Weekend Recap

Hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend :)

We had a great weekend even though it rained for most of it. Geo got a shiny new toy Thursday night to start the weekend off

We had family and friends over on Saturday (KERSMASH) for a bbq and general hanging out.

My "sister" Sara and her fiance came down from Michigan to spend the long weekend with us, so on Sunday we went over to the French Market (which is an obnoxiously priced craft market/farmers market) then we took them to Portillos (because everyone likes Portillos, right?!)

We watched movies, ate way too much, drank some wine and generally just enjoyed ourselves. Yesterday afternoon we did a bit of grocery shopping and then stumbled upon a car show. Gabriel was happy to show off his car skills (LOOK! That's the mustang Nic Cage drove in the movie MOM!) and impressed the old guys showing off their cars. He told a guy he was a fan of mustangs and Cadillacs and the man told him he had excellent taste. he he.

After a bath in their bathing suits (they're weird) Gabe and Bits headed to bed and Geo and I were able to sit together and watch "Black Swan" and recoup from the long busy weekend. In between all of the fun and bbqs and wine and relaxing, we all took time to remember those fallen heroes who made it possible for us to HAVE a long fun filled weekend with friends and family. God bless those who've given their lives for our country; we are truly grateful.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Friday Five: Five Silly Animals

Five funny animals pics for my Friday Fiver today! Enjoy :)

Thankful Thursday: Ha ha

Today I am thankful for laughter and the ability to laugh at myself. Life's too short to take anything *too* seriously, plus no one ever makes it out alive, so you might as well enjoy yourself!!

Two muffins were in an oven, one looks at the other and says "man is it hot in here!" The other muffin says "oh my god, a talking muffin!" he he

Wordless Wednesday: Whew! I Made It!

SarahAnne has recently decided that writing with her foot is the way to go...she's a weirdy, for sure.

In Which Momma Does Not Make New Friends

Yesterday was gloriously beautiful out, so Bitsy and I walked down to the local park to see if we could find some new friends and run off some energy. Things were going really well for a while; I talked to the momma of a little girl who came to play in the rocket ship dressed in a NASA suit only to find out that they were in the area visiting a friend and don't live near by-dang it. I figured anyone who would not only buy their kid an astronaut suit but had the sense of humor to LET their kid wear it to the park was probably the kind of lady I'd want to hang out with. Boo.

So we went over to the swings where there was one nanny (younger than my sister, not my demographic lol) and two very very very busy mommas. You know the type; all they talk about is how busy busy busy they are. They are so busy that they just never have time for themselves and yearn for the days when they'll be able to leisurely lounge at the park like the OTHER mothers they say sneeringly as they gaze in disgust at the mothers who dare sit down while their children are playing. (that would be me, whoops)

So we're at the swings and Bitsy is swinging happily. VERY happily. Screaming at the top of her lungs "HIGHER MOMMA HIGHER!" So, being the mom I am, I indulge her and push her higher. Higher than I've ever pushed her (do you see where this is going yet??) She's flying toward the moon and being the modern mother I am, I am texting while she swings....and all of the sudden she lets go of the swing on one side...and flies off. It was fantastic. I mean, absolutely, amazing. I watched it all in slow motion as I threw my phone and ran toward her screaming "ooooooohhhhhhhhhh ssssssshhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiittttttt" (that's oh shit for those who don't read in slow motion)

She flipped sideways and did an awesome somersault; she landed about ten feet from the swing set and was covered in mulch. I picked her up and brushed her off and she was fine; she just wanted to go back on the swing, but this time she promised to hold on. I said alright and set her back on the swing. The nanny of the girl next to me said "wow, that was crazy" and I agreed and then started to laugh because, seriously, it was hilarious and she wasn't hurt, plus I have a tendency to laugh in the face of things like this because I often react inappropriately, particularly when in public.

So now in addition to being that mom who isn't busy (lol ok) I am also the mother who swears, loudly, in front of children...and then, as if that wasn't enough, after swinging, Bits decided to walk over to the jungle gym and smacked headfirst into a bar. She staggered around as I ran to her and said to me "that's it, I'm leaving" as I started to giggle again. She had a humdinger of a headache and some scratches on her leg and arm as we left the park yesterday. I am not sure that we'll be going back again...unless it's midnight or pouring rain or something equally as obnoxious. I fully expect to find a picture of myself on a poster at the park that says "do not engage this woman, she swears in front of children and laughs inappropriately"

WHOOPS.

