Football Widow? No, I have a child to distract me.

I saw this in the paper today, and I couldn't help but relate.

"Real Life Adventures" Comic Strip from 11/5/11

 M loves football.  It goes beyond the usual "fan" and become fanaticism.  He will watch any game, big or small, whether or not he cares about the teams.  He likes some teams better than others (Miami and *obviously* Wisconsin for college teams, and Philadelphia and Green Bay for NFL), but overall as long as it's football, he'll watch it.  

Most of the time, this doesn't bother me.  Before I married him I knew that I would not have control of the remote from the Saturday morning ESPN Gameday coverage through the Monday night football game.  But some days....aaaarrrrrgggghhh!!!

It's become a joke between us and our families that I'm technically single from late August through early February.    My brother-in-law even got me this as a gift for Christmas when he had my name a few years ago.

It's a decorative throw pillow.
BARF!!!

On days like today, when I'd rather slowly drive a dull pencil into my eye socket than watch even one more play, it's nice to have a child around to distract me.  It was a gorgeous day outside, so Evie and I took a long walk with the dog.  I also caved and gave her one of her Christmas presents.  (She'll never know that today isn't Christmas.  ;)  Right??)

Crayola Adventure Dome Child Kids Play Tunnel Tent Giga...

I really just wanted to see her play in it, and M wasn't around to stop me.  She loved it!  Tomorrow, while M is watching MORE football, Evie and I are going shopping.  She needs some news shoes for winter, and I need some new sunglasses because she broke my last pair.

I'm sure we'll have another fun mommy/daughter day!!

Am I just expecting too much?

Like most working moms, I feel an immense amount of guilt about leaving my daughter at daycare each day.  I bring Evie to a woman's house (we'll call her "Mary Poppins") each day.  While she is there, there are also two other kids full time (a girl who is almost 2 and a boy is almost 3). There is a little boy who is 3 1/2 who is in preschool some days and at Mary's house the other days, and another little girl who just turned 5 who is only there half days after 4K.  Evie LOVES being around the other kids.  Many of them are the children of other teachers that I work with, which is nice too. 

Ms. Poppins is very caring and loving with all of the kids, but I never know how feel about some of the things that she says.  I just can't read her, and it makes me wonder about what is going on all day with all of those kids.  I wonder if they watch too much TV (I know Nick Jr is on most of the day).  I wonder if Evie was in the Exersaucer too much and that's why she didn't crawl until she was over 11 months old.  I wonder if Mary is giving her enough love and attention. 

Do all mothers feel this way about  leaving their child in someone else's care?  Do I just expect too much?

Some days when I pick up Evie, little things confirm that icky feeling in my stomach too.  Last week Tuesday Evie had a little scratch under her eye.  I didn't even notice it, but Mary mentioned that she had had a boo boo earlier in the day.  Because she brought it up, I asked what happened.  (Very nonchalantly, I honestly didn't mean to be accusatory...kids fall down and get bumps and bruises, especially kids like Evie that are mastering the art of walking.)  Her response caught me off guard.  She said, "I don't know."   There was no elaboration at all, just an awkward pause before I said, "Oh, well kids get bumps and bruises.  No biggie." 

Many people probably would just switch daycares if they felt even slightly uneasy, but there are several reasons that I stay with her.  The biggest reason is that Evie always seems happy to go to Mary's house.  She is so excited to see Mary and the other kids that she practically falls out of my arms on the way into the house each morning.  If Mary was really doing a bad job, she wouldn't be that happy, right?

I know that Evie is not in any danger.  I know that Mary is a very capable caregiver.  I know how much Evie loves the other kids there.  I think (like M said at the beginning of the school year) I just won't be happy unless I'm the one taking care of her all day.

Only 7 more months until summer...

Wordless Wednesday - Halloween

Monday wasn't Evie's first Halloween, but it was the first Halloween that she went trick-or-treating....sort of.  We walked around the neighborhood and stopped at the houses of the neighbors that we know better.  We went to 4 houses total. 

Evie was so excited to see all of the other kids in their costumes.  She didn't want to walk with us, she just wanted to say hi to everyone.  It was so cute!   We had so much fun!

I had to add my favorite picture from her 1st Halloween.

My Hopes and Dreams

Evie,
My hopes and dreams for you are pretty simple:

I hope that you always follow your heart and listen to your gut.

I hope that you have big dreams.

I hope that you keep your innocent sense of humor as long as possible...don't become too jaded too soon.

I hope that your never settle.  You can do anything you set your mind to.

Most of all, I hope that you are happy....whatever happiness means for you.  Your dad and I will be there for you every step of the way.  If you fall down, screw up, or just have a bad day, you can always count on us to listen and help in any way that we can. 

We love you so much!!





P.S.  This topic reminds me of Tina Fey's "The Mother's Prayer for Its Daughter" from her book Bossypants.

Here is an excerpt:

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen.  Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For Childhood is short - a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day - And Adulthood is long and Dry-Humping in Cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers, And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes Lord, That I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M. all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.
"My mother did this for me once," she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby's neck.  "My mother did this for me."  And delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget.  But I'll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

Amen

Weekend Wrap-up

I had a 4 day weekend because my school had fall break on Thursday and Friday.  There wasn't much time for relaxing though...we definitely kept busy!

Thursday, Evie had a play date with a little girl from our church who is just a couple of months older than her.  I had 2 one year olds in my care for 2 hours and we all survived!   This girl's mom stays at home, and I've offered to take care of her little girl so that she could have some "mommy" time.  The girls played and ate a snack, and I realized once again that M and I are completely, totally, 100% not ready for baby #2!!

Friday, a mommy friend and her two kids (a little boy who is 3 1/2 and a little girl who is almost 2) came over for a play date.  The mom and I used to teach together, but now she teaches at a different district.  I see her pretty often because our kids go to the same daycare, but we rarely have time to chat.  Evie and her little girl are good friends at daycare, and it was fun to be able to see them play together.  It was also really good to catch up with my friend!

Saturday we had the wedding of one of my coworkers.  My sister (who lives nearby) babysat, my other sister (who lives 4 hours away in central Illinois) drove up to hang out, and two of my aunts (who live a couple hours away) also came to visit. So, there was a party at my house, and I wasn't even here.  I was kind of bummed about it, but the wedding was really nice.  The food was great, and there was cake...which is my favorite part of any wedding! ;)

This morning my sisters, my aunts, Evie and I all went out for breakfast before everyone had to head back home.  We cleaned up, took a nap when Evie did, and relaxed.

I felt like such a mom all weekend with all of the play dates.  I don't have a ton of friends that have kids that live nearby, so this was the first time I've done anything like this.  It was especially nice to talk to my friend about mommy stuff.  I've been having some daycare issues (nothing major..post coming soon), and it was cool to hear another mom's perspective.  I need to do that sort of thing more often. 
 
But now my long weekend is over.  :(  Time to get back to work!!!