I am Going to Miss This

Jenn and I were talking(actually emailing since her son hid her cell phone in a recycling truck for 2 days while his sister took the blame) the other day about the day to day of raising little people...the sheer exhaustion of it all. It seems I am always eager to get to the next phase of parenting, no more sleepless nights, no more bottles, no more baby food, finally you can walk, finally you can talk, and one day(dear God, please say in 2010) someone will be potty trained. Each stage is better than the one before and of course brings new challenges. But, I know all too well, that I won't remember the challenges in great detail, but will stop and remember a face he gave me, or the smell of her hair when she gets out of the bath and think...ahhh, those were the good old days, the easy years of parenting.

So, I am going to keep track of the things I am going to miss and some that I won't.

I will not miss...

• finding milk filled sippy cups in a laundry basket, under the seat in my car, or hidden in a toy box
• the smell of formula - I hate the smell of formula
• cleaning the kitchen floor after every meal
• interupted sleep
• everyone telling me 10 times a day how I have my hands full all the while, not opening the door, so I, who has my hands full can actually walk through said door
• mounds of laundry that never seem to make it into the drawers
• the biting, hair pulling, pushing
• the constant articulation we have to do with C to help him with his speech
• C's turned up nose at almost everything we get him to eat
• the snot that is stuck to head, hair, and hands
• the poop and puke that seems to appear out of no where and then multiples everywhere
• bleaching bath toys because of the two p's above
• how grouchy C is when he wakes up from his nap
• second guessing parenting decisions you know are right in your gut
• parenting books
• Callie eating, throwing, loosing, and refusing to wear her hairbows
• the crazy mom I become when I am overtired and impatient, and say really stupid things I swore I would never say to my kids

But, I am certain I will miss these...

• the joy Callie has when you get her out of her crib in the morning, as if to say, I have been waiting for you all night
• the way C sucks his thumb and holds his "bankie" at the same time
• C tucking his little chubby hands in my tummy when I am rocking him like he just wants to get a little closer to me
• Callie waddling as fast as she can across the room if you ask her to give you a kiss
• watching everyone including Daddy do the chicken dance to the Elmo video every night after dinner, esp Callie who shakes her feathers the best
• when C asks where Callie is when she is napping...LaLa night night
• the way Callie listens and is such a little helper, taking diapers to the trash and helping me fold the clothes
• the way C says bus with his lisp, and only wants to hear the "wheels on the bus" song on the cd player
• that I will never look at an airplane or the moon the same way again, since C always points them out and get so excited when he sees them
• Oreo kisss, tea parties, and puppet shows
• C shy side when he meets new people and then warms up and gives the cutest little grin
• when they used to call me Mommy instead of Mom
• the way Callie would choose me over anyone in the world
• the way C pretends to be asleep and then starts staring right at your face and then says...a nose, eyes, teeth and you can't help buy laugh
• handprint ornaments and homemade crafts
• Callie wearing all of the 8 plastic lays we have around the house all at the same time, everyday, all day, like they are part of her outfit
• seeing Callie pop out behind our green chair thinking we don't know she is back there and giggling when we ask..."where's Callie"...it gets her everytime
• clean, naked, baby lotion smelling dancing toddlers in diapers running from us trying to put on pjs
• the backrides Gregg gives the kids everyday to take them both at the same time down the stairs yelling "neigh" all the way down
• the endless hours of reading books, stroking hair, and playing playdoh
• finding a toy several weeks later that Callie hid in something else
• the way Callie moves her legs like a frog and puts her head on your shoulder and makes the "pacy" noise when she is tired
• fingerprints on the windows and kiss prints on the mirrors
• the dependence they have on me for everything and for now, I am perfect in their eyes
• walking in on Gregg telling Callie that she is beautiful, which he has done every day of her life
• the pure innocence of life with two babies with the whole world ahead of them, no preconcieved notions about what is good, who is good or bad, no racism, everything and everyone being equal
• when I transition back to just being Jennifer instead of C and C's mom

I am going to miss this...