Tummy trouble

I successfully made it through my first solo flight with Molly. It was actually pretty easy. She loves airports and airplanes and was especially excited about this trip because she knew we were meeting Jason in New York and staying with Uncle Jake and Aunt Corinne.

One of my strategies for keeping Molly quiet on the plane was to let her snack away while watching her Care Bears DVD. I thought it was a win-win since it kept her happy and let me get through almost an entire issue of the Atlantic, something I was never able to do on previous flights with Molly, even with both Jason and I there.

But then about 11:30 last night, we heard wailing coming from the bedroom where Molly was sleeping. She kept telling me her tummy hurt and I was having a hard time comforting her. Jason and I finally got her down and all piled in, weary and ready to catch up on our Zs when it happened.  Molly threw up all those snacks I gave her, all over her PJs, her hair, Jake and Corinne's sheets, you get the idea. Disaster.

Jason and I were initially worried that she had a bug or food poisoning and that we'd have to spend our entire weekend in New York tending to a sick toddler. But she seemed to immediately feel better and then woke up this morning fresh as a daisy. So the only explanation I can come up with is that she ate herself sick. Ack!

The good news is that we didn't have to change any of our plans. Molly is hanging out with Jake and Corinne in Queens and Jason and I are in a hotel in Soho getting ready for a weekend of wedding festivities with my friend Manu. Fun for everyone, so long as we all remember the key is moderation :)

Playing dress up

Yesterday, Molly wore a pink tutu and Hello Kitty boots all day. Today, she's wearing shamrock tights and a party dress. Think we have a little fashionista on our hands?

The perfect outfit for watching Sunday morning cartoons

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm a few days late, but here are some cute pics to help celebrate the day of love:

New Minnie Mouse skivvies from Grandma and Grandpa O'Grady

A Valentine from Molly

And...here's some cuteness. Molly singing gibberish into a cardboard light saber "microphone."

Four minutes of torture

I went out for happy hour last night and really wasn't feeling like working out today...but I had to do something to meet the requirements of my resolution. Then I remembered that my sister B sent me this -- a four minute workout that will leave your arms burning. Just try it!



Hello, boots!

It hasn't snowed much in Chicago this winter, which probably explains why we were so late in getting Molly her first pair of snow boots. The advantage of waiting so long is that we got this completely adorable Hello Kitty pair on sale for $12 from Target:

Doesn't she look grown up in her new boots?

Side note, if you are wondering about my question at the end of the video, Molly had an accident at school and didn't have any spare clothes in her bin to change into. Another 'bad mom' moment, but if you read my last post, you'll know that I have decided not to feel bad about those kinds of things anymore. And why should I? I ran into the other child's mom this morning and she thought it was funny that we had to raid her daughter's bin to make sure Molly didn't go home bare bottomed in the middle of winter :)

Ups and downs

I was feeling pretty bad about my parenting skills the other night, after feeding Molly a dinner of Pirate's Booty and applesauce, when I saw a friend's status update on Facebook. She had a similar 'bad mom' evening and was also feeling down. Why do we beat ourselves up like this? I started feeling better when I saw all of the comments from her friends and other parents about their own parenting mistakes -- strength in numbers! -- but it made me question the ridiculously high expectations we have for ourselves, or put on each other, as parents. How will I handle things when the real you-know-what hits the fan?

I know I tend to sugar coat things, and for the most part, this is a sunny side up kind of a blog. But, but, but, parenting is not always easy and I think I need to acknowledge that a little more often. I spent so much time reassuring one of my coworkers about how she would totally be able to handle her new baby and full-time job, that I forgot to mention how freaking hard it is just to handle eating and sleeping those first few months. Whoops.

So far, in these first 2 and a half years of Molly's life, I've realized that things always get easier...and then they get harder...and then they get easier...and then they stay easy for a little while...and then there's a crisis...and then everything is okay...you get the idea. Parenthood is full of ups and downs. The ups are why we all love the job so much. The downs are okay and don't mean you're a bad parent. Your baby might not sleep, might not eat, or might cry for no reason. Your toddler might not play well with others. And I don't even want to think about what might happen during the teenage years.

No parent is perfect. As much as I'd like to be, I have to remember, there will be nights where Molly eats too much junk, watches too much TV, or gets less of my attention than she deserves. And that's totally fine...so long as there are other nights where she gets carrots on her plate, as many books as she wants (within reason), and more hugs and kisses than she can stand. It all evens out, right? Right?