(Side note: after some motrin and some lunch (per the doctors' suggestion) , Bitsy was back to normal and rarin' to go back to the park...)

Momma Musings: Childrens' Diet...

and how parents affect what a child eats...

Last night we went to Gabriel's final school concert; it's the first time I've ever gotten a good look at the school population and I've got to say, I'm disgusted. A good 75% of the children that I saw were overweight or obese; there was a boy in front of us who was still in elementary school who had broader shoulders than me and was sweating the whole time he sat in front of us. I could hear him wheezing, it was awful. There were a lot of children in the program who were SO big I had a hard time believing they were only 7 or 8.

I'm not one to point fingers and place blame BUT where the hell are the parents while these kids are getting so fat? I'm a fat adult; I've made my own choices and have no one to be upset with except myself. *I* am responsible for my own body, no one else. I'm not fat because of advertising from fast food places, I'm not fat from food additives, HFCS didn't make me fat; I did it to myself by making poor food choices and not being as active as I should have been.

I recently read a stat somewhere (here, actually) that said 40% of McDonald's sales are from Happy Meals. FORTY PERCENT.

Now, just for a second, think about that. People are blaming McDonald s for making their children fat...most children don't have jobs and I don't know of any child being allowed to go to McDonald's by themselves, so who is buying the happy meals? To be sure, you can get "healthier" options when you get a happy meal; a plain hamburger, apples, and skim milk aren't THAT bad...but really, who wants that when you can have nuggets, fries, and chocolate milk??

Going even further back, let's talk about a mothers' responsibility for her childs' diet (no offense men, but you can't feed a fetus...haha) even while in utero. Numerous studies are coming out pointing more and more to children being predisposed to obesity and poor food choices because of how they were "nourished" in the womb.

Rather than keep going on and on and beating this dead horse, I'd like to urge parents to be more conscientious of how they are affecting their children when it comes to food. Here are some more links to articles and helpful hints when it comes to helping your child become the best they can be:

Great Article on mom's and grandma's(!!) affecting a childs' diet
Healthy eating tips for kiddos
Health benefits of a healthy diet for children
Helping an overweight child stay healthy
Easy ways to keep your kiddos active this summer

Momma Musings: Religion and Hypocrisy

So, you oldie moldies know that I'm not particularly religious; I was raised in a great little Baptist church with really good pastors, I was married by a wonderful pastor whom to this day I admire a great deal. My kids are baptized and we occasionally go to church. Neither Geo nor I feel that going to church is an essential part of being a good person, nor part of being a "Christian". I can't say that I really identify as a Christian, I like to say that I'm "christianish" because while I agree with a lot of things the bible says, I can also see the merit and beauty in other religions and what they believe; for example I think Buddhism and Hinduism are both amazing religions-very peaceful religions, very calming and centering, if you will.

Now, that all being said, as most of you know, some guy decided that today was the "rapture" The rapture, of course being the day that Christ comes back and takes the believers to heaven and the rest of the people sit and perish in hell on Earth. *shakes head* Okay, so that's what the bible says will happen, fine, whatever. I don't believe it, I don't think it's actually going to happen that way, but that's just me. Lots of people have lots of beliefs that I don't and that's ok...because I have beliefs that others don't have as well. No worries, we can get along no matter WHAT the other one believes. (unless you believe that Bob Dylan is a god on earth, then we'll disagree and I'll have to send you packing ha ha)

