motherhood where sleep is a rumor and laundry
is eternal and somehow we're supposed to be raising
tiny humans through it all we're here to laugh
at the chaos cry when necessary and remind you
that none of us actually know what we're doing
this is no manual a mom cast your mom friend
group chat but with microphones welcome back
to no manual a mom cast this week we Kind of
just decided to do, like, honestly, this is a
little bit of a just thrown together episode.
But we thought it'd be fun to share some of the
mom moments that we've had that we haven't actually
shared in an episode. So I think we mostly have
some kind of just like funny stuff. Yep. Maybe.
Mine's mostly funny. Yeah. That's mostly where
I'm at too. Yeah. So do you want to start with
your first mom moment? Sure. So this is actually
from yesterday. showed Colt the movie, The Sandlot,
which is just like a classic. That's a great
movie. Yeah. My husband grew up playing baseball
and so loved, like both of us love that movie
in general and just think it's just like a classic
childhood movie. And Colt, like I've literally
never seen him so into a movie, like so fixated
on it. That's great. Especially for not a cartoon.
For not a cartoon. Yeah. And he just like, throughout
the movie was like mom what what's happening
and he like wanted me to tell him what was happening
he would like point out random things and so
we don't usually like sit and watch a whole movie
usually i mean not necessarily because we're
like we can't watch a whole movie but colt's
like attention span is not there but he was like
so into it we literally sat and watched the whole
movie and i was like i kind of appreciated that
But he was just super into it. And so today,
before I came over here, he asked to watch the
doggy movie. The Sandlot? Yeah. And so he has
not associated the Sandlot with baseball. It's
with Hercules. It's with the dog, with Hercules,
the dog. And so we proceeded to watch it again
this morning. Yeah. And we didn't watch the whole
thing again. But I'm like, I told Michael, I
was like, get ready to watch this movie 47 ,000
times. I mean, there are way worse movies that
could be. Yeah. And Michael looked it up on Rotten
Tomatoes. It only has a 66 % on Rotten Tomatoes.
Rotten Tomatoes doesn't know what they're talking
about. Which I'm like, no. There are so many
movies that, like, if you look at the Rotten
Tomatoes rating, are so low. Yeah. I'm like,
no. Yeah. Like, unbelievable. Who watched that
from your... corporation yeah so i just it was
super fun and michael's like this is a really
proud dad moment for me i love it so yeah that's
my mom moment from yesterday okay what share
one of yours okay my first one is i've had multiple
nights i don't know if i talked about this on
mike i know i told you that this happened on
christmas eve where The kids gave us a gift of
both of them slept like through the night or
almost fully through the night. And I just could
not sleep that night. But that has happened to
me multiple times. Even in this last week, I
got like a knot in my back that was so painful
that I couldn't sleep. And every night that I
wasn't able to sleep, the kids slept great. Like
they were, you know, Zeta maybe woke up like
once to eat. Yeah. And then with that, anytime
we have. Like we have to get up to do something,
whether that's go to church, grandparents are
picking up, whatever. Those are the days the
kids sleep in and I have to like actively wake
them up. Like this week on Wednesday, I'm pretty
sure the kids would have slept till like 8 a
.m. Gosh. And grandparents were picking them
up at 7 .30. Ugh. So next day, wide awake at
like 6 .45, 7. Like what is this curse? What
is happening? Because I would let them sleep
as late as they wanted on days that they don't
have anywhere to go. Like, want to sleep till
9? That sounds delightful. Yeah, for real. But,
yeah, it's just that those two is just consistently,
if the kids sleep through the night, for some
reason I can't. Like, wired, in pain, whatever
it is. Like, had caffeine too late in the day,
I don't know. And then the days that they could
sleep in are the days that they can't actually
sleep in. So frustrating. Yeah. So, so frustrating.
Okay. My next one. So Michael and I were talking
about this a couple of days ago that both of
us just hate this, like this phase of eating
with, so Cruz just turned 10 months old and he's
finally eating. Yeah. He's finally decided he
likes food. like in the last week which i was
like i've talked about it before on the podcast
i've super i was gonna tell you this super nervous
off mic but i'll just tell you this yeah i actually
had a friend text me she's like i was listening
to your episode and tell laura yes so her first
thing she said is that two of her kids one of
her kids who i think is three or four now okay
she didn't like anything till she was like 11
months she just like uninterested in food and
she is turning out okay yes okay and then i think
she had her youngest who's still a baby he is
like not super interested in food so she's like
not worried because because it's that first experience
yeah she's like she's okay and the other um that
she's like i don't have research behind this
but have heard that cutting teeth or like having
teeth produces an enzyme that allows interest
in food or like something along those lines so
which i know cruz does have teeth but maybe like
Maybe he didn't get the enzyme. He just all of
a sudden started actively chewing. I think his
mind is connecting to it a little bit more. Maybe
there is something like that. Just in the past
week, he was super into ground beef the other
day. We know this kid's a meat eater. Chicken.
