A Little More About Me

Where was I?  Ah yes, asking for help.  I did call my friend and she did come over, and it was helpful, but also hard.  She is a mom albeit with a younger child so she still has notions--the very notions I had once upon a time--that good parents don't let their kids watch TV or fingerpaint with their applesauce or jump off the coffee table.

And I should admit, the person I do not have difficulty asking  for help is my poor husband.  Somehow it's easier to be a basket case in front of him.

*****

And now, an interview courtesy of Cat:

Now that you have The Boy and The Girl, are you leaving the possibility of more kids to chance, or are you definitively finished building your family?

This should be easier to answer, but when I had the opportunity to decide definitively and get my tubes tied, I couldn't do it.  Realistically, practically, we are done: taking care of the kids we have is challenging enough, but that baby lust is a powerful thing.

Do you have plans to go back to teaching?

Yes.  Right now, I’m not ready to commit to the inflexible schedule and time away from my family. Plus, my salary (as a new teacher) wouldn't cover the cost of childcare…which is appalling on so many fronts.  Right now my plan is to try to find some freelance editorial work (I did this in a previous professional life) until I can find a way to make teaching work.

As a second-time mom, was there anything you expected to be able to manage easily with The Girl that turned out to be just as hard (or harder, or hard in a different way) as the first time around? And was there anything you were dreading that turned out to be much easier than the first time?

Harder than expected: giving formula without feeling guilty.  I thought I had made my peace with this, but apparently I was wrong. Easier than expected: co-sleeping.  God, I was terrified of squishing The Boy for the longest time, but The Girl just seems to sleep better in our bed. When she sleeps at all, that is.

What is the craziest, most out-of-character thing you've done? Would you do it again?

After I got laid-off from my job in 2001, I used some of  my severance to go to Ireland by myself for two weeks. Looking  back, it makes me wish I had traveled more--although not always alone.

How did you and BrooklynBoy meet?

Our eyes met over a keg at a college party nineteen years ago.  Yes, nineteen years (we had our eighth wedding anniversary last week).  He was cute in a bad boy way that was irresistible.  Now, he's irresistible in ways it didn't occur to me to think of at the time.

Anyone else there dying to reveal their secret self?  If so, email me or post below.

Comments

[Monica]

Ah yes, the good old days when I thought kids watching tv was bad. I vaguely remember those now...especially when we pile into the car and immediately must turn on the dvd player in the car for goodness sake. Ha.

I like the q and a - it was fun to read.

[JK]

Thanks for sharing--I enjoyed reading. :-)

Re: the help thing, and the other mom with her crazy ideas about good kids.... (heh!) The rules all change when you have kids so close in age. Multiple kids change everything.

I find it hard to ask for help from anyone but My Husband (aka MWH on my blog) too.

[electriclady]

Cool interview. I'll be interviewed if there's anything you care to know about me. Might get me to actually post...

[cat, galloping]

thanks for playing!

[jenny]

just so you know, i let a friend with a 2-year old and a 3-weeker make dinner for my daughter last night. fantastic!! i took your words to heart.

[Toni]

What questions do you want to know??

[swissmiss]

Off-topic but inquiring minds need to know...did you end up getting the Phil&Teds double stroller and if so how do you like it? We're looking into one and would love to hear what you think.

As for help - I have trouble asking for help from my mother-in-law. I have no problem sending my boy over to the farm once a week and letting the grandparents be in charge. Lord knows what the three of them do out there together. And I'm fine with that. But when she comes to us to help, say if I'm sick, and we're all three in the apartment together, I find it hard to just stay in bed and rest and let her do her thing.