come undone

the expanding body and mind

This morning my son came to me complaining about his jeans. Mommy, too tight...too TIGHT.  I loosened the straps at the waist and he went off happily.  The jeans, purchased a few weeks ago, are a size 18-24 month. They were big on him. (sigh)

Then he turned on the DVD player, inserted a disc and hit "play."  A Baby Einstein video began and babies were all over the screen. The czar tried to strike up a conversation with them. Using pronouns. And he threw an apostrophe s into the mix— which may very well be normal for his age, but he's only been exposed to the language for ten months and I wasn't expecting to hear them:  YOU baby (pointing to the screen) MY baby (pointing to himself) Mommy's baby pointing to himself again. 

Then we had our first conversational battle.

Me: It's time for a little nonny (nap).
the czar: NO.
Me: I think you need one...
the czar: NO! Sit there chair.
Me: It's time to do a little nonny now...
the czar: Mommeeeee, no nonny nowwww.

And then he fell asleep...

I just can't get over how my son is changing and growing...right before my eyes. And I know this is how it works with kids, but still.  I need more baby time. How can I get him to slow down?

This just in...my neighbor's father is watching her son. He doesn't do diapers...guess who had to change a bomb?  I won't go into how a person can let a child sit in shit for hours on end, but I don't get it.

Tuesday in New York

There isn't much happening around here. Yesterday we stayed inside because it was cold and nasty. We spent the day playing with cars, cooking in our play kitchen, watching Thomas the Tank Engine and eating everything in sight. His current favorites are yogurt, almonds and grapes.  My current favorite is the bag of M & Ms on the counter. 

Interest in the potty is dying off because he realized that just because you sit on the potty doesn't mean you're entitled to a Costco-sized bag of M & Ms, which is fine with me. When he's ready, he'll let me know...in the meantime I've got that Costco-sized bag calling my name.

I've decided to tidy up around here...like the new header?  It is a glimpse of St. Petersburg through Kate's eyes.  I love Kate's photos because she manages to capture the things that caught my eye while I was in the city...the reflection of buildings in the Neva, the architecture, the nature....not really touristy stuff. This is one of my favorites and Kate has graciously given me permission to include it on my blog. Thank you, Kate!

We leave for vacation a week from today. Holy crap... I am not ready for this European excursion. I have a lot of shopping and laundry to do...and I think my bathroom is getting remodeled while we're gone...and my bosses discovered I was leaving so my in-box is packed with emergencies. The good news is that there's lots of family in England and Greece who are very excited to see us and meet the czar.  The crew in London (whom I adore) owes me an authentic fish & chips meal and a few shots of something while Yia-Yia has vowed to stuff us with food while in Greece. My only issue is that I don't speak Greek so I am completely lost there, even with my Beginner Greek book. There's no way for me to properly convey "No really, I can't eat another bite" while they pile my plate with Greek goodness and wait for me to pick up my fork. 

And my poor mother in law has no idea that her home will be destoyed by the czar. 

But hey, I'll have a computer to blog on.

it ain't a party until someone rides a lawn ornament

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day...I, for one, am exhausted. After the day's festivities came to a close and the czar was fast asleep, Zach and I ended up watching Jackass, the Movie.  I laughed at those jackasses for a good two hours.  Then I ended up working last night and went to bed reaaalllly late...then the czar woke up at 5 for no apparent reason. It's 9:25 and he's asleep. I think I may have to take advantage of this and get a nap in so I can function...by the way, Matt Lauer did not call my home with an apology. Oh well...and my son looks HUGE in this photo. I can't handle it.  Have I mentioened we made 27 pounds?

some good wishes

to those with their kids at home...

to those waiting for The Call...

I wish you a Happy Mother's Day.

(And don't give me crap about Mother's Day if you're waiting...you're expecting like everyone else, so you're a mommy. Celebrate it with a massive cheesecake. So there!)

we need to make more waves...

There's a campaign going on...and I stole this information from another blog:

A phone number to call and complain (1-800-Teleflora - 1-800-225-7435) and this information if you want to write a complaint-AFM TV LLC
11444 W. Olympic Blvd., 10th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Attn: Chief Legal Officer
Fax: (310) 966-5758

People are emailing the Today Show - Today@NBCUNI.com and some are even emailing Donnie and Marie to send complaints. Someone called this number 212-664-4249 and got a live person to complain to (whom she said agreed with her).