He started chewing up yesterday. Even avocado.
Some cottage cheese. Random things. Still not
everything. interested in which like i'm not
interested in every every food for sure but like
he's actually like when he sits in his high chair
he like will actually physically put things in
his mouth now and that's great it's like total
win in itself i've been super nervous about that
because colt was totally opposite where at six
months he was like wanting everything so michael
and i were talking about this the other day but
we were like we hate this phase of eat like learning
to eat it's rough because Cruz is literally like
choking and gagging on everything. And we do
like a mix kind of of like baby led weaning and
not like, yes, we'll give him like chunks of
things, like a chunk of broccoli. He loves broccoli.
My kids love broccoli too. Colt doesn't like
really like broccoli, but Cruz is like super
into it. But like we'll give him like a whole
chunk of broccoli. But then I'm also like trying
to get the chicken as teeny tiny as possible.
Kind of like a mix of baby led weaning and not.
But both of us have decided we hate this phase
because it's like literally I'm just like staring
at him eating. Yes. Because I'm like, are you
choking? Are you fine? Oh, you're gagging? Okay.
I'm trying not to, like, stick my fingers in
his mouth to, like, shove the food farther into
his throat. Yeah, because then all the information
I've heard and, like, because I tried to do,
like, a good amount of research on baby led weaning
before we started. Yeah. And it's, like, you
want them to gag. Yes. Because it, like, helps
them learn to, like, basically save themselves
more or less. Like, obviously, if they're actively
choking, that's different. But, like, as adults,
like, we know how to. You start to choke. You
get something stuck and you know how to get it
up. Kids need to learn that because they've never
done that before. With our kids, they're both
the least dramatic gaggers ever. They're really
quiet about it. If you read something that's
gagging versus choking, choking is quiet. That's
when you need to be scared is when they're quiet.
Both of our kids, they'll just like, so you're
dying right now. Then they're just like, Yeah.
And they're fine. Yeah. So both of our kids have
done that, which is terrifying. And yes, then
you're just like sitting there staring the whole
time. And it's hard with two kids because I'm
like, look at you. Look at you. Like trying to
watch both of them. And Colt has now found it.
Like if I'm giving Cruz attention, like, oh,
are you okay, buddy? Then Colt wants to mimic
what Cruz has done. So he fakes gagging. So he
fakes gagging or starts coughing. To then have
me go, oh, buddy, are you okay? And so then it's
like I haven't eaten any of my food by the time
they're done with dinner because I've just focused
on their gagging and choking the whole time.
Yeah. Well, we just entered the phase with Zeta
where she just wants to throw things, which I'm
like, I kind of forgot about this. Yeah. I knew
lots of food ended up on the floor. I forgot
about the intentional like chucking it. And I
don't like that. And of course Lloyd thinks it's
funny. And we're like trying to find this balance
because of course Zeta doesn't know better yet.
Lloyd does know better. So then I'm like I need
to correct her. But she doesn't know better and
then Lloyd thinks it's funny. We're also getting
to the phase with eating where Lloyd's kind of
picky right now. And he's, like, finding ways
to skirt around eating, just, like, in general.
And one of them is if he can get Zeta to laugh
at the dinner table. So he'll, like, put sour
cream in his hair, which she thinks is funny.
It kind of is. It is funny. Except for that I
have to deal with that later. Yes. But then he's
getting rid of so that he doesn't have to eat
it. I don't know if it's so he doesn't have to
eat it or if it's just like I'm doing something
in the table so you can't be mad at me. Like
I'm doing something with my food. Yeah. That's
funny. This phase of eating. What a smart kid.
Too smart. These kids will get you. They're little
manipulators. Yeah. I know. The best little manipulators.
Okay, what is your next mom moment? Okay, my
next one is Zeta is climbing on everything right
now. So she's crawling, she's climbing, and we
have a helper stand that I now can't just keep
in the kitchen set up because she knows how to
climb up on it, and she does know how to climb
down as well, but she'll climb up and she'll
sit perfectly balanced on the edge, which...
is the worst like legs out or like no legs in
so she's like so her back could just fall down
so she like leans back she just like falls from
the helper stand onto her back onto her head
yeah and it's like perfectly balanced and of
course I think the day that I was like, okay,
we can't just like leave this out anymore. She
like kept doing that. She would like climb up
and sit perfectly balanced on the edge. And I'm
like ready to catch her, ready to catch her.
