Five Minute Baby Bag

Posted by Yoga Bynum

Last week, I took Lil Ma to a birthday party. Not long after we arrived, it was time for a diaper change. The hostess graciously escorted us to the birthday girl’s nursery and offered the use of their changing table.

“Feel free to use whatever you need,” she said as she left the room.

I put Lil Ma on the floor so I could look in my bag for supplies. I unzipped it and was met with chaos. Tissues, burp cloths and clothes spilled out. I pushed the mess aside and pulled out a diaper. While trying to keep Lil Ma from going into the closet, I kept looking for wipes and diaper cream. I knew they were in there, but I couldn’t find them.

So I took the hostess up on her offer and used whatever I couldn’t find in my personal black hole.

About an hour later, Lil Ma was getting cranky. I went back to the bag and fished around for what felt like ages before I found a baggie with baby food.

When I got home, I was determined to get the bag in order. It took less than a minute to figure out the problem. Instead of checking the bag’s contents before packing, Hubby and I would just grab new supplies and cram them on top of the old ones.

Five focused minutes has my diaper bag ready for the next trip. Here’s what I did.

1. Toss. I found two crusty spoons, a half-eaten jar of food and a gaggle of dirty clothes. I shudder to think how long those things were in there. Besides being a waste of space, they’re just gross.

2. Reduce. While I do need a supply of diapers when I run an errand, it’s highly unlikely that I’ll need 10 of them. Cutting down to four or five saves space. I keep a few extra in the car for emergencies.

3. Refill. My wipes container, once I found it, was empty. The zip bag I use for extra clean clothes was empty too. I refilled them both.

4. Compartmentalize. I have a gazillion cosmetics bags from various free gifts with purchases. Those are perfect for holding little items like tissue, lip balm, lotion, or diaper cream.

5. Repeat. To maintain order and keep science projects at bay, I’ll have to do a clean out after each use.

I’m going to take my newly organzied bag on the road tomorrow, so I’ll see how it goes. It will be a win if I can find the A&D ointment.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Parents Say the Darnedest Things

Posted by Yoga Bynum

Bill Cosby once had a show about the delightful things that children say. I never watched an episode, but I remember how much my dad loved it. I was a single girl focused on starting her career, and the thought of motherhood gave me the willies. The show had zero appeal.

Funny how things have changed. I’m now a mother of two energetic girls, and I’m exceedingly tickled by their interpretations of the world. Hubby and I were just laughing about how Mini Me once believed frogs rode schoolbuses thanks to a Leap Frog toy she had. Lil Ma hasn’t learned to talk yet, but her expressions say plenty.

As comical as those moments can be, I sometimes find what I tell my children even more hilarious. Hubby and I have said things in the past eight years that I never thought would need to be said by anyone.

Here’s a sample from just this week:

“Don’t eat your shoes!“

“We kiss with our lips, not our teeth.”

“Is that poo on your hands?”

“Say goodnight to the beach ball.”

This just might be my favorite of all time:

“Please don’t step on Daddy’s man parts.”

What’s the funniest thing you’ve said to your children?

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Another Baby?

Posted by Yoga Bynum

When I was pregnant with Lil Ma, I often walked to a local diner for salted caramel milkshakes. During one of my trips, I ran into a man who I’d seen from time to time in my office building.

“Wow! You’re just like my parents,” he said.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“You’re having babies like stair steps, one right after the other.”

“What?” My neck started to roll.

He gulped. “Don’t you have three or four kids?”

“No.” My eyes narrowed.

I wanted to throw my shake at him, but that would have been a waste of a perfectly good beverage.

When Lil Ma’s was born, Hubby was out of town for work. My mom, who can no longer drive, had to hitch a ride with a friend. Until it was time to push, I watched TV and read magazines. (Epidurals are wonderful!) Mom held my hand while her friend gave Hubby the play by play via phone. It took less than five minutes.

“I’ve never seen a birth go so smoothly,” her friend said. “You could probably do this again. Don’t you want to try for a boy?”

