I'm in dire need of some help!
I just started writing for Examiner.com as the Orlando Working Moms Examiner. I've printed out an editorial calendar to give me some ideas on what to write, but it's been a little bumpy. Yes, I know I've been writing for them for all of 2 weeks. And, yes, I know I don't need to post something every day. But I could sure use some help finding some compelling topics that related to Working Moms (and, really, don't all moms work?).
If you're a mom, what are some things in the news or around you that concern/irk/interest you? And if you're a dad, what are some things that you'd be interested in reading about? (And if you're not a parent, what are some topics that would still pique your interest?)
Thanks in advance!
My husband discovered this series on NetFlix, and I have to tell you that I'm really enjoying it. I'm currently watching the second episode (not including the pilot), and I'm really enjoying it. The characters are likeable, the writing is hilarious, and it's just really enjoyable.
I'll have to write more about it when I get through more of this first season. But for now, this is just really enjoyable.
So, every week, I write and publish a department newsletter that is sent to all the Regional Retail Managers and District Managers. Most of the Regionals trickle it down to the venue level (which is the level that really needs to read it, anyway), and every now and then, it trickles up to the Area Vice Presidents or higher. It's a pain in the rear and not always fun, but I have most of it down to a science so that it's not the worst thing in the world.
This afternoon, the department head (my boss's boss) told me that she presented the last few publications to the CEO to show him what we, as a department, are doing to communicate with the field. Now, I have to admit, that gave me some pause. Given the nature of my topics, I have a tendency to get a little "preachy". I mean, how many times can you gently remind people they need to sell product? After a while, it gets old, and you start to think banging your head against the wall sounds infinitely better than writing another article about customer service.
Anyway, he liked it. And I mean genuinely liked it! (This is a man who does not mince words. If he thinks something is crap and/or a waste of time, he'll let you know in no uncertain terms.) He found the headlines compelling, the articles cogent, and the entire publication (all 3 or 4 pages of it) worthwhile. I believe she said his exact words were "a fantastic communication".
So, yeah. Good job, Eileen.
Now get back to work.
When I opened the door from the garage tonight, I heard Chris talking to The Boy.
"You tricked Daddy!" he said. Apparently, The Boy was playing with his toy phone while Chris prepared his own dinner. The Boy handed the receiver to Chris, and when Chris took it, The Boy grabbed a hamburger bun off his father's plate and took a bite before returning it as though nothing had happened.
When he saw me, he eagerly ambled over to me and began to tell me all about his afternoon. Most of it was standard fare, but then he started telling me about playing baseball. (And yes, he actually says, "Baseball".)
Chris told me The Boy was trying to play baseball. He would take a (small plush) ball, toss it into the air, and try to hit it with a drumstick. When he realized how difficult that was, he propped the ball onto the coffee table and swung at it with the drumstick, instead. Then he placed a drumstick in Tommy Bear's paw and pitched the ball to him.
I have to ask his teachers about this because we don't play baseball. We (clearly) don't have a bat in the house, we don't have a baseball in the house, and we don't watch baseball on TV. So he must have picked it up at school, right?
So, really, I don't need to get back in shape for myself. I need to set a good example for The Boy, first and foremost, and be able to keep up with him no matter what sport he wants to play. The personal fitness aspect is just an added bonus.
But baseball? Really? I can't even hit a ball when it's propped up on a tee!
In my attempts to regain a semblance of the pre-Mommy me, I spoke to my friend Gena about the possibility of having her train me. As she is still working on getting certified as a personal trainer, she agreed but refuses to accept any money from me. She would, essentially, have me do exercises that target key areas, assign "homework" on the days I don't see her, etc. I, in turn, would be her guinea pig and do whatever she asks.
Gena's work schedule right now is such that she is working her regular job Tuesdays through Thursdays, which means we have Mondays and Fridays to get together during my lunch break. We began our sessions last Friday, during which she had me work on my arms to tone the muscle there. Because I'm occassionally lifting and carrying a little man of 30 pounds (fully clothed with shoes), I discovered I had more upper body strength than I initially believed. But I was certainly feeling it over the weekend!
On Monday, we focused on abs and legs. On Tuesday, feeling sore but functional, I played the part of hamster at lunchtime and walked/ran two miles on a treadmill while a coworker used the elliptical at our office gym. Yesterday, still sore but in different ways, I chose to go to Target for a few necessities and walked two laps around my neighborhood last night. And today, I visited a friend's very ill mother during my lunch hour with every intention of doing laps around the neighborhood again tonight.
Only, the skies opened and poured (much needed) rain upon my house. And it's still going. So I'm not doing laps.
I'm a slacker, I know.
Christ, I'm such a follower.
Over the past few years, I've watched several neighbors float off of Vox, my In Box laced with messages from neighbors alerting me to their changes of address. Some, like my friend Gena, have been able to (kind of) maintain her blogs in two worlds. Her everyday life blog is here on Vox, while her fitness and nutrition blog is elsewhere.
Inspired by her ability to multi-blog, I've decided to follow a similar path. And so, dear neighbors, I'll still be Voxing about grown-up Eileen things with a smattering of motherhood posts here and there, but if you feel so inclined, you can follow my Mommylogues at my new address: mymommylogues.blogspot.com. There won't be any pictures of The Boy (I'll post some updates with photos periodically here), but I have a feeling the vast majority of my neighbors are getting tired of reading about day care and potty training, anyway.
Happy reading!
