You know how you go through life and think to yourself, I will remember this moment forever? You won't. At least I don't. I think I am going to remember the way baseball games smell, and what my kids said loudly in public bathrooms, what the sun feels like when its February, but it kind of fades away. Today I am just writing down randomness, more for me than you. You can play along.
1. Vacation. We just got back from Florida. We spent quite a bit of time on the beach. The kids loved it. I did too. I think I could sit on the beach forever. One moment I will remember is when Libby told Mark that she had to pee. Mark said "Just go in the ocean" She walked in, I would say 6 inches. The water could not have even covered her feet. She stood facing away from us and then pulled down her swimsuit and squatted. All we could see was her cute little butt. I held my breath and watched as she peed with her bare butt out for the whole world to see. She will hate this story. I am pretty sure I haven't laughed that hard in quite a while.
2. My friend Cheryl needs to write a book. I met Cheryl when I was a freshman in college, she lived down the hall from me. I can honestly say she is one of my favorite people I have ever met. I was fascinated by her and her family. They are the most talented bunch of people I have seen in one family. Her brother is and artist, her sister is an artist. They all 5 sing, play the guitar and harmonize together. It sounds like a movie! Cheryl also writes. I am not sure what she does in her own time with it. I see her facebook posts. She is funny, she writes in a way that you laugh outloud and can't wait for her next post. She writes in a way that you can relate to her life and laugh and cry with her. SWEET HEAVENS CHERYL. Write a book already. If nothing else...please blog. You are perfect for it. I would offer to illustrate something, but I think your family could lend a hand on that !
3. Career day is Friday. I found out that I have to fill up 30 MINUTES of talking about what I do. I should probably figure that out.
4. I cried watching walking dead this week. Damned zombies.
5. I never remember how tense it is to drive home from Florida. The traffic. The poorly repacked clothes spilling out. Sand is now in the car. No one can find their "cute travel stuff" that was packed for the drive down. We are driving AWAY from the beach. We are now eating what feels like our 200th fastfood drive thru. This time we thought we would add a stop at a Mexican restaurant into the mix. This went about as well as you could imagine. Enjoyable meal, then we were all trapped in the car together. gross. We made it home and are better people for it! :)
I am sure I will think of more later but this is what needs to get out right now! :)
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Career Day
Hidden in the millions of papers in my 9 year olds Friday folder was an application to speak at the school's career day. I asked my daughter if she minded if I signed up. (I was going to anyway) :)
I filled out the questions and was so excited. I was praying that I would be one of the parents chosen. I remember in 5th grade we had a career day. I can remember what the lady looked like and where I was sitting in the room when she spoke about being a graphic designer. I had a million questions. I remember not even being able to concentrate in class after hearing her speak. I was good at art,I loved it and I could turn it into a job. This lady did it and so could I!! From that point, I knew that art was what I wanted to do for a job. I hope there is some artsy kid out there that hates gym class, and is pretty excited that they can turn what they love to do most into a job.
A few weeks later I got a letter in the mail from the principal letting me know that I had been chosen, when to come in to speak and that they would really like emphasis put onto the training I did to do my job, whether it be college or trade school. If the training was from a university, please wear something representing that school. Easy enough. My daughter was excited and so was I! This morning I filled out one last questionnaire for the day, a program is being made and they wanted me to write down what a typical day is like at my work. I literally laughed out loud. As most of you know I am an artist, but mostly right now a stay at home mom.
I laughed because Friday my 5 year old was having a birthday party and we got some suspicious mail on Thursday that looked like someone was using our identity. I spoke with a police officer over my kitchen counter while I was feverishly making a unicorn cake and cupcakes. Sunday night I rushed my 5 year old to the Emergency Room after she tried to balance a quarter on her forehead and it slid into her mouth and was swallowed. There was a very short while that she wasn't breathing and we did have to call 911. She quickly was fine, minus the quarter rolling around in her. After an x-ray I was told that we needed to wait "until we found it" This means exactly what it sounds like. We will look thru our kid's poop until we find a quarter. A game that is less fun than is sounds. (This is why you wash your hands after touching money :)) So....I was struggling to fill out a paper that asked to describe a " typical day". I had already "checked for the quarter" and had not even had coffee yet. I don't think Purdue University wants to be associated with the truth on this one, so I did the best I could. " My day varies depending on the project I am working on. Some days I am designing things on my computer, others I am painting a mural. Some days I am working on artwork at home and getting ready for an art show."
