We’ve been through a rough couple of weeks with Ella.  She was pretty sick for several days with a high fever & ensuing grouchiness.  She missed most of Easter because she was so tired & feverish.  A trip to the pediatrician & a day or so later & we were able to start her on antibiotics for a bacterial infection.  Once her fever was gone, she went into meltdown mode.  Screaming, disagreeing, freaking out at every little decision made in a day.  If I wanted to go do laundry?  Time to freak out.  Want to go to Little Gym?  First let’s have a complete meltdown including not wanting to wear underwear, pants or shoes, but socks on our hands.  Would you like some juice?  Yes!  No!  Yes!  *SCREAM*!!!!  It was very difficult for all of us, but luckily, the past couple of days have been much better.

In the mean time, I had to find little joys during the day.  So when Ella would have a few moments of happiness, I logged them in my head.  Here are 3 little glimpses of normal Ella during a rocky time:

1. While waiting in Walgreens for “15 minutes” (an hour) to get her prescription, we wandered the aisles.  We picked up some sidewalk chalk so we could do something fun outside even if we couldn’t go to the park.  As soon as we got home, Ella wanted to go outside to play with her “chalklates”.  So funny!

2. Part of my nesting/needing to get the house ready to sell phase has been SUPER CLEANING.  I’ve been going through every closet, drawer, etc to clean & organize.  One morning, while cleaning the bathroom drawers, Ella asked me what a certain bottle was.  “That’s perfume” I said.  Ella’s response?  “It’s perf-me!”  Of course it is!

3. A water line break in the parking lot at the mall after Little Gym caused us to take a detour while leaving.  The cautionary tape up around the puddles gave an insight into how kids see the world.  “Look Mom, it’s the news!” Ella said, seeing the caution tape.  I just love how little minds work!

Now that we have our sweet girl (mostly) back, we’re trying to rebuild our potty training skills that were lost during the sick days.  Some days are better than others so we’re bracing ourselves to take it one day at a time.  As long as those days are finished by August.

…until you become a parent.

1. You LOVE all the baby stuff!  When you’re expecting a baby, or one of your friends is, it’s so much fun to go through all of the baby aisles looking at all of the cute baby stuff.  And then, when you become a parent, it all accumulates.  It goes from being “cute baby stuff” to being “crap cluttering your house”.  It only gets worse as your child (or children) get older & accumulate more stuff that they can’t live without…for at least 5 minutes.  Ella has innumerable little toys, trinkets, stickers, booklets, crayon pieces, etc that she really loves for maybe a couple of days.  Suddenly, it starts accumulating in places (usually our coffee table) and it starts to eat us alive.  We keep putting it back into the tubs in her room, but somehow it keeps escaping.  So just beware, when you have kids, the cute baby stuff will eventually take over your house.

2. No matter what the personality of your family, your child will probably not always fall into that category.  Especially at 2.  Dave & I are pretty laid-back people.  I am not particularly a “girly-girl” though I wouldn’t classify myself as a tomboy, either.  But Ella is very much a girly-girl who loves to wear pink dresses, play with babies & dance around in tutus.  And she is not very laid-back.  She is high maintenance.  At least for now.  I’m hoping she grows out of this.

3. Sometime between becoming pregnant & your child becoming a toddler (at least for me) you start feeling old.  Not like geriatric, need to use a Hover Round old, but like RESPONSIBLE old.  And maybe a little “get off my lawn” old.  I think that I get more angry at drivers every day.  I’m starting to think that we should be retesting EVERYONE for their driver’s licenses every 5 years or something.  Because between tail-gating teenagers & 90 year olds driving 20 in a 40, I’m probably going to have a coronary before my time.  (I know that I’m generalizing here…I realize that not all teenagers & older folk are bad drivers.  And there are PLENTY of people my own age who are not spectacular drivers.  I’m friends with some of them.  But they are not usually out driving during the weekday when I am, so I am not complaining about them at this time).  I try very hard not to yell while I’m driving because I don’t want Ella to pick up any bad habits or anything, but I think she picks up on my stress instead.

4. Sometimes, pee & poop are appropriate dinner conversations.  From curious newborn bowel movements to potty training successes and failures, my parent friends & I have definitely gone there during dinner.  Without batting an eye.  Because it’s just a part of daily life, something you are consumed with at the moment, and it just stops grossing you out.  And when it’s just me & other mommies, the conversations have gotten even more gruesome.  Pregnancy, laboring, birthing, nursing & parenting do some STRANGE things to your body & you just have to talk about them with your friends!  Did this happen to you?  Were you expecting that much bleeding?  I never knew that hurt so much!  etc.

5. You (usually) become much less judgmental towards other parents.  Those kids that freak out in the toy or candy aisle in the store?  Sympathy eyes instead of side-eyed glares.  You have been or will be there & you know it sucks.  A 4 year old with a pacifier?  You don’t even look twice anymore.  You choose your battles & sometimes that’s not the one worth fighting right now.  Kids on leashes?  It may look like the parent can’t or doesn’t want to control their kid, but let me tell you, kids are FAST.  And when they don’t want you to hold their hand & go with you, they won’t.  They will bolt the other way.  And if you try to put them in a stroller?  Forget it.  They can maneuver out of the 5 point buckle & climb out of the stroller.  Thus, leashes become not only a great choice, but sometimes your only option.  So do a parent a favor sometime & if you see their non-leashed kid bolting, especially if it’s in an unsafe place like a parking lot or in front of the Zoo train, grab them.  They will appreciate it.  I’m sure when we add baby girl #2 in August, I will learn how to be a better parent & even less judgmental because I will have to chase after my crazy 3 year old while caring for a newborn.  Yikes.  Begin mind meltdown.