And then she just like sits there like, mom,
what are you? What's the problem? Yeah, like
we're fine. And then the like second I turned
around to just like wipe down the counter. It's
not like I was, you know, running a marathon
while she was sitting. Like I'm going to wipe
this really quick. Right. Like the two seconds
I turn around, that's when she falls. yeah so
i was like and of course with working with having
two kids i was like i can't just like constantly
watch her no and like obviously i want her to
like kind of do like semi -dangerous things to
like learn but also like i need to keep you safe
and i can't just like put you in a position where
you're going to get hurt yeah so yep yeah it's
a hard balance of like yeah you're gonna learn
but yeah also need to keep them safe yes for
sure okay my next one okay this is just kind
of like personal mom moment so last weekend i
finally went and got my hair done so i we talked
about this in another episode about needing to
find time for self -care. And I actually did
find time for self -care. My plan was to get
my hair done in California, but then Poopmageddon,
as I've talked about on our Christmas episode,
hit. So I had to cancel my hair appointment in
California. Made a hair appointment here in Colorado.
did that last weekend and spent, it took like
four hours. So went and got my hair done for
like four hours and it was just glorious. It
was so nice. It was so nice. I felt so good after
it was like one of those. Yes. I like, I'm just
like laying in the chair and just, I think I
fell asleep for a second because it just felt
so nice. And I just didn't have to think about
it. I just washed it for the first time since
getting my hair done yesterday. And. It just
doesn't feel the same anymore. But it's like
all the nice products they put in it and they
style it. Yeah, I didn't have to like do anything
to my hair for a week. And it was so great. And
now I need to do stuff to it again. But all that
to say, it just was like I need to do more of
that. It's just finding the time for it. It's
so hard. I know there was a day. It must've been
like over the summer or something like that where
I had a gift certificate to get my nails done.
And so, and I think it must've been a rough week.
And so Stuart was like, Hey, I think it was a
Saturday or Sunday. He's like, just like. You
go get your nails done. And the whole process,
like from when I left the house to when I got
back home, was probably about two hours with
driving and everything. And I just like went
with my book and, you know, got my pedicure,
whatever. And when I got back, I was in such
a good mood. And Stuart was like, maybe I need
to send you to do this more often. Yeah. Yeah,
actually, that would be quite nice. If we had
the budget for me to get my nails done like twice
a month. Oh, I would do that. Life would be so
much different for sure. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah,
it just like it revived me. And it was kind of
nice because by the time I got home, it was nap
time for the kids. So then put the kids down
for naps. And then I had a little bit more time.
And it was great. That's nice. Where do you go?
Someone from church recommended her to me. Her
name is Sam Larson at Image Studios just across
the street from church in Lafayette. Oh, okay.
Yeah, I know where that is. Yeah. So she was
super great. Great conversation. I like had an
adult conversation. That's crazy. I know. And
not interrupted by like, oh, sorry, I have to
take him potty. Yes. Yeah. Which like sometimes
in adult conversations, I don't know if you feel
this way. I feel so awkward in adult conversation
even more now that I have kids. Because a lot
of the times if I'm like having an adult conversation
and my kids are with me, they're like a good,
easy. out for me like oh sorry the baby needs
to eat that's not true at all yeah or like someone
needs me so I'm like oh I'm so sorry I have to
go but like this actually was genuine I felt
like not awkward adult conversation and we had
like moments of silence and moments of conversation
it just like flowed naturally and I didn't feel
like an awkward adult and that's so great yeah
so I felt good after that. That's so nice. Yeah.
Now I need to go get my hair done. You should.
Feels good. Okay. What's your next one? Okay.
My next one is Lloyd learning to negotiate. So
this was completely unprompted. Last night we
took Lloyd to my in -laws for an overnight and
usually we let him like take a toy. So like a
car or something like that. We try not to let
him take it in places because usually the thing
he wants to take, I'm like, I know if you lose
Lightning McQueen. Oh, yeah. It's going to be
devastating. Yeah, we're going to be going to
Target at 10 .30 p .m. to get a new one for tomorrow.
So usually it's like, okay, you can take it in
the car, but we have to leave it in the car.
And there's a few exceptions to that. One is
usually like my parents' house. Partially because
my parents are really good at knowing what toys
definitely need to come home with us. And at
least once they've... driven something back to
our house um but then with my in -laws they have
lots of toys it's also an overnight so i'm like
that's gonna be easier to forget so i asked to
take lightning mcqueen and i was like oh buddy
i think we're gonna leave him here and he like
gets a little bit upset and he goes take lightning
in a car not to gma not pops i was like okay
yeah that's fine yeah you can take him in the
car and then he'll be like just for a little
bit though just a little bit yeah so clearly
like he knows that like we take things in the
car but not usually to like to church or to people's
houses or whatever but that's just the first
time that like i just said no to something and
instead of him just getting upset he like tried
to find a middle ground which was so funny and
i'm like honestly i'm not mad like no that was
a reasonable reasonable request and all power
to you buddy the funny thing is he didn't even
remember to take lightning mcqueen into the car
so he stayed home anyways but yeah that's so
funny learning to negotiate oh i love it that's
so cute um okay my next one so i think i've also
talked about like our house is a is a split level.
So we have stairs going up and stairs going down
and we don't have any baby gates because if we
do buy baby gates, we need to buy like literally
four sets of them for baby gates. And that just
seems expensive. I don't know. We have four baby
gates and I can tell you it was expensive. Yeah.
And I, so we've just, we have no baby gates right
now. You also have like your houses, the way
your stairs are. are not like conductive to installing
a baby gate easily. There's not like an easy
way to install them. And also it's just like
you literally would go through the baby gate
up like five stairs, through a baby gate, turn,
through another baby gate, up five stairs. Yeah,
it's just like not ideal. So we've just done
no baby gates and we're like, okay, we're just
going to teach our kids. Like Colt is really,
really good on the stairs. Cruz is like my mom
moment I want to share is like Cruz thinks it's
a game. Now to go over to the stairs. So our
playroom is like our bottom floor. And his favorite
thing to do in the playroom is to crawl to the
stairs. Gotcha. So our playroom is like all carpeted.
And so we hang out there a lot just because it's
like it's really chilly right now. And so the
carpet is the warmest for their little hands
and feet to be on. And so Colt loves to play
in the playroom. We go down there. I'll like
set crews in the playroom with some toys to play
with. And he literally just turns and just right
to the stairs. And I think that it's partially
my fault because I'll like, I'll be like, I'm
going to get you. And then he thinks it's a game.
Of course. And so then he crawls faster over
the stairs and starts just climbing. And he's
like pretty fast now. Yeah. He doesn't know how
to go down the stairs yet. And we taught Colt
to like, Colt obviously walks down the stairs
now, but like we taught him to slide backwards
down the stairs. down the stairs and so we want
to teach Cruz that too but he's just I feel like
he's a little too little still he doesn't quite
get it yeah Zeta she can climb up the stairs
like nobody's business and then I keep like trying
to like do it for her I get like have her on
the stairs and like kind of like move her body
so she understands how to go down because that
will be one thing that's significantly less stressful
is when I know she can go down the stairs yes
but Anytime we try to, she either climbs right
back up the stairs or she just like turns and
puts her arms up and is like, carry me. Yeah.
So yeah, we're definitely down the stairs. It's
tough. It's tough to teach him. But yeah, Cruz
will like climb up half the stairs and then he'll
just like turn and sit. Similar to what you're
talking about with the helper stand. And sometimes
he'll lean. I mean, I always try to be right
there. But I'm like, he thinks it's funny. Because
I'll look at him and I'll be like, no, Cruz.
And he just smiles or smirks at me and laughs
at me. And I'm like, it's not funny. The stairs
are dangerous. And so I'm like, how do I have
a tone of voice? So I know with Lloyd, one of
the things that I finally had to start doing
is like, letting him fall so like obviously i
would be there and i'd catch him i wouldn't just
like let him tumble down the stairs but like
when he because he would do that like teetering
on the edge thing a lot so i finally started
like letting him fall just enough and like and
get his belly to drop or like right to kind of
understand like this is the consequences and
then catch him before like any damage could be
done so I don't know if like maybe someday in
therapy he'll be like, this is what happened
to me when I was a child. My mom let me fall
down the stairs. I mean, I don't think. Yeah.
But I mean, again, it is just like this. I mean,
you got your guys staircases are long. They're
long. Yeah. We don't have falling down the stairs
here. We have 14 stairs on each set of staircases.
Yeah. So it's like six or seven or something.
So he has fallen down the stairs once. All like
14. All the stairs. And that was. Oh, buddy.
I cried. way longer than he did yeah but he did
like barrel roll and i think honestly did you
just like watch it happen i like kept trying
to catch him and he was just rolling faster so
fast than you could run this story this is like
a total random side tangent now this happened
so stewart has never gone out of town during
our marriage except for one time he went to his
best friend's bachelor party in maine so he flew
five hours to boston four or five hours and then
they drove another four hours and that happened
to the weekend classic yeah that was like he
i mean lloyd obviously was fine but it was like
if something were to happen The soonest possible
Stuart could be home is eight hours. Oh, yeah.