I had to stop myself from cursing.

If I had a dollar for every conversation like these that I’ve had, I could buy Bentley.

The decision to have a baby is deeply personal, and only the parties involved know the factors that weigh in to the final decision. When you ask someone about family planning, you could be hitting a nerve.

I doubt that most people mean to be intrusive. I think they get swept up in the excitement that baby talk can bring. Before I had kids, I was guilty of that. And if you are reading this, please accept my apology.

The questions died down for a while, but now that Lil Ma is a year old, they’re starting to pick up again. I want to address the queries gracefully, so I’ve refined my response:

If the girls wanted another little brother or sister, they would have brought one with them.

What do you say when asked about having kids?

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Separation Anxiety

Posted by Yoga Bynum

Mini Me is back from her week-long trip with Grandma. They’ve headed south to the family farm every year since she was four. When she’s a few years older, Lil Ma will go too.

I’m really looking forward to that moment, even though it’s years away. This week is one of the high points of the summer.

The first time Grandma asked if Mini Me could go, I was hesitant. She hadn’t been away from me for more than a few days, and this time, we’d be hundreds of miles apart. I ran through the gamut of possibilities. What if she fell and skinned her knee? What if she fell and broke her knee? What if she fell and lost her knee?

My mind has the ability to move from the rational to the ridiculous in a short amount of time. So, I had to force myself to focus on what was really bothering me:

What if she didn’t miss me at all?

Back then, part of me believed that a kid didn’t love you unless they were begging to come home the second the parents were out of sight. I agreed for her to go, packed her bags, and waited for the phone ring.

I didn’t hear a peep from her all week. She came home with legs covered in mosquito bumps and a sack full of okra from Great-Grandma’s garden. Then she spent the next seven days giving me a blow-by-blow of her adventure.

“Did you miss mommy?” I asked.

“Sure,” my big girl said. “That’s why I’m telling you about all the fun I had.”

I now know that separation is necessary. It’s actually a good sign if your kiddo is confident enough to try things in her own. It means that Mini Me is on her way to being a self-sufficient young woman, and I don’t have to worry about fixing up the basement for our adult daughter who’s never leaving home.

It also means that Hubby and I are treated to a well deserved break. We didn’t get as much rest this year with Lil Ma still about, but past vacations included massages, movies, dinners and sleeping in.

Every year when Mini Me leaves, I have a miniscule moment of guilt about enjoying our time apart. It passes quickly once I remember some wise words from my aunt.

“Kids can’t be with their parents all the time,” she said. “Besides, you can get on a kids nerves just as much as they can get on yours.”

Yes, indeed.

The Best Laid Plans

Posted by Yoga Bynum

I had my weekend all planned out. It was full of rather dull but necessary things that I had put on the back burner. Laundry. Dusting. Grocery shopping. Watering the plants.

Saturday started out as scheduled. I readied the girls and headed out for errands. Lil Ma made it through two stores with no semblance of a meltdown.

She saved it for when we got home. That, an unexpected work project, and a call from my dad, who had taken a tumble down a flight of stairs, closed out the rest of the day. Thankfully, my father is fine. He has a few minor aches and pains that will heal in a few days.

As I was lying in bed Saturday night, reviewing my list of undone chores, I decided that a lovely summer weekend should not be wasted on vacuuming.

“Let’s go to the zoo tomorrow,” I announced to hubby. He agreed.

I wanted to get there early so we could be on our way home by noon. Because none of us could get out of bed, we got there at 12:30, during the zenith of hot weather. Mini Me loved showing baby sis her favorite exhibits. The butterfly house was a highlight for them both.

A late lunch led to me not cooking dinner. An epiphany on how to improve my last-minute work project sent me back to my office. Mini Me kept me company by reading aloud excerpts of old Barbie magazines I saved from my childhood.

I still have laundry to do. Everything is dusty, and I forgot to buy ground turkey. The overly anxious me would be having a fit, but she seems to be on vacation. And that’s fine with me.

I was, however, able to squeeze in a few minutes to water the plants.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad