The joy of napping

Posted by A.

I am not a morning person (Fortunately, I am a coffee person).

I used to be a night person. But I’m not really one of those anymore either.

I’m generally pretty sleepy in the afternoons, especially after lunch. I think about napping on a fairly consistent basis throughout the day.

I might be turning into a house cat.

Something’s amiss

Posted by S.

Strange things are happening. Something is in the air. Hubby woke up at 6 a.m. and announced: “Let’s get up.” He made lunch at 10 a.m. He handed out our after-dinner vitamins at 4 p.m.

I know that our internal clocks are off a bit due to the daylight savings time switch two weeks ago. But this is a little worrisome. Perhaps tomorrow we will go to bed at 3 p.m. and wake up at 1 a.m. for dinner.

With this schedule, it seems anything is possible.

Family vacations and procreation

Posted by Shoshana

I think there’s something in the water, or maybe in the air, but there is something aligned, for sure that is causing people I know to procreate left or right. Perhaps they are taking more family vacations that make them realize that they want more of the blissful happy, drawn-out days of quality, unadulterated family time.

I, too, have had such yearnings. Thankfully, my body is outfitted with protective armor that greatly fights off the opportunity to procreate, whatever that means. But as I am realizing that the boys are growing up and will soon be going to kindergarten, I wonder when I will really start wishing for another kid that can grace us with his or her cuteness. They grow up fast, as I am told, and as I am witnessing, and there was a point to this post. I just forgot it.

A not-so-typical day at IKEA

Posted by A.

IKEA catalog parody by Aubrey Clayton

For the past week, we thought our son might be getting a little brother or sister. Turns out it was nothing more than a scare. I would be totally relieved if I weren’t so surprisingly disappointed.

I always thought I only wanted one child, so it’s funny that I feel like I lost something or someone — someone that never even existed!

We returned yesterday from a family vacation. Just the three of us (no fourth , afterall). We went to the zoo, the beach, the park, IKEA. All the typical stuff.

But really there was nothing typical about our vacation. I mean, when you think about it, on a day to day basis, we spend more time at work than with our families. Spending a full week with my husband and son was actually pretty atypical. I loved every minute of it. Also noteworthy, the Swedish meatballs.

Perhaps next time we will have another family member to bring along. Well, maybe in a couple years.

The truth about cars and marriage

Posted by A.

It was a peaceful Friday evening and we were pushing our son in his swing when my husband turned to me and asked, “Is there something you want to tell me?”

The question was posed with little emotion attached, so I knew he wasn’t angry. I also knew exactly what he was calmly alluding to.

You see, on Friday afternoon I accidentally crashed his car. Well, “crashed” is a little harsh. More accurately, I  “tapped” it into another car as I was slowly backing out of a parking space at the car dealership. There was absolutely no damage to the other car, and my husband’s bumper only suffered a tiny, weensy, minuscule, barely even noticeable scratch.

And so I breathed a sigh of relief — I thought I was free and clear. My husband was inside the car dealership at the time paying for servicing on my own car, which he was to drive home. He would never have to know that I, his loving and unbelievably clumsy wife, was the cause of the scratch. Besides, his bumper was by no means in perfect condition to begin with; most notably, there’s a splotch of green paint from one of his mural projects.

But fate had something different in mind. And by fate, I mean the nosy car salesperson with the big, fat, flapping mouth.

And so comes the evening and his question: “Is there something you want to tell me?”

I took a deep breath. I laughed nervously. I quickly pondered all possible answers before blurting out: “It wasn’t my fault! He came out of nowhere. He wasn’t looking where he was going. I think he wanted me to hit him … I’m so sorry …”

He laughed. “So when were you going to tell me?” he asked.

And that’s when the real truth came out: “Well, I wasn’t.”

We are always told that the key to a succesful marriage is communication. And it’s a rule I try to live by.  But if the truth isn’t hurting anyone, isn’t it sometimes better to avoid it in leu of possible conflict?

