Thursday, September 30, 2010

Who Are You and What Have You Done With My Son?

I've heard of the "terrible two's." but what is happening in this apartment is beyond that. I'm sure many parents have the same thought about their 2 year olds. Maybe it's just my low frustration tolerance, but Ari is making me want to scream and literally pull my hair out of my head one strand at a time.


I heard somewhere that nature/biology makes children intentionally cute so you don't kill them. It makes so much sense. Ari behaves like a maniac. He screams because I won't let him watch TV, eat off of the floor, pour juice on the cat's head and other fun activities that benefit him, not me. And just as I'm on the verge of loosing it, he flashes the biggest cutest smile. How's that for an extremely frustrating situation?

Needless to say, I'm loosing my mind. I feel like I'm living with an irrational mental patient. But in reality, he's just a 2 year old. His mood swings are so pronounced and erratic. I thought I was a moody person, well clearly he's trumped me in this department.

By the end of the day, I can't wait until he goes to sleep so I can have a break from the screaming and the crying. I feel so guilty. I want to enjoy spending time with him, but it's hard when he's screaming half the time and crying the other half.

Oh the joys of motherhood? When does this phase end? At three? Help!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Wordless Wednesday

Farmer Fader

Howdy Y'all! It's 5:05am, and I'm wide awake. I've renamed myself. My old moniker, Sarah Fader, just doesn't describe me anymore. I am now officially a farmer, "Farmer Fader." I have adopted this new identity, because that it appears I can no longer sleep past 5:30am. I'm wide awake at this extremely odd hour and it upsets me.

It's not like I have crops to tend to or animals to feed (other than my voracious felines who eat processed brown pellets) or any productive activity to engage in at this time. So why am I awake? It's just unfair. I initially blamed this spontaneous early morning wake-up situation on the fact that I had to pee. But, one would think, that I could pee and then go right back to sleep.

No. Not happening. I'm up for the day now, and don't know what to do with myself. I have a strong feeling that these odd hour wake-up times are occurring because of the ever growing and changing baby in my uterus. Apparently, she wants me to get out of bed and do something. Who knows? Maybe this will be her personality? Perhaps she will be an early riser, a get up and go person.

I'm glad my early morning wake-ups haven't been joined by Ari. He is still sound asleep. I'm crossing my fingers that he stays asleep.

Since, no matter what I do, I still wake-up insanely early, I've decided to take matters into my own hands. If I'm going to wake-up at 5:00am anyway, I might as well get some things accomplished. I've already made my coffee, and it's waiting for me, there is a hard boiled egg boiling that will eventually transform into egg salad, spread itself on a whole wheat bagel and finally become my lunch to take to work, and soon I'll take a shower and get ready to leave the house!

Look, I have to make the best of this situation. After all, I have to tend to my apartment farm.

Is there anyone else out there who can't sleep in anymore? Should we trade crops?

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

A Visit to The Staten Island Museum

It was raining this morning when I woke up, but (despite the rain) I felt an intense need to get out of the house. I turned to my friend, the internet, to find free and/or low cost activities to do with Ari today. I found the Staten Island Museum. It stated that admission was $3 and FREE on Tuesdays after Noon. So Ari and I threw our belongings together, got in the car and off we went to Staten Island!


We arrived on Staten Island and made it to the museum!

Unfortunately, there was no place to park. So we drove around for a bit. I had an unfortunate incident with my coffee this morning, I ran out of milk and made the mistake of trying to add buttermilk to my daily dose of caffeine. Needless to say, I remained un-caffeinated for the duration of the morning. I was feeling it, at this point, and then...I saw it.

But, there was still no place to park. So I did what any other savvy New Yorker would do. I parked illegally.


Okay, I know, I shouldn't have done it. But I desperately needed coffee and Ari was starving and requesting a muffin, which he got and promptly rejected.

Ari insisted on driving back to the museum, himself.

Fortunately for all of us involved, the key was not in the ignition. Finding parking was so tough, I had to call in reinforcements. Donna, my fabulous friend and native Staten Islander, advised me that I could find parking near Curtis High School. She was right! I parked and (after asking three high school boys for directions) we walked a short distance to the museum. I noticed that the Staten Island Museum had a lovely courtyard.


We entered the museum and we were ready to explore.


