Tag Archives: crying

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October 23, 2011

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Sazon, NYC

Yesterday I drove into the city with the girls. It was supposed to be all four of us, but Stu had to stay back last minute to do some work for the project he’s on. Mom had made arrangements for everyone to meet up at Sazon, a puerto rican restaurant, since her cousin was in town. Her family is very spread out, with most living in Puerto Rico, and a lot in Michigan. And, it was really this weekend and not last weekend like I had thought. But that’s another story.

Brooklyn Bridge

The drive in wasn’t bad at all. I was on time, give or take five minutes. The girls napped most of the way, but the minute I pulled up into a not so legal parking space, they both started crying. Dad takes Ashlin out of her seat, mom goes for Teagan. I’m a ping pong ball between them,trying to help dad get the stroller frame so Ashlin can be put down,and maybe sleep in the restaurant. And trying to ensure Teagan understands that she must always hold someone’s hand while she’s outside. Taxi cabs and New York City traffic does not stop for you, not even if you are a little, cute girl.

T & A & LaLa

So I head back to park the car.  I couldn’t find a spot on the road, nor could I find the parking garage that mom said gave discounts for Sazon patrons.  Around the block again I go, but this time, I got stuck on a ramp that was Brooklyn Bridge only.  Great.  Why would I want to go to Brooklyn when I was pressed for time, and had two crying babies waiting for me?  Mom reminded me as I drove off that they won’t sit the party until everyone was there.  Great.  More stress.  Whatever.  I ended up going across the bridge and then making a legal u-turn to go back to Manhattan.  Got back on Reade Street and found a parking garage.  Parked and dashed for the restaurant, full of apologies for making everyone wait 40 minutes for me to find a parking spot.

Teagan and Ashlin are still upset, not necessarily crying, but definitely not happy.  Tears hadn’t totally dried yet.  There was a firetruck that had gone by, and Teagan got very scared and was shaking, burying her head into her Aunt’s shoulder.  She was very sensitive to sound after that, and the restaurant was a bit loud.

Pernil as big as your head

Teagan ate just about everything:  Carne Frita, Camarones, Plantains, Calamari, Chicharrones de pollo, Pastales.  She had some Pernil (that was as big as your head!), some churrasco, some salad and arroz con gandules.  Everyone was impressed that the very English looking baby little girl ate such ethnic food, and with gusto!  She couldn’t get enough.

The food was fantastic.  I’m so glad I was given so many leftovers.  Stu and I will have dinner taken care of for the next three days!

Nifty Grafitti

Ashlin was still not doing well with all the noise, and to top it off, she was super tired.  I took her downstairs (there was a tapas bar!  With benches), and nursed her there.  It was so wonderfully quiet down there.  Ashlin went straight to it, no distractions allowed.  She must have been very hungry.  The walls were fantastic, all covered with interesting grafitti.  I got to read while she ate.

We told the waitress that it was my mom’s cousin’s birthday, so they came to the table singing the Puerto Rican Happy Birthday song – just Happy Birthday over and over to the birthday song tune.  Teagan tried to help herself to the dessert platter, but we quickly pushed it away.  She did get some bread pudding (didn’t like), Flan (LOVED) and some custard thing (also liked).  Renee fed her whipped cream, and Teagan loved that too.

Since I had an empty seat, I offered my sister a ride home.  She and Teagan chatted the entire time.  Ashlin fell asleep basically the second we got onto the Henry Hudson.

Purple Empire State

When I called Stu to let him know  I was on the way, he asked if Teagan remembered to tell Aunt NayNay the “thing.”  She hadn’t.  Of course, Renee asked, so I prompted Teagan, who then shouted “NayNay has no knickers!”  And burst into giggles.  I could probably explain it, but it’s much more fun if I don’t*.

Teagan fell asleep within minutes of dropping off Renee, and slept the entire ride  home.  Thankfully, my sister had picked up a Diet Coke for me, so I had a bit of juice to make it all the way home.

It was a good, but very tiring, time.  The food at Sazon was fantastic, though the music was a bit too loud for the little girls, and it was a bit hard to have a dinner conversation over, though we still had lots of fun!