Maybe. Or maybe not.

While it sounds good in theory, it’s really just circular reasoning. It’s not taking into account the intervening variables, in this case a nosy car salesperson. With variables such as this one, the truth will invariably come out, raising even more serious questions about your partner’s honesty and faithfulness.

The conversation about scratching my husband’s car wasn’t an easy one. But not telling the truth could have done more damage than the accident itself.

“So what other secrets are you keeping from me?” he asked, half-joking, half not.

Oh boy, here we go.

“How much time have you got?”

The biology of boys and cars

Posted by A.

I have definitely noticed a preference for cars over dolls with my son of 14 months. Ever since he was an infant he has gravitated towards toys that roll, and he is fascinated by real trains, planes and automobiles, even making a “vrrrrrrm, vrrrrrrm” noise when he sees anything even slightly resembling a car.

According to Psychology Today, a boy’s preferences for cars may actually be of biological origin, not gender socialization.

I recently read an article on Frisky.com and in a New York Times blog about a couple in Sweden who are going so far as to hide the gender of their child, Pop, in order to protect the child from social gender constructs. “It’s cruel to bring a child into the world with a blue or pink stamp on their forehead,” Pop’s mother told a local newspaper.

Isn’t it equally as cruel to ignore biology? This sounds to me like an SNL skit gone awry.

Studies have shown that boys’ preference towards cars is not just limited to humans. A 2002 study by Gerianne M. Alexander of Texas A&M University and Melissa Hines of City University in London showed that even male monkeys prefer toy cars over dolls.

It seems that boys never really outgrow their love for cars. Perhaps that’s why there’s so many mid-life crisis men driving around in fancy sports cars. Now, if only we could buy some sports cars for the monkeys.

Boys and Cars

Posted by Shoshana

I don’t know about your little boy, but my twin boys who are almost 4 years old are obsessed with cars, and Cars.

From left: Chick Hicks, Blue the King, Lightning McQueen and Doc Hudson, some of my boys' favorite toys.

And I am positive this is a genetic disposition rather than an environmental factor because I did nothing to encourage this early on. In fact, I bought them a baby doll once to try to acclimate them to a baby cousin they hadn’t yet met and they have had no interest in this baby.

From almost day-one they were playing with cars, trucks, tractors and airplanes. They stop in their tracks when a real one goes by on the road or overhead. It’s an amazing social experiment. Any day of the week they would rather play with their toy cars—most of them from the Pixar movie “Cars”—than do anything else, except eating brown ice cream. It’s uncanny.

I chalk it all up to them being boys. And we all know, boys will be boys.

Potty Mouth

Posted by Shoshana

Just wait until your kids discover that the word poop can be inserted into every sentence.

“Tastes like poop” “Smells like poop”

But because it sounds so darn cute coming out of their mouths how could you make it stop?

Dude he made a doodie

Posted by A.

I had no idea that becoming a mother meant my life would become centered around doodie, and the highlight of my day would be in any way related to the content of my son’s diaper.

There was a time when I didn’t think much about doodie. But now the size, texture, frequency, color … just about everything about it … has become the most frequent topic of conversation in my household.

But it’s not just us adults who are obsessed. When my husband went to change the cat litter this morning, he found one of my son’s forks just sitting there next to the cat doodie. I sure hope my son didn’t think he was eating it for breakfast.

Break out the potty. Toilet training is coming soon. Good times!

Up to 4 People

Posted by Shoshana

What if I put you in a position to have, say, as much as four people under you.

Speaking from experience, having people under you is a scary proposition. It means you actually have to be the responsible one. That and having kids. What is it about kids when they go from sleeping all the time (infant) to not wanting to sleep at all (pre-K) to sleeping all the time (teenager). It’s an amazing sleep cycle indeed.

You just wait, Aleza. Your curly little one is going to go through it as well. Break out the tranquilizer darts!