I left out the endless laundry, the times I clean the kitchen 3 times a day, when my kids are sick and we don't leave the house for days and days. The time your kid will ask if she can use your paper cutter. When you say no, she will ask if she can have it when you die? what? I didn't mention the phone calls with amazing friends. My amazing, hardworking husband, the times when money is there, the times when it is not. I didn't mention how long it takes to unpack at new house. How sad it is to see your kids sad. How a glass of wine with a girlfriend can fix a lot. I wont tell people that at every art show there is one jerk that points out that they could do this, and do it better. awesome.
I forgot to mention that I don't fit in any of my clothes I wore when I was "trained for my job". I didn't say I now know how smart my parents are and wished I realized it earlier. I also didn't mention how a quarter in your kid could scare you to death and show you how quickly life can change. I also forgot to mention guardian angels.
My friend and I always joke that some things were not in the "being an adult" brochure we got in college. I worked VERY hard in college and played just as hard. I got very good grades and had great internships and made amazing friends. I was also thinking George Lucas and I were going to be best friends after he rang my doorbell and asked me personally to work for him (slight exaggeration). I soon found out that being a designer was 10% designing and 90% dealing with coworkers, clients, a disgruntled computer and quickly changing technology. I am not alone in this. In other words every person who speaks at career day will be lying by omission. Yes I became a nurse because I wanted to help people. They won't mention the vomit they clean up, crazy co-workers and Dr's that don't get along with anyone.
We lie because we do LOVE what we do and if we were honest, there would be no one to do this job after us. We don't want to scare them. Sometimes when you hear reality outloud from someone else it sounds crazy. When you live it, it can be so much better than you ever imagined.
So, on career day, I cannot wait to share the highlights with these little chipmunks and I will not talk about poop, or the police, or laundry. I just hope that there is one artsy kid out there that leaves thinking...NO WAY!!!!!
I filled out the questions and was so excited. I was praying that I would be one of the parents chosen. I remember in 5th grade we had a career day. I can remember what the lady looked like and where I was sitting in the room when she spoke about being a graphic designer. I had a million questions. I remember not even being able to concentrate in class after hearing her speak. I was good at art,I loved it and I could turn it into a job. This lady did it and so could I!! From that point, I knew that art was what I wanted to do for a job. I hope there is some artsy kid out there that hates gym class, and is pretty excited that they can turn what they love to do most into a job.
A few weeks later I got a letter in the mail from the principal letting me know that I had been chosen, when to come in to speak and that they would really like emphasis put onto the training I did to do my job, whether it be college or trade school. If the training was from a university, please wear something representing that school. Easy enough. My daughter was excited and so was I! This morning I filled out one last questionnaire for the day, a program is being made and they wanted me to write down what a typical day is like at my work. I literally laughed out loud. As most of you know I am an artist, but mostly right now a stay at home mom.
I laughed because Friday my 5 year old was having a birthday party and we got some suspicious mail on Thursday that looked like someone was using our identity. I spoke with a police officer over my kitchen counter while I was feverishly making a unicorn cake and cupcakes. Sunday night I rushed my 5 year old to the Emergency Room after she tried to balance a quarter on her forehead and it slid into her mouth and was swallowed. There was a very short while that she wasn't breathing and we did have to call 911. She quickly was fine, minus the quarter rolling around in her. After an x-ray I was told that we needed to wait "until we found it" This means exactly what it sounds like. We will look thru our kid's poop until we find a quarter. A game that is less fun than is sounds. (This is why you wash your hands after touching money :)) So....I was struggling to fill out a paper that asked to describe a " typical day". I had already "checked for the quarter" and had not even had coffee yet. I don't think Purdue University wants to be associated with the truth on this one, so I did the best I could. " My day varies depending on the project I am working on. Some days I am designing things on my computer, others I am painting a mural. Some days I am working on artwork at home and getting ready for an art show."
I left out the endless laundry, the times I clean the kitchen 3 times a day, when my kids are sick and we don't leave the house for days and days. The time your kid will ask if she can use your paper cutter. When you say no, she will ask if she can have it when you die? what? I didn't mention the phone calls with amazing friends. My amazing, hardworking husband, the times when money is there, the times when it is not. I didn't mention how long it takes to unpack at new house. How sad it is to see your kids sad. How a glass of wine with a girlfriend can fix a lot. I wont tell people that at every art show there is one jerk that points out that they could do this, and do it better. awesome.
I forgot to mention that I don't fit in any of my clothes I wore when I was "trained for my job". I didn't say I now know how smart my parents are and wished I realized it earlier. I also didn't mention how a quarter in your kid could scare you to death and show you how quickly life can change. I also forgot to mention guardian angels.
