Oh the horror!

Of getting a haircut. The kid HATES getting haircuts. Which is a tad unfortunate because he was born with a TON of hair and his hair grows at the speed of light. He had his first cut at age 10 months, and it's been downhill since then. You should see the sheer terror that fills his eyes as we approach the kiddie salon. Then there is the kicking and screaming. For the entire 8-10 minutes, I've got to hold a vice-like grip on the kid. He gets full-body shakes. Any parent who has taken their kid to the pediatrician to get shots knows what I mean with the full-body shakes.

But interestingly enough, the kid has NO fear of the doctor. In fact, he loves visiting his pediatrician. While he's waiting in the waiting room, he sits and reads the magazines or watches TV. Then when the nurse calls him back, he happily gets up and struts back to the exam room. He marches over to the scale and stands proudly on it, and when the doctor comes into the room he listens and obeys all prompts of, "deep breath", etc. He even sits still and quiet for shots! Then, when it's all over, he waves and tells the pediatrician "Thank You!" and he blows kisses to the nurses!!!! I should ask the pediatrician if he does haircuts.

Anyway, last night we took the kid to get a haircut. I try to hold off as long as possible because I know how much he hates it, but seriously, his hair was so long it was practically covering his eyes. So in we went. Actually, this visit wasn't as bad as previous visits. It only took one of us to hold him down this time. So M's hands were free to take a little video snippet. Here it is. Enjoy...relax.

EDITED: Ok, I had to remove the video because the hosting site is doing some weird things. I'll post a picture soon...

Giving back

In the spirit of giving and as prompted by the kid, I just wanted to post some organizations that I feel do a lot of good in this world. My family has seen incredible blessings, and it only feels right that we should spread the joy.

I love the philosophy behind the Seva Foundation. This rings so true to me, "...compassion is not just about helping those less fortunate than ourselves, it's about the realization that we are all connected as one human family." I love that they have programs centered around sustainability. Not just helping others, but helping others help themselves. One programs that is close to my heart is Healthy Mothers and Babies. Gifts donated in this program go to helping mothers and babies stay safe and healthy by supporting midwifery care in Mayan communities.

Another neat charitable organization is DonorsChoose.org With this organization, you browse through teacher-submitted project proposals for materials or experiences their students need to learn. I love the creativity and passion that these teachers bring to the classroom. And all they need are funds to put their ideas to work...to help students broaden their thinking and experience new things. It's a totally cool idea.

For those of you close to the OC, I'm sure you've heard about Casa. This organization trains community volunteers and to serve as powerful mentors and advocates for Orange County's most severely abused, abandoned and neglected children. It's amazing what a difference one person can make in someone's life. Whenever I read this statistic on their webpage, "On any given day in Orange County, there are nearly 3,000 children who have been removed from their parents' care and placed in out-of-home care due to abuse or neglect.", my heart weeps. These are CHILDREN. These are GOD's GIFTS. But the people at Casa are trying to make sense out of a senseless world.

And one more, a tried and true organization, the American Red Cross. A few months ago, wildfires ravaged much of Southern California. Thousands were left without homes as they watched them burn to the ground. Many lost everything. The American Red Cross worked so quickly and diligently to set up temporary housing for victims and evacuees. It was a huge job, but they were ready for the task. They are a huge organization and have been around forever...and they continue to get it right.

I hope that this Holiday Season finds you and yours with blessings beyond your dreams.

If only he could.

M told me a funny story last week. We've all been feeling under the weather lately (can't seem to kick these darn colds!) and one day last week the kid and M stayed home to just chill. M was trying to put the kid down for a nap so they were both lazily lounging on the bed. The kid had his head on M's chest - and M wasn't wearing a t-shirt. Word of explanation here, like most adult men, M's got hair on his chest. Anyway, the kid is resting his head on M's bare chest and suddenly looks up at M with a disturbed look on his face. While pulling on M's chest hair, he says, "Daddy, this is yucky. Take it off."