And that's like if a flight is immediately when
he arrives at the airport. That's assuming everything
is like perfectly timed. So like he's probably,
if something were to happen, it's probably like
realistically 12 to 24 hours before he's getting
home. And I was like eight or 10 weeks pregnant
with Zeta. So I think I cried for 20 minutes
after Lloyd fell down the stairs. Oh, yeah. But
all that to say, yes. Like that could have easily
been like broken arm. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And
he turned out okay. The first few times Colt
fell down the stairs, because Colt's fallen down
the stairs probably four or five times now, but
ours are a lot. Right. Yeah. I think it was like
the first three times. It always happened on
my watch. And so Michael would give me the hardest
time. And like in a joking, lovingly way. But
then you're also like, do you know how guilty
I feel right now? Yeah. I don't need anything
else. Yes. Then the first time it happened under
Michael's watch, you know, like, oh my gosh,
I gave them the hardest time because I was like,
see, it can happen to everybody. It's not just
me. And it's not like I'm not watching. It's
that our child is two years old and he's clumsy.
Yeah. And it's always like a split second thing.
Oh, yeah. Because with that, when Lloyd did fall
down the stairs, I knew the baby gate was open.
So it wasn't like. i you know forgot or anything
like that we were about to go down the stairs
and he knew how to crawl down the stairs at that
point in time so i was just like right behind
him to crawl down the stairs and it was just
like one little misstep oh and he started rolling
and can't catch him can't catch him he can't
catch himself and that was it and so yeah he
didn't get hurt he was fine um i mean he was
obviously really scared and i was really scared
but the crawling up and down the stairs is so
stressful. Yeah. I'm like, I wish we just had
a, just no stairs. Yeah. For reals. Okay. My
next one. So my next one is we have one of those
like Montessori climbing arches. And then this
year for Christmas, Stuart made a slide to go
on it. So it's pretty short. It's like. maybe
three feet long great and zeta knows how to climb
up the slide cute so the other day i just i turned
around i'm in the kitchen she the slide is like
maybe 15 feet away from me something like that
and i turn around and she's just she has climbed
to the top of the slide and then she just like
let go oh slid down right as i turned around
you're like nice yeah i'm like i'm glad that
you know how to do that yourself that's cute
but it was just such a like like sitcom -esque
like timing where i had no idea she was even
like even like near the slide nevertheless climbing
it up and yeah so just like turn around she like
is holding on to the very top looks at me and
then just like let's go and slides down did she
love it she loves it yeah that's so cute yeah
at this point like if she's sitting on her butt
we like still kind of hold her because it's pretty
slick and it can't i mean she can like yeah um
but if she's on her belly we just like Let her
go and she has a great time. She also knows how
to climb the arch, but not to the point to get
down the slide yet. Oh, okay. So, you know, we'll
get there soon, I'm sure. Yeah. Oh, my gosh.
That's so cute. It is so cute. I love it. I wish
I had a video of that one. Yes. Oh, I bet. Okay.
My last one that I have. So, yesterday we went
to Chick -fil -A. I was telling you this, I think,
off mic. And it's very cold here in Colorado
right now. Yes. So, the activity is going to
Chick -fil -A. going to play on the play place
so we went after nap time for a late lunch and
uh yeah went to chick -fil -a had lunch there
and then let colt play in the play place and
there was like a few other kids there and he
was the youngest like littlest kid on the play
place and he is a great time so he's like running
around screaming playing with all these kids
like not afraid to like just insert himself into
whatever they're playing and there was this other
little girl Probably like three years old is
my guess. Definitely a little bit bigger and
a little bit older than Colt. And she, so I went
into the play place too with Cruz and let Cruz
like, he was just kind of crawling around trying
to climb up on the slide. And she comes over
and she goes up to Cruz's face and goes, Oh,
what a cute baby. And then kisses him on the
cheek. And I said, Oh, we don't kiss other, other
babies on the face. And she's like, Oh, okay.
And then like a few minutes later, I'm like on
the ground with Cruz and she comes over again
and she goes, oh, you're such a cute baby and
tries to kiss him on the lips. And I like block
her and literally, yeah, she like kisses, ends
up kissing my hand. And I said, oh, just a reminder,
we don't kiss other babies on the face. You could
kiss, I think she had like a little brother,
like little baby brother. I was like, you can
kiss your baby, but you can't kiss other babies.
And I'm like. I don't know. I don't know what
I'm saying here. But, like, I also don't want
you to necessarily kiss my son on the face. And
so we are, like, driving home later. And I'm
like, oh, Cole, did you have fun with that little
girl at the play place? And he goes, yeah, she
kissed me. And I said, oh, she kissed you? And
he said, yeah. And I said, where? And he goes,
on my mouth. So Cole has had his first kiss.