My friend and I always joke that some things were not in the "being an adult" brochure we got in college. I worked VERY hard in college and played just as hard. I got very good grades and had great internships and made amazing friends. I was also thinking George Lucas and I were going to be best friends after he rang my doorbell and asked me personally to work for him (slight exaggeration). I soon found out that being a designer was 10% designing and 90% dealing with coworkers, clients, a disgruntled computer and quickly changing technology. I am not alone in this. In other words every person who speaks at career day will be lying by omission. Yes I became a nurse because I wanted to help people. They won't mention the vomit they clean up, crazy co-workers and Dr's that don't get along with anyone.
We lie because we do LOVE what we do and if we were honest, there would be no one to do this job after us. We don't want to scare them. Sometimes when you hear reality outloud from someone else it sounds crazy. When you live it, it can be so much better than you ever imagined.
So, on career day, I cannot wait to share the highlights with these little chipmunks and I will not talk about poop, or the police, or laundry. I just hope that there is one artsy kid out there that leaves thinking...NO WAY!!!!!
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Florida. Running. Writing.
Hello readers! I just
wanted to update you on the world of the Clarks. I am going to use this very
“public” platform to thank my husband!!! He pretty much wins a major award. (“
who knows it could be a bowling alley” ) Last weekend he used his frequent
flyer miles to fly me to Florida with him, WITHOUT THE KIDS!!! He was going to
see one of my favorite bands in a tiny bar on the beach with his sister and
wanted me to be able to come too... SO I did!
It was Amazing! I can honestly
say it was one of the best concerts I’ve seen. (only to be soon topped by a
girls road trip I am taking this summer to see NYOTB and Boyz2Men, yes I am
serious) Here are a few pictures of the
talented and always wonderful, G Love and the Special Sauce! There was lots of floppy dancing, late into
the night. Thanks to Alison and Wes for
introducing me to this music……SIXTEEN YEARS AGO. Ugh.
So I am an UBER fan!
Much more excitement is happening in the Clark house and
this is when I temporarily re-name the blog…running and writing. I am running in this year’s mini Marathon
with my dear friend and long distance running partner. She is flying in from Arizona and we are
keeping up on each other’s training via text and phone call. So far I am a little behind where I need to
be and need to pick up the pace. Maybe
blogging about it will guilt me into it. Probably not.
Now the next issue is a tough one. This is the writing part
of the equation. Now, let me start with
I have had a few, what I like to call “Jerry McGuire moments” in my life. Where
I write an e-mail or send a text that seems heartfelt, well intended and
inspiring, only to realize later that it probably better if I had kept my mouth
shut. So this is where I spill my
mission statement and run off with your goldfish in a bag. (If you haven’t seen
Jerry McGuire, this blog can wait…go watch it) Ugh. I
have put my art business on hold while we moved, and I have been meaning to get
back to it once everything got settled.
One problem, I have had a nagging idea that won’t leave me alone. I have had these ideas before but this one
was VERY persistent.
I got the idea from Libby’s former preschool teacher. I made
her sister one of my cancer prints that says “You are so brave; you make cancer
pee its pants.” She was telling me how
much her sister enjoyed it and wanted one for her friends. It hit me like a brick, the words and the illustrations;
this was a book for children with cancer.
I do not feel like I can claim my art talent, it is something God gave
me. I feel that way about this idea, it
popped in my head in its entirety, illustrations and all. Thank you God! This idea was now in my hands and head for me
to decide what to do with it. YIKES!!! I wrote and drew and got a few pages how I saw
it in my mind. I researched how this children’s book thing is done. It sounded like I needed to get an agent. I
did A LOT of research on agents and sent my book idea to 4 agents. I have heard back from 2 of them that they liked the book but was
not in their area of children’s lit that they published. From the research I have done, the agents have
2 months to respond to your proposal. If you do not hear from them, then assume
the answer is no.
I have only told a
SMALL handful of people about this project.
I kind of feel like a crazy person as I say it outloud to anyone. I have said it is like saying to a friend….”Hey….
I have a squirrel in my purse!” They have to smile and say …”.Ooooh that
sounds neat”, but their face is reading…WHAT IN THE WHAT IS SHE DOING??? One of the small amount of people that I let
in on my craziness is my dear friend Anne, who herself has written a book .
Here is the link to her amazing Bible Study that she wrote!! http://www.makingroomforgod.com
She told me to
start a blog. OK CHECK. Talk about this book on the blog. WHAT??? I
could NOT do that. I told that was NOT an option. She must have lost her mind
(maybe Anne has a squirrel in her purse too??)