Gotta love kids for their honesty. He doesn't like it, he tells you as much.

Stroke of genius

Parenting absolute: you kid is not going to like taking medicine. In fact, your kid will struggle with you practically every time...especially when they get to the age that they are aware of what's going on. A couple of nights ago, the kid was running a fever. I needed to give him Motrin, but wasn't necessarily up for the fight. Enter M. He comes in with the Motrin already measured in the dosage spoon and tells the kid he's got some "vitamin juice". GENIUS! The kid LOVES his flinstone vitamins. With a huge grin on his face, the kid runs to M's outstretched hand and takes the dosage spoon, gulping down the Motrin and exclaiming, "yummy!"

Yee haw. Struggle averted.

Don't worry, I am making sure that the Motrin is WELL out of reach to 2-year-old hands.

Little Triumphs

You know, in the course of any given day, I beat myself up for not being an ideal mom. I don't know what it is, but it's so much easier for me to find the flaws in my parenting than for me to recognize that I *might* be doing an ok job. In fact, I *might* be doing a good job (gasp!). Yesterday, I received a report from the kid's teacher that he bit another kid. A word of explanation here, we've been struggling with the kid's behavior at daycare for the better part of a year now. Right around his second birthday, the biting and pushing were an almost daily occurance...and if any of you are the parent of "that kid", then you know the guilt and heartache we went through. No one wants their kid to be "that kid" and we did everything we could to curb his behavior. I will say, though, that his caregivers and the daycare director have been so wonderful about this. While M and I were cowering in the corner, feeling guilty, trying to blurt out 100 different explanations of what the source of the problem was, and pledging earnestly that we would do everything we could to help stop the behavior, they were so sweet and supportive. Never a negative word left their lips, only positive thoughts and guidance. A lot of it had to do with his inability to communicate effectively, but now that his speech has really come around, we haven't had these problems. Until yesterday. Yesterday was the first time in a long time where we had a biting incident. So of course, I drove home feeling dejected and wondering what, as a parent, I did wrong.

But as we were getting ready for work/school today, I noticed something else in the kid's behavior. He's extremely polite. He says "please" and "thank you" in the proper way and without being prompted. When he climbed into my bed to watch TV while I was getting ready, he said to me, "Miss Spider, please." When I handed him his Eggo waffle he told me, "Thank you!" As we drove to daycare, I sneezed and he immediately said, "Bless you, Mommy!" And, as we were walking down the path into his classroom, he stepped aside so he could pass another parent and child and he looked up at them and said, "Excuse me!" So I smiled. I gotta be doing SOMETHING right, no?

Spreading the Holiday Cheer...

Christmas Cards have been sent out! Woo to the hoo! 

We did 2 different versions. These are both designed by my wonderful friend and most talented graphic artist, Angela. The link to her website is under my faves on this blog, but for good measure, it's pbkisses.com. I had her do 2 cards because I know there are those that are more "traditional" on our Christmas list and would like a more serene picture of the kid than this first one. But here's the first one...it's my favorite because it perfectly sums up what a 2-year-old goes through on a daily basis:



Isn't this the truth? Why are 2-year-olds so dramatic? My god the crying that goes on around here! Oh, the tunnel on your Thomas train configuration fell apart? The heavens are falling! The bag of animal crackers is empty? Oh the humanity! And so it goes. In this particular series, the kid managed to snag himself a HUGE waffle cone of vanilla ice cream. And I mean HUGE. This thing was spilling over. So mommy had to scrape off just the very top...but it still left him with a ton of ice cream AND a waffle cone...as you can see in the pictures. But mommy messed with HIS ice cream cone. So of course, this was cause for some HUGE crocodile tears. The kid sobbed his way through this entire treat. Seriously. The scene was hilarious. He'd take great dramatic breaths in between spoonfuls of vanilla ice cream. The kid could give Susan Lucci a run for her money.

