I am enjoying the CRAP out of having a 2 1/2 year old right now. A lot of the time with kids, they have SO MANY NEEDS that you expend all your energy fulfilling them and don’t have any left over for fun stuff like playing trains or teaching them to fist-bump-then-blow-it-up or reading The Napping House fifty bazillion times a day. I’ve felt like that a lot over the past year – which is probably the opposite of shocking, seeing as how that’s when I doubled my need-o-meter by adding ANOTHER tiny helpless human to the mix. I’m not saying I haven’t enjoyed anything up until this point, but lately I’ve found myself doing a lot more fun kid stuff instead of parenting stuff. I almost say that I’d be OK with Evan dropping his nap if he wanted (it would free up our schedule SO MUCH!) but I’m not quite there yet. Sometimes I still need a minute to shower, you know?

DID YOU HEAR THAT UNIVERSE? I said DON’T drop the nap yet. DON’T.

I don’t think being exactly 2 years and 8 months old is the deciding factor in enjoying my kid more. I think it mostly has to do with this stage of understanding and development and communication and self-control. I haven’t had to drag him kicking and screaming and crying out of anywhere for almost a month. He understands consequences BEFORE they happen, so I can threaten time out or no games or being sold to a circus without actually having to do it. He has ALL THE WORDS and can tell me what hurts or why he’s sad or what he needs without screaming at me. He can be reasoned with. And since we’re using our words when we’re angry, we’re also using our words when we’re sitting on the couch or riding in the car or watching TV or making dinner. He asks “whachu doin’, Mommy?” Yesterday I told him I was making a pinata for Caroline’s party. He looked it up and down, and then said “AWESOME Mommy! High five!”

How can you NOT love that kid?

Scene: Pouring rain. In the van on the entrance ramp to the highway. Two kids in their car seats. You’re  just barely on time for Stroller Strides because you had to pack four zillion snacks, sippy cups, toys, water bottles, crayons and blankets.

Suddenly, you hear a voice from the back seat.

“Mommy, poop potty! Big poop Mommy!”

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Option A: Turn around and go home. You’ll have to drive down to the next exit, get back ON the highway, get back OFF the highway, drive back past the hospital during the busiest part of the morning, drag both kids out of the car into the house in the rain.

Cons: Getting wet, hauling kids, being late
Pros: You probably won’t have to scrape poop of the toddler

Option B: Stop at the gas station a few exits down the highway. The bathroom will be of questionable cleanliness and you’ll have to balance a baby on your hip while removing the toddlers shoes, pants and underwear because he refuses to sit on the potty unless entirely bottomless. Then you have to do it all in reverse to go back out in the rain and reload them into the car.

Cons: Getting wet, hauling kids, being late, catching horrible disease from disgusting public restroom
Pros: You probably won’t have to scrape poop off the toddler (but not guaranteed)

Option C: Ask him to hold it. Beg him to hold it. Shout “NO POOPING IN THE CAR!” Sing a made-up-song about how we only poop in the potty. Say “Did you poop? Did you poop? Did you poop?” every 12 seconds the whole way to the mall. UNFORTUNATE TWIST: You forgot to pack extra underpants (or any kind of pants).

Cons: Possible poop scraping, being so tired of the word poop your brain explodes
Pros: On time to class, no extra kid hauling, taking the risk gets your heart racing which practically counts as a bonus morning workout

So, yeah, I thought my life was supposed to get EASIER after potty training. Everyone is always complaining about diapers but let me tell you, THIS IS NOT BETTER. I spend at least two hours a day staring at my kid while he sits on the can, helping him with his pants, wiping his butt or bribing begging him to use the potty BEFORE we leave the house. My Weight Watchers activity tracker should have an option for “potty trained toddler” because if I’m going to be running back and forth to the restroom every single time we go out in public I want to be able to EAT those activity points. Or more accurately, drink those points. Mommy needs a hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps.

For the record, my choice in the earlier scenario was C because I happen to know my kid is a LYING LIARFACE and uses “Poop potty!” as an excuse to get out of the car/stroller when he’s bored. There was no poop scraping. He not only held it until we got to the mall, he told me he didn’t even have to go anymore. No accidents.

So to sum up: I am sick of the word poop and my toddler is incredibly manipulative.

