Stolen Post

This is me then:


I saw this on a complete stranger's blog and thought it was cool. And an easy way to post without thinking too much about what to post about today. :)


20 years ago I...
1. was in 6th grade - one of my favorites ever.
2. was totally in to Skateland
3. wore Keds and wrote all over them (it was totally IN)

10 years ago I...
1. was ferociously working towards a bachelor's degree
2. partied ALL THE TIME
3. sort of learned how to be an adult

5 years ago I...
1. Got married
2. Had a baby
3. What else do you want from me??? haha


3 years ago I...
1. was trying to get Bill to put our house on the market
2. was enjoying my 2 year old
3. became pregnant with Delaney


1 year ago I...
1. was living in my new house
2. had my own business
3. enjoyed my "summer of A.J."

So far this year I...
1. am pregnant - again
2. found out my brother is expecting as well!
3. almost went crazy waiting for winter to end.

Yesterday I...
1. had a full house of daycare kids
2. went to the movie store
3. watched Bill play softball

Today I...
1. put pictures in photo albums
2. had lunch with a friend and her kids
3. Spent way too much time thinking about this

Tomorrow I...
1. will have a house full of daycare kids
2. will take CeCe to dance
3. will play outside

In the next year I...
1. Will have my new baby girl
2. Will become an auntie
3. Will survive


Alright, now steal this for your blog too! I want to read the answers :)

32 Weeks

Yep, getting huge.

We Are More Alike Than I EVER Thought

Yep, I'm talking to you. And you. And you.
We are jealous of one another and always think the other person is more efficient at life. Moms who bake wonder who has the time to scrapbook. Moms who stay at home wonder how working Moms ever get the time to do laundry or even plan a meal. We wonder, how is she so put together that she had time to paint a wall, clean her house, organize her garage, plant a garden, sew a hem, hand make a birthday card, get her kids' pictures taken, or just get a haircut??
We make excuses for our homes - and this is a biggie. We ALL do it...."Oh, sorry about the mess", "Sorry I haven't had time to mop in, like, 4 months" Right?
I had a Mom say to me one time "Oh, you mean, you live in your house?" I thought that was so brilliant and I remember that every time I go to visit a family or someone comes to see me. There are dishes in the sink because we eat. There are toys on the floor because kids play with them. The beds aren't made because getting dressed was more important. The chandelier is dusty, there's pen on the wall, there are stacks of things to "be put away", the shoes are in a pile by the front door, and so on and so forth.
There is always one adult in the house that wants it cleaner and another who thinks it's clean enough. We all fight about it too.
I have a deal for you which is: I won't judge you if you don't judge me. If my floor boards are dirty think of a spot in your house that hasn't been touched in a while and feel comforted in knowing none of us are perfect.
I feel better already.

September to May

Here's Cecelia on her first and last day of school. To me, she has changed so much even though the pictures may not reflect it.

I was on the fence about sending her to preschool, but the right place, days and times happened to work out for me. I am so glad that it did!

Cecelia has learned so much this year that it amazes me sometimes. Her teachers have said that Cecelia liked to be a leader vs. a follower. She is concerned about others and is very nurturing. Apparently, she likes to be organized?? They said she liked to have everything "just so" when doing her art projects and school work. She's outgoing but follows the rules and listens well.

I'm so proud of her for being such a smart, funny and charasmatic little girl.

Right now, as I type, she is reading a book to Delaney.

There are just some things that you wish and wait for that happen, but still blow your mind.

I'm a lucky mommy.

Child Labor Laws??

Today's daycare project was to clean the toys that have been on the porch all winter. I brought out two buckets of soapy water and let the kids go to town. The loved it!!

It actually felt hot out today which was perfect for little people wearing wet clothes. Eventually they all ended up stripped down running through the lawn chasing eachother around.

I have loved today and after they all collapsed in to bed I even rearranged the porch.

I can only imagine this is good preparation for when the kids get older and have to do "real" chores!!

Bored

I know, to some of you, this is going to seem very shallow and ungrateful. But, what can I say, I'm just being honest.

Lately, I have been bored out of my mind. Not to say I'm not busy, because I am certainly that. However, I'm busy in a 'not fun' way. I've been nesting for what seems like months now. Every night and every weekend we seem to run out of time to get all the things done that I want to get done before summer officially makes her arrival.
Delaney's been sick since Friday so has needed extra TLC, the daycare kids are keeping me busy and this is Cecelia's last week of preschool.

