Toast 2 Mom

The Perks

I've been a WITH (Work Inside the Home) Mom now for three months. There have been many days where I have noticed all of the perks this job can hold. I can avoid long lines at the store on the weekends. The obvious perks are all the hugs and kisses I get now during the day. I am also able to dress as I choose. Not a bad gig. Today I became aware of another perk that I thought so often about when I was a WOOTH. Today I took my girls to the library for story time, for the first time...during a week day.

When I worked during the week, away from them, I used to think about all of the activities I wanted to do with them. I would research story times and classes and events that I might be able to participate with them. The timing was always so off though. It was always a nap time or some task needed to get done. I suppose if I really, really wanted it to happen, it could have. It never did though, even as much as I thought about it.

The one thing that always ran through my mind was how much I would love to take my girls to a story time event. Since we moved south, we have introduced ourselves to many new places and activities. It was gloomy and rainy here today... a perfect day for the library. Actually we just got plain lucky that it was story day. I was only hoping to check out some books.

The event was so much fun. The teacher was great. This week focused on Caldecott books; so, all good choices. The teacher read three books. In between the books, the kids had to stand up and sing songs. At the end they watched a movie, which played from a movie reel from the back of the room onto a projector screen at the front. It was not a DVD...which I thought was great!

I think, umm I mean I'm pretty sure, I had more fun than Sydney did. She enjoyed herself to a degree, I suppose. Natalie just played with the Wet Wipes package the whole time, occasionally looking at the kids when they danced. Me, on the other hand, I was laughing and singing and playing along. I'm sure it'll grow on my kids over time!

Next week, there is going to be a singer and they're talking about ducks! Awesome!

My New Definition of Errand Running

When I was a Work Outside Of The Home mom (WOOTH), I had a very strategic way of running errands with my girls. On the weekends, we did theusual - Target and the grocery store. Occasionally I would do a little browsing at a department store - for some new shoes for Syd or a birthday present for a friend. Even in those cases, though, I had to put together a list of what I was seeking. Otherwise, shopping unplanned with a three year old and an under one year old was disastrous. For those errands that required more time and more planning and probably unexpected challenges, I reserved those for my lunch hour at work.

Now I am a stay at home mom....And today I had the stay at home mom errand running initiation...getting my van inspected and getting my van new registration and license plates! I knew the tasks would be challenging, so I did my best mommy-planning - make sure they're rested, pottied and have PLENTY of snacks. My other plan was to not expect to get both of my errands done in one part of the day but assume it would take two parts. 

This morning we headed out for the inspection. Naturally the first place we went did not have an inspector, so we had to try and find a new place (in a new city). I got lucky and stumbled into a new place quick. Then we had to get it inspected. I assumed this was a 15-minute process. Texas is different. I was told it would be a 35-minute process. It was an hour and ten minute process. Glad I brought plenty of snacks! Also like I thought, glad thing I knew our errands would be in two parts of the day.

The afternoon, after a long nap, we loaded up and went to the county tax office to get my new plates. Thank heavens for navigation!! I don't know how I found this place. When we arrived, I walked to the wrong building - naturally. I had the girls in the stroller to confine them...another good choice. When we got inside, I was number B243. They were on A262. I had no idea when we'd be called. Luckily for me I had along a Tootsie Pop and Cheerios (see yesterday's post :) and 20 minutes later, we were in.

Our day of errands ended at 5:00 to drive home in the bad direction during rush hour. Really this was the most challenging part of the day. Cheekers was cranky and the Tootsie Pop was gone. Overall, though, we did a good job....The girls and I had great teamwork. We'll see how tomorrow goes, though.... Next errand on the list - the driver's license branch!

Omaha...somewhere in middle America

Today is move day.

Prior to moving to Omaha almost nine years ago, the only thing I knew about this city was The Counting Crows had a song of the same title. When I told people that I was moving to Omaha, most people responded, "Omaha, why?!" I had the same thought when I was making the decision to journey my life to the west-midwest. It didn't take long, though, to see that Omaha is not a why...but a why not.

While on some levels, Omaha did not meet the high expectations I had hoped for, in most ways, it fulfilled my needs (and my wishes). There are many things I am going to miss about living here.

First and foremost, I am going to miss my house and my neighborhood. I spent the majority of my upbringing in apartments. My parents divorced early in my life, and my mother and I lived in appropriately sized homes. I was never really bothered by apartment living. I had all of the things I needed. However, when I would visit friends and partake in their street block parties and such; it was hard to not think that would be nice. My home now and the area of town in which we live is like my Mayberry. It's full of caring neighbors, block parties, an ice cream shop, beautiful parks and a local convenience store all in walking distance. It'll be hard to replace this feeling of genuine community.

Next I will miss my friends. I am a person that is a little hard to open up initially. Therefore I tend to struggle to make the relationships I long for due to my introverted side. The upside is when I do form a friendship, it is a very valued one and a connection that I treasure greatly. My friends know who they are...and know I will miss them.

The sights...my husband and I, prior to having our girls, did our best to explore restaurants and local points of interest. After a while, we found our favorites and tended to do repeat visits to these local spots. I admit I wish there were some more places I had seen. Overall I was so impressed with Omaha for its lack of the chains and the abundance of unique restaurants and things to do....a secret most people from not around here would probably not know.

Go Huskers...I was recruited by my husband ten years ago to become a fan of the Big Red. I had no idea about football, nor did I care. However, I must admit, now I enjoy the football season immensely. It will be a shame to be so far away from Memorial Stadium. The spirit of the Cornhuskers is like no other... This fan is for real!

