I NEED A NAP!!!!!

Wow! What a day! Let me start by saying that my life is not an endless invitation to event after event. I have not yet begun the stage in mommyhood where there is always someplace that I have to be. Maelyn goes to school 3 days a week and I work every Tuesday. Other than that I don't generally have ANYPLACE to be, which is a blessing and a curse. However, when it rains it pours! Sometimes 2 or 3 things come up on the same day and today was one of those days. I still have it in my head that I can do several things in one day. That I can attend every event or playdate that I get invited to. And I can...my 2 year old, however, CANNOT!! Not without a substantial nap, anyway.

This morning Maelyn and I attended the Easter Egg Hunt at Longue Vue House and Gardens, which was beautiful! The gardens were in bloom, there were tons of easter eggs to be found, bunnies to pet, face painting and loads of kids to play with. She had a ball!! If you haven't been, you must take your kids next time around, you won't be sorry. This concluded stimulation overload event #1. It is now nap time o'clock on the nose. We go home, I pack a lunch, we get back in the car and head to the northshore for a group playdate, that I have been looking forward to for days! I get to hang out with my mommy friends and Maelyn gets to play at the park! Perfect!! Of course, she falls asleep on the way there, for a solid 50 minutes. Pretty good nap, right? Everything is working out the way I had planned. We get to the park and she is so excited she can't wait to get out of the car. "Yay! Park! Park! Go mommy, go mommy!" We get out, meet up with the girls and begin to scope the place out. The place is packed and she doesn't know where to go first. "Swings, see-saw, tunnel? Maybe the sand pit? No. I'll save that until later". I can hear her saying to herself in her little head. She finally decides to see-saw and for the next 2 hours she managed to leave her mark on every inch of the playground. The giant sand pit was, by far, her favorite spot, of course. I am cringing as I am watching her thinking that she is going to have germ filled sand in every little crevice of her body. Gross. As she is loving life in the sand, it dawns on me that she has tried to initiate play with 3 other children so far and not one of them took her up on it!! One kid just ignored her and the other 2 literally picked up their buckets and walked to the other side of the sand pit. What the hell is that??? Maelyn handled it well each time. She stared at them confusingly and then went about her business. My girl!! No crying, no fits. Yet.

The mommys decide that it's time to leave the park and grab a bite to eat. This did not sit well with the peanut. She cried and screamed loudly and let us all know that she did not approve of this decision. She finally calmed down and then proceeded to say several times that she "had a bobo on the back of her neck and needed a band-aid." When I told her that I couldn't stop driving to give her one, she became very upset and started crying again. Ok God, this is a test. I get it. Maybe I passed, maybe I failed. Guess what, I don't care, just make it stop. I'm tired!! I would like to just hang out with the girls and chat. So far, that hasn't really happened because I have been chasing the energizer bunny around. When is it mommy's turn?? We finally get into the restaurant and sit down. There are colors on the table, which is a GIANT plus, and we are about to order lemonade and mac & cheese. Does it get any better than that in a 2 year old's mind. I think not. I thought I was in the clear when she begins to cry and, for the first time in public, lets out a blood curdling scream. Great. I guess God didn't like my opinion on his testing skills.

After a brief visit outside, we came back in and all was good again. We finally finished dinner, she begins to cry again and we rapidly walk to the car. Half way home she tells me "Mommy, I need a nap!" Amen to that, sister. If anyone needs a nap, it's you! She then put her head back and fell asleep. We arrived home and all was well again in the world of Maelyn.

The lesson I learned today was; don't try to push too much on a kid who is VERY nap dependent. Just because I can go, go, go, doesn't mean I should expect her to do the same. From now on I will remember this day and make sure that she gets the nap that she expects and down right deserves. Not only does she deserve it, but everyone within a 10 mile radius of her being deserves it. Sorry, angel, mommy will do better next time. All in all, I enjoyed my day with her and the few sentences I was able to share with my girlfriends were better than none at all. Oh, and God, your test was right on. Sorry.

I hope someone out there learns from my experience and can relate to mommyhood with a nap dependent child.

Love,
Jenny

P.S. - Karen and Jen, thanks for today! I love you both!

Hello all! I hope you are all are doing well today! My day started out a little rough. I was pressed for time and time management was not my strong point today. Why is it that whenever you are in a rush children pick up on that and become disruptive? I know it's not just me, right? But, we made it. Maelyn got a haircut and we made it to the park on time to meet friends and grab some lunch. All and all a nice morning.

I come home and I'm looking for something useless to watch on T.V. and I stumble across "Raising Sextuplets". A show about two 32 year old parents raising 6 children. Ok, this morning suddenly seemed easy. How in God's name do people do it? AND WORK? I am sitting here watching this show and this woman (the mom) always seems happy. How? 1 child is a little hard on my psyche sometimes, much less 6!!! Now, I realize that the people on reality T.V. with big families have TONS of help. But happy all the time???? Good editing? Maybe. Maybe she's just a happy person. Excuse me, I'll have what she's having. I could stress out just watching this show!! How does she do it? I think I like this show, however. The "other" shows about families with multiple children, I can't bare to watch. You know the ones I'm talking about. One word comes to my mind, dysfunctional and weird. Ok, two words. This show seems pretty normal. Realistic. I may have to tune in again just to double check.

