Tag Archives: toddler

Trip to the High

Today we were invited to go to the High Museum in Atlanta. Apparently, the High has some diverting activities for kids. We weren’t even there for a specific children’s event (which they offer too), but there was still a little room full of fun activities for babies and toddlers. It is definitely worth checking out.

My sister came over to my house in the morning to help my get the kids dressed and ready. I put on their cutest outfits (we don’t get out much, so we like to put their best foot forward) and we headed over to the museum. I was shocked that we were leaving with plenty of time to spare for once. What a difference a helper makes when you are getting three children dressed and fed! My girls have crazy curly hair, so I did my best trying to make their hair look done, at least. We get to the museum parking deck right on time and Rosie’s neat little top knot has turned into a rat’s nest in the 20 minute trip there. Her hair band had disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle of hair bands that haunts the backseat of my van. Never to return. I panicked and pulled Wren’s head wrap off to put on Rosie’s head. It didn’t do much to ameliorate the situation, but I at least felt like I did something.
IMG_9120.JPG read more

A Day in the Life

The days are long, but the years are short, they say. Right now, I am in the trenches of the “long” period of motherhood. I’m ridiculously outnumbered day in and day out by this tiny army that I painstakingly grew and nurtured inside of me.

My days are long. I wake up (late, of course) after a night of climbing in and out of bed to nurse my littlest back to sleep. I go to get my littlest so I can groggily change her diaper and nurse her yet again. At this point, I am so parched, I feel like I have crossed the Sahari desert and my canteen is full of sand. I let her play on her play mat while I sleepily watch her from my bed. read more

Instagram cracks down on . . . Moms?

I breastfeed, but I would not consider myself a “lactivist.” I usually can’t wait to wean, and am surprised at myself every time I feel sad about weaning when it is time. With my first baby I would go into another room by myself to nurse, as I remember all my aunts and parents’ friends doing when I was young. By the time my second came along, I was tired of hanging out by myself while all my friends and family members enjoyed each other’s company, so I started using my nursing cover. Missing out on all the fun because my baby is hungry? Forget it. Now with my third, I have been starting out a nursing session using a nursing cover, but poor Wren just gets so hot and sweaty and uncomfortable, I usually discreetly remove it once I feel her getting drenched in sweat. I never in a million years thought I would be that mother who was unabashedly whipping out her boob in public when her babe was hungry, but I think by the fourth I will be at that point. I’ve got three under three. Go find somewhere to hide so I can breastfeed? Ain’t nobody got time for that! I still haven’t yet reached the point where I am putting photos of myself nursing on Instagram, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the beautiful photos of breastfeeding when I come across them. Photography can be an art, and as a mother, I love the Cassatt depictions of breastfeeding too!
20140710-225543-82543371.jpg
Young Mother Nursing Her Child Mary Cassatt read more

Our little flower girls

My brother’s wedding was this weekend, and it was a destination wedding in the college town of Athens, Georgia.
20140706-221716-80236669.jpg
My (now!) sister in law very sweetly asked if my two older girls would be flower girls, and of course I agreed. Ruth will be three in September and Rose will be two in October, so I was a tad bit anxious about how they would perform come the day of the wedding.
20140706-221902-80342997.jpg
We traveled up to Athens on the 4th of July for the Rehearsal Dinner. When we had settled into our cute cottage on the grounds of the wedding venue and attended the Rehearsal Dinner, Ruthie promptly sat on a lit match and burned a hole in her dress. We like to start things off right. The rest of the Rehearsal Dinner was uneventful, other than the fact it was outdoors and the mosquitos ate poor little Ruth alive! read more

Why it is important to take our littles out in public

I realized the fatal flaw in the waitress’s placement of the girls’ booster chairs right next to each other when I witnessed Ruth’s hand shoot out to wave around in her sister’s face. Rose immediately emitted an ear splitting shriek that only children with older siblings know how to do. The eyes of the entire restaurant were on our table as I panicked and attempted to resolve the problem before the girls drew any more attention to us. Ruth, pleased that her hand waving had produced such a satisfactory response, waved her hand in front of Rose’s face again as I dived toward them to separate them. Too late! Rosie’s second shriek rent the air. The lady at the table next to us turned toward me and exclaimed, “God Almighty!” Tears welled up in my eyes as I picked Rosie up and took her outside to walk around. I felt as if the eyes of the entire restaurant followed me as we left the room in shame. read more

Potty training thoughts and reflections

When I decided to begin potty training Ruthie, I had no idea where to start. I went out and excitedly bought her some big girl underwear with her favorite characters on them, a potty seat, and a stool. Then, when I got home, it dawned on me that I had no idea where to start. I did some trial runs of putting Ruthie on the potty, but the results were inconclusive.

So, like any mom nowadays, I turned to google and Pinterest for help. Apparently, the so-called three day method is all the rage these days. I was pregnant with my third with a toddler and a baby at that time, and after reading up on the three day method, I decided that was definitely not an option. I could not be watching the baby while waddling after the toddler to catch her every time she started having an accident. So the potty training plans were put on hold until after the baby came. read more