The trouble with Mondays

Another Monday has come and my motivation is low. I often think of how nice it would be to have Mondays off. Of course, that would make Tuesday tougher, but I could handle it, knowing there were only four days to work. 

My entire family seems to have issues with Mondays. For Billy and me, no explanation is really needed. We're returning to work. But even Myles seems to feel it. On Monday mornings, I have to practically drag him out of bed. He always wants an extra five, or 15 minutes of sleep. He isn't dripping with excitement about returning to school.

For me, Mondays are also awkward, as I struggle to get back into the work routine. I don't really become productive most weeks until Tuesday. Many of my co-workers are in the lobby outside my office chatting it up about vacations right now. Not a very productive day for them either.

The bottom line is Monday represents the farthest distance from the start of the weekend. It's like being on Mile 1 of a 5-mile run. It sucks, but you endure it, knowing you will eventually get to five. I'm counting the hours this week.

Off the beaten path

We took a step back to the quieter side of life this weekend (at least for a couple of hours) and visited a pick-your-own strawberry farm. I'd heard from a co-worker that it was a neat thing to do and with strawberry season winding down, this felt like a good weekend to try it!

We were fortunate that they were having a Family Fun Day, which included a free bounce house and free cotton candy in addition to their everyday favorites - a hay ride, zip line and playground. We spent some time choosing just the right berries, then went into the country store and got some homemade strawberry shortcake (to die for) and a strawberry milkshake.

Myles spent lots of time bouncing, swinging, sliding and LOVED the zip line, which he surprisingly needed NO assistance on! We also took the hay ride, which went around the farm, including to the back of the farm, where they grow Christmas trees for the fall/early winter. Ahh, that seems so far off!

After the fun farm day and TWO great birthday parties this weekend, we are pooped. But the weekends don't get much better!

Terrible threes?

I can't believe it's been over a week since I posted...not sure where that time went! So we've entered what many moms have told me are the terrible threes. I must admit I've been a little nervous about this stage. The twos were so stinking easy...I figured all these people couldn't be wrong. They certainly weren't wrong about the dreaded 18 month stage!

Well, I think I'm starting to see what they mean! He's been three for two weeks and like a light switch, he is Mr. Sensitive. If I'm mad at him, he becomes hysterical and runs to daddy, whining and crying all the way, "Mommy yelled at me!" This is the reaction I get even when I do not raise my voice, but am simply stern with him. And by the way, I only raise my voice when he's screaming so loudly that it's the only way I'm heard.

He is also now wanting to do EVERYTHING by himself. This is good and bad. Yes, I want my child to be independent and capable. But sometimes he really can't do something without help. At that point, he throws himself on the floor screaming. When I then try to help him and teach him how to do whatever it is he thought he could do, he throws an even bigger fit. Not being one who will tolerate a tantrum, I then look him in the eye and sternly say, "Myles!" And he then cries to daddy that I've yelled at him and the cycle starts all over again!

Yes, I'm in for it. I can feel it. Time to take a deep breath, brush up on my patience skills and add another night to my workout routine!

The weekend...Disney, a 10k and more!

I had a 3-day weekend from work to celebrate my big boy's third birthday. Myles turned 3 on Friday the 13th and we took advantage of the free admission on your birthday promotion at Walt Disney World. What fun we had!

Myles has been to Disney about 4-5 times. This time, he showed his first interest in meeting the characters. He met Mickey, Minnie, Ariel, Peter Pan and Captain Hook. He saw about a dozen others in the parade and the show they have at the Castle.

Of course, we rode as many rides as we could (including Big Thunder Mountain, which he is FINALLY talk enough to ride), but the lines were long and the temperature was hot at around 85 degrees. We ended the 10-hour day at the park by spending time in Ariel's Grotto, where kids run around in a soft play area with water shooting out of the ground. It was a perfect ending to a perfect birthday for Myles.

When he fell asleep on the ride home, I wished him one last happy birthday and cried at how much deeper my love grows for him with each passing birthday.