~~

* Teagan was helping with laundry one afternoon.  She would hand everything to me and I would fold it.  Later, at the grocery store with Stu, they were talking about seeing Renee and doing laundry.  Teagan said NayNay had no knickers, because she didn’t have any in our laundry.  I had knickers and she had knickers and Dada had knickers.  LOL!

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July 27, 2011

This was my daughter tonight

Today, I came close to hating my daughter.  To wanting nothing to do with her.  I feel horrible saying that, but it was true.  For an hour and a half.

As you know, she doesn’t nap often at day care, especially since she moved up to the bigger toddler room.  Well, she’s been hanging out in the two’s room, so, the napless days continue.  She comes home very, very tired.  She is not a person you want to be around when she’s very, very tired.  I did not want to be around her at all tonight.

Stu was working late so I went to pick her up from day care.  One of the teachers from the infant room mentioned that she seemed very tired, so I said that she doesn’t nap any more now that she’s in the older rooms.  That she needs the nap.  Today, she did not nap.

She wanted to walk to the car.  That’s fine, no issues there.  She then doesn’t want to go home.  She wants to go to the store.  I forgot my wallet, and we didn’t need anything.  No store.  No milk in the car either.  Instead of home or the store, she wants to go “right dere!”  Dere is some house on the way home.  We can’t go “dere!”

She doesn’t want to walk, doesn’t want to swing, doesn’t want to do Art on the sidewalk.  Doesn’t want to dance, doesn’t want to sing. <sigh>  She’s now crying all through all the “No! No x” replies.  Well, dada should be home by now, I say, hoping that is the right distraction this time.  Nope.  ”No, no dada!  Waaaaahhhhhhh.”  ”You don’t want to see dada?  He loves you.”  ”No love dada.  No love home.” Oh, kid, that hurts, even though I know you don’t mean it.  ”No love you!”  I ignore that and try handing her the few cheerios in the snack cup on the floor of the car.  I have no idea how long they’ve been there.

I try the “winky winky woooooo!!” that Stu uses to distract her.  Doesn’t work.  She does the “no winky woo, no crying” reply but still cries.  Then there’s the “no singing mama.”  No.  No.  No.  No.  Wahhhh!  Frustrating kid!

As we pull into the driveway, I remember that it’s been a while since we tried the trike, so I suggest it to her.  She doesn’t hear me the first time, she’s crying too much.  Second time, she cheers right up.  ”Yeah!”  Woo woo!  Best. Idea. Ever. Mama!  I get Ashlin out of the car, put her under the cherry tree, and go get the bike.  Teagan, during this, has walked down the driveway and past the mailbox.  Alone.  Great.  I call and she comes back.

Well, it turns into a very bad idea.  Teagan wants to ride in the road.  No, sweetie, you can’t ride in the road.  Sidewalk.  We live on a hilly corner.  The sidewalks are not good in front of the house.  So, we go down the hill a little.  Ashlin is still in the front yard under the tree.  ”Lets go back to the house now” I suggest.  Just to check on your sister.  Ok.  That works.  Then back down the hill, through the sprinkler which was bad.  She got very unhappy with getting wet, getting the bike wet.  Sorry hon, you rode through the sprinkler, what did you think would happen as the water gets pushed out?

Again, we have to go back to check on Ashlin.  I feel very nervous leaving her in the yard unsupervised.  Just sitting in her car seat.  We go around the car a few times.  Fun.  Then, I tell Teagan that bike riding is over and put the bike back in the garage.  Of course, I put it in the wrong place.  We’ll move it later, I suggest.  No, not good enough.  We move it now, and then close the door.  She’s hysterical again crying because she changed her mind on where the bike should be and the door is closed.  She runs to one side of the yard screaming and crying.  Then the other, down the hill.  Screaming.  I have to go pick her up and carry her.  ”No uppy!  NO UPPY!”  Sweetheart, you aren’t listening to mama and coming in the house.

Once we’re inside, all three of us, it doesn’t get better.  Although there isn’t anyone else watching now.  I’m sure the neighbors heard and think I’m the worst mother ever, and beat my kid.  She’s still sobbing hysterically, red faced, snot running down, sweat from the exertions.  Screaming.  Oh, so pretty.

