My New Heartbeat

Before I gave birth to my daughter in 2010, I was flooded with information about my pregnancy. And then I was flooded with information about my newborn.

Every mom feels unappreciated every once in a while. We try to teach our children manners, but a coerced “thank you” from a toddler rings hollow.

Kids are weird. Scratch that – Kids turn parents weird.
My daily phrases used to include a simple, “How was your day, honey?”

Parenting can be embarrassing. You answer the door wearing a pink tiara and talk to no one on plastic telephones.

But sometimes CeCe wants things I cannot accommodate.

There are a few rites of a passage that come with being a homeowner.
The unsolicited visits by security system salesmen. Learning how property taxes work. And getting locked out of the house.

Toddlers are giant liars. You can’t believe a word that comes out of their tiny, adorable mouths.
My 2-year-old will often tell me exactly what she wants. She wants to eat a peanut butter sandwich, watch Sesame Street and wear her blue shoes.
All lies.

We made it through our child’s first major illness. I feel I deserve some sort of reward.
Like a new couch. It was a stomach virus.

My daughter has become quite the little activist. But I wonder what CeCe is protesting, because she is clearly on a hunger strike for some reason.

Cartoons are ruining my life. We have screen limits in our house, but I’ve hit my personal limit with many of the shows my toddler obsesses over.

With the general population lacking manners nowadays, teaching my daughter the basics of being polite was a high priority for me as a parent.