Yeah. Yes. In the play place. And so I was like,
oh, buddy, we don't let other people kiss us
on the mouth other than mommy, daddy, and Cruz.
And he goes, oh, okay. And I said, how many times
did she kiss you? He goes, five. Does he actually
know how to count? He does know how to count.
Five is like his number. He chooses for everything
right now. It's either two or five. And sometimes
he goes not two, but five. That's like his, yeah.
And I said, oh, she kissed you five times? He
said, yes, five times. And I said. Oh, buddy.
I was like, did you kiss her back? And he said,
no. I'm like, oh, so she just kissed him like
a bunch of times on the play place. Because you
can't see up in the play place necessarily. And
they for sure were like hanging up there, talking,
like playing. And like, what are you going to
think? You're like there too. Yeah. And in my
head, I was like, oh, she's like a lovey -dovey
child, which is so cute. Yeah. But also in my
head, I'm like, oh, I bet she's going to kiss
my son up there. Yeah. You didn't think you were
going to have to start worrying about this. No.
This soon. So my two year old has had his first
kiss and there it is. Yeah. We thought it was
hilarious. Yeah. But also I'm like, if he's sick
in two business days, I know where to relate
it to. Yeah. Part of it, like, I mean, I guess
this is judgmental. I was going to say no judgment,
but it's a little judgmental. Part of it is I
just don't understand, like as a parent, like
how my kid would get there. Yeah. Like, thinking
that, like, kissing strangers is okay. Yeah.
Again, I don't know. I don't have a three -year
-old girl yet, so. No. You know, maybe. Maybe
it's not. Maybe it's just ingrained in her. Because
she was totally that kid that, like, right when
someone walked into the play area, she goes,
hi, my name is. What's your name? Yeah, and then,
like, Lloyd is really shy. So, and, like, he
would never do that because he's shy. So, I don't
know. Like, is that just, like, ingrained in
her? But then also these parents that she was
with. We're just not even paying attention at
all. Just like totally out in the eating area,
which is fine. Like she's old enough to be in
there. But like, yeah, later in the time we were
there, we like went out and ate ice cream. She
came over and tried to just like eat Colt's ice
cream right away. And I was like, oh, that's
his ice cream. Do you have your own? And she
said, yes, over there. And I was like, okay,
why don't you go eat your ice cream? Like, oh
gosh. One of the weird things about being a parent
is other people's kids. Yeah. Like, what are
the boundaries? You know, because there's...
I would feel different with like telling your
kids what to do versus a stranger. Right. So
it's like, I know generally how you parent. We
have a relationship. I have a relationship with
your kids. Yeah. I would feel okay being like,
Hey Lloyd, like that's, we don't do that. That's
cold size cream. Yeah. Yeah. Or like with my
nephews, it's the same thing where it's like,
you know, I know generally, I also know that
like you or my sister -in -law would correct
me if it was like, Hey, I don't want you to tell
my kid to. do x y or z yeah but when it's a stranger
like that's so hard because like i need to protect
my kid but like but how are you i don't know
what you're teaching your kid yeah yeah it's
yeah it's such a weird balance yep okay what
is your last one okay my last one is this week
actually starting last week i had a team meeting
scheduled for the worst possible time for me
so on a day that i don't have child care during
my normal lunch hour which is usually when i
feed the kids lunch and also leading up to nap
time so everyone is hungry getting tired and
cranky yeah so last week it was a disaster like
kids were and i'm expected to have my camera
on on top of all that i love that so and how
many people are on this call is it like a huge
group where it's not no it's there is nine of
us on the call okay so it would be obvious it's
noticeable when i didn't have your camera on
or if your kids are eating exactly so i like
got them settled turned my camera on was hoping
like okay they're just gonna eat their lunch
yeah i'll do this we'll figure everything else
out and it was a disaster like both kids cried
almost the whole time like thankfully i didn't
have to say a whole lot in this meeting but just
mute yourself yeah it was rough so then this
week i was like okay doing something different
we're not going to eat lunch during this meeting
uh i will have snacks at the ready to just hand
kids so that they can you know when they come
up to me and then is this like a new weekly time
for this so it is i have a new boss that started
in december yeah so he was trying to find a time
and so he scheduled a reoccurring meeting for
this time and so i finally i was like hey If
this is what works best for the rest of the team,
I can make it work. Is there a chance that we
could change it, though? Because this isn't ideal
for me. Partially because it would mean my lunch
hour is at 10 a .m. Oh, yeah. Based on the rest
of my schedule. And I'm like, that's not good.
And he was so kind. Again, he's been my boss
for like maybe six weeks right now. Yeah. But
he was so kind. He's like, yeah, I didn't know.
