Despite the week we’ve had, I ventured outside my house again – with kids – and took Carter for ice cream.

Since Hudson’s too small, I ate his.

*ahem*

See, It Ain’t So Bad Being a Rookie Mom!

Get your activity in by 12pm EST today to win a copy of the Rookie Mom’s Handbook!

Note: for some reason when I create the text box for the buttons it’s adding additional code. I’m working on getting them going for you!!

:::

Tomorrow is your last chance to share a summer picture to win an HP Photo Printer!!

Happy Sunday!

Monday 12pm EST is the deadline to win yourself a new HP Photo Printer! Check out the giveaway rules and enter to win.

Thank you so much for your stories about The Fall. As horrible as it sounds, it’s really reassuring to hear other stories about what’s happened with your children. (*ahem* Joovy, I’m still waiting to hear from you though!)

When Carter was about five or six months old and just begun moving around on his own I didn’t think much about resting him on our bed as I got ready in the morning afternoon. I have a sliding glass door on my closet and I have full view of my bed while I apply my make-up. Well, apparently my view wasn’t as clear as I thought because I saw Carter squirm a little, not realizing just how close he was to the edge of the bed, I didn’t react. Not until I turned around did I realize that he was on the verge of falling; and that he did, head first to the hardwood below.

Our bed is rather high – about hip height, and I’m 5′7″, so I’m guessing it’s maybe about three feet from the ground. THUD! He didn’t wail until I scooped him up and cuddled him, expecting for anything broken or damaged. My heart would have burst up through my throat had I not swallowed it down. I’ve never felt guilt so intense, not until The Fall.

When having children, we sign that unwritten, unspoken contract that we will forever protect them from harm. We will save them embarrassment and we will do everything in our power to prevent tears and shame. We will teach our children values, responsibility and manners. We will lead by example and our unconditional love for them will never falter. As a parent, we will never harm our children nor allow them harm at the hands of another.

Forget making sure there’s food on the table, shelter over their heads and clothes on their back, (Okay, well don’t because that’s extremely important as well) but we’ve resigned ourselves to failure. We will not be able to stop embarrassment. We cannot keep them from harm forever and we will unintentionally, maybe even unknowingly, cause them pain sometime throughout their lives.

The parenting gig ain’t what it’s all cracked up to be. Ya, babies are cute, but the moral, emotional and physical obligation to each child we conceive and rear is unfathomable. While Carter was growing in my womb, my first thoughts were not of how I was going to mold and create this child into the person he will become. I did not think about how my actions and words would be absorbed and eventually used by a child that is ultimately, a reflection of me.

Before having children I had envisioned just how I would raise them. I would be ‘normal’. I wouldn’t change who I am, how I talk or what I talk about for the sake of my child. I figured they would learn anyway, and I would rather it be me (or Mike) that taught them.

I never fully baby-proofed while Carter was younger. My intentions, though pure, may have been made out of laziness rather then intelligence. Our glass coffee table was only removed from the living room after Carter climbed on top of it – not once, not twice but four times. Each time threatening to fall through the glass with each step or even jump off the table.

I never put glass vases or picture frames out of reach. I preferred to re-direct and teach them that they were not for little hands to touch. For the most part, I think we were very successful.

Until one thing that I’ve said I wouldn’t do came back and bit me in the ass.

I said I would never tie down a piece of furniture, instead I would teach my child that televisions are not for climbing; we do not climb our dresser drawers.

(You know where this is going, don’t you?)

I never anticipated what additional child proofing would be required for a toddler.

A toddler with an infant brother who is very time consuming.

A toddler that would be very independent and wish to dress himself.

A toddler that would climb that dresser to get to his underwear drawer.

That very toddler who lives in this house and pulled over his dresser trying to get to his underwear drawer.

*the tears are stinging as I write this*

THANK GOD he wasn’t hurt. THANK GOD he was off to the side (like a ladder) and not at the very front because not only would he have been pinned below a dresser but also against the bed, which could have been extremely dangerous.

If not deadly.

With these ‘accidents’ we’ve had over the past week and a half: The Fall, hitting his head on the ceramics, and now this dresser, I can’t help but feel I’m screwing up. I can’t help but feel that I am a shitty parent.

Okay, it’s been a rough week. I digress.

But it’s hard. It’s fuckin’ hard. How can I be everywhere and protect him from everything? How do I protect my heart that innocently lives outside my body?

Both my hearts.

Though Hudson is very small, he’s already experienced pain because of my thoughtlessness. My disregard for the possible dangers, though I know they exist.

