Sugar and Spice

  This blog, much like the last, should come with the late-term pregnancy caveat that it might be either incredibly emotional or extremely disjointed, or some combination of the two.   Oh, and it might sound a little like I’m standing in a pulpit.   Consider yourself warned. Yesterday in church we celebrated Morning Prayer in place of Eucharist because mom was in Lafayette meeting the folks at our sister congregation St. Barnabas.   Once the children returned to “Big Church” Pumpkin started telling me she wanted “Jesus” (i.e., communion).   I quietly explained that we weren’t going to have communion because Nona was in Lafayette.   Pumpkin looked at me quizzically and asked, “Nona took Jesus to Lafayette?”   At that point, all I could do was chuckle and say yes.   Any other answer would have resulted in continued demands for Jesus, which I could not provide but at the same time could not deny. Not ironically the Gospel reading yesterday...

If you’re feeling anything like me today, be careful where you are when you choose to read the following blog article, as it may cause uncontrollable crying, feelings of melancholy, and inability to perform the essential functions of your job for a few moments.   Consider yourself warned.   By feeling “like me,” I guess I mean a combination of hugely pregnant with a fully engaged fetus causing frequent though mild Braxton Hicks contractions, a raging sore throat and sinus headache that is causing my whole body to tingle, a bit of anxiety about mothering the second child and a big dose of overwhelming nostalgia as I “nest” my way through all of Pumpkin’s tiny little baby clothes that I hardly remember her wearing.   Add to all of that dismay about the political atmosphere we’re living in and a touch of fearful remembrance of 11 years ago tomorrow and you’ve got an emotional wreck.   I’m sure none of you are feeling anything quite like that, but consider your...

There are lots of things about parenting that are hard.  Among those are the sleepless nights, nighttime feedings, seeing your child hurt or sick, trying to give that hurt or sick child medication, and not throwing up when that hurt or sick child projectile vomits on you.  Then there are the more abstract things like being a good role model, teaching values, and raising a nice child with good hygiene who makes excellent choices.  But, while I have only been at this parenting gig for a couple years now, I have to say that discipline is one of the absolute hardest parts about parenting I've encountered yet. The first difficulty with discipline is determining when, how much, and how often to administer it.  I have been adamant that I would not be one of those moms that just says "no" all the time "because I said so."  When I say "no" I try to have a good reason and try to explain that in terms she can understand.  And ...

Luckily I’m a better mother (at least I like to think so) than I am a blogger.   Many apologies for the long delay between posts.   Between third trimester exhaustion and a very fast-paced new job (not to mention a likewise fast-paced two year old, trying to sell my house, and various other obligations) I’ve just fallen short of the blogger mark.   Besides, the “lympics” have been on (as Pumpkin reminds me every day when she asks to watch the “lympic ballgames”). To catch you up, Pumpkin is still growing like a weed…er, a pumpkin (to stick with my own metaphor).   She is now able to use her princess potty (when she wants to that is) and she sleeps at night in her big girl bed (also princess themed).   We are going through quite the princess phase.   Everything she asks for is prefaced with the adjective “princess.”   For instance, my parents are on vacation and she has asked them to bring her either a “princess boat” or a “princess box” as a souv...

What a couple weeks we have had.  I am sure after reading this, you will all forgive my lack of posting for the past month.  Since last you heard from us, Pumpkin has had a staph infection, followed by pneumonia, followed by strep throat; Mama has thankfully and uneventfully sailed through the first 6 months of being pregnant for Maggie, quit her job, started an entirely new job in a completely different field of law, and decided we needed a bigger house; and Daddy has received his realtor's license and we got Pumpkin's "big girl" furniture.  Big month for us.  I apologize for not writing sooner. Obviously, in addition to pregnancy hormones and just the general hot-and-fatness of being pregnant in July in Louisiana, I've also been under a good deal of legitimate, external stress.  The decisions of whether to, how to, and when to quit my job cost me several nights of sleep.  Those nights were followed by the...

We survived our first semi-major road trip with Pumpkin to Florida and back and, I must admit, it was not bad at all.  In 16 hours of driving, we only had one minor fit and I quickly learned that was a combination of hunger and car sickness.  Of course, the fact that Pumpkin was a traveling pro should come as no surprise. First she is Mee Maw's namesake and that apple didn't fall far from the tree.  More importantly though, the thing I should quit being surprised about is surprises - I need to just learn to expect the unexpected when it comes to raising kids.  Take this morning for instance, the only thing that I was dreading more than the car trip was the first day back at school after 10 days of non-stop fun and attention.  My fears escalated when the first words out of her mouth this morning, when she realized mama was dressed for work and not in "play" clothes, were "no school."  We arrive at school and I take a deep breat...

Pumpkin's been going through a little bit of a mama-phase lately. Her teachers are convinced it is because she really "knows" that a new baby is on its way (she acknowledges "Maggie belly", i.e., Maggie is in mama's belly, but when asked whether Maggie is going to come live responds with a drawn out and incredulous "Nooooooooo," as if we are foolish to ask such a thing). I thought maybe she was feeling a little under the weather. Either way, she's admittedly always a mama's girl but lately has been a REAL mama's girl. My usually independent "Aly do it" little Pumpkin has been wanting to be held and carried and coddled constantly. Most of the time I relish it, and though it does make it HARD to get some things done, I have tried to make the best of it -even having her help me make blueberry pancakes and getting her to do prenatal yoga DVDs with me. The one thing that has remained difficult and is getting harder by the minute,...