Mental Musings

So no one tells you when you have kids or more than one kid or when you decide to have another kid when you are finally old enough and responsible enough....how isolating it can be. No one ever tells you how much you will crave another human in adult form. No one ever prepares you for the word vomit any time someone over the age of 20 talks to you about anything remotely significant, such as "Hi, how are you today" at the grocery check out line and then you explaining why you are buying milk(because your 3 year old wanted cereal and you ran out of milk at bedtime the night before). No one prepares you for the absolute need for a connection to someone else in your shoes, such as your massage therapist rubbing your sore muscles while swapping horror stories on your 3 & 4 year-old attitudes that morning. Even spending an extra 1/2 hour with you daycare provider when you pick up your child, talking about things that have absolutely no relation to how your child's day was....

When I started this blog I thought "What an awesome a way to get back in to writing without having to stick to a set style and without seeming too whiny". I never really thought it would take off or become a viral blog right away. Nor did I expect live blog sites to be spamming my email begging me to write for them and paying me for it - although that is still a distant dream. What I did expect is that I would be funny, insightful, and it would be laden with advice and stories of what my kids do and what I experience - much like this group of ladies . Yet without being too overbearing with "TMI" instances or too intimate in to the inner workings of my family that we loose privacy. I did expect that I would write at least weekly, but alas 8 blog posts and 4 months later - I'm struggling with content and frequency. Since I seem to like making lists in my blogs, last night I began thinking of thing I could write about: 1. Potty training - struggles and succes...

Last month I gained another year - I can no longer say that I'm 30...I've gone into the realm of 30-something, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Though it has gotten me thinking about a lot of stuff - which sometimes is a bad thing. First let me step up on a soapbox:  Why is 30 THE age? The age when you should have done something with your life, should have found that special someone/gotten married/started a family. Why is 30 the turning point in some one's life - when they go "Oh SHIT I'm 30 and I have done NOTHING with my life!" and then break down in tears, go on a shopping binge or throw a pity party. Why is it when someone, especially women, reach the age of 30 they are too 'old' to start over, yet still too 'young' to be stagnate or unhappy with their life. They are viewed as being unaccomplished, uneducated, or incapable if they are not successful, not in a high position at work, haven't gotten married/had kids, haven...

Society over the years has taught us to be shameful of our bodies - no matter how 'skinny,' 'toned,' or 'fit'. To cover it up, to hide it because "No One wants to see 'that'"! We have been conditioned to loose the weight and keep it off, because if you do - your partner will love you more, you will get a better job, your kids will treat you better, your friends will want to hang out more, and a plethora of other lame excuses to make you feel bad enough about yourself to starve, work and run your body down until you are 'happy'.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing exercise; losing weight to be healthier, have more energy, sleep better, and be able to take care of your family more - YES - but that doesn't mean you have to be a size 0 or 2 or even a size 8. It's about what is healthy for you and your body and what makes you feel good. My 2 year old has taught me something over the last few months - it feels great to b...

It's staring at you from across the room, little eyes shining in the moonlight, lying in wait for you to make just one wrong move. You are sitting there exhausted by the previous fight, alone in the dark, and you're waiting for it to once again let out the banshee scream that reverberates through the whole house. You know you won't win this way....but you'll be damned if you let overpower you and come out the victor ! Mexican standoff (defined as: most precisely a confrontation between opponents, facing each other, with no clear winner. Each participant holds power over one opponent, and is at the mercy of the other opponent. Following any path of who holds power over whom invariably leads back to the original person after visiting all other participants. More opponents can be added as long as they fit into the above rule and thus do not change the balance of power.) What I am talking about is bed time, as this does pertain to many other arguments as ...

Having a children with two entirely different tastes in food, make supper time and really any meal/snack/food discussion difficult. 12 year old refuses to eat any veggies or fruit, and only some meats that don't have any spice/sauce/flavor. 2 year old loves fruit, veggies, but refuses any meat. Then add husband who thinks veggies are devil spawn and a mom(me) who just wants everyone to be healthy and have a balanced diet.... so food is one of the most stressful and difficult decisions in my house. Multiply that by said husband being in school all but 2 days a week, 12 year old at friends house or park directly after school until dark, and 2 year old that is never hungry at the 'right' time....all that usually results in no one eating at the same time or the same thing. When I was a young single parent, I lived with my mother so we had meals prepare and at the table mostly every night. When I moved out on my own, in my early 20's, I cooked and eldest and I still ate at...

Being a mother of 2 children 10 years apart, I have a 12 year old and a 2 year old, does have perks and then again it has disadvantages. So before I get in to the meat of this blog I'll list some of each...*note list is not all encompassing of both sides* PERKS: 1. While getting ignored by one, you get cuddles and hugs from the other. 2. Teaching one about responsibility and consequences, you can provide a proper example for the other. 3. While teaching one about responsibility, you still have fun being a 'kid' with the other 4. Watching the oldest still have some symbolical instances of innocence while playing with the youngest. 5. Being able to watch more than just kids shows all the time when one child is still awake. CONS: 1: Knowing the youngest is watching the eldest's attitudes toward me and mimicking them 2. The lack of help from either child - 1 being too young and 1 not caring enough to help out 3. Instilling the proper discipline across age group ...