"Mommy, I pee You?" This is what my 29 month old just said to me as I struggled to get a Pull-Up onto him (just for the record I don't think pull-ups actually do us justice in the potty training process, they're just easier to put on the kid and it is a step in the direction of moving into underwear). Now, my 2 year old loves Pixar's CARS, so do you think he wants to give up these Pull-Ups? No, not really. Oh, and his preschool teacher might be a little baffled as to why I'm putting a Pull-Up on him instead of underwear since he went to school 2 whole months in underwear and did GREAT... only 3 accidents. Things are just easier for the teachers to follow through on than the parents, I suppose. I have 3 kids all very close in age and I pull that card when it comes to potty training. I'm sorta getting off topic... let's start over.
I had just said to Owen "Tell Daddy you have pee-pee and need a new Pull-Up." No reaction from the cushion anchor (much nicer than couch potato. Honey, it's just a term of "I'm-putting-up-with-it-cuz-I-love-you" endearment. Owen proceeds to pull off his nap time Pull-Up which has that obvious soggy look. Nice visual, right? And as I am focused on something else (BlogHer details at the computer) Owen manages to pee on the floor and shares with me his accomplishment. "Babe, look, now I have this mess to clean up, can you get your son a new diaper" (Yeah, we still refer to them as diapers, not sure why it seems easier, but notice I made it a point to advise here that he does wear Pull-Ups because when our kids get to be about 2 and a half we want it to appear that we are progressing in the potty training business). Hubby is still comfortable with laptop is perfect position and making sure he doesn't miss anything in the special segment about the last season of Entourage. What's up with that Sex-in-the-City show for men, anyways? What a copy-cat.
Now, before said toddler steps into the puddle of pee on the floor and smacks his head, I feel compelled to take action. The darn exciting details my friend Hip_m0m has unveiled for a treasure hunt must wait. It seems most of the things I want to get done must wait. There was a time I would get to do what I wanted when I wanted and it lasted from the time I was 16 (I was an emancipated minor - don't be jealous) til about the time I got pregnant. Yeah, not when I became a mom, cuz that whole pregnancy thing changes what you choose to do, and your body just takes over. I became pregnant at 27 so that was a little over 10 years of this wonderful do what I want when I want (except for the working hours at Pac-Bell, which became SBC, and then AT&T, they watch you like a hawk on the clock and finally I had to part ways with the crazy) luxury that I just cannot afford with these 3 lovely munchkins. I've been working very hard on this the past year and half to realize that I need to take time for myself in order to be a better mommy - not perfect, I gave up that notion a long time ago, like around the time Owen was born. Then when he got to be about a year old I took this Redirecting Children's Behavior course that should really be called Redirecting Parent's Behavior but then none of us would sign up for it. My favorite take away from the 5 weeks was this -- Take time for yourself. Seems easy, right? I mean who doesn't want to take time for themselves, and furthermore who needs it more than us moms who spend ALL hours being ON CALL? When you're a mom whether you work or stay at home or have a little break to go do something while a sitter or dad watches the kid, the truth is, you're still ON CALL, right? So the occasional date night, the hair appointmentt that you've been meaning to squeeze in for 6 months (gasp!) or the MNO you skip out on because baby is not taking a bottle... All of these things you truly need to do to refuel. In fact 3x a week! Yep, you just got your freedom pass, ladies! I won't share more than that regarding the RCB course because I highly recommend it, I'm actually taking follow-up workshops with Happy, Healthy Hip Parenting now. I don't think there is a workshop devoted to taking time for yourself as a parent - though if you think about it - we could all learn something valuable from that topic. Speaking of topic, I've gone on a tangent.
I now have the diaper, or whatever you wanna call it and Owen on my lap cuz he simply refused to step into it. He's attempting to squirm away and I hear him say "pee" so I simply state "Owen, don't you pee on me" to which he beams and looks at me "Mommy, I pee, you?" Hey, he's not quite 2 and a half but he does pretty good with getting the full point across... even with the missing "on". NO! Do not pee on me! Oy. I'm all worked up now and shoot that glance, glare, whatever, over to the couch and say a phrase that is all too common in my vocabulary "Did you not hear me?" I already know the answer because my husband suffers from this hard to diagnose ailment that I"m sure a lotof other wives haven't been able to put their finger on... selective hearing (loss) to which there is no known cure. And the discussin lasts about a minute (once upon a time it would be a dramatic 20 minute argument) but these days with a lot on my plate I don't waste a lot of sleep (or waking hours for that matter) over his ailment.
This selective hearing of my husband's had me pause for a minute and fast forward 2 weeks to the BlogHer Conference, and I had an epiphany! I've considered it, fantasized about it and now I'm just plain ready... 3 kids and almost 6 years into this parenting roller-coaster, I've just decided I'm going to spend the night away by myself, doing something for myself and have about 48 hours off duty. Getting Mommy a slice of the pie, if you will.
And for the record, Hubby scored major brownie points earlier today by bringing home my favorite Iced White Mocha w/ no whip from Starbucks. Don't believe me? Just see my tweet. He's a great catch, and think he won't put up an argument when I present him with this decision later tonight... when the timing is right, wink!
If you're going to BlogHer 2011 I want to hear what you're most looking forward to. If you're not going to BlogHer, what do you have on your calendar that you're looking forward to in order to take care of yourself?
