On Life

 

On Life in the Sick Lane

Last week was a blur between caring for the kiddos, working when I felt well enough and just trying to keep laundry clean. I have never seen a laundry pile so large. The vicious stomach virus hit all of us in the family and I"m just thankful it wasn't all at once. I can't even imagine how horrible that would be?!! Stuey was sick the longest, but wasn't terribly uncomfortable at any given time. He was still quite smiley and just had projectile vomit issues. Poor baby!!

On Motherhood

Motherhood suits me, as Patrick would say. I love kids and the unpredictability they give our lives. Now that Stuart is almost a year old, I have started panicking, thinking, "Oh no-this is our last baby!". We only want two kids. As I watch the video Patrick has been making of our last year as a family, I see how big Stuart has gotten and how he is less of a baby and more of a toddler now. Still as cuddly as ever, however. 

Many people ask us if we're "done" with 2-and I say resoundingly "YES!". Patrick and I want time for eachother, I want to have more energy for furthering my career down the road and it'd be nice for all of us to stit comfortably at a restaurant booth. And rental cars are easier...the list goes on. For us and our family, we feel so blessed with two healthy kids that we couldn't ask for me. When I have my 'want-another-baby-moments', my friend Marias encouraged me to recognize these feelings and just move on. She reminded me, "Zoya-its very biologically normal for you to have those feelings. Thats how mother nature works..." Good thinking, Marias.

On Nora

As I say, often daily-"Nora gives me a run for my money". And thats the truth. She is my girl, but screams/cries/whines for unknown reasons throughout the day. Patrick and I are stumped by this. She'll wake up in the morning and cry for 15-20 minutes by herself in her bedroom. Or she'll do it later in the day, walking around the house crying. Perhaps it is a communication difficulty. She has something she wants so badly to tell us, but can't?! 

Often her crying bouts are related to us not giving her something she wants. She can literally cry over it for up to half an hour. Patrick and I never give in-we can't figure out why she continues to consume so much energy crying over something which won't change. I think its probably 2 year old stubborness. In any case, its hard to watch and when she is in that mode, she won't accept help/love from us. 

Nora has a blast at daycare-and takes a long nap without any difficulty there. I think its helping her speech as well. The past few days she points to objects on the counter and names them. Big leaps and bounds there. The words come out garbled, but you can make out certain sounds.

She loves helping me cook meals.  Even if the task is to move the batch of spices from one counter to another, she loves helping. She has chair that she moves around the kitchen and stands on to access the counter. She can stand there and watch and help. I often find that improves her mood if she is having  a hard time. Helping mom cook a meal. And with my new 2 recipes a week...theres lots of cooking to be done!

Sharing has been rough with Nora-especially if it comes to her dollhouse.  The dollhouse is pretty much off limits for Stuart when Nora is awake. Its her "baby". So if Stuart starts taking interest in it, I distract him with something else. Patrick and Nora play with the dollhouse after Stuey is in bed. Its so fun to hear them interacting...Patrick putting the little dog on the bed...mommy and daddy making dinner...Nora DIGS dollhouse play!

Zoya