For those on our card list that may appreciate a happier picture, we did these:



Now to the opposite end of the spectrum. A scene rarely experienced around here. But I LOVE this picture of my son. Our photographer friend named Bobby took this one. He's been taking photos of the kid since he was about 4 months old and he really does capture the essence of my child...and the essence of my family. Anyway, I love this picture because it's just so serene. An incredible capture of a kid that's ALWAYS running around. You don't ever see him sitting quietly in an out-of-the-way place. You can even tell by the look on his face that you caught him out-of-element. It cracks me up...and it warms my heart. Great job, Bobby.

Happy Holidays everyone!

My confession...

I'll admit it. I'm not cut out to be a stay-at-home mom. Don't get me wrong, I respect every mom out there for the choices they make in their lives, mostly because I know that those choices are made not for them, but for their children. I don't begrudge stay-at-home moms, in fact, I revere them. I revere them because sometimes I think they are greater women than me, because I know, deep in my heart, that I could not do it. I am weak and need the break that work (and daycare) give me. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was home for 3 straight days with the kid...alone. M had to work most of the weekend, so it was all about the kid and me. I'm not going to lie, it was tough. In fact, I couldn't WAIT to get back to work on Monday. This sounds horrible and I feel so guilty about it, but it's the honest truth. It's not that I don't love being with my son. It's just that it's so much work. SO MUCH WORK. Moreso than the hardest thing I ever have to do at my job. This is why I bow down to the much under-appreciated stay-at-home mom. Keep on keepin' on, mamas.

So there are days when I drop the kid off at daycare in the morning with a big hug and a kiss and a "buh-bye honey, mommy loves you!". But then there are days, like this morning, when the heartstrings are pulled and the guilt hits you like a tsunami. The kid has recently taken to singing "This Old Man." He loves it. This morning on the car ride to school, he's singing "This Old Man" in the backseat. So I start singing along with him. He stops suddenly and tells me, "No mommy! Amy helps me sing." Amy is his primary caregiver in his classroom. He loves her, which is great, but even better...he actually listens and obeys her. So he wouldn't sing "This Old Man" with mommy...he wanted to sing it with Amy. Then when we get to school, the kid runs off and starts playing with the toys and his friends in the playyard. He's happy as a clam. As I'm giving Amy a run-down of last night and this morning, the kid runs up to me and tells me, "Ok, bye-bye mommy!" Then he waves his hand and starts pushing my legs so I will leave the yard. I laughed it off, but when I got back in my car to drive to work, I practically lost it. Sigh. Somedays it's ok. And I do mean ok because it's never easy. It's never fu*king easy. But sometimes, it's REALLY hard.

What has daddy been teaching you?

So I'm in the shower this morning and the kid is sitting on my bed watching "Noggin" and eating his Eggo waffle. By the way, when you're a full-time working mom and you've got to get yourself and a 2-year-old ready for the day and out the door, Eggo waffles are your best friend. But I digress.

I climb out of the shower and start brushing my teeth, then I turn around and the kid is standing in front of me holding a bra. He must have fished it from the hamper (or it may have been sitting on top of the hamper as I am not as tidy as I once was) and he just brought it to me. He holds it up and says, "For mommy's boobies." Then he hands me my bra and walks back to bed to continue watching "Wonderpets."

Picture mommy wrapped in a towel with toothbrush in hand and mouth agape. My only response? "Um, thank you honey for being so helpful!"

They pick up on the oddest things, no?

And the Holidays roll on...

Today the kid and I decorated our Christmas tree.  This is the first year that the kid is actually old enough to "get" Christmas, so it was kind of exciting.  A lot of fun, too.  We have an artificial tree that's pre-lit, so all we had to do was put on the ornaments.  Little did I know that this process was going to take 3 times as long as it had in the past.  Only because the kid had to inspect and ask questions about EVERY ornament.

