Daily Prompt: Cringe Worthy

In the past when thinking about things that make me squirm I would say ROACHES! Ugghh! Just the thought would make me shudder. However, now that I’m a mom the roaches have fallen to the very bottom of my list. What makes me squirm is watching my little guy do things while I attempt to let him be independent. 

 

I want my son to play, run, walk, jump and have fun but while he does these things I only imagine the dangers around him. Ale is only 18 months and he does not yet know his limitations. At the same time he must explore his world to discover what they are. My role as his mom is to guide him and literally catch him when he falls. That is the hardest part, watching him fall. So around our, home, in the street, or at the playground I let go if his hand and he’s off in a flash. I’ll watch him climb or explore and all the while I attempt to stand back (just far away enough so that I can intervene) and I squirm. I only stop when he accomplishes his goal unscathed. Ahhhh, only then I I can breath again. 

 

 Today’s Prompt:

Do you feel uncomfortable when you see someone else being embarrassed? What’s most likely to make you squirm?

 

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/04/28/daily-prompt-cringeworthy/

Daily Prompt: Wall to Wall House of Mirrors

My family lives in a New York City apartment. We are lucky as we have huge windows in our living room so we are not lacking light. I can see plenty of sky and there is a tree in our window. Its lovely but I want more windows, more light. The solution to my need would be to move out of NY- that is not an option- or brake down a few walls but I don’t think my building would support such a structural change. I would consider demolishing the building next to me but that would leave many people homeless in response to my selfish needs.

In turn, my home has become the house of mirrors.

We have about thirteen mirrors in our apartment. I want a window in the kitchen, in the bathroom, another in my bedroom. Mirrors! Mirrors! Mirrors! I am not a vein person. I don’t like to particularly see myself in the mirror. Each mirror is placed strategically so they are not to be used to admire oneself. They are decorative and functional. Each room appears to expand and become brighter as the natural light reflects off them.

In the end, we have a fabulous little collection of mirrors bought around the US and Europe. One day I will have the home of my dreams. Until then, I have my mirrors.

Today’s Daily Prompt
What do you display on the walls of your home — photos, posters, artwork, nothing? How do you choose what to display? What mood are you trying to create?

Tuesdays With Ale

There are many reasons to complain about my job – that would require another entire blog post- but the one thing I can not say is that they are not flexible. Since I came back from maternity leave I have been granted to have Tuesdays free. Tuesdays have become my guaranteed day with Ale.

On Tuesday mornings we usually meet up with my friend and her daughter. We go to a music class for babies where they hear a story then they dance. It essentially turns into a baby disco.

On Monday I worked. I had a horrible day and came home close to 11pm. So this Tuesday I was exhausted. Plus the cold that I have been fighting all winter/spring (thanks to the daycare : AKA breeding ground for nasty germs) was back. I called my friend and told her we would skip the music class.

I was happy to skip it but then the fright came in. It’s 7:30am! What am I going to do all day with the little guy!? It’s RAINING outside!!!! Ok, it was just drizzling but that meant going to the park was out, plus I was not feeling well myself.

Ale and I are best buds so we just hung out and kept it low key. We watched a little Caillou. We had a dance party. Nap time came around, I read some blogs. At lunch time I even convinced the sweet little man to eat sardines!

When the drizzling stopped, we headed to the supermarket. On the way Ale marveled over each bus- especially the school buses-, truck or dog that went by. At the supermarket he saw the biggest pile of bananas ever and demanded a “nana” at the check out. He even helped me bag the items. On the way home I let him walk the block up to our apartment. Yes it took 15 min and yes I had to chase after him twice- no, five times- but he had so much fun. He laughed his full belly laugh. It was worth it.

Then for dinner I made pasta with a tomato zucchini sauce. The little man sat on the counter while I cooked and dipped his fingers in the can of crushed tomatoes. He loved the pasta.

Maybe it was one of his best days ever with mama. He’s in the no! no! no! phase so he would deny it. However, for me, it was certainly one of my best days with him.

Holding on to Innocence

Having a child has changed my outlook on life on many levels. It has heightened my awareness and has made me even more sensitive and vulnerable to things that happen around me. I am no longer viewing life through a singular lens. Each action that I do and even the actions of others I view them through how I would imagine my son’s reaction. My little boy is still a baby and is not able to express himself or is even able to process and understand many things, but his innocence is so vast and deep that it pains me so to see and hear of others that have done wrong. I look into his eyes and I think, how can there be evil in this world with this sweet boy on the planet.