It seems like just last week I was mulling over the idea of switching, at least part-time, to cloth diapers. In reality, it's been closer to 14 months since I actually broke down and bought a few BumGenius 3.0 diapers to test. After being so incredibly pleased with the three that I initially ordered, I bought another 12, and we've been using them ever since. I have to admit there are times I wish I had put him in a disposable diaper (gigantic poops and toddler tummy among them), but for the most part, I'm actually used to using them. We've already recouped the cost in savings (including any fluctuations in utilities - which have all gone down over the previous year) and are doing our part to save the planet. Moreover, I really like them!
But diapers (thankfully) are only needed for so long, and The Boy is now at a stage where I really ought to have the option of training pants available to him. Oh, sure, I bought him some Thomas the Tank Engine underpants a few weeks ago, but he's not remotely interested in them - nor should he be because, well, he's not even interested in sitting on the potty! But I've seen him in the mornings, when he's anxious to get into the shower, tugging at the waistband of his diapers, almost in a vain attempt to remove them. (He has also voiced displeasure at having his pants or shorts removed unless he decides it's time for a wardrobe change.)
I spoke to his teacher this morning about pull-up training pants to see what she found to be the easiest to use. (The morning drop-offs got a little bit easier each day, but we'll see what happens on Monday.) Much to my surprise (and to show you how little attention I've paid to disposable training pants), there's a very big difference between Pampers Easy-Ups and Huggies Pull-Ups. While both are equally easy for kids to put on and take off, only Huggies has the easy-off velcro sides to make it easy to clean up accidents (especially the poopy variety). I'm very glad I asked, or else I would have invested a small fortune in the wrong disposable training pants!
Now, in a perfect world, The Boy would train himself in a day and I would only need to buy one package of disposable training pants before he moved on to his Big Boy underpants. Just as ideally, he wouldn't need training pants at all at home and would never need to get up in the middle of the night to use the facilities. However, I am all too well aware that we don't live in that perfect world (I don't, anyway) and, as bright as The Boy is, he's not going to potty train himself overnight. Moreover, he's still likely to have accidents at night once he is trained during the day.
I just don't want to give Kimberly Clark or Proctor & Gamble all my money! (They each get plenty as it is.)
Enter Antsy Pants. Have you heard of them? These are the coolest-looking training pants! They're stuffable, so I can use my existing BumGenius inserts at night (multi-tasking is a must). They have snaps on the sides for easy accident clean up. The sides are elastic garters, just like the disposable kind, so he can step into them like regular underpants. And though they are absorbent, they also leave just enough of a wet feeling so that The Boy will know when he's just peed. (I think he already knows this to some degree.)
Anyway, I just sent in my order for six (they call that a one-day supply, but since I only want to use it at home, it should be plenty, right?) and should receive it sometime next week. I'll write a comprehensive review after we've used them for a while. My initial plan is to give The Boy options - does he want to wear a diaper or Big Boy pants? - and go with whatever he says. I still need to make it clear, of course, that he can only wear his Big Boy pants if he agrees to sit on the potty, but if he doesn't, that's okay, too.
He's showing a little more interest in the potty, but he doesn't seem ready just yet. I'm hoping with some options, though, it will help him feel a little more comfortable about the idea of sitting on the potty with a bare bum.
The Boy is officially in the 2-year-old classroom now. Dropping him off was absolutely awful this morning.
A big part of the problem is that I still haven't met the teachers, and it doesn't help that the classroom where I drop him off in the mornings isn't the one where he will spend most of his time. So, his cubby isn't in that room, his artwork (once he makes some) isn't in that room, and his teachers aren't in that room. And it didn't help this morning that he doesn't know any of the kids, either.
After I signed him in, I briefly looked around the room and pointed out all the cool things in the classroom that aren't in the Toddler room. They have bathroom stalls - short enough for me to peer into, but tall enough to give kids privacy when they use the facilities. There's a little sink where he can wash his hands without needing to use a step stool. The tables and chairs are a little taller than the ones in the Toddler room (though still shorter than the set at home), and there are Legos and art supplies and all kinds of fun toys that we have at home but weren't in the Toddler room. After all, he's a big(ger) kid now!
I did my best to talk about everything excitedly, to get him to take me on a tour of the classroom, but he would have none of it. He begged in earnest between sobs for me to take him outside ("Out! Mama! Peas! Mama! Out! Peas! Peas!"), and he clung to my leg for dear life as I wrote on the sign-in sheet. Finally, the teacher there (still don't know her name) took him from me so that I could escape. As soon as the door shut behind me, I ran to his old Toddler classroom and sobbed.
As if that weren't enough, I still needed to run diapers to his new classroom (not the temporary one). I wrote his name on the package in the Toddler room, steeled my nerves, then ran (literally) past the room where I left him and down the hall to his classroom. Once I was there, I looked around a bit, just to see where my little boy would be spending most of his days for the next year. It's an adorable facility, really - perfectly sized for him, and I can totally see him fostering more independence in the coming year. I carefully made my way back once I heard one of the Directors being paged to the classroom where I left him and saw him standing by the door, tears streaming down his little cheeks, wringing his hands and stomping his feet as he cried, "Mamaaa! Mamaaaaaa! Mamaaaaaaaaaa!"
It absolutely broke my heart. Thankfully, he was looking the other way and didn't see me through the window (I would have died if he did), but it was horrible. I felt terrible!
I'm sure he will give Chris a full report this afternoon when Chris picks him up. And I know he's fine and is probably enjoying himself as I write.
It doesn't ease the Mommy Guilt, though.