The absolute best moment, though, was when I first opened our ornament box.  As a kid, my mother-in-law had those Hallmark collector's series ornaments for M.  His ornament series are these adorable pressed tin trains.  They really are cute and each one is dated, so we've got the whole set back to 1982 or so.  They are also in immaculate condition because M was meticulous about his stuff when he was a kid.  Too bad that didn't pass on to our kid.  Anyway, I pulled out our ornament box, lifted the lid and the kid sees the set of trains (he LOVES trains.)  He gasps loudly and proclaims in the most dramatic tone, "Oh THANK YOU mommy!"  Then he starts pulling out the trains and heads over to his train table to run them through tunnels and over bridges.  It's really cute that he loves them as much as M loves them.  Although I worry, though, because these trains have survived 25 or so years in perfect condition and they could easily be destroyed in 10 minutes by the kid.

Another cute moment happened when we were hanging our photo ornaments.  I've got those little, dated silver-plated frame ornaments from Pottery Barn.  The basically have a Christmas photo in them for every year of our marriage.  Well, the first one I pull out is from 2005, the kid's first Christmas.  As I show it to the kid, he grabs it and points to everyone in the picture, naming each person.  Then comes the one from last year and he does the same.  He points to each person and says, "Mommy, Daddy, and (the kid)."  Then he comes to an ornament from 2003 and of course, it's just got a picture of M and me.  So the kid looks at it quizzically and says, "Mommy, Daddy...HEY!  Where did (the kid) go?"  I looked at him and told him point blank that Mommy and Daddy existed before he did.  And that made him mad.  Seriously.  About 5 minutes later he was still carrying that frame in his hand.  He shoved it in my face, pointed at the frame and DEMANDED to know where (the kid) was.  Dude, how else do I explain it?  LOL!  The kid expects that the world revolves around him and therefore, nothing existed before him.  Do I have a handful on my hands or what?

So...Holiday cheer continues tomorrow!  M has the day off and is putting up the outdoor lights while the kid and I put together our Gingerbread House.  Wish us luck. 

From the mouths of babes

Ah toddlerspeak.  Seriously, they should offer Phd's in trying to make sense of what your 2 year old is telling you.  Parents of little boys with poor enunciation would gladly pay someone for this service.  The kid is talking a lot now.  And I mean A LOT.  He had a verbal explosion overnight.  And he's not stopping any time soon.

The problem is that we can't always understand what he's saying.  I mean, we eventually get it, but you can tell that he's frustrated at us.  Dude, you should see the looks he gives us.  Like we're complete and utter morons because we can't understand what "washa wa" means.  The bigger problem is when he's trying to say something completely ordinary and benign, but it comes out sounding like a word or phrase that should not be used in polite conversation.  Parents should not teach little boys to identify trucks until they can clearly speak.  The other day we were driving to work/daycare and the kid sees a dump truck pass us on the road.  What does he yell out?  Yup, you guessed it, "Dumb fu*k!"  Nice.  Very nice.

At least that time we were in the car and it was just him and me.  The other day we were in Target and the kid is sitting in the cart.   Out of the blue, he gets super excited and points at something, exclaiming loudly, "Fu*k it, mommy!  Fu*k it!"  Ok, he's really not trying to say "Fu*k it!" but that's distinctly what it sounds like.  And that's exactly what people around me heard.  I have yet to figure out what object sounds like "Fu*k it" as I high-tailed it out of there as soon as I could.  There were giggles from some people, but there were definitely others who sneered at me with a look that unmistakably said, "Nice parenting skills, jackass."  And you know what?  I really, REALLY wanted to actually say, "Fu*k it!" to them.  I hate being judged.

But then there are times when the kid is RIGHT ON.  Take, for example, just the other night at dinnertime.  The kid and I are having the usual struggle.  He's standing on his chair and I'm nagging at him to sit down.  So we're going back and forth arguing and finally, he throws his hands up in the air, tilts his head to the sky and exclaims, "My GOD!"  Note that he says this in the SAME inflection as he has heard so many a time from mommy.  Then he sits himself down from the sheer frustration of it all.  It was like looking in a mirror.  Uh oh.

You know the next thing out of his mouth is going to be, "What's your drama, Heather?"

Ho, ho, ho!

