Save the date

I love putting stuff in my calendar. I love scheduling, organizing, juggling, etc. When I was pregnant, I would put in every Monday what week I was on. After each appointment, I would write down the date of the next one. When I start a new planner each September, I go through and put in all birthdays and important dates. My husband has offered to buy a cool blackberry like his to receive emails, text message as well as calendar. But I refuse. There is something about writing it down that I love.

Today, I wrote down a very important date in my calendar. It marks the end of much frustration, stress, and spinning for control. I have been a working mom for 3 years now. I never had any idea that working with small children would be so hard. Actually, motherhood is hard, but working fulltime away from the home makes it all the more challenging. Today, I wrote the words "Last Day" on November 30th. I resigned on Friday 10/27. I have a little over a month left to finish up a couple of projects, train my replacement or a temp, basically get things in order. I am excited and terrified to see what life as a stay at home mom is like. But then I go back and read my journals from the last 3 years and can remember the struggles like it was yesterday and then I'm confident that staying home is the best thing for my family. Just as me working the last 3 years has been the best thing for the family. I'm so grateful to my husband for putting up with me as there were days that he could just look at me wrong and I would start crying. It's been a long way to get to this point, but the lessons I've learned are priceless and will no doubt help me as I encounter future struggles.

So, Save the Date! November 30th! I'm sure I'll call on my old friend Margarita to help me celebrate it. She's always comforted me in the past...who better to celebrate with?

Here's a picture of the 2 most precious babies that I'll get to stay home and love.

Guilty Pleasure

I have a guilty pleasure. Actually my husband and I share it together. Now, get your minds out of the gutter it is absolutely NOT sexual. It may be hard to believe this, but it's a television show. I've come to look forward to it, make sure the tivo is set to record in case something else comes up, don't want the phone to ring or the kids to wake up and interrupt. I wish I could say it was Desparate Housewives or a cool new show premiering for Fall 2006. But, alas, it isn't. My guilty pleasure is . . . . . .(drum roll please) . . . . ."The Girls Next Door" on E! featuring Hugh Hefner and his 3, count them 3 live in girlfriends. I know, I know, it really goes against everything I'm learning in my Beth Moore Bible study, in Sunday School and generally everything I've ever read in the bible. But, God help me, I can't walk away from it.

For those of you that know nothing about it, the show is 30 minutes long and centers around the 3 girls that Hef has chosen to spend his golden years with... Before I get to the girlfriends, let me just say that I'm worried about Hef. He tries to stay hip and happening and keep up with these young girls. But, he looks like a dirty old man coppin one last feel. There's Holly, the main girlfriend. And then Bridget and Kendra the back-up girlfriends. Now, I don't care too much for Kendra. She's annoying and immature and her laugh makes me want to slap her across the face. Holly is somewhat delusional and actually believes that Hef will marry again and at 80 will be capable of producing more offspring with her. But Bridget......Bridget is my favorite. Bridget is everyone's friend. She never says anything mean about anyone. She listens to people and what they have to say. She's very upbeat and positive about everything. From her cat's dental hygiene to her carefully planned and thought out striptease busting out of a cake for Hef's 80th b'day, she takes pride in everything she does. And in a very limited way, I would like to be more like her.

Since there are only like 2 people reading this blog, I'm not too concerned that my sanity will be questioned across the masses. If you haven't checked it out, stear clear. It will suck you in as it has done me. There's nothing like 3 girls in a mansion, with anything they desire at their fingertips, trying discover their meaning of life to make me appreciate my real world so much more.

80's Fashion Trends I "Will" Support

I, like so many others, will not succomb to this return to the 80's skinny pants/jeans extravaganza. I adore Audrey Hepburn and commend The Gap for yet another great commercial. However, I am not enough of a slave to fashion to spend my hard earned money on this madness. The title of the "skinny pants" or the "skinny jeans" leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Even when I was at my "fighting weight" I don't think I would have endorsed this trend. I like the idea of pants or jeans, that when I wear them, make me look skinny. So, all this being said, here are a few of the 80's fashion trends that I do and will don this fall.

1. Big, sparkly, cinchy purses. Love this look and am glad that big purses are back in style as I've always carried them. I like to refer to my purse as the MotherShip - a bottomless bag of bobby pins, hair clips, bandaids, exedrin, tylenol, advil, hand sanitizer, lotion, not to mention makeup, money and credit cards....

