On Friday I took both kids to Lil’Tex’s nursery school’s end-of-year picnic. I figured, what with nearly five weeks of practice, it couldn’t be too hard to wrangle both kids by myself.

Sigh.

Well, it was hard! The school yard was full of kids running around and enjoying themselves. In other words, tripping, climbing, falling, and roughhousing. I was on the other side of the yard nursing Baby when I looked over and saw another mother comforting a red-faced, wailing Lil’Tex. Apparently he Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 16% [?]

Well folks, it’s been a successful Easter morning in our house. And if success was measured in sugar, we’d be at the top of the class. It’s not even 9 a.m. and Lil’Tex has had Skittles, jelly beans, chocolate chips, and licked the icing off a cinnamon roll.

I swear I did try to focus on the non-sugar stuff. He also got a book, a slinky and some new cars. Alas, I see a sugar high, then a very low sugar low, in the near future. Hopefully that means a nice, long nap! Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 18% [?]

The single digit countdown officially began last week, but I think I was too busy to notice it. Now there are merely two months until this baby makes us a family of four. Whoa.

Time is slipping through my fingers! I feel like I haven’t been fully conscious of it passing by, tick-tocking into oblivion and taking us closer to the point of no return. Not that I want to turn the clock back… I just want to be fully present for this short amount of time I have left with just Lil’Tex. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 14% [?]

I did it. I left my baby for the first time, trying to hold back tears as I walked out the door, and drove four hours away for my Girls Weekend. It only took about 5 minutes on the road for me to stop feeling sad for leaving him. He is, after all, in good hands with Mr.BabyDaddy.

But it’s funny how completely interwoven my life is with my son’s. I listened to Lil’Tex’s music in the car as I drove out of town, not realizing for a solid 30 minutes that I didn’t have to listen to it.

Later, as I drove past a field of cows I pointed them out to him, looking for his reaction in the rearview mirror. Except there was no carseat, no kid and no “Mooo!” from the back seat. When do I ever drive around without him? Pretty much never.

Then this morning Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 15% [?]

Last night I watched as my son unraveled an entire new roll of paper towels. I did nothing to stop him. I sat there indulging in his joy, while thinking why am I letting him do this? This will definitely come back to bite me later.

But it didn’t. At least not yet. Not only did he entertain himself for an entire 30 or more minutes, his dad came home and played with him in the pile of now-wrinkled paper towels for another 45 minutes. Mr.BabyDaddy made them into a snowstorm of pieces and Lil’Tex broke out in those irresistible toddler giggles. Check out these photos! Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 23% [?]

Mommy's little frogger

Allow me to introduce the most adorable kid on the planet: my son, Austin (aka Lil’Tex)! Yes, I’m sure there are other extremely good-looking, lovable kids in this solar system. But as it is for every mother, only her own child can fulfill this title. My little fireball of joy is the absolute love of my life. I have other loves – husband, family, food – but nothing compares to what your heart can feel for a child. It’s the purest, truest, most priceless love you can ever know.

But enough of the mushy stuff.

Lil’Tex is also a fit-throwing, kid-pushing, wheel-obsessed, nonstop giggler and cuddlebug who isn’t afraid to run across the room screaming when he doesn’t get his way. He is, after all, a toddler. Learning social and emotional boundaries is simply an oh-so-frustrating part of being a kid. As is causing as much mischief as possible for a human being weighing (barely) less than 30 pounds.

The sooner you realize your child is capable of both wondrous and jaw-dropping, eye-popping, hair-pulling deeds, the sooner you can relax, stop worrying about being Wonder Mom and just enjoy the ride.

Case in point: Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 17% [?]