Travel February 12, 2012

Why is it that no matter how much a need a break from the wild things, I still miss them so very much when I have to go on the road?  Wild Thing, Sr (senior) misses me already… he texted me to say come home come home.

4 hours on the road tonight and I still can’t fall asleep because I missed the good night stories and tucking in the wild things.  I wonder if the wild things miss mommy as much.

Wild Thing Sr gave me an early Valentines Day gift.  He took the wild things for hair cuts when I left town.  WOOHOO.  It’s those little things that make a dad sexy.  Check out www.howtobeadad.com for more on how doing the little chores makes a dad sexy.

Only 1 day out of town.  I should relax.  Paint my nails, condition my hair, go to bed early…but, I keep thinking right now the wild tings are laying in bed and they didn’t hear mommy read their stories, or kiss them good night.  I know they are ok because daddy is there, but it’s not the same.

Hugs and Kisses wild things!

 

Valentine’s Day February 11, 2012

I am not one of those gushy women that love Valentine’s Day and looks forward to what she will be getting.  There was a time when I hated Valentine’s Day.  HATED IT.  Not because some guy didn’t plan a great Valentine’s celebration or because of a break up.  It was something else.  I just didn’t like it.

So my husband tried so hard to make it a special day.  15 years ago he proposed on Valentine’s Day.  It was one of those proposals that you remember forever because things didn’t go the way he had hoped.  The proposal took place in my first “grownup” apartment.  I was getting dressed for our night out.  He came in from the town we had gone to college in and was waiting for me to get ready.  He asked a question about the band playing at our favorite restaurant.  I told him there wasn’t one that night.  There went his romantic plans.  So he thought he would but the ring in my jewelry.  Only he kept getting in my way.  Finally, he came in the bathroom where I was putting on my makeup got down on his knee…I was still getting frustrated that he was in my way.  And right there in my sweat pants and sweat shirt with the mascara wand in my hand he said…Will you marry me?  And in that one sentence, he changed my life and my opinion of Valentine’s Day.  Because not everything in life is that perfect romantic moment…but it is that plain everyday moment that turns into something amazing.

Which brings me to 2 of my favorite poems for Valentines.

Both of these are by Lois Wyse.  I found them in book my mom had when I was a little girl.  I would read them over and over knowing that this would be my definition of love.

Non -Stop

by Lois Wyse

Someone asked me

To name the time

Our friendship stopped

And love began.

Oh, my darling,

That’s the secret.

Our friendship

Never stopped.

A Cozy Heart

by Lois Wyse

Once I thought love

Was tempestuous,

Tumultuous,

“Kiss me quick.”

I was wrong.

Love is usually a very comfortable way of life.

A cozy heart,

Kisses on the check,

“Wear your coat, and blow your nose.”

And what keeps a love so cozy?

The fact that every so often love is

tempestuous, tumultuous…

“Kiss me quick.”

And some how 17 years ago I meet the man who could make my heart jump in just the regular every day activities.

Happy Valentine’s Day.  May your heart be open to all the possibilities.

Strawberry Bread February 2, 2012

I had a lot of strawberries that were about to go bad.  There was no way to eat them all.  I found this recipe from alrecipes.com.  It was submitted by Ellen Rainey.

Strawberry Bread

2 cups fresh strawberries

3 1/8 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

4 eggs, beaten

1 1/4 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter and flour 2 9×5 loaf pans.  I used mini loaf pans and muffin tins instead.

Slice strawberries and place in medium-sized bowl with a light sprinkling of sugar.  Set to the side.

Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in large bowl.  Mix well.  Blend oil and eggs into strawberries.  Add strawberry mixture to flour mixture.  Blending until dry ingredients are just moistened.  Stir in pecans.  Divide batter into pans.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until tester inserted comes out clean.  Let cool in pans on wire rack for 10 mins.  Turn loaves out and cool completely.

Since mine were smaller in size, I let them bake for about 30 mins.

Mommies need a support group January 19, 2012

I started this blog because I really believe that mommies need a support group.  Weekly meetings (virtual or real) where we can let it all out.  All the stuff about being a mommy.

Lately it has felt like the mommy things have been pulling me further and further from center.  Between work, the kid’s school, the kids, the kids’ activities, and the list keeps going, it has felt like I can’t quite balance life the way I did in the past.  So… I started looking for books to read to help.  Organization books, inspirational books, anything.

I am currently reading two books.  Smart Martha’s Catholic Guide and Handbook for Catholic Moms.  Yes…I guess you can tell I must be Catholic.

Both of these books have been very helpful.   I am remembering what is important and what isn’t.  I’ve noticed that 2012 is shaping up to be a much less stressful year.  Not because work and the kids changed, but because I am changing.

I am not spending 2012 yelling all the time…that was 2011.  Out with the old in with the new.

One theme I noticed in these books and other ones I have picked up recently is that having girl friends is really important.  Sometimes I think we forget that we need to spend time with our friends.  It’s very therapeutic.  So my original idea that a support group helps moms may not be that strange.

We need to take more times for lunch together.  We need to set aside time to talk to each other.  Our best allies are other moms who have gone through what we are going through or who are currently going through the same things or just other moms who understand.

