Monthly Archives: December 2010

“Ari, don’t put clay on your chalkboard.”
“Why?”
“Because it doesn’t belong there.”
“Why?”
“Because you play with clay at the table, not on the chalkboard.”
“Why?”
“Please stop asking ‘why?’ I don’t have another answer.”
“Why?”
“Grrrr!”

Anyone else experiencing this?

I had a realization today. Ari is getting away with a lot. There are several reasons for this:

1. I’m 8 1/2 months pregnant and too tired to fight with him
2. Two-year-olds are inherently exhausting creatures
3. Being a mom takes discipline and I just want to take a big old nap.

Do you see a running theme here? Exhaustion!

Today I decided I was going to stop this pattern of indifference due to chronic fatigue. Today was the day I was going to take charge.

He wanted to watch TV first thing in the morning.
“NO.” I said plainly. “We’re going to eat breakfast!”
He wanted to watch TV again after breakfast.
“NO.” I replied “We’re going to the library.”
He wanted to go home after the library.
“NO.” I told him. “We’re going to the playground!”
He ran around at the playground and when it was time to go home, didn’t want to leave.
“Bye!” I said waving to him at the gate, he followed me with no hesitation.
When we got home, He refused to eat lunch and demanded chocolate milk.
“NO chocolate milk. Eat your sandwich first!” He screamed, cried and finally he begrudging ate his peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat and an entire apple.
He wanted to watch TV again!
“NO, play with your cars.” I instructed him. “Then in 15 minutes you are going to take a nap.” He whined, screamed and eventually played with his cars.
15 minutes later I said:
“Okay, it’s time to take a nap.”
“I want to nap on the chair.” He was sitting in the most uncomfortable chair in our apartment.
“No, you need to nap in the bed.” I advised him.
I carried him literally kicking and screaming to the bed and he fell asleep next to Wil.

Based upon today’s events, I think I could easily have a career in the military. No?

I was feeling an intense urge to buy something so I went over to visit my friend Amazon.com and found this:

“What is it?” You might be thinking. Well, it’s a disposable labor gown! Now, I’m not the type of person who needs to look put together all the time, but for some reason this thing really appealed to me.

When I think back to my labor with Ari, I was wearing this hot little number:

I mean, surely you see the aesthetic difference. The more attractive labor gown (pictured above) boasts that it is 100% cotton, very comfortable, and has room for “fetal monitors” and “IV cords.” I plan on doing a home birth, so hopefully I won’t have to worry about such things.

Anyway, for $20, I figured, why the hell not?

Although, I will say, that by the end of my labor with Ari, I wanted nothing to do with my hospital gown and ripped the entire thing off when I was ready to push. We’ll see if that happens again this time.

What was your latest impulse purchase?

Last night I couldn’t sleep. It was 1am, then it was (all of a sudden) 2am. Wil was at work. I was dizzy, nauseated, and my heartburn was terrible. I was tasting and re-tasting the chili I made for dinner. Ari was knocked out on the couch, and I wanted to follow suit but I just could not sleep. The baby was swimming around in my uterus at a rapid pace, looking for a suitable organ to kick.

Finally, I relented and called my mom.
“Mom, I can’t sleep. I feel like I’m going to vomit, but I can’t.”

It was 2:30am. She didn’t hesitate. She climbed three flights of stairs to my apartment, and sat by my side as I threw up the entire contents of my stomach into a white plastic garbage can.

Meanwhile Ari was shouting:
“Mommy! You no throw up!”
“It’s okay, honey,” My mom said to Ari as I was detoxing my system “Mommy is going to be okay.”

I’m okay. But it’s only because of my amazing mother.

Thank you mom! I love you!

Yesterday my nine year old niece, Francesca, (or as Ari calls her “Ches-ca”) came over for a play date. Ari and Ches-ca were painting, Wil and my mom were watching them create their collaborative work of art, and I was cooking chili in the kitchen. All of a sudden Wil called across the apartment:

“Sarah, what did Ari eat today?”
“Why?” I asked suspiciously.
“Because he’s throwing up.” He replied.

I dropped the knife I was using to cut an onion and bolted from the kitchen to the living room. When I got there, Ari had thrown up more than a college frat boy.

“How did he get sick again?” Wil asked. Ari just got over having Croup, and now he appears to be sick again.

He woke up with a fever in the middle of the night last night and vomited for the second time. I’ve concluded he has a virus. But Wil’s question stayed in my head: “How did he get sick again?”

My internal answer is to blame myself. He wasn’t dressed well enough for this 27 degree weather, he needs warmer pants, long underwear, He’s not eating enough, he’s not eating well, I’m taking him to germ infested places like the library and communal play spaces.

Whatever the case may be, it is most certainly my fault that he’s sick. This is what I like to call mom guilt. I’d like to think I come by it honestly with my Jewish heritage, but I think mom guilt transcends cultural boundaries.

As mothers, if something “goes wrong” with our kids, we blame ourselves. Who else do we have to blame?

What I want to know is, what do you feel guilty about? Post a comment with a story where you felt particularly guilty. By the way, guilt is not exclusive to moms, dad guilt is alive and well. Dads: please share your stories too!

Yesterday was my baby shower. It was beautiful! Mint did an amazing job coordinating it and raised enough money from my friends and family to buy this bassinet:

Ari’s old bassinet was recalled so we were in need of a new one. It rocks, literally, and it also rocks as in: it’s awesome!

There was so much excitement yesterday, that Wil and I decided (upon the recommendation of early childhood expert Mint) to leave Ari in a diaper for the shower. I mean, I had to focus on eating as much food as possible and hanging out with the people I love.

Here are some pictures from the shower, which was held at The Moxie Spot.

Cordy- If you’re reading this, I don’t know what happened to the picture of us! It disappeared from my camera.

Anyway, thank you again to my amazing best friend, Mint, for this wonderful shower! I love you!

Since Wil worked so hard getting Ari to use the potty yesterday, I decided to let him sleep in and work with Ari myself.

This morning I took his diaper off and instead of letting him roam around naked, I put him in Thomas underwear. He promptly peed on himself and all over the kitchen floor.

Grandma and Grandpa Fader came up with some bribery: a case of tiny plastic cars they got on 42nd Street for a bargain price. I emptied the cars into a Target bag and showed them to Ari.

He was immediately intrigued. I told him he could have one car if he peed on the potty and two if he pooped. It took a while, but after several visits to the potty every 30 minutes he finally peed twice! He got a car each time.

I was in a great mood, until lunch time. I went into the kitchen while Ari was in the living room ostensibly playing with his toys. When I returned to the living room bearing lunch, I found this:

That was about 1 % of the mess. There was yellow paint all over the floor and all over Ari! Needless to say, a wardrobe change occurred as well a visit to the bathroom sink.

Then it was time for lunch:

To be continued.

After much nakedness, Wil put Ari in Thomas underwear. Ari ran up to Wil frantically and said:
“Daddy underwear, Daddy underwear!

Wil rushed him to the toilet, and…he pooped!

So Ari got a special prize: