Who's Your Daddy?

(Yeah, I still have not posted my story about the verrrry interesting spin instructor I had a few weeks ago, but frankly I lost steam as the days went on and I have a 90% completed post sitting in my drafts just waiting for me to take two minutes to finish. We'll see when that happens... one day...)

Every couple who has conceived a child through a fertility process where everything isn't completely in your own... ahem..."hands" has a fear, spoken or not, that the hospital/clinic/doctor will screw up and somehow the child that comes out of you will not exactly be, well, fully related.

Chris and I joked about this throughout our IUI experience, saying we'd love the child no matter what, but if he came out Chinese, Kaiser was going to be paying big time. We were joking, yes, but I think that there was that tiny silent twinge of "oh no, I don't want to be on Dateline" hiding in the background. At least for me.

Now, the moment JJ came out looking like a miniature clone of his father, all fears were quickly erased. 

JJ's personality is so similar to Chris's that it's almost frightening. Brilliant, can't sit still, etc all seem to run in the paternal blood stream.

But today on the way home from work, as I asked JJ how he managed to get out of crib at Grandma and Grandpa's house after his nap, he nonchalantly answered "Climbing! JJ top it out!"

Oh boy.

Lord give me the strength to deal with these wonderful boys in my life.

Now here's a good example...

So I've had a post started since last night about the spin instructor from... well... you know where.

I needed to bring my computer home from work to do the final edits since my iPad seems to format blogger very weird.

Anyway. 

Looking forward to getting the blog done after JJ goes to sleep tonight (Hubs is at a late class until 9), I am now sitting here experiencing the true joy of Moddlerhood.

The Bedtime Standoff.

JJ has been in his crib for an hour and a half begging and pleading for one more kiss, one more hug, one more "pat pat". 

I am really bad about giving in a few times, usually resulting in a sleeping toddler and not-guilty-feeling-mommy.

But tonight.

Oh tonight.

There are sobbing, heaving, pleas coming from upstairs and a breaking but oh so exhausted and under-patient mommy dowstairs.

I am clearly losing The Standoff here.

One more kiss won't hurt anyone, I find myself saying as I walk upstairs to calm him down.

Damnit, why did you give in?, I find myself saying as I leave the room to an even bigger tantrum than I walked into initially.

Rinse.

Repeat.

Even Turbo has his head buried in the couch downstairs to ward off the noise.

Ah, the joys of Moddlerhood.

Can he make it to two hours? 

We're closing in...

Edit: Dare I say I think the Sleep Monster has finally won The Standoff.  It did take me going in yet another time to keep him from vomiting all over his crib by crying so hard. But I did not give in to his constant pleas of "Chair!  PLEEEEEASE!".  I did not rock him, just gave him a kiss and stood there with my hand on his chest while he finally passed out mid-"pleeeeee...".  Ah, silencio.  'Tis an adventure some days, that's fo sho.

New Beginnings/Beginning Anew

Hello Blog World.

It has been far too long.

But here I am, bound and determined to resurface into the great world of blogging.

Why come back into the dying world of writing paragraphs when everyone (including myself)seems to be perfectly content summing up their lives on status updates?

Well. I miss it.

I absolutely love wasting hours going back through the wonderful adventures and mundane, but funny, moments on the Hmmm? blog. It makes me a little sad to think I have no great way of going back over the last two years and seeing what went on. Despite the futile attempts at getting back into writing that blog, or JJ's blog, I never liked splitting my stories and pictures and random thoughts between two blogs. I am not good at spreading the writing love around.

So, with a little (okay, a big) twinge of sadness, I have closed the virtual door on the Hmmm? blog. I like to think of it as twisting the big creaky circular handle on a bank safe and locking inside my most treasured memories. My life has changed...a lot...since I began that blog back in March of 2006. Finishing up my first year of teaching? Aww, I was so cute :)

I tried, really hard, to convince myself to just keep writing on that blog. But in the end, I felt far too confined by the life of outdoors adventure-iness (take THAT autocorrect) that built that blog from nothing into something I now really treasure. My life isn't all that any more. It is not just the hikes and rides and climbs that shaped my personality, confidence, and outlook on adult life. It is not just my funny Kindergarten students. It is a new journey, a new adventure. This is my attempt at melding all of that and a whole lot more (can we give a shout out to toddler teething anyone?).

Moddlerhood.

Surviving modern toddlerhood. Teaching in 'da hood. Being a mom. Redefining adventure with a very adventurous, and still wonderful as ever, husband.

Hope you enjoy the ride!

 (oh, and a quick note to me, who eventually feels too confined by this title or this blog...I am THAT adorable and naive at 30. 'Tis good stuff. And typing an entire blog via an iPad 1 is slooooow.)