No-Nap Jack

Umm…… I guess WordPress ate my post.  I wrote a bunch of stuff about how Jack hasn’t napped much this week.  On Tuesday he didn’t nap for even one second.  What is the deal?

Too tired to write it all again…

A Parenting Low

This morning was a new low for me in the parenting department.  Lately, it’s been very difficult to change Jack’s diaper.  Sometimes he wriggles and squirms so much, it’s just impossible to get the diaper on him.  Usually, some singing, or playing with a toy, or asking him to point out the things on the wallpaper border next to the changing table, will serve to distract him, but sometimes it’s just an epic battle.

This morning was one of those times.  He was crying, and I was patient at first, but I was also in a hurry because we were meeting up with a friend.  I started getting really mad.  Finally I picked him up and put him on the floor, diaperless, and went out of the room, slamming the gate behind me.  When I went back in, he was happy as a clam, running around half-naked, but I scooped him up to put him on the changing table again and the battle resumed.

I was just so ANGRY.  I got the diaper on him (though not very well) and got him dressed and we left, and I was still steaming.  It wasn’t good… I mean, he’s old enough to understand that I want him to not squirm so much when I put on his diaper, but he’s not old enough to understand why it matters, or why I’m angry.  So now I just feel bad.

I think it was compounded by the fact I was in a hurry.  Next time I find myself getting this angry, I should just let him be in his room until I’ve totally calmed down, and just be late.

Generally, I don’t think I have much of a temper.  I don’t know why this was such a trigger.

A Night Away

Last weekend, I went on an overnight trip with my friend Lisa, to Monterey.  Back in February I came up with the plan for us to take a little trip on our own, and take a break from being moms.  (Lisa’s son Jon is 4.5 months younger than Jack.)  We settled on Monterey, and Lisa did all the planning.  She picked out a great hotel and dinner restaurant, and booked us for a 3-hour kayking tour for Sunday morning.

We drove down late afternoon on Saturday, checked in, and had a quick workout at the hotel gym, then sat in the hot tub.  We went out to dinner at the Montrio Bistro, which was delicious.  I had my first alcoholic beverage in.. almost 5 years?  I can’t remember for sure.  (I’m not a big drinker.)

Sunday morning we got up and walked over to the kayak place.  There were three other people, plus the guide, on our tour.  He gave us a lesson on the beach, and then we were off.  Lisa and I shared a kayak.  She’s been kayaking once before, so she went in back and had the lucky job of using her feet to control the rudder.  We paddled out and around the boats and around the jetty.  As we were nearing the jetty, we saw a sea lion surface right in front of us.  We started pointing and squealing, forgetting we were in the boat lane!  The guide started yelling at us to paddle so we got out of there.

We also saw otters, seals, jellyfish, and cormorants.  The trip was cut a little bit short because one of the other people got seasick, but I didn’t really mind.. paddling was hard work!  It was tons of fun.

Afterward we cleaned up at the hotel, checked out, and had a nice brunch before heading home.  I was away 29 hours, the longest time yet.  It felt a little funny to be away, but we had a great time.  Chris and Jack had a nice time, too.  I asked Chris how it went, and he said, “It was easy,” so I guess I’ll be doing this more often!