Working mother? What mother ISN'T a working mother?

I made the mistake of reading some of the goofy stuff published on the internet by the talking heads. At first, I was bored but then I couldn't help but get irritated, and then offended by the implication that there is a difference between working mothers and stay at home mothers. Last I checked, all mothers had an incredible amount of work on their plate from daybreak until they fall asleep at the end of the night. And if I recall it correctly, a lot of us have stuff that carries over from one day to the next.

I can appreciate that mothers who hold jobs outside of the home have a set of challenges and frustrations that are different from those of us who are at home with our kids, even those of us who are working out of our homes have unique challenges that come with that territory. What made me angry was the implication that some how motherhood is fundamentally different between the three different parenting situations. If we're going to sit down and make comparisons, what about single mothers or, gods forbid, what about all of those FATHERS out there?

Parenthood is a hard, hard thing. There is no competition except for that falsely created one out there and I think that we should all reject it. Because I don't know a single mother who doesn't work hard and I don't know a single father who isn't working just as hard as the mothers out there. Parenthood is the hardest job you'll ever love, or hate depending upon the moment.

That's my ranting for now.

Making lists & planning.

So, I'm making my lists of what we need for the new baby. First off, it's alot easier because of how much we've still got around from when the boy was a newborn. (I think I'm just going to use my nickname for him, because I can't think of a good one to use on the interwebz. Those who know me are going to be amused by this.) Cuddle-bear (AKA the boy) is not going to be very happy when his new brother shows up and starts playing with some of his old toys.

I think, however, if I finish up sorting the toys geared for little babies and put them aside now, Cuddle-bear won't notice that they're missing and assume they're new when they come out of where I've put them away. We don't need an army of new toys but a toy box is becoming a daily necessity. I'm thinking that a pair of toy boxes and a set of shelves will work well for what we need. Then I'll just need to locate a few more canvas sided bins to drop toys into.

We're either going to need a new changing table or another convertible crib for the new baby. I've talked to hubby and he's inclined to agree with the idea of another convertible crib. We're going to be doing that minor bit of repair upon Cuddle-bear's crib and putting it together in the toddler-bed configuration in the near to immediate future. I'd like to have it done by the middle of this week. I think the chance that both boys are going to be sharing the same room is fairly high right now.

This means that we should have a similar styled convertible crib to what we've got for Cuddle-bear. We have a dresser for Cuddle-bear that holds pretty much everything of his right now. The dresser has a drawer that needs fixed but aside from that it's in good condition. It's pretty awesome for something that was second hand and a free find. I'm hoping to have a similar find for the new baby because the dresser attachment to the style of crib that we're thinking of is not that spacious.

Something else that I've been thinking about is how to approach the way toys are going to be put away in the living room and how the books for the children are going to be put away. Right now, we don't have anything even remotely resembling organization for the toys down stairs. I'm thinking that a toy-box is a need but I don't know how we'd fit it in here. I've several cardboard boxes that we've been using to hold Cuddle-bear's toy trucks and his blocks. I don't think they're going to last very much longer, however. I was using a wicker basket at one point to hold all of his toys and that... that didn't work out very well.

So, I need to determine a few different things for the future. First off is what we need for the bedroom/nursery. I think we are going to find that we need to differentiate between the diapering supplies for Cuddle-bear and his new brother. I don't want to have to use a label maker and stick labels on everything. I also think that we are going to need some way to keep the different bedding required for each crib separated. I'm inclined to locate wicker baskets that are the right size for the sheets, pads, and blankets for each crib.

If we get another one like Cuddle-bear's crib, I think that will be the best solution to organizing it all. And then we have the matter of everything for feeding. We're going to need a way to separate which bib goes with which boy. This is also going to get into things like baby food and such. I may need a label maker after all. *sigh* I do think that a laundry bag dedicated just to bibs, burp cloths, and washcloths is a need. Thankfully, I have some fabric kicking around. I believe I'm going to make something that fits onto a hanger that I can just put up in the kitchen.

The more I think about that idea, the more I like it. If I look about, I may even be able to find some blue and white gingham to match what we have in the kitchen decor. I have a few other things that I'm debating if I should make. I've seen an interesting pattern for a crochet diaper bag. Cuddle-bear's diaper bag is beginning to have the lining tear out of it. I think instead of crocheting another bag, however, I'll be replacing the lining.

I had something else I was going to talk about but I can't remember it. I suppose this means it's time to end this blog entry and go do dishes or something.