Oh man, I am SO HAPPY to be home vegging on my couch and staring into a long, boring afternoon of regularity. No more traveling, no more driving, no more pack-n-play, no more guest bed, no more unbaby-proofed houses, no more stuffing my face with pie, no more long afternoons with no naps, no more rushing around to get thing unpacked and Christmas decorations up. I love spending time with our families but everything about traveling with kids is stressful. It’s hard to be “on” as a mother constantly – sometimes I just need to lock myself in a bathroom and scream, but in a house full of people there’s always someone knocking on the door to make sure you’re OK. I have trouble explaining yet, I’m fine, I’m just GOING TOTALLY CRAZY for a moment. It will pass.

Instead of letting Nick Jr do all my parenting today, I managed to get the kids out the door to Stroller Strides and the playground for a few hours. We’re having that week of insanely mild temperatures where all the New Englanders run around in shorts and tank tops and say “This is crazy! I can’t believe how warm it is!”. I think this happens every November – I definitely remember wearing flip-flops to my OB appointments at this time last year – but it still feels SPECIAL. I’m determined to take advantage of it as much as we can before I have to deal with winter coats and hats and mittens and blankets and running out to start the car at 7 am so it defrosts before we leave the house. And the snow. There’s going to be so much snow.

I’m already sad about Christmas being over, which is CRAZY because it is NOT AT ALL OVER. It’s not even December. Why am I letting myself get depressed about taking down decorations while I am putting them up? It just feels like the month is so full of things that I can’t possibly enjoy all of them enough. And I WANT to enjoy them, especially because Caroline’s birthday is coming up in 3 weeks and I’m trying to throw together a tiny party for her. Of course, by “tiny” I mean I’ve already started decorating, made a lace garland and I’ve bookmarked seven different kinds of cake to try making. I SWEAR it’s going to be low key though, if only because I won’t have time to clean up before we have to get back in the car and travel AGAIN for the holidays.

So excuse me while I go take a nap. Today I am thankful for easy, quiet, boring afternoons like this one.

He’s driving me ABSOLUTELY INSANE lately – truly, truly, maybe it’s time to talk to someone because of my rage insane – but when he tells me he’s “so tired mommy” and needs to cuddle and give me hugs? I am the luckiest person on the planet.

The first time I went to get a haircut after Evan was born, I mostly went for the shampoo and blow-dry. My hair hadn’t been both clean AND dry in five months and the thought of wasting precious napping time on something as frivolous as a shower was laughable. So I figured hey, three birds one stone! A haircut will TOTALLY make me look less exhausted and overwhelmed!

When the stylist took the elastic out of my hair and started brushing it out-“So! What are we going to do today?”-my scalp started flaking off. It looked like it was snowing on my shoulders. As if the huge dark circles under my eyes and the spit up on my pants wasn’t humiliating enough, now I had dandruff too.

All the hormonal changes from pregnancy and birth had changed my hair from oily but manageable to dry, itchy and flaking. Ugh, babies are the WORST.

A couple weeks ago, I got an email asking if I’d be interested in trying the new Eucalyptus Head & Shoulders Itchy Scalp Care collection of soothing products. I thought, “Ooooo, that sounds nice.” And then I scratched my head. And then I scratched it some more. (I bet now your head itches too. The power of suggestion, man.)

Look! My hair is clean and dry AND flake free!

By the time I got my bottles of shampoo and conditioner in the mail, I was desperately scratching like a monkey and praying their magic shampoo was as magical as advertised. Although I don’t have real dandruff, the kind caused by the fungus Malassezia globosa, I do have a susceptibility to skin irritation, especially now that the weather is cooler and dryer.

The Head & Shoulders shampoo was definitely soothing. I loved the scent, not at all medicinal or chemically, but clean and refreshing. I was also pleasantly surprised that the conditioner actually conditioned and detangled my crazy horse’s mane of hair. I used it all the way to my roots to make sure my scalp was extra soothed (I really like that word,) and it didn’t weight them down at all.

I am looking forward to a scratch-free winter. And hey, you didn’t think I’d keep all the free stuff for myself, did you? BlogHer has a $50 Visa gift card for one of my readers, just for answering this question and following the directions below:

How do you change your beauty routine in the colder winter season from the warmer seasons? Leave me a comment to be entered for a chance to win.

Rules:

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You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

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c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 11/21/11 – 12/22/11

Be sure to visit the Promotions & Prizes page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

Want more great tips for winter hair care? Check out the newest “Looking Your Best” post in the Life Well Lived section of BlogHer.com.