June 2, 2007 | Mama Smith

oh the timing of it all

Being tired from the life of mommying a 4 month old and a 21 month old just wouldn’t suffice. A crisis has to be thrown in there every now and then to liven things up and make juggling two babes not seem all that bad…comparatively speaking.

This week we were faced with a pretty daunting health scare after I saw my OB/GYN for a regular annual exam on Wednesday. This created a 48 hour whirlwind involving multiple phone calls with the robotic insurance reps, attempting to schedule tests at the hospital, and ending in an ER visit on Thursday. After the dust settled, as far as we know, everything is okay, but we’re still waiting to hear back from the hospital OB on Monday to confirm that supposed good news.

So this weekend we opted out of the retreat we were supposed to attend and decided to spend these two days resting and recouperating as a family.

We’ve walked to our new favorite spot quite a few times that we discovered in the Wissahickon, that’s just a short jaunt from our house. In hopes of leaving behind the stress of all this latest madness and finding renewed energy being outdoors. A break for us all, as Brighton could keep himself entertained throwing mud in the creek for hours if we let him.

Matthew’s also given me time to rest and recouperate through being creative and enjoying my new sewing domain. I cannot emphasize how much easier and rewarding it is for me to enjoy sewing when I have a good hearty space to work in. Being the OCD person that I am, having a space for everything just feels good to my soul. Even if we do have to store the extra toilet paper on my shelves temporarily.

Tonight I finished up two more rounds of pants/capris for B, using some dish towels I picked up at IKEA and some leftover linen from a project last summer. Next will be some matching pairs for Levi. I swore up and down before Levi was born that I would NEVER have these boys in matching outfits…and now look at me. Next it’ll be matching sailor outfits or something. I’ll never get those southern roots out of my blood.

I also started a little stuffed guy (bottom right) for a friend who just had her second son. Inspired by the Ugly Dolls. Practice for when B gets old enough, I’m hoping to sew up some creatures he draws out for me. And wow, just look at that crazy yard sale find in the background from this morning. Two full, beautiful jars of buttons. And to beat all, they were on a FREE table!? Now I’m just hoping to score some bags of tangled embroidery floss and my crafting supplies will be complete…for now, at least.

It’s now almost 10pm. Levi has been sleeping a glorious 6pm to 6am for the past week and Matthew is bringing me our dinner of tofu tomato/red pepper corn chowder. I am tired and starved. So I’ll wrap this up, hoping it’s not the last you’ll hear from me for a week or so, as has been the pattern lately.

To close, a shot of the potty-obsessed B.

He received his new potty in the mail today and immediately ran back to the bathroom, situated it in the corner, took off his diaper and PEED IN IT! We were a little shocked and amused at his efficiency. As if he had been waiting for this little tool thinking, “Come on parents, help me out here. This diaper thing is SO passe! Yeesh”.

He then jumped up, grabbed the book on the back of the toilet that Matthew enjoys while “taking his time in the bathroom” and sat back down to mimic his Papa. All too funny.

But folks, seriously, the boy has gone THREE TIMES on that potty since receiving it today. Are we supposed to potty train him now or something? I don’t think I’m ready for the outing interruptions, attempting to find a public bathroom. Maybe we’ll invest in some of these (ha, ha…my parents SO should have stocked up on these for us growing up. With four kids on all different pee-schedules it would have made long road trips a heck of a lot easier)

Well, it most likely won’t last and is just a passing fancy, but he does get what’s supposed to happen when you sit down on that thing, and that is at least a step in the right direction for when potty training officially begins.