So there's this whole "OMG RAPTURE" thing going on and all these religious types and people who think they are religious types professing their love for Jesus and telling the non believers that they're going to be in hell on earth-oh ha ha ha-because they don't believe in Jesus. The same people who are professing their love for Jesus are also the ones who are the most hypocritical, in my opinion. The ones saying they love Jesus are the ones who don't love their own families, the ones not honoring their own mothers and fathers, the ones getting rip roaring drunk, beating their wives, and showing up at church Sunday as pious as all get out. The "godly" ones are the ones least likely be living a Godly life. They're concerned with material possessions, they're concerned with money, they're concerned with no one but themselves...and yet they're the Godly ones? They're the ones God is going to spirit away to heaven? Oh please. Quit deluding yourselves "christians"; you're no better than the rest of us, except that the rest of us don't hide behind religion to justify the things you do (need an example of what part of religion people use to justify their actions: Hating gay people. The bible says being gay is a sin; the bible also says to hate the sin, but love the sinner...I'm afraid that I see way more hate toward actual gay people than I do toward the "sin". I can go on and on, but I won't, I think you get the point)

NOW that I've said that, let me also say this, I know quite a few GOOD Christians; I know people who truly embody what it means to be a good Christian person. People who love their neighbors as themselves, people who value humanity in all forms: color, creed, sexual orientation not being an issue. We're lucky that we have these people in our lives because they really show us what a Christian is supposed to look like-none of Geo's grandparents are religious nuts; they're Christians who practice what they preach-love and respect for their fellow man, fearing God, praising God, and honoring God in all they say and do.

Maybe being a "good" christian comes with age? Maybe as these radical hypocritical "christians" grow up, they'll realize that all their hate in the name of "God" is wrong, maybe they'll realize that material possessions really are NOT what we're meant to have (after all, you can't take it with you and if you're Christian, your treasure lies in heaven, right?) Maybe they'll realize that loving your family, honoring your parents (and parents in law...) is actually what brings honor to God.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've been working on my post-rapture looting list* for a few days and need to finish it-I only have a few short hours before the rapture begins and I need to be prepared...


*of course, I'm kidding, I rarely take anything like this seriously, especially when it's something so obviously made up by some whack job who predicted the same thing was going to happen in 1994...

Friday Five: Quickly Now

1. What's your favorite quick meal?
Take out ha ha. Other than that, spaghetti and garlic bread, which is always a hit around here.

2. Who's the quickest person you know?
Boni cat...he's a person right? A cat person?

3. What are three things you can do quickly?
Wash a load of dishes, fold laundry, fall asleep

4. What's the quickest you've ever run a mile?
I honestly have no idea. I do know that I average about five mins per mile when biking, does that count?

5. Quickly tell me your weekend plans
Bloomin' Fest (a garden festival) touring the Batavia windmill, and sewing

Thankful Thursday: My Mom

I'm always thankful for my mom, but today even more than usual. She always knows the right thing to say regardless of the situation, and I'm so thankful I have her in my life. She lost her own mom when she was 21-I'm so grateful to have her still and can't imagine how hard it must have been (and still be) for her, especially raising three kids. I know how much I lean on my mom with the kiddos, it must have been awful for her to not have her mom to call and cry to when one of us was being awful. My mom has passed on to me (and in turn, I've passed it onto my kiddos) a great sense of humor, a love of reading, and a take no crap from anyone attitude. Thanks mom!

Wordless Wednesday:Squish!

The Dreaded "D" Word

My dreaded "d" word is depression; many of you don't know this (but you will soon) but I've been clinically depressed for most of my adult life; I've sought treatment on and off for the last ten years or so, but have finally come to the realization that being medicated keeps me at an even keel and I've been on a low dose of antidepressants for about a year now.

A lot of people say "but you don't ACT depressed" and "you're so HAPPY, how can you be depressed?"

Here's the thing; depression doesn't just mean people aren't "happy". I'm plenty happy; I have two amazing kids, a great hunky hubby and an awesome support system around me. I'd say I'm happier than most people I know but that doesn't mean I am not depressed.

Depression hits me physically; I am in pain a lot. I am hypersensitive to most touching which sucks when all your little ones want to do is climb all over you and smooch and snuggle. Most days I struggle to have energy to do day to day tasks; I force myself to do it because I have to, but given the choice, I'd probably just lay around and not do a damn thing for 99% of the day. I have issues with motivation; I have things I want to do, but can't get them started, or get started and get very discouraged. As with the activities that require my attention and energy, I force myself to get motivated and do things or they wouldn't get done. I'm not "sad" so much as I am angry and negative. I tend to fixate on things that piss me off and they affect my mood; I get angry, irrationally so, many times, about stupid things or comments made that shouldn't bother me.

