Running with scissors

Liam has had a total of four haircuts at this point in his short life. We go to a child friendly haircut place near our home where the kids get to play video games in the waiting area (L is of course too young for this), DVDS play at each station, and the child gets to sit on a variety of vehicles while their hair is being cut. It is more expensive than I would like, but if my wiggly child can avoid having his ear cut off then I am all for it. Besides, I have major curl envy since my hair has always been as straight as can be and I want to maintain this feature of vanity.

This past weekend, Eric took Liam for his haircut after his bath on Friday night resulted in his hair reaching the tops of his shoulders when wet. The result: A DISASTER. Usually when I take Liam (sans Eric) I go to the same gal and she cuts his hair so that it is shorter but still maintains its curls. The more hair he gets, the curlier it becomes. Eric always suspected that if he got Liam a crew cut that his curls would go away, as if the length prompted the curls like so many young children. WRONG! Do you know what happens when a child with curly hair gets a short haircut? They look like they got a hold of the kitchen scissors. I love my baby, but his hair looks like a series of misshapen cowlicks with a stray curl or two.

Every time I get his hair cut, resulting in shorter curls, the teachers at his school give me a really hard time. Today, when I dropped him off at school, they practically called CPS on me. Three teachers gathered around, with an open mouthed gasp. It helped to blame it on Daddy. Sorry Eric, I love you, but it is every man for himself in this situation. One teacher even offered to go to the haircut place and “take care” of the hair stylist. But at least his hair will always grow back - Hopefully before we take his two-year pictures. Until then, if you see a little blond child running around, looking like he had to have all his hair cut off due to a lice epidemic, you will know that is my child.

The Runaway

The past few days in Dallas have been so beautiful, I almost can't stand it.  At least in the sense that it is really hard to concentrate when it is 72 degrees outside, and all I want to do is play.  But thank goodness for three day weekends!  Liam and I have been going to the neighborhood park everyday.  It amazes me how old he is getting.  In just two months he will be two years old! 

Have you ever read the children's book, "The Runaway Bunny"?  The book is by Margaret Wise Brown, the same author who wrote "Good Night Moon."  Any how, for those of you who are not familiar with the book, it is about a little bunny who keeps telling his mom about how he is going to runaway from her.  But the mom just says, "If you run away, I will run after you."  So he states all the things that he will turn into to escape her, but every time he has a new plan, she counteracts it.  If he turns into a fish, she will turn into a fisherman.  If he turns into a rock on a mountain, she will become a mountain climber.  You get the idea.  Eventually, he decides it is more work than it worth and decides just to stay home and be her little bunny. 

Yesterday, I had a Runaway Bunny moment.  At the playground, Liam is now, mostly self-sufficient.  He no longer needs help climbing stairs, going through the tunnel or going down the various slides.  While I have to still trail close by to ensure that he does not decide to jump off anywhere precarious, overall he can go at it alone.  Great, right?  Sure, unless you totally feel like your baby is growing up and no longer needs you.  Of course I realize that I am being irrational.  Liam totally needs me for any number of items.  But now it is different. 

There were some older kids (and by older I mean like ages 4 and 5).  Liam totally wanted to follow these "big kids" around and ditch his old mom!  I swear periodically he would turn around and look at me like, "Mom!  Stop following me.  You are totally ruining my street cred."  If I would try to stop him from doing something that the older kids were doing that wasn't quite age appropriate (i.e. the rock wall), he would totally have a meltdown...thereby ruining his own street cred, thank you very much.  The point is, that I felt like the mother bunny in the story.  I was like, I can totally do what those big kids can do.  It was pretty pathetic.  I am going to be one of those lame moms who is always trying to relate to my kids as they grow up.  I will totally gush about a future Justin Bieber if I have a daughter.  Or I will try to "friend" my child on Facebook, or whatever the future equivalent is.  I know for sure that I won't go as far as being like Amy Pohler's character in Mean Girls.  God, save me from myself.

