Today, as I scrambled to put together lunch for my 3 year old to eat at Lunch Bunch (she’s not a sandwich and chips kind of kid) I thought back to how I used to prepare snacks for my oldest child’s (he’s 8 now) back in the early 3’s at the Park District Preschool. Of course this was after agonizing about which preschool he should go to IF he should even leave the safety of our family room and how would I manage to get him there 2 WHOLE days a week with the “schedule” his 1 ½ year old baby brother needed to survive?!?
After deciding it was safe to let Martini Kid #1 leave my sight for 2 ½ hours, twice a week, he began preschool. At school, the kids learned a letter of the alphabet each week. For the entire year I would go to this cute little scrapbook store once a week and spend (soooo much) time finding enough stickers of things that started with the letter of the week to cover his snack bag for each day. If you are familiar with these cute little stores, I also spent a freakin’ bundle on these stickers. Perhaps I should have saved my money and gotten a babysitter for Martini Kid #2 and gone out for a latte by myself but remember, this was PRE slacker Mom era. So impressed by my efforts, the teachers incorporated our snack bags into a lesson for the class at snack time and even saved the bags to send home…mother of pearl, I had set the bar and HAD to continue (the nonsense) for the remainder of the alphabet. Imagine my stress level when we got to Q or X or Z???
It was during this same time that I am certain I still had the logs that I kept for each Martini Kid during their first year of life...ins AND outs. We sterilized each pacifier (we call them Nukkies ala our chosen brand Nuk) whenEVER they touched the ground and got a new clean one for the screeching child. I went to each pediatric appointment armed with a notebook I’d written questions in, regarding milestones I was always concerned we hadn’t reached by the proper time... no doctor was going to rush THIS Mom out without getting my answers and (not) rest assured, they would receive a phone call no matter what time of night if one of the Martini Kids projectile vomited for SURE.
Martini Kids #1 and #2 are 21 months apart and I was a major stress case for long time. This explains why there is a 3 year gap between Martini Kid #2 and #3…I was recovering and managing and stressing and mothering (without medication) and felt I needed more of a handle on things before introducing #3.
Martini Kid #3 came a little too early, a little smaller than her brothers and spent a few days in the NICU. I decided not to stress about it (those nurses gave her the BEST care). When the Breast Feeding Crazy Lady came to tell me to buy breast milk over the Internet for my baby, I thanked her, told her I was SUPER ok with Similac (pre-recall) and sent her on her kooky way (I know, I know, breast is best, just so I don’t offend anyone but I went crazy stressing over feeding Martini Kid #1 and if you’ve been reading…kinda trying to omit the stress). Martini Kid #3 came home with me and now Martini Mom had THREE kids…at once…to take care of…holy crap!!! So I also knew how to recognize when I needed to ask for help and not be ashamed or embarrassed to be a happier Mommy (just don’t tell Tom Cruise).
There were no logs, maybe a question or two jotted down because Mommy brain IS a forgetful one and not only do I not freak out when a Martini Kid projectile vomits, I can manage to be puked ON and not puke myself…these things happen…they are gross and disgusting…but not scary anymore.
Oh and Martini Kid #3 loved to throw her Nukkie on the floor and I loved to wipe it off on my pants and stick it back in her mouth. I think I read on the Internet that a little dirt helps boost the immune system…right?!?
So I packed up some yogurt, a little watermelon, a cereal bar and some crackers in a brown bag (because I couldn’t find her lunchbox of course), scribbled her name on the bag and dressed Martini Kid #3 in an adorable outfit (c’mon, even a slacker Mom has to have standards and the kid’s got style!). Then I dropped her and her poorly put together lunch at preschool (AND Lunch Bunch AND Art Smart) for 5 whole hours…Martini Mom bliss.