Also this weekend, I completed my first official 10k Saturday morning. The long day at Disney and my lingering sickness did not help me turn in a stellar time, but I finished in 69 min. 6 sec., which is certainly acceptable considering the limitations I was dealing with. I did have to do some walking...approximately a half mile, but I'm proud I finished and can't wait to score a better time (like under 65 min.) next time around! Here's a link to a photo of me coming up to the finish line at 6.2 miles.

No more diapers!

After my sad sounding post yesterday, Myles informed me this morning he is NOT wearing a diaper to school. So I sent him off to daycare wearing his big boy underwear (with 2 spares) for the very first time. I expect accidents for at least a week but regardless...my baby is officially a BIG BOY! I'm going to need some extra snuggling with him tonight; who knows, I may wake up to find a teenager in the morning!

Joking aside, I'm so proud of my big boy. He's growing up so fast and amazes me daily with his wit and his insight. I have no idea how I created such an amazing person but I couldn't be more proud to be his mommy.

My baby is turning 3

This Friday, Myles will be a big 3 year-old! I can't believe it! It doesn't seem so long ago that I was anxiously wondering just what day he'd make his debut. I really have vivid memories of holding my sweet baby as he finished a bottle and drifted off to sleep. I remember the excitement that came with feeding him his first solids. I remember helping him as he learned to walk, talk and think for himself.

Now, there is no holding him and rocking him to sleep. There is no feeding him since he can feed himself...and insists on it. The only "baby" really left are the diapers and we've bought our last package. The daycare expects he'll be fully potty trained for daytime by the end of the month.

What happened to my baby? I ask him this often and he always laughs and gives me one of his many funny faces. At least I still hear "I love you, mommy." I'm sure that will go the way of rocking, feeding and diapers before I know it.

Here's a photo of my big boy from Saturday's birthday party. Below that are pictures from #2 and #1. Somehow, it makes me want to cry.

#3

#2

#1

Good reading

Every day, one of my first stops is to the Moms At Work blog, which is written by some editorial staff members at The Orlando Sentinel. I am acquainted with a few of the bloggers and the content is always varied, honest and sometimes funny. Since I find it such a good read, I thought I'd share it with the other working moms who read this blog. Check it out!

Gatorland...good, but mobbed

Billy and I took Myles to Gatorland Saturday, a place we've talked about going for a year but never got around to until we heard about their Florida Resident special that included $9.99 tickets. Since Myles is still technically under 3 (meaning he's free) and tickets are usually over $20 each, we decided it was now or never.

We hyped up the trip to Myles the entire week, leaving his teachers telling me all about how excited he was as he talked about it day after day. And then...at 10:45 a.m. Saturday, we arrived.

"Sorry folks, we're out of parking," we were told by the less than friendly parking attendant. "You'll have to park across the street in the pizza shop's lot."

WHAT?!? Full? We're talking about Gatorland here!

Then we saw the line literally wrapped around the building. And the cops directing traffic. "Sorry Myles, they are closed," I lied. I am NOT one for crowds and there was no way I was battling all of these people...for Gatorland none the less. But when Myles started whining and almost broke into all-out tears, we caved. After all, he'd been looking forward to this for a week and if we didn't go that day, we knew we'd probably never go. This was his day.

In the end, I'm glad we went. The park was actually a lot nicer than I expected. It blew away the pathetic Dinosaur World. It even beat out the Central Florida Zoo. We saw hundreds of gators, including four rare albinos. We visited the petting area and looked at the snakes. We watched the Gator Jumparoo show (craning our necks around the people in front of us) and the Gator Wrestling show. We had a nice day.

My only issue was, of course, the crowds. Gatorland is not built for that many people. Every show was standing room only, you had to wait in line to take pictures with the gator (see above), and the train (which we bought the wristband for) featured long 45-minute waits all day. We never rode it. Even food was hard to come by and we ended up having to walk across the street to a local Cuban place around 1:15 for nourishment.

I definitely recommend going but it isn't worth more than the $9.99 price. Maybe when their attendance drops (which I assume it did March 1), they'll offer the special again. If they do, just be sure to go during the week! And you may want to pack a lunch.