Now

Now. I use that word a lot. I want what I want and I want it now. But lately, I've been thinking about now in a different way. As I move through the stages of parenting, (are there stages of parenting or am I completely making that up?) I realize how hard now is.

Chloe is our first child, so every stage is new. I don't know what to expect, and the unknown is not my favorite. When she was born, everything changed. I knew it would, but it was still a shock. I know now, what I didn't know then, that I was depressed on some level, so I'm sure that factors in, but having a newborn seemed really hard. Really, really hard. Nursing was hard. Getting up in the night was hard. Staying home because it was too hard to go anywhere was hard. Eventually, that passed.

When she started crawling, that was hard. I could no longer turn my back for a second. Many things needed to be safety-fied in our house of death. When she started walking, that brought on new challenges. I always thought it was so hard with her not talking. Until she started talking. Then when she got to the point where she felt like she could sufficiently communicate her wants and needs, yet I was still less than fluent in Chloe - that was even harder.

My point in all of this is that whatever is going on right now seems to be the hardest part in parenting. The challenges today, running away from me, not eating, telling me no 17,532 times a day, etc. etc., make nursing a baby that slept most of the day seem like nothing! It has made me realize that the stage that you are in, no matter who you are or what stage that might be, is the hardest. Now is the hardest.

I can't speak for anything beyond two years old. I hope at some point I will be able to say that the worst is finally behind me, but I have this funny feeling that now will continue to be hard for various reasons for many years to come.

Where are you now? If you have survived the young years, what do you think was the hardest? If you're still in the thick of it, what is your biggest frustration right now?

Toddler Travel Take Two

After our little trip to Georgia, I thought the three hour trip *Up North would be a cake walk. There I go thinking again...

*Up North is not a place. It is a general direction we Michiganders drive until we feel sufficiently away from home and then we spend the weekend there and then we come back to the real world. We eat pasties and fudge and go fishing and canoeing and it's just more fun than you can even stand.

So, my sister and I take Chloe Up North last weekend, and let me just tell you how very much the opposite of a cake walk it was. The Hubster was driving separately, as Sissy and I thought it a great idea to stay for five days. Again with the thinking...

Please join me on a bunny trail. I will leave crumbs so we find our way back.

Once upon a time in a land far far away, The Hubster and I used to go Up north for the weekend. We would leave right after work and almost exactly three hours later we would arrive at our destination. Our destination being a quaint little house in the very, very middle of nowhere, owned by The Hubster's parents. Who are awesome. And let us use their quaint little house in the very, very middle of nowhere anytime we want. For free. Awesome. So we leave our driveway, then three hours later - SHAZAM! We arrive at our destination.

Enter Chloe.

We've only gone Up North with her once a year since her arrival on the scene and I was reminded why this last weekend. Deep sigh. No, I really just did the deep sigh just thinking of it.

Vacation is supposed to be relaxing. Up North is supposed to be relaxing. Sleeping is supposed to be relaxing. Add Chloe to any of the above and suddenly, it's no longer relaxing.

We now return to our previously scheduled program. I left the house at 2:15 last Friday. Pretty awesome, considering I was shooting for 12. And hoping against hope that we were at least pointed north by 1:30 so Chloe would, please Jesus, take her nap in the car on the way. Ahhhhhhh HAHAHAHAHAHA. Deep Sigh numero dos.

So we get to Grandma and Grandpa's to pick up Sissy. Chloe feeds the fish, we go potty, I raid the snack cupboard. Sissy gets loaded up and we're off. Over the next couple of hours, we have to stop for a spanking. And go potty. Meanwhile, there is no napping going on. Only excessive whining and blood pressure skyrocketing. Eventually, we give in and stop at McDonald's. Five minutes before a bus load of hyperactive elementary schoolers. By this time, The Hubster, who left the house two hours after I did, has caught up with us. We pawned Chloe off with him and approximately one gloriously peaceful hour later, a mere SIX HOURS after leaving my house, we arrived Up North.

Dude. We could have been half way to Georgia by that point.

Get Behind Thee, Writer's Block

In January, I blogged about writer's block. I just reread it and still feel the exact same way. Apparently, it's an extra tough case. Once again, I'm really wanting to blog more regularly, and once again I'm having brilliant ideas at night and forgetting them by morning. Surely there is a pill I can take for this.

I always keep my cell phone by my bed. I use it as an alarm when needed and a flash light to make my way in there when The Hubster is already sleeping. I had the thought that I could hide under the covers and type a text message reminding myself of my awesome ideas when they hit at night. We'll see how that goes.

The other thing I mentioned in January, was moving The Trysting Place over here. So I think I really will do that. Maintaining one blog is hard enough, and I've always felt like I should try to combine them, so now, I will. Worst case scenario? I will have one blog that I never update instead of two.

Wow, this post is riveting. I bet you're so excited about more of this! Stay tuned. It'll get better, I promise. But for now, I'm off to bed for a mind blowing brainstorming session. Phone in hand.

This Is Your Brain In Love By Dr. Earl Henslin

This is your brain in love, by Dr. Earl Henslin incorporates brain research with marrage counseling and explains many of those frustrating marital issues that directly impact the love life of married couples. The main premise of the book is that there are 5 types of imbalances that impact marriages. They are the Scattered Lover, the Over-focused Lover, the Blue Mood Lover, the Anxious Lover and the Agitated Lover. I found Dr. Henslin’s descriptions of the different imbalances very informative, and it was interesting to see where my husband and I fit. Much of the rest of the book, I found very technical and hard to read. The idea that many of the marital problems (and the five imbalances) stem from some sort of brain injury, although not necessarily serious, seemed very unlikely to me.

One of the things I really enjoyed about the book was the final chapter, The Secret To Lasting Love. I found the advice in this chapter to be very uplifting and I’m inspired!

Thomas Nelson has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book, as a part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255