Personally, I will be emailing the Today Show. I'd like to see them do a positive adoption story to make  up for all of this. 

I slept on it...

and I'm still not satisfied...

I am thankful that this "Non-Mom" term was eliminated. Seeing that really rubbed me the wrong way..and I am thankful that my reaction was addressed via an email from the show and a comment from the PR agency hired by Teleflora...hey, there's even an apology on the show's page, but as Susan and Lisa L. have stated in the comments: The "non" title was heinous, but keeping adoptive moms in the category with grandparents and step parents, and not simply with "moms," still makes pretty much the same statement! 

And I have  to wonder...where's the category for Best Mom Via IUI/IVF? 

Still won't be tuning in...

thank you, America's Favorite Mom and Teleflora

In response to my email:

Thank you for contacting Teleflora to share your thoughts about the "Teleflora presents America's Favorite Mom" program. In response to your concerns, Teleflora is immediately changing the name of our "Non-Mom" category to "Adopting Moms." After closer examination, we can see how this may have been offensive to moms who have adopted children -- moms who are indeed real moms to their children in every sense of the word. In fact, many of us at Teleflora are "adopting" parents ourselves, including our president and owner. The essence of this category still focuses on a grandparent, neighbor, step mom, or mom to adopted or foster children, each one raising and loving a child.

This show of insensitivity on our part was in no way intended and we deeply apologize for any concern or distress we may have caused. It was always our intent to salute and celebrate all moms.

In closing, all of us at Teleflora would like to offer our sincerest best wishes to all the many women throughout the world who have worked so hard and given so much to earn the name "Mom."

Sincerely,
The America's Favorite Mom Team

OK, adoptive moms...

After a grueling process, you finally adopt your child. You love your child. You raise your child. All that good stuff...then a program called America's Favorite Mom comes along and wants you to vote in its "Non-Mom" category.

Non-Mom:  Non-moms are those who take on the role of mom-- Grandparent, stepmom, or mom to adopted children, each one raising and loving a child. A priceless gift for everybody.

Non-Mom.

Kate explains it well...I am too pissed off right now to approach it in an adult manner, but I did send along an email to support@americasfavoritemom.com com and left my two cents on nbc.com.

party, party

At 8:00 this morning we had a party: M & Ms, songs and phone calls exclaiming "Alexander made stink-stink and pee pee in the potty!" 

My son decided to show off his hidden talents and spent 45 minutes excreting every which way into his purple potty. He requested a closed door and "no mommy" for "stink-stink" however...I peered through the crack praying he wouldn't leave a gift on the rug.  We had sucess and he wasn't sure what  to make of it.  He saw how excited I was about the whole thing, but he seeemed upset that he left such a thing in his potty.

"Oh noooo, mommy! Oh noooo!"

For now it seems M & Ms are guiding the way. When he wants them, he offers to pee like he's doing me a favor...and I realize he may not do this again for days.  Or weeks.  Or whatever. We'll see how this goes, but of course we had to call yia-yia (grandma) in Greece and ask her to get a potty for our visit this month.  Just in case.

My son pee'd in the potty.

It all started when he stood up in the bathtub and announced "pee pee!" 

Me: Nooooo! We do pee pee in the potty.

the czar: potty...

Me: If you do pee pee in the potty, you'll get M & Ms...

the czar: em-em-ems?

Me: Yes, three M & Ms...

And he flew out of the bathtub, straddled his purple potty and squatted...and pee'd.

Ah, that's my boy.

I knew he was exposed to potty training in Russia, but it was never really enforced. For an hour every morning the czar and his little group sat on a pot, then for the rest of the day they donned Pampers and Huggies under their ill-fitting sleepers. They had a closet full of diapers and each adopting family was asked to add to it...I remember running to "Okay" with Kate to get a big stash — the biggest and best because my son would be using them. I liked that store...Anyway, as I reported months ago, the czar knows what to do with this potty and knows what goes in there. He's just been freaked out to go near it. I didn't think M & Ms would seal the deal.

I won't be pushing him to get potty trained, especially since we'll be traveling for three weeks. My goal is to follow his lead and hopefully have him trained (kinda sorta) for his birthday. Whatever...in the meantime, the czar's papa will be thrilled to know that he currently pees like a girl.