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It’s high time I recognize that I am no longer the “new mommy” of a “baby,” but am instead the Mom of a Toddler.   Yikes.   And how can I reconcile this year that has flown impossibly fast and left me a year older, with a one-year-old running around the house where a tiny baby used to be, sitting safely contained in his bouncy seat?

I came to this realization rather abruptly today when someone asked me to do something, and I started to respond with the old, “Oh, I’m just too busy, what with a new baby and all…” when it hit me that a one-year-old is not a new baby, and I really had no excuse whatsoever, No Nap Joe or not!

I starting a mental inventory of all of the things I do each day, and how I can better streamline my time management.   I thought of all  of my girlfriends, specifically those that have not only more than one child, but that have hobbies, for goodness sake.   I looked at all the “necessaries” like laundry (that is never caught up on), house cleaning, meal planning and grocery shopping, bill paying and financial upkeep of the household, and general errands.   Then I began to ponder those inevitable time-eaters… and I discovered two that I spend an obscene amount of time on, yet are beyond my control.

The first is Dudley, The Weimaraner.      

    I can’t begin to calculate the number of minutes each day that are spent chasing him in order to dig trash, toys or contraband food out of his mouth.   To run him out of the kitchen to keep him from stalking the poor boy learning to eat real food with real utensils in his highchair.   To clean up the piles of chewed sticks, tracked in dirt and various other random debris that mars my otherwise clean(ish) household landscape.   Then there are the first-thing-in-the-morning walks so you know who doesn’t start doing back flips in a desperate attempt to blow off extra energy.   (And I’m not talking about Kenny!)   It all adds up to… I don’t know… let’s say two hours a day.   Hey – weims are a demanding breed.  

The second is Driving in the Car.   We live on  a gorgeous piece of waterfront land in a very nice house.   And this tranquil and idyllic spot also happens to be a good thirty to forty minutes away from everything.   From Church, from MOPS, from friends’ houses, from the “good” grocery store, from the park, from the Mall.   So on any one day, I spend an hour or two driving to and fro.   The alternative to this would be to simply stay at home, have a half dozen more kids so Kenny would have a home-based playgroup, and raise weimaraners (so Dudley would have some interaction, and I would finally have a hobby).    Yeah.

Couple those three to four hours mentioned above with a kid who’s not really a napper, and suddenly a see why  I don’t scrapbook and why there are three loads of laundry waiting to be folded on top of the dryer.   I should get a medal just for vacuuming this week!    

But really now, there has to be a solution, dogs and driving and all.   I can’t spend the rest of my life barely catching up on the little household tyrannies.   I do spend glorious amounts of time playing with Kenny, giggling and chasing him, building towers out of blocks and reading  “Swim  Duck, Swim!” twenty times in a row.   I think the issue at hand is, when does the time come that it’s ok to “do stuff” while I’m home with Kenny  all day?   Not just getting dinner ready  while Kenny is banging blissfully on a  pair of  pots at my feet.   But does there ever come a time when it’s ok to set him with his toys and books and Do Something Else?   I’m not complaining about having the chance to play with my little boy all day.   But I know that other stay-at-home women out there take classes online, volunteer for Meals on Wheels and plant flower gardens. And it can’t all happen just when their precious little ones are napping.    

So what am I missing?   Was this in the orientation at the New  Moms class that I forgot to go to?   Is the answer in a handbook I  neglected to order?   I count it a lucky day when I get a whole shower.    What is the secret to Getting Things Done?

On another note, here’s an update on the World of Weaning:   Kenny doesn’t seem to be in any hurry.   He’s eating a little better, but is still very opposed to drinking anything (water, juice, cow’s milk) out of any sort of a cup (sippy, straw or other device that is not part of my anatomy).     I know that a big part of it has to do with the familiarity and comfort in nursing for him.   So we’re still working on it!   I’m down to about four feedings a day.   Next week I’m aiming for three, and I’d like to have him completely weaned by the end of October.   Any more advice or support is greatly appreciated!