Monday, we meet again....

Is there someone I can contact about petitioning for a four day weekend? Isn't there somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody ;)

Ever have those nights where  you.just.cannot.sleep? Yeah, my Sunday went a little something like this: take a hot shower in hopes of sleeping like a dad (they sleep way more soundly than babies), put on pajamas that will make my grandmother proud, lay in bed and not sleep.

Today I made it through the day with the help of a little something called coffee and Samoas (the cookies). Zombie-like momma coming through, get out of my way. 

I did manage to make it through work, dinner, and bedtime without any major bumps (I may have started the dishwasher without putting in all the dishes, eh, what can ya do). 

Here is to a good night and a morning without my little alarm clock waking me up at 4:38 AM. Cheers to sleep, without a peep!

Peace out, ya'll.

xx

Ren

I let my child watch television; and I don't feel guilty about it.

Way before I had a kid (I like to call those days "Renata lives in fantasy land") I had a pretty good idea of the mother I wanted to be.  Actually, let me rephrase that, I knew the mother I would be (I knew nothing young grasshoppers).  I was absolutely determined to be the "perfect" mom (I told you, fantasy).  During a conversation with my mom I told her all of the things I wouldn't let my child do, including but not limited to the following:

1. Eat anything with added sugar before the age of two.  This includes:  chocolate, cupcakes, cake, cookies, muffins, candy, fruit snacks (and the list goes on)

2. Drink fruit juice

3. Play with my Iphone

4. Watch television before the age of two

5. Play with the Ipad 

6.  Consume products that are not organic

7. Sleep with a lovey

(And the list goes on and on and on)

She sat there staring at me, with a smirk on her face, and slowly nodded without saying a word.  Then, at the end of my monologue, okay, rant, she said, "Okay, we will see, we will see."  She has never once said, "I told you so."  I am quite sure she has thought it.  But, she loves me, and despite knowing that all those crazy things I was saying that day in my living room were just that, crazy, she has never once called me out on it.  Moms, you gotta love 'em.

You know where I am going with this, right?  So, sure, the recommendation says "no screen time before two".  Yet, what I've learned in this year-and-a-half of motherhood is that a recommendation, is just that, a recommendation.  It started out innocently enough, an episode of "The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" while I chugged my coffee on a Saturday morning.  Then when she made the full transition to the toddler class at daycare we needed a way to decompress before dinner.  May I present to you, the television. 

She needed a distraction void of human interaction after a full day of stimulation, and a 23 minute episode of the Bubble Guppies provided just that.  Judge me.  Those 23 minutes also gave me just the right amount of time I needed to start/finish dinner.  In my book I call that a win-win.  Otherwise, I'd have an overstimulated toddler clawing at my legs begging me to, "Up!, Up!"  And trust me, ain't nobody got time for that, especially when the rice is burning.

Once upon a time I would have felt guilty. I would have been embarrassed to admit that my kid knows to dance at the sound of the "Hot Dog Song."  These days, I live in the real world. And you know what? You gotta do, what ya gotta do.  A little screen time in exchange for a homemade meal? Sounds like a no brainer to me. 

Oh, and she's eaten a cookie; she even knows how to ask for one. Hold on to your britches, Perfect Pollyana, they are organic-carrot-zucchini cookies; I'm still a pain in the ass, slightly ;)

xx

Ren

Hello...are you there?

Good!  Let us get right to business.  These last few months have been slightly chaotic.  I'm not quite sure why, or how, or when, but I have not been able to find the time, nor the energy to clear my mind and write. I know, excuses, excuses.  

In my working mom defense, the days are long and the nights are short.  At the end of the day I am barely able to make a coherent sentence, let alone write anything worth sharing. Unless you want to know what I made for dinner? Yeah, didn't think so. 

So, since I clearly have time to take mirrored selfies on the daily (don't you worry, I'll save those for another time).  I figured I would dust off the cobwebs and give these rusty fingers some exercise.  And, boy does it feel good. I will surely pay for staying up way past my bed time (nothing six cups of coffee can't fix, no worries) but here goes nothing.

Have a toddler that suddenly doesn't want to eat dinner? SO DO I! I'm convinced she doesn't like my cooking.  Have a toddler that suddenly decided (out of nowhere I should add) that waking up at 4:30 in the morning to nurse is normal? SO DO I! 

Looking for a no nonsense momma who isn't afraid of honesty? SO AM I! Actually, I am that momma; want to be friends? Of course you do ;)

If you like iced coffee and lattes, staying up way past eight. If you're not into folgers and you have mommy brain.  If you like eating food off the high chair, while your toddler thinks your insane; I'm the momma you're looking for, write to me, let's be friends. (Oh, now go back and sing that last paragraph to the tune of, "if you like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain...)

Holla!!

xx

Ren