A change in character, or is it?

Last night at about 10:15 I found myself standing in front of the oven waiting for it to pre heat so I could bake cookies for Sophia's Valentine's Day party today. This might seem mundane to you, but as I stood there waiting for the oven to beep, it struck me as completely out of character for me.

I've always been the type of person who if I needed to bring a dessert or any kind of food to any function I'd stop at the grocery store on my way there and pick it up. I can probably count on one hand how many times I've used my oven to bake anything but chicken fingers and French fries, but here I was, on a Wednesday night at 10:15, baking cookies for Sophia to bring to daycare.

The oddest feeling was that I really wanted to do it for her. I wanted to make those cookies. Tuesday night I spent about 45 minutes filling out Valentine's Day cards and putting candy in little bags for Sophia to give to her friends for Valentine's Day. Lots of thought and love went into preparing for this silly party and I'm shocked at myself.

What is going on with me? When did I become slightly domestic… um, well, that might be an overstatement considering the three laundry baskets sitting on the kitchen floor filled with clean clothes that need to be folded and put away, but go along with me.

For a full year, I've been reading blogs by moms and dads talking about their children and how it's affected them. For the most part, I think many parents (me included) are simply crazy. Almost daily we find ourselves doing things completely out of character because of our children. But that's when it hit me that those things that were once out of character are now becoming part of our character. There was bound to be a time when I got the hang of this parenting thing enough that I'd have a little free time to do things I want to do, which more and more is becoming about things for my kids rather than with me, like baking cookies.

So, with all this weird character changing things going on in my life, I guess it's timely that my blog buddy DC Dad awarded me this:

This award shows the values that every blogger shows in his or her effort to transmit cultural, literal, ethical and personal values every day.

And, as with every award, here are the rules:
1) Accept the award and post it on your blog along with the name of the person who gave you the award.
2) Pass it on to (15) bloggers that you know who deserve it.

Like any good anarchist, I'm not passing this along to 15 bloggers, because, frankly, I don't know 15 bloggers I can send this to. So, if you read my blog and you have one yourself, give yourself this award. You deserve it because you've stuck with me even after I said I was done blogging.

At least there was no blood

Last week, Sophia and I had a scuffle. I didn't write about it for a number of reasons but after a conversation with Laural from Laural Out Loud (formerly Mamasphere), she convinced me to share the story.

After dinner last Wednesday, Sophia asked to watch Cinderella. We had dinner early, so I said OK and put in the movie. At 7 p.m., I brought Ryan upstairs for his bath and put him to bed while Sophia watched her movie. At 7:20 p.m., I walked down stairs to get Sophia and bring her upstairs for her bath. Cinderella was at the ball dancing with the prince and Sophia wanted to finish the movie. Thinking there wasn't that much movie left, I sat with her and we finished watching Cinderella together.

By the time the movie was over it was 7:45 p.m. It was way passed her bedtime and she was cranky. I did her no favors by letting her finish the movie.

The crying started as I tried to get her undressed. It escalated when I put her in the bathtub. It got worse when I washed her hair and by the end of her bath she was inconsolable. As I put her pajamas on, I decided we'd skip brushing her teeth and put her right to bed. The crying had turned into an ugly mixture of moaning, crying and whining.

"No, I don't want to go to bed," she screamed. "I want you!"

I placed her in bed, but as I was tucking her in, she jumped up and the back of her head hit my face. It took every ounce of will power I had not to freak out. Sophia started screaming even louder, so I took the opportunity to leave her room and shut the door behind me. I needed a couple of seconds to recompose myself and check to see if my teeth were bleeding.

No blood, but my lip was sore. Her screaming intensified while I took a couple of deep breathes and calmed myself. With every ounce of courage and resolve I could muster, I walked back into her room and got her to bed. As I sat next to her bed lulling her to sleep, I put my hand on my lip and actually felt it swelling.

Laural begged me to tell her I took a picture of my swollen lip, but I didn't. I thought about taking a picture of what it looks like today, but sadly (or not) there is little evidence left of the incident, except my bruised ego. There is little worse than getting into a fight with a 2-year-old and losing.

On a different note, Jody Donnelly nominated me for a Butterfly Award.

Thank you, Jody. Now, I'm supposed to nominate at least 7 other blogs, so here you go:

Autumn's Mom

DC Urban Dad

Laural Out Loud

Everybody Has A Story to Tell. This Is Ours

Sassy Irish Lassie

The McMommy Chronicles

Bicycle Coalition of Philadelphia - It's crazy, but I'm addicted to this blog.