In case you're interested in visiting, here is the admission information:


Upon entering, I met Seth Wollney, Public Programs Associate. He was so friendly, and happy to give me some historical background information on The Staten Island Museum. Seth told me and Ari that The Staten Island Museum was classified as a "General Interest Museum." The museum's themes are Art History and Science. All of the Staten Island Museum's artifacts are local and relevant to Staten Island. The museum offers programs for children ages eight and up.

When you enter the museum, there is a huge butterfly display. Ari was immediately transfixed by it.

What I was immediately struck by, was how kind and child-friendly the staff at The Staten Island Museum was. Kristin Leyko, a museum employee, took time out of her busy day to give us an tour of the museum. She was really great with Ari too.

The Security Guard was lovely too. She showed Ari some cicada bugs.


Kristin took us all around the museum and along the way, told us about the museum's history. The Staten Island Museum began as "The Staten Island Institute For Arts and Sciences." It was founded in 1918. The founders were William T. Davis and John J. Crooke.


Both were scientists, but Davis was a Natural Scientist, primarilly concerned with birds and other animals.

Crooke focused on plants and minerals. He was an engineer, and interested in the process of invention.

Ari loved exploring the museum, and pointing out various natural artifacts.

Although Ari is pictured climbing stairs here, please note, there is an elevator!
Ari had a wonderful time at The Staten Island Museum. In fact, he had so much fun, that on the way home this happened:

For more information on the Staten Island Museum, click here.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Crying in Front of Your Kids

I am now five months pregnant with my second baby, a girl, and I am hormonal as ever. I can cry at the drop of a hat. I wasn't like this when I was pregnant with Ari. During my first pregnancy, I was more aggressive than anything else. I was blunt, confident and nobody would dare mess with me. I was a pregnant superhero.

This pregnancy, I feel more like a damsel in distress. I'm an emotional roller coaster. Unfortunately, poor Ari has to see my go through these crying fits. I don't know exactly what to do when I am "touched" with emotion. When Ari sees me cry he says:

"Don't cry mommy! You don't cry."

But the truth is, I do cry. And I cry a lot at this point in time. I mean, I'm normally a sensitive person, but this is overwhelming. Tiny little things make me cry. Things that (probably) wouldn't bother me if there weren't a fetus, and raging hormones around.

So, I have a question for all you mommies out there, pregnant or not. What do you do when you feel the need to cry in front of your kids?

Friday, September 24, 2010

Ari's TGIF

Ari and I were sitting on the couch at my parent's house, when it occurred to me that I was very tired. It's been a long week, and my first one back at work. Today (of all days) I woke up at 5am and could not go back to sleep. I turned to Ari (as he was watching Blue's Clues) and said:

"I'm tired."
"You're not tired," he replied "You're sleepy!"
"Okay." I acquiesced "Are you sleepy?"
"Yes." He agreed.
"Do you want to go upstairs?" I asked yawning audibly.
"No." He said definitively. "I don't want to go upstairs! I want to sleep on this couch."

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Being Liked At Work

I've had the luxury of staying home entirely with Ari over the summer. Despite my pregnant mood swings and his throwing my carefully prepared meals all over the floor (amazingly) we still love each other.

Unfortunately, when I returned to the land of substitute teaching, I realized that I had to make an effort to be liked at work.

It's sad, really, but I care about what my co-workers think about me. I get along with most people at school, but there is one person in particular who (no matter how nice I am to this individual) the person in question is still openly rude, condescending, and blatantly disrespectful to me.

Now, you may be thinking:

"Stop taking it so personally! Who cares if this person likes you? You're not there to be liked! Get a grip! This is a job! You're not there to make friends!"

Or something along those lines.

Well, guess what? I do care. Yes, I care what this person thinks about me because they have made it known (by their behavior) that they don't like me. It's uncomfortable, and I hate it.

I wish I didn't care. I wish I could be one of those people who, simply, went to work, kept my head down and did my job. But, I care what others think about me. That's just my nature. I want to be accepted, and it bothers me that this person doesn't accept me.

In the mean time, I will focus on the fact that I have an awesome kiddo at home who loves me, and a cool boyfriend who tries to get me not to care about people like the individual mentioned above.

Now I have a question for you: do you care about being liked at work? Thoughts?