Taking It To A Whole New Level

I am taking this motherhood thing to a whole new level... of exhaustion. Cutie Pie hasn't slept through the night in two weeks. Every night while I stumble around in the dark with my wiggly little nine month old, I reach for that silver lining and think about how grateful I am for the opportunity to spend extra time with my Cutie Pie.

I used to be one of those people who needed nine hours of sleep each night to function. Heaven help the person who kept me from my sleep! When I'm tired, I fall behind on my work and the Neverending To-Do List spirals out of control. For the past week, in between midnight visits from Mr. Crankypants, I have been in grown-up-time-out in front of my desk full of paperwork.

It's amazing though. No matter how much sleep I lose, when Cutie Pie wakes up in the morning, I am right there with him. Somehow I manage to find this amazing mothering energy that keeps me up and moving all day. My husband says there must be some sort of caffeinated Mom Hormone that is released when I see Cutie Pie that allows me to chase my wild, crawling little Cutie Pie despite a lack of sleep. I don't know where I find the energy, but I'm glad to have it. Heaven help ME if I were to doze off, leaving him unsupervised.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

Not so fast, Mommy!

Every now and then I feel a glimmer of hope that I just might be OK at this whole Mom thing. Just when I start to gain a little confidence and walk a little straighter, Cutie Pie says "Not so fast, Mommy!" BAM! He reminds me who is really in charge of our household.

This morning, Cutie Pie woke up earlier than usual. No worries. That just gave me more time to spend with him before school. He played while I got ready for work and I enjoyed playing peek a boo in between brushing my teeth and looking for my shoes. It was so easy, I felt like I had conquered motherhood.

In my blissfully confident state, I left Cutie Pie to play with his toys in the living room while I quickly ran to the other room to pack my files into my bag. I heard some banging but I figured he was just playing with his favorite stacking toys again. I walked back into the living room after leaving him alone for maybe thirty seconds. In that short time, he had made a bee-line for the dog bowls. In my unrealistic and downright cocky state, I had neglected to remove them from reach. Cutie Pie had poured water all over the kitchen and was in the process of sprinkling dog food into the puddle he had created. I grabbed the broom and swept up the soggy dog food while Cutie Pie splashed on the kitchen floor. When he saw me pick up the food in the dust pan, he cried like I had ruined his day.

Cutie Pie became Mr. Crankypants when I changed him into dry clothes and I realized that my early riser was already in need of a nap. He fell asleep five minutes before it was time to walk out the door. I decided it was better to be a little late than to awaken the Master of the House so I let him rest for a bit while I enjoyed the great luxury of packing the car in peace.

Just when I thought I was getting control over my life again, Cutie Pie let me know who's boss.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com

The Amazing Changes Motherhood Brings

After I had my Cutie Pie people were always asking me what surprised me most about motherhood. I think they were expecting me to talk about the amazing feeling of love and joy that Cutie Pie gives me. I feel an incredible sense of love for my child but it didn't surprise me at all. I have always felt that kind of love from my own mother.

I feel like I was adequately warned about all the typical motherhood changes. You will never sleep again. Your house will be messy and you won't care. The baby will take over your entire world. You will change your mind about wanting to be a working mother. You will change a million diapers. You will do laundry every day. You will sing nursery rhymes until you lose your voice.

But there were a few things that I was not prepared for. There are three things that actually surprised me about motherhood.

1. I am a shameless booger picker. Cutie Pie has had a runny nose since January. Of course he does not know how to blow his nose or wipe his own nose. It is up to me to keep him booger free. I think it is so sad when I see a baby with snot running down his face. I don't want Cutie Pie to be one of those snotty little babies so I take my job as booger remover very seriously. It doesn't matter if we are at home or in public. No boogers left behind!

2. It turns out that I really can get ready in fifteen minutes. For years and years it took me hours to get ready to walk out the door. I never thought it was possible to shorten my leave-the-house-routine. But, as it turns out, not caring what you look like can make a world of difference. As long as the baby has not thrown up on me since the last time I changed my clothes, I am good to go! I usually try to throw on a little make up too. I haven't completely given up.

3. I can pop out of bed wide awake. I really can. For the longest time I thought I was just one of those people that has a hard time waking up. I thought I just needed a few hours to wake up and I couldn't be helped. It turns out that all those years I was hitting the snooze button I was using the wrong kind of alarm clock. The only way to wake me up is to the sound of Cutie Pie noises through a baby monitor. He just makes a peep and off and running across the house to investigate.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/