Mommy Confessions ~~ Ren says it...

You've seen posts about Ren.  He's my precocious 4-year-old.  He just started preschool last week.  He already has the "back to school" summer cold that seems to be making the rounds in this part of Ohio right now.  He is the middle child, only boy in a family with 11 girls (this is A and CS plus my 9 nieces), and 100% All-American little boy.  He loves classic cars, trains, and is really into construction equipment right now.  Yes, he's a typical 4-year old little boy.  Right down to the less than tactful way he says things.  Especially those things he knows better because they have been labeled "naughty" by us. 

Here is the latest example.  This happened today when A had a doctor's appointment. 

We are running late, which is highly unusual for me.  Yet, this was the very first time I've ever signed A out of school and it took FOREVER, but I digress.  Anyway, we are running about 5 minutes behind.  We head into the office and straight to the waiting room.  I sign A in and tell the kids to sit down and play with the toys they brought in.  A gets called into the room and she heads off.  (Just in case you are wondering, no I didn't go with her.  It's her dermatologist and she was just seeing the nurse for a check on her hand.  No big deal, no needles, just a once over and we were on our way).

Well, while A is back in the room with Nurse Joyce, this lady comes in.  She is wearing hospital scrubs and is looking like she is exhausted.  Ren is casually sitting near the sign-in sheet playing with his Hot Wheels.  The lady goes to sign in and bends over.  It is right then that Ren looks at me with his eyes like saucers and says "Mommy lookie, that lady has a BIG booty".  I wanted to die, fade into the wall paper, anything but be right there.  I hushed him and said "We don't say things like that Ren".  To which he said "But Mommy, that lady in the purple shirt has a really BIG booty.  Didn't you see it?"   Why won't the earth just swallow you up when you need it too?  Instead, I quickly knelt down and explained that "booty" is a very hurtful and naughty word.  That it makes people's heart hurt when someone uses hurtful words.  He shook his head in understanding and told the lady he was sorry.  She smiled and said "It's alright, I know it's not small".   At least she had a sense of humor right?!??!  Sheesh!

Mommy Confessions ~~ My regret.

My life is my life.  I honestly don't regret a lot.  Sure, everyone has some things they would do over.  This is my biggest regret EVER!  Now, let's go back in time...

I was about 5 or 6 years old.  It's the early '80's.  I lived with my grandmother (Mimi) and she LOVED to yard sale!  On one such "shopping spree" she found me a Barbie house.  I HUGE Barbie house.  It was a 3 piece, 2 story, A-frame Barbie house.  All decked out in those wonderful 1970's colors of harvest yellow, burnt orange and fake flowers.  I was IN LOVE!  I played with this house for years.  Even after it was no longer "cool" for a kid of my age to play Barbie's, I would still sit in my room and just play with it.

(photo of the Barbie house I owned.  This is from an eBay listing)

Fast forward a few years and this house is now stored in the garage at my Mom's house.  Oh, I tried to take it with me when I moved, but hubs and I always had a small apartment.  No room for this mammoth Barbie house.  Plus, it IS a little odd that I would have it in our apartment.  We didn't have children at that time. 

We purchased our house about 2 years ago (wow, has it been that long...sheesh, I need to paint!).  Right around this time, my Mom decided she HAD to clean everything out of the garage and get rid of it.  Fabulous timing.  We were in the middle of packing up our apartment and moving into our house.  I was given a ultamatum.  Either "come and take it or I'll sit it on the curb and see if someone wants it".  In my stressed out with moving mentality I replied "well, the girls aren't into Barbie so do whatever Mom".  She called me a few days later and said "I put it out by the curb and a lady that lives down the road ask me if she could have it for her little girls".  I was happy.  At least it would be played with again.  Little girls and Barbie go hand in hand.