Hopefully this wasn't causing you too much stress.
Like almost cried. Yes, it was supposed to be
a reoccurring thing. Thankfully, we changed it.
So now it's during nap time. Oh, good. Okay.
As long as nap time goes well, we're golden.
I mean, and usually even if I can get like one
of the kids down. and no one's hungry yeah or
whatever um but so this week i was like okay
i'm gonna do something different and i put on
cars lloyd just was sucked in sat down nice the
sound bar wasn't our sound bar for our tv wasn't
working so he watched cars without sound but
he was still very he was still into it hey that's
not a bad idea i had like snacks and activities
like right next to my computer so as soon as
like Zeta crawled up to me or anything like that
I would just like hand it off but the like best
part of it was Lloyd is sitting like I'm sitting
at our kitchen table and I can see the couch
from where I'm sitting and so Lloyd's sitting
on the couch watching cars just like zoned in
and Mater comes on the screen for the first time
no he's watched this movie countless times I
don't even know how many times we watched this
movie at this point but mater comes on the screen
for the first time and he just lit up so he was
so excited and just like looked over at me mater
mater mater yeah i'm trying not to like be distracting
in my meeting but he was just so excited to see
mater on the screen for the first time and i
feel like there were just so many aspects of
like that situation that is like The epitome
of being a mom. Yeah. Oh, yeah. You're going
to watch a movie because I need you to be as
distracted as possible. Yeah. And it's your favorite
movie. So you're happy. You probably felt like
pretty awesome after being like, OK, we tackled
that. We did. Yes. And then in that meeting,
we actually was when like the team talked about
like, what's a better time for this? And I was
like, this is not a great time for me. Anytime
but right now. Pretty much. Yeah. And yeah, so
we rescheduled it. But I was like, OK, I'm glad
like that one better. than before and also like
i think we've talked about this before like we're
both pretty like this is our routine yeah so
i think like for me to have the like okay this
is our routine but it doesn't work right now
so we just have to like try something different
like so instead of lunch literally they just
both had snacks yeah all morning until nap time
and and it was that's what we did and you made
it where everyone napped that afternoon we're
fine so yeah Yeah. So tough. It is so tough when
you're navigating all those things at the same
time. It's that decision fatigue again. Yeah.
Okay, great. Well, that's kind of all we had
for this episode, but we could share our wins
of the week. Yeah. Great. I can go first. Yeah,
go for it. So we've been doing a potty chart
with Cole. We haven't fully potty trained. I
feel like we're really kind of at a crossroads.
We're like, we've got to just decide. Yeah, we
just need to set a date and be like, okay, the
second weekend in February, we're going to just
go for it. But we've been doing a potty chart
with him, and it has like 25 little stickers
that he needs to fill up. And every time he fills
up his potty chart, we get to go for ice cream.
And so he filled up his potty chart again. That's
when we went to Chick -fil -A yesterday and went
and got ice cream. And I think this is like his
maybe his second time having like an ice cream
cone. Okay. And so like on the cake cone, usually
we'll just get him like a bowl. And yeah, this
was his third time filling up his potty chart.
And, like, second time having a cake cone. And
he, like, was super confused by it. And he, like,
kept asking me if he could eat the cone. And
I was like, oh, yeah, buddy, you can eat that.
I mean, to be fair, this is probably one of the
first times he's experienced food that's, like,
being served food that you can eat the serving
utensil. Yeah, what it's in. Yeah. Yeah, what
you're holding. And so he, like, eats all the
ice cream. out of the top of it and then goes
for the cone. And this is also like more sugar
than I give my child. Yeah. In a, in a helping
for sure. And he like takes a bite of the cone
and he's like, so just confused by it and is
like chewing it. Like, am I supposed to be eating
this? Those cake cones are like kind of a weird
consistency. Yeah. Like kind of like. they don't
have a ton of flavor. It's a little bit like
eating cardboard. I mean, I like them, but it's
a little bit like eating cardboard. Yeah, but
he loved it and it just was super fun. And that
little girl from the playground tried to eat
his ice cream, like all these things. But we
ended up like bringing the cake cone home because
he didn't finish it. And it like at this point
is super soggy and nasty, but he continued to
eat it. He doesn't care. Yeah, he doesn't care.
And it just was, he just was thriving and it
was so fun. Um, yeah, I feel like we're definitely
at a crossroads though of like, we've got to,
I think just go for it and I'm scared cause I'm
like, I don't want to clean up all the accidents.
