Friday, November 6, 2009

Another Frightening Look Into My Brain

I’m not saying that I’m OCD or anything. But I love me a good, ol’ fashioned obsession now and then. Don’t you?

Past obsessions have ranged from major life altering events: “Here Comes The Bride,” “Let’s Buy A House,” “BABY! Baby, baby, baby…” To smaller time-suckers: “This Old Blog,” “Our Gross Yard,” “What Color Should I Paint The Living Room?”

My current, post-Halloween, obsession has become “Planning Giuliana’s Second Birthday Party.” I am a planner, you see. And I’m a little disconcerted that I only have 4 weeks to plan. But I have been living in denial of the fact that, yes, indeed, this kid is going to keep having birthdays. So, it snuck up on me. There are invitations to pick-out (obsess, obsess, obsess…) buy, fill-out, send. A birthday party dress splurge on (check! Did that last night.) A cake to agonize over decorating (I am not a baker, I just play one in my kitchen.) Decorations to make (I am, however, crafty.) So much to do! At least, there is if you live in my head. I think my husband is wishing that he didn’t. Live in my head, that is. I like to torture him by sharing all my obsessive thoughts, at all hours of the day and night. For example, this morning, as he was getting out of the shower and toweling off, I walked in and described, in detail, my ideas for using paper plates as hanging decorations. Lucky guy, my husband.

A “theme” has also been checked off the To Do List. We decided on that a couple of days ago. It was actually John’s idea. I asked him to think about Giuliana’s favorite things and list them off to me. There were the usual Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Dora ideas. But I don’t like the idea of using doing a character theme. Then, he hit upon the perfect one. I’m not going to share it just yet. But, for those of you who know my little girl, when you see it, you’ll understand.

Geesh! Look at the time. I should be googling cake decorating tips! Oh, and working. Gotta go!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

The Luckiest Ballerina

We had an enchanted Halloween! I hope you did, too.

In case there was ever any doubt about what a lucky little girl Giuliana is, I think yesterday cleared them all away. She was surrounded and adored by her very favorite people all day. Giuliana has some fantastic people in her life, and she is blessed for it.



The rain threatened, but ultimately held off until after our neighborhood Halloween parade. Our friends Kate and Nick (G's Godfather) and Giuliana's Nana joined us for the trek around the neighborhood. G was determined to walk the whole way...when she wasn't persuading "Uncle Nick" to "fly" her in the air (she's got mile-long eyelashes and knows how to use them!) The parade is sponsored by the West Endicott Volunteer Fire Department and the Ladies Auxillary. The firetrucks are out in all their bright red splendor and we gather at the station house at the end for cider, doughnuts, and, of course, candy. It's one of my very favorite things about the neighborhood.







After the parade and an irresistable romp in a pile of leaves, our exhausted ballerina took a break for some lunch and a rest.

We bundled up and braved the rain to Trick or Treat. We stopped over at Nick and Kate's house for a special Halloween treat then off to Nanni and Papa's for more holiday fun.


Finally, the "main event" of the evening. Nana's house for real Trick or Treating with her older cousins.


We got a little wet, but for the most part the rain held at bay. After the "short" circuit around the block the Luckiest Ballerina was pooped, her pumpkin was overflowing, and her ballet slippers were drenched. We walked back to Nana's while the other kids forged on, collecting massive amounts of candy at every stop. We dried off, changed into jammies, ate candy, and played with Nana and Grandpa until every one got back. The night dissolved into a chaos of scaring each other with ghost and goblins, tickling and running wild. A perfect end to a perfect Halloween.


Giuliana is a lucky girl. She is loved and adored. She is smart and funny and well-behaved and beautiful. As we were walking back to Nana's after Trick or Treating I reflected on how lucky, and blessed, that makes me. I could not ask for a better daughter. She is the joy of my life. She's got the world in her hands, can go anywhere and be anything she wants. She is joy and potential personified. She is love. And for a short time, she is mine. I suppose she'll always be mine. But not in the way she is now. And for right now, that makes me the luckiest mommy. I don't want to miss a second of this, this perfect moment.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

I'm Going Crazy

I’d forgotten (repressed?) just how truly horrible, no fun, insanity-inducing and nerve-wracking the “two week wait” is. Living under a magnifying glass and examining every real or completely imagined “symptom” 100 different ways. Googling random twinges and cravings to see if they may give you a hint. Working yourself up into a total state of hysteria convinced it finally happened and then ridiculing yourself for being a twit…way too soon to know, duh!

Or is it just me?

Monday, October 26, 2009

Birthdays and Mansions and Nana, Oh My!

We had a great weekend.