As Liam continues to get older, I know that he will still need me.  And as much as I will want to be his friend in addition to being his mother, I will have to remember that being his mother is my first responsibility.  And for his sake, hopefully I will not be one of those helicopter moms always suffocating their children! 

Who stole my day?!

Oatmeal.  That is what I had to eat today (I should also mention that Eric made me the oatmeal so I can't even take credit for that).  This morning I had a vital decision to make.  Sleep an extra five minutes or make myself a lunch to take to work.  Sleep won out.  I have played out many similar battles in my head: Five extra minutes of sleep or wash my hair in the shower.  Five extra minutes of sleep or balance the check book.  Ever since becoming a mother, I cannot, hard as I try, catch up on sleep. 

Prior to having Liam, life was packaged into a fairly neat day.  I would get up, shower, have breakfast while watching the morning news, go to work, head to the gym, come home, make dinner, spend time with Eric and do it all over again the next day.  Rinse and repeat. 

I wouldn't trade my life for anyone else's.  Yet I often have to wonder, how do some working mothers do it?  And not just working mothers, but all mothers in general.  Because I don't care what anyone says.  Being a stay at home mom is hard work.  You never get a chance to be off.  Rain or shine.  Sickness or health.  Sometimes after an extended period of time at home, I even like to go into the office to have the luxury of going to the bathroom by myself.  Or eating an apple that is all my own.  I help people for a living and it is really rewarding but hard work.  But in many ways I would love the opportunity to be at home with Liam full time.

I have a friend who just had her third baby.  She works full time.  She was working out until the day she had her baby.  She started working out just a few weeks after having her most recent child.  She is now going back to work.  And I just have to wonder what her secret is?  I can't even find the time to make lunch much less get to the gym.  I don't mean to complain, but by the time I pick up Liam, dry cleaning and milk, return home to make him dinner, bathe him and put him down, send out a few Blackberry work emails, scrape up some mediocre salmon/rice/veggie combo, do a load of laundry and collapse...I am bone tired.  Don't get me wrong, Eric is a tremendous help in getting things done around the house, but at the end of the day there are always more chores than time.

Perhaps it is just my sinus infection exhaustion talking, but I would love to know how mothers out there find a sense of balance?  What is the secret and can I please have it.  Pretty please?   

Washington D.C.: Part II

One of the meetings I had while in D.C. was held in the Members Room of the Library of Congress.  For those of you who have never been to the LOC, it is one of the most underrated tours in Washington.  The entire library is incredibly breathtaking, with incredible art at every turn.  The Members of Congress Room features 11 foot oak wall paneling, fireplace mantels of Italian Sienna marble and mosaics over the mantels.  The room is almost overwhelming in its exquisite details.

There are three entryways into the room and each has a carved archway, or lunette by Charles Henry Niehaus.  Some of my favorite classes in college (which had nothing to do with my major) were in art history.  There are seven ceiling panels that represent the Spectrum of Light. Each panel displays one of seven colors with a central figure showing human or divine achievement.    

A view of the fireplace and sitting area.



The ornate carved doorways



The amazing ceiling with painted fresco's.  Each state is represented within the paintings.


One of the coolest experiences that I have EVER had in my entire life occurred on this trip.  Eric and I had the opportunity to meet Chief Justice John Roberts and take a guided tour of the Supreme Court!  Because someone we know is familiar with one of his clerks, we were able to set up a time to meet with him and a small group.  Unfortunately we were told that we could not take pictures when we met Chief Justice Roberts so the only people who will probably believe me are the group that we went with!  Let me just say, being ten feet away from him and getting the opportunity to ask him questions was totally unreal.  I thought of all these great litigious questions to ask him, but when the time came all I could do was nod like an idiot and fawn! 

The chandelier is Austrian crystal and the ceilings are 23 carat gold.



The spiral staircase at the Supreme Court

No matter how many times I go to the Capitol, I am always in awe of the architecture and history.  It still gives me a thrill to drive by this building. 