This is not what I'm referring to.

I do appreciate being pregnant. I'm pretty comfortable and have no issues. The baby is healthy and kicking away and that is always really cool.
But, I don't just relish every second of it. I don't.
Now that we're almost to the end I'm getting antsy. The weather is getting warmer and I'm like a kid who's looking towards the last day of school so that I can start to really play and have fun.
I want to meet this baby and have her here. I want to play softball. I want to feel good about my body and wear regular clothes. I want to go to the store and not be gawked at. Also, I want a beer - like, pretty bad.

After seeing the doctor on Monday (all is well) I felt a little bit better about the wait. She said " 6 weeks and you have the go ahead". Of course, this rule applies to woman who have their babies early. I am not one of those women.

10 weeks to go and I know it will fly by, but for today, I'm ready to be done.

For My Mom

Usually, most people think that they have the best Mom ever. I am one of those people, only, I am right.

My Mom has the qualities that we all wish we could have for our children. She is patient, fun, understanding, funny, generous, smart, easy to talk to, non-judgemental, etc, etc. I work hard every day to be more like her.

When I was a kid my Mom did everything for me. Made sure I tried everything and experienced everything - from music lessons to sports to theater.

My Mom loves to travel and experience life first hand. As a family she made sure we saw the sights - from California to Florida to New York to Portland to Mt. "Mushroar".

We went skiing and snorkeling. We flew and drove.

I love her for passing down her wonderlust.

My Mom always looked good. She never wore sweats to the grocery store. She also knew how to get dirty and taught all of us kids how to throw a spiral.

She drove sports cars and gave our friends joy rides.

Mom could peel an apple with one shot. I was mesmerized by that.

Mom did volunteer work and loves animals.

She would always buy a kiddie cone for the dog when we all went to the Tastee Freeze.

Mom was our taxi, cheerleader, chef, accountant, social events coordinator, personal shopper, story teller, doctor, teacher and most importantly, our soft place to fall.

There are simply not enough words and not enough time to list all that she is and all that she has done for us.

I will never do her justice by a simple blog.

I just want her to know that this Mother's Day I am thinking of her and thankful.

Thanks, Kris

The following is yet another email I received - this time from my friend Kris. It's a little early for Mother's Day, but I thought this was pretty neat and didn't want to delete it or forget about it.

This is for the mothers who have sat up
all night with sick toddlers in their arms,
wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer
wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying,
'It's okay honey, Mommy's here.'

Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains
on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

For all the mothers who run carpools and
make cookies and sew Halloween costumes.
And all the mothers who DON'T.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to
babies they'll never see. And the mothers
who took those babies and gave them homes.

This is for the mothers whose priceless art
collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.
And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars. And that when their kids asked, 'Did you see me, Mom?' they could say, 'Of course, I wouldn't
have missed it for the world,' and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with
their children and explained all about making
babies. And for all the (grand)mothers who
wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.

This is for all the mothers who go
hungry, so their children can eat.

For all the mothers who read 'Goodnight,
Moon' twice a night for a year. And then
read it again, 'Just one more time.'

This is for all the mothers who taught
their children to tie their shoelaces before
they started school. And for all the mothers
who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons
to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls 'Mom?'
in a crowd, even though they know their
own offspring are at home -- or even away
at college -- or have their own families.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids
to school with stomach aches, assuring them
they'd be just FINE once they got there, only
to get calls from the school nurse an hour later
asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone
astray, who can't find the words to reach them.

For all the mothers who bite their lips until they
bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of
recent school shootings, and the mothers
of those who did the shooting.

For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

This is for all the mothers who taught their
children to be peaceful, and now pray
they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good mother anyway?

Is it patience?

Compassion?

Broad hips?

The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?
Or is it in her heart?

Is it the ache she feels when she
watches her son or daughter disappear
down the street, walking to school alone
for the very first time?

The jolt that takes her from sleep to
dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put
her hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The panic, years later, that comes again
at 2 A.M. when she just wants to hear
their key in the door and know they
are safe again in her home?

Or the need to flee from wherever she is
and hug her child when she hears news
of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are
universal and so our thoughts are for
young mothers stumbling through diaper
changes and sleep deprivation...

And for mature mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.

Single mothers and married mothers.

Mothers with money, mothers without.

This is for you all. For all of us...

Hang in there.

In the end we can
only do the best we can.

Tell themevery day that we love them.

And pray

and never stop being a mother...