Yes, it's not even Thanksgiving. I know that. But when the Holidays come a knockin', I'm answering. I'm the type of person that has all her presents bought by December 1. Christmas decorations must be up the day after Thanksgiving (as much as I am tempted to shop Black Friday, I try to do it all online. I seriously cannot stand crowds.) Christmas Cards must be sent out by the first week of December. And Santa pictures? Practically as soon as Santa's sleigh pulls up to South Coast Plaza, I'm there with a screaming kid in tow. It's all about the Holiday magic, folks.

So this weekend, I'm at the mall as soon as they open on Sunday morning. We walk right up to see Santa (remember how I said I hate crowds?) My severe crowd aversion is the reason I get things done as early as possible. Plus I hate to procrastinate...I hate to leave things to the last minute. It's just not me. I like to get things done and check them off my list...you wouldn't believe the satisfaction I get from crossing things off my list. You want something done? Give it to a busy person.

Ok, I'm not trying to be naive here. I know it will not always be this way. But I will try my best to always keep it this way. I hate when there are things on my list that don't get done. It irks me in a deep place.

But one thing checked off my list! Here's our 2007 Santa picture...plus a retrospective:

And to Christmases past. Here's the kid last year with Santa. I think Santa might be pinching him:

And this is the kid's very first visit with Jolly St. Nick. You KNOW the kid is thinking, "What in the hell IS this?"


Just so you know, the outfit the kid is wearing in this year's photo is not what I envisioned. There's the cutest little black velvet blazer that goes along with it. I got it from BabyGap. But as I was struggling to get the kid into the button-up shirt and the blazer, he screamed, "NO! That's Daddy's clothes!" and refused to put them on. I finally wriggled him into the button-up because a topless Santa pic is just NOT going in our family album, but there was no way the kid would relent to the blazer. Sigh. And just for the record, Daddy would not be caught DEAD in a velvet blazer.

ETA - ok, I couldn't help it. Bonus pic. The kid needed a new diaper when we got home and refused to put his pants on after the diaper change (notice a pattern here?) So, a little "Risky Business" action going. Back when Tom Cruise was Tom Cruise and not Crazy McCruise. Anyone know where I can get Rayban Wayfarers for a 2 year old?

I love to shop

I do. I just LOVE to shop. I've loved to shop all my life...and the best part of it is the thrill of the hunt. Finding the best or most beloved object for a fraction of the price, it's an incredible rush. I'm just warning you right now because if you're visiting this blog often, you will see me shopping.

For the past 2 years, I did a LOT of shopping for the kid. That's slowed down a bit as I'm now getting back to shopping for myself. I have an addiction to designer purses. I love them so much. The craftsmanship, the style, the look and feel on your arm or shoulder. It's heaven. I currently have my sights set on some Louis Vuitton, but I haven't yet decided on a design or style. There's so much to choose from! Any purchase, of course, will be carefully researched.

But I did want to share a recent purchase for the kid that I absolutely LOVE. They are these shoes from Morgan&Milo The shoes are so cute and really well-made! In the dearth of cute boy shoes in larger sizes, these are a surprising oasis. I happened to find them for a good deal (almost 50% off!), so I bought 2 pairs. Tell me these aren't stinkin' cute:


Ok, so you know then, that mommy had to get some new shoes too. The kid was spending the night at Lola's house last night (he LOVES it there) and M was working late, so mommy went to the mall. Alone. With no rush to come home. I could browse to my heart's content. I was so happy.

Anyway, I did end up purchasing these fabulous boots from Guess. I totally love them, but now I'm rethinking - maybe they are too funky for me? Seriously, I work in a professional office and am the mom of a 2-year old. Where do I have occasion to wear knee-high patent leather boots? Blame it on the saleslady. She was wearing these exact boots with a black wrap dress and black tights. And she looked incredible. They are completely fabulous, though. Don't think I'm not going to make EVERY attempt to work them into my wardrobe before deciding whether or not to return them.

