Victories of motherhood

Since I have become a mom my definition of  success has had to change.  Having a little person around at all times means I have to be happy about the little things that go right and not worry about the stuff that's falling by the way side (which at times seems like a LOT of stuff!)  Here are a few examples of things that I now consider fabulous that once would seem really lame:

Cutting one of Hank's finger nails per day.  He is such a slick little guy and he acts all nice and calm while I line the clippers up to his nail and then right when I am going to clip the nail...he yanks his hand away.  We do this over and over until I usually win and I am able to get one nail.  Currently, my goal is to get one nail per day every day so at least his nails are trimmed every ten days.  For the toe nails, he usually lets me cut 2 or 3 of them at one sitting.

Changing Hank's diaper without him screaming.  At our diaper changing station there are photos, a rhinestone stretchy bracelet, a DVD movie case, a DVD out of the case, a child rearing book, a pet supply catalog, several tubes of unopened ointments, and old singing greeting cards.  Each of these items are available for use during diaper changes in the hopes that one of them will grasp his attention long enough for us to get his diaper changed without him screaming, flailing, or flipping over.  I am proud to say that up until three weeks ago we had about a 10% success rate of a peaceful diaper change and now we are hovering at a 50% chance.  Our entertainment arsenal continues to grow.

Getting to eat something without Hank begging for some of it.  This can only be accomplished if Hank is napping, if I sneak it without him looking, or if we are in the car.  My favorite is in the car.  Since his seat is rear facing, I can eat a banana and he has no clue.  Maybe it's a little mean but I actually started laughing as I stashed a banana in my purse as we headed out the door.  I knew the little guy would never know I was about to have one of his favorite snacks!

Locating things Hank has hidden (aka lost).  This one is my favorite of all.  One of Hank's new little Swedish moccasins has been missing for a few days. I have been wracking my brain trying to remember when the last time he wore them was.  I knew that a few days ago he was walking around with one of them on for most of the day (I know that sounds weird but his dad also walks around with one sock sometimes so I think it's kind of funny to leave it that way) but I couldn't recall the last time I saw both of them.  Yesterday, I turned every thing inside out and looked in every nook and cranny I could think of in this tiny little house.  Then I did it all over again at least two more times, the last time I used a flashlight.  I am a little compulsive when I lose things because it nags at me when I can't find something.  I kept telling myself "you know this is what it's going to be like with kids...they lose brand new things all the time."  I just bought them for him three weeks ago and he really likes them so I was hoping to find them.  Then, this morning I remembered catching him trying to put a big toy in his diaper pail the other day.  Could it be the moccasin met this same fate?  As I pulled out the full bag of dirty diapers there it was.  His little blue moccasin was staring at me through the clear plastic bag right at the bottom.  Meaning, I had to fish it out of that smelly mess from the BOTTOM.  Did I pull it out?  You bet I did.  Gross?  Sure.  I am I happy?  Yes. I had a smile on my face for 10 minutes and even did a happy dance.  All Brett said was "great" and patted me on the back.

Bring a Mom is full of mundane things that somehow become little victories.  I kind of like it.  OK, I really like it.  Even if I have to get a little sneaky or stinky in the process.

-a