Category: monkey antics

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Originally uploaded by babykahuna

Yesterday we took MAM for her fourth ever haircut. Last week I got my hair cut, and when she saw me, she noticed and then started talking about getting her hair cut. She started telling me about sitting in the fire truck, watching a movie, going down the green dino slide…she has the routine down. And since I am kind of tired of brushing the boogies out of her locks after she she sleeps (her hair reached her nose, you see), I thought it would be a good idea.

You see the finished product–a stylish cut where you can see her face, even if her hair isn’t up!! We also got a little more trimmed off the back–which means, for the moment, the curls at the bottom are gone. She looks like she’s about 16, but I’m getting used to it.

While we were there, a dad walked in with his little guy, who couldn’t have been more than 18 months old. He registers, his kiddo goes to play on the slide, and he makes a phone call. Normal, right? Normal, right up to the part where I hear him say, “It looks like your ovary didn’t stimulate very well cycle…” or something to that effect. I kid you not, an RE was calling a patient from Cookie Cutters. This man was telling a woman that she wouldn’t be getting pregnant anytime soon with children screaming in the background. He was telling her all sorts of things–he talked on his phone throughout his son’s haircut until it went dead…..and then he continued to talk on the stylist’s phone. Seriously. As they were vacating the fire truck seat, and we were moving in, I overheard him saying something to the effect of, ” We can certainly explore the IVF option if you feel you’re ready for that., there are financial burdens that go with that, as I’m sure you know….” Yes, still talking to the same poor woman.

Am I kidding? I wish I was. I don’t know if he thought it would be a quick phone call–hey, you didn’t stim well, don’t sweat it, just call the office and we’ll set you up for next month…. or whether he knew it would be involved and just didn’t see the inappropriateness of it all, but WOW.

There’s nothing like reading a book about a midlife crisis/empty nest syndrome ( a rather funny book, I must add, called “Mad Dash”) to make you want to appreciate your daughter’s childhood. After reading the book while curled up in bed with a lovely illness (probably strep) while she played the day away at daycare, I was ready to appreciate her. I missed her little voice all day long. I missed her hugs. I missed her little phrases like, “Me hold you” (translation: hold me!) and “My do it!”.

Within an hour of her coming home last night I was done,and feeling like a bad mom because of it. There was the whining, the clinging, the trying to eat dinner on my lap, the kicking, and ultimately, once again, peeing through a pull up (WTF is that all about?) and peeing all over me in my comfy jammys (put on early, because she had spilled milk all over me at dinner).

Then we watched the movie Click, which I have to say is one of Adam Sandler’s better “odd” movies. By odd, I mean, not along the lines of your typical former SNL star movie, ala Happy Gilmore or Billy Madison. But I liked it, and again, it got me thinking–I don’t really want to fast forward through all of the madness of the toddler/preschool years. I don’t want to suddenly show up at my daughter’s wedding and not know her. I don’t want to be so preoccupied with things that don’t really matter that I miss her growing up. I really don’t.

BUT OMG IF SHE COULD CLIMB INSIDE MY UTERUS, I THINK SHE WOULD. But then she’d climb right back out, throw something, kick something, and then try to climb back in. And then she’d do it all over again. She’s going through major separation issues right now, sort of out of the blue. And it’s making me batty. She’s the toddler who wants to snuggle, but then doesn’t want to snuggle. The toddler who wants to sit in my lap, but then gets down, then back on, then wants to be carried everywhere. The toddler who wants milk but won’t let me have two free hands to pour her some. She wants to pour her own, but only if I’m holding her (which is very hard to do). Toddler PMS, anyone???

But then this afternoon happened. She resisted a nap, Daddy went out to run errands, and we were watching assorted previews of Bee Movie and Shrek the Third on this here laptop.

And she fell asleep. And as I type, she is sleeping deeply, soundly, in my arms. I can stroke her hair without her saying , “stop it!” and rub her back and snuggle like we did before she became a toddler with PMS.

No, I really don’t want to miss this at all. I really don’t.

…..who only slept for an hour during nap time, despite the fact of waking up at 4:45am??

You take her to a family-friendly sports bar to watch the big game!!! She was so enthralled by all the people, all the stuff on the walls, all the cheering, all the high-fives that we watched the entire 1st half at the bar. SO.MUCH.FUN. Although we didn’t wear our Colts gear, so I felt a little under dressed.

We are definitely keeping this in our arsenal of “what to do with a cranky toddler” when we’re climbing the walls of our ever-shrinking-town home.