Monday, January 28, 2013

The First One

I created this blog about five months ago and I am just now getting to write my first post.  Needless to say, I may not keep up with this regularly.  It has become so commonplace to have a blog though, I feel I should at least attempt to keep one to chronicle the stories of our little family.

One may wonder about the name I have chosen for my blog.  Right now in the midst of both boys (two and three years old) having yet another stomach bug, the blog name seems even more appropriate.  While most mothers may fill their blogs with all of their proudest moments or hysterical anecdotes regarding their children's escapades, I generally will write a little bit more about the challenges of raising two crazy boys 12 months apart.  Sure, like every parent, I have those incredibly rewarding moments in which my heart is so full it feels it may burst.  However, those moments are interspersed amongst a multitude of more typical moments, the moments that have me asking myself, "WTF, is that chocolate or poop all over the wall?"

I do enjoy my children and love them with all my heart, but for me personally, the time away from my personal goals and my career are a big sacrifice that we are consciously making to have one parent home with the children during the years before school.  I am so far from the mother that feels that parenting is the most rewarding thing you can do, that when a stay at home mom claims nothing is better, it makes me think she is lying or demented.  Granted, I know some actually feel this way, I am just not that person.  I do know, though, that all of the time, effort and love you put into your children is more than worth it when they become their own responsible and caring people and have you to thank for it.  Still, doesn't make catching puke or changing diapers any more glamorous!

So why write a blog chock-full of stories about the unending (albeit sometimes comical and unbelievable) challenges of raising children?  I have a few reasons.  One, it will be nice to vent to something other than Facebook.  Two, so many of us mothers of young children may feel incapable, unprepared, or downright exhausted in the face of the task at hand.  It may be nice for others to read of my typical day and know they are not alone.  My third reason for writing is for those of you that have never faced the task of taking care of toddlers 24/7 or those of you that are so far removed from the days of caring for babies that you have forgotten about the constant tantrums, the sleepless nights, and the forfeiture of your entire self.  So maybe next time you will not be so quick to judge the mother who forgot to brush her son's hair before preschool or the parents of the kid whose socks don't match (or for that matter the adult whose socks don't match, as it has recently happened to me on more than one occasion).

My final reason for writing this blog is to share the challenges of raising a child with what has most recently been diagnosed as sensory processing disorder who is more stubborn and hardheaded than me and his daddy combined.  We are learning as we go and I look forward to sharing his story as he progresses through a variety of treatments.

That's all I have for now.  Hopefully, now that I have the first one done the rest will follow a little more easily.


I want to tell you a story...

I want to tell you all a story. It’s about a mom who had two babies 12 months apart. And the second baby was different. He was sad or mad...