Friday, August 31, 2012

Project 52: Weeks 34 & 35

Project 52:34 
Parenting is... 
Clinging

He clings to me when I return after stepping out of the room for a minute. He sobs when I leave him with his father or a sitter. He will literally wrap all of his limbs around my leg as I try to step around the kitchen while making dinner. He cannot bear not being up and in my arms. Even in the nights he wants me with him, crying out for "Mamamamamama." This very intense type of separation anxiety is new for me.

The bags under my eyes and the arms muscles I've developed with this little fellow in my life are epic. He needs so much. He is so big and so little. I cling to sanity some days because of it.

And I cling to the sweetness within the challenge, knowing he won't collapse his body so fully into mine for that many more months.



Project 52:35 
Parenting is...
Frustrating


Over an hour spent making a veggie lasagna, while letting the preschooler help, because she is interested and it's good for her, even though it makes it harder on me. Total dish tally involved? Six? Seven? The sink is chock full of dirty dishes, anyway. Total dollars in organic veggies and cheese? Ugh. Don't want to add it up. But I feel proud for getting it done and tucked away in the fridge to be heated up for dinner that night and then at least another night. Freezer meals for the win!

And then it all goes splat in one moment when the preschooler is lurking in front of the open fridge ("Hon? Can you close the refrigerator?" "Bella, close the fridge door!" "ARABELLA! SHUT THE DOOR!") and the super strong baby decides to yank the pan out. And what were you doing at the time? Why making lunch look like a pretty rainbow, at the preschooler's request...which she then doesn't really eat. I clean up while both kids are crying over their lunches - their RAINBOW lunches - demanding I give them my full attention. They are not interested in the fact that there are shards of glass everywhere.

Parenting. Is. Frustrating.

Wine and whining helps :)

Learn more about my Project 52 here and check out styleberry BLOG for links to more Project 52s. 
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8 comments:

  1. Ohhhh yes! I can relate to both statements! I saw the photo of the spilt lasagna and just cringed. Been there, done that :/ Wine and whining do help....especially the wine. Although if that were my lasagna, I may have moved on to vodka at that point ;)

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  2. The first thing that I noticed in that first picture was your arms. Very impressive!

    And before I read anything for the second, my first thought was OH NO!!! I have been there before, although not with a toddler (of course LOL) but one Thanksgiving (my first time making Thanksgiving dinner for a large crowd, only friends that stayed in town without family in the area, but still) I pulled a 9 x 13 glass pan of hot stuffing out of the oven only for Richard to grab it and say that he thinks it didn't look done and lift it over his head and tilt it on its side and it crashed to the floor and shattered the pan. It was not a happy Thanksgiving meal LOL.

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  3. Oh we are so in BOTH places right now!!! I am getting to be a master one-armed chef. I have to sneak away to use the bathroom alone.
    And I'm so tired of making meals and then having them both refuse to eat, and usually it's something they ate the night before and loved. Oh boy! Parenting is quite the job, huh?

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  4. I so needed this post. It's nice to know I'm not alone on either count. Trying to maintain perspective is so hard.

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  5. We are realizing that Adrian is not the independent baby that Olivia was. He cries when I'm gone and stops instantly when I enter the room. I'm the only one that can calm him back to sleep anytime he wakes up. I've gotten used to cooking while he cries because I can't hold him. It's hard, but I'm actually enjoying it while I can!

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  6. Thanks for the encouraging words on my blog. It's stressful waiting but worrying will just make things worse! Also? Your house is GORGEOUS, I loved the tour. So fun and completely worth the wait I hope.

    And you are so right. The clingy cuddles? Stressful and yet so sweet. Hopefully he won't always be that clingy. I mean by 30 years old he should out grow it, right? heh heh! ;)

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  7. What a sweet boy, but I know how exhausting that must be, especially since you are with him pretty much 24/7... makes even your time away not as easy because you know he's probably not happy... hope that stage passes quickly!

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  8. Thanks for the commiseration :)

    Erin - Yes, I'm finding leaving & coming back really hard. Even trying to pass him off to Husband for bedtime routine is painful. I can rationally think that it's necessary and good, but that mama bear instinct screams "Make the crying stop!"

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