Being A Mom

Being a mom is the greatest position I’ve ever held. It beats being any position in the workforce by a long shot. Of course this seems weird, because being a mom pays you squat and positions in the workforce can pay you up to lots and lots of dollars. So it’s funny when I think that the rewards of hugs and kisses, and laughs, and baby-talk, and trying so hard to be like mommy, and secrets, and “I love you’s,” and snuggling, and hearing “dat funny” from my son, and hearing “well yeahhh” from my daughter, and doing my daughter’s hair, and watching her put on make-up, and sitting on the floor with my daughter in my lap with my arms around her just rocking, and my son repeating every word I say as he learns to talk would be worth so much more than any amount of money?

We had dinner with some friends last night and she told me how someone was absolutely shocked that she had three kids and wanted another one. She told them she loved being with her kids…she loved them so much. We have fun with our kids. If you ask my husband and I which we’d rather have, a day to ourselves or a day with the kids, we’d pick the day with our kids in a heartbeat. My poor parents are always trying to take the kids for the weekend or a week – partly to give us a break but mostly because they just want to spend time with them. We have a really hard time letting them go, even for a couple of days. My kids are down with them right now…hubby and I will be there tonight, and just the couple of hours last night that they should have been there and weren’t were hard for us.

Too many people have kids that shouldn’t. And I’m not talking about the “accidents” and the crack-addicts on the street corner. I’m talking about middle to upper class suburbanites that have kids because “it’s the thing to do,” they’re on to that phase of their life. If you don’t want kids, don’t have them. Plain and simple. Why do people have kids if they don’t enjoy being with them? Again, I’m talking about the people that deliberately have kids, but you see them doing their own thing while their kids play. Every.single.time. And I know that we need breaks…I completely get that…even week-long breaks every once in a while. But even those breaks are hard for us…we have to make ourselves take them for our sanity because after being away from the kids for an hour I’m ready to turn right back around and stay with them!

And you’re right, I don’t know for sure that all of these kids weren’t accidents. But considering I’m talking about a group of well-educated folks with 2 or more kids, I’m guessing that they weren’t accidents.

I’m sure I’m opening up a can of worms (which I love to do) but seriously…I don’t like dogs, so I would never go out and get a dog just because most families have dogs these days. So why on earth are people doing that with kids? It’s just so nice to be around and be friends with people that think the same way we do about our kids…we love them more than anything in the world and we will spend every free second with them that we can!

I Guess My Dad Is A Superhero

A cute story:

But first some clarification: Carson is my nephew and he dresses up like Batman a lot. My kids call my dad “Pappaw.”

After my son’s bath one night this week I put his hooded towel on him, and the dialog between us went like this:

Me: Are you Superman?
Son: No
Me: Are you Batman?
Son: No, Carson’s Batman
Me: You can be Batman too
Son: No, Carson’s Batman
Son: Me be Pappaw

I thought it was the cutest thing in the world. He must consider my dad a superhero :)

Super Busy...

It's my busy time at work again and I'm super busy, so I won't be around as much until May 8th when we file our 10-Q.

Until then I will try to read your posts as much as I can and maybe try to post a little of my own. My post is up at the other blog I write for, so go check it out and let me know if you have any great answers to my question about keeping work stress out of the house!

My Thoughts On Wal-Mart

I read Kellie’s post over here about her wonderful trip to Wal-Mart and it got me thinking about that place. Do you know anyone that actually likes to shop there? OK wait…I do…hmmm. Anyway. What is it about that store that we hate? Why has it gotten such a bad reputation? It actually sucks really, because they do have the best prices that I’ve ever found. And there is actually at least one decent store…it’s down in my hometown and if there’s any place where I would expect the typical Wal-Mart, it would be down there. But instead, people are very polite, it’s the cleanest store I’ve ever been in…it is actually…hold on…don’t faint…kind of fun to take the kids and shop there. Are you OK? Have you regained consciousness? No, I haven’t gone off the deep end, I promise, it’s a very different atmosphere.

Anyway, I buy my diapers, wipes and “bathroom stuff” there…I just can’t justify paying higher prices on those things that I go through so.darn.fast. However, each time I go there I dread it. For me it starts in the parking lot. Are all bad drivers drawn to the Wal-Mart parking lot? I mean really! I too try to look for the closest parking spot, but after one time around I just try to find one to park my car in. Sounds easy, right? WRONG. There are people walking all over the road, including in the middle of it. People parked in their cars waiting for that person that is loading their groceries into their car really slowly so that they can have their spot that’s 2 spaces closer than the open one right next to them. By this time I’m ready to scream.

