Cruising Altitude

We are getting ready to travel this week to visit family up north. I am so excited to spend quality time with aunts, uncles, cousins, and dear friends. I am looking forward to cool evenings when the temperature changes to 65 degrees and you have to put on a light jacket. I can’t wait to dance the night away with Mike as we celebrate his cousin’s wedding. I am enthusiastic about the whole trip with the exception of the flight. I am not what one would call a ‘good flier”. I tend to be a bit of a white-knuckler when flying and the thought of turbulences makes me get diarrhea. My anxiety about this flight however, is not about being 32,000 feet in the air, but rather being confined to an airplane with my 21 month old daughter.

Audrey is full of energy and sass, always on the move and plowing through those trying to stop her. She is a good girl, they love her at daycare, but try and get her to sit for too long and you are asking for it. I think at her age ants in the pants is common and its just a matter of managing through it. I have put a lot of thought and prayer into how to handle the flights to and from CT and have come up with a best laid plan. In full disclosure, some close to us encouraged us to try Benadryl to make her sleepy, even though it says right on the box, ‘do not use to sedate your child’. 

I was totally against the idea until Audrey acted up in public last Friday night, and it took a good two glasses of wine for my nerves to settle after two time-outs. It just so happened that Audrey had some nasty mosquitoes bites that she kept itching, so I gave her some Benadryl right before her nap yesterday. I felt like it was a good trial run to see how she reacted. Guess what, Benadryl is not some miracle fix that parents write about on the internet. Audrey got a little drowsy but she did not sleep any longer than she normally does, and in fact woke up cranky. So drugging my daughter on the plane is out. This is what is in:

• Her brand-new, never before seen Dora backpack with wheels that she will get at the airport
• New books, stickers and puzzles
• Beads, stretchy key chains, and random do-dads that toddlers seem to love
• Her favorite Barney and Sesame Street videos- hello laptop!
• New downloads of the abovementioned shows- hello iPad!
• Goldfish, cereal bars, and cookies-carb loading because it keeps her happy and full
• Telling her the flight attendants are like her teachers at school and she needs to listen; hoping the flight attendants will work with me on flexing their authority muscles in front of her
• Prayers for: 1. a safe flight 2. a child who will sleep (it is her naptime on the way up), and 3. patience for me and my husband
• Speaking of patience…alcohol is in, especially for my husband. Mike can’t handle Audrey having bad behavior in public, let alone an airplane so he needs to drink…a lot. I am not saying she will be naughty, I am just saying he will need to be buzzed in case she is
• Singing songs over and over, “ABCs” and “Itsy Bitsy” may get old on normal days, but not on travel days
• Paying extra for “extra leg room”. We didn’t get Audrey her own seat because there are only two seats to a row, so we selected Row 1 where we have “extra living space” (according to Jetblue) due to the space between the row and the bulkhead wall. Once the seatbelt sign is off Audrey can march around that space if so needed

So that is my plan in a nutshell. Some, all, or none of it may work, I will let you know once our feet have touched the ground, unless of course it doesn’t get well and you see us on a YouTube video that a fellow passenger took of us. Here’s hoping we don’t go viral.

Love Letter

I believe it is so important to share with our loved ones, especially our children, how much we love them. Before Audrey was even born I started writing her letters. I want her to always know my affection for her and that it started before she took her first breath.

In today's day and age everything is about emails, ecards, egreetings, etc. I still believe in the power of a good old fashion letter, and while I am sharing this via an electronic blog with you, my daughter is getting on paper.

Take the time today to leave a letter for someone, and let your words be a legacy of love.

Dearest Audrey,

I wanted to take a few minutes today and share with you some (of the many) things I love about you.

I love how you say the word yes, “yyeesss”. It’s said with such conviction and emphasis, and excitement about what is being said and what is about to come.

I love that you love to sing, everything from “I love you” to “ABCs”, you sing a long, not missing a beat, even when you don’t know the words.