My poor baby...

is sick. I hate when the kid is sick. It's so sad. Thankfully, it's totally manageable, a cough, a sore throat, a runny nose. Last week he was vomiting, but that's all righted itself at this point. Only lingering cold symptoms. It's just that I feel so badly for him when he's not feeling well. As a parent, all you want to do is make him feel better and you just wish that you could be sick for him so he doesn't have to feel this way.

What's making this semi-tolerable, though, for mommy is the fact that the kid has finally learned to blow his nose! Hurrah! Joy to the World! Seriously, this is a milestone that is right up there with walking for me. No more of that blasted nasal aspirator. Both the kid and me HATED that thing. Mommy could never get it to work the right way. The kid ran, kicked and screamed from that thing because he was SURE it was sucking his brains out. I mean, how can you blame him?

But don't think that a tiny cold is going to slow the kid down. No sir, no how. He's still running, jumping and playing, getting into as much trouble as he can muster. Yesterday, my sister was babysitting him and he managed to get a whole bag of miniature marshmellows from the kitchen counter (I warned her about the counter-surfing!) He proceeded to empty the whole bag all over the living room floor. I'm sure he ate about 25-30% off the bag as well. What can you do?

Eureka!

The potato is FOUND! Only five days later. Oy.

At any given moment...

I've got like 500 ideas bouncing around in my head. Seriously. When I was a gym/workout rat (trust me, those days are LONG gone), I loved attending all the different workout classes. I went to Step, Spinning, Kickboxing, CardioFunk, Hip Hop, Strength and Resistance, etc. I had a great time in all of them. But the one class I couldn't get a pulse on was Yoga. Don't get me wrong. I tried. And tried. Just didn't do it for me. You know why? Because I have extreme trouble calming my mind. And usually that's the basic tenet of yoga, no? I wanted so badly to be a yoga person...the clothing alone was awesome...but alas, not in the stars for me.

How I wish I could calm my mind. It's the main reason I don't get enough sleep. I can't fall asleep until I'm so tired my eyes won't physically stay open. Even if I can crawl into bed at a decent hour, I need to read or watch TV until sleep takes me. If I don't, I'll lie awake in bed thinking the most horrific thoughts. Mostly to do with my family or with the kid. I'll envision us in a car crash or some other accident...I'll imagine the absolute horror of losing a loved one...I can't even type here the thoughts that paralyze me if I allow myself the possibility of thinking of them. Is this common with all mothers? Your entire heart is embodied in your offspring. Should anything, God forbid, ever happen to them, then you, as you know it, are finished as well. It's completely terrifying. I have been known, on more than one occasion, to lie in bed and just pray to God to give me ONE more day with the kid. I am a freak, I know, but lest you go calling the looney police on me let me make it clear that I don't let these thoughts rule my life. I still live life as it should be lived. I'm just more careful now that I'm a mom.

A Day out with Thomas

Today we visited the fanatic craze that is "A Day Out with Thomas". For those of you unfamiliar with this spastic extravaganza, let me share with you. Basically, you drive out to the middle of nowhere, to a place that is easily 10 degrees hotter than the place you live. Once there, you join the massive crowds of boisterous children and cantankerous parents vying for the attention of an old passenger train made up to look like the much beloved Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas travels all around the country and is only in town for a few days, hence the popularity when he rolls into your neck of the woods. In all honesty, though, it's not as bad as I make it out to be. It was actually a semi-pleasant day and not at all as horrid as my expectations. Mostly because the kid decided to have fun and actually behave today. We made it through with nary a tantrum. Can you believe that? To top it all off, the kid did not nap today. He was dizzy-tired, though, but didn't nap a wink. Not even on the long car ride back home. So no nap AND on good behavior? I swear the heavens were shining down on us today.