As for now, I'm going to take a nap. Momma's tired. I am going to finish watching this show and be thankful that I can take a nap while my daughter takes a nap.

Jenny

Birth Control

Does anyone have any information or experiences with I.U.D.or have their tubes tied? I have heard a little about both, some good and some bad, but am still not sure what to do. I do know one thing for sure. NO MORE BABIES!!!!!! My body can't take it and my house can't fit it!
Thanks,
Jenny

Has anyone ever had a similar moment of personal uncertainty like the one I had last night? Tell me about it!!

Hey Y'all!
Here's my story for today. Last night I went to Carrollton Station with my sister and my cousin, who is in town and has never been to the bar before. For those of you who don't know, my husband, Eric, and I own a bar in uptown New Orleans, called Carrollton Station. A place that I have frequented for years. I actually hung out there quite a bit when I was pregnant for my first child because it was the only way I could hang out with Eric, since he was always working. Of course, I wasn't drinking or smoking. I was just hanging out with friends and my husband. Naturally, people stared and whispered about the "pregnant woman in the bar". Did I care? No. Who are they? Mind your business! Pregnant women need a social life too, right? Right!

Fast forward 2 1/2 years later to March 13, 2010 (sounds futuristic, doesn't it?) I walk in to the bar with my sister and my cousin. I see 2 or 3 people that I know and talk to them for a few minutes. Then suddenly, for one stinkin' minute, I let my confident guard down and immediately feel that ALL eyes are on me, "the pregnant woman in the bar". Girls were whispering with that "OMG" look on their face. Clearly I must be there to toss a few back, right? Are they all looking at me waiting for me to order a few shots for myself? Maybe a Jagerbomb or 2. "Hey, can I bum a cigarette?" I mean really, bitches, mind your business. I'm just out with family, at a bar, that my husband and I own, and I am ordering a Sprite and cranberry juice! I'm saying all of this now, but last night none of this was coming to my head. Me, Ms. Not Afraid To Stand Up For Herself Jenny. Ms. I Don't Care What People Think Orlando. Yep! Me. Have all of the hormones wreaking havoc on my body made me an emotional roller coaster??? The answer to that is, YES! I really felt a moment (2 1/2 hours) of weakness. And I kind of let it get to me. Is it worth it? No. But in that moment of weakness I felt as tiny as a pea (insert short joke here). So I went home and went to bed. It felt sooo good to be home. I had hung out with those who are fortunate enough to still be able to indulge in an adult beverage or 2, but I longed for my bed. Zzzzz...

I woke up this morning to my beautiful daughter putting on my chapstick that I keep on my nightstand. She had a big smile on her face and gave me a giant wave hello when she saw my eyes open. I began to think back to last night and decided that all of those judgemental, alcohol indulging women and men were probably looking at me with jealousy because even though I appear to be a size "double wide", my knock off designer maternity jeans and my high heel espadrilles and cute little handbag made - me - look - FABULOUS!

Be proud of who you are, ladies, and let your beauty shine!

Jenny

Hi Y'all! Well I've been talking about it and here it is. A mommy blog. I've been wanting to start a group for mommies, a network, if you will, for mothers who have questions, comments, opinions, concerns or just a few happy thoughts, about kids or life as a parent. I have to admit, this is mostly for selfish reasons. I am a stay at home mom, as most of you already know, and I love it! However...I find myself in a bit of a rut sometimes with no adult conversation on a regular basis and at a social loss, sometimes, when I am around a group of people. Me, Jenny Orlando, at a social loss... What?

I have recently begun to understand all of those moms out there who can't talk about anything else but their children. I used to think, "I don't care about your kids lady. Stop talking about them like they can walk on water." But I now know what it's like to be so proud of what you have taken part in creating, that I get overwhelmed sometimes and want everyone to know how much work has gone into helping this little person advance in life. It doesn't help that it's pretty much all I do, besides clean my house on an unregular basis. I, of course, don't go out as much as I did before I had Maelyn and my husband works at night and I am 5 months pregnant. Those 3 ingredients alone create a recipe for loneliness sometimes.

Sooo... this brings me back to Mommies for Mommies. My hope is to create a network of moms, locally and from afar, to provide companionship and to help answer questions about kids, parenting, motherhood and womanhood. I would also like to get together now and again, with or without children, at the park, over coffee and the like, to meet some new people and spend time with close friends. If you have topics you would like to discuss or ideas for this blog / group, please post them here.

Ok, here we go! I hope this works...my psyche needs it!
Jenny