Ending on a high note

There is a great visual to accompany this post, but unfortunately, when you are playing solo mom to two kids under 2, it's hard to take great snaps. Here's the visual: my dinner plate consisting of grilled salmon, grilled asparagus, mashed potatoes and a tomato caper sauce. This is the kind of dinner that Jeff whips up for us all the time, but Jeff's out of town, which usually means mama eats spagetti sauce and 3 bowls of cereal with ice cream. Not tonight. For one night only I was THAT MOM. You know, the one who runs around all day with her children and casually stops at whole foods to pick up a nice piece of fish to grill while feeding her children delicious, organic snacks. Her. Me. Although, to be honest, I was really more focused on my dinner than the kids. Simon got his standard Left Boob/Right Boob combo and Sadie got canned kidney beans, mango, cheddar puffs, and tomatoes, all of which she stuffed into a bottle of saline solution for my contacts. (And, that's why MY DINNER was more important.) Because we had a rough start to the morning, made more difficult because I inexplicably insisted on pumping while both Sadie and Simon were up. I am not saying my children are high needs, but every now and then Simon needs help holding up his head and Sadie had pooped and I haven't taught her to change her diaper. Yet. I was fried. I ended up yelling at everyone, mostly myself. The morning segment did not go well because I didn't take care of myself and I tried to do too much. Tonight, we took a different approach. I got Simon down for a nap around 7 p.m. and put Sadie and her beans and her empty bottle in her high chair. Then, I got to sauteeing and grilling and chilling. While we waited for this all to come together, I showed Sadie how to dance with her shoulders. We are listening to Michael Jackson's "Bad," which is a good song for some shoulder action. So much of motherhood is so damn controversial and political these days-- it makes me sick what we are doing to ourselves as mothers. I don't care what you do with your breastmilk or your formula or your 9-5 hours. The only thing I think every house should have is music. Screw breast feeding and the family bed. The question is do you have Sly and Family Stone? Will your child know how to groove when he/she gets to Wiggle Worms? Music makes me feel like I am having fun, even if I am not. So, the moral of the day is the following: take care of yourself and every now and then choose salmon over chex mix and chocolate ice cream. And set your life to music and move your shoulders to the beat.