I have done a lot of praying about this, and I have come to the conclusion
that I am responsible for my talent and I need to act on this, in other words
LET GO AND LET GOD. I am not very good
at this. For being a self-proclaimed suburban hippie, I have a hard time giving
up control. But here I am, and now it’s
out there and I am standing here with a goldfish in a bag. (Again watch Jerry
McGuire already) So what now? I am
still working on the rest of the book in case one of the two remaining agents
agree. If I do not hear from them, I am
not sure what is next? Are any of you a
childrens literary agent specializing in the medical field?? J Who knows how this will work? God, me and the goldfish are going to have to
figure it out together. J
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Holiday stuff.
I have figured out that the holiday season gets harder as the kids get older. Every year I say I am not acting crazy, I WILL remember the reason for the season. Every year I have one or maybe two moments where I feel like curling up in the middle of Target and crying. I usually have a few events that drain my Christmas spirit. Here is the list for Christmas....buy gifts for family, teachers, Sunday school teachers, bus drivers, guitar teachers. There are holiday parties, both friends and work,school Christmas programs, making Christmas cards, mailing Christmas cards, angel trees at church. Choir performances, pictures with Santa, show and tell. Tree decorating, cookie making, caroling, gift wrapping, being room mom, class parties. I am sure I am forgetting a few things. I LOVE each and every one of these items on my list, it is sometimes they all attack at once and I am left to assume that 3 ghosts will visit me at night to improve my "spirit".
This is where a 4 year old comes in. If you do not have one of these amazing things, please go borrow one, at least for the holiday season.
I love my nine year old just as much as my 4 year old, but at 4 the perspective on the world is AMAZING. My 9 year old was just as wide-eyed with the world at 4, now she is a wise and sometimes cynical tween.
Here are conversations I have had with L (my 4 year old) in the past week, yes I have been writing these down.
I asked her if she had any preference on tennis shoes I would be getting her.
"Yes mom, it should have a sparkly Eiffel tower, a big unicorn and a flower on it"
From the backseat of my car. L told me the Christmas story. She talked of donkeys, and baby Jesus being born. Mary, Joseph and a few more details. She added in her own touch by telling me that Mary and the wisemen fly at the end and then the pilgrims come too.
" Mom did you know that God has a beard, I like beards, I think it is a good idea"
We were in the car for 30 minutes and here was the path of our conversation ..all lead by L. I am just writing her side of the conversation
This is where a 4 year old comes in. If you do not have one of these amazing things, please go borrow one, at least for the holiday season.
I love my nine year old just as much as my 4 year old, but at 4 the perspective on the world is AMAZING. My 9 year old was just as wide-eyed with the world at 4, now she is a wise and sometimes cynical tween.
Here are conversations I have had with L (my 4 year old) in the past week, yes I have been writing these down.
I asked her if she had any preference on tennis shoes I would be getting her.
"Yes mom, it should have a sparkly Eiffel tower, a big unicorn and a flower on it"
From the backseat of my car. L told me the Christmas story. She talked of donkeys, and baby Jesus being born. Mary, Joseph and a few more details. She added in her own touch by telling me that Mary and the wisemen fly at the end and then the pilgrims come too.
" Mom did you know that God has a beard, I like beards, I think it is a good idea"
We were in the car for 30 minutes and here was the path of our conversation ..all lead by L. I am just writing her side of the conversation
- Mom, do you remember when I fished with papaw and he didn't catch anything, and I did. maybe he wants to borrow my fishing pole.
- Remember when I went to snoopy land with aunt Lara, I love that. Is kings Island open? why not? when will it be open? how long away is that?
- I loved Disney world, will we fly on a plane again like we did for Disney world?
- I love pulling weeds. When can I pull weeds again?
- I hope the apple seed grows that I planted in the yard, I love apples. How many trees are going to grow?
- Can I plant more?
- I think my bear is a princess bear.
- mom start counting.....WHEW!!! DO you know what I did while you were counting, I held my breath, can you count again?
- Is our car going as fast as a Cheetah? I have seen a real cheetah before. Do you think we are going faster now?
- Mom, I love you.
- When I turn 5, I want to have a party. I want a cake with a unicorn on it. Can there be a princess riding the unicorn?
- (singing) bird, bird, bird's the word.
Now lets pretend you have not spent much time with a 4 year old. You are probably wanting me to take mine to the Dr. for an evaluation. Nope, this is just what 4 is. I LOVE it. LOOOOOOOOVE it. I am sure that the Christmas spirit I have left is due to that blue-eyed funny kid!!
