What Do Stay-at-Home Moms DO?

I saw this on Facebook, and thought it summed things up pretty well.  It is slightly truncated.  See the full article here (might also help with larger print).

(They're playing cards, in case you can't see)

So to all my SAHM friends... Rock on.  Carry on.  

...Canasta, anyone?  :P

Binky's Last Stand?

Daniel will be three in a month, and he still sleeps with a binky.  I know, I know...  

Weaning David off the binky actually ended up being pretty easy.  He had 5 of them, and when he started chewing holes in them I'd throw them away, telling him each time that when he chewed through all of them we wouldn't buy any more.  The last binky got chewed and tossed.  When he asked for it that night, we said nope, you chewed through them all; they're all gone.  And that was that.  He pretty much shrugged, rolled over, and went to sleep, never to mention them again.  He may not have even been two yet, but I really don't recall.

Daniel has not been so easy.  When the binky chewing started, I tried the same tactic.  Except I didn't have five to go through.  Two, maybe three.  I made him use that final binky until it was utterly ragged, but I could tell he just wasn't ready to give it up, and decided standing on principle wasn't worth him choking on a piece of chewed off binky in his sleep.  So I broke down and bought another set.  Figures that the kind of binky he likes is only sold in pairs.  We told him earnestly that when those were done, that was it.  No more binky.  And we reminded him of it after the first one bit the dust, and as the cracks have been getting bigger in THE FINAL binky.

Well, he did it today.  As I was putting him down for his nap, he chewed a hole in that thing, then took it out of his mouth and stuck his finger in the hole to investigate, making it even larger.  "Mom, it's broken," he told me.  I asked, "Do you want me to throw it away?"  Grunt in the affirmative.  "Okay, but this is the last binky.  There are no more after this.  Are you sure you want me to throw it away?"  Again yes.  And he laid there in his bed, binky-less, looking somewhat forlorn while I shut the door and went to do the deed.

I suppose I should be doing a victory dance.  I might be, if we weren't about to go on a trip.  Because although Daniel only has that binky for naps and bedtime at home, it becomes an extension of his tongue on trips, practically coming out only for meals, and even then sometimes those get sacrificed to binky time.

Meanwhile Daniel called to me from his bed and asked me to sit in the rocking chair.  I suppose that's seeking compensatory comfort in the binky's absence.  I sweetly declined, gave him a hug and kiss, and encouraged him to go to sleep, not wanting to start an expectation of me hanging out in his room for the duration of his nap.  Several minutes later, I could hear him playing with cars, and several minutes after that he was banging to get out of his room.  Now he's wailing pathetically.

Generally speaking he still naps willingly, and for a couple hours to boot; I'm NOT ready to give that up.  So I guess we'll see if I stick to the "buy no more" resolution this time.  Something tells me I might find myself in the "desperate for a binky" aisle at Target in a few days.  *sigh*