Saturday morning I got up early and played with G. A little later I went for coffee and had a lovely time with a very cute (and pregnant, yippee!) friend…just the two of us, over coffee, on a Saturday morning! So Adult and stuff! Obviously, I don’t get enough of that in my life. Later Saturday afternoon my little family went shopping for birthday gifts for my 5 and 6 year old nieces (toy shopping! more fun!) and then decided to go out to eat (because even after that rant the other day, I didn’t feel like cooking…it’s a woman’s prerogative, shut up!) On Sunday we went to see my sister-in-law’s new house. Ummm, “Enchanted Fairytale Mansion” is not hyperbole in this case. The place is freaking HUGE and manse-like. From there it was over to Nana’s house for Sunday dinner and the birthday bash for the two little girls. Then home again for some football, baseball, crazy sugar-hyped toddler play (and a migraine, but we shall not discuss that) and bed.

The cutest part was the absolute transformation in Giuliana when she was around her cousins and her Nana. She was sorely missing her Nana on Saturday. G’s Nana is a World-Traveler. She goes on these exotic trips 2 or 3 times a year. This time it was Nimibia. For real, I’m not making this up. So G hasn’t seen her weeks (well, she saw her at the Pirate Dance Party last week, but with all the craziness there it wasn’t what she needed, I guess.) She kept wishing and hoping we were going to see Nana all day on Saturday. She actually started crying just before we went out to dinner and when I asked her what was wrong she just said, “Naaaaaaanaaaaa!” Clearly, even if it hadn’t been planned, a visit to Nana’s was in order.

And it was exactly what she needed. As I mentioned, before we headed over to Nana’s house we stopped by John’s sister’s new house. They were completing their final walk-through to close on Tuesday. You may remember that Gina was married this summer and she and her husband created this beautiful (and giant) blended family. But this (giant) family) has had to squeeze into Gina’s small house for the last several months as the mortgage process on the new house has been dragging along. Finally! Finally they are going to close on their new, big, Great Gatsby-style house. So we went to see it. Giuliana went a little nuts running around this ginormous empty house with her cousins. They raced around all four floors, in and out of rooms, up and down both the grand staircase and the “secret stairs” and all around the yard (or “The Grounds” as I insist on calling it.) She ran room to room shouting “Daaaaaaaaaaaaantttteeeeeeee, are you?????” as she and her cousin Dante played a toddler version of hide and seek. They danced and twirled on the dance floor in the basement. She ran circles around the fairy-tale “talking trees” outside, crunching through the beautiful fallen leaves (these trees have ceramic faces hung on them, in a slightly creepy but cool enchanted forest kind of way.) It was awesome. When Nana arrived a little later, G was so geared up she squealed and ran to hug Nana’s legs in her delight.

We all trooped back to Nana’s house and Giulana continued to run wild with her cousins. She had a fantastic time. She played “scary ghost” with 6 year old Sophia, running up to her and yelling “Boo!” to Sophia’s shrieks of mock terror. She climbed behind an armchair and giggled until someone walked by at which time she would jump up and shout at them. We got to sing “Happy Birthday” and blow out real candles on a real cake, just like we have been practicing at home. (G has a new favorite game. There is a picture of me from my 30th birthday blowing out the candles on my cake. G loves to dig through the photo album and find this picture. Then we sing “Happy Birthday” to whoever she chooses and then pretend to blow out the candles and cheer. Repeat, repeat, repeat.) And, of course, then we ate the cake…hence the sugar-hyped toddler previously mentioned.

It was a grand weekend. I absolutely adore seeing Giuliana so excited to see her family. She just has the best time with all of them. These are the moments I cherish.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Masquerade

I’ve been pretending lately. Pretending to be a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM). And I like it.

Last week, I didn’t have to go to work on Monday because we were closed for Columbus Day (I know, hate me if you want.) I had to go out of town overnight on Tuesday and Wednesday, so by Friday I only needed to work a half-day and was able to go home at lunch. Yesterday my parents needed the afternoon off, so I took a half-day of vacation time and again left work at lunch.

Oh my, how I have enjoyed spending all that time with my daughter! It almost feels illicit. I’m totally getting away with something here. I keep looking over my shoulder for the spoiler who is going to come and squash my fun. “Don’t you know, Young Lady, that you are a WORKING MOTHER, not a SAHM. You do not get the privilege of playing in the park in the middle of a Thursday afternoon! You gave up that pleasure for the sake of a paycheck. Get thee back to work!” Or something like that.

I ran into some SAHMs at the park yesterday. I felt like a total imposter. Giuliana happily shared the slide and swings with the few children around at 2pm in the afternoon. And I was absorbed into a conversation about seasonal and H1N1 flu shots and local pediatricians. The other moms were very friendly and open and shared all sorts of concerns about thimerisol and autism fears related to the vaccinations. I share these concerns. I still haven’t made up my mind about which shots, if any, Giuliana will get this season. I voiced my opinions and issues into the conversation. I have a slightly different perspective from these moms because I work with several children with autism. Some of their parents are convinced that vaccinations played a role in the development of the syndrome. And because of my work with medically and developmentally compromised kids, I know a lot about most of the local pediatricians, who’s good, who doesn’t really care about disabled kids and their quality of life, things like that. But I didn’t voice this side of my perspective. I didn’t want to call myself out and mention that I am a working mom who just had the afternoon off. I somehow felt a little guilty about it.