Friday, November 30, 2012
High speed parenting...
Hello friends,
I am going to tell you about my morning. Most of the time I don't think you would be interested....but....today was different. This day and blog post is almost a response to a blog I read yesterday. Here is the link- http://toholdyoudear.wordpress.com/
It is written by my cousin's cousin. (Doesn't that sound like we are related?? :) I am a cousin on her dad's side and this amazing writer and mom is a cousin on her mom's side. clear?? Onward.
The last week I have woke up and felt like I didn't even sleep. Not sure why, but it just is. My alarm goes off at 7:00. Very rarely do I use this alarm, as my dogs and kids are needy at all hours! This morning was no exception. My little dog wanted to go out at 6am. done. I am standing outside with both dogs and my 4 year old is now up. She wants to watch the Grinch. Lets just say it is her FAVORITE movie ever. EVER. I allow her to watch it ONLY in December. For her health and mine you can only watch so much Grinch I looked at the clock. SCORE! If we run to the basement she can watch the Grinch and I can sleep for another 45 minutes. GO!!! My 9 year old comes down to watch the Grinch too. So now both kids, both dogs, and myself are piled on the couch. Here is where it all turns....My alarm on my phone was under the blanket so I didn't here it. It is 7:10. My 9 year old screams...MOM TODAY IS MATH TEAM TRY-OUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now the try-outs are BEFORE school. This is when our house looked like a track and field meet. My nine year old and I are running, my 4 year old is screaming because we have interrupted her 400th viewing of the Grinch I am making oatmeal at neck-breaking speeds. My 9 year old is frantically getting dressed with whatever clothes she can find. The 4 year old is now running too. I think she just didn't know what else to do. The kids are shoveling oatmeal down as the 9 year old updates us every 30 seconds.."8 MINUTES UNTIL WE NEED TO LEAVE" 7 MINUTES UNTIL WE NEED TO LEAVE!!!!....and so on. Just in case I have to get out of the car, I run upstairs to put some clothes on and maybe some "drive-by" makeup. My husband is JUST NOW GETTING IN THE SHOWER. In his defense, he has no idea all of this is happening, last thing her knew was that our dog needed to go to the bathroom. I throw on clothes, swipe on lipstick and run downstairs, both girls are already in the car and ready. I can still hear the Grinch's heart growing 3 sizes down in the basement. No time to even put the dogs in the laundry room....It's go time :) (Mind you the dogs act like ...well animals...if left to have the run of the house..) We made it to school. I didn't have to get out of the car, and I am assuming she made it to try-outs as I saw her disappear into her school. I came home, turned off the TV, cleaned up the messes my animals made in the 7 minutes I was gone, had coffee, brushed my hair, made lunch for my 4 year old, packed her bag, and helped her find a show and tell. yep. Rocked out the mom thing this morning. sigh.
The above posted blog, that I linked you to, is so amazing and I felt myself having a conversation WITH Kelsey. So here is really the only valid point I can add to such a well written blog. Karma. Motherhood has been a lesson in karma. I found in the "kidless" world that karma happened, but much slower. I get a good dose of karma DAILY as a mom. Examples....As soon as I am(internally) a little cocky that I have pulled it together, I am quickly remided that I am falling apart. Sometimes I internally judge other moms, or sometimes how their kids act. (You know you do it too, stop judging, my judging.) When I look at a child and think, I am so glad my kid would never act like that, usually that day they will do something JUST like that or worse.
My 9 year old is VERY into soccer, and I am at the fields often. I will usually see the same moms there. One one particular day, I had on a cute outfit, I was on time, we had all neccesary items for soccer, I had rocked it out. I was feeling pretty proud. I looked to my left and a mom was walking up and seemed to have a beam of light around her. She must have just left her professional modeling job to bring her child to practice. She sat a few feet from me. I was blinded by her long perfectly curled blonde hair. I looked down and noticed a big streak of yogurt on my coat, courtesy of my 4 year old. I almost cried. really. I judged her, I thought, it must be nice to show up for soccer and look like you are walking slow motion in a Hollywood film at all times, I felt jealous. The next week, she was there again, again she looked amazing....like REALLY amazing. This happened a few weeks in a row. I then had a practice that I couldn't be at, my husband took over that night. I won't lie, I was a little relieved. He called on the way home to let me know they had left practice and his voice was obviously different. I asked what was wrong and he said we will talk about it later. hmmm?