Teagan does not want to be in her chair, she doesn’t want to eat any of the 15 suggestions I give her.  I end up taking the tray off the chair and putting her in it.  She’s having trouble breathing now, she’s crying so hard.  All red faced, hiccupping. “No-oooo-oooo boohhh-boohhh-bies. No-ooh ceh-ral.  No-oh chi-ken.”  I get out some string cheese, though she doesn’t want it.  Put in on the table.  Go get some water, she doesn’t want that, so on the table next to the cheese.  She decides she wants the cheese.   Then she wants the water, then the cereal.  Asks for Olivia while sobbing still.  Hey!  I can do that.  We taped three episodes just this afternoon.

Slowly, she starts calming down.  When she asks for “down,” she adds the “please mama” like the good girl she usually is.  She asks for uppy and sitting on my lap is ok while watching Olivia.  She goes in for a hug.  Then gets upset because I’m holding the bowl of cereal, and starts all over again.  Once again, after a few minutes, she slowly ramps down to the occasional sob, and requests a hug.

Stu comes in after about an hour of her lovely antics.  She’s pretty calm by then,  I have give Stu a very abbreviated version of my evening.  He hands me a beer and picks up the piglet.  Teagan starts freaking out again as she realizes that it’s bed time.   But this time, Stu takes the firing line, and he slowly calms her back down, reads books and gets her to bed.

Ten minutes after he goes up with her, I start de-stressing.  Feeling better.  Realizing how badly her antics got to me, even though I stayed calm almost the entire time she pushed and screamed.  I know full well that she only acted so badly because she was so over tired.  It doesn’t make it easier though.

She didn’t peep once put into bed.

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June 18, 2011

You know you watch too much kid tv when you hear “razzle dazzle” in a grown up tv show both you and your husband repeat it and then giggle.  We both looked sheepishly at each other.  Our daughter likes Yo Gabba Gabba a bit too much.

Yesterday, she came home from day care saying “Mama isa, dada isa, no, Stuaaaaahh.”  Stu would ask about her sister, “Sistah Ashlin,”  ”And the cat?”  ”Meow meow?”  ”Yes, Meow meow.” “Isa!”

Kitchen

Kitchen

Today was a good day.  She played with her new-to-her kitchen most of the morning, until nap time.  She napped  hard.  When she gets into a sleep debt, it needs to be repaid.  We enjoy it being repaid on the weekends.  I’m sure this is why we still get two naps on weekends, the kid needs her sleep.

After her nap, Stu went out to mow and the three of us stayed inside.  Again, she played with the kitchen, bringing me forks (fahck) and spoons (poon!).  Cups of imaginary milk or water.  Ashlin was given a bowl of something, a cup of milk.  She was nursing at the time, so declined.

After her second nap (yay!), Stu took her to Lowe’s and the grocery store.  He went looking for a new garage door.  One was a bit beat up when we moved in, and it finally gave the ghost, or the top panel did.  The door was too big and heavy to fit in the wagon.  At the grocery store, he told Teagan that they were going to pick up some beer for me.  She repeated to everyone that would listen “mama, beer!”  Gotta love that.

Later, in the bath, she farted.  Nice big bubbles!  Stu asked her “what was that?”  She answered “Ashlin’s bum!”  Really?  Your sister did that from all the way downstairs?  Teagan giggled.

As she has for the past few baths, she played “penguin” as the water drained away, slipping and sliding around the tub on her belly.  She’s getting a bit big for it, but it’s still very cute.  I’d video and post it, but I may get in trouble.  It’s so cute though.

Stu got her ready for bed, did the rest of the bedtime routine – pj’s, book, bubbles.  He added in one more step – having her repeat “no crying” before leaving her for the night.  It seems to be working, we don’t need to go in two minutes after leaving her with kisses and “love yous.”  Tonight, she was cheeky.  Instead of repeating “no crying,”  she said “yes, crying” and laughed.

She’s getting a sense of humor.

still chilling

growing, but still chilling

Ashlin was mostly chill today.  She went outside with us for a little bit when we looked for Stu’s pedometer.  A little difficult to get nap, but generally happy.  I was able to get more video of her chattering.  This kid never shuts up, even when she sleeps.

 

 

 

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June 8, 2011

It’s hot.  It’s going to be hot again tomorrow.  Stu said he’d put the air on tomorrow.  Yay!