 This week I had lunch with a dear friend…my son’s best friend’s mom.  She has turned into one of my very best friends.  This weekend I am going to go to a Pampered Chef party with my son’s 2 best friends’ moms.  That is 2 times in 1 week that I had some girl time!!  I am so proud of myself…this from the woman who spends all her time working or with the wild things.  I very rarely take time away from the wild things…my babysitter is laughing so hard right now I can hear her from across town.  So it isn’t from lack of an amazing babysitter and 2 wonderful back up sitters or a great husband who offers to watch the wild things that I don’t take time away from the wild things.  It is just me.  Something about me…my need to be that perfect mom.  That mom that is always there taking care of everything.

Instead of being the mom on the right.  I am going to strive to be the mom on the left!  A good mom.

 

 

 

St. Jude Children’s Hospital Game Day Give Back January 12, 2012

This year I am participating in the St. Jude Game Day Give Back.

It’s a virtual Super Bowl Party.  Below is a link to a website to donate to St. Jude.

Why am I participating?  My story is a personal experience with St. Jude.

31 years ago, my cousin, Kelly Belenchia, passed away from childhood leukemia.  She was about 21 years old.  I was in the second grade.  I remember when I was told she lost her fight with cancer.  It was such a shock.  I just knew that she would be ok.

Kelly was a passionate, active, amazingly cool young lady.  She played softball and rode a motorcycle.  I remember looking at her thinking she was the most awesome person I had ever meet.  She never let her illness bring her down.  From a 7 year olds perspective she seemed invincible.

I remember they took her to Memphis, TN to St. Jude a lot.  She would come back with less hair (or no hair) and weak, but she would be better.  The doctors, nurses, and researchers worked so hard to make her better.

This would have been in the late 70s.  Imagine what they can do now with today’s technology.  My cousin was a fighter and she was surrounded by the best support team in the world.  The facility was first class even then.

I am so lucky that the wild things are healthy.  My other cousins and I are so blessed to have healthy children.  That is why we love the healthy children we have and thank God for them everyday.  We donate to help those who aren’t healthy.

So this year as you get ready for the end of football season.  Take a minute to check out the page below.  Thanks!

http://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR/GameDayGiveBack/GameDayGiveBack?px=1989552&pg=personal&fr_id=3621

Sick Mommy!

Mommies aren’t supposed to get sick.  But this week I managed to catch strep throat.  How did I do that?!

What fun.  I spent the past two days in bed.  I am still tired.  How is that possible.  Of course with dad on the road, mommy still had to tend to the wild things.  Again, what fun.

This week both wild things had a good bit of homework.  Which meant after sleeping all day trying to get better, I had to pick up the wild things from school, pick up dinner that didn’t require me to touch anything, and all of the regular night-time routines.

The wild things were very quick to explain to me that mommies don’t get sick.  It’s ok for daddys to get sick, but not mommies.  What fun.

 Even when you are sick you still have to kiss the bobos, feed the fish, feed the dog, stop the fights, call out the spelling words, think up a creative book report, help a 5 year write a paragraph, go over sight words, and on and on.  What fun!

But then at night when you finally get to wind down, and climb back in bed, the wild things decide to be your doctor.  They do have a great bedside manner.  Mommy your throat feels like you swallowed a big spoon of salad.  Mommy your tummy feels like it should go to the potty.  Mommy your eyes look sleepy.  Then a quick kiss on the forehead to check for a fever and a nice tuck in.  What fun!

The Wild Things…Wilder January 8, 2012

Tonight, for the first time in ages, I had a friend over.  WOOHOO!!!

I made snacks, I picked up the house, I tried to have adult conversation between my mommy moments.  Oh but the Wild Things…Oh how they can make an impression!

How my dear friend didn’t leave with bruises is beyond me.

We had a very quiet snack time.  Wild Thing 1 was playing a game in his room.  Thanks to my neighbor, Wild Thing 2 had a play date next door.  Oh it was a blissful 30 minutes.

Then, we settled in and watched a movie…my mistake probably.  We watched The Replacement. …

DO NOT WATCH A FOOTBALL MOVIE WHEN YOU WANT BOYS TO CALM DOWN!

We are watching the movie and the Wild Things start running through the living room.  First, it’s Nerf guns and Nerf swords.  Yelling from mommy to finish writing the required paragraph for school, stop running, play in your room.  Second, the Wild Things find a Football.Well, you can imagine where that went.  Football in the hall, football in the living room, football everywhere.

The Wild Things were bouncing off the walls.  Of course, there were the moments when the movie would pick up to their speed and they would be memorized by it.  But those are few moments.

I worry sometimes that because of the Wild Things, having friends over is difficult.  You know that feeling like people are looking at you thinking how fast can I get out of this nut house?

Luckily, my dear friend has nephews so she understands.  But still, the Wild Things do leave an impression.  This evening probably explained a lot…like why I look tired all the time (the never-ending movement), why I look disheveled (pick up at 45 pound 5-year-old and drag him around and see how straight you can keep your clothes), why I zone out sometimes (you know that spaced out look you get when you are trying to think of what you were saying because the wild things distracted you).

Thank goodness for friends.  Thank goodness for true friends who still like you after they spend 3 hours with the Wild Things!