When he got home he told me that there was a dad at practice that stopped practice to confront his child. This dad felt like his child was not doing well and trying hard enough. Mark said this man was humiliating his child and everyone was so uncomfortable. Mark was telling me how this child looked like she wanted to dig a hole and hide and her mom/this man's wife looked broken hearted. I asked him if she had long blond hair. She did. I was smacked with karma. I am a mom, and I have no idea what other moms are doing or how they are living.
Kelsey is so right, we just need to be the best mom that we can be, for our life that we have. Today I was that mom, I did approximately 30 things in 10 minutes.It wasn't perfect but all goals were met. By telling the last story, I am really throwing myself under the bus. I am a pretty good person and do love most people I meet, but by letting you into my internal dialog, I let you learn a lesson at my expense We are all fighting a battle, and you don't know what that perfect mom has going on. I am praying to be a more supportive mom, even internally where no one else can hear.
Happy Friday to you all!!
I am going to tell you about my morning. Most of the time I don't think you would be interested....but....today was different. This day and blog post is almost a response to a blog I read yesterday. Here is the link- http://toholdyoudear.wordpress.com/
It is written by my cousin's cousin. (Doesn't that sound like we are related?? :) I am a cousin on her dad's side and this amazing writer and mom is a cousin on her mom's side. clear?? Onward.
The last week I have woke up and felt like I didn't even sleep. Not sure why, but it just is. My alarm goes off at 7:00. Very rarely do I use this alarm, as my dogs and kids are needy at all hours! This morning was no exception. My little dog wanted to go out at 6am. done. I am standing outside with both dogs and my 4 year old is now up. She wants to watch the Grinch. Lets just say it is her FAVORITE movie ever. EVER. I allow her to watch it ONLY in December. For her health and mine you can only watch so much Grinch I looked at the clock. SCORE! If we run to the basement she can watch the Grinch and I can sleep for another 45 minutes. GO!!! My 9 year old comes down to watch the Grinch too. So now both kids, both dogs, and myself are piled on the couch. Here is where it all turns....My alarm on my phone was under the blanket so I didn't here it. It is 7:10. My 9 year old screams...MOM TODAY IS MATH TEAM TRY-OUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now the try-outs are BEFORE school. This is when our house looked like a track and field meet. My nine year old and I are running, my 4 year old is screaming because we have interrupted her 400th viewing of the Grinch I am making oatmeal at neck-breaking speeds. My 9 year old is frantically getting dressed with whatever clothes she can find. The 4 year old is now running too. I think she just didn't know what else to do. The kids are shoveling oatmeal down as the 9 year old updates us every 30 seconds.."8 MINUTES UNTIL WE NEED TO LEAVE" 7 MINUTES UNTIL WE NEED TO LEAVE!!!!....and so on. Just in case I have to get out of the car, I run upstairs to put some clothes on and maybe some "drive-by" makeup. My husband is JUST NOW GETTING IN THE SHOWER. In his defense, he has no idea all of this is happening, last thing her knew was that our dog needed to go to the bathroom. I throw on clothes, swipe on lipstick and run downstairs, both girls are already in the car and ready. I can still hear the Grinch's heart growing 3 sizes down in the basement. No time to even put the dogs in the laundry room....It's go time :) (Mind you the dogs act like ...well animals...if left to have the run of the house..) We made it to school. I didn't have to get out of the car, and I am assuming she made it to try-outs as I saw her disappear into her school. I came home, turned off the TV, cleaned up the messes my animals made in the 7 minutes I was gone, had coffee, brushed my hair, made lunch for my 4 year old, packed her bag, and helped her find a show and tell. yep. Rocked out the mom thing this morning. sigh.
The above posted blog, that I linked you to, is so amazing and I felt myself having a conversation WITH Kelsey. So here is really the only valid point I can add to such a well written blog. Karma. Motherhood has been a lesson in karma. I found in the "kidless" world that karma happened, but much slower. I get a good dose of karma DAILY as a mom. Examples....As soon as I am(internally) a little cocky that I have pulled it together, I am quickly remided that I am falling apart. Sometimes I internally judge other moms, or sometimes how their kids act. (You know you do it too, stop judging, my judging.) When I look at a child and think, I am so glad my kid would never act like that, usually that day they will do something JUST like that or worse.
