Baby Poop and Business Suits

SAHWM/WSAHM

You know when you're at a party, or a gathering, and someone asks, "So, what do YOU do?

I always end up giving this long drawn out answer, like,

"Well, er, I own my own business doing marketing and graphic design and consulting, but I have two little kids, and I work three days a week, and my son goes to daycare two days a week and my mom watches him one day and my daughter's in first grade so I run her to school and some days she takes the bus, but then I have meetings and on my days off I still answer the phone and send emails and work on projects when my son naps when I'm not doing dishes or vaccumming, and some times I try to jog or file my nails, and yeah, no, well, I don't make a TON of money, but..."

I'm not a stay at home mom (SAHM)... I'm not a working mom (WM)... I'm a working stay at home mom (WSAHM) or, I guess I could say, a stay at home working mom (SAHWM)?

I can't keep up with the men, but can't keep up with the women, either.

Can I create a new category?

Can I just BE?

Niko - 3 years, 3 months and 24 days old.

Our three year old son has decided to occasionally address his parents by their first names, instead of mommy and daddy. Just started happening recently. Anyway, earlier in the evening, while trying to get our attention, he walked into the kitchen where we were both standing and said, "Gerah! Jeremy! I need to show you sumpin!"

So later that evening...

Situation: Niko in the upstairs bathtub while I, his mother, wash my face at the sink. He looks up at me and says,

Niko:    "I love you Gerah."

And then I heard a wet plop. I think it was the sound of a chunk of my heart melting onto the floor as I laughed with amazement at the random things my kids say and how stinking fantastic it is being a mom.

...or, should I say, how stinkin' fantastic it is being "GERAH".

Niko - 3 years, 3 months and 19 days old

Situation: Family sitting around the dining table, having lunch. I decided to sing a song that had popped into my head. Was singing quite seriously, and really trying to sound good. Really trying.

Niko:    "Mom, stop singing. You're giving me a belly ache."

Niko - 3 years, 3 months and 18 days old

Situation: Riding in the car, Niko babbling on, and on and I began to day dream.

Niko:    "Hey Mom"

Me:        (silence)

Niko:    "Hey Mom"

Me:        (silence)

Niko:    "Hey MOM"

Me:        (silence)

Niko:    "MOM."

Me:        (silence)

Niko:    "MOM."

Me:        (silence)

Niko:    "MOM."

Me:        (silence)

Niko:    "MOM."

Me:        (silence)

Niko:    "SAY NIKO WHAT!"

This and That

So when I'm not doing this, I'm doing that.

Just so the internets know.

The Boy

Was just walking past the new skate park that is currently under construction with Niko. The kid claims he wants to be a "skater dude". I just tell him, "Cool man, but, you know, you ARE only THREE."

On top of the skate park excitement, he was in absolute and complete awe of the bulldozers and forklifts, cement whatnots, (and whatnot). Now I FINALLY get what people say when they talk about a boy being, well, a BOY. He watched the dirt getting pushed around, dirt being picked up, dumped out, and all that other manly-testosterone-hai on your chest stuff and screetched with delight (and I won't mention the fact that he was literally grabbing his pelvic regions while screetching)... Mommy just doesn't get it, this boy stuff. After a half hour I had to threaten his life and peel him away from the orange construction fence and out of view from the industrial equipment because he just couldn't get enough.

This mothering of a boy thing... I'm truly still learning.

xo,

G.

Niko - 3 years, 3 months and 15 days old

Situation: Tuesday morning, while finishing putting his velcro strap Airwalks on:

Niko: "Hey mom. HEY, MOM! I wanna show you sump'in."

Me: "Okay, sure, Neek. What'cha wanna show me?"

Niko: "I'm going to show you the moon walk."

And then, he performed a moonwalk that would make Michael Jackson proud.

Mothering a Son IS different

Just threatened to send my three year old son to military school. Although, I DID dance with him to the C is for Cookie video already this morning, too, so maybe that cancels the military school thing out?

Kyra - 6 years, 1 months and 12 days old

Situation: Riding in the volvo. Gerah driving. Kyra in back seat.

