ENOUGH!!

This week we've been going through the horrible fires here in San Diego. For 2 days straight, we had the news on all day and evening keeping track of the where the fires were since we were under mandatory evacuation but chose to stay. It was really eerie in our complex after we saw everyone driving away after the announcement and then with the nearby freeway closed, the silence was deafening. It was just us and the falling soot.

Since the mandatory evacuation was lifted, we have still been house ridden because of the unhealthy air and the fact that everything is closed. I refuse to have the news on all day looking at all the despair and sadness of people losing their houses and almost a half a million people displaced in shelters. Thus my post's title - ENOUGH!! I cannot listen to another person who has lost everything they owned except their life or wondering if they still have a home or what happened to their animals. I am emotionally exhausted from all of it. I feel bad since I should just be happy that I still have my home but I take things to heart too much I think. I'm tired of seeing the ticker tape of running trauma running on the bottom of the screen, every show preempted (except for the World Series of course, God forbid).

Okay, I feel better now. I've had my rant and I can move on. And I may actually be able to go outside tomorrow (WOO HOO!) - that would be the best thing of my day if that happened. Here's to better days...less smoke, open indoor playgrounds, gyms with childcare, etc.

Back to That Selflessness Topic

What started this post was hearing how much some moms on television loved being moms to 8 and 16 kids. These women were saying how wonderful it was, how much they loved it, and acted like it was almost a calling.

As I sit over here, agonizing (well, maybe not quite that) about having a second child, I wonder "What's wrong with me?" because some days seem so difficult to me. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE being a mom, wouldn't trade it for anything, and would do anything to keep my girl safe and happy. BUT...there are some days when I'm just pooped and out of patience for the day and this is just with 1 kid!

So what is it? What makes some moms able to happily handle lots of kids and some feel like 1 or maybe 2 (on a good day) is their limit? Is it temperament? Or is it a selfish type of personality? Or is it that we have just gotten used to a certain type of life?

Lately, I'm leaning a little towards the last one. Why? Because my perfectionist, Type A temperament has mellowed out quite a bit and I certainly do not want to foist that on my girl at all. I already see those tendencies in her as it is. A selfish type of personality? As in my previous post, that selfishness has mellowed out a lot and doesn't make its' appearance very often. So that leaves me with the last option - I got used to being on my own, responsible only for myself, and while that gave me a lot of freedom, it didn't give me a lot of fulfillment. But I think I got used to it and it makes it hard for me to deal constantly with being "on call" for a little someone all day long. These "Super Moms" as I call them (the 8 and 16 kids' moms), for the most part, got married young and started having kids immediately and often so they never really enjoyed the freedom or experience of just being responsible for themselves and having no one to answer to. That's not to say it was bad - in fact, in one way now that I'm a mom I think it would be better and easier to be a mom and wife. But, on the other hand, I know what I'm NOT missing by being responsible for a husband and child and that makes me appreciate all that more. But it does sometimes make daily life harder for me I think. Either way, I think that being a mom is just a difficult job and those "Super Moms" that I watch on television are just freaks of nature or on a high Valium dosage.

At least that's what I'll tell myself to make myself feel better!

Just a Quick Blog

I don't normally write at this time since I try to conserve energy when The Baby is down for an hour's rest so I have enough to make through the afternoon. However, she has been typically going the bathroom within the first 15 minutes of her rest and I go back in to clean her up so that she doesn't get the horrible diaper rash she would get. So, thought I'd write quickly while waiting for the next dump.

Of all things, Britney Spears has been on my mind this morning. I don't normally get personally involved with this loser celebrities but when I heard that she lost custody of her 2 babies because she couldn't follow mandatory, normal-human rules, I just couldn't believe it. Now that I'm a mom, I just cannot imagine continuing to do something if it meant my kids would be taken away. It's just beyond my comprehension. I would do anything to not lose my girl. In fact, it's one of my top 2 goals right now in my life to give her a happy, secure, safe life. I keep this goal in mind when I get frustrated with the hubby and want to snap at him in front of Isabella and it makes me button my lip. Later on when I could say something, I find it's not really valid anyways that I was just being irritable. I keep this goal in mind when I don't feel particularly happy or cheerful and make myself smile and act cheerful in front of her. Do I feel like doing this all the time? Hell no but I'm not going to lay my burdens or moods on her. If they feel heavy to me, how heavy would they feel to a little person trying to deal with her own emotions, fears, frustrations, etc?

Being a parent has made me such a better person. I am much more selfless now and concerned about the wellbeing of my family members and I like that - in a way, it's freeing. In another way, this selflessness backfires and leads me to look at myself in the mirror after The Baby's bedtime and be horrified to see my lunch stuck in my teeth and it's been there since 11:30am! Note to self: check teeth during resttime!