2. Big earrings. I've spent the last few weeks updating my accessories and am excited to debut my new hoops, loops and chandalier dangles.

3. Bangs.. I never can keep up if their in or out, but I've always had them since God blessed me with a rather large forehead. Either way, I've gotta have them. So I can do long and sweepy or short and straight. Every other year, I'm in style with them.

4. Knee boots. This is a trend from the 70's that I am just passionate about. I love that the weather is getting cooler for me to break out my tweed skirt and my knee boots.

So there it is. My 2006 Fall Fashion Must-Haves. I'm all for being funky, trendy, sassy (as Boomama calls it); So, if you see me walkin down the street in regular boot cut jeans an obvious fashion emergency, please don't call 911, just let me keep going.

Hats off to Single Parents

My husband has been out of town for work since Sunday morning, so I've been doing the single parent thing for 4 days now. I'm tired. It's always a gentle reminder when he goes out of town of all the little things he does to help out with the house, the kids, the pets, me, etc. Doing it on my own is always tough. I don't know how single moms and dads do it every single day and work at the same time. He's coming home tonight and I'm counting down. Not only am I praying for his safe return home. But I'm also praising God for such a wonderful, devoted husband and father. I'm also praying that God will remind me to show B. how much I appreciate the little things he does, and that while they have become a part of our routine, I am still grateful of every little or big thing he does. I thank God for such a positive, hard-working, patient, caring & easy going man. My children and I are so lucky to have him.

Top Ten Things I Don't Feel Guilty About as a Mom

This was inspired by a book I started last night. It's called "Motherhood: The Guilt That Keeps On Giving". So, in my effort to focus on the things I've done right, here's my Top Ten.

10. I don't feel guilty for not cooking every night.
9. I don't feel guilty for leaving the kids with a babysitter for some QT with their daddy.
8. I don't feel guilty for leaving the kids for some QT with myself.
7. I don't feel guilty for wanting the house to stay somewhat picked up and enlisting the children for help. (They need to learn to pick up after themselves)
6. I don't feel guilty for kissing and hugging my kids every chance I get.
5. I don't feel guilty for giving my kids vienna sausages and easy mac & cheese for dinner when I'm stressed and in a hurry.
4. I don't feel guilty about throwing away some of my children's artwork that's just a crayon scribble on a page. I can't keep everything.
3. I don't feel guilty for not scrapbooking.
2. I don't feel guilty for letting the kids watch Spongebob to occupy them for 20 minutes when I'm desperate for a shower.
1. I don't feel guilty for not wanting sex every single time my husband does.

So there it is. I must admit this was harder to come up with than I thought it would be. As I made the list, I kept coming up with things I do feel guilty about. There's something inborn in us women that make us want to please everyone. And when we can't we feel guilty about it. I have so many friends who are on so many committees at church and are spread so thin. Their roots grow wide, but not deep. It needs to be the other way around. We have to prioritize and say no every now and then.

Happy TGIF Eve Everyone!!!

Spinning

When I was little, my cousin and I used to play forever on those sit n' spins. You sit down and turn the steering wheel thingy and spin around and around. I feel like I have been spinning like that for about 5 days now. Saturday we had my youngest son's first birthday party....which he thoroughly enjoyed. Sunday we went to look at a house that was about to be on the market. We've been passively looking for a while now, as we need more room. We bought our house when I was pregnant with my oldest
So we've essentially run out of room. Back to the reason I'm spinning. Since Sunday, we've put a contract on it and are about to list ours. It's very exciting, but the thought of leaving our house, EVERYDAY, presentable to "show" is stressing me out. Then add to that the thought of packing EVERYTHING and moving with 2 kids 3 and under is why I've had a headache during the waking hours for the past 5 days.

Enough about me. I just started the Beth Moore Bible study on "Daniel", so I'm trying to not focus so much on me. As if this is my world and the rest of you just live in it. Anyway, I highly recommend this study. We're only on the 2nd week, but it's very powerful....a great ride.....much smoother than the sit n' spin.

