- Part 6

Guess the body part…

OK so a quick disclaimer before I begin my post: to the few men who find my blog humorous and like to “peek in” on conversations among moms, I support you and welcome you here. However, today I am requesting that my male readers (ahem, particularly my DAD) skip this one. I’m going to be talking about things that happen during and after pregnancy and well, let’s face it – there are just SOME things that we don’t want our fathers privy to…I would rather instead that he protect the image seared in his mind of me as a four year old little girl. So Dad, you and I can part ways here.

For the rest of you, I just want to talk a bit today about what the HECK happens to your body after pregnancy. Did anyone tell you things could go so terribly wrong??? I mean, sure, we all knew about the stretch marks or additional baby weight…or for some of us, the “mom pooch” that never goes way. BUT…have you guys discovered yet for yourselves all of the weird and heinous things that happen that NO ONE ever talks about?? There must be some sort of secret pact that prevents women from just coming out with this information in public because I was CERTAINLY never informed!!! Continue reading Guess the body part…

Note to Self

“Be sure to savor every moment – it goes by so fast!”

How many times have you heard this advice? If you’re a mom, maybe you feel like you are walking around with a sign on your forehead that reads “I’m living life in a complete blur and can’t remember my kids names. I spend about two minutes every day with my kids and four thousand hours doing laundry. I think my kids will be little forever, and I completely take them for granted. What advice might you give me?”

I feel like I must be wearing a sign like that because I get that advice OFTEN. I KNOW it is well-intentioned, but I just have to say a few things about this today. Continue reading Note to Self

I'm not playing with you anymore!

Guess who said that. I have a four year old, a two year old and an eight month old…

Well…the eight month old can’t talk so that means it must be the four year old OR the two year old…

NOPE.

It was ME. It was ME! My grown-up, 30 year old self was actually frustrated enough with my daughter that I did what any normal grown-up would do. I said “Fine, then I’m not playing with you anymore” and huffed off.

SERIOUSLY?!

Continue reading I'm not playing with you anymore!

Can't believe I'm going to do this…

SO…I have another confession to make. Motherhood, in some ways, has brought out the absolute best in me. I’ve learned more patience, I’ve learned how to be more flexible…I’ve learned that I can’t make a 6 month old eat green beans even if I AM the parent…

But motherhood has also brought out some of the WORST in me. As I mentioned in About Me page, I used to be way more “together” than I am now.

And I have proof.

I have simple, photographic evidence of some of the worst. And…in light of ‘getting real’ about motherhood, I figured I should share that with all of you. So here it goes…

This is BEFORE I was a mother:

Aw. Look how happy I was. That was, of course, my wedding day. Or about THREE years before THIS was about to happen…

Continue reading Can't believe I'm going to do this…

Game on!

I am SOOO excited I am finally back “up and running”. You guys are not going to believe one of the reasons that I’ve stayed away so long.

When I started writing “just for fun” a while ago, you all were SOOO great about encouraging me and telling me how much you loved what I was saying. I started getting some great feedback and my blog started circulating and ‘getting around’.

So I started to wonder if maybe this might actually go somewhere….and then guess what I did?

Everything that I talk on here about what NOT to do! I started googling “how to blog” and trying to figure out how to make my website “look good” and all this crazy stuff…

Just like I’ve done with motherhood, I started to let my perfectionism drain me of the joy of writing and why I began doing this in the first place! How STUPID…and terribly ironic isn’t it?!

WOW. So guess what? Not doing that anymore. I picked some random pre-made template that wordpress offers, figured out a couple new features that I really did want, and that’s it. I’m done trying to be something I’m not. In motherhood and in the blogging world.

So here it is – simple, basic and all about the content. We’re back in buisness! I’m going to REALLY try to write more often now. I’ve got SOOO much on my mind.

I also have another blog for the more serious side of life. I LOVE laughing and joking but sometimes I’ve got things to share that fit more in another category. So if you’re interested in THAT side too, be sure to check it out.

