As I write this my darling hubby is outside in the pitch dark shoveling more than two feet of snow off our long driveway and front walk. He has been out there for almost two hours. At what point should I be worried that he is stuck in a snowdrift? He was also out there this afternoon for an hour. I either naively underestimate the magnitude of the shoveling job, or he is out there drinking beers in the ...
<< MORE >>I’m going to stop apologizing when there’s a delay between blogs - you probably know by now it’s only because I’m sick, one of the kids is sick, I am crazy busy, or on a tropical island with my husband. HAH! Anyway, this particular delay can be blamed on a stomach bug that has been making its way through our house. Seriously, why do kids always start vomiting in the middle of the night when you are dead asleep ...
<< MORE >>Blog Notes: Although I much prefer the authenticity of using our real names, I’ve decided to refer to my kids as #1 (oldest -
girl), #2 (middle - boy) and #3 (youngest - girl). Can’t be too careful online these days…thanks for understanding!
Also - a note to subscribers, I noticed that when my blog is emailed, it contains weird symbols that make it choppy and difficult to read. Not sure why - but if you just click on the
...
Let’s face it, we women like to stick together.….and we always have. When we were little, we joined clubs like the Brownies and Girl Scouts (or just the Brownies because we didn’t like the ugly green Girl Scout uniform…so sad but true). And when we ran out of clubs to join, we made friendship bracelets or gave gold necklaces with one half of a heart, and we made up our own clubs (BFF Club, Fans of Ralph Macchio -- ...
<< MORE >>2009 is over. It’s time to ring in 2010 and all the possibilities it holds. You know, “Out with the old, In with the New!” A fresh start…Sounds great, right?
But what if I sort of want to hold onto 2009 a bit longer…the happiness it held, the joys and special moments. My kids are little and cute and funny and I want to freeze them at this age forever. A new year means they’re getting older, and although I love thinking about what the future holds, it makes me sad ...
<< MORE >>Hi Moms - Happy New Year! I’m so sorry it’s been so long since I’ve blogged. I didn’t plan on taking a break - it just sort of happened that the flurry of activity before Christmas put blogging on the very back burner. As you know, being Santa is hard work!
Along those lines, I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you that I KNOW and APPRECIATE all that you did to make Christmas so special for your family. I know that you baked ...
<< MORE >>I went out to dinner with my friend, Erin, who I’ve known since Kindergarten. We went to K-12 together, and even college! She is pregnant with her third baby (her 1st two are 9 and 7!) and it’s her birthday tomorrow. We had a great time! When I got home, I got a huge surprise. My husband was cleaning the…..(drumroll please)
….hardwood floors! I was so happy that I didn’t even think about the fact that the bathrooms still hadn’t been done. It was so ...
<< MORE >>I woke up yesterday morning, fed the kids, went back upstairs to get dressed, and put my new Crest White Strips on (it’s the poor man’s face lift!). And even though the package says that you can exercise, work, or chat on the phone while the strips are on - that is just a lie. All you can do is walk around trying not to drool on the rug, and trying not to move your mouth at all so ...
<< MORE >>Most of the time being the glue that holds the family together is empowering and rewarding. As the mom, it feels good to know that without you, there is a good chance that the house would be condemned, the EPA called in, and the children taken to the Dept. of Children’s Services. Steering the family ship and caring for all the passengers is an honor and a blessing, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. But some days, ...
<< MORE >>A few weeks ago at my Mom’s Time Out meeting, our leader told us about an outreach program in Camden, NJ called She Has a Name. Started by an “ex-professional” several years ago, the program reaches out to prostitutes in the hopes of breaking the cycle of addiction, abuse, and shame. She Has a Name is based on the simple notion that every girl on every corner "has a name" and is someone's daughter, someone's sister, someone's wife and, ...
<< MORE >>It goes without saying how thankful I am for my children, my husband, and my family and friends. I am also very thankful for good health, financial security, and peace in our lives. But this Thanksgiving, I decided to make a list of things that I am thankful for that have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with being a mom. It was actually hard to think about just myself, but it was so fun, too! Here goes:
<< MORE >>It’s almost Thanksgiving…a time to rejoice in our many blessings and spend time with family and friends. It is also a time of year that I have to deal with my turkey
issues.
I have prepared countless dinners meals for my family over the last decade, and have even hosted Thanksgiving dinner for the past several years…and I have YET to cook a turkey. The whole thing
freaks me out - and let me tell you finding some hairs ...
I have no words to describe my trip to Chicago. I could discuss every detail but I can’t capture the whole experience in words or on paper. I have so much to say about it
-
not only about how much fun it was, but what the trip did for me (more on this later…). First, our trip in a nutshell: my sister-in-law and I met up with my two friends at the hotel, and we
could barely sleep! ...
I only have a minute to write, because in a few hours I’m leaving for Chicago to see Oprah! Has nothing to do with my blog - just total coincidence with the timing. My dear friend got us some tickets (not going to ask how she did it - hoping for impunity!). It's been a dream of mine for a long time, and I can't believe it's coming true!
So I’m running around like crazy trying to get ready as the kids are hanging on me, asking me a ton of questions, and being all-around high-maintenance. Perhaps they sense ...<< MORE >>
So, I was talking to my friend the other day about the way we sometimes (or more than sometimes) cannot accept a compliment about our mothering or how well-behaved our kids are. She was telling me that her first reaction when someone says how good her boys are behaving is to say “you don’t see them at home!” or “they’re being good now because I’ve bribed them.”