My 9 year old is VERY into soccer, and I am at the fields often. I will usually see the same moms there. One one particular day, I had on a cute outfit, I was on time, we had all neccesary items for soccer, I had rocked it out. I was feeling pretty proud. I looked to my left and a mom was walking up and seemed to have a beam of light around her. She must have just left her professional modeling job to bring her child to practice. She sat a few feet from me. I was blinded by her long perfectly curled blonde hair. I looked down and noticed a big streak of yogurt on my coat, courtesy of my 4 year old. I almost cried. really. I judged her, I thought, it must be nice to show up for soccer and look like you are walking slow motion in a Hollywood film at all times, I felt jealous. The next week, she was there again, again she looked amazing....like REALLY amazing. This happened a few weeks in a row. I then had a practice that I couldn't be at, my husband took over that night. I won't lie, I was a little relieved. He called on the way home to let me know they had left practice and his voice was obviously different. I asked what was wrong and he said we will talk about it later. hmmm?
When he got home he told me that there was a dad at practice that stopped practice to confront his child. This dad felt like his child was not doing well and trying hard enough. Mark said this man was humiliating his child and everyone was so uncomfortable. Mark was telling me how this child looked like she wanted to dig a hole and hide and her mom/this man's wife looked broken hearted. I asked him if she had long blond hair. She did. I was smacked with karma. I am a mom, and I have no idea what other moms are doing or how they are living.
Kelsey is so right, we just need to be the best mom that we can be, for our life that we have. Today I was that mom, I did approximately 30 things in 10 minutes.It wasn't perfect but all goals were met. By telling the last story, I am really throwing myself under the bus. I am a pretty good person and do love most people I meet, but by letting you into my internal dialog, I let you learn a lesson at my expense We are all fighting a battle, and you don't know what that perfect mom has going on. I am praying to be a more supportive mom, even internally where no one else can hear.
Happy Friday to you all!!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Happy Birthday to ME!!!
I mentioned it on facebook and here on my blog. I recently turned 36. Not the most exciting birthday, but a birthday none the less. I am so blessed to have been given one more. This year I decided to to "The birthday project" this is where we do one random act of kindness for every year I've been here.
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For those of you that are not familiar with the " Lindsay way of doing things".....I tend to have a great idea, get excited about it, get everyone on board.....and then only do half of it. At that point I have only had 30 better ideas and started 30 new projects that I may get half way finished. I am pretty sure my husband bites his tongue until almost bleeding when he hears me say..." I have this great idea". I was determined to finish this one and it is still in process but will. I say WILL be done soon. :)
One of my favorite things is how my girls were SOOO into it. They worked so hard thinking of the ideas and the sparkle in their eye when we did it was amazing. Julia would come home from school with things that she did that day to add to our list! Our random acts of kindness are as follows.
1. I left a card on my kids beds telling them how glad I was to be their mom.
2. I purposely left the change in the pop machine for the next person
3. Mark and the girls gave the waitress a large tip and told her to have lunch on them.
4. Julia let a friend in line ahead of her to get on the bus for a field trip, when everyone was pushing and shoving.
5. Julia tried to pay for a friends lunch at school when he realized he forgot his lunch on the counter at home.
6.Julia let others be the quarterback in gym when she was the team captain and really wanted to be :)
7 I let someone go ahead of me at a stop sign. (Julia made me write this one, I think it was kind of a stretch! :)
8-12. This is the second year that we have delivered Thanksgiving meals to families in our town thru our church. It is one of my favorite things we do as a family and it was on my birthday. I feel like I can count each one as a separate act of kindness because each family was such a different experience. The first family thanked us for the blessing. She saw my kids walking up with things too. She thanked me for teaching my kids to give back. I was so humbled by her and her spirit. It was one of the many times I was moved to tears that day. The family I cannot get out of my head, was going thru a situation similar to one my husband went thru as a teenager, losing a parent. I sobbed from their house to my car. It struck a chord with me, that everyone's life can change at any given moment. I was also so moved by her attitude. After talking with the mom for about 20 minutes, all she could speak of is how God was in control of their life and situation. Amazing. Praying for her strength thru the holidays.
13-18 Sending notes. I think I am not alone in this, but I often think good things about people and almost NEVER tell them my thoughts. I tried to pay attention to my thoughts the couple of weeks before doing this project and sent notes to people telling them how I was impressed by them. This is one I will be trying to keep up. It was a little scary to send the messages as I didn't want them to think I was crazy! I am SOOOO glad that I did!
19. put random carts away at the grocery
20. This was one of my favorites. I bought a Starbucks gift card at the store and then the kids and I waited at Starbucks to give it to the next people that walked in. It was a couple that looked to be in their late 50's/early60's Julia ran over to the wife and said "This is for you." The woman looked at me and said " I think your daughter thinks I dropped this??" I explained what we were doing, and her response was "but I don't know you..." I said that is the point. She and her husband hugged all three of us. We cause quite a scene in Starbucks. Julia looked at me and said...MOM I feel like Ellen! :)
21. We wrote about 20 post it notes with nice things on it and before we went out to eat, we put them on cars...here is some photo proof! :)
My 9 year old got very creative with her notes!!!
