Unexpected Surprises

Right now I am watching my little crazy daughter dance around to music on the Disney Channel in only a diaper, with a paintbrush in her hand, pausing from time to time only to attempt to learn the motor skill of actually jumping. She is really getting frustrated that she can't get her feet off the ground. She has actually stopped a few times to sit down and inspect the bottom of her long little toes to be sure that there is nothing holding them down. Her little hands are freezing and I am sure her feet are too. The windows are open. That's right, I am that Mom. I never got her dressed after she climbed into bed with me (via Andy who had not held her since he was sweaty from the gym) and sat right on my head just in time for me to discover that she was soaked in pee.


People told me many things about motherhood. The crying, the time-outs, the learning, the eating...I got all that. However, no one ever made it clear to me actually how often bodily functions are a part of the picture. I understood that diapers and potty training were going to be part of my new life but that was just the beginning. I have decided that along with the rule of "You never sleep the same way again after you have kids" also should come the rule of "You can never assume that feces (as Andy calls it), pee-pee, vomit, snot, eye goop or sometimes even all of the above at one time will not be a nice little addition to your day ever again." Don't get me wrong, I take the good and the bad with Bella. However, sometimes I like to remember the days when my adult conversations never contained the word "poopie" or had to ever discuss the actual consistency of the "poopie". I think back to the days when I had never experienced being awakened by screams only to enter a room with my poor kid covered (along with her entire bed) in vomit. My new favorite as of lately are to remember the times when not only could I go to the bathroom alone, but when I didn't have someone tying to peek into the toilet as I am actually sitting on it.

In closing to that thought as I sit here and gripe in my own little way I will say this- the truth of it is that as Andy looks at me about to vomit himself as our poor little Bella was ridding herself of a stomach bug in our living room floor at 5 in the morning and he asks me later "How do you do that and not loose it?" my answer is simple "It's just what Mommas do." However this blog is about honesty, so I will not lead you to think that I don't closely follow that sweet statement with "But that was pretty freakin nasty. Almost fantastic but in a really, really bad way."

Potty Training...a great result but I have to think the process probably is far worse than changing diapers, but we shall see soon. And then when all is said and done, we will have conquered another step in Bella becoming self-sufficient, moving onto the next one which will be one more area in which she will no longer need my help. And I bet I will be a little sad.


ADDED LATER: I need to add that just as I finished the entry above, Bella was dancing on our ottoman to The Doodlebops. She suddenly stopped, opened her eyes as wide as they could get and yelled at the top of her lungs as I was on the phone "Mommy I tootin' and dancin!!" As the toots kept coming she got so excited. "I TOOTIN' AND DANCIN' TOO MOMMY!!!" She was so proud of doing both at the same time, that the fact she can't quite jump yet faded away because she had a new skill. My response is that of any loving mother "Great job baby! Great job!"