Toddler In 'Da House

Some days I sit and stare at the computer waiting for words to spring on to the screen like spit from a sneeze. Some days my thoughts are as dormant as a tulip bulb in the winter and try as I might, nada. This is when I realize that things are pretty good in my world so what’s to write? It’s easier to rant and rave and fuss about this or that, cathartic even, but writing about the good stuff is, umm, boring. (This is the part where I say “thank you” and count my blessings and knock on lots of wood. )

So what’s happening in the household lately? W is a little sick. Crusty nose, snot marks on the knees of my pants. First the sneezing then the coughing and now the runny nose and serious napping. Wednesday he took a 30-minute nap and then a 3 hour nap and this was all during the six hours the sitter was caring for him. Makes me feel like she should only get paid half the hourly rate when he snoozes. I imagine her curled up on the couch checking off her “to do” list for her upcoming Costa Rica trip. Tough gig, huh babe?

He’s also increasing his vocabulary with honest efforts and interesting results. The “E-I-E-I-O” part of Old MacDonald is more like “blabble, blabble, dee dee, bah” but he knows when to say it (after me like a parrot). “Nnnnnnnaked” is still his most popular word. Parents quickly pull their children out of his orbit and run away with them, fearful that W has some litigious intentions. I’ll be damned if he isn’t whistling, too. He puckers and blows and a little high-pitched tweet comes out of his rosebuds. He does it when he’s concentrating on something like getting his shopping cart over his baby doll’s head.

Yesterday was a full day of “mom’s leaving me and I’m not going to cry.” Dropped him at school, no tears, Miss Jo showed up to sit with him for date night and, again, no tears. He was practically waving me out the door and a part of me went limp with sadness. I don’t want the little cowboy to always be crying when I go out to pretend I’m Daddy’s girlfriend again, but is he really growing up THAT quickly? Dammit.

He starts school full-time next week. That’s an 8:30 to 5 p.m. sentence for the kiddo. He seems to like it there though so I’m not going to worry about the long hours day in and day out. Yesterday, when I went to pick him up, I watched him play for a spell on the infant/toddler playgound without him knowing I was there. He disappeared behind a toadstool size tent for the longest and was soon joined by his buddy, Prine. Neither of them surfaced until I called his name. I picked him up and asked loudly, “Are you back there smoking cigarettes again?” Needless to say, we don’t have many mommy/daddy friends at daycare yet.