If I have to clean up one more mess today...

If I have to clean up one more mess today, I'm asking for a raise.

Spilled milk, cheerios on the floor, juice on the ottoman, soda on the counter...etc. Some messes were made by Ryan and a few of them were caused by Pat. I have to say I'm hoping that things remain where they should for the rest of the night because I'm tired of fixing everything.

Ryan seems to be over his cold. Although I'm thinking he may also be working on cutting his "eye teeth". Many people say these teeth take a long time and are very painful for children. There were a few days in the past week or so that I really thought Ryan had turned into a mean child. I thought I may have jinxed it telling people he doesn't really have terrible two tantrums because this past week he was awful. Thankfully my happy boy is back, and it feels so good to see him smile.

I'm basically over the cold too. So things are slowly returning to normal. Hopefully normal stays a while.

Bad Mommy

There is one quality I think you must have to be a good mother. That quality is patience. Sometime I find it a hard quality to maintain. When I am struggling to keep my patience, I am often ashamed of how I am behaving as a mother.

Today has been one of those days where I really qualify as a bad mommy. I'd be totally embarrassed if anyone were to see how awful I behaved today.

The past three days Ryan has been sick. He has some sort of a cold that has manifested itself mostly in a cough and chest congestion now. I have not had much sleep the past three nights. Ryan is waking up very frequently. This morning after getting one hour of sleep during a period of 4 hours, I realized I too am getting sick. It doesn't help that Ryan is completely into everything. This week despite being sick, he learned how to open every door in the house. Our afternoon consists of him pulling everything out of the linen closest while I beg, plead, and yell at him to stop it. I clearly have lost my patience.

To add to my frustration is the fact that Pat is literally never home. As I type this he's still at work. He was at work until 9 p.m. last night. I am feeling so run down both physically and emotionally.

I know every parent has a bad day, but I really get disappointed in myself when I cannot maintain a bit of composure to be a good mother. I find that I am being that nasty mother that when you see her you feel bad for her children because she's always in a bad mood. I really need to work on being the loving, understanding, fun mother that Ryan deserves.

A good night of sleep would definitely help, so here's hoping that tonight is a better night.

Itchy and Sore

I seem to be slightly unlucky when it comes to getting itchy rashes. I got poison ivy the week of my wedding, and honestly have no idea how I came into contact with it. When we first arrived in OK, I got a really itchy rash. We had no idea what that was until we learned of chiggers. Growing up in MA, I had never heard of them at all. I learned quickly that I wouldn't be sitting in the grass unless I wanted an intensely itchy rash that could last 2 weeks. I must have forgot that lesson when I moved to TN. The other day I sat out in the backyard while Ryan played outside. Lo and behold, I have been bitten. I have the marks across my stomach, a little on my arm, and yes, on my face. I really didn't need any help feeling more uncomfortable and unattractive, but thank you , little buggers, I am now bordering miserable. Well, I'm not quite that unhappy, but seriously, did I need a rash?

Today I'm exhausted. This morning we woke up early to go to post for the 2nd Annual Run for the Fallen. They had a 1 mile, 5 mile, and 10 mile event. I had been telling Pat we should do the 5 mile, but he was convinced it would take us too long to walk that and it would be too hot out. When we arrived and he saw how many others were walking the 5 mile course with strollers, he immediately changed his tune and said we should do the 5 miles. I'm always up for a challenge, and we did complete it. I will admit that I was slightly waddling by the end, a bit sore, and definitely tired. I was proud to finish and also that we weren't the last ones.

Now I need rest.