Even though it’s a distant memory for them both already, it’s eating me up. The astounding guilt I feel for failing them.

Failing to protect my hearts.

I can’t leave my house without anxiety, thinking that something will happen causing me lose control of the situation, but I won’t go into detail (AGAIN!) about how I think that I can’t handle both my children.

After the field trip last week I was feeling rather confident that I can handle it.

Yesterday? Yesterday was a setback.

One of my closest and dearest friends has a little guy that is one month and one day older then Hudson. We live about an hour from each other and rarely have the chance to visit, what with children and life getting in the way, but, today she and her little man came to visit.

After a weekend of people over for Carter’s third birthday, I was more then a little shitty at hosting. I really hate company as it is. If you’re over at my house, don’t be surprised if I forget to offer you a drink or don’t have snacks to share.  Hell, I may even leaving you standing at the door for a little, chatting your ear off before I remember to even invite you in.

I had nothing to offer her aside from water and grapes; needless to say we ended up going out for lunch.

[Told you. Am SHITTY.]

The following is an unpaid Public Service Announcement – so listen up!

We grabbed the strollers (mine’s not the coveted Joovy Ultralight Caboose) and walked over to the restuarant / café near my place. Hudson wasn’t strapped into the carseat: since we were just walking to a local cafè I opted to rest him in the seat and forgo the restraints. I have yet to buy a double (Hi Joovy, are you reading??), Carter opted to walk, which I should have known would be a bad idea but I was in a good mood (read: I didn’t want to deal with a meltdown): it was all of a kilometer walk (read 0.4mi you Americans) and I figured he’d do fine.

What I didn’t figure?

How close it was to nap.

Carter wanted to hitch a ride on the back of the stroller (which would have worked so much better with the Joovy Ultralight Caboose), it’s hard to explain how he was standing, but I’ll try with a beautiful graphic!

See? B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.

Worked great for about two minutes, until Carter leaned backwards to get down and pulled the entire seat with him.

Ass over tea kettle.

BOTH kids.

Remember, baby not strapped in? Ya.

It was so fast, I really don’t know what happened; instincts set in and I went into autopilot. Kinda.

My mind was racing and I didn’t know what child to go for: I didn’t want to just push Carter aside to grab the baby, worried that he would feel neglected – but OMG! THE BABY! – thankfully my friend was there and we each scooped up a child. Calming and shushing ensued followed by examination which yielded no findings. THANK GOD! It took a while for the shaking to subside; I was practically beside myself with guilt.

Now, had I owned a Joovy Ultralight Caboose, none of this would have happened. With the wonderful sit-n-stand option for a toddler at the back.  As well as being very light weight, it comes in fabulous colours (like Sunset!)

I can joke around and be silly about it now, partly because I feel like an ass and partly because my babies are alright.

Nobody was harmed in this stupid mommy moment.

Well accept my nerves and confidence.

(Maybe Joovy can give me my confidence back with a Joovy Ultralight Caboose in sunset?)

My poor babies. *sigh*

(Hi Joovy! I’d consider reviewing one of your Joovy Ultralight Caboose in sunset, you know – for my readers. Let me know. Kthxbai!)

I am an overpreparer (if that’s not a word, it is now). I have to prepare in advance or I am frazzled and out of sorts. I am not a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type gal, not at all. Sure, I can do it, but I get overly self-conscious, worried I’ve forgotten something and anxious. So anxious.

So when Catherine emailed me about joining a roundtable discussion I was over the moon. Great opportunity for lil’ ol’ me, right? I mean, there’s these bigger named bloggers and me. Granted, I sat in on Catherine’s spot, but it turned out to be an awesome introduction post for my spot at Better Than a Playdate (BlogHers Act Canada: Family Health).

But, who did we talk to?

None other then Debbie Phelps – yes, Michael Phelps’ mom.

She’s an amazing lady, very grounded straightforward and candid. It was a great talk and such learning experience being that I’ve never done anythink like that before.

Any-way. So Catherine asked me.

I was all, Hell! Ya!

And she was all, Great! I need your three questions by the morning!

*gulp*

That meant I had to prepare them.

I thought about it all day, all evening, all night. I even did a little research about both Michael and Debbie (cuz Iz all professional now) I froze, my hamster fell off its wheel; all I kept thinking was: OMG! I NEED QUESTIONS?! WHAT DO I ASK AN OLYMPIC ATHLETES MOM!?

(Because apparently they’re different then other moms.)

