Beach blanket bingo

It’s been quiet here at The Mommy Diaries because we’ve been on vacation. Actually, we are still technically on vacation, but right now at least we’re home. For the past couple of days we were at my sister’s house in Delaware, and a stone’s throw from Rehoboth beach. My sister invited us over for some fun in the sun and I’m so glad we made it.

We don’t get down there too often because it’s about a three hour car ride and any one who’s been reading this blog for a while knows that Sophia isn’t exactly a joy to travel with. For this trip, we brought in reinforcements. My brother came with us and helped keep Sophia busy. Apparently she and my little brother share the same taste in music because she spent most of the ride listening to his iPod with him. She told him that she loves Radiohead.

Yeah, we went to the beach, we swam in the pool and Sophia had a great time playing with her 2-year-old cousin, but the best part of the whole trip was hanging out with my brother and sister. It’s been a long time since the three of us just hung out and it was a lot of fun. The way you talk with friends is so different from the way you talk with family. I don’t know if it’s because you have so much history with each other or what, but it was great. There’s no real drama happening in any of our lives right now and we’re all pretty happy, so just sitting around and having a couple of drinks was the perfect way to spend some time away.










Update on Ryan: OK, so on Tuesday, right after we arrived in Delaware, the rash all over Ryan’s belly spread all over his body. The poor little guy looked awful. The roseola rash doesn’t look like chicken pox or hives; it’s more like giant red patches all over his skin. It was awful and we were getting worried about him. I know this might seem anti-productive, but we took him off the antibiotic for his ear infection for 24 hours. We did it because it’s penicillin-based and I’m allergic to it, so our thinking was that because the rash was getting worse maybe he was allergic to the medicine. Also, one of the side effects of the medicine is diarrhea, and he was indeed suffering the side effects. Frankly, I didn’t think he needed to deal with diarrhea at the same time.

Tuesday night, Ryan woke up screaming. He was, of all things, constipated. In the morning, the rash was practically gone. By the end of the day Wednesday, Ryan was 100% better. He was eating, laughing and playing, and far less clingy than he had been. This morning he woke up smiling for the first time in a week. We gave him a dose of the antibiotic this morning and we’re watching to see if the rash now comes back. Hopefully, it won’t.

I hate it when the kids get sick.

Simple pleasures

Today is just one of those days. I've written four posts (this is the fifth) that I'm just not happy enough with to push that publish button. There is a lot of things going on, but I just can't find the right words to express exactly how I'm feelings. So, this list is my copout. Many of these would be better as tweets, but if I did that I wouldn't have a post today.


Here goes

• My neighbor died last night. She was a lovely woman who was loved by many. She was the mother of five children and many grandchildren. She died with dignity a mere 40 minutes after saying goodbye to her grandchildren. She had been my neighbor for only two years. I wish I had the opportunity to know her better.


• Sunday is the big Ryan's Christening/Sophia's Birthday Bash. Most of our family has quite a distance to drive to get to our house, so we decided to combine the two events into one big party. Oddly, we are very prepared for this party and I can't really complain about it.


• My cousin is coming in from Texas for the big bash this weekend. I haven't seen her since Christmas and I'm really looking forward to her visit.


• Our 11-year-old dog threw up her dinner last night all over the carpet. It was gross. Thankfully it happened after the kids were in bed. She is getting very old and I'm wondering if this means she's getting sick.


• I have only two more working days left until my vacation starts. But they are Saturday night and Monday, which makes my vacation look that much more appealing. We aren't going anywhere, just staying at home for two weeks doing housework and maybe taking a few day trips. Of course, we'll probably be doing a lot of bike riding because the new date for my new bike to arrive is this Saturday.


• Today marks my 8 year anniversary working for this company. Banners, balloons, cake? Nope. Nothing. Jon says people don't stay at one company for that long any more. I'm still trying to figure out what that says about me.


• This weekend, I think, marks the end of the busy season for our family. From here on out our weekends are free, so if you have anything you'd like us to attend, we are available. I think.

• We've been dealing with some jealousy issues recently. Sophia and Ryan have been attached to my hip. Both want my undivided attention and if I'm giving it to one, the other freaks out.

But then there are times when the two of them are just as cute at can be. Of course, Sophia is playing Mommy, but seriously, could they be any cuter?

It's playtime ... finally

Over the last couple of weeks an amazing thing has been happening in the Hoffman house, my kids have begun playing together.

It only happens once in a while and only for brief amounts of time, but it does happen and I have never been happier. For some reason, Ryan finds Sophia hysterical, and it is absolutely adorable. She will get in his face and crack him up with some kind of nonsensical noise. It is so adorable that I want to cry when I watch them.

When Ryan starts laughing, Sophia takes that as a cue to keep going and they will just look at each other and make noises and laugh for up to 5 minutes. At that point, Ryan gets a little over stimulated and I need to step in and give him a little space. I know their play time will slowly increase as Ryan gets older.

There are many days I wish I had my kids a little more than 14 months apart. When I found out I was pregnant with Ryan, I cried. It was not expected and not immediately a joyous occasion. I was terrified of having them so close.

However, during my pregnancy, I met a lot of women who had children very close in age. It turned out to be more common than I first realized. Every single woman I met told me that at first it was going to be very hard, but as they got older it would get easier. And they were all right.

I am now thrilled that my children are close in age. My daughter simply loves her little brother. She has been anxiously waiting for him to react positively to her for four long months and now that it's happening, she is even more in love. You can see it in her eyes, and slowly that same excitement is brewing in Ryan's eyes.

It is wonderful to see them want to play with each other. I can't think of anything better.