Fan Club Of One

 

I sneak down the hall and slip into the bathroom.

Finally, a moment of peace I think to myself.

Before I manage to unbutton my jeans, there is wailing and pounding on the door. “Maaaaaa maaaaaa!” screams Miles from the hall way.

I sigh. Last night was very rough. Ella was running a high fever and this morning Miles seems to next to fall. As quickly as possible, I finish in the bathroom. When I open the door, I’m nearly knocked over by the force of his hug and Miles yells “Yeah! Maaaaa!” with exhausted laughter.

It’s okay. Before I know it, he won’t want to spend every minute with me. I’ll have all the time I want in the bathroom. Snuggles? A thing of the past. For now, I treasure my fanatic fan club of one and the moments of connection he brings.

If I Were President

If I were President? I would mandate one of these seats to be put in every bathroom stall in America. I can’t even being to count how many times I’ve attempted to balance a toddler on the toilet while trying to keep a baby from licking the condensation off the toilet bowl.

In this case, McDonald’s is most certainly leading the pack.

Moments

One afternoon, I was helping Ella in another room and left Miles for just a few moments.

Suddenly, I heard the most bizarre sound coming from the living room. It reminiscent of a snuffling pig.  I went down the hall, peeked around the corner, and saw my bald baby double fisting contraband applesauce into is mouth while snorting with glee.

A dollop of applesauce fell off his face and landed on the couch. I’ve never see a baby dive as fast as he did to lick it off the upholstered cushion. Obviously, that boy has equal love for milk and table food!

♥♥♥♥♥

Aaron and I crawled into bed late on night. We squeezed in between the two kids and lay there for a few moments, laughing quietly with each other over the ridiculous way we had to maneuver to  keep from waking them up.

Suddenly, I hear little gasping giggles. I lean over Aaron and barely manage to make out Ella, who is huddled under her blanket and shaking with suppressed laughter.

I whisper, “Is Mama and Daddy silly, Ella?”

The response is even more, sillier laughter. We all join in and then snuggle in close as we fall asleep.

♥♥♥♥♥

Ella announced with sudden urgency at the bookstore that she had to poop. I dropped everything, scooped up Miles and practically ran with Ella to the opposite end of the store where the bathrooms were located.

(On a side note, who puts the children’s department on the opposite end of the bathroom? Completely unhelpful.)

Thankfully, the handicap stall was available and I found myself bent over, helping Ella balance and trying to keep Miles from licking the toilet bowl with my knees. When I almost fell in, I gave up. Ella and I had a discussion and we decided to put a diaper on her until we got home. It would be okay.

Sometimes, you’re just ahead to regress.

Moments ~ Cloud Gazing

Ella and I were on the back porch last week, enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. I heard a little gasp and a small hand frantically patted my arm.

“Look, Mama!”

I followed the pointing finger and saw nothing unusual. Then I spotted it. A huge, fluffy white cloud was lazing over the church next door.

“What is that?” she asked.

I explained it was a cloud and pointed out all the other ones in the sky above us. The look of absolute amazement that crossed  her face is something I hope to never forget. Suddenly, Ella dashed inside the house and came back out with her sunglasses. She had me help her put them on and then she laid down on the porch with her hands behind her head.

“I see better with my pink sunglasses, Mama. I look longer at the clouds.”

♥♥♥♥♥

Moments ~ As Parents

We stopped at a traffic light one night. I was riding in the car as Aaron drove. A mini van stoped next to us and it had one of those dvd players that drop down from the ceiling playing a Blue’s Clues episode. Aaron and I both exclaimed at the same time, “It’s Snack Time Playdate! Together, we burst into hysterical laughter as we reached a new level of parenting: Being able to identify a child’s favorite television episode an entire car away.

♥♥♥♥♥

One morning found Ella and I mixing up breakfast muffins. All the tins were filled and we were waiting for the oven to finish preheating. I stepped out of the kitchen, leaving Ella with a bowl that held about two muffins worth of batter.

A few minutes later, I rounded the corner into the kitchen and found that Ella had pulled out a pie pan and had scooped out all the batter and spread it around the pan. My first instinct was to scold her and express my frustration over her wasting potential food. Instead, I took a breath and a step back and asked what she was doing. Ella explained that she was making “Uffins for Dada’s breakfast”. Boy, was I glad I hadn’t rushed into the situation and unintentionally discouraged her giving spirit.

So together, we finished spreading out the batter and popped the pie tin in with the muffin tin. It came out like a muffin pancake and she was SO proud to give it to her daddy that night when he came home.

♥♥♥♥♥

Once upon a time, I had a lot of ideas of what a good date would involve. Good food, concerts, movies, etc. None of those concepts included partying it up in the housewares department of T.J. Max. But that’s where I found myself with Aaron this week, savoring my time with him completely child free. We fingered sheets, played with pots and pans, tried on hats, and played house. We laughed. We joked. We had fun.

Having fun is something we had been missing in our relationship. Once we rediscovered it together, our parenting skills improved, communication abounds, and situations seem so less dire.

Laughter truly is the best medicine.

Moments From My Days

I’m in the bathroom, daring to use toilet paper in peace by leaving the children alone in the living room together. I hear a yelp and then both are screaming. I dash into the living room with my pants around my ankles and scoop up Miles while sitting down on the floor next to Ella.

“What happened, babe?” I ask.

“Miles BITE ME!”

“Where did he bite you?”

“On nipple!”

At this point, I can hardly contain my laughter but manage to ask how he even reached her nipple. She replies, dead serious and looking at me like I’m an idiot,

“I nursed him, Mama”.

♥♥♥♥♥

We’re traveling in the car and Ella is chattering away about how something is tasty and something else is yucky. I really should have tuned in sooner, because suddenly she’s thrown her muddy snow boot in the front seat declaring,

“Snow on this boot YUCKY. Snow on my other boot yummy.”

I guess we should be more clear about when, where, and how a person can eat snow when the benefits are being presented to a toddler.

♥♥♥♥♥

Ella is sitting on the toilet in the bathroom, SO proud of the fact she just pottied successfully in it. She peeks inside and shrieks,

“Mama! I make YELLOW potty!”

Without missing a beat, she askes,

“Will it be purple next time?”

♥♥♥♥♥

Sitting in  my rocking chair, I’m nursing Miles and singing softly as we are all winding down for bedtime. From the floor at my feet, where she is snuggling with babies, Ella looks up at me and whispers,

“I luff you, Mama”.

It was the first time she ever spoke those words to me.