wahm
August 17, 2006
the kitchen is dirty.
i should unload the dishwasher.
there are fingerprints all over the tv.
i should get that coffee stain out of the rug.
the trash needs taken out. the litter box needs scooped.
we need diaper genie refills.
i should fold that mountain of laundry in the nursery before the dog pees on it.
i should walk the dog.
i need a shower.
i need to eat something besides coffee.
i should take a vitamin.
i should take noah to the pool. or to the park. i should find a playgroup. i should not let him watch so much tv. i should teach him to wave bye-bye. all the other babies his age are waving bye-bye. if he was still in daycare he'd probably know how to wave bye-bye.
i need to pay those bills.
i need to find a new babysitter.
i need to post at clubmom. i need to post at amalah.
i need to be funny. i don't feel funny.
i need to get started on next week's advice column. i need to write that other article. i need to invoice that guy for that thing. i need to email that other guy about that other thing.i need to work on that outline. i need to read that book for that review that i still need to write. i need to get ahead. i need to pull myself out of this hole.
i need my other hand so i can hit the shift key.
i should get my sleeping baby off my lap. i should put him in his crib so i can get things done.
i should.
but i won't. just this once.
i need this.
Oh, how incredibly beautiful. I would stay there all day, at least once. What a lucky, loved baby boy.
So very understandable.
One mom to another, I totally understand!
(btw, love your work!)
Stay there as long as you can...well, at least until you have to pee. Noah is adorable.
Ditto on the love. Not apropos of this post, but I just have to say that every time I see the words "Gerber meatstick" in your "Nobody tells you..." section, I crack up.
Beautiful. He's just beautiful.
A sleeping baby is totally my Prozac.
i think you've made the right decision.
Sometimes the best times are those that occur while one is behind on the to-do lists, stinky from no shower, and holding a baby...
I know exaclty how you feel.....and I know exactly why youre not moving from that spot. It's just the best thing EVER!
Dude, your dog pees on laundry too?
What is it with little dogs loving to pee on laundry? Jesus.
Ahhh my eyes. Why is he so cute and cuddly??
I have a sneaking suspicion that if you put off some of those things, ie the dishes and the folding of the laundry, someone will come along and do it later. So, just leave it.
I would probably ignore everything else for that too.
Yep. That just about says it all.
Yes. Isn't just nice to sit and stare at your son's beautiful face?
beautiful
beautiful
Look. At. Those. Eyelashes.
And I can almost smell the baby head from here.
Makes me wish I were not in my office, but rather at home with a baby sleeping in my lap. Not that I even have a baby. But maybe I could borrow one.
you've been peeping in my windows at the garbage, the sink, the tv, the laundry...geez that is plain scarry...but what an adorable sleeping lad!
Don't move a muscle. Everything else can wait.
Awwww. How sweet.
I totally know how your feeling. I have felt that myself too. Take that time. Be with your adorable son... And DO NOT feel gulity about it! The rest of that crap will still be there later. But Noah won't be little forever.
I think the picture just lowered my blood pressure. *deep breath* Thanks...I needed it.
I think this may be one of my favorite posts ever!
i need to go get my kids from daycare and make them sleep in my arms too...
Amy,
I love that you say "needs scooped". I say that too and got lots of hell from my friends when I moved away from the PA/Delaware area. I really had no idea that the stairs needed painting, not painted until I moved away :) I love it.
Take it from someone whose *baby* is 19 and married; those precious baby days are gone way too soon. Savor each and every moment.
my son started holding his head up before many other babies his age.
my son started sitting earlier, crawling earlier, teething earlier, pulling up earlier . . .
but then we hit this lull. at 11 months, he's not waving or clapping or saying anything except chatter.
so, no worries, noah isn't the only one not waving. but i'm not worrying about my child either, because i'm thinking he just thinks waving and clapping are far less entertaining than poking the cat in the eyeball and watching him jump across the room or pulling each and every toy out of the toybox and seeing how far he can throw them.
