T Rex Family

T Rex Family

Sunday, April 19, 2009

"Mom of the Year"

My third blog award!

My head is going to start getting big with all these awards! And I pride myself on my humility - okay, well, if that's the case I guess I'm not as humble as I thought!

Regardless, thank you so much Mommy of M's. Remember her? She won March's giveaway. I very much enjoy reading her charming blog about her two little M's.

Rules for Mom of the Year Award:

Admit one thing you feel awful about involving being a mom. Get it off your shoulders. Once you've written it down, you are no longer allowed to feel bad. It's over with, it's in the past. Remember, you're a good mom!

Then remind yourself you are a good mom by listing seven things you love about your kids, you love doing with your kids, or that your kids love about you. These are the things to remind yourself everyday that you rock!

What I feel awful about:

Gosh, I feel bad about something involving being a mom on a daily basis. I guess this is a pretty normal part of motherhood, right? So I'll try to pick a recent one that really sticks out.

This past Friday T-Rex and I drove my mom home. He did a potty break right before we left so I was certain he would be good to go. Mom's house is about 45 minutes from ours - thus I figured T-Rex would be fine the 90 minutes we'd be gone. We left the house at 4:00 PM in order to avoid rush hour and indeed we did.

On the way home, however, there was a crash in the construction zone area. Not only did it delay our trip but we were stuck behind a long line of cars in a construction area with no way of pulling over. T-Rex told me he had to GP ("go potty") but there was nothing I could do.

Poor guy, he peed his pants - which makes a very grumpy T-Rex - but also it soaked through his pants and into his car seat. He was so distraught he started to cry and cry. His cries continued for another 45 minutes while we waited in traffic.

Admittedly, I, too, became distraught and angry (and cried). I wish I had more patience. Distraught that there was nothing I could do to help my little guy and distraught that I (a trained RN) could not help the injured victims of the car accident. But also angry at myself for not putting a diaper on him just in case we were delayed. Angry that I had this hair-brained idea to try early potty training. And angry at the folks who caused the mess. (Aren't emotions weird? I felt both concern and anger toward the car accident victims.)

For a while I talked soothingly to T-Rex and kept telling him everything was okay and this would pull him out of his hysteria temporarily but there was only so much soothing over screams I could take in a car crawling along in traffic. At one point I opened the window on the side he was sitting on so that some of the noise might get directed out the window.

It was just a horrible feeling of helplessness. Maybe I'm more of a control freak than I thought. I just always want to be there for my little guy and be his glowing beacon of positive energy and support. Maybe I need to re-evaluate my self-expectations.

Okay, now that is off my chest, here are my seven things:

1. I love being a mom - period.

2. I love being T-Rex's mom.


3. Every time I think T-Rex has past his cutest stage he surprises me and gets cuter. (I think this is nature's way of facilitating bonding and attachment to our offspring!)


4. I love watching T-Rex Dad spend time with our little guy.




5. I love going in at night to check on my sleeping T-Rex. (I always put my hand to his to feel the warmth - when he was tiny it was to make sure he didn't die of SIDS - I was a little paranoid.)


6. I love making clothes for my son. And he loves wearing them!


7. I really love that my child likes to clean and organize - man, I love that kid!

The list could go on and on. Seriously, I knew being a mom would be great, but I was not prepared for how great it really is!


I would like to pass this along to Melanie over at Atwood Attitudes. I've always considered her to be a super mom so she is very deserving! Not only that, but the gal rocks - she has a "New Moon" counter on her blog. That's just awesome!

Don't forget the April giveaway is going on now through the 23rd...
One entry counted per comment per posting on either this blog (T Rex Mom and Dad Tales) or T Rex tales. Entries are doubled for followers.

5 comments:

septembermom said...

You are a super mom! Congrats on this well deserved reward! We all have had those moments when things don't go the way we want them. Potty time is always a hassle, especially in the car. Love all the pictures of your family:) T-Rex is a very loved little boy.

Caitlin said...

I used to do the same thing to check for SIDS! Does TRex stay covered all night? Joseph tosses and turns so much, I am worried that he would uncover himself! But, he is outgrowing his sleepsack, so I guess we shall see soon!

You definitely deserve this- you are a GREAT mom!
I am sorry about the traffic/peeing incident.
I felt sweaty just reading about it!
I am sure that he has forgotten about it already!
Pretty soon he will be old enough, you can just let him stand beside the car and hose down I-84... :)

KS said...

I lay my hand on the boys back several times a night to make sure they are breathing. And I never leave for work in the am without checking too! And M2 is on an apnea monitor at night and I still touch him to be sure!!

I LOVE that panda outfit!! How freaking cute!!

BallerinaBiker said...

You area great mom! I loved reading this post and the latest on T-Rex too. Being a mom is the best thing in the whole world. And the sad part is, my kids are growing up and I can see that these very short years until they are all grown and out of the house are slipping away. I almost can't breathe!

Nina said...

You deserve that mom award. I would not let that one accident even let you consider regretting early potty training. It sounds to me like you are doing great, you just got stuck and an unexpect, bad situation. It's going to happen but don't worry about it so much.

It is amazing how much we love being moms. When we were remodeling our house Luke was in our room until he was 3 years old (toddler bed) because we didn't have our upstairs done. When I moved him into his own room it caused me great stress. I checked on him all the time in the night. He is 6 now and I am still checking on him...