It's confirmed. I'm 'Just a Mommy'!

Conversation between Miss E and I in the car returning from the weekly grocery shopping.

Miss E: Baby J is a boy.

Me: That's right. Who else is a boy in our house?

Miss E: Daddy!

Me: Good girl. Are you a boy?

Miss E: *chuckles* No, I'm a girl.

Me: Good girl, that's right. Who else is a girl in our house?

Miss E: Hmm, I don't know.

Me: Is Mommy a girl?

Miss E: *chuckles very loudly* NO!

Me: Well, then what am I? Is Mommy a lady?

Miss E: No!

Me: Is Mommy a woman?

Miss E: *laughing uproariously* No, you're not, silly.

Me: Well? What am I?

Miss E: You're Mommy!


Bang go any notions I have of proving myself to be witty, intelligent and worthy as an individual beyond motherhood. At least in my daughter's eyes!

I was only away 3 weeks!

It feels like so much longer given the number of things I've had to readjust to coming back.

Before heading off to Ireland, I had a little mantra I chanted regularly

'don't drive on the right,
don't burn out anyone's clutch,
don't feel claustrophobic in a smaller car,
don't use American words like 'diaper', 'cookie', 'jelly', lest people think you've gone "all funny"'

you get the idea.

I didn't think that I'd have to chant myself one coming back.

I didn't have any problems clicking into 'modus Irelandis', but coming back has been a different story!

I can't reverse my Expedition out of the garage past my husband's pick up! (not that I was really that good at doing that before!) The sprinkler heads have taken a bit of a doing - sorry D!

I drove on the LEFT yesterday! Thankfully, only in the Target parking lot (while rubbernecking at a guy stopped and handcuffed by the cops - that'll teach me to be so nosey!)

My car feels like an Ulsterbus (Greyhound bus) after driving a sleek and nifty Toyota Avensis for 3 weeks.

I have forgotten that my car does not idle in neutral at traffic lights, and if I ease my foot off the brake, the car moves - not good with a car in front (no bumpers have been damaged, yet!).

I have to source a new kind of coffee - the stuff we use (instant *gasp*) tastes putrid now, compared to the lovely brand we had in Ireland.

And the worst yet - my excursion to Walmart was actually enjoyable last night! Although, that probably has more to do with it being the first time that I have been alone, by myself, away from two sick babies in over a week, than the store, or my purchases being interesting, exciting or all that pleasant really.

It'll likely take me another 3 weeks just to get my head around everything again - such an adaptable person am I, not!

Like fly paper for weirdos

That’s me! That, or I have a flashing light above me that draws them in. How else can I explain why people come up to me in places like Walmart and tell me random things like "it’s 3 weeks ‘til hurricane season hits, and you better be prepared, we’re gettin’ one way worse than Katrina this time, and you better be ready"? All this yesterday as I am (unsuccessfully) trying to secure my toddler back into the cart, with my infant strapped to my front in his snugli! All, in the kids towels aisle. I’m thinking though I should have asked him how he could be so certain that we’re in for a ‘worse than Katrina’ storm, I might just have asked him for this week’s lotto numbers, too.

This is not the first time something like this has happened to me. I have been accosted by panhandlers and other weirdos in Walmart’s carpark – so maybe it’s not ME, maybe it’s Walmart that is like fly paper for weirdos then?

Flamenco Mom - Five Questions

I have jumped on this little interview bandwagon, to get, and keep my blog ball rolling. Flamenco Mom has asked me the five questions below. If you would like to join in, read the instructions after my 'interview' and I'll interview you.

1. If you had a choice between living in the mountains or by the ocean, which would you choose and why? Ocean. I am 5ft 9, the air is thin enough up here thank you. Plus, more of our families will visit if we lived near the beach. There are mountains aplenty in Ireland (well more like big hills, but never mind).
   
2. Would you like to have more children, or have you not thought about it yet? Oh yes I’ve thought about it, plenty. I waver on this one, a lot. My husband is set on two (mind you for a while he thought one was just fine so who knows?). I just have this feeling deep down that I’m meant to have at least one more. I had rough elements to both my pregnancies, and last time, especially with two bouts of preterm labor I pretty much convinced myself I couldn’t go through with another pregnancy. Then baby was born, and we now have the benefit of some distance between those negative pregnancy feelings, I look at what a wonderful sweet baby he is and I ask myself – ‘how could I not want another one of these?’ Then I look at my wonderful, spirited, feisty and sometimes exasperating daughter and ask myself ‘how could I cope with another one of these?’ lol! Do you think I’m indecisive? I don’t know, yes? No? Maybe? At any rate, if I do want another one, we’d better get our skates on; I’ll be 35 next month (yuck!).
   
3. What is your favorite film? Steel Magnolias – I wish I could put some big ‘high brow’ epic in here and make myself sound all intelligent and interesting – but that really is my favourite. Any movie that can make me cry and laugh, and go ‘aha, I know someone just like that’ – is a goodie in my book. When my relatives come to visit me they are all taken by the southern accents they hear around them and often times tell me it’s like living in ‘Steel Magnolias’
   
4. What would be your ideal vacation? Definitely in a luxury log cabin resort, with gorgeous big fires cracking and spitting in a big open fireplace complete with obligatory furry rug to lie on in front of it. Somewhere in the mountains in Colorado (I have nothing against visiting the mountains), in winter. I’d love to be out snowmobiling or dog-sledding, or some other bundle-up-to-keep-warm activities by day, and eating delicious decadent meals in the evening. Our kids will have to stay at home, we’ll arrange for Nana or Granny to come to stay and mind them. Of course, enjoying this vacation would depend on me surmounting the inevitable guilt I would feel at leaving them behind – I even feel guilty just sitting here speculating about it!
   
5. If you could have a superpower, what would it be? I would love the power to pause time, for little spells, so that I could soak in more of the ‘baby’ time that E has left. She is growing up so quickly – she looks, and talks like a four year old yet she is only two and a half. I even have to remind myself that she’s still so young when I find myself expecting too much of her. Yesterday she said ‘whatever’ to me – where did that come from? Recently she has told me ‘you look brutiful mommy’, she has also donned a hat and said ‘very distinguished’ (thank you Little Bear!), and uses words like ‘certainly’ – huh? I’m happy that she’s got good vocabulary – but I mourn somewhat for the babyhood she is rapidly leaving behind.
   
   Also, if that ‘pause function’ would still leave me free to move, it sure would come in handy when I can see that she is about to clobber her baby brother, but he’s beyond arms reach so I can’t prevent it happening – yes, that would be useful every day, sometimes several times a day!
   

So, if you want to ride our bandwagon, leave me a comment with 'interview me' in the text, and I will email you five spiffing new questions :)