That is the best distraction from work. Ever.
And as a WAHM, I totally feel your pain on all the other "I should's" especially the playgroup/park/less tv stuff.
must be one of those days. I held my little guy (a month younger than Noah) after his morning bottle, rocking him till he fell back asleep on my shoulder, and dozed in the glider with him. Enjoy.
Loyal lurker...
What happened to the babysitter???
Loyal lurker...
What happened to the babysitter???
So, so sweet! I worked from home last year with my baby and all the nuttiness was worth it but it was so crazy at times. There were days I never showered. I worked a lot at night after both my girls were asleep. The dirty dishes can wait (diapers and litter box not so much). Thanks for sharing the beautiful photo.
I wouldn't put him down, either. He probably smells great, too.
There is nothing better than a stolen moment of sweetness in a mother's day. My baby is in Kindergarten and I sometimes wish she would fall asleep in my arms one last time, just so that I could know that it was the last time and be able to close that door. It is pathetic but it is who we are. (and we all know daddy's are so jealous when they hear about those moments!)
Amalah, thank you for putting words to how I feel almost every single day. Also, your boy is gorgeous.
I have a list like that but my excuses are not sleeping and cute...mine are awake and beating each other with the throw pillows.
This is one of those precious mom times...enjoy it. There will always be things to do and time to do them in.
Favorite. Post. Ever.
Chalk this up to another of those "No one tells you" things. Sometimes we moms just *need* to hold our babies all day.
Unfortunately, your list sounds like my house. And since I have no baby small enough to hold, I should probably check things off that list!! But I do have a bad cold and I think that is a lovely excuse for not doing anything!!
I love this post.
Warning: assvice!
May I suggest Diaper Champ? No sausages so no wacky refills, just runs on trash bags. Can put a deoderant stickup thingy at the bottom of it.
That was my #1 baby product.
But DON'T deal with it today. Just snuggle.
Snuggle with that delicious baby. Right now I should be cleaning out the playroom, but my six year old and toddler are playing deliriously upstairs with the new kitten, and i'm baking cookies. Because, well, I think we need cookies.
Oh, and the Diaper Genie? We use the Budget Diaper Genie, which is plastic grocery bags for a dirty diaper, and then stuffed in the garbage. There ya go. :)
Don't. Move.
A beautiful baby boy, to be sure. And it sounds like you're doing just fine. Ditch the diaper genie though. Those things are just a waste of space and not so good for the air one breathes. Easier to just pitch the wet ones and trot the others out to the outdoors bin.
Hands down one of my most fave posts from you.
hi! just started reading your site a few weeks ago (found you via zoot).
i know what you mean and how you feel. my house is upside down, i work from home and take care of my 9.5 month old. she watches too much tv at times, but that's just how it has to be every now and then.
it's tough to be at home all day long, but those moments...
priceless :D
Oddly enough, I am sitting here with a "to-do list" of my own, but am holding my sleeping 3 month old and playing on the computer instead. I completely understand.
What a great post and picture. Noah is adorable. But you know that.
I hope your day is wonderful and not productive at all!
I heart my Diaper Genie.
We live on the top floor of a building with no elevator, and our trash room is in the basement. So the Genie works perfectly for us, thanks.
(Stupid dog barked and woke the baby up about 15 minutes after I posted. Bah.)
Very nice.
And, productive! You singlehandedly (literally) made a to-do list while you snuggled the chunk. Well played!
After 3 kids, the oldest is six, THAT is why my house looks like a bomb hit it. Or it's been ransacked. My friends joke that no one would break into my house because it looks like someone has already done it. I am behind constantly, because who WOULDN't want to sit and snuggle like that instead of all the shoulds? Enjoy, Amy.
I'm always behind, too. And it really doesn't matter. I won't regret housework left undone--but I will regret any missed opportunities to cuddle with my boy before he gets too old to let me.
Beautiful post.