Kyra:     "I have some skin on the side of my nail, and I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH IT!"

Me:     "Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!"

Kyra:     "IT'S NOT. FUNNY."

Let's talk about penises.

Just for a second.

Honestly, I can not remember if I've ever mentioned this on this blog, cause, I figured, it's nobody's business, especially not the whole wide internets - but, hey, what the heck.

We did not circumcise our son.

There, I said it! Now the whole damn world knows.

I just couldn't do it! (That sweet, perfect, darling baby... No knife was coming NEAR his perfectness.)

If my husband were making the decision without me, it wouldn't have even been a decision. He's not the kind of guy to rock the boat and he wouldn't have even thought about it. He just would have done it without question, I mean, he is circumcised, I'm assuming his father was circumcised, and his father, etc. etc. He would have just done it, closed the book, enough said.

My son Niko is now 2.5 years old, but still, I have been finding myself questioning our decision and wondering if I have been wrong. My family thought I was crazy. The guilt. Always the mother guilt. Until....

...I watched MOMVERSATION, a video blog site that features many of the top-mom-bloggers talking about mommy issues. In this one that I have linked to, they discuss circumcision, and, it looks like I'm indeed not a freak! Lots of parents are choosing not to circumcise, due to the fact that in America, it's really a religious conviction or a "well, his DAD was circumcised, so he want him to look like daddy" thing...

So, I'm coming out of the closet. We've got foreskin up in here. So be it. Apparently, I didn't even know it, but I'm joining the ranks of some of the great mommy bloggers out there who are also choosing not to cut the skin off the tip of their perfect baby boys' penises.

Daphne Brogdon, you go girl... I'm with ya (and congrats on your brand new baby boy! Maybe your son and mine can be email pals and share penis mockery stories when they are in Jr. High!)

Mommy bloggers of the world, UNITE!

YES WE CAN

I just received this email from my sister - she summed up the way I am feeling today, and I thought I would share this. Over the past few years, I have been embarrassed by our country. I did not feel like I belonged. But today, I do. This is a new day. I am proud to be an American.

From my sister, Hillary:

Last night, I was in Grant Park, Chicago, and watched the election results. As I looked around it was evident that the crowd was America—we were black, white, Latino, young, old, gay and straight. I was proud to be standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder with all these people that come from very diverse backgrounds, yet we still are the same. We are Americans. It was an awesome experience and I could not think of a better place to be as our country made history and entered into a new era.
 
I know that many of you do not have the same feelings today as I do. But, like our president elect Barack Obama, I am reaching across the aisle. America and the world are facing major crises—our globe is facing a huge economic meltdown and recession; the US is engaged in two wars and fundamentalist extremists on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan are gaining strength; our planet Earth is facing a severe global warming threat will lead to a chain of catastrophic natural disasters if left unchecked. We need to come together, address these issues and find solutions to bring our country and the world out of these disasters.
 
One quote from George W. Bush after 9/11 was “you’re either with us, or against us.” I was not on board with Bush’s initiatives, so by default, I was out.  For those of you that do not have the same feelings that I do this morning, I can empathize with your feelings. However, I can assure you of one thing—Barack Obama’s administration will work with you. Obama's administration will see your perspective and he will make you feel included. If you’re not with him, then tell him what your opinions are and we’ll come to an understanding. We need to bridge these gaps if we are going to address the catastrophes’ we are facing. Please, let’s work together to get out of this messes. We're only at the beginning.
 
Today I feel proud. I am proud to live in a country where intelligence is respected and rewarded. I am proud to live in a country where we will seek a diplomatic path before war. I am proud to live in a country where every child of any race and any religion can believe again they can be whatever they want to be. I am proud to live in a country that will seek to be on the frontier of new technology and new energy. I proud to live in a country that will assume a leadership position against the fight on global warming. I am proud to live in a country that is respected again by the world. I am proud that we have an inspiring first family in the white house. I am proud to be an American.
 
My final comment is that I heard John McCain’s speech last night and I applaud this speech and have a lot of respect for his comments and him as a person.
 
Congratulations America!

Hillary