It's hard for me to talk about this because of the stigma attached to the word depression; as a general rule when people hear "depression" they think of people laying in bed wanting to die because their lives suck so badly. A lot of people assume that depression is all in your "head" and you just need to get over it/deal with it. People don't understand that depression takes a physical toll on you, they don't realize just how hard it can be to do the day to day activities that one needs to do to keep up an appearance of being "normal" I hope by writing this, someone will read and realize they are not alone and seek the help they need. It's humbling to "need" help, but a chat with a doctor can help immensely. I have done talk therapy and it did nothing for me, it takes an antidepressant to get my chemicals in balance and I'm okay with that. For a long time I was not okay with it and I, along with the people around me, suffered because of my own pride. If you're on the fence about seeking some help with your depression, take it from me, it's worth swallowing your pride to be able to get back to "normal" and life life to its' fullest the best way you can. If you can't do it for yourself, then do it for your family...your pet...your job. Whatever it takes to motivate you to get healthy; mental health is just as important, if not more so, than physical health.

Some resources for help with depression:

Signs and Symptoms of Depression
The Difference Between Post Partum Depression and Regular Depression
Depression in Men (yes, it's different than what women experience!!)
Children and Depression
Self Help Tips for Dealing with Depression
 Hope Line-Suicide Prevention Hotline

Recital Saturday :)

Yesterday was Bitsy's very first recital. She did wonderfully, even if she wasn't quite sure what she was doing. We had lots of family there to watch (because Bitsy's cousin Aubrey was also performing) and we all had a great time, including the little dancers :)

In laws

As promised in last weeks' Friday (twenty)Five, a post on in laws...

When you get married, the old adage says, you marry your spouse’s family. Whether you agree or not, it’s true. When I married George I got his whole big, complicated, complex, and AWESOME family. He has a mom, a dad, a step mom, a step dad, grandparents, step grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins. The whole bit. There are a lot of them and whether I wanted to or not, I got this family when I married Geo.

It was a hard adjustment at first; growing up you’re very family centric to your OWN family. You have your parents, siblings, etc, it’s a tough concept to wrap your head around. Wait a minute, you mean now I’ve got IN LAWS, what in the hell does that mean?

To me, in laws are just more family. I love a big family gathering, we don’t need to be blood to have fun and enjoy ourselves and the longer I’m married the more I realize that by actually TRYING to love these people and integrating my life with my husband’s familys’ life, OUR married life is much richer.

I’m not really religious, I don’t think the Bible is the be all and end all, however I do think it has some good points and some great words of wisdom. One of the things the bible says is to “honor thy mother and father”; when you’re married, if you say “traditional” vows, you vow to “honor your spouse” I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately; the concept of not only honoring PARENTS but George. If we are to honor our parents and honor our spouse, doesn’t it only make sense to honor our SPOUSES’ parents? Shouldn’t we treat our in laws the same way we treat OUR parents? The answer, at least for me, is yes.

I’m not saying I’m perfect; I’m not saying this has been an easy concept for me. I have struggled mightily sometimes with being part of a huge in law family (and really, it’s TWO in law families because both of Geo’s parents are remarried) HOWEVER I’ve made a conscious decision that I will honor my (in law) parents as much as I honor my parents and as much as I honor Geo, if for no other reason than I expect him to do the same in return.

So…my question (always rhetorical, of course) for all of you is…are you honoring your in laws like you honor your own parents? Are you honoring your spouse the way they deserve to be honored? Are YOU being honored the way you deserve to be honored? What can you be doing in your daily life TO honor those around you?

Thankful Thursday: AC

I love doing my Thankful Thursday posts; I really enjoy the opportunity to reflect on what things I'm thankful for during the week-even if my posts are sometimes silly. I'd been planning this week's post to be a long winded obnoxious post about how thankful I am for Geo's new job (and to be sure, I AM thankful for his new job; he's happy, we're FINALLY swimming with our heads above water financially, we have great insurance, and MOST importantly, he's HAPPY at his new job. He doesn't come home stressed, he doesn't bring work home with him, and he looks forward to going to work. I am very thankful for this job) HOWEVER

I think, given that in the last week the weather has gone from the low 60's to 93 and humid, I need to be thankful for the air conditioner. It's been so hot and humid that opening the window is NOT an option these days, so we've been running the air. It seems like it's way too early to be running the air but we gotsta do what we gotsta do! So thank you modern technology for central air.