I love when we sing “I love you” at night, you hold on to the crib railing, sway back and forth, give hugs and kisses during the right parts of the song, and constantly want to do it again, “MORE!”.

I love how curious you are and that you love to look for airplanes, helicopters, and lizards.

I love that you already get excited over your shoes and prefer sparkles and butterflies when it comes time to picking a pair to put on.

I love that you love to make us laugh and that you sometimes even make yourself laugh; you are already a little star.

I love when we get to snuggle, first thing in the morning, when you are still sleepy and rest your head on my shoulder. It doesn’t happen all the time so I cherish it when it does happen.

I love how you say Grandma “MahMA” and Grandpa “Pop-pops”, Gigi and “No George”.

I love that you get so excited for Menchies just like your mommy, and how much joy you get out of that little treat.

I love when you say “yummy to tummy” while you rub your hand over your belly-you say this when you are talking about pizza.

I love that you love the doggies and run around the house to kiss and hug them; I love how you like to sit on the floor next to Hannah when she is curled up in the bedroom.

I love watching you play independently, seeing your imagination at work as you put Puppy and Elmo to ‘night-night” and give Baby the bottle.

I love that you are already a leader, the first in line to walk out to the playground, and the source of comfort for Molly and the other kids at school.

I love that the future for you is so bright and I get a front seat to watch the wonder and glory of you unfold

Audrey, I could spend the whole day writing down all the things I love about you. There is no one like you, you are one in a million and I am blessed to be your mommy.

I love you Sweet Girl,

Mommy

Time-out

I grew up in a home with strict rules and I was disciplined if I did not follow the rules accordingly. I was hit as a child and I still remember how I felt being physically punished. There was a lot of shame associated with being hit.

Fast forward thirty years and I am now disciplining my own child. Audrey is not even two yet, so I don’t know exactly how the future will play out, but for right now I am choosing to avoid physical punishment. Even though she is young, my husband and I have however found forms of discipline that do work on Audrey. We started the concept of time-out early on, for when she didn’t listen or demonstrated bad behavior. We give her choices and let her make “a good decision”. If she doesn’t, there are consequences whether she loses what she is playing with, doesn’t get the treat she wanted, or goes into time-out. Sometimes it’s all three! We make her clean up after herself, put her toys away, put her socks in the hamper, and say goodbye and hug her grandparents when they leave. Some people would say we are too strict and instilling too many rules at such a young age, and others would say its okay to spank or use physical force on a rowdy toddler.

As parents we have our own choices on how to raise and discipline our children. There are days were I can remain calm during an Audrey storm and there are other days when I feel like I am the storm and may lose it over something that isn’t significant. In those moments I have to discipline myself, give myself a time-out, remember my daughter is watching and I too need to make a good decision.

Gratitude

I wish when I was younger I had a greater sense of gratitude. I was too busy focusing on me and everything happening around me, instead of counting the blessings in my life. While I still can get caught up, I am grateful everyday for my many gifts.

It is easy to get caught up in little things that go wrong in life, to find the negative in situations, and complain to whoever will listen. It seems often times people focus on what they don’t have instead of what they do have. Yes, I would like a bigger, fancier house. I would love an all day shopping spree at Nordstrom. I sometimes long for a more glamorous and exciting career. I often get frustrated because of my long commute, mundane days, endless responsibilities. Then I stop and take a breath…and become grateful for that breath.

I have a friend who’s life was turned upside down when she found out she had a grade 4 brain tumor; she now longs for normal days where all she has to worry about is how she will get all the laundry done and help her kids with homework. I have my health today and so do those that I love. I have a comfortable home, a successful career that helps pay for the mortgage on that home, a family that I am blessed enough to take care of, and my wardrobe is stocked more then most.

Even in difficult times we can find people and things to be grateful for, and while it sometimes may take work to find the blessing, it’s there. Choose the blessings.