I don't like, that's the part that I'm like,
I'd much rather just. clean a poopy diaper then
poop off my floor you know we definitely had
like blankets and towels on furniture when we
potty trained and like for a couple weeks after
really yeah just i mean just as like a yeah just
as a precaution like i would much rather grab
a blanket and throw it in the wash than have
to i mean our couch a little bit less so because
it's leather so it's pretty easy to clean but
then anything with upholstery we kind of like
put you know either a blanket or a towel because
again it's much easier to just like grab a blanket
throw that in the wash that's it clean upholstery
yeah so that's fair that's also but that is so
sweet and i feel like like with the ice cream
thing i don't know if you get caught up in this
of like i don't want my kids to have too much
sugar and all the things to the point where like
oh but we need to have fun fun memories we can't
just not like sometimes the sugar crash is worth
yeah just like The memory of having fun and having
an ice cream cone with my kid. Yeah. Exactly.
I know I have to remind myself of that. Oh, all
the time. I know. All the time. Yeah. I don't
want them to be necessarily that kid in school
that's like, my mom has never let me have ice
cream before because she's been so stuck in her
routine. And yeah. So I am totally that way.
Yeah. Yeah. That's really easy. Yeah. Okay. What's
your win of the week? Okay. Mine is. I've tried
coloring with Lloyd before and just like, obviously
not like I expect him to like color perfectly,
but giving him crayons. And for a long time he
would just eat them. So we stopped that. But
then he's been playing with crayons at my parents'
house. So I was like, oh, okay. Like. this will
be a good thing for when I'm working because
he can sit next to me and it feels a little bit
more like we're doing something together. So
the other day I was like, I think Zeta was even
napping. I was like, buddy, do you want to sit
next to mom and play with crayons? He's like,
play with crayons. I was like, okay, great. So,
you know, like the funny thing is the only coloring
book I actually have is like an adult one, not
like inappropriate, but like very intricate.
It's like the Psalms or something like that.
But I was like, you know what? He doesn't care.
He just wants paper to draw on. I don't care.
I'm not actually going to use this. So I gave
him that and put the crayons in honestly an old
soup container. Not a can, but the plastic ones
that have a lid. So I put the crayons in that
and I had left the lid on the kitchen counter.
And at one point he just decided he was done
and he put all the crayons in the container and
closed the book. And then looked around and went
over to the kitchen and grabbed the lid and then
went and put it on. the grand container. I was
like, zero prompting. I don't know where this
comes from. Amazing. Like, I'm glad that this
is something that you've done and that hopefully
is a habit. I don't know. Seriously, you're like,
you're cleaning up after yourself? Yeah. Okay.
How do we make this? I don't clean up after myself.
So how do we get this ingrained in you? Because
I want you to be better than I am. Yeah, right.
But it was just so cute because again, completely
unprompted. Amazing. so cute so sweet how long
was he do you think he was actually focused on
coloring um maybe like five minutes that's awesome
yeah it wasn't long um but then he did play with
the container with his cars for a while so then
asked me to take the lid off he dumped the crayons
out and then you know would put the cars in the
container and put it on and so cute that was
probably another 10 minutes love it but i did
order a bunch of coloring books that are like
for kids for him so we have like a cars one and
we have a john deere one yes and you know a couple
like that that i think You know, maybe it'll
hold his attention a little bit longer because,
you know, it's something he's interested in anyways.
Yeah. And maybe I'm totally fooling myself. I
love it. It'll still just be five minutes. Yeah,
we have one coloring book. It's like farm stuff.
And as you're talking about it, I realized I
left it outside. So it's in the snow. So you
no longer have a coloring book. Yeah, I'll probably
need to order some more too. Yeah, I just. Because
that happened yesterday or two days ago. And
since this weekend, we're having like a major
cold snap. I was like, oh, maybe that'll be a
fun thing we do this weekend. Our big thing right
now is kinetic sand. Has he ever played with
kinetic sand? Yeah. That's the thing that Colt
will sit down for like 20, 30 minutes and play
with kinetic sand. Maybe that'll be something.
And he has like little, yeah, he'll use his cars
and like. My mom's really excited for this summer
because she has, for the amount of property they
have, she has a. good -sized vegetable garden.
Oh, cool. And they have, they got Lloyd, like,
construction vehicles, so she's like, there'll
be a section in the garden just for you to, like...
Scoop dirt into your dump truck. Oh, that's so
cute. That'll be so fun for him. So fun. Let's
just get through this stupid cold winter. Yes.
Gosh. Okay. Well, hopefully you guys enjoyed
today's episode. Maybe you can reflect on some
little mom moments for. Yeah. We'll try to remember
to post stories or something and you can share
your mom moments too. Yep. But follow us on Instagram
at nomanualpodcast and we will see you next week.
See you next week. Well, that's enough oversharing
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