The Capitol



A view of the National Mall at sunset

 

 One of the best parts of being in D.C. was getting to visit with Eric's parents.  They totally dote on Liam.  Who am I kidding?! They totally spoiled me and Eric too!  One of the days that we were there, Becky took us to Kinder Haus, this great old toy store in Clarendon. This was by far, the BEST toy store I have ever been to.  It is an old fashioned toy store and they pride themselves on the belief that toys should be powered by imagination...not batteries.  They carry a lot of wooden toys and puzzles, Folkmanis puppets, and Madame Alexander dolls.  They also have a weekly story time.  And the best part: When you buy a toy, they give you a balloon and gift certificate for a free cupcake at a nearby bakery.  They are totally supportive of other small family owned businesses.

While we ate at several excellent restaurants while we in D.C., we were also spoiled by Becky and her great cooking.  Everything she makes tastes sooo good!  I am pretty sure that I left at least five pounds heavier.  Plus she offered to watch Liam while Eric and I took several tours and went to dinner a few times.  It was a reminder of how wonderful it is to have family nearby.  I wonder if people with family nearby go on dates more often!?  

The Pate Men



Grandpa reading Liam a bedtime story



Becky's shortbread and berries with fresh whipped cream



Liam loves to be flipped upside down by Grandma Becky



Liam has recently become interested in toy cars.

   On Friday, we spent most of the day touring around the Capitol.  My office set up at tour for us to go to the White House.  Several years ago, when I lived in D.C., one of the gals that I knew from Texas Tech was the personal assistant for Mrs. Bush so she was able to set up a West Wing tour.  It was great to see the Oval Office and Press Room.  However, since it was so soon after September 11th, I never had the opportunity to see the East Wing.  While I was happy to be able to go on the tour, I was slightly bummed that docents do not lead tour groups anymore.  I would have loved to have heard the individual histories of each room, but alas, the tours are now self guided.  Still, it was fun to be able to take in the sights.



Standing in front of the White House.

 Now, onto the important stuff.  Because you can't take cameras or handbags inside the White House, we were left to take the next pictures on a Blackberry.  So please bear with me.  We had time between the White House Tour and the Capitol Tour so we returned to the Smithsonian American History Museum.  We took in the Star Spangled Banner exhibit, the Abraham Lincoln exhibit, saw Dorothy's ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz, and the original Muppets.  Then the piece de resistance: Aurther Fonzarelli's leather jacket.  I am a HUGE Fonz fan.  I love me some "Happy Days" and think that Fonzie is still da man.  I was all too thrilled to see his leather jacket!  We then had a quick browse at the National Portrait Gallery and lunch in their cafe. 

"AAYE!"

The second coolest part of our trip was the ability to take a private dome tour of the Capitol Rotunda. Tours can only be given by Members of Congress or their Chiefs of Staff.  I won't get into the vast history of the rotunda or the artwork within it.  I will say that you have to be in great shape to get to the top of the dome since there are lots of steps and ladders.  And the tour is not for the faint of heart.  It is a little scary to be at the very top outside.  But if you can get over the terror of the sheer height (keep in mind, there are no safety nets!) you can enjoy the beauty that not many people get to see. 


Because we did not have our camera with us, we had to rely on our phone to take a few shots.  Once I get the photos of us on the outside top of the dome I will post them!  It was a great experience and we feel very fortunate to have traveled to D.C. and shared so many experiences with friends and family!

Washington D.C.: Part I

Eric, Liam and I just returned from a full week in Washington D.C.  I had to go for work for a few days, so the boys decided to come along and visit with Grandma Becky and Grandpa Ron.  Ironically, we had expected the weather to be incredibly cold in D.C.  And it was!  But it sounds like we avoided the even colder weather that hit the North Texas area and crippled the area.  A few days before we arrived in D.C., a snowstorm hit.  Because the temperatures were so low, the snow didn't melt the whole time we were there.  But we learned that January/February is a great time to visit our nation's capital because nobody else is there.  The downside is that it is hard to want to sight see when the weather is so cruddy!   

