Mistakes in Motherhood

…if you just did what you said you would!!

I mentioned the car problems we are having earlier with the battery/alternator issues. I had been told on the phone by the people who sold me the battery 6 months ago that they would keep my battery overnight, charge it and test it, sending me away with a loaner battery. I get there and they give me a different story, that my alternator is bad, battery is fine, just dead from a bad alternator. I asked for a loaner and they said no because they said my alternator would just kill it, and I need to just get a new alternator. They jump me and send me on my way.

Today I take it to my dealership to get a new alternator. They have be sign the consent form for the $90 test and drive me home. Today I get a message on my machine that they tested the car, the alternator is fine, but the battery won’t take a charge because it is a dud…. and now I am LIVID! If the place I bought my battery from had just done what they said and given me a loaner and tested mine, then I would have a new battery, and not had to spend $90 for nothing! Tomorrow I have to go demand a new battery and hope that they don’t treat me like I am an idiot again. I really feel like the battery place should pay me $90 for the test, but I have a feeling there will be icicles in hell before that happens.

1 Comment | In: A lot about nothing | tags: Auto Stuff, Insanity, Ranting. | #

As the mom to a toddler, I feel like my life of cuddling a sweet little baby has been snatched away from me evolved. I now feel my primary duty is no longer as a nurturer, but now as a protector. Just today I was telling a friend how I felt like I spend my entire day saving my daughter from certain death. Just before I typed that I pulled a screw cap out of her mouth, and an alan wrench and nail clippers out of her hands. We are now on day two without any keys to my car, and I have a feeling my 13 year old had a 27 inch toe-headed accomplice. She’s like a ferret without organization, she will steal from you, but lacks follow through to stash them away in a specific hidey hole.

She’s getting better at entertaining herself, she will walk upstairs by herself and play with Matthew in his room for 10-30 minutes at a time before moving on to her next game, heist, or inadvertent demise. This is bittersweet, as part of me is happy she is able to play independently, while at the same time I worry she won’t make it to her second birthday. Now that she conquered her fears about walking, she seems to have no more healthy fears left and is quite the little daredevil.

Her imagination is really starting to blossom too. Not long ago I wondered why we owned so many toys that no one played with, and now I am amazed at how, and how much she plays with them. She imitates so much and it is funny watching her play and realizing that she is imitating normal daily household activities. For instance she will put her purse on her shoulder and then push the shopping cart by her toy box picking out play foods, which she will then transfer into the refrigerator of her toy kitchen. She will also rock her babies and pat their backs, shush them, and coo at them. The toy kitchen has provided countless hours of play for Sophie and Matthew alike, as well as help from Austin and Christopher too from time to time.

I guess the more I look at this time, the more good I see in her growth and maturity. She is really amazing to watch as she grows into a young child. However, I do with, that for once, I could actually eat all of my own food. I feel like I get to only take a bite or two of whatever I have before I have to hand it over to one of the younger two. Yet if I put it in front of them, they won’t eat it, or will cry for what I have, even if it is the exact same thing.

No Comments | In: People, Places & Things | tags: Amazement, Family, Parenting, Sophia, Toddlers. | #

Hubby’s car hasn’t been starting for months. I figured it was just cold from not being run regularly. Jumped it tonight and ran it all over town for an hour. Took it to the auto supply store for a quick battery check and it showed after all that driving and assuming I was charging the battery, I turned off the car and it was dead. The computer showed my battery was completely dead, despite only being 6 months old. Now we are thinking the alternator is dying, so Monday I get to jump it again and take it to the dealership. Thankfully it only dies when I turn it off, for now at least.

Of course all this would be easier if my teenager hadn’t lost my keys while I was out…. that is just my luck, huh?

No Comments | In: This is how I roll | tags: Austin, Auto Stuff, Bobby, Lame-o, Ramblings. | #

I am not the type to make formal resolutions, but I have really let myself go in the last year. Not in the typical “boy she let herself go”, sort of way. In fact I have gotten quite a bit healthier in the last 6 month (she says as she crams caramel corn into her face). More I have let myself go creatively… and I have really let my blog suffer. Seems that once again I have let real life get in the way, and I probably spent a bit too much time on Facebook too.

So the last month has been a whirlwind of emotion. You know the feeling of standing on a rug, then at the last minute having it yanked right out from underneath you? Well, that was my December. For the last 11 months, we have been looking for houses in North Virginia… just to find out that we may be going elsewhere. No big deal, except for… we have no clue where we are going. We won’t know for another week… but we have to be there in a month. Yes, a MONTH. Simply put, I am a freaking, freak-out, McFreakerson, mess.

We have also had a ton of health surprises with our little princess. She “failed” her 18 month well-baby checkup so to speak. She got the label of failure to thrive because she is growing too slow. This has earned her a couple referrals to specialists, a long list of lab tests, xrays, and a visit for her strange way of walking yielded a referral to a cardiologist for a heart murmur. On the bright side, December brought me a baby who can FINALLY walk. I had decided when she turned 16 months old that she would crawl off to college; and the tender age of 18 months and one week, she joined the upright world. She took off running, never looking back.

2010 will bring good things to anyone who looks for it. The second month of 2010 will bring home Bobby from Iraq, and new adventures in a new city and state. Thankfully, January should fly by since I will have just 3 weeks to find a place to live, interview and hire moving companies, research schools and neighborhoods in a new location, and all the other little bits and pieces. I am looking forward to the last month of his deployment not dragging, like the 9th month of pregnancy always does. I am really hoping I can keep busy enough that it will seem like no time before he’s home.

No Comments | In: People, Places & Things, This is how I roll | tags: Family, Health, Ramblings, Sophia, Updates. | #