Medford Star News

So we got a Wii for the family during Christmas. This fantastic gaming system has become the epicenter for family fun - and also knock down, drag out temper tantrums of the variety I only imagined happened on television.

We’ve noticed that our son’s competitive spirit is sparked by almost everything Wii. From wanting to win every hole of miniature golf to screaming at the tv when he gets a gutter ball bowling (”the Wii is cheating, Mom, it is cheating!), I’m starting to get a feeling for how much everything, well, feels to him.

So when I received an invitation via Mommy Track’d (you know how much I love that site and newsletter) to join up with Pepperidge Farm’s “Fishful Thinking” Brand Ambassador program, I jumped at the chance. Ok, I really just opened a new browser and spent a few minutes signing up (but I did do it during work, if that tells you how excited I was).

Brand Ambassadors - like me - help spread the word about the site, and share their creative ideas about how to instill optimism in our kids.

And it turns our the Fishful Thinking site has all sorts of resources for me and my little “Tiger Woods/Walter Sobchak” to help us cope together with growing up. I’m still exploring everything, but I did take the Resiliance Test the other day, and I think we’re going to make it. Kai has flashes of anger, but he also has a nice mix of compassion and a certain sense of self-soothing that lets him bounce back most days.

But the next time he throws down his Wii-mote after his sister gets a hole-in-one on the crazy lava tube hole, I’m taking five minutes to read the How to Be a Happier Mom article.

So we’re out walking around on Saturday in Satellite Beach looking at Christmas light displays. The kids are loving it, calling out “Snowmen” and “da Gurinch” (the Grinch in Daphne speak) as they see all of the decorations, when we come across an outdoor inflatable nativity set like this:

I turned to my 4-year-old and asked, “Do you know who the baby is?” To which I received this prompt reply:

“That’s baby Santa!”

Oops! Guess those many, many years of Catholic school, Catholic mass, and Catholic guilt haven’t really rubbed off on him yet. Time to pull out some world religion story books.

And have no fear, my Catholic guilt is kicking in overtime on this one.

While I earn my right to own a rosary back, here’s a photo of the kids enjoying the lights.

So there’s this mom at my kids’ school that just irks me.

She’s plenty nice, her kid is adorable and she’s never had a mean word for me.

BUT — she brings her son’s diapers, wipes, formula and “little lovey extras” (insert her I’m too perfect giggle after that for the whole phrase) in a basket everyday.

A basket. A blue gingham lined wicker basket. Perfectly aligned. Diapers in a row. With lovey extras.

I, like so many other working moms, can only shout…WTF????????

On the other hand, I have one bottle threatening to fall out of my pocket, a plastic Target bag overflowing with diapers for Kai AND Daphne (hoping they don’t get mixed up and leave one of them with part of a baby butt cheek hanging out) in addition to wipes, a blanket, food for Daphne (because now she refuses to take anything from a spoon and will only eat things she can pick up), and maybe a stuffed animal (wet from someone sucking on it). And I’m frazzled.

I’m frazzled! I haven’t blown my hair dry in over a year. The most makeup I’ve worn is mascara and I don’t wear my Vans as much as I’d like because I don’t have time to find matching socks in the morning to wear with them (sandals are soooo much easier).

And she’s got a perfectly laid out basket. With lovey extras.

Damn. Substitute the tennis shoes for sandals, add a toddler and leave a trail of goldfish behind the picture below and you’ve got me.

I hope her son grows up to be a certified basket case, since I currently hold the title…

No stories about my own children (for once, right?), but here are some web gems about why kids rock - and why it would be nice to go back to being one sometimes.

Shouldn’t worrying constantly burn calories? And if so, shouldn’t all of us moms be able to drop baby weight with ease?

OK, weight aside, let’s talk about my mommy worries - which, ironically enough, center around Daphen’s weight. No, she’s not too large (really, there isn’t such a thing at 6-7 months). In fact, EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE, tells me how damn “tiny” she is.

Now, she’s not really that small! In fact, she’s rather long and is tall enough to wear 6-9 month pj’s and pants (except that she has NO butt or belly). She’s just very lean. She’s actually 50th percentile in height (hey, we can’t ask for more with our vertically challenged backgrounds), but she’s only 20th percentile for weight, on the thin side.

Is her Dr concerned? No - she said that it has do with her activity level (I’d rank that at pretty darn high) and of course, how much she’s eating (snacking every 2-3 hours especially at night, thank you). So what gives?

Only moms obsess about stuff like this. Sebastian, totally not worried. Me, I’m shoving cereal and bananas down her throat as she spits it out and blows raspberries (can you do that when it’s bananas? are they banaberries?) at me.

Anyway, that’s the first of my concerns. Moms also can’t help but compare their kids. Was Kai this hard to feed? Isn’t Daphne trying to crawl way before Kai did? Etc, etc, etc.

Hmm, maybe if I could lose that weight she wouldn’t look so small next to me and people could start focusing on what a full personality she has, instead of her looks.

Welcome to the world of being a girl, my dear.

Second children really get the shaft, don’t they? No matter what you promise before they’re born, they never get as many photos taken, they wear hand-me-downs, and moms don’t get to writing down their accomplishments until they’re 6 MONTHS OLD (and let’s be honest - she’s almost 7 months old)!!!!!!!