The bombings this week in Boston during the marathon has affected my husband and I on many levels. We live in New York and the NY Marathon passes through our neighborhood. Just a few days after Ale was born, my first outing was to see the NY Marathon. I held Ale close in my Ergo and watched and cheered the runners as they went by. This is something that we plan on doing each year as a family. To hear of the attack on the Boston Marathon and the fact that an eight year old boy was killed was just so shocking. We thought- this could be us.

As of right now, there are no suspects that have been arrested. This fact is also very frightening. It would almost be comforting to know that X group or person was responsible. In the back of our minds we are thinking will there be another plot, will the responsible ever be arrested, will NY be next?

And what will Ale think? I’m so happy that he is not aware yet of the news and can not ask me questions. I am already trying to formulate answers but the act is just so senseless. Something tells me that when he can talk he will comfort me in his answers . For now, I just turn the channel or put on Bob The Builder when the images come to the screen. I don’t even for a moment want him to glance at the screen. I want to protect his innocence for as long as I can.

Acts like this have some good- they remind us of our loved ones, make us want to hold them close and kiss them a little longer than usual.

Boston, my family is thinking of you and our hearts go out to you.

Versatile Blogger

I’m super happy! I just received recognition from a fellow blogger- that they enjoy reading my posts! This really made my day. I am new to blogging and I know that I am a small fish in a big sea. There are so many bloggers that are just amazing. I am primarily following mom/parenting bloggers and each day I am finding inspiration. So thank you Letters to Chace & Harper for the Versatile Blogger nomination!

The Versatile Blogger Rules:
1) Add The Versatile Blogger award photo on a blog post
2) Thank the person (or animal) who presented you with the award and link back to him or her in your post
3) Share seven things about yourself
4) Pass the award along to 15 favorite bloggers. Contact the chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

Seven Things About Me:
1- Being a mom has turned me into a neat freak! My fear is that my floor will become a sea of Cheerios.
2- I love the summertime. I’m happy flip flop weather is near.
3-I’m an only child
4-I speak Spanish
5-I make a delicious banana bread and a fantastic carrot cake.
6-I love music but I can’t sing to save my life.
7- I have to pick up my son soon and I’m cutting it close by writing this post!

Other fantastic Blogs:
1- http://letterstochace.wordpress.com

2- http://cookinandmotherin.wordpress.com

3- http://parentingandstuff.wordpress.com

4- http://game4learning.com

5- http://fourmomsformoms.wordpress.com

6- http://maminatural.wordpress.com

7- http://straightupmama.wordpress.com

8- http://5kidswdisabilities.com

9- http://37calvertrd.com

10- http://atlantamomofthree.wordpress.com

11- http://mommyquakes.wordpress.com

12- http://brokencondoms.wordpress.com

13- http://taitailife.com

14- http://joylovelyjoy.wordpress.com

15- http://rookiemomadventures.com

The Wild Beast

Putting Ale to sleep is like putting down a wild animal.

Bedtime begins with the brushing of teeth and a round of kisses to papa. Ale takes his 10oz bottle laced with rice cereal and we march to the bedroom. We climb into our bed and depending on how sleepy he is we read one or two books. We always finish with Goodnight Moon. After counting the three bears on chairs, locating the tiny mouse on each page and saying goodnight to the noises everywhere, I turn off the light. This is when the wild beast comes out. Ale will try to find the most comfy position in a queen size bed. To find this he will bang his head at least twice against the headboard- depending on how hard and how sleepy he will or will not cry. Then he flings and twists himself on the bed. He may even do a 360 spin- twice. He will grab his bottle again, or reach out to me to go to my breast. When finished with drinking or nursing for comfort he will do another twist and lay flat. He will then stick out his butt and the propeller legs come out. His legs do crazy high kicks while laying on his stomach. He will kick the mattress, the pillows, me, the blue stuffed dog next to him. This is like the grand finale of getting comfy on the queen sized bed. A sock will be flung off and the propeller legs will finally begin to slow to a halt. Then a toe will twitch, a final kick, his breathing evens out, the butt goes down, and then calm. One final kiss from mama and then pillow walls go up around him.

Sleep well my little beast, sleep well.