After I’m in the store, I encounter all types of people. I can’t miss them because they’re standing in the middle of the walkway into the store. After I bust my way through that crowd I try to get the stuff I need as fast as I can, all the time dealing with people talking loudly on their cell phones and blocking the aisle ways. And don’t get me started on the screaming kids.

When I try to check out I’m in line for about ½ hour. I just stand there and watch Betty Jo slowly scan each item over the scanner and make stupid chit-chat with the older lady that she’s checking out.

So now that I think about it, the reason I hate Wal-Mart is because of the people that it attracts. I guess I really had no idea that our world was filled with so many rude and self-centered people. If half of the people at Wal-Mart actually acted like decent humans and were polite and didn’t do stupid things (like waiting for the parking spot) then I probably wouldn’t hate it so bad. The worst thing is that it’s the only grocery-type store by my office and I try to get all of my shopping done during lunch, so basically, I’m screwed.

So why do you hate the place? Or better yet, are there any of you out there that are brave enough to admit you like it? I promise, I won't think you're too weird :)

Go Try To Win Something!

The blog I write for is having a contest…go check it out!!!

http://amysandoval.typepad.com/workit/2007/04/wouldnt_it_be_n.html

I Love Where I Live!

Hmmm, what to write about today? I don’t have any more clever little e-mails from hubby, but you can bet as soon as they come in I’ll pass them along :)

Remember how we moved a couple of months ago? I will write about how much we love our new city. For the past two nights we have hopped on the bike path and walked ourselves to different parks. Our city has a huge bike path that connects the city together…the city’s goal is to have you be able to hop on a bike pat and get from one end of the city to the other without having to cross any major roads. For instance, the developer that built our home (also my employer :) ) has to connect the bike path from the north side of our subdivision to the south, underneath the main road, before they are allowed to open up any more lots. M/I might not like it, but we citizens love it!

Anyway, so two nights ago we drove to the city building and played at that park for a while, and then we loaded the kids into the stroller and walked through the town to another park that’s attached to the county library. Surprisingly, no one was at either park, and the temp was like 57 degrees, not cold.

Then last night we walked from our house on the bike path to yet another park. This one is attached to a privately owned pool that you can get a membership to in the summer. I think there are a total of like 7 – 10 parks in our small little city, all with wonderful playground equipment. Most of the playgrounds have a jungle-gym type thing for big kids, and then another one for little kids…perfect for my two kids! Oh, and don’t forget the elementary school in my front yard and all the playground equipment there!

That’s about it…I haven’t been to the Y this week because of our walking/running to get to the parks. I do have to say that I’m really looking forward to this summer and going out every night and doing this…the last two nights have been so much fun!

What The......?????

Hubby and I get a daily e-mail with little marriage tips in it. This is the e-mail that he sent me asking me if I understood what the heck they were talking about:


"This is the one I was talking about that makes no sense (A SET OF TIRES??)...

Top Ten Reasons to Date Your Wife Frequently

* Marriage Relationships are Dynamic
* There is Always Something New about Your Spouse * Invest in the Future * You got Married Because You Dated!
* Marriage can be Compared to a Set of Tires * Dating is an Opportunity to Focus * Remember the Good Times!
* Create Your Future
* Laughter is the Best Medicine
* Remind Your Spouse, "I Love You!"

They get worn out and need replaced?? I just don't know where they are going with that one.

-Hubby-"


Here’s the follow-up that he sent me (I have such a loving husband, don’t I?)


"Maybe they were talking about "rotating your tires"?? Like Mormons.
Multiple spouses. If one gets worn out, switch to the next.

Or possibly they are talking about NASCAR tires. Go all out, as fast as you can; but if it gets stormy, hang it up... the race is over, red flagged. Just count your losses and get out!

-hubby-"

If any of you have any idea how marriage can be compared to a set of tires, please let us know, because now we are talking about “rotating each other out.”

I Can't Even Imagine.....

My family is kind of attached to Ohio University. My parents went there; my uncle went there; I went there; my sisters went/are going there; my cousins went/are going there; hubby went there; hubby’s parents went there; his cousin is there; my parents teach there now; my kids will hopefully go there. To say that our lives revolve around the university is kind of an understatement.

When I heard about what happened yesterday at Virginia Tech, I immediately thought about how it would be if it was OU instead. It hurt too much to think about. First of all, I can’t even imagine how worried I would be about all of the family members that are there now…I’d be sick until I had talked to each and every one of them. Then the fact that a once peaceful, happy school was ripped apart and no longer considered safe, well…that would be almost unbearable.