BUT - I’m catching everyone up now. So here’s the latest on our wonderful Daffy (that’s what Kai calls her):

• We have a tooth! It started coming through in the beginning of June, just about the same time that Daphne started sitting up on her own. Granted, the sitting up thing isn’t exactly, umm, consistent. She’s toppled over more than a few times, hitting her head on a foot, teething toy, Kai, and face first into the sand - but those are all learning experiences, right? She’ll send us the therapy bill later.
• She hasn’t slept through the night yet. ARRRGHHH! Zzzzzzzz. (That’s me falling asleep while writing this).
• She’s eating solid foods now (she started really eating them about a month ago). Her favorites are bananas, pears, and applesauce. Her nurse at the Dr’s office yelled at me for starting her on sweets, saying she would never like veggies. Hurmph. But, she’s not so fond of veggies yet, but that will come in time (I hope) - it did with Kai. Plus, I sneak in carrots with her applesauce and she seems to like pears and sweet potatoes together. Weird!
• Daphne is still “working” at home with me on GoCityKids.com. What does that really mean? It means I work (or try to do laundry) while she naps (they’re pretty regular: one in the morning, one in the early afternoon), and then she wants my undivided attention while she’s awake. She prefers eating the computer cable instead of helping write reviews - what a baby!
• OH! She can roll everywhere! She is definitely trying to crawl, but scoots backwards. We’re getting there.
• Kai and Daphne play together, which is so cute. Until she takes a toy that’s “his” - but that’s another blog.
• I love, love, love her!

Parenthood is not for the feint of heart. There’s constant talk about what your children have - or haven’t - eaten, expelled from their body, or shoved up their noses.

Throw in a little potty training and all refined conversation officially goes out the window.

“Mommy potty? Potty chair?” I hear now. Kai is 22 months old and pees in his potty chair every (almost) night before taking a bath. That rocks.

But potty training is such a tease. Yes, we have one potty moment a day. But the others? Well, we’re still diaper bound. It is like seeing the peak of the mountain, but being buried in a sea of diapers that keeps you from reaching the top.

Hey, I’m grateful for the one potty a day. I wish it were the morning poops (see, told you - nothing graceful about that word) that were on the potty, but we’re getting there.

One pee in the potty at a time.

So, I have this freelance job as Orlando Editor for GoCityKids.com, which means I write and edit any submissions for the site when Daphne is sleeping or agreeable to hanging out on her play mat while I work.

All the city editors have been invited to New York in April for a quick 2-day conference, and we were asked to answer a questionnaire (we were supposed to have fun with the answers). Here are mine:

Name: Colleen Aravena

Marital Status: I’m the “ball and chain” in our marriage!

Education: College graduate from the University of Illinois-Chicago with Bachelor degrees in both Communication and English.

Three jobs you’ve had: Marketing Rep and Recruiter for the Walt Disney World College Internship Program; Volunteer Coordinator for an animal shelter; Director of Interactive Marketing for a floral preservation company

Any special skills, hobbies, passions? I’m not good at it, but I love to surf. I also enjoy riding my Paul Frank beach cruiser with my son, visiting bookstores with my daughter, and reading. I’m also actively trying to get a small business off the ground with my husband - TheArtsyMonkey.com, a children’s clothing company.

Gender(s) and age(s) of your children: Kai, male, 2 years old and Daphne, female, 3 months old

What is your favorite thing about being a parent? Regressing to being 2 years old again - I’ve gained a new appreciation for parks, flowers, Dr. Seuss, bouncy balls, sand, and being able to say, “No! Mine!” and have my kids and husband laugh at me - and take the toy/cookie/etc. from me anyway.

What are some of the challenges you’re facing as a parent? Regaining my “coolness” factor with anyone over the age of three - not to mention regaining my pre-pregnancy figure! Mostly, I’m just trying to figure out how to juggle everything - work, family, friends - and still be able to find matching socks for everyone in the morning.

Intro: I’m a pop culture nut who can’t help but sing along to every song on the radio - even if it’s the Macarena. I love experiencing the world through my children’s eyes, but yet can’t wait for the day when their eyes stay shut and they sleep for more than 4 hours straight.

What I love about being a City Editor: Discovering new things about my area and, with the calendar, never having to ask or hear “what should we do today?”

Guess I’m tired! At least according to this profile. But at least I submitted a good photo…

So, take a look at my recent email interaction with my husband about our daughter (read from bottom to top):

Subject: daphne

wow- funny how your reactions to kai’s accomplishments and daphne’s are so wildly different!

you’re such a protective daddy!

sebastian wrote:

> great, now she’s gonna get married and leave us :-((
>
> Colleen Aravena wrote:
>
>> just rolled over onto her side and almost on to her belly!

Funny, huh?

Being a mommy drives everyone a little nuts. I’m sure my entire family has just about had it with me, but my hormones don’t seem to be getting in line (I blame the fact that I’m nursing - oh, and that I’m getting like 4 hours of sleep a night).

Anyway, I’m sure everyone (but those supermoms and celebrity moms with multiple nannies and no idea of what their kids are really up to) goes through it.

Daphne and I were working in the office yesterday, her in the swing and me working next to her. She was a good little companion for about 20 minutes. I just hope that my talking about totally random work junk is helping her…