Wordless Wednesday: Tiny Dancer

Happy Mother Day

There are a lot of mothers in my life; my mom in Michigan, my "not my mom but like a mom" in Massachusetts, my two mothers in law, my two grandmothers in law, my many aunts, cousins, sisters in law, and friends who are mommas. Lots and lots and LOTS of mommas and I'm very lucky to have all of them in my life HOWEVER there is one little momma in my life who has a very special spot in my heart and that's Bitsy.

We call Bitsy "little momma" quite often; she's a little mother hen. I was laying in bed earlier and she made a point to uncover herself and cover ME up so I was comfy. After covering me up, she patted my back and said "there you go momma, get comfy" She mothers the cat, she mothers Geo, she mothers Gabriel and pretty much anyone else who needs to be mothered (OR she deems necessary of mothering)

The title of my post is Happy Mother Day, you'll note that there was no "s" after Mother...because Bitsy is convinced that it is not MOTHER'S day, it's just MOTHER day and since I am her only Mother, there is no reason for her to say Mother's. And actually, if I was being honest, she doesn't say Mother, she actually says "mudder"

Mudder day has been a big deal to her. I was greeted with kisses and hugs this morning, then on a walk we took, she and Gabriel picked me dandelions the whole way to the store, then when we got home, she insisted on helping me in the kitchen. This evening after a nice dinner out (woohoo no cooking OR cleaning up!) she came up to Geo and said "is it still Mudder day?" very concerned; Geo assured her that it was still Mother's Day as long as she was awake and she said ok, but then mumbled to herself about it not being mudder's day tomorrow...apparently she doesn't like that very much.

Where has Gabriel been in all of this? Kissing me every two seconds. Today at the park every time he went down the slide, he came over and smooched me. Every time I turned around today he was giving me a hug, telling me he loved me, or kissing me. He's a little love that much is true.

Over all it was a great Mudder day; even if Geo did work a 12 hour overnight shift and come home exhausted. We had a nice brunch then he went to bed for a few hours so he could get up and go back to work again tonight. If it weren't for Geo, I would have never gotten to be a mudder OR celebrate mudder day, so thanks HH for making me a momma :)

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day as well!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Friday (2)5

Since I've missed the last few Friday five posts, I'm going to make a HUGE Friday (twenty)Five post today. Five questions each with five answers. Woohoo!

1. Five things I'm going to be blogging about in the near future:
a)  the death of Osama bin Laden
b) SarahAnne's first dance recital
c) Parental responsibility (and diet)
d) Marital bliss (and long marriages)
e) In laws

2. Five things I'm looking forward to in the next five months (in no particular order):
a) Celebrating my tenth wedding anniversary with HH
b) Celebrating two big wedding anniversaries with family
c) Two new nephews coming!!
d) Bitsy going to school
e) Family visits!

3. Five books on my "to read" list:
a) "Little Bee" by Chris Cleave
b) "10th Anniversary" by James Patterson
c) "Dead Reckoning" by Charlaine Harris
d) "From This Moment On" by Shania Twain
e) "Does the Noise in My Head Bother You" by Steven Tyler

4. Five songs I currently cannot get enough of:
a) E.T. by Katy Perry
b) Peacock by Katy Perry
c) Awake My Soul by Mumford and Sons
d) Backstabber by Ke$ha
e) Just Breathe by Pearl Jam

5. Five things I've learned recently:
a) Cats have 32 muscles in each ear; humans have six
b) My favorite cd by my favorite artist of all time ("Fumbling Toward Ecstacy" by the Goddess herself, Sarah McLachlan) is being made into a ballet
c) SarahAnne is much smarter than she's letting on; she can sound out words and pick out which letters belong in them. She got very frustrated with me the other day because I refused to say the word apple. She said "it's A, d, no, not d, it LOOKS like a d and then a puh and l MOM" little stinker
d) The Dog Days are Over!
e) Making a list of 25 things is a bit harder than I expected!

