Sick Toddlers, Frustration and the SAHM

Ugh. I'm grumpy and worn out. Last weekend Seeley contracted Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. Yikes! It's going around Portland like crazy, and since we live at the park, there ya go. She broke out in a horrible fever which broke our hearts. There is nothing worse than having a sick child and not being able to do much to help them. Luckily, her fever broke and she didn't contract the rash that usually comes along with HFM.
Cut to now and why I'm having a hard time. Seeley seems to be more or less fine. But she's contagious. So I've been keeping her inside all week. Trying to keep this girl in the house all day is like trying to contain a tornado. She keeps dragging me to the door saying, "We go outside? We go to the park? We go swimming?" Everything I start doing she wants me to stop doing. We're watching too much t.v. I'm feeling guilty because she wants my attention every second and I'm tired and short-tempered. This is hard. I want to leave the house too, but I'm not going to be one of those parents who take their sick kids out and expose them to other kids. Also, Seeley and Wes are going to Idaho for the weekend and I want her to be 100 percent.
Did I mention that I'm sick also? Yeah, fun times around here. Just taking it hour by hour and trying to find inside things to do that aren't watching the same three movies over and over.

Independence Day

Happy Independence Day (yesterday!) Yesterday was sunny and there were kids and families everywhere. Our little trio went for a perfect walk in the Woodstock neighborhood of SE Portland and stopped to play at one of our many favorite parks. We remembered to bring Seeley's little soccer ball. She loves to chase the ball but is still working on kicking it. I'm thinking track and field is in her future ;) I'm glad we went out yesterday because all last night and today Seeley's had a fever and has been taking it easy. I hope everyone is enjoying this long weekend!

Seeleyisms

Yesterday Seeley decided to turn the tables and take the nail clippers I was using in my failed attempt to cut her nails and gave me a once over. Using the clippers she opened my mouth and said "what's in there? Let's get it." This followed with my nose, ears and eyes. I guess now I know what it feels like to be her! She's been cracking me up lately with the things she's saying and I just have to share some of my favorite Seeleyisms :)

1) She loves to stand on our porch and yell " hiiiii! Hi there! Hi kids!!!"at the neighbor kids playing outside.

2) While watching a commercial for pizza: "Pizza? I love pizza!"

3) While lying in bed talking to herself during bedtime: "This is my breakfast. This is my food. Ahhhh don't eat me!"

4) This morning we were playing in her room and I asked her what the wet spot on the carpet was. Answer: "this is hot soup!"

5) Throughout the day to both me and papa: "hey, you okay?"

Getting Out

(note: before you start reading I wanted to say thanks for putting up with all the changes I've made to the blog. I'm trying to update and I promise it will be consistent soon.)


It's 97 degrees outside right now, and in our third floor apartment it feels like it's twice that. Welcome to July! If we didn't have any motivation to get out of the house before we sure do now! As a stay-at-home parent actually not staying at home is a big deal. Staying inside all day with a toddler will drive you crazy, but we all have days where we just want to stay in our pjs and watch movies. I'm quite a type-A, neurotic person and I put a lot of pressure on myself to be "productive" and live up to my unrealistic expectations. I've had times where I just didn't want to interact with anyone. I just wanted to stay home, read, listen to music and take it easy. I used to feel like that was selfish. But our children don't call the shots or make the decisions. We do. It's such a balancing act, isn't it? I've been thinking about this a lot the past couple days as our schedule gets more and more packed with playdates, park time, and more and more Seeley-centric activities. Today we went to the pool (our place has an amazing pool. We're spoiled) and played with her best buddy, then later they came over for some playtime. Seeley had so much fun and as hot as it is today I didn't think twice about it. But I do need to remind myself that when I want to rest, I should rest. Tommorow we have another playdate at a waterpark with a new friend, but the schedule for Thursday is nothing, nothing and nothing!
As a parent, whether stay-at-home or otherwise, it's also important to balance getting out as adults with what Seeley can handle. We took a walk downtown on Saturday and decided to try eating at a restuarant. Both risky moves! We can't stop doing the things we love but we also get tired of walking around the place with Seeley over and over. But this time we gave it a go and things worked out great! I guess that shows that sometimes you just have to throw yourself out there and see what happens :)

Poetry Update

Last night before I went to bed I checked my email and saw that I had an email from a literature journal that decided to publish one of my poems! I work a lot on my writing and it's a passion that I plan to pursue for years to come. Currently I'm getting my poems together in a manuscript, so hopefully soon I'll have a book of poems published! I've had five or six poems published in poetry or literature journals, and I've often been asked how to view the poems or at least the journals they are in. So, I've made a list of links below! Most of my poems will be published late this summer or in the fall, but at least this way everyone can see the type of journals that are publishing my work. Thanks for all the support!


Mused: The BellaOnline Literary Review

Torrid Literature Journal

Clockwise Cat

Westward Quarterly

Stone Highway Review

To My Husband on Fathers Day

Happy (belated) Fathers Day! We had a great weekend relaxing, laughing, watching basketball and spending time together. I hope Wes felt loved and appreciated on his special day. Wes really is an amazing father. I always knew he would be even in the beginning of our relationship.
A huge thing that makes Wes a great father is that he's a great husband. I don't want to judge anyone else's relationship or parenting arrangement, but I've too often seen husbands that leave the majority of parenting to their wives. Parenting is hard, and everyone needs a break. It hurts my heart to see a tired women wrangling her kids from sun up to sun down while the man essentially does is own thing. And the kids! They feel that alienation from their father. Luckily Wes knows me and knows that I expect nothing less than an egalitarian marriage and parenting arrangement. I may be a stay-at-home mom, but we both realize the importance of parenting together.
The best time of day is when Wes gets home from work. Wes and Seeley are off and playing. He loves that girl so much and she's crazy about him. They wrestle, read, have tea parties, the works. I am the luckiest women in the world to have this man in my life.

Jumping Back In

Wow! From March until June; where have I been?! We've been one busy and happy trio and I've been one busy mama! I love having this blog and I love all the feedback I get from friends and family. All three of us can feel your love! I think I needed to step away from the blog for a bit so it didn't feel like an obligation or a chore. I also think I needed time to focus on what I wanted to say on here, what I wanted this blog to be about. It's really cathartic for me to write here. I don't have a community of mom friends (other than my online pals and my one mama friend), so it's nice to just talk about Seeley and motherhood to my hearts content.
So I'm back from my break from the blog. As always, I have a lot to share and can't wait to get started. So let's do it! This weekend we went to the Portland Farmers Market downtown and caught the last bit of the Rose Parade. Seeley was most excited about playing in the fountain and wading pool in the center of downtown. She was in heaven with her three favorite things: water, running and other kids! She sure is a riot:)