But I managed to come up with three that I was somewhat proud of, but still had to ask HBM for her opinion – you know, to be sure, and I was prepared with back ups incase there was one that she didn’t think was that fabulous!.

See? OVERPREPARE.

Then the morning of I was all worried that I’d forget or that I’d get the number wrong.

(Because what? It’s different DIALING THE PHONE when it’s for a conference call?)

See people. I don’t do so well when it comes to something outside my box, and though this wasn’t FAR outside that box, it was outside. Outside causes sweats, nervousness and chattiness.

As soon as I picked up the phone, I barely hear the dial tone through the sound of my heartbeat raditating throughout my skull, but once I was on hold for about 15minutes due to complications (their’s not mine, thankfully!) my nervousness had dissipated and it was kinda just like talking with a bunch of girlfriends.

I could hear the patter of fingers typing away through the line as I feverishly wrote everything on my trusty notepad. Those dang professionals! I thought. I can barely hear while I type – you know, constructing my writing gold *snort* – let alone engage in a conversation.

[Note to self: Must learn to type, talk, listen and engage if I ever hope to continue this gig.]

Everything turned out fabulous and my article has been unleashed onto the internet at BlogHers Act Canada, so if you’d be so kind to venture over and let Catherine and Katie know that they made the right decision by listening to me beg for a chance to write for them letting me come back to Playdate letting me write this article for BlogHers Act Canada. I’d be really grateful for any comments you leave there. You know, make me feel like I belong or something.

/whoring.

:::

Click the button and find out how to win an HP Photo Printer! Only 5 DAYS LEFT!

I had spent a lot of time over the past few months trying to think of something I could do as a feature on this site. Something to encourage reader participation as well as give back to readers. I thought long and hard and it wasn’t until I realized that there was something that I needed too; and that’s what brought this idea to life.

I need opportunity and, more importantly, reason to get out of the house. Now, with two children, I have been facing slight anxiety with leaving the comfort of my house while toting a newborn and dealing with somewhat irreverant toddler.

I gave you a little teaser, a glimpse into the new weekly feature for temporarily me, and today? The cat’s outta the bag! This my friends, is day one!

Now, for those thinking this challenge is just for new parents, you’re wrong. Though the book was designed specficially for first time parents to carry them throughout the first year, this challenge is for ALL parents. It’s meant to encourage us to try new activities with our child(ren) and more importantly – to do something that may fall outside our comfort zones and even get out of the house!

No matter the age – well, unless they’re no longer living at home or are teenagers who are embarrassed to even be in the car with their parents – there is something for everyone! Some things may be modified so we can do them together or so they can include a broader range of ages, but the core ideas are coming straight from the book. Even if the activites are something that you normally do that’s GREAT it will be an easy way for you to have a chance to win! Just make sure to take a picture!

The best part?

There will be winners selected weekly. Each week I will draw a winner by random and they will receive a prize! Rookie Moms have been gratious enough to supply books for each week and I will also switch it up once and a while to provide something else – gift certificates, other books, or something I haven’t quite figured out.

But! There is really no reason to not wanna get in on this action!

Now, you’re wondering what you have to do, right? Well, I’ll tell you.

Each Monday morning I will post three activites, or versions of activities, from the book.

Your job is:

1. Choose an activity
2. Complete the activity within the week. (Monday – Sunday)
3. Take pictures while doing said activity
4. Write a post
5. Include the button provided within your post
6. Sign Mr. Linky so people can come see what you’ve done!
7. Deadline is Sunday afternoon – 12pm EST

Sunday evening I will randomly pick a winner who will be revealed on Monday, along with the new set of activities!

:::

This week’s challenges are:

Activity #224: Record your children laughing, babbling or telling a story

Carter has become obsessed with telling stories to the camera and then watching them back, try it out and see how chatty your child can be! (or get the baby cooing, the toddler chatting to themselves, the preteen performing something…it’s up to you!)

Activity #159: Introduce your baby to the tupperware

Let them play with tupperware or pots and pans. Bang, sing songs and jump around the kitchen!

Activity #7: Get your calcium the fun way

Translation: Go to the local ice cream shop and get a cone! You can share one or have one each!

Prize for this week!? A copy of The Rookie Mom’s Handbook!

Go on! Have fun, then come back here and sign Mr. Linky when you’re done!

Buttons:

**  UPDATE! **

There was additional coding that got its way into the text box somehow. They should all be working now, but please let me know if there’s anymore troubles! Sorry about that!

