we first started potty training I fell for this hook line and sinker every time thinking that I would miss the ideal opportunity, but he never really had to go so I quit trying.

Usually after that he starts saying "mama, I want my mama" and that's a toughy because it really is precious, but I can usually withstand the pressure.

Lastly and the biggest weapon of all he says "I wanna read the Bible". The first time I heard this one I thought "oh you have got to be kiddng me?" He is barely two, but somehow I think the kid knows that it would be very difficult for a parent to deny their child a request to read the Bible.

That's not to say that I cave. I am working on a gold medal here. I know that he is tired and needs sleep and I can not give in, except for when I do.

Mom Life Crisis

There are many moments in a mom's life that would be considered worthy of a Hallmark card. When I became a mother I felt nothing short of privileged. It was one of the greatest days of my life. There is nothing like the feeling I get when my son puts his arms around me and says "I love my mama". I don't know that there is any greater calling, anything more beautiful than the image of motherhood.

On the other hand there are some images of motherhood that aren't depicted in the Renaissance paintings or willow tree figurines.

I mean really, when you hear your mama jokes like "Yo mama so stupid when your dad said it was chilly outside, she ran outside with a spoon" and you realize, oh crap I am a mama. Or when it hits you that your child could step on a crack and break your back at any moment (hopefully I am not the only one that knows this rhyme).

I remember being at the fair last year and a kid had on a white t-shirt that all his friends had signed and written all over in permanent marker. One of the things that stuck out to me about his shirt was that someone wrote "Josh hearts his mommy". I gasped, realizing that this was a joke. WHY would that have to be a joke? It is perfectly fine if 8 year old Josh loves his mommy. I pictured Z being 8 and knowing that it may not be the coolest thing ever to love your mommy and it scared me a little bit.

Scenario #2 happened when I had my babysitter come to a job with me to help out with Z. On the ride there she was playing telling telephone with Z and doing funny voices and one of them was "Z it's your momma calling, I hope you're being good". Only, the voice sounded like a mixture of a witch and some old yankee. Once again why does the mom voice always have to be so nerdy? Does she realize that I am Z's mom and she is impersonating me? I can't believe I am being depicted as an old yankee witch?

Shortly after these incidences and a few others I began to sink into what I call a "mom life crisis". It's different than a midlife crisis because it is not determined by age, but it's similar because you start to feel like you have to rediscover a lost identity. I began wanting to go hang out late with some of my girlfriends, hit the clubs, sing karaoke. Who cares if these are things I never did when I was single or childless. All of the sudden I had the urge to make myself young, cool, and independent. Luckily I never followed through with any of it and my crisis didn't last long.

The point is sometimes motherhood can have you feeling like you are on top of the world, while other times you realize that you are the butt of the joke. That's okay though because I might be a rookie at this, but I have seen enough to know that the rewards far outweigh the sacrifice.

How's Z doing?

Well it's been two weeks since Z's surgery and everyone asks "How's he doing?" Or "How's Z doing?" which both sound the same. He is doing really great. His next appointment is at the end of the month. Right now we don't have to patch him and I am really praying that the next evaluation will go so well that we will be done with eye patches all together! I don't know if it's because he's had to go under the knife, because I am pregnant, or just because I am a mom, but my heart has been flooded with emotions for my little boy lately. A long time ago, before I was a wife or mother, a friend of mine was pregnant with her second child and she told me how one day she watching her daughter play in her room and she just began crying because of how much she loved her. At the time I didn't quite get it, but know I do. In fact it happened to me last night. So I am a little attached right now and I put together this video slide show of Z since having the surgery. Most of it is our trip to northern Kentucky/Cincinnati. Some of the photos are of Z in his suit before and after it was hemmed, and a shot of him passed out at the wedding, and at the airport with the famous penguin luggage. Now you can see for yourself just how Z is doing.

My Brother's Wife & My Former Life

I was born in northern Kentucky, and after my dad's job relocated us to Atlanta and then Dallas somehow the rest of my family all ended up back in Kentucky going to the same church we had attended for 13 years. I mentioned last week that I was going to be returning to that area for my brother's wedding, and believe it or not he married a girl that also grew up going to that church and we all went to the same private school there too. I didn't know her very well back then, but some memories of her stick out in my mind because her name is also Natalie! Now that she is married to my brother she has my maiden name too. I went up to her when the reception was pretty much over, I gave her a hug and said "I was Natalie Smith* once, it's a lot to live up to, but I think you can handle it."

What some of you may not know is that my brother (the one that got married) and my husband also have the same name! Yeah, that means there are two Jeremy & Natalies. I am sure it will be a bit confusing, in fact I've already gotten a text from a friend that was actually meant to be sent to the other Natalie. We have had two Jeremys for 10 years now though, so I think we can handle this.

The other Jeremy and Natalie are also about the same age apart as my husband and I are. Funny how at one time my brother said he would never date anyone younger than me and didn't exactly approve of the 6 year age difference between my husband and I. Oh the irony. So now our family is complete. Out of the 6 of us (me, my 2 brothers, and our spouses) I am the youngest and married someone older than my brothers and my oldest brother married someone younger than me.

I know it's all a little confusing, but that's my family for ya. I am so happy for my big bro and I wish him and his bride all the best because I think Jeremy and Natalie deserve it (wink wink).