The conversation wrapped up, the kids were winding down and the other moms bundled them up to go home for their afternoon naps. We exchanged names and shared hopes that we run into each other again at the park. But I probably won’t run into them. I can’t take my daughter to the park in the middle of the day very often.

I drove home and wrestled with the issue of getting my daughter down for a nap. Of course she fell asleep in the car the minute we pulled into the driveway. She was exhausted, but woke up as I was gently trying to pry her loose from the car seat. And for this girl, there is no going back. She was up for good. I gave her some milk, rocked her, put on soft lullabies, placed her in her crib for some “quiet time,” but there was no sleeping to be had. As I rocked her, conflict roiled inside my head. “If I was able to really mother her, spend more of my time with her, I’d have this nap issue resolved. My mom doesn’t have trouble getting her to sleep. I’d be able to do that if I was with her more. Like those park moms.”

After I put her down for her “quiet time” I went downstairs and began making the time-consuming risotto I had planned for dinner. I thought I was going to make it Wednesday night. But Wednesday turned into a rush after work. We played outside, and decided since it was so beautiful to take a family walk with the dog. We didn’t get back home until 6pm. No time to make fancy, work-intensive risotto. We ordered take-out. Giuliana had a pb&j and yogurt. So, Thursday, I had a little more time to spend on dinner. And again, as I was stirring the bubbling risotto, the quiet resentment crept in. “If I didn’t have to work I’d be able to feed my family home cooked meals more often. We wouldn’t have to rely on take-out.”

I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon with my girl, and I hate it when these dark thoughts and doubts creep in. I do the best I can for her. She’s healthy. She’s quite happy. She’s loved and cared for. She’s intelligent and learning new things everyday. But when she cries for me in the night and I know it’s only because she needs a few more cuddles, it breaks my heart. It makes me fear that she’s missing me during her days and the little time we spend in the evenings, even though I try like crazy to not let myself get wrapped up in dinner-prep and chores and to spend “quality time” on the floor playing with her, coloring and drawing endless circles, running around the yard, snuggling on the couch and watching Dora together, that that time isn’t enough.

The rub in all of it, the slap in the face, is that the “choice” for me to work is one of necessity. I’m not one of those mothers who feel like they’d go insane if they stayed home with their kids, who craves being able to go to the office and have some relevant adult interaction and then return home to be a better, more focused parent. I have nothing against these parents and wish I was one of them. Then maybe I wouldn’t feel so guilty about all the time I am missing from my daughter’s life. If I felt like working made me a better parent. But I don’t feel that way. I feel working makes me a more unbalanced parent. There are so many things I would do with her if I had more time. I can only cram so many things into a weekend. And some weekends, we feel like we all need to just stay home and relax and enjoy each other.

Sigh. I could go on and on. I’ll stop here because I’m making myself upset. I know it’s useless to dwell on “if only.” I have to work and that’s the way it is and the way it’s going to be. And I just have to suck up the rest of it and be the best mom I can be on nights and weekends. And the guilt and the self-incrimination doesn’t help me do that. It just makes me depressed.

But I think I know what I’m going to pretend to be for Halloween. Anyone have any tips for a good SAHM costume?

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Speechless

The bloggie blahs have attacked again. I'm waiting it out till Halloween when I should have beau coup things to post about...and adorable pics to make you swoon. If work allows me time to breathe before then...well, I might just think of something else to write about, too. I'm trying. Stay tuned.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Away and Back Again

I had a quick trip for work this week. Just overnight. Just up to Saratoga Springs. But, hands down, the best part of my trip was my bedtime call home, when John put the phone up to Giuliana's ear as she was snuggled in her jammies, rocking with him, and she told me "ni-nigh, yuv oo!"

I arrived home after dinner last night. Just in time to gets some great big messy hugs and kisses. We played a little bit. Peek-a-boo. Cars. Coloring. She climbed in Daddy's lap and strummed the guitar. We cuddled. I put her to bed and was again rewarded with "ni-nigh, Mommy. Yuv-oo, Mommy." Sometime, over the last 2 days, she learned to call me "Mommy." It made my heart truly soar. But it also felt strange to my ears. "Mommy?" What about "Mama?" Will she never call me that again?

This morning, as I dropped her off on my way to work, her bye-byes came a little too easily for me. Doesn't she miss me when I'm away? The selfish part of me would have loved for her to cry and cling to me. But she didn't. She was in a great mood and happily went to Nanny with kisses goodbye.

Tomorrow she's coming into work with me. I only have to be there for 4 hours. And then my girl and I will spend the afternoon together. I can't wait. This coming and going, going and coming is hard on my heart.