A snowy Sunday in front of the Washington Monument

The flight out was surprisingly empty, so even though Liam flew as a lap child, he was able to have his own seat. This was the last trip we will likely take before Liam turns two in April, so it was his last time to fly as a lap child.  However, there is a part of me that is relieved because it has become so much work to keep this wiggly child under control.  Thank you DVD player! 

On our first full day we ventured out into the cold to visit the Smithsonian American History Museum.  The whole time I lived in D.C., I was only able to scratch the surface of all the D.C. sights.  I am convinced that you could spend your whole life in the area and still not see everything there is to see.  Especially considering that many of the museums have special exhibits and rotate out items.  At the American History museum we took in one of my favorite exhibits: the First Ladies inaugural ballgowns.  For those of you who have never seen them, they are truly works of art.  We were also able to see fun items like the R2D2 costume, Julia Child's kitchen, and a photography exhibit on the only photos taken of the Kennedy's between election day and his inauguration.  



Liam enjoying the interactive children's play area at the American History Museum



Viewing the world through a rose colored lens

One of the items that Eric was excited to see was an old Tucker car. Only 51 Tucker cars were ever made in the late 1940s. The Tucker was thought to be really innovative at the time for it's safety features. This particular car was seized by the U.S. Marshall's in a drug raid and donated to the Smithsonian for display.

The Tucker

You may not be able to read the caption, but the idea was that a child could crawl into a compartment in case of an automobile accident....I assume it would have to be a really slow, low impact accident.

The next day we traveled to the American History Museum, because I have been wanted to see the Butterfly Exhibit since it first came out.  Liam had a great time seeing the dinosaurs and aquarium.  Mommy had a great time seeing the Hope Diamond. At the Butterfly Pavilion, there are over 300 types of butterflies that you can view up close and personal.  These butterflies come from all over the world.  Because they are bred in controlled conditions, they have no fear of humans.  This, we learned, can be a bad thing.  A toddler from another party reached out and squished a butterfly while his parents were not looking.  The docent, needless to say, was besides herself.   

Checking out the aquarium with Grandma Becky at the Natural History Museum



Grandpa Ron points out the various butterflies

Liam was not quite sure how to react to the butterfly that landed on him

You could literally walk up to the butterflies and take their pictures!

You can't tell from this picture, but this particular butterfly had to have been about 8 inches in diameter.

A few days later, we had the great opportunity to travel out to the Udvar-Hazy Museum near Dulles Airport.  Many people have the opportunity to visit the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum.  However, not many people make the trek out to Virginia to visit the companion facility. The two sites make up the largest collection of aviation artifacts in the entire world.

As a special treat, we were given a tour by the Museum's director, General Jack Dailey. General Dailey is retired from the Marine Corps and formerly led NASA's internal operations.  General Dailey took us on an in depth guided tour of the entire facility and we were amazed by his knowledge of every facet of the museum. Among the great sites at the museum were the Enola Gay, the Space Shuttle Enterprise, and the Concord.

One of the amazing view from the Udvar-Hazy

The Blackbird.  You have NO idea how large this aircraft is!

The back view of the Blackbird

The Enterprise

As a point of reference on how large this space shuttle is, I am posing in the bottom corner of this photo

The small yellow sign says "cut here for emergency rescue."  Now you know in case you are the rescuer.

Eric's favorite part of the tour!

 We definitely had a great time and felt incredibly honored and humbled to have met General Dailey.  For those of you have the opportunity, this is a gem of a museum!

The terrible twos are a-brewin'

These days Liam will eat just about anything you put in front of him.  As long as that anything is chicken nuggets.  When we first started Liam on baby foods, life looked promising.  Carrots, garden vegetables, sweet potatoes, spinach and potatoes, etc.  He ate all of it will little to no complaint. One could even say that he ate with gusto.  So I guess I took for granted that when it came time to move to actual solids, that he may not be as...open to new foods.  But ever since he sprouted his first teeth, it has been incredibly difficult to get him to try new foods.  And I am not talking about strange items.  I am taking about mac and cheese, spaghetti, fish sticks.  The things that kids are supposed to love.  It has really only been during the past several months that we can even get him to eat foods like chicken nuggets and pizza after multiple failed attempts.  Lately he has even taken to refusing common staples like Goldfish, bananas and pancakes. 

