Adventures of a Stay-at-Home Mom

Yesterday I watched Katy's friend Ian for a few hours.  It was just me against two one-year old toddlers.  I spent the morning preparing for Ian's visit so that I wouldn't have to prep food, wash bottles, or deal with any other chores while taking care of two toddlers.

The first two hours of Ian's visit went by smoothly.  We played with toys, went for a walk, read some books, chased each other, and ate lunch.  About two hours in, it was obvious Ian was very tired and was going to be very fussy if he didn't sleep.  It's not easy to put someone else's young toddler to sleep, especially an overtired toddler who usually goes to sleep while nursing.  It's even harder to put someone else's young toddler to sleep while keeping your own toddler preoccupied.  After about 20 minutes of trying different things to help Ian relax, however, I strapped Ian into my baby carrier and started bouncing.  Within minutes, he stopped crying, his body relaxed, and he fell asleep while Katy played at my feet.  I was feeling pretty confident at this point.  

While Ian slept in the baby carrier on my chest, I prepared Katy's bottle, lifted Katy into and out of her table chair, and gave Katy a popsicle.  With less than half an hour until Ian's parents were supposed to return, Ian was still fast asleep on my chest and Katy was playing happily nearby.  I was feeling really confident now.

No more than five minutes before Ian's parents returned, Katy walked into the room where Ian and I were sitting.  Her shorts and diaper were half-way down her butt, she was poking her fingers down the back of her diaper, and her fingers were coated in poop.  Oh. My. Goodness.  My baby was playing in her own poop!  

I tried my best to quietly clean Katy without waking Ian, but it didn't work.  Ian woke up and cried while I quickly stripped off Katy's clothes and changed her diaper.  I picked up Ian just in time to hear his parents at the door.  I answered the door with Ian on my hip, crying, and Katy at my feet, wearing nothing but a diaper and a dirty popsicle face.  I'm certain we looked like a hot mess, but all I could think was, "This is not an accurate representation of the last three hours."  

Next time I keep Ian, my morning prep will include dressing Katy in a onesie, romper, overalls, or anything else that prevents her from playing with her diaper.  This sounds like a ridiculous thing to prepare for, but toddlers do ridiculous things to break your confidence and make you look like nothing but a hot mess. 

The Freddie Fender Water Tower

This is the water tower in San Benito featuring Freddie Fender:

Every time I passed the water tower, I wondered, "Who is Freddie Fender?," and then I would forget to research Freddie Fender until the next time I saw the water tower.

I recently drove by the Freddie Fender water tower with my friend Rachella, who is from a small town near San Benito.  I asked Rachella if she knew anything about Freddie Fender.  She replied, "No."   After a brief pause, Rachella rattled off a few vague lyrics from his song that came out on the radio.  After another pause, Rachella mentioned something about Freddie Fender's family still living in the Valley.  And then Rachella casually stated that she went to Freddie Fender's funeral.  I'm sorry Rachella, but I think you know something about Freddie Fender if you went to his funeral.

Now when I pass the San Benito water tower I think, "I know someone who went to his funeral."  I still have no idea what song made him famous, but I think about researching it each time I pass by.

Photo Source: http://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=5cb0e51d-5a69-4b73-bd11-02bcc05ffb5b

Death by Bobcat

Chris, Katy, and I recently camped with Chris' family at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area. Enchanted Rock is so incredibly beautiful.  Remind me again why I live in South Texas?

Katy was so overwhelmed by the beauty that she took a very
uncomfortable-looking nap.

At the summit of Enchanted Rock.

Papo and Grandma with their grand babies.

With Tio Jesse

Katy had a blast camping.  She loves being outside and isn't afraid of playing in dirt or sitting down in the grass, which got her into a bit of trouble when she sat in an ant bed near our campsite.  Katy's screams of pain as I stripped off her clothes and diaper in the middle of camp made my mommy heart so sad.  Luckily, Katy ended up with just a few bites, and she didn't have a severe allergic reaction to them.  

This girl loves climbing in and out of a tent.

During our first night at the campsite, we heard a predatory animal hunt for dinner.  My mother-in-law left a large canister of nuts on our communal picnic table overnight.  Early in the night I woke up to the sound of critters rolling my mother-in-law's canister of nuts.  Later, I woke up to the sound of critters digging the nuts out of the canister.  The last time I woke up, I heard the critters making high-pitched sounds, as if in trouble.  Then I heard what sounded like a predatory cat growling and hissing.  As the growling and hissing grew louder, the high-pitched alerts grew more frequent and more urgent until it was obvious that one of the critters was being carried away in severe pain.  And then all of the crying, growling, and hissing stopped.  I was nervous that Doug was going to start barking and attract the predatory animal to our tent, but he only whimpered in fear.  In the morning, everyone was talking about the predator in our camp expect for my in-laws, who apparently slept through the whole thing even though their tent was closest to the picnic table.  When we relayed what we heard, my mother-in-law seemed unimpressed by the death trap her nuts created and instead made comments all day about how she couldn't believe the animals ate her nuts. 

On the last evening of our trip, we went on a lovely sunset hike and even did a little celebratory dance.  It really was a fantastic trip.  

With my beautiful sister-in-law.