Here are a few pictures from our day. Bad mommy failed to get a good picture WITH Thomas. Oh well. Here's the best I could do...the kid and M are watching Thomas come down the track:

This was easily the best part of the kid's day. He cracks me up. The kid won't sit in a stroller, but he LOVES sitting on his great-grandma's lap when she's riding in her wheelchair. It's really sweet...because he's getting heavy and he won't be able to sit there much longer...as he may outweigh his great-grandma soon. Usually he's an incredible wiggle-worm, but he sits nice and quietly in "Gammie's" lap. The ice cream helps too.

Here's a picture of the kid in the "Imagination Station." Basically, it's a large tent with a ton of toys for children to run around and play in. Kinda nice because they have benches for the adults to rest. Thank goodness someone was thinking. Here's the kid playing with a Thomas track:

All in all, it was a nice, but exhausting day. M put the kid to bed tonight (an hour earlier than normal bedtime) and he said as the kid was drifting off to sleep, he gave daddy a recap of his day. Went something like this, "Thomas train...ice cream stand...french fries...chicken nuggets." See? It was a good day.

I am vexed...

By a potato. A couple of days ago, I was laying on the couch in the living room with my eyes closed while the kid played in front of me. No, I wasn't asleep, because as anyone with a toddler knows, it's practically impossible to actually take a nap with them in the room because they are constantly trying to get your attention. Anyway, the kid comes right up to my face and says, "Mommy, wake up! Look!" My eyes fly open and I see that the kid is standing right in front of me holding a large russet potato. A word of explanation here. The kid is recently tall enough to reach the kitchen counter and the kitchen island. And he's been counter-surfing. BIG time.

Ok, back to topic. So the kid is showing me the potato and tells me, "Mommy, it's a rock!" I reply, "No, honey, that's actually a potato. Una papa." (this is my completely lame attempt to raise a bilingual child). I tell him to put it away and I close my eyes again.

Flash forward to this morning. I spent the better part of yesterday cleaning the whole house (in preparation to have house cleaners come and actually clean my house - that's another story.) I looked everywhere for that potato. This morning, the hunt continued. I cannot find that damn potato! I asked the kid and he looks at me like I'm an idiot. Well, he's right in some ways. I am going crazy trying to find a russet potato somewhere in my house. Lord, give me strength.

Wise words from a philanthrophic 2-year old

Today the kid found a dollar bill on our desk. He picked it up and proudly exclaimed, "MONEY!" I said, "Yup, that's money. What's it for?" His answer? "For the poor."

Dude, the kid is deep. Seriously, we are blessed 100x over. I laughed when he first said it, but really, he knows his stuff. During this holiday season - actually, all year round - he knows we have to give back. To those who are less fortunate than us - in wealth, in love, in spirituality. I am guilty of getting caught up in it all, worrying about if we have enough, when there are those out there who truly DON'T have enough. But this kid keeps it real. Thanks for the reminder, o tiny wise one.

Into the great unknown...

So I've been meaning to start a blog for AGES. Well, maybe not ages, but at least 2 1/2 years. I have a 2 1/2 year old and while writing things down in a baby book may be more traditional, it simply doesn't fit in with my lifestyle. So I have 2 1/2 years of memories that will soon be forgotten if I don't get them down someplace...and since I'm in front of a computer for much of my day...I figure maybe blogging is my best bet. Especially since mommy-brain has taken over my once finely-tuned mind. Who knew that witty repartee and captivating conversation I once held with my husband and good friends would be replaced with questions like, "So, did the kid poop today?" or "Do you need a time-out?". Ah, the joys of family life.

I'm just putting out the disclaimer now...I am by no means a wordsmith. Don't come to this blog looking for witticisms on family, love, children or what not. Some may creep their way in there, but it's definitely not by design, it's by accident. Only because raising a kid is funny. In fact, it's really funny. I have to look at it that way or I'd go crazy. I'd have to talk myself down from the ledge 4 times a day if I didn't find the humor in my daily life. Hence the name of this blog. Those of you that know me should get the lame play-on-words. Quint-essential Chaos (I had to put the hyphen in there because someone else already has a blog with the same name). Absolute bedlam. Perfect imperfection. Elemental pandemonium. Welcome.