DUMBO

We had a fabulous day today with friends in DUMBO, Brooklyn! 

More to come... But this is one of my new favorite pics. Such a great time! :)

Ugh. Stomach Bug.

One thing I'm not grateful for? A stomach bug.

I had it yesterday, but my poor Jack has it now. It's totally disgusting and heartbreaking at the same time.

It could be way worse, but it still sucks.

Ugh. Here's hoping it passes quickly!

Nice to Meet You

One of my students was playing with Jack the other afternoon and wanted to shake his hand. This was something that we hadn't ever thought to teach Jack, so he was clueless. It was adorable to watch this fabulous 17 year old teaching my little 2 year old how to shake hands. Though Jack was clearly loving the attention of this older boy, he was not picking up on how to shake hands. So when we got home, we decided that we'd tech him this necessary (and fun) new concept.

This morning, I wanted to see if he remembered. I asked him, "Jack, can we shake hands?" and he ran over, took my hand, shook it and said "Nice to meet you!" He then giggled and said "show Dennis?" My heart nearly melted. Dennis is the name of my student! I couldn't get over how sweet it was that Jack both remembered this interaction with my student and wanted to complete it! I was so excited to run into work and tell this boy, Dennis, all about it. The best part? Dennis said that I made his day by telling him the story.

Needless to say... mine was already made! :)

A Productive Evening.

Tonight I am grateful for a smooth evening routine with my boys! The feeling of having both boys asleep in their cribs by 8:30 is awesome. It feels like a HUGE accomplishment, especially because it was just me and the kiddos tonight.

Pat on the back for Mommy ;)

Best Friends

Being a Mom to two boys under two is hectic. We laugh a lot, but we're also often exhausted. But this morning, when I went to get Jack out of his crib, he asked to hold Wells. I put Wells on his lap in the crib and immediately discovered the reason why all of the tired is worth it... My boys are becoming best friends right in front my my eyes! It was awesome and so fun! 

Thankfully, I deleted some pictures from my iPhone, so I had space available ;)

Sad to Leave

I am grateful for a family that I enjoy so much that I'm always sad to leave them. My Dad, my Sister, my Grandmothers, my Aunts... Sometimes tears are a reminder that life is so good that it's worth crying about.

I'm also grateful for the feeling that I get every time I drive over the 59th Street Bridge. I love the feeling of driving into New York City and knowing that I'm home.

It makes me glad to know that in one evening I am both sad to leave my family and really happy to come home.

Blessed.

Appreciate your Mother

Today I am missing my Mom a lot.

My sweet baby won't sleep - he's never slept through the night, but now he's teething on top of it. Ugh! So my pediatrician gave me a pep talk yesterday that it's time for me to start sleep training... Shut the door and let him cry... blah. blah. Not exactly the suggestions I was hoping for. Then we had a really rough night. He cried for hours, even as we held him. So now here I am, tired and completely overwhelmed by what to do next. I just want to call my Mom.

The funny thing is that I know exactly what she'd say. She'd tell me to close the door, take a walk and let him cry. I've never wanted to disagree with someone so badly! I know that there would be more to the conversation than this... she'd support me and make me feel better. She'd probably tell me to take a bath and try and relax a little. She'd reassure me. But ultimately, she was a believer in crying it out. So ultimately, we'd disagree about this.

I'm sad that I can't disagree with her. That I can't just call her and hear that everything is going to be OK. It made me think of all the things that I took for granted.

Then this afternoon one of my dear friends told me that her Mom's birthday was coming up. They don't have a terribly close relationship. But as she was writing out her Mom's birthday card, she thought of me, and instead of just signing her name she wrote a note to tell her Mom a few things that she appreciated about her. It made my day.

It's been hard to see what the bigger lessons in all of this might be. But I am certain that if one person appreciates their Mom just a little bit more - even for one day! - some of this is worth it.

I know how lucky I was to have such an incredible bond with my Mom. I know it's not typical. I know how special it was. But I also know that no mother sets out to have a bad relationship with their kids. No mother wants to screw up. So even when your mother drives you crazy - when she tells you to let your baby cry and can't understand why you don't want to - appreciate her. Appreciate that at least you're able to disagree.

Today, all I want is to call my Mom and disagree.