Doug was so happy to be included again.

Why are we so happy?  Hehe...

 

Beach Day

Chris and I took Katy to the beach last month.  It was her third visit to the beach.  The first time Katy went to the beach, she had zero awareness of where she was and she cried when Chris sat in the water with her.  Katy's second beach trip went better: Katy went nowhere near the water, and Chris and I had zero expectations for Katy to appreciate or react to her surroundings.  The most recent beach trip, however, was awesome.  Katy loved the water, the sand, the birds, the broken shells, and even the beach trash.  Finally, Katy is old enough to enjoy the beach!

Chris dug Katy a hole and filled it with some ocean water.  Katy climbed in and sat down before I could change her into her swim pants.  She spent a considerable amount of time climbing into and out of her hole.

When Chris walked to the shoreline to fill Katy's water bucket, Katy ran behind him and walked into the water without any hesitation.  She liked the way the sand felt under her feet as the water receded.  As the shallow water disappeared, she moved further out without any fear of the small crashing waves.  More than once, Chris or I chased Katy down as she ran to the shoreline without us by her side.  While Chris and I were glad Katy was eager to explore this new environment, we did find ourselves wishing she was a bit more timid around the water.  Her lack of respect for the ocean was a bit scary for this mom.

Shortly after we arrived, a group of very fit, very tan, and nearly hairless gym rats settled next to us.  The men were covered in tattoos and the women wore tiny (very tiny!) bikinis.  At one point, I made Chris sit with his back to the group because a woman in a thong kept bending over.  Later in the afternoon, one of the muscle men in the group asked us to take a group photo for them.  I obliged, even though Chris and I had been making jokes about them throughout the day.  I couldn't help but exclaim, "Very appropriate," when they all flexed their muscles for the picture.  There's nothing like a large group of super fit people to make you aware of your own mom-bod and dad-bod.

Mr. and Mrs. buff hugging behind us.

That's better!

Of course, despite the bod squad to our left, Katy was easily the cutest girl on the beach.  Summer is almost here, which hopefully means several more beach trips in the near future!

Who Reads Books Anymore?!?!?!?!

Chris recently asked me to write about him because I "only write about Katy."  So here it is, sort of.

When I'm giving people my list of top attractions in McAllen, I always mention the main library because even if McAllen doesn't have big attractions, McAllen has an attraction worthy main library.

According to TripAdvisor, the main library is the number two attraction in McAllen, beating out even La Plaza Mall.  Beating the mall is big.  Nationals from Mexico with money to spend love, love, love to inundate La Plaza Mall on the weekends and as a result, every weekend at La Plaza Mall is like the week before Christmas at any other mall.

The history of the main library is an architectural Cinderella story.  Formerly an abandoned Wal-Mart, the city transformed it into a literary oasis that no longer resembles a Wal-Mart in anyway.  It's huge, it's well-designed, and it's always bustling with activity.  According to a library employee I overheard conducting a tour for elementary school students, the main library in McAllen is the largest single-story library in the country.  See, I told you it's attraction worthy.

Chris recently attended an event with contractors from the area.  During a break, one of the event attendees voiced his opinion about the waste of tax payer money that was and is the main library.  Chris attempted to defend the library, but the other attendee remained unpersuaded because, according to him, "who reads books anymore?"  Whoa.  A comment like that evokes so many  responses that it's hard to pick just one.  To avoid sounding arrogant or elitist, I'll just answer the question asked: Who reads books anymore?  We do!  Katy and I visit the library at least once a week for story time, to check out books, or to play in the huge children's wing outfitted with adorable kid-sized furniture, colorful book bins, and a fun play area.  We usually leave with a bag full of books in both English and Spanish, which we read over and over and over for the next week or two.   And when Katy and I make our weekly trip to the library, we never fail to see a full parking lot and a constant trickling of people coming and going, evidence that (thankfully!) we are not the only ones reading books in the Valley.

For more about our awesome library, see this article from Slate.

Oh Yeah!

A few weeks ago Katy's vocabulary consisted of 12 or 13 words.  Now, I'm unable to keep record of all the words she says because she is developing so rapidly.  As a parent, it's bittersweet to watch the last hints of baby disappear as Katy discovers the world of spoken communication.

Katy's newest word is "yeah."  Ask her almost any question and her answer will be a squeaky, "Yeah."  She even responds, "Yeah," when asked if she would like to brush her teeth, change her clothes, or clean her face, things she most certainly protests with "no, no, no, no, no" when we actually do them.  Ask Katy if she wants to sleep with a scorpion or eat rotten food and her answer will be, "Yeah."

Last weekend Chris, Katy, and I went to dinner with some friends who also have one-year-old children.  The other mothers and I were discussing the various manifestations of temper tantrums when we discovered that all of our darling children have, at times, purposefully hit mom in the face during moments of frustration.  I commented on how I don't understand where Katy learned this behavior as I never hit her or anyone else in the face.  Chris, who was standing nearby, quickly joked that he slaps Katy in the face.  We all laughed and then I jokingly and rhetorically asked Katy if Daddy slaps her in the face.  Without any hesitation, Katy responded, "Yeah."  It was Katy's first joke, and it was pretty darn funny.