Now, I wasn't sure my girls would ever be into Barbie.  Guess what?  They are.  Both of them.  BIG TIME!  Now, A and CS are both asking for a Barbie house to play with.  The first night I heard A say "Please let Mommy tell Santa that all I want is a Barbie house", I cried.  For around 27 or so years I had the most awesome Barbie house.  I could have rescued it.  I could have ask Mom to hold it for just a bit longer.  I didn't.  I let it go.  I know Mom didn't have the room to store it anymore.  I know it is being loved by 2 very sweet little girls.  I also know that I've kicked around going right up to the little girls' Mom and ask to purchase the house from her.  Yet, I can't.  So, this is, one of the few regrets in my life.  I allowed my much-loved, much cherished and much played with Barbie house slip right out of my hands.  I regret it. 

Do you have any toys you wish you could get back from childhood?  Or am I the only one?

I will NOT apologize

I'm totally stealing my friend Becky's format for this post.  It just seems to fit.  I've been hitting some walls lately and I kind of need to vent, so here goes....

I will not apologize for being nice

I refuse to apologize for standing up for my beliefs

I won't apologize for having manners

OR using them

I won't apologize for standing up for my kids or hubby

I will not apologize for speaking the truth

I will not apologize for standing up and defending others

I refuse to apologize for ruffling feathers that needed ruffled

I will not apologize for being myself

I won't apologize for my kids acting like kids

I will not apologize for my attitude when you criticize my children

I will not apologize for putting my children's education before other things

I will not apologize when I had nothing to do with the situation

I will not apologize for being a friend to someone others dislike

I will not apologize for having a brain and knowing how to use it

I won't apologize for being a stay at home mom(why would I?)

I won't be taken for granted

I will not apologize for having a very open mind

I also won't apologize for being happy, sad, upset or whatever mood I'm in

I will not apologize for having Mommy guilt

or for choosing family time over activities

I WILL however, apologize if I am wrong

if I hurt you

if I overstep boundaries

if my child does something wrong

or if I forget about something planned.

Yes, this may be harsh, but trust me

it's been building for a while.

I am me.

that's all.

I can't apologize for being me.

 

My moment of freedom....

I miss our Mustang....

Yes, you read that correctly.  I miss the Mustang Chuck and I got for a wedding gift.  We loved that thing for 6 years.  Oh, and it was beautiful!  A Green 1995 Mustang GT 5.0...oh, how I loved taking it out for a spin on a back road!  I remember when things would get really, really, REALLY stressful Chuck would toss me the keys and say "Go for spin Baby, you'll feel better!".  Ahh, the man knew the way to my heart!  A fast car, great stereo system and a long, straight back road.  Again, it's the little things for me.

So, is there a point to this story.  Well, yes, actually there is.  Yesterday afternoon I went to pick up Ren from his Meemaw's.  It's a little drive out to her summer place, so I put the van in cruise control and rolled down the windows.  This drive takes me out onto some really great back roads.  Lots of farms with hardworking families!  Then it happened, THAT song came on.  You all know what I'm talking about.  THAT song for me is Don Henley's "Boys of Summer".  The one that just makes you want to put your foot to the gas petal, crank up the volume and just let the wind blow your hair.  Well, that's exactly what I did (mind you I wasn't speeding at all!).  Although, it's just NOT the same when driving a Mom mini van. 

But, for just a moment, I was driving our pony car, letting my hair blow, and just enjoying the drive....

Happy Birthday to ME!!

Yup, it's really my birthday. Today I turn 33.  33, seriously?  Please someone tell me that isn't true.  Please?  Well, since no one will help, I'll refer to my friend Jason who swears we are turning 26 again.  26 was a good year for me!  I was in the midst of wedding planning and all the craziness that comes with that.  Sooo, I thought that for my 33rd birthday I'd share 33 things I love.  I can tell by the look on your face that you are thrilled....

1. A, Ren and CS.  Love them more than life.


2. Taking pictures


3. watching my kiddos learn and grow


4. Baseball, specifically the Cincinnati Reds! 


5. A grilled hamburger with a crunchy pickle spear, some homemade fried green tomatoes and a chocolate milkshake. 


6. Red Gerbera Daisies!


7. The color Red, to quote a famous line "Red is my signature color".  Guess the movie??


8. Grammy


9. oh pickles...I almost forgot to include Chuck.  I love him very very much!