For the most part people are attached to their alma maters…they have memories etched in their minds of what it was like and of different experiences they had while there. You hear the name of your school and you immediately claim it, or defend it if it’s being attacked. And for Virginia Tech, all of that was uprooted in just a couple of hours.

I know there are a lot of you out there that went there; have family there; have friends there; have memories there. You are all in my prayers…I pray that none of you experienced any losses.

What A Happy Day!!!

Up until recently I had very strong opinion about religion and children. While I thought that it was super important to have your children in church, I did not believe that little children were able to comprehend everything that they were learning. Hubby told me that he became a Christian at the age of 5, and I thought that was ridiculous. I really didn’t see how a 5 year-old could comprehend the difference between Heaven and hell, and understand what they needed to do in order to get to Heaven. I really thought the only reason that kids did it was because their parents told them to do it.

I continued to think this way until just a couple of weeks ago. Kids in our Sunday School class began asking their parents questions and slowly started understanding what needed to be done in order for them to go to Heaven. I even had one parent tell me that her daughter’s questions started because of what we were teaching her every Sunday…I was kind of shocked actually. Inside I knew that we were laying the ground work (of course along with the right parenting at home too), but to see results actually happen before my eyes…I’ve never had that happen before!

Anyway, I was still skeptical…until this last Saturday. My daughter was sitting and looking at her picture Bible and started asking me all kinds of questions…completely unprompted by me – I was trying to get all of the laundry done! So I climbed up on the bed with her and answered her questions, when all of a sudden she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said “I want to ask Jesus to come into my heart.” I prayed with her and I couldn’t keep the tears from coming…I was going to have my little girl in Heaven with me someday! And I was comfortable that it was the right time…she wanted to do it, she even prayed the prayer by herself with very little coaching from me. It was not something I told her to do and she was just obeying me…she did this…on her own!

I just can’t describe how happy I am!

Kharma

I didn’t believe in it…until lunch time today (OK, I still don't but still). Our company is sponsoring Race for the Cure, so we’ve been doing these little fundraising things and one of them is that they’ve hired in a chef who makes us lunch once a week and for $6 we get a huge, all-you-can-eat buffet, drink and dessert. Today was one of those lunches. I heard the two people that I was going with come up behind me and say “let’s go,” so I picked up my purse to get my money out and all of a sudden the one girl went spaz on me…she said “Joanne’s in someone’s office, hurry, I don’t want her to see us and try to come with us.” I’m not kidding, as she said this she grabbed my money, shoved my wallet back into my purse, pulled me out of my chair and pushed me towards the door. Once we got to the little room where we wait for the elevator, she closed the door and turned the light off so that we were waiting in the dark. Although this might seem a little drastic, I had to agree, I didn’t feel like eating lunch with Joanne either…she’s the type that knows everything and makes you feel like crap if you don’t know something, besides the fact that she eats her chips and popcorn way too loudly. But still, was this all necessary?

So we arrive in the next building and get our food. The girl that “abused” me sat us down at a table that sat 6…gutsy I thought since there were only 3 of us, but whatever. So we sat down and saw 2 other people from internal audit come in and sat with us…leaving one chair…next to the girl that pushed me. Guess who came in for lunch next?

Kharma baby.

A Good Easter Weekend!

Our Easter weekend was good…Saturday we went on the Easter Bunny Egg Hunt train ride…my daughter has been looking forward to this since we went last year, and my son was so excited to be going on a train! It was freezing, but luckily that kept a lot of people away! The train cars were heated, and we went outside for the egg hunt for about ½ hour, so it really wasn’t that bad.

Saturday night we went to dinner with my sisters, some of their friends and my mom. Then we headed to the store for some last minute basket items and dinner stuff. After that we went home, gave baths, and then went to work on the baskets and egg hunt. Let me just say that once again, we went totally overboard on the stuff. I really didn’t want the kids to have a ton of candy, so I made up for it by getting gifts. Nothing big…3 pairs of earrings for my daughter, a set of paint, a locket (she has been dying for one of these because I have one), and then my mom got her two Barbies and some clothes for them. My son got a ton of Thomas stuff…a huge Thomas pillow, a James car, a piece to his track set-up, a ball and some Thomas books. In the end they actually even got a ton of candy thanks to my mom :) She was in putting together all of our baskets. That’s right…my mom still gets us and hides our Easter baskets. She really is super sweet!

On Sunday we went to church with hubby’s family and then came back home and ate. It was a good day and we didn’t end up getting home until about 10:15 Sunday night. We quickly unpacked, fed the kids some food and headed to bed!

