Just Like Perky

It's not secret that I haven't been the nicest mom lately. Or the nicest person for that matter. I hurt, I ache, I throb in places, I can't sleep, I'm a hormonal mess, and I have three kids and a husband to boot. I am doing a lot of apologizing to them much of the time, which usually follows some undeserved outburst from me.

The kids (and I) are huge fans of the Marc Brown "Arthur" series. I have loved these books for as long as I can remember and we own almost all of them. Yesterday we were reading "Arthur's Pet Business". In the book, Arthur desperately wants a dog but he first has to prove to his parents that he's responsible with animals. So he starts his own pet business to prove this to them.

One of his clients happens to be a little dog who is not so nice. Her name is Perky and she's like the dog from Hell as she stays at Arthur's house. They figure she is just mean natured, until they discover one day that she has given birth to puppies under the bed. After that she is a sweet dog and very lovable.

As we were talking about the book yesterday, Ethan made a stunning comparison. He said "Mom, do all moms get mad and cranky before they have babies?" My jaw about hit the ground. How observant of him! I couldn't help but laugh because I knew exactly what he was talking about. "Yes Ethan, a lot of mommies DO get cranky before they have a baby."

I then explained a little about why mommies hurt so much when the baby gets too big, and how everything irritates them, and how they can't sleep, and how their tummies hurt, and how eating food hurts too. Like I said before, it is no secret that I haven't been nice lately. Too bad my kids see it so clearly! Hopefully I will be a much happier mommy soon. Thanks Ethan, for bringing that into the light for me!