Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Miss Independent

It some point this morning I think my life became a sitcom. I'm not exactly sure when - but probably around the time that I decided - wouldn't it be fun to take Whitney to a makeup class at her school. Whitney is fiercely independent - that should be laid out first. I also decided that since she is now 20 months - I wasn't going to carry her in the carrier anymore. She is getting so big and my back has been protesting. These two decisions proved magical - black magic that is.

Whitney loves to walk on her own and I let her - as long as she doesn't get to close to the edge of the sidewalk and holds my hand when we cross the street. Usually she is pretty good about this - maybe there is an episode of sitting on the road while I insist on holding her hand. But she gets over it and once she is tired either I carried her or she got in the stroller. She fusses over that too, but usually once I get a buckle done she relents.

Today Whitney didn't know I was no longer going to carry her to class. It is about a mile walk - so longer than she can manage at the moment. She made it to the end of the block before she started with the "up, up, up". I explained she was a big girl now and I couldn't carry her anymore. I then tried to put her in the stroller. Whitney exploded - this was not at all how she wanted things to go. At this point I probably should have turned around and went home - like my mom suggested - it wasn't even our regular class. But I am stubborn too so I struggled with her to get her into the seat. Two elderly ladies took pity on me and helped me muscle Whitney into the stroller with her yelling and screaming the whole time. Not my best moment. Then I noticed a bus coming - of course. After all the struggling we were so late at this point I needed to take the bus to get there. In order to take the bus I needed to take her out of the stroller and fold it up. Score 1 for Whitney. Although you wouldn't know it - she was so wound up she struggled against me the whole bus ride. And I couldn't get the stroller to fold all the way - another Mom stopped to help me. So - the score so far - Whitney 1, Me 0, and 3 people have come to help me. I think that means I am at negative 3. I also think it means I live in an awesome neighborhood.

After the bus Whitney still wanted to be carried. I refused and she followed me down the last long block to class, whimpering the whole way. But we made it - and only 2 min late. Score 1 for me.

At the end of class - Whitney again would not get into the stroller. Unwilling to muscle her in in a room full of parents, I let her walk. I needed her to walk anyway, I told myself - need to get her tired so she will take an early nap. It was a scheduling thing. So, we walked. She did ok at first - but there was a lot of trash on the sidewalk and she wanted to pick it up. All of it. I did let her pick up a few things and put it in the trash can - who am I to argue against cleaning up?? The trouble didn't really start until we hit our first intersection. I tried to get her to hold my hand and she went into full tantrum mode - literally lying in the street screaming at the top of her lungs. Since it was just after class, I was surrounded by a group of parents with their kids. Lovely. They tried offering her some encouragement and one of the Dads took the stroller from me so I could drag her kicking and screaming across the road. Once we were across the street she decided to see how close she could get to the street before I freaked. One of the other Moms freaked first and crossed right in front of me to gather Whitney up and bring her back. Sigh. That particular game of chicken is probably not one we should be playing. Whitney 2, Me 1 and 2 more people have helped bringing this morning's total to 5.

Finally the group of parents moved on and Whitney was walking nicely again. She still wouldn't get into the stroller. After another block she got tired and sat down on the front step of a hair salon. At this point I was exhausted too so I let her sit there for a minute. The owner came out and was very nice - gave Whitney all kinds of compliments and finished off with giving her a cookie. So after all that Whitney gets a reward. I thought I about keeping it back from her and giving it to her later - but it was making her docile too and she actually let me buckle her in the stroller.

For sure the winner of the day was Whitney with 3 points. In all - 6 people came out to help me in some way. I know I am not a bad Mom - but this morning was enough to question my sanity.

On a positive note - I have found the secret to the successful play date. Lots of notice, lots of reminders and baked goods. :) Whitney and I have had two very successful play dates since that first one and people are already signed up for the next. So, a little ray of sunshine in a cloudy post.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Obsessions

It's official. Whitney is obsessed with cleaning between her toes. Her babysitter showed her how one day - I guess because she thought it was cute. Now Whit insists on cleaning between her toes on a regular basis. She won't put on her PJs until she is sure she checked each and every toe. I thought this was cute too - until she started checking between her toes at the dinner table. Not so much with the cuteness. Now we have daily battles about putting our feet on the table. Sigh... can't wait until she does it in front of my mother in law - cause you know that's gonna happen. :)

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Yoga

Recently I started, for the first time, practicing yoga. I had tried one class in the past and dabbled with a DVD when I was pregnant before. But this is the first time I've taken classes. I'm sure prenatal yoga is very different in many ways from "regular" yoga, but the concepts seem to remain the same.

A friend pointed this recent article in the New York Times out to me after discussing the merits of yoga:

How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body

At first I was a bit amazed. But then it wasn't so surprising. Push anything to the limit and it can be dangerous -- even yoga. I saw this as more of a commentary on American, competitive, consumerist yoga. Especially after hearing over and over again in the class I'm taking to never do anything that hurts in any way or stay in any pose past fatigue.

Anyone out there have opinions for/against? Maybe we should all be doing yoga like pregnant ladies.


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