don't touch my kids

No really. I don't care if you're trying to be helpful--touch the grocery cart instead. I don't care if you want to rub their little heads because they're "ooooh soooo caaaa-yooooote." I don't know you? Hands off.

Two instances in the past two weeks have had me really thinking about how badly I need to teach my little extrovert about "stranger danger."

I like to take the kids out for lunch once or twice a week, especially if we need to be out and about for other errands like a doctor's appointment or a haircut. A couple weeks ago, Shepherd had a follow-up appointment with a behavioral therapist (he's fine) about a half hour away right around lunch time. Because he nailed it, I let him pick where we ate for lunch--Eat 'n Park of course. And as luck would have it, both he & Zoey were angels all through lunch. We even got complimented by a couple of middle aged ladies in the booth next to us. (Hello, ego boost!) BUT. As we were on our way out, we stopped to go potty, and a little old lady, who just thought he was "the sweetest little angel!!" decided to HOLD HANDS WITH MY CHILD and HELP HIM WASH AND DRY HIS HANDS.

NO. NO NO NO. Color me paranoid, but by holding his hands, I know how quickly they could have walked out together. Especially when I'm helping Zoey wash her hands. I can hear it now: "Bye Mommy! I go with this nice lady!" He loves people. DON'T TOUCH MY KID.

...Fast forward to today. We're at Chick-Fil-A (don't judge me, a Mama needs sanity), and Shepherd beat Zoey & me to the play place. Of course. I needed to help him take off his lace-up sneakers, but he was already up in the tunnels. As I'm calling for him to come down, here he comes, bouncing out of the slide, "Mommy that nice boy took off my shoes for me!" WHAT. Jaw, meet floor. Kid, if another person starts to TAKE SOMETHING OFF OF YOU--YOU SMACK THEM.

So here is my predicament: Is it totally over the top to tell him that? Finding the appropriate balance of "stranger danger" without squashing his outgoing nature has me in a parenting bind. This is hard stuff, folks.

(I obviously did talk to him when we got home, but I still think he needs more of a talking-to.)

investing in happiness.

At the very beginning of the summer, we bought a wooden swingset from a local company who builds sheds, gazebos, and of course--swingsets (and some other stuff). I have to admit, I was way more excited about this than the kids.

We've had a plastic play cube since Shepherd was just shy of 2, and he was obviously outgrowing it this spring. Since Zoey does so well at keeping up with him, I thought they both needed something a little bigger and better. And it doesn't help that it's much more convenient for me to be able to run in to the kitchen and grab them a snack or drink refill and leave the door hanging wide open too. Or if we decide we are done sliding and swinging, and want to run through the sprinkler or fill up the pool on a whim, we can do that too. So what if we live next to one of the biggest parks in town? We needed this. Right? Right.

I'm pretty sure it was the best investment we've made all summer. But it wasn't the typical "investment" that you're thinking of. It was an investment in happiness. And it was sooo worth it.

It also helps that when we're in our own backyard, people don't think I'm crazy if I lay on my back and take pictures of my kids trying to kick me while they're swinging. :) 

Or grabbing me while they're pretending to be Batman.

And I get to watch them grow their bond as brother and sister. 

exploring the 'burgh

My posts are a little out of order this summer, but I want to get this one in today. Yesterday, we finally checked a couple things off my Pittsburgh Bucket List. My question? Why the heck didn't we do this sooner?!

The kids and I went with my (recently-joined) mom's group to the Duquesne Incline, and I attempted taking pictures at the bottom AND at the observation deck. I'll let you be the judge on which ones are better (or maybe neither?).

I think when you have a 2 and 3 year old who are that excited about riding a train so far up high, both of whom LOVE the city by the way, you are definitely going to have problems getting them to look at the camera. And they pretty much hated the observation deck, except for the part where they got to pay 50 cents to flatten a penny and put a design on it.

But nothing is more thrilling for little kids than getting your clothes completely soaked by a giant fountain.

it almost happened to me, too.

This happens every year. And every year, with more frequency thanks to facebook, parents and non-parents alike preach about about how careless these parents are. Preaching about how children are our "most precious resource" and "HOW can anyone JUST FORGET a CHILD?!" 

I am so glad that Gene Weingarten of The Washington Post wrote this article, albeit three years ago, and one of my friends chose to share it today. Mainly because it almost happened to me, too.

Like many of the parents mentioned it the article, my daily routine had been shaken up for the day. It was a Thursday in the fall of 2011. Zoey was still in a rear-facing carseat (this is important!) at a little over 18 months, and we had just dropped Shepherd off at preschool. She went to Mom's Day Out on Tuesdays, but not Thursdays. Got all that?

My typical routine after dropping Shepherd off involves a trip through the Starbucks drive thru, sometimes a phone call, and a trip to the grocery store or straight home. That day though, I had a doctor appointment, and I can't even remember what for right now. I remember I called my mom, as I do at least once a day, and Zoey fell asleep. I auto-piloted through my other tasks and went straight to the doctor. 

I must have thought it was Tuesday. The car was so quiet, and it was a beautiful day. Normally my purse sits in the back, but that day it was on my passenger seat. I grabbed it, locked up and left. Without my baby girl. I made it all the way to the elevator before yelling, "SHIT!" and hanging up on my mom, sprinting to my car and crying as I unbuckled her and hugged and kissed her all over. 

She must have been confused, because I woke her from a sound sleep. 

Let's all realize that yeah, maybe it could happen to me. Or maybe someone I know. And it has nothing to do with how much you love your children. At all.

current happenings

1. I had a seizure last week and my neck and eye still hurt.

2. I usually attribute them to exhaustion, stress, dehydration, etc., but I had basically done nothing the night before. I have a new medication & switching-over instructions just sitting in my kitchen, but I'm scared of the switch.

3. MORE about my health: I have a 7cm cyst on my left ovary that has been bothering my for a few months. It's shown up on a CT scan and a couple ultrasounds, but my Dr. insists on "waiting it out" to see if it resolves itself. If I'm not using these anymore, can't I just ask them to take it out?! IT HURTS.

4. The aforementioned 3 points are probably why I've been avoiding my blog. I hate talking about health issues, I really do. I don't want to see whiny, I don't want to seem like I'm falling apart before I'm 30. Basically: I'm avoiding reality. ;)

5. After last month's 5k, I'm ready for more.

love this pic of zoey.