*For those who know my maiden name you are probably really confused. I had to use an alias last name and Smith was the most generic I could think of.

GUESS THE SEX

Wow, two posts in one day, I guess I'm making up for lost time. Today I scheduled my next sonogram which should tell us the sex of the baby and they are able to get me in a lot sooner than I expected. I honestly have not even been thinking about it. In fact I have been patting myself on the back for being so patient and relaxed with this pregnancy, but now that I know the grand reveal is right around the corner I feel as giddy as a 12 year old at a Jonas brothers concert. Granted it's a different kind of giddy, but let's just say I haven't been this excited in a long time. I have to remind myself though that it doesn't always go as planned. If this baby doesn't cooperate they may not be able tell us the gender.

I don't care if I am having a boy or a girl, but what I don't want to hear is "I couldn't get a good look, but there's an 80% chance it's a..." That is what happened with Z. I hate that! I want to know one way or the other and not be tormented with odds, because my baby is either 100% boy or girl, so percentages only torment me. Whew, thanks for letting me vent about that.

Anyway, If I had to guess, I would say it's a boy, but I really don't have an inkling of intuition this time around. So now the question is what do you think I am having? Just throw something out there it will be fun to see what other people think? If we do find out I will post the results when I do my maternity update later this month. Thanks for sharing this moment with me.



Here are what some consider clues...

1. I did have morning sickness that lasted until about 16 weeks
2. The heart rate at the last appointment was 160, but it was 140 the month before
3. I can't tell if I am carrying high or low, but it feels LOW
4. I have had some pretty severe breakouts
5. I have a basketball shaped belly (a really soft somewhat deformed one, but whatever)

I'm Back

I haven't written in about a week which is by far the longest hiatus on the messy mom blog. I had planned to keep you posted on my trip to Kentucky and my brother's wedding, but I didn't have the time or the internet access to do so and I just got back late last night. So today I have been trying to catch up on my email, blogs, Face Book, and work assignments. It's hard to believe how much of my life revolves around the internet. I know I am not the only one though. Our church had a camp out the week of Z's surgery which meant I wasn't able to attend. However that night on Face Book I noticed that many of the campers that were there had updated their status. "The stars are so beautiful", "worship was great", "having fun at the church camp out" and I could just picture them all around the campfire with their iphones and I wondered if there was anyone at the church camp out that was NOT online?"

I remember the first time I heard about the internet. My brother and his friends were talking about the world wide web. It was described as a source of information from around the world accessed through your computer. They talked about whether or not any of them have seen or used this "world wide web". At the time I had no clue what the internet really was and all I could picture was some kind of science fiction spider web in outer space. Not long after that we had internet access in our home and I learned that if you patiently waited for the end of the dial tones, buzzes, and beeping you could log on to this internet thing and look up web sites about your favorite band, or write letters to your friends via email.

Remember those days? The internet was simpler, more expensive, and less portable. It really wasn't that long ago, but yet having gone a few days without the internet I wonder how what life was like before. Anyway, I am back now and I do have a lot to share, which I plan on getting all caught up on this week.

Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire...

Yesterday, we flew from Dallas to Cincinnati. Yesterday was one of the longest days of my life. Maybe I am a little over dramatic. Sure, it could have gone a lot more smoothly, but it also could have been a lot worse. Our goal was to get to Cincinnati and we did, even if it was 5 hours later than expected.

When my mom booked the flights using her flying benefits she didn't get a ticket for Z because children under 2 fly for free. Of course my friends and readers may already know that Z had his 2nd birthday 3 weeks ago, which means he technically does not fly for free. We were going for the "don't ask don't tell" strategy. Unfortunately they did ask. Only when the ticketing agent asked for his date of birth I made up a date, A DATE THAT MADE HIM OLDER THAN HE ACTUALLY IS! So, turns out I am a horrible liar. Her response was, "that can't be right because he would be too big", meaning he would not be flying for free and would need a ticket. That's when J stepped in and gave a date in December of 2007. Then we turned around, did 3 hail marys and were on our way*.

Assuming the worst part was over we made it through security and to the gate just about the time that a storm cloud hovered over the airport and started dumping buckets of rain causing all the flights to be delayed. We tried to keep Z entertained while waiting, 1. for our names to be cleared on the standby list and, 2. for the plane to actually return to our gate, because until that happened we weren't going anywhere.

Several hours, temper tantrums (from all 3 of us), and phone calls later we were finally boarding the plane. As I went down the jet bridge I had Z's penguin suit case trailing behind me.

I accidentally hit it with my foot and it started rocking back and forth. I couldn't get to go back on it's wheels as it kept banging against the back of my leg. I started moving faster as if trying to escape from a rabid attack penguin. That's when the man behind me shouts "That penguin is kickin'your butt". Well, isn't that the story of my life?

We made it through the flight with little too complain about and on the way off the plane a woman was commenting on how cute Z was and just casually asked "how old is he?" J answered, but I was thinking to myself "I am not sure I even know anymore. Why does everyone keep asking me that!? We don't want to talk about it, leave me alone!"



*I thought I would insert a disclaimer here just in case. No we are not catholic that was just a little guilt ridden sarcasm and no I do not condone lying, we felt terrible about it.