You Deserve a Break Today

I don't get nearly this excited when I am cleaning. Wonder what it would take to get these guys to do it? And if they do it dancing and singing, bonus!

Okay...so I am not really here to talk about cleaning or McDonald's I am here to talk about Mommy time. You know, the well deserved break each and every one of us needs to take? Yes, well I rarely take any and I think it's beginning to show.

When you are first thrust into the role of motherhood the one piece of advice you hear is to sleep when the baby sleeps. While it is good advice, I could not do it. I wanted to catch up with the world when the baby slept, be it via TV, internet or a magazine. A few times I did sleep when he did but most of the time I didn't. And I did okay or so it seemed.

As Spencer gets bigger he requires even more attention and interaction so that when he does take a quick nap I again want to just catch my breath. He is hard work and now as a toddler our days can be quite trying. Add to that a Daddy who works away from home and you can see why I need a break. Only I don't take them when I should.

Rachel recently made a post calling out moms and making us accountable. Sure, it is only to her but in the end it is also to ourselves. Maybe calling it something other than Mommy time would help? She called it a mental health day and that really spoke to me, mainly because when I worked I would use my sick time for just that, a mental health day. I would come back ready to work and yet as a mom I can't push myself to do the same. Even though I know by not taking the time to re-energize my spirit I am doing a disservice to myself and my family.

When the husband is home and I have had a rough few days I always vow that I am going to leave him and the Boy and do something for myself. Then the day comes when I can and I am just not ready to go. Why? Because I don't feel pretty and taking the time to beautify defeats taking mommy time. Look, when I am with the Boy I spend a lot of time looking like JLo with no makeup:

See what I mean about so not pretty? Who wants to look like that and go out? Not me. I want to go out and look put together and cute, like Selma Hayek:
Big difference, right? Call it strange but by the time I can take this break and am ready for the break I just feel so defeated that staying home and being with my family seems like the better option. Maybe it's because they don't notice what I look like? Or they do and they love me any way? But I have noticed that this time is not going to take itself and I have promised myself I will do better. Because my family deserves to have me at 100%.


JLO pictures from http://celebritieswithoutmake.net
Selma Hayek photo by Gregg DeGuire/WireImage and Yahoo.

Just Say No

So when changed the blog layout and promised to include a little more of everything, that should have invigorated me to begin blogging every day. Sadly it didn't. Most days I struggle to remember a topic that seemed good hours before but after 12+ hours with the Boy, I am to exhausted to care. What I am not too exhausted to do? Play on Facebook.

When I first started on FB, it wasn't so bad. I chatted with a few people I didn't know and used it sort of like Myspace. That is to say I put up a cute hawt picture of myself and played games like Owned and Who's Hotter or some such thing. Than it exploded and everyone was starting to get on there and so I cleaned up my act and began "liking" products, people and places. It seemed suddenly my whole high school class was on there and everyone was friends with everyone. I can be honest...I granted friend requests just to see pictures. I still do. I even added a few people that I knew I WAS NOT friends with just to see their pictures and then I deleted them. I am nosy and I don't deny it.

Then I started noticing posts about cows and chickens and land expansions. FB had games, anyone that truly knows me, knows that I am a gamer. Video games, arcade games, computer games...I love them all. I asked my FB friends which game should I play and ended up with Farmville. Maybe you've heard of it? Or perhaps you have heard people make fun of it? Basically you build a farm and keep it up. Crops wither, animals need tending, trees need harvesting. All kinds of things that keep you coming back and back and back. After adding that game, I added a few more and a few more...and the thing is the games never end and you really don't win anything! So here I was putting the baby to sleep and running to check my farm, my cafe, my pet, my mafia and a few other things. All of it? Too time consuming.




So earlier this week I ranted to Hubby about it, saying I need to write more and to write better. The only way to get better at writing? Is to write often and so I made the decision that the games had to go. I lamented a few of the games because I had reached high levels and lots of "coinage" but I knew the only way to do it was cold turkey. I went in and just deleted application after application. I kept my farm and my cafe but now I only accept the gifts I have received and return them and move on. Now, I have no excuse to not write.

Daddy Duty

My husband is a great father and a wonderful Daddy. I am lucky, as he has always been hands on from the moment we knew we were expecting.