Maybe it’s the heat, maybe there are still some postpartum hormones running rampant, maybe I’m just too tired.  Things moved me.  Things that I think would normally not bother me, got to me.

This moved me.  I’m not really a Meredith Viera fan, but I do think she’s funny and can make people reveal things that they didn’t necessarily want to, but this really got to me.  So many people loved her and wanted to honor her in such a big way on her last day.  I will miss her.  I find it heartwarming that she could make such an impact on so many people, and in such a short time – she was only on the show for five years. One can only wish to have this sort of impact on the people in our lives.

I also found this today:

<sniff>

Sometimes there is crying in baseball.

Maybe I’m turning into a big softie.

Then I read this, and got very mad.  It’s crazy that a school is asking this type of question on an enrollment form.  It’s not any of their business.  Then I got thinking about my two daughters.  (It still feels weird saying that).  Is Ashlin going to be considered at a disadvantage because of my uterine problems?  Do I owe her an apology because of the  nature of her birth?  Will Teagan have a biological advantage because she was a “natural” birth?  Am I now worrying about nothing?

Oh, I know I am.  I sat and listened to Ashlin chatter away – like Teagan never did* – and the worries and concerns melted away.  She’a so quick to smile.  Problems seem smaller when she does.

~~

* Teagan used to coo and make noises, but she was a very quiet baby compared to Ashlin.  Ashlin never seems to be quiet, awake or asleep, with the majority of her noises being happy and totally cute.

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May 24, 2011

Today sucked.  It felt like no one was happy.  They all just cried.  And wouldn’t stop.  On top of it, it was raining.  Again.  Still.

Maybe it was the weather that set everyone off today.  I don’t know.  Both kids were super cranky today.  Well, for Ashlin it was more needy than cranky.  Today, putting her down was not an option.   She didn’t want to be put down.  She didn’t want to nap, or she wouldn’t nap more than 30 minutes at a time.  Then we had to do the rounds – bouncer, play mat, nursing, pacing and bouncing, swaying.  Repeat every 3 hours or so.

I do have to say that while she did nap, I was able to pull the Wii Fit out, and did a bunch of yoga – had two new positions unlocked.  Woo woo! Oh, and I was also able to drink half my coffee while it was hot.  And eat breakfast and get a shower between morning naps.

At the Chiro’s office, she was a sweetheart.  The Doc and his receptionist both fell in love with how wonderful she was.  She totally  had them hoodwinked.  LOL.  To be fair, most days she is a sweetheart – smiling back, sticking her tongue out.  Almost laughing.  (She’s growing so fast, responsive smiles, imitation, almost laughing!)

The hip still isn’t back in.

Stu worked late, so asked if I could get Teagan from day care.  Sure.  I wake Ashlin up putting her in the car seat and she stays awake driving there and home.  Teagan runs and gives me a huge hug, and then starts crying because I don’t have a bubble (pacifier) in the car.  Distraction stopped the tears initially – she loves it when I open the sun roof shade.  She screamed when I opened the sun roof though.   Thankfully those tears stopped when I closed the roof, but oh, once we got home nothing made her happy.  No miwlk (milk), no daata (pasta), no mama beans (green or lima beans), no dup dup (catchup, mustard, sauce, dressing, Parmesan cheese, or any condiment really) , no wawk.  <sigh>

Stu came home to this.  Fun.  An extra long day and then home to two crying kids, and a frazzled wife.  A tired wife.

Eventually, we get the two of them quieted down.  Or so we thought.  Every time I sat down, one of them started crying or fussing again.

Today sucked.

Tomorrow is going to be a challenge, Teagan has her 2 year old doctor’s appointment.  I have to have to be out – alone – with the two kids.  In public.

April 6, 2011 ~ No Dying!

Tonight for dinner, we all sat down at the table together for some lovely tortilla española (yay mom!).  We’ve been putting Teagan in a booster at the table instead of her high chair.  Ashlin was in her bucket seat on the table.  Mom and dad on one side, Stu and I on the other.  Ashlin started to fuss and Teagan said to her “no dying!  Baby, no dying!”  Shaking her finger as she said it.  Almost got the c pronounced, but it really sounded like dying.  Very appropriate, and very funny.