10. The smell of fresh-cut grass on a sunny day


11. Rain on the roof


12. a clean kitchen


13. BBQ-ing in the backyard


14. my little circle of wonderful friends!


15. my brothers and sister


16. parents


17. my kitties (I've had Payson for 11 years and Anna Banana for 10)


18. collecting cookbooks from the '40's and 50's


19. Clothes that have been hung on a clothesline.  The smell of sunshine!!!


20. Scrapbooking


21. ironing (yes, I did write that and I do actually love to do it!)


22. sewing


23. reading!  I've loved this since I was about 4 or 5!


24. the sound of my kids laughter when I'm stressed or upset.  The always make me feel better!


25. My favorite pair of completely broke in, most comfy jeans and an old Miami University tee.


26. airplanes flying!


27. Any of my 3 kids giving hugs and kisses.


28. watching the leaves change colors and fall.


29. this is going to sound silly maybe, but the sound of nothing but the kids sleeping


30. having Hershey chocolate brown eyes


31. being opinionated and outspoken


32. blogging (well, most of the time..lol)


33. life in general.  From the smallest bug to the largest animal.  We have a wonderful world and I'm very thankful to have the opportunity to live in it!!

There's the list.  I hope you enjoy reading it!

Rediscovering your first love...

This is going to be a post that is a little different from most.  Most of the time we post about our kids, or hubby's or the like.  This is something that may or may not happen to others, so I thought I'd just put it out there and see.

We're going to start out many, many a few years ago.  I was dating this guy (we'll call him Fred *not real name).  Well, long story short, we stopped speaking to each other.  Neither one of us really knew why or whether the other person hated us.  Until about 2 weeks ago.  I alluded to this in last week's Mommy Confessions post.  We connected again on Facebook.  With the go ahead from my more awesome than life hubby, we became "Facebook friends".  We've had many conversations since then as well. 

The thing is, I wonder if it was a good idea to chat with him.  Why?  Well, it brought back these feelings I hadn't felt for a long, long time.  Not anything of concern mind you, just giddy girl feelings.  Like I was temporarily back in high school and sneaking hanging out. 

I will be totally honest here and say that at first those feelings scared the bugeezees out of me!  I was thinking, should I feel like this?  Is it wrong?  Does this mean anything?  After contemplating for a while and talking it out with Chuck and a really good friend I figured out it is normal.  That it is okay, it doesn't mean anything and it isn't wrong.  I mean, this guy was my first love.  We dated for over 3 years in high school and our relationship ended abruptly.  Of course I would have questions, need answers, etc...

Now, flash forward to today.  We struck up a conversation via Facebook and you know what?  Those feelings were gone.  All of them.  What replaced them was a feeling a friendship.  Fred* and I hashed out why we stopped speaking and once we got through that a friendship began to form.  It's nice to have that.  I know a lot of people don't speak to, or have any contact with their exes.  I'm one of them!  This though, well, it feels okay.  He does know a lot about my family.  He knows a lot about me.  Those are both things that I appreciate!  Friends is a good thing. 

Sometimes rediscovering a lost love isn't a bad thing.  Sometimes they remind you of who you used to be and in doing so allow you to see how far you've come.  That in itself is a good thing to me.

My future Olympian?!?

I have wanted to write this since last week, but thought that after the Olympics were over would be better. 

A been inspired.  She has repeated over and over to us the last 12 days or so that she wants to be a speed skater.  I have been taping (no we don't have a DVR, we are still in the stone age in that department) the speed skating and ice skating events in the evening for her to watch during the day.  She watched the first speed skating event and her eyes lit up!  She's never been on ice skates, but that hasn't stopped her!  She told us Tuesday night that she wanted to be like Apolo Ohno.  Although, in her words, "I'm a girl, so I'd be prettier".  Yup, she's still my girl...haha.  I am really happy that she has found something to inspire her.  A has always been the independent type.  From day 1, seriously.  She isn't into dance, gymnastics or anything someone might consider "girlie".  Now,while she does think she's the forgotten Disney Princess, her interests are more sports oriented.