Count your blessings

Our church has a ministry to help special children. The goal of the ministry is to assign a buddy to children who (b/c of developmental delays and or behavioral problems) need someone to attend Sunday School with them. It is a huge help to the parents who otherwise wouldn't be able to attend church or Sunday School. My first day was yesterday. I wasn't really sure what to expect. I am assigned to a 4 year old little boy. He doesn't speak, but babbles. He acts out very aggressivley when he feels threatened/scared, etc. So the goal is to keep him busy for an hour and 15 minutes. Yesterday he was having an especially rough day, so most of my time was spent holding him pretty tight in my lap and singing songs softly to him. The other girls and boys in the room are busy playing, coloring, and just being kids. Situations such as these baffle me. What is going on in this little boy's head? Is he aware of the other children around him playing? What frustrates him? What calms him? What makes him tick? Then I begin to think about his mother and the daily challenges she faces. I think about how her days must feel like years sometimes. I wonder if she asks God, "Why me? I'm not cut out for this!" Then I think about my children and how a rough day for them is usually the result of staying up past nap time/too late or a toddler on the verge of "Big Boyhood".

I hate to admit it, but I started my hour and 15 minutes yesterday watching the clock. However, by the end I found myself praying for this little boy's mother....to give her strength, patience, and encouragement. God works in mysterious ways and he clearly hand picked this woman to be this little boy's mom. I am asking God to use this little boy that I'll spend 1 hour and 15 minutes with once a month to remind me to count my blessings. So that on days when I think I want to wave the white flag, I'll get back on track and get back in the game.

The Perfect Storm

Yesterday started out to be a normal day. At 3, I got a call from my daycare that my almost 1 year old (Frank) was fussy and running a temp of 100. It's a bittersweet moment....I'm thrilled that I get to leave work early, but hate that my baby is sick. Then there's the guessing game "do I take him to the doctor? or wait to see if this will run it's course?". I decided to wait and see how the night went. Given the time (3:30) I went ahead and picked up my 3 year old too. It was looking to be a nice evening. Little Frank got some tylenol and went straight to sleep when we got home. So, Jack ate an early dinner and we headed outside to hit golf balls in the front yard. Fast forward to about 1:00 this morning and I'm awakened by a fevery, fretful cry. As I'm shushing my pitiful, sick, baby, I get reinitiated into this sorrority called motherhood. My baby proceeds to vomit all over me, the floor (TGF hardwoods), and himself. There's nothing like the smell of stale, warm milk running down your chest. So, at 1:00 this morning, I'm bathing my baby, cleaning up throwup, administering more tylenol, suctioning a nose, and rubbing on vapor rub. As I crawl back in bed close to 2a.m., my husband starts snoring like a foghorn.

We were all feeling bright eyed and bushytailed this morning around 8. I got a shower and was getting us ready to go down to Children's Hospital for a carseat check and to turn the baby's carseat forward facing in preparation for our trip to the beach next week. Everyone is strapped in and ready to go....but the car wouldn't start. Upon further review, it appears to be something electrical wrong. This translates to expensive to fix, several days without a car, carpooling to school and work with the hubby, etc. All this, plus Aunt Flo is due for her monthly visit any minute and I haven't had any caffiene (was planning to stop at BP for a Diet Mt. Dew).

I'm not sure what else this day will bring, but I'm trying to bend and not break when these storms of life start blowing in. It could be worse, if I'm going to be stuck somewhere without a car, I'm glad it's at my house.
Toodles for now....

Pull out there and see what happens

Those were the words my dad would tell me when I was learning how to drive. I thought it was appropriate for my first blog title. I discovered a couple of blogs a few months ago and thought it would be fun to give it a whirl myself. So, I'm pulling out there to see what happens.

Last Thursday, my almost 3 year old (Jack) came home from school with a "silly word". Lord, if it wasn't the F-word. My husband and I about died when he said, not once, but about 8 times, partly so that we could make sure we were hearing him right. We tried to disguise our laughter and tears and explain that this was not a nice word and that if he said it, he would get into big trouble. We made sure he understood, then abandoned all talk of the matter when he was around. We erred on the side that any attention (good or bad) would just further feed his desire to say it. Now here's the part that really scares me. I know I have a potty mouth from time to time. I work for children..er..attorneys, I can't help it. But I knew it wasn't me....When I asked him where he heard that word, he very innocently said "Miss Beverli" (his teacher). After further investigation with his "best friend's" mom, I believe it came from his buddy. Should I be worried that my not yet 3 year old ratted out his teacher to save his friend? I think I've got a lot of sleepless nights ahead of me with this one.....