Addiction

It all started innocently enough. First it was just a ½ hour of Sesame Street – I mean come on, who doesn’t love Elmo? Then we moved on to Playhouse Disney – Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, Special Agent OSO – anything that was about a half hour meant I could finally take a shower in peace! Then he discovered Dora and Diego (and he LOVES animals, so he was hooked). And Playhouse Disney turned to Disney Junior, with new shows like Jake and the Neverland Pirates. We read a lot of books at our house, so Curious George is also a big favorite. And suddenly he’s yelling out the names of shows I’ve never even heard as I scroll through the tv guide – Fresh Beat Band, Bubble Guppies and oh God no, not Yo Gabba Gabba.  So its official – my son is addicted to television.

I know this because he started saying things like “I watch 5 more minutes” and “Imagination Movers coming up next”. If I didn’t know better, I swear he knows what is on at different times throughout the day. If he’s being crabby during the hour before dinner he says “I watch Curious George on the couch”. And it’s not just cartoons; he loves watching Wipeout, Minute To Win It and American Idol.

The novelty of the Christmas toys has worn off.  We still have snow on the ground (and it’s 25 degrees!) We have to get outside and play. I thought that damn groundhog said spring was coming?

So today we are taking a much needed break from television. Please pray that I make it to naptime!

The Cookies Are Coming!

The timing of starting this blog is ironic, because the biggest “forgetting” disaster to date actually happened on this very day last year. I am a volunteer for Emma’s brownie troop, and was a “cookie mom” last year, having to pick up and distribute more than 3000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies.  Because I have spent almost every Thursday night for the last 20+ years at the dance studio, having a Thursday night off is a little strange and sometimes hard to come by.  But since the cookie pick-up was earlier in the night, I agreed to come back to the studio later in the night to help with my choreography because it was a competition week.  And one of the other teachers was sick.

As I stood around with some of the other moms after all the cookies had been picked up, we agreed that after all of our hard work (and manual labor) that we indeed deserved a strong drink. And 15 minutes later we were having margueritas at Old Chicago! And I was having so much fun having “mom” time that I FORGOT to go back to the studio!! Really, truly, totally forgot and completely blew it off!

And when they called to see why I was running so late, I practically burst into tears! What kind of person FORGETS to go to work? And then the panic in my head started – Do I need medical attention? Am I really suffering from memory loss or is this just a fluke thing? That is also the day that I vowed to always write things down, and to never assume I would remember anything again!

I am a “cookie mom” again this year, and I am happy to report that I am off from the studio tonight.  And I will pick up the 3400 boxes of cookies that we sold and I will most likely have a marguerita when the night is over. Just without the panic attack!

Me and My Memory

Although in my younger years I used to have an excellent memory most of the time, please don’t ask me when my children started crawling/walking, got teeth, or moved to a big bed.  I have no idea.  I usually try to joke about my “Alzheimer’s”, but in my 40’s it seems that my memory is getting worse every day.  Part of the reason I decided to start a blog was so that I could have some record going forward of important (or even just cute) things my children do in their lives.

When Emma was born I did the typical new mom thing and wrote everything down in her baby book; her doctor’s appointments, how much she weighed, etc. I wrote about her birthday parties, who was President and what she liked to play with best. And then the whirlwind of life took over. But I wasn’t worried because who doesn’t remember important things about their kids’ lives? Apparently, me. And don’t even get me started on Aiden – according to his baby book, he doesn’t even exist!

If it is not written in my planner or on my to-do list, it simply is not going to happen.

Anything from the old list that’s not crossed out goes on the new list. I have a grocery list, a list of home improvements, a list of books I’d like to read, etc. I admit to being completely Type A, so imagine the horror I feel when I know I’ve actually forgotten something really important.

So let me take a minute to publicly apologize here to my hairdresser for forgetting my appointment, to the student I stood up at the studio when I forgot our private lesson, and to my daughter for forgetting I promised to take her to see the Justin Bieber movie on President’s day. I really don’t do it on purpose. And when I tell you to text or email me to remind me, I really mean it. Because if I didn’t write it down in the 10 minutes after our conversation, I’ll be apologizing later on this blog for forgetting it!