These are my girls. They are amazing and every day I tell them they are destined for greatness because they are girls, not in spite of it. They are not second-class citizens. They are not to be pushed around. They, and their peers, are here to make the world a better place. My goal is for them to feel empowered that they are girls, not marginalized.
There is nothing I love more than a crazy busy week. Not.
I loathe busy weeks because it means that I have to give up on certain expectations I keep. Like having a clean house. That's usually the first thing to go. Next, would be the laundry. Want something to wear? Go pull it out of the hamper then. *shrugs*
Currently, my children are walking around in wrinkly clothes in a house that no visitors are allowed in. What can I say, something has to give when you're a busy mom.
I mentioned a pet peeve of mine on my Facebook page the other day and it got me thinking. Do I really have that many things in life that irritate me? The short answer is yes, yes I do. In fact, it turns out that I'm quite easily annoyed. This isn't good people.
Do my kids really need to give Valentines to everyone in their class?
Yesterday, I asked them if they were going to be giving out Valentines this year (you know, just in case I had some last minute shopping to do) and I received a resounding no from both of them. In fact, they both seemed thoroughly turned off by it.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because we have to give them to everyone so nobody's feelings get hurt. Blech." said my youngest, so eloquently.
By now, you've no doubt heard of Canada's Dumbest Family. I don't hand out that title lightly and quite honestly, I'm only a teensy bit tongue in cheek about this. Because if they were handing out medals for this, in my humble opinion, they'd win the gold.
This morning a blogging friend of mine sent me a link to a post she wrote that she thought I "might" find interesting. Was that an understatement.
Gal is Developmental Mommy and she writes interesting posts about child development and family dynamics. Her most recent post piqued my interest because it touches on something I consider sacred — the family meal.
How about baby it's so ridiculously freezing that exposed skin can freeze in a minute outside! Doesn't have quite the same ring to it, but you get what I'm putting down here. It's bloody cold. Which makes me pouty and a little bit resentful of everyone who lives in Hawaii. Or the Florida Keys. D'oh I really hate those people in the Keys right now!
Late last year a couple made news by giving out treat bags to their fellow passengers that contained candy and earplugs and a note. A note that apologized in advance for two 14 week old twins that would likely be crying on the flight and irritating the passengers around them. At first glance, this seems like a well-intentioned peace-offering. Something to help smooth the way for this young couple that is clearly stressing about a long flight with young children and judgey adults. And herein lies the problem for me.
The end of the world, according to ancient Mayans, is scheduled to happen next week. Whatever. According to Wikipedia, I have survived 56 end of world predictions. Considering I'm only 43, I'm liking my odds on next Friday.
I'm not going to lie. I can take or leave the pop phenomenon of Psy's Gangham Style. Most times I am decidedly on the leave it side. I also don't watch the AMAs, or the Grammys, or any other award show for that matter. I prefer to wait for the highlight reels and keep those few hours of my life for something more useful.
When I heard that Psy and MC Hammer had teamed up for the AMAs though, I had to go check it out. And I couldn't stop grinning.
There's a scene in the movie The Matrix, where everything suddenly becomes clear for Neo—the protagonist of the story. He sees the world for what it really is—nothing but code. Computer code.
You sitting there at home mired in self-doubt right now and wondering if you can do it. Let me be the first to tell you....you can.
Because I don’t see the things you do. I’m not in your head and I'm not privy to the demons that taunt you behind the scenes. Oh I know you might think I can see your oh-so-obvious shortcomings, but the reality is that 90% of our flaws are self-manufactured and only visible to your very worst critic....you.
I like to think I’m a mom who can think on the fly. Many times I've been a Superhero and made a school lunch magically appear out of nowhere — grabbing odd ingredients from the pantry and fridge and producing a lunch Emeril would be proud of. Bam! Lunch is packed. Then I toss my cape over my shoulder and fly off to conquer the day’s next task.
The flip side of this though, is that if Emeril knew what I sent for lunch on the days I can’t quite pull it together he’d be weeping over his noodles. What can I say? I’m not perfect.
When the very kind people at Frigidaire sent me a new dishwasher I jumped on the opportunity to show my husband how to properly load a dishwasher.
I truly love my husband. He's this fantastic mix of Grizzly Adams, MacGyver, and Gordon Ramsey. It seems there's nothing he can't do, except load the darn dishwasher correctly. And if that's the only thing that's keeping him from being perfect, then I can handle it.
Time is marching across my face and leaving telltale signs everywhere. Just between you and me, I'm not such a big fan of wrinkles. Frankly, aging gracefully is nice and all, but who says you have to enjoy crow's feet or laugh lines. There's nothing wrong with trying to beat them back.
As if sensing my frustration, the people at Garnier sent me a challenge. The "Ultra-Lift Challenge" to be exact. Try their Ultra-Lift products for 14 days and watch the clock work in reverse. Hmmm. Ok, I like that idea.
I'm a big fan of sleepovers. In fact, my girls have friends sleep over almost every single weekend. I'm often asked if I'm crazy. Here's the thing, though—I think sleepovers are part of the good stuff growing up, and I encourage them at every turn. I also have clear, consistent guidelines that I follow. Maybe that's what's keeping me on the right side of sane.
I had to chuckle last night on Facebook when I ran across our own YMCBuzz's update.
Sorry Eileen, your balloon guy does not have a sense of humour. I suspect this may because he may not have a job much longer.
Further on in the thread, Eileen wondered why she hadn't received the memo. Indeed. Because it seems lots of people are just starting to catch on to this news.
So consider this your warning. We're running out of helium.