The ABCs of me

Kat from Sassy Irish Lassie tagged me with this meme earlier this week and despite my initial enthusiasm at writing this, the events of the last few days have completely drained my ability to even think about this blog. Even now, as I'm writing this, I should be doing something else. I should be paying attention to my work, but seriously, I have an obligation here, so I'm going to do it. Here goes:

A. Attached or single? Attached.

B. Best friend? Besides my sister, I'd have to say that I couldn't possibly choose one superb friend over the other.

C. Cake or pie? Cake. Definitely, cake.

D. Day of choice? Saturday, because it's the only full day of the week my family has together.

E. Essential item? Lipstick.

F. Favorite color? Pink.

G. Gummy bears or worms? Gummy bears.

H. Hometown? Drexel Hill, PA. It's a suburb of Philadelphia.

I. Indulgence? Cadberry Cream Eggs. I am so addicted to them that I'll only allow myself to eat one a year and only on Easter.

J. January or July? July. I hate everything about the winter, so July wins.

K. Kids? I've got 2.5. Sophia, 2, Ryan, 11 months and my stepson, Jonathan, 14.

L. Life isn’t complete without? My family.

M. Marriage date? April 21, 2001.

N. Number of brothers & sisters? One sister and one brother.

O. Oranges or apples? I think I'd have to say oranges, but I like apples too.

P. Phobias? Heights. I get so afraid that my body actually freezes and I cannot move.

Q. Quotes? Live to fight another day. I'm not sure who originally said it, but it was my Mom who said it to me.

R. Reasons to smile? Every day, when I pick up my kids from daycare, Sophia jumps up and down and runs to the door to greet me with a big hug. Then we go to Ryan's classroom where Sophia runs to greet her little brother and they nearly knock each other with hugs.

S. Season of choice? Spring. I love the feeling of shaking off winter, when the days get longer and the sun gets warmer and it's too cool for shorts, but too warm for a coat.

T. Tag some peeps! Tag, you're it! Anyone who is reading this and wants to do it, go ahead. It is fun.

U. Unknown fact about me? I traveled to Israel and Poland on a study mission with the Anti-Defamation League the summer before my senior year in college. During the very educational and eye-opening trip, I went to a night club in Jerusalem and met an Israel solider. We talked for hours and shared drinks and cigarettes and ended our evening with a kiss that I'd like to say was passionate and beautiful, but I don't remembered the details because we shared a few too many drinks.

V. Vegetable? Hmmm, I like eggplant, but I don't really have a favorite.

W. Worst habits? Not changing the kitty litter.

X. X-ray or ultrasound? Well, if the question is which one have I had, I've had both. But, if the question is which on I prefer, I'd have to say ultrasound. The reason for an X-ray is never good.

Y. Your favorite food? My Mom's lasagna.

Z. Zodiac sign? Pisces and it describes me perfectly.

Now that you've been totally bored by my tendency to give out too much information, I have another announcement. DC Urban Dad awarded me a brilliant blogger award this week (there's a badge for this, but I can't seem to find the code for it). Yes, it's true, last week I was an ass-kicker and this week I am brilliant. I can't even believe it myself. Thanks DC, I really appreciate it!

I love it!

You know how sometimes you need a little boost? Well, this week, my friend Kat from Sassy Irish Lassie gave me that boost by giving me my very first award ... the Kick Ass Blogger Award. I love talking to Kat, she and I have the same love of wine and she is totally supportive of my MS150 training. So now, according to "the rules," I have to pass this award on to five other super bloggers.

Autumn's Mom from Autumn's Mom Saves the World is one of the most down to earth bloggers I've ever had the pleasure to meet. Plus, she's just back from her honeymoon and posted pictures from her wedding and she looks simply gorgeous!

Celtic Buffy from Serving Up Life ... One Latte At A Time has openly discussed her financial issues and her hopes and fears about them. She is honest and I love the fact that she is working so hard at getting her life in order. She deserves a toast.

I can't even begin to tell you how totally kick-ass McMommy from The McMommy Chronicles. Every Friday she hosts Post of the Week and this has single-handedly introduced me to so many other bloggers. Plus she has a way of writing that makes you feel like you are having a direct conversation with her. She almost always makes me laugh.

Speaking of laughing, Kelley from Magneto Bold Too! is one funny, hard-working woman. She is a mom with a wonderful sense of humor and a shoe collection I can only dream of having. If you click on her link, make sure you aren't drinking anything while reading because it will surely come out your nose.

DC Urban Dad simply loves his little girl and it's so refreshing to read a Dad with such an obsession with his brand new family.

So, here you go, my friends, take a couple of minutes and visit these totally awesome bloggers. And keep the award going.