<a href="http://www.temporarilyme.com/category/blogging/being-a-rookie-mom-aint-so-bad/" target="_blank><img src="http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w168/temptationdesigns/rookiemoms/rookie2.png" border="0" alt="It Ain't So Bad Being a Rookie Mom" /></a>

<a href="http://www.temporarilyme.com/category/blogging/being-a-rookie-mom-aint-so-bad/" target="_blank><img src="http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w168/temptationdesigns/rookiemoms/rookie1.png" border="0" alt="It Ain't So Bad Being a Rookie Mom"/></a>

<a href="http://www.temporarilyme.com/category/blogging/being-a-rookie-mom-aint-so-bad/" target="_blank><img src="http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w168/temptationdesigns/rookiemoms/rookie.png" border="0" alt="It Ain't So Bad Being a Rookie Mom" /></a>

<a href="http://www.temporarilyme.com/category/blogging/being-a-rookie-mom-aint-so-bad/" target="_blank><img src="http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w168/temptationdesigns/rookiemoms/rmc.png" border="0" alt="It Ain't So Bad Being a Rookie Mom"/></a>

<a href="http://www.temporarilyme.com/category/blogging/being-a-rookie-mom-aint-so-bad/" target="_blank><img src="http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w168/temptationdesigns/rookiemoms/rmc7.png" border="0" alt="It Ain't So Bad Being a Rookie Mom"/></a>

Down and dirty. Is that kinda like short and sweet? Because if it is, that’s what I mean and if it’s not just ignore me.

Hold me.

I’m scared.

Today. Friday (if this automatic posting doo-dad works) is Carter’s third birthday. I wasn’t weepy about past birthdays but I think with Hudson’s arrival this year is different and I’m sad that he’s three. Really sad.

My boys.

Maybe I’ll have more about that later, not right now. I can’t.

I’m too fuckin’ scared for my life.

While you’re reading this (if the automatic posting worked correctly) I am packed into a trolley-type-bus with about 120 children ranging in age from 2 – 6 and some parents. We’re probably baking in the hot hot sun and endured a couple of meltdowns already.

Pray for me.

Carter’s daycare has a field trip to this makeshift safari type place where baboons rip the trim off your car and eat your windshield wipers while smearing their ass across your windshield and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.

I thought it would be nice to volunteer since it’s his birthday and all.

Send. Booze.

Copious amounts.

:::

Start getting those entires in to WIN an HP photo printer!

Deadline is September 1st (that’s 10 days away)!

All you have to do is post your favourite summer pictures on your blog with a link back and share the link in my comments!

Seriously! Photo Printer! FREE! WIN!!

So, I’ve been struggling with leaving the house.

The day after I wrote that, I shipped Carter off to daycare, got showered and dressed, then went out for a couple hours to shop for gifts for Carter’s birthday (Friday. OMG. He’s THREE on FRIDAY!).

I wore whatever decent clothes I could cramp my still-over-weight postpartum body into and I even put on make up!

It truly felt great. Normal.

Back to myself.

To keep the depression at bay, I have to get myself out of the house; I’m realizing that. I now need to tackle getting both my boys out of the house and doing something fun! together. Since I’ve wasted so much of the summer, the guilt is racking up.

I need to vanquish the guilt.

That’s why I am making a weekly challenge of it.

For us.

And for US! (That’s YOU!)

I’ve been racking my brain for ideas to use as a weekly feature I could host here. My ’situation’ gave way to a brilliant idea, a weekly feature encouraging me (and us) to step outside of my (our) comfort zone (or stay within it) and do different activities with our children.

** Backtrack 2 months **

I entered and won a marketing giveaway at Parent Bloggers Network which was sponsored by Rookie Moms. Included in my wonderful package was a copy of Whitney and Heather’s book, The Rookie Mom’s Handbook.

See where I’m going with this?

Okay. So I thought about their book and how it would be great to use their activities as a guide; I contacted them for permission and they one upped me by sponsoring my feature and providing WEEKLY giveaway prizes!

For Serious?

SERIOUS!!

So next Monday (August 25) will be our inaugural challenge! More details to come as they’re still being ironed out and I’m making more buttons too!!

(Here’s a sample!)

So start spreading the news!

(Wow, I all of a sudden felt like singing Frank Sinatra!)

Spread! Share! Enlighten!

WEEKLY GIVEAWAYS!

Um. WOW!

***UPDATE!****

Oh, and this just in….

I get to partake in a conference call / interview with Michael Phelps’ mom today!!

Let hope I don’t slip up and start blabbering about how HOT her son’s body is talented her son is.

Mmmmm…