Thankful Thursday: It's Over

Today I am particularly thankful that this stupid pneumonia that's been in my system for the last million years or so finally seems to be leaving. I'm feeling so much better and have so much more energy, thank goodness.

A big congrats going out to my friend Jen and her family on the arrival of their little guy Oscar early this morning. Welcome to the world little man :) We're so glad you're here!!

Wordless Wednesday: What Do I Do All Day?

The Boy and the Bus Saga

Gabe's bus stop is close to our apartment; I can see it from my front window and can be out to the curb in two or three minutes (provided I don't fall down the stairs on my way out) I've been working on getting Gabe to walk to the bus stop by himself; he's been resisting it from the get go-he does NOT want to walk by himself and will refuse to do so.

The last few weeks though, with everyone sick, I've given him no choice but to have to walk by himself (At this point, I should note that it's a safe walk, I can see him, he can see me, he just doesn't like to do thinks alone) a few times a week. This morning I asked him to walk to the bus himself and he actually didn't fuss. He waved goodbye to Bitsy and gave me a kiss. Even more than that, he only turned around ONCE to give me a thumbs up to make sure I knew he was okay walking. Yesterday when he walked to the bus, he turned around about a dozen times to make sure I was watching him.

What a bizarre twist. I was shocked that he didn't need constant reassurance that I was there and pleased that he's become so independent. Now to see if he can keep it up!

Well Then!

What an exciting past few days (she said in a sarcastic tone of voice)

First off, Gabe's MRI went well. He didn't have any issues with the i.v. or the anesthesia to put him to sleep. In fact, he had a liquid drug that made him goofy as all get out and it was pretty funny watching him and hearing him talk. Whenever he and I go to the doctor, we ask each other "ok, what's your number?" (on the pain scale)

 

He said to me, in a drug induced stupor, "Nine. No! Blue. Ha ha, I'm the magic number" It was hilarious. It took the edge off that was for sure. He went under fine and every single person who came in contact with him before and after the procedure (when he was awake that is) made a point to tell me how polite and sweet he was. Always a good thing to hear.

Thursday nights we've been going to an additional dance class to get ready for Bitsy's big recital in two weeks. We got to class and she was a bit lethargic BUT she'd spent the whole day with Aubrey driving Aunt Katie crazy, so I figured she was just tired. Halfway through class she started to cough so hard she was crying. She was miserable, so I made an appointment with our pediatrician for the next day. By the end of class she was coughing so hard she was starting to wheeze (By the way, I blame this ALL on our pediatrician who early in the week had asked if she still wheezed! Dang it Dr. S! ha ha) My throat had been sore all week, but I get strep throat all the damn time (I'm a carrier of strep, hooray) and around this time of year I always have a sore throat. 

We ended up going to urgent care where the doctor told me that Bits had strep throat. I said "well then, you ought to take a look at this" and opened my mouth. I swear he shuddered when he saw how swollen my throat was. He said "ok, then, you have strep also, let me listen to you since you've recently had pneumonia" Oh joy of joys! I STILL had pneumonia. Six weeks of feeling like crap apparently should have been my tip off. Bits got another antibiotic and is fine, I got my third antibiotic in six weeks and am finally starting to feel a bit more human. In addition to antibiotics, I got a lecture from the doctor about not coming in for a follow up. I told him I was pretty sure that pneumonia took a while to clear up and I wasn't worried about it. He conceded, that yes, it does take a while, but it shouldn't take this long. I suppose having pneumonia still explains why I am out of breath five minutes into a work out lately, eh?

Thankfully everyone else is feeling fine and we're all working our way back to normal. I am completely and utterly done with being sick. We are ALL ready for spring to be here permanently so we don't have to deal with this crap anymore.

I hope everyone is happy and healthy and a special congrats today to our dear friends Cindy and Trav who are celebrating 7 years of marriage today. Seems like just yesterday we were at their wedding watching them exchange their vows :) Such a lovely couple-we wish you guys only the best and can't wait to see you soon!!