22-24 We made a TON of cookies and delivered them to 2 fire stations and a police station in our town. The Westfield fire fighter that answered the door, gave the girls the royal treatment. We got to tour the whole fire house and let them sit in the truck and ambulance. Libby is STILL talking about it!! Here is more photo proof!!
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25. The kids made our bed....without being asked to
26. The kids cleaned our bathroom without being asked to.....
27 I left a dollar bill under a payday candy bar at Walmart
28. I stopped a lady at church and told her how well behaved her kids were during mass. She literally looked at me like I was talking Chinese. Not sure if she believed me or not.. :)
29. I put a dollar bill for someone to find under a bag of water softener salt.
30. I obnoxiously let cars out at a shopping center. There was no one behind me so it was a win/win. I felt like this one had to be obnoxious to count! :)
This is the point that I have to say To be continued. We had a large and AMAZING group at our house for Thanksgiving and we have yet to do the last 6....BUT WE WILL....promise!!
I asked friends to also do random acts of kindness in honor of my birthday, and quite a few did!! I was so humbled! I will post those when I post the last 6 that we do! Until then have a GREAT day and much love to all of you!!!
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Good evening friends!!
Well it's November. What does this mean? It means that in a few days I will be 36. sigh.
Can I just take you back to my weekend? I went to see my niece for her birthday, she is a member of the sorority that I was in in college. I pulled up to the house in a minivan. MY SORORITY....in a MINIVAN. This is not in all caps because I shouldn't be driving a minivan, I should.
It was odd because I felt like I lived there 10 minutes ago, and here I am in a minivan with an amazing husband and 2 perfectly squirrely kids! I am very blessed, but realize that time goes so fast. (I will leave out any Ferris Bueller quotes you might be expecting)
So in light of that, even though 36 is not that exciting of a birthday, I am going to make it count.
I saw this on pinterest (along with 5,000 other things) It is called the birthday project. I will be doing 36 random acts of kindness with my family in honor of my birthday. We have started ahead of time, because that is alot to do in one day! Here is the link with alot of cool ideas http://mixmingleglow.com/blog/?p=1358#comment-246015
I will often do random acts of kindness, but do not mention it. This is not because I don't want applause ( I don't), I think it takes away from the kindness if you tell people. The idea is that you do it with the thought that you will not get anything in return, including recognition. SOOOO.....even posting this makes me feel weird, but I am very ready to do this as a birthday present to me. Stay tuned for the actual birthday post to be coming mid month. Until then just keep in mind, if you wish me a happy birthday on facebook I will be asking you to do a random act of kindness for my birthday. I will then add those add those to the acts of kindness on my blog. You have been warned (in a nice way, in all lower case letters...) !
Peace to you all! L
Well it's November. What does this mean? It means that in a few days I will be 36. sigh.
Can I just take you back to my weekend? I went to see my niece for her birthday, she is a member of the sorority that I was in in college. I pulled up to the house in a minivan. MY SORORITY....in a MINIVAN. This is not in all caps because I shouldn't be driving a minivan, I should.
It was odd because I felt like I lived there 10 minutes ago, and here I am in a minivan with an amazing husband and 2 perfectly squirrely kids! I am very blessed, but realize that time goes so fast. (I will leave out any Ferris Bueller quotes you might be expecting)
So in light of that, even though 36 is not that exciting of a birthday, I am going to make it count.
I saw this on pinterest (along with 5,000 other things) It is called the birthday project. I will be doing 36 random acts of kindness with my family in honor of my birthday. We have started ahead of time, because that is alot to do in one day! Here is the link with alot of cool ideas http://mixmingleglow.com/blog/?p=1358#comment-246015
I will often do random acts of kindness, but do not mention it. This is not because I don't want applause ( I don't), I think it takes away from the kindness if you tell people. The idea is that you do it with the thought that you will not get anything in return, including recognition. SOOOO.....even posting this makes me feel weird, but I am very ready to do this as a birthday present to me. Stay tuned for the actual birthday post to be coming mid month. Until then just keep in mind, if you wish me a happy birthday on facebook I will be asking you to do a random act of kindness for my birthday. I will then add those add those to the acts of kindness on my blog. You have been warned (in a nice way, in all lower case letters...) !
Peace to you all! L
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