How is it Wednesday already? The weeks go by so quickly and Molly keeps us awfully busy! Jim and I went to see Life As We Know It last night and I could totally relate to the overwhelmed feelings that Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel’s characters experienced. Except, we planned to have a baby and had months to prepare for parenthood, whereas they were thrust into the role overnight. So maybe they were a little more overwhelmed than I am sometimes. At any rate, it’s always nice to see realistic examples of life with kids in the media and to talk with friends about their parent fail moments. It makes me feel much more normal!
Parent fail moments? Oh, yes. Those moments abound. Luckily, giggles and hugs and exclamations over the dog, the UPS truck, or a new book make up for the moments when I feel like I’ve majorly goofed. Also, speaking of lucky, my parent fail moments aren’t as epic as leaving Molly somewhere (like the car, or preschool, or the mall) or watching her tumble down an entire flight of stairs (just six or so), but they can add up all the same and make any normal parent question her parenting skills. Take for instance, the fact that Peaches has a perma-bruise on her forehead from tripping and falling into every.single.doorframe in our house. Last week, I thought for sure we were going to the ER instead of preschool, but she rolled over and there was no blood, just a huge purple egg that had already formed. On top of the blue and green bruise that was already there. And then of course that night, I read in a parenting magazine that head injuries are the most common serious injury among children, and that repeatedly hitting the same spot over and over again can lead to slight brain damage, or at least numerous concussions. So the following day, I’m watching for various signs of a concussion and had to convince myself that not pointing out the ball in Goodnight, Spot! did not mean Molly had a concussion. (But luckily today she fell and hit the other side of her head, so now she has matching bruises!)
Another area in which I’m failing? Nutrition. Molly does not eat any meat or vegetables. The girl survives on crackers, berries, and yogurt. I hear this is quite normal for toddlers and I was ok with this phase until she stopped eating altogether. She hasn’t eaten dinner the past two nights and then ends up eating a snack right before bed. Last night, Nana gave her a cereal bar and tonight, it was Jell-0. The tired part of me realizes this is ok, and even gets mad at the uptight part of me that bothered to fix a grilled cheese sandwich and peel a pear in the first place!
And finally, one last parenting fail moment (for today, that is): I dropped my screaming child off at preschool. She had a temper tantrum because it was time to stop picking up leaves and rolling the pumpkins and get in the car; she cried the entire three minutes to preschool and was still crying when Miss Lisa opened the car door to get her out. (Maybe it’s all the bumps and bruises, but she was perfectly fine when I picked her up and was thrilled to see me. She walked right over to me and gave me a big hug.)
And yes, I do realize in the grand scheme of things that these situations I deem as failures are in fact part of toddlerhood. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t wish that Molly hasn’t had a bruise on her forehead for the past three weeks, or that she would eat just one piece of turkey or three green beans.
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Happy, happy birthday to Molly’s Nana – my mom! – today! We love you lots!
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