Motherhood Mayhem

The best laid plans...

Happy Easter!  Today I went to see Joshua early, so I could be home in time for the late service.  As I was leaving the hospital, the nearby church was letting out, and I saw so many kids dressed in their Sunday finest.  I was so excited for Jeremiah to be one of those little darlings, so I rushed home to make sure we had plenty of time to get ready for the Easter Service.  Easier said than done.

For starters, he wasn't even home when I got there.  James took him on a spontaneous hike (in the backpack carrier) up Mount Herman this morning, a climb in the foothills near our house.  I tried not to be jealous they went without me (I LOVE Sunday morning hikes!) and reminded myself that I got to hold Joshua this morning, which was even more special. 

The guys arrived home about 5 minutes before it was time to leave for church.  I was dressed in my best dress, which happened to match Jeremiah's cute little outfit his Grandma Pat found for him last year.  Finally, he's big enough to wear it.  The camera was out, ready to snap some great family pics, which would now have to be done after church since time was of the essence.  Last night, I tried to get James to wear a tie that matched us, but that was a battle I didn't even get into.  Knowing how the only thing he hates more than dressing up is being told what to wear, I hinted I'll be in a fancy dress, and I'd rather he not wear shorts or jeans.  Then I tried reverse psychology and begged him to wear jeans.  It worked, and he ended up in khakis and a button up shirt, but no tie.

Jeremiah came in, all excited about the hike, and as he tried to tell me all about it, I sneakily made my move to get him dressed.  He wanted nothing to do with changing clothes.  Let's just say....imagine exactly what you think of in your "worst case scenario" two year old stereotype, and you can picture sweet Jeremiah going ballistic this morning.  I started out trying to barter with him, manipulate him into wanting to get dressed for church, bribery, you name it.  I ended up trying to manhandle him into the outfit, which evidently has invisible monsters attached to it based on the level of decibels his screams were reaching.  Nothing was working, so, exasperated and full of defeat (and 10 minutes late by now), I just said "Fine.  What do you want to wear to church?"  I arranged the khaki pants and polo shirts on top, so he'd pick one of those at least.  Oh no...he goes straight to the bottom of the pile and pulls out the cookie monster sweatshirt, way too small stained t-shirt from last summer, and sweatpants.  Yep, that's what he wore to church on Easter Sunday. To his credit, he did pick out his dressy church shoes to go with the ensemble (which made it look even more ridiculous).   

Head hanging low (mine at least; James thought the whole thing was hilarious), we arrived at church. As we rushed in, I tried to lick my fingers and wipe Jeremiah's dirty face while smoothing down that rascally cowlick (I ended up accepting defeat and just grabbed some lotion to spike it up all over), all while he tried to run away from me.  After dropping Jeremiah off to play with all the perfect little ladies and gentlemen looking like little royalty, we were shuffled off into the overflow room since the sanctuary had reached capacity.  Or, as I like to call it, the loser room, for those of us who don't have it together enough to make it to church on time.  James tried to make me laugh by sticking the "potty training in progress" sticker on my back, but that was overdone from last week, and I was still fuming a little.  He then pointed out to me that he was one of the best dressed men in the loser room except for the little boy a few rows up in a suit and tie. 

As I sat there, I let it all go and tried to step back and laugh at the situation.  It's Easter!  There isn't a more important holiday than this.  I'm pretty sure I can bank on the fact that Jesus didn't rise again on the condition that we all show up to church on time in an uncomfortable, stuffy outfit.  I just needed a good attitude adjustment to get my priorities straight.  I'm also pretty sure I'm not the first parent to not-so-gracefully bow out of a losing battle with a 2 year old.  James told me to just get used to it because Jeremiah's a big boy now, and my days of dressing him are over, but not to worry because I'll get a chance to dress Joshua cute for the next 2 years.  I'm not ready to give up on the issue, but I'll just chalk up today as a story to look back on and laugh.  I'm proud to be a Mom4Life!

Fantasy (above)...

...Reality (below)

In Joshua news...he is now on LOW FLOW OXYGEN!  That means he fits one more criteria for coming home, and he can now start to try eating with a bottle or breast.  I'm excited for that! 

Here he is posing with his Easter basket, given to him by hospital volunteers.