There is just one little catch to this whole story.  We live in Southern OHIO.  Not Vancouver, not Colorado.  No place that snow type sports are common place.  So, what's a Mom like me to do?  Well, I'm thinking a trip to a pretty close rec. center that I know has an ice rink is in order.  I mean, she's never been on skates, how can she KNOW this is her thing?  I'm hoping that she decides something like soccer or softball are for her, but if speed skating or ice skating turn out to be her sport than this Mom is going to do everything I can to see it through!  I mean, why would I ever, ever want to smash the excitement I see in her eyes when she talks about it?  I can't.  I won't. 

So, did the Vancouver games inspire you or your children?  In what ways?  Or do you have a dilemma like mine?  Good luck if you do!

What Happened Wednesday

posted by Kandi




This week's edition of What Happened Wednesday s actually a What's Happening! My little man is using the potty!! I know, nothing too exciting about the potty...usually.

See, Ren is quite opinionated when it comes to well, everything. He's either a yes guy or a no guy and there isn't an in between. Since he turned 3 (yikes) in the summer we have been talking up going to the potty. Several times he got really interested in it, only to melt down when it came to the actual act of doing it. So, we gave up. Yes, you did read that correctly. We just gave up.

Finally around Christmas (of all the times, my son picks the busiest!) we were given some advice on how to get him started. The advice was to allow him to go to the rest room with Chuck and use the urinal. Maybe it wasn't he didn't want to potty. Maybe it was he didn't want to sit down and do it. Hmm, brilliant! So, we went to our local Wally World and let him do it. Lo and Behold it WORKED!!! I would have never in a million years guessed that would work.

Fast forward to the past 7 days. Ren is in big boy undies and getting the hang of the potty thing pretty well. We went from having the timer set for every 45 minutes to today not having to set it at all! I'm elated to say the least!

Now that we have conquered the potty (well with #1's at least) maybe just maybe we can conquer the "I never share my trains with my sisters" issue. Then again, maybe not....

Do you have any What Happened Wednesday stories to share? Feel free to link them up below or just post a message and share.




**The potty picture at the top is the the LATTSAM potty from Ikea. We have it and LOVE it's portablility, ease of use and that it can easily be stored without taking up too much room! They are sold for around $4 and this Mom recommends it! Also, I was not ask to recommend. I just purchased it last spring and it works well for mine so I thought I'd share!**

My Life is in Shambles...

posted by Kandi

Maybe shambles is a harsh word, but that's how I feel. While I was away at a super fabulous Build-A-Bear birthday party for Scarlett (Andrea's), Chuckie was at home working tirelessly on the beginning stages of moving our website. When we arrived back home he starts walking up the stairs, my laptop in his hands and open. Lo and behold there was a toy on our steps (shock and surprise there). Well, when his foot met the toy and he slipped he chose to save his own balance. Meanwhile my entire life (slight exaggeration here) fell from his hands and tumbled back down the stairs....AAAAAAKKKKKKK!!!!! He ran back down the stairs with me close behind. Sadly, laying at the bottom was my laptop. The screen was shattered, buttons popped off and well, it was dead. Crap!! I immediately started crying. Not so much for the laptop, but every single picture of my kids that has been taken for the last 2 1/2 years was on it!! All of them!!

Thankfully the hard drive is fine and Chuck was able to pull that out and retrieve everything! I say thankfully because well, he's an awesome computer guy like that!! Sadly, for the time being I have to go ALL THE WAY downstairs to use a computer. In the man cave. Where it's cold, usually dark and smells like a giant fart mixed with men's deodorant and sweat. Lovely aroma let me tell ya.

The best part of it all....I get a new laptop!! Woohoo!! We already have it picked out and Chuckie is just waiting for it to come in so he can reload all of my schedules, addresses, planners and all the other important things that make this Mom happy (you know, like Facebook, TweetDeck...the truly important stuff...haha).

Moral of the story: Don't walk upstairs with your laptop open. Kids toys are dangerous things!

Best part of the story: new laptop..woot!!