Finally, I’m excited about a new feature (I did actually figure out a couple of good things). You can subscribe to my blogs via email now. So cool!

If you like what I’m saying and what to keep up with it, please subscribe. That way I don’t have to manually send out emails anymore when I make an update.

Thanks all! Can’t wait to start laughing with you again!!!

GOD said there'd be days like THIS…

I have been putting off writing this entry. I don’t know exactly why but even as I’m typing now my heart is beating faster than usual and I feel a bit anxious…

A fair warning up front: it’s no secret that humor is largely my focus on this blog but this entry is not going to be as much fun…I guess some “motherhood confessions” are of a more serious nature. But I said I would share the good, bad and ugly, and I suppose this is part of that. Continue reading GOD said there'd be days like THIS…

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This…

So…life with a new born, a toddler, and a pre-schooler has been a whirlwind. I’ve heard varying opinions on the subject, but I would definitely say THREE is a whole lot different from TWO. Suddenly I found myself looking around at all of these little people and thinking:

“Dang, there sure is a lot of them”. Continue reading Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This…

Welcome Baby Garrett Ryan Howe!

SO…he’s finally here! Baby Garrett Ryan Howe joined us on July 25, 2009 – 11 days early! (I was SOOO happy about the early part) I had started preparing for labor to happen “any minute” at about month eight. Perhaps I was a little over-anxious…and I was DEFINITELY exercising some wishful thinking, but he came through for me… (atta boy!) But, before I talk about all the good stuff, I absolutely HAVE to talk about the storm BEFORE all the good stuff….that beautiful thing called Labor and Delivery. What a trip! As they say… “every woman’s labor is different”…and that has been true even for my own labors – all three have been vey different. But this one takes the cake. I think if I had to title the whole experience, I would definitely have to call it “What the Crap”.

Here we go… Continue reading Welcome Baby Garrett Ryan Howe!

Holy Smoothie, Batman!

Ok it’s been a LOOOOOOOONG time since I’ve gotten a chance to post updates on here! As everyone knows, I’ve recently added number three to the mix – Garret Ryan Howe entered into the world on July 25, weighing in at 8 lbs 5 ounces…BUT more on that later. I first have to backtrack a bit to share something that happened a few weeks BEFORE Garret arrived. Everyone who’s had a baby knows that the last few weeks of pregnancy, you are ready to reach in there and pull the baby out yourself if you could just be sure you wouldn’t get arrested…or locked away. And with baby number three, that feeling started in with me at about month 5. SO that’s how I was feeling this particular morning…very, very pregnant and very tired (and also pretty hormonal but what else is new). I was also (of course) in a mad rush to get out the door. I don’t even remember now where I was trying to go but apparently it was important. I decided to be a “good” mom on this day and make home-made smoothies for the kids…fresh blueberries included. Continue reading Holy Smoothie, Batman!

A Day in the Life Part 2…

So now that the weather is getting nicer and people are beginning to emerge from hibernation, I decided it would be nice to have some friends over for dinner last night. I have ALSO decided that IF I wait to have company until I have the energy or the time to plan an amazing meal and present a spotless house, I will live a life of complete solitude. SO… I recently made the decision that I’m going to invite people over into my life AS IT IS. I will not kill myself trying to present a home that is mis-leadingly clean or a dinner that is to DIE FOR. I just want food, friends and company and to be able to focus on the important stuff. SO…that’s what I did last night. I had some dirty dishes in the sink and I made hamburgers and frozen french fries. AND IT WAS GREAT! I did, however, question my new-found philosophy when in the middle of dinner, we all glanced over to look at the kids playing by the window. Our house faces the west and the setting sun that pierces into our living room is really REALLY unforgiving. I’ve never cared much for how it brightens up the dust bunnies in the corner or casts a spotlight on the layer of fuzz on pictures or tables. BUT I was completely unprepared for the show it was going to give everyone this night and I began to think MAYBE there were SOME things I should have thought of tidying up before company came…. Continue reading A Day in the Life Part 2…