What is a mom to do?  There are truly days where I wonder how he survives on a handful of Kashi crackers and an apple, and other days where he eats so much that I wonder whether I need to be concerned about childhood obesity! I hear from other moms that this is common, and it may have something to do with the three new teeth that he has sprouted in the past few weeks.  And the teething may also have something to do with why he has been so darn fussy lately.  I am not sure if this is a preview of what we should expect heading into the terrible twos or whether this is related to teething, possible virus, time changes, travel, etc.

Part of Liam's fussiness may stem from his inability to express his frustrations and desires right now.  Because of Liam's past experience with meningitis, he will probably need a few more hearing exams than other children.  Before he had tubes put in his ears in October, his pediatric ENT ran a brief hearing test to have a basis for comparison after the surgery.  Because of the amount of fluid in his ears, they were not able to get a good reading.  Six weeks after the tubes, we went for a follow up and another hearing test was performed. The individual who performed the exam had some concerns about the tones that Liam was responding to, so in December we had to have a sedated ABR exam performed.  The anticipation of the exam made me a nervous wreck, and I often had to be reminded not to get too ahead of myself on the potential results. 

Fortunately, the results came back fine and Liam's hearing was deemed to be normal.  But because some of the concerns about his speech development, we were referred to a speech therapist.  We have been taking him twice a week for a few weeks now, and have started to notice an improvement in the words he is starting to say and even the gibberish that he uses.  But because he doesn't have a large vocabulary, I think that he gets frustrated with his inability to articulate his wants.  One of the words that he has just started using with consistency is "Hello."  It tickles him to grab my cell phone, open it up and start saying, "Hello" followed by gibberish.  He loves this game so much, that he has started to meltdown when he sees me talking on my phone and I won't let him "play along." 

He is usually such a sweet boy, but today alone he had too many meltdown to count.  For example, he would throw a Goldfish across the room and then cry because one of the dogs ate it.  He would laugh one moment and then cry the next.  I am not sure whether this is a fluke or a glimpse into what to expect as we head into his terrible twos. While Eric and I realize that all kids go through this stage, today we definitely earned our "parenting stripes."

A healthy amount of narcissism

Babies love mirrors.  And the makers of toys realize that.  Which is why there are so many products out there for babies to glimpse their cute images: rattles, tummy time mats, mobiles.  It is part of the way that their development is bolstered.  As a baby, Liam was obsessed with our chrome trashcan because he could see his face.  As a germaphobe I had to let go of the fact that my baby was going to occasionally lick the trashcan.

What I didn't realize is that Liam's love of mirrors would extend well into his toddlerhood. In his younger toddler class he earned the name "The Little Prince." The two teachers fawned over him and let him get away with A LOT. They would tell me that they used to set his naptime cot in front of the classroom mirror (the kind that they use in dance classes) because he was comforted by his image and would talk himself to sleep. And for some time now, when we give him his nightly bath, he uses the chrome bathtub fixtures to check himself out. He has even been known to kiss his image in the drain.

Every day when we pick him up from school, we get a detailed report showing us what he ate, when he napped, when he had a diaper change, etc.  There is also a comment section which lets a parent know what the child's favorite activity of the day was.  I have taken to saving a couple of these recent reports that I felt were "cute."  However, I have started to notice a pattern.

"Liam had fun running around looking at himself in our room."

And on another day, "Liam was looking at himself in the mirror and

running away from himself laughing!! It was so cute!!

We have always thought these acts were adorable. We have even taken to consoling him by taking him to one of the mirrors in the house and letting him get a good look at himself.  But at what point do you start to wonder if your son will be the kind of man who will check his image out in a girl's sunglasses during a date. I can imagine him fixing his hair in a nonchalant way while his date discusses the merits of the Geneva convention. Surely the love of his reflection is something that will wane in the years to come.