His jobs keeps him away from home anywhere from 3 nights to 5 and so when he gets home, he has missed out on a lot of little things. I say little because being with Spencer 24 hours a day, I see it all and usually several times a day.

But when Daddy gets home and begins to take over toddler duty, I realize that even though he is technically giving me a break...he makes it look easy. While I feel like most days I look harassed, he looks like this when taking an outing with the Boy:

See how cool and laid back this Daddy is? He's baby-wearing and yet his clothes are neat and his hat is in place. I have to think it's because the Mommy that we don't see in the picture is off to the side sweating, with her hair in her face and the baby supplies.

I think he has it so easy because I make it that way for him. That's right, I am admitting he gets to slide and it's all my fault. See, I feel like being a stay-at-home is a luxury, not my right. So when Daddy gets home, he should be able to relax and not have a certain munchkin all over him. Or watching certain munchkin should not be a lesson in patience. And so, this is where I step in to diffuse any situations, to redirect Spencer's attention, to make it easier on Daddy.

You know when I realize that I'm making it easy on Daddy? When he is gone and I'm left with the 30 pound toddler who refuses to leave my side. Our days usually go like this:

Except I rarely get to lie down and after I say what...Spencer says nothing and continues with whatever he was doing, happy that he got my attention for a split second.

So here I have a great Daddy and I am the one shortchanging him. I am not letting him rise to the occasion when the time comes and be Super Daddy. I guess I need to take off my cape and hand it to Daddy and be okay in knowing he can do this.

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Daddy's out there...but especially Spencers'!

Class of 2011

In my family there are 5 girls and one boy. My brother and I have always been pretty close. We share a similar sense of humor and have always enjoyed a lot of the same things. You know the saying great minds think alike? Yes, well it is true because for undergrad I attended Boston University. My smart and hard-working brother? He will be attending Boston University for graduate school...in a program that only takes 15 students each year! So congratulations to my favorite brother on a job well done and may you kick ass in grad school this fall! For the record, I think:

glitter-graphics.com


And because I can't seem to post without a picture, here is one from earlier this year:


It cracks me up because Spencer looks mortified and my brother is all smiles and oblivious to Spencer's turmoil.

And here I am circa 1996 in my BU days cap and gown:
Pay no attention to the fact the picture says 87...I really am not that old.

Class of 2010

Spencer's youngest aunts will be turning 14 this summer. But before they do that they graduated from 8th grade, spending 9 years in Catholic school and getting ready for 4 more at a Catholic high school. Neither schools are just a few miles from home and my parents have sacrificed to get them a quality education, which we all hope will be put to good use as adults and make the family proud.

Which made me think...because I too graduated from the same school way, way back in 8th grade. The school has changed and so have the kids. We had computer class on a Commodore 64 or some such thing and cell phones and ipods were definitely things of the "future" and not on our young minds. We were looking forward to high school and the unknown.



There were only 13 of us in that class and I remember getting quite a lot of awards, as well as being the class president. At the time it was a small school and so something like class president wasn't really a big deal. Not the way schools do it now and how many times it is based on popularity. I think I was lucky...cause I was neither cool or popular. Some things never change...

My sister's on the other hand are the epitome of beauty and coolness and if you don't believe me, take a look for yourselves:








Congratulations to B and I and much success as you take the next step in your schooling!

You Spin Me Round

Remember how I said we had purchased a membership to the local zoo? Yes, well that was $79 well spent and has already paid for itself in under a month! We have been going once a week and I'm not tired of it yet and neither is Spencer. I think what I like most is that I don't feel like we have to spend the whole day there or see everything. We can take our time and linger and just enjoy our visit and then go home.

I thought seeing the animals would be his most favorite thing...I mean the boy loves to "roar" like a lion, bear, or tiger. The picture book with an elephant? Yeah, I have to point out its trunk about 20 times before he is satisfied that I am correct. So I really believed that he would be enthralled by the elephant, lion or bears. But no his most favorite thing? It's the carousel. I don't blame him! Where else can you actually ride an elephant, tiger or bear?




The zoo also has a nice playground area where he can run around and climb and interact with kids both smaller and bigger. This time he watched a boy about school age swing out of the back of the pretend school bus. Guess who attempted to copy that move?


Watching him these last few weeks has really made it evident that is growing up so fast! I find myself loving the hugs and laughter even more and hanging on tighter. It will be a sad day when he no longer finds it cool to hang with his mommy.