Abort Mission

Z started a new job this week, and with that big event came a change in our routine; 'Rad now eats breakfast at Jean's instead of at home.  You'd think this would simplify things for us, and it does, but I miss all of us having breakfast together.  The other morning, we got 'Rad up a little too early and he walked to the dining room where Z was eating and started yanking on his high chair tray - the boy wanted some morning mow-age with the family.  I've learned to get him up to give just enough time to get him ready and play a little in his room, but now the only meal he eats with us during the week is dinner.  I'm a little bummed about it.  I'm not officially back to being a out-of-house working mother, but I still harbor the full guilt of one.  Chin up, Jojo.  You have your whole lives to spend time together and make the most of it.  Honestly, the guilt has got to go.

Doing ok in the a.m.  Playing a little keyboard.

Yesterday was Wednesday, and that meant dinner at Lolo and Lola's.  I don't know what it is, if when we go to their house it's 'Rad's witching hour or what, but he is practically always a whiny mess when we're there.  Sure, my parents turn the TV up pretty loud to be able to hear it and it usually smells of a few nights' dinners all rolled up into a scented package that fits into every corner of the kitchen, but all they want to do is hold him and smoosh on him and all he wants to do is squeal and squiggle and squirm out of their reach.  I know I've complained about this before, but it becomes more glaring to me each week because he seems to be getting more comfortable with Grandma and Grandpa but not my parents.  Of course, my bias is that he like my parents above all others.  At this point, though, I'd settle for him letting my mom hold him for any length of time.  Be warned: This issue may resurface every Thursday morning until that magical day when he's finally cool with everyone.  Come on 'Rad, be cool.

He did have a bit of a rough day yesterday, thought.  I'm not sure how he napped at daycare, but when I picked him up from Grandma's after class she said he was a little bit tired = a bit cranky.  I loaded him up in the car and we headed straight to Lolo and Lola's to spend some time on the swings and run around the yard.  He was happy as a clam on the swing set.  But then I misread his hand gestures as a signal to get out and he did a little baby freak out.  I put him back in the swing.  Swinging.  Swinging.  Got him out. 

Then we moved to the tire swing.  He's such a rockstar on that thing.  I set him down between the ropes on the top of the tire, wrapped his hands around them, then pushed him off and he sat happily, swinging back and forth, side to side, up and down.  I took him out of the swing after a few minutes.  Maybe another misread on my part?  Commence baby freak out #2.  I try to distract him I swung him around in a circle.  Bad idea.  Complete melt down.  If Connor were the control center at NASA, space ships would have been falling out of the sky and we'd have to abort mission.  Deep breath. 

We walked back to the house.  I watched him tackle a step going down.  I also unfortunately watched him teeter at the bottom of that step then hit his head on a pot next to it.  Now I'm feeling like a really terrible mom.  After that it was time to go in the house, into a confined space, just into a change of scene since the great outdoors weren't being so great to us.  Then the dinnertime whining/wiggling began.  I think I'll always feel a tinge of guilt for not being able to spend more time with 'Rad.  But man, there are days when I think the best thing is for everyone to go to sleep and reset.  Here's hoping for a better, less whiny, less painful day!