Used the Force I Did

Jedi had his birthday party on Friday and I made these cupcakes. If you like, you can read about how I made them and also see one of the goodie bags here.

Worst Mothering Moments

As I embark on my childless trip to Spain and England, I leave you with some funny, but shameful bad mommy moments:

I made some empanadas for a food group and they literally took about 2 days to make. I was an empanada factory for 48 hours. We were short on kid friendly food and so Beau Brummel decided to heat up some empanadas for the kids. HotDog ate them and liked them. Jedi plugged his nose while he ate them, but still ate them. Sassafrass complained and whined and cried and said she would throw up if I made her eat them. (When she said this I remembered a story my friend in England told me about when her sister threw up some peas and her mother made her eat the barfed up peas.) So I told Sassafrass if she threw up empanadas I would make her eat her barf. So of course she threw up empanadas, but I couldn't stick to my threat and make her eat her barf. So I am a double bad mom for making a ridiculous threat and then not following through on my ridiculous threat. But if that sounds bad, get a load of this . . . 

We lived in Hawaii when I was little. One of my friends lived all the way on the other side of the island we lived on. I was headed over there for a playdate and halfway there I decided I didn't want to go and asked my mom to take me home. Instead she pulled over and made me get out of the car next to a sugar cane field and then she drove off. I guess my younger sister freaked out. After all, I was 6 at the time and she was three. She screamed for my mom to go back and get me and just wouldn't stop screaming. So my mom turned around and picked me up. But she claims that if my sister hadn't cried for me I would probably still be in that sugar cane field today. Once, when hiking through Yosemite my mom got tired of another sister's whining and stuck her in a trash can and walked away. My dad pulled her out. I could go on and on about the times we were temporarily abandoned, but that isn't really the point.

Stuff like that puts things in perspective for me. I don't feel so bad when I think to myself, well at least I am not abandoning my kids by the side of the road, ever.

That was cathartic. Please share your worst mothering moments, they can't be anywhere near as bad as the above. And since I'm not six and stranded in a sugar cane field, they are kind of funny now.

A Tale of Two: Two Weeks and Two Days

Yesterday was supposed to be Hairbaby's birthday... But she was born two weeks and two (now three) days ago. So far, so good. If I'm honest, dealing with the little baby is the easy part. She eats well, sleeps pretty well and cries very little provided that she gets held enough.

Headbanger (now 15 months) is the tricky one at the moment. She seems to like Hairbaby and is very interested in her, but is having a hard time adjusting. She often bursts into tears for no reason and needs to be held a lot. She hasn't been sleeping well since we brought Hairbaby home and is harder to feed. She requires a lot of attention and reassurance.

All of the things that were hard after Headbanger's birth are now much easier. Having two presents its own set of challenges:

1. They always need to eat at the exact same time and it is impossible to breastfeed Hairbaby and feed Headbanger at the same time. Ok, it probably is possible, but certainly not desirable.

2. I have to keep them apart unless I'm right there to supervise. Headbanger is starting to understand the word 'gentle', but still has a way to go. She also likes to steal Hairbaby's pacifier/dummy.

3. Sometimes both babies will wake up and need attention in the night. This is hard enough with one and completely exhausting with two. Worse still, sometimes one will wake the other by crying and they'll need attention AT THE SAME TIME.

4. Headbanger will always burst into tears at some point while I'm feeding Hairbaby. If you haven't breastfed before, it can be nearly impossible to get your half-asleep newborn to re-latch onto the breast if you have to interrupt the feeding. As soon as she stops feeding, she's fast asleep.

The hardest thing is having to choose between the two of them at times.

Nostalgia

This post is a little blast from the past for me. I was reading my cousin's blog today and she had posted their recent visit to Veyo Pool.... and the memories came rushing back. Veyo Pool is in Crawdad Canyon, Utah (near St. George). This wonderful getaway was built in 1927 using the hot springs at the bottom of the canyon. Through the years they added a dance floor, picnic areas, dressing rooms, a wonderful café and snack bar, rock climbing and a few other things The pool is located at the bottom of very narrow canyon with high black rock walls. I remember going there often as a child and whenever I think of it, my mind is flooded with dreamy thoughts and images of my childhood days. I used to do swimming lessons at Veyo and I even experienced one of my most embarrassing moments there. When I was about 8 or 9 years old, I had summer swimming lessons. To save time and bag space, I had formulated a brilliant plan to put on my bathing suit and put my dry clothes over it and then all I had to carry was a towel. This worked really well until I undressed and went out on the pool deck for warm up exercises with everyone. About half way through, I realized that I had forgotten to remove my underpants (they were still over my swimsuit)... and not only that, but they were pink silky ones with white ruffles around the edges. I was mortified and ran straight back to the locker room... I don't remember much of what happened after that, I just remember being totally humiliated. hahaha.... I find it so funny now, though. Anyhoo.... this is a very ordinary pool, rectangle with a diving board and a slide. There's a snack bar where we got a treat or corn dog afterwards (the absolute BEST corndogs you've ever tasted!). They had air hockey tables, and there was a small creek near the pool where we caught crawfish. Ahhhh.... those were the days! .

What places or things bring back some of your best memories?

VOTE

Willow suggested that I make this blog for authors only. That means no one else would be able to look at the blog. In the comments, cast your vote to either make it for authors only or keep it open for all to read. I feel indifferent about it, but will bow to the will of the majority. Thanks!

Where Everybody Knows Your Name . . .

. . . and they're always glad you came. . . You wanna go where people know, people are all the same, you wanna go where everybody knows your name.

So I had a SUPER crappy day yesterday full of lame drama and I was feeling really bad about it and then it made me feel bad and sad about other stuff. I spent a lot of yesterday crying and ended up with a GIANT headache. It stunk! Plus, I hardly ever cry. Seriously, I can count the times I cry each year on one hand. It kind of takes a lot of stress and drama to make me cry.

I had to return some books to the library and no joke, as soon as I stepped into the library I felt a little weight slide off my shoulders. I browsed the cookbook and new non-fiction section and looked around in the kids books as well. 

When I went up the the circulation desk to present my card and check out my books the librarian said, "Oh, I already pulled you up on the computer, Opal*Q." Then she smiled her warm friendly librarian smile. A few days ago a book I had requested came in and when I went to pick it up one of the librarians said, "We knew you would be really excited that this finally came in!" I know they are just doing their job, but they really make me feel like they actually know me. I know this sounds really sentimental, but it is true and with the stupid haterade junk that is going on in my life it just feels good to know that there are people out there in the community who care about me, even if it is just book related.

The library is my home away from home. I go there a few times a week and check out at least 50 books at a time. The librarians call me "the lady with the bottomless bags" and always laugh when they give me a 6' long receipt of all the books I've checked out and say, "this one is even longer than last time." I can put my feet up and read while the kids look at books or play with toys or play on the computers. I feel so relaxed in the library, even the smell of books is soothing. The librarians are my Sam, Cliff, Norm, Diane, Carla and Woody, the books my addictive relief.

Is there a place you go where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came? Do you have a home away from home or a peaceful spot you can escape to when everything in your life seems stressful? 

Me? The Public Library for Union County, AHHHHHHHHHH. . . .