The best part of the weekend was when I was talking to my daughter and I asked her why we have Easter, and she said because Jesus died on the cross. Then I asked her what happened on Easter Sunday, and she said “He rose from the dead.” I was so proud of her…it just proves that they are listening, and they are soaking up everything that we tell them.

Oh, and my mother-in-law loved the pictures! It definitely made that whole ordeal totally worth it. I have to scan them in and then I will show all of you...they are really cute!

I hope you all had a great Easter as well!


Here are some of the pictures:


At the restaurant before the train ride



My daughter looking out the train window



My son really didn't like the conductor too much!





My son with my dad (they are seriously together at all times!)

My daughter giving the conductor her ticket

My daughter and me!

Painting last night...it was so good to just chill out at home!

A Very Draining Birthday Present

My mother-in-law wants a picture of our family for her birthday.

Her birthday is Sunday.

I called this place to order reprints of our Christmas pictures.

This place only keeps pictures for 90 days.

It’s been over 90 days since we had them taken.

Last night we went in for new pictures.

My son HATES getting professional pictures taken.

After each shot she snapped he said “see it” (he always has to look at the picture after it’s taken at home).

One hour later that misery is over.

Two hours and $100 later we walk out with our new picture order which will be ready for pick-up on Friday.

The night was absolutely exhausting.

Sad Day For Buckeye Fans

Not much to report…sadly our Buckeyes lost last night :( The worst part was that my dad had placed a bet for hubby in Vegas that the Buckeyes would win it all and gave it to him for Christmas. We were looking forward to some extra money.

However, not all was lost…we had these friends over and had a blast! The kids were amazing and absolutely wonderful the entire time. I think they left at 11:45...I'm not really sure...I was having too much fun. Wow, definitely not winning mom of the year with that bedtime. But to justify it a little bit, my son came home from the sitter’s very tired and cranky despite having two good naps while there. So he took about a 2 hour nap in the evening before our friends got there and while we ate dinner.

The weather is gorgeous once again today…high of 78 or something like that and sunny. But we live in Ohio, and the weather tomorrow is calling for a chance of flurries. I bet y’all are jealous you don’t get to play “what will the weather be like tomorrow” when you’re packing your kids’ bag for the sitter’s. Hubby and I have upped the stakes by putting money on it when we play now :)

How Is It Possible To Be Two Different People?

On Saturday night we went to a friend from college’s to watch our Wonderful Buckeyes advance to the National Championship game. The actual main reason that we went over there was for a celebration party for hubby’s flag football team…they were undefeated for the second year in a row. No one else on this flag football team has any kids. So we got a babysitter and headed over.

Now let me preface the rest of this by telling you how the other women that would be at this party acted towards me a couple of weeks ago. I had gotten to one of the games (with kids in tow) fairly early. So I sat all of our stuff down at one of the table-thingys while waiting to find out which field the guys would be on. I sat the stuff by one of the other wives that was already there. A little after the game had started some of the other wives came, said “hello” to the other wife and me, and then they talked to each other (including the wife already sitting there) and got up and went to a table that was two away from the one I was sitting at. I felt so offended and hurt…and I couldn’t even try to walk over there and talk to them during the game because I had to watch the kids.

So I was completely dreading this party because those same wives would be there. I realize that a lot of my problem is how freaking insecure I am when I’m around non-parents. I have no idea why…but sitting there at the “party” I felt like I was back in college…so unsure of how to act or what to talk about. The other girls that were there stayed in the kitchen the whole time talking about shopping and get-togethers that they had had recently. I knew they had no interest in the fact that I got both kids down for a nap at the same time and I was actually able to get some work done around the house (not that I talk about that kind of stuff or anything). Don’t get me wrong, I tried…kind of. I was pleasant and always piped in when I had something to add, but unfortunately, that wasn’t often. And for me to “not have something to add,” you know it has to be bad.

I’m not even sure what I’m insecure about…I know I compare my looks to them, and then I realized that they were all 10 times skinnier than me. Now I know I sound very vain here, but those are honestly the first couple of thoughts that go through my head.

So how come the minute you get me around other moms, or I’m actually with my kids, I’m the most secure person in the world? Nothing bothers me…I could have 10 ladies making fun of something I’m doing and I wouldn’t be phased…why is this the case? What is it about my kids that makes me feel like I am important, no matter what anyone else thinks? Is anyone else out there like this?

If you can offer any advice or insight to this, I would really appreciate it…I only have my kids for so long…what happens when they’re gone? Will I resort back to my old self? I'm afraid I will.