I shared with her a story about a night I took all the kids to the mall to return a few things, and the clerk said to ...<< MORE >>
Wow - it’s been a while since my last entry, hasn’t it?!?! I have a good excuse, though, - I’ve been DYING A SLOW DEATH. Ok, a bit dramatic I realize, but I have had the Flu and it seriously felt like I was dying. The last time I felt like this was when I was pregnant - and don’t think I wasn’t reminded of THAT this week. As much as I may look longingly at little babies and sometimes question our decision to stop at 3 kids, I in no way could handle months on ...<< MORE >>
This month is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and 2009 is the organization’s 25th anniversary. According to research, the five-year survival rate is above 90 percent and research spending is at $900 million -- 30 times the amount spent in 1982. That’s great progress!!! But 1 in 8 women will still be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime and 40,000 women a year still die from the disease.
I am 35 years old. For as long as I can remember, 35 was the magic age for a first mammogram - so I marched into my recent OBGYN ...<< MORE >>
At my Moms Time Out meeting last week, the topic was Patience in Your Marriage. And who couldn’t use a little of that? Our young, male speaker told a funny story that went something like this: He woke up one morning and looked over at his sleeping wife and he was struck by how beautiful she looked. Her hair was lying perfectly on the pillow and her breath was soft and steady. It was a lovely morning - a light breeze was blowing through the window, birds were quietly chirping, their four kids were still asleep. So he ...<< MORE >>
I got my mommy ass kicked today. Had a horrible sinus headache all day and was dealing with a 4-year-old who needs a HUGE attitude adjustment. It’s a good thing he’s really cute, because it may have spared his life today. But all the kids are sleeping now, and I’ve got the Phillies on, and I’m going to try and put my day behind me. Actually you’ll see as you read on that complaining is the perfect way to start this entry I’ve been thinking lately about how moms communicate with ...<< MORE >>
What a looooooong day! Hubby away on business, Grace up most of night with an itchy throat (mostly due to the fact that her allergy med refill has been sitting at CVS waiting to be picked up since Monday), baby teething and cranky, and I’m fighting a cold. I would say “Calgon - take me away!” - but my tub is in NO condition to soak away in right now.
So somehow I manage to sleep through all three kids waking up this morning and at 8:04 am, Grace comes in and declares that she “has to ...<< MORE >>
I know a woman who welcomed her ailing mother into her home without a second thought.
I know a woman who has the loudest, happiest belly laugh I’ve every heard.
I know a woman who is successfully battling brain cancer.
I know a woman who has a prominent position in the corporate world.
I know a woman who at 40 graduated with her teaching degree.
I know a woman who took the lead on forming a team to participate in a charity race.
I know a woman who took an interior design class one night a week in ...<< MORE >>
“There are not enough hours in the day.” “I need a wife/personal assistant/secretary.” “I want to clone myself.” These are all things I have either said or heard my friends say and they all mean the same thing: you’re worn out, over-worked, under-appreciated, and feel like you’re barely keeping your head above water. I certainly have felt that way at times and it’s not a good feeling and I don’t have the answer.
I have often thought to myself…if the world would just PAUSE for an hour/day/week and I could get caught up on emails, cleaning, thank ...<< MORE >>
Throughout the day, the following became very clear to us:
Each day, ...<< MORE >>
Hi Moms! Following are three headlines I saw this week alone...
CNN Anchor Campbell Brown Says Moms Just Can't Do it All
Why Does Happiness Elude Modern Women?
Women are Becoming More Unhappy - Study Finds Well-Being of Females Declining. Los Angeles Times writer Meghan Daum thinks women being grumpier can be tied into celebrity-worshipping culture. In her article “Why aren’t Women Happy? Who Knows?” she wrote, “when ...<< MORE >>
This morning it was 64 degrees in my house and I was buried under my comforter deep in dreamland when in came a coughing daughter and a very awake son - ready to start their day. Daughter needed medicine, son needed FOOD. And I needed…oh hell, does it really matter??? I was starting my day whether I liked it or not. The same way I’ve started my day consistently for the past 7 years. And every morning it’s hard to wake up before you’re ready and in a way that’s not always pleasant. Come to mention it, it’s ...<< MORE >>
Seems like those times that I feel like having a few beers/glasses of wine and "letting go" are never the times I can. Either I have to get up really early in the morning, or have to drive home, or we're at church.J
Or the reverse happens: I am out to dinner with my hubby, or the kids (in a rare moment) all seem to be captivated by the same movie, and I either am exhausted, my sinuses are killing me, or I'm just not in the mood.Get your minds out of the gutter, ladies! I’m not talking about the act that’s on the bottom of most of our to-do lists, I’m talking about my new panties! (Note that I am determined to stop calling them underpants…)
Anyway - while I was recently in Chicago…my friends and I spent 4 hours in the lingerie dept. at Neiman Marcus on Michigan Avenue. While I mostly just browsed the beautiful fashion (and crazy prices), I did treat myself to a few new pairs of panties. One of them called Hanky Panky claimed to “the world’s most comfortable thong.” ...<< MORE >>
Was thinking today about how exhausted, overwhelmed, and depleted most of us all feel on a regular basis. See if this sounds familiar:
We plan, prep, and make most, if not all, of the meals, clean our house (even if you have a cleaning person - this, I know from past experience), make sure the kids are happy, dressed cute, groomed, well-adjusted, academically challenged (but not over-stimulated!), popular, "enriched" (whatever the hell that means), fed natural and organic foods, etc, etc, etc...all while being a fabulous and supportive wife/woman who exercises 5 times a week, has their hair professionally colored, ...<< MORE >>