Moving to Austin also means moving even further away from family - no family at all. My Hubby has a bigger family than I do. When we moved here almost nine years ago, and far from my family, I was welcomed very kindly by Hubby's family here. Over the years, we have set up some traditional get togethers. I will miss the ease of joining together for family events and the opportunities for Syd and Natty to hang with their cousins.

The experiences I've had in this city cannot be without a mention, a very high-praised mention, of my girls' daycare "school". Becoming a mother was my very best gift in life. It has also been scary and confusing and sad at times. The women that have cared for my daughters, while I worked my other job, are some of the most amazing people I have ever known. I hold such a high regard to what they do and what they know. They have taught me so many things and consoled me and shown care for me... (maybe about as much as they have my girls :). I will miss the daily conversations I had with them and their advice. They will hold a place in my heart forever.

Something that I have been reflective on this week is all of the different places I have lived in my life and their meaning. I grew up in central Illinois. That is my hometown, where my family still lives and where my childhood memories are. My next stage in life moved me to Indianapolis. Indy was my growing up city. This is where I went to college, where I learned about love, where I learned about heartache, where I formed lasting relationships with friends and where I met my husband. Then we moved to Omaha. Omaha, my third chapter in life, is when I got married, where I gave birth to my two daughters, where I turned thirty (and thirty-four!), where I learned things about myself I never knew about myself. It's been my city of growth and transformation.

And now my life's book is taking me to Austin. I don't know yet what this city will hold for me. I guess that is the exciting and nail-biting part to this crazy life we live. Luckily I do enjoy surprises. I do have some wishes and some goals and some expectations already lined up in my mind for my fourth chapter... For now, though I'm going to keep all that to myself and see what happens on the next page...

Bad Cop Mommy - Off Duty

From after work until bedtime tonight I said the following - don't run so fast, don't go into the parking lot without holding my hand, don't push that button, don't pinch your sister's cheeks, don't push your sister, don't body slam me, don't poke your sister's eyes, don't grab Mommy's glasses, don't pull my hair, don't stick out your tongue, don't be so loud, don't be bossy, don't be so whiny, don't give that to your sister, don't eat that, don't stand up on that, don't stick your finger in your water, don't show me your food in your mouth, don't slide around in your chair, don't stick your hand in the toilet, don't touch that, don't flip that switch again, don't run and slide into the furniture, don't turn that on, don't speak to me that way, don't close your mouth while I brush your teeth, don't be loud and don't jump on the bed.

I feel like all I say is "don't". I feel like I don't even have time in between "don't's" to explain why the "don't" shouldn't be done.

Daddio is coming into town this weekend, and I'm hoping he can take a few "don't's" off my hands. I'm hoping to turn in my Bad Cop Mommy badge...for a few days anyway.

What Did I Do to Deserve This?

Yet again I discovered just exactly why I married my husband... He is always one step ahead of me in the thoughtful and giving category!

As my husband mentions below - when he hijacked my blog to inform of my upcoming birthday - yes, this Saturday I will be 34. It is true, I will be the age I always wanted to be (and yes, I love birthdays!). When you're a kid and dream about becoming an adult and livng a grown up life, there is an age in your life that you can't wait for. Mine has always been 34. And now it's almost here! It seems as if maybe even back as a kid I was wise beyond my years because it looks as though 34 is going to turn out to be a pretty great time in my life.

I've been waiting to share this news on my blog and make it official, official. Though most people that probably check out this little site of mine will already know that my family is about to relocate from the heart of the mid-west to the heart of the south, Texas. This has been a scenario in the works for about two months now...but we're on our way. 

Not only are we relocating to Texas, but when we get there I am going to be taking on a new role - Stay-At-Home Mom! It feels strange at this stage to even feel the reality that I will be able to have something and be someone I've wanted to be since becoming a Mom over three years ago.

Motherhood is not for everyone - and I get that. It is a role that will completely change your life as you know it forever. It is a responsibility like no other. It is a certain state of mind. It requires exteme patience, perserverance, humor and humility. I'm so glad I changed my mind to take on this very important role. It may sound cliche, but I searched for many years attempting my skills at this and that. I looked for a way to participate, learn, grow, feel purposeful. With everything I attempted, it just didn't feel like that was "it"....until I became a mother. I love being a mother. I have never felt a stronger purpose in life. I feel like this is what I was meant to do.

My husband has given me an incredible gift...several actually. Two of them have blond hair and melt my heart every hour of the day. My newest best gift he has given me is this  opportunity to share more of my time with these lovies of mine. This was a very long and thought out decision in our household - for me to leave the work force and provide my time and strengths in the home. My husband is making a very generous sacrifice by being the main financial contributor in our family so that I may fulfill my dream to hopefully enhance, explore with and examime life with our girls. Thank you so very much, Hubby!! I look forward to upcoming months and hope it will be a positive change and further magnify the splendor of our family and all that we have together!

The countdown clock is soon to begin on our move. We're hoping to be together by Christmas. Hubby has already taken on his new job and has been there for over six weeks. The girls and I have immensely missed Daddio and are eager to be together. This weekend will be particular nice - yes for the celebratory singing, and turning 34 and don't forget the eating of cupcakes! It will be particularly nice just to be together and for the girls to see Daddio as it's been over a month.

34 is gonna be fun! I'm a lucky girl!

So, out of curiosity - what age did you always want to be??

Solo Mama

Daddio is out of town on business for a bit...and it's the pits. I've flown solo before. so I've got the whole morning and evening routines down. (Though with a maturing toddler and an impatient infant, the routine is never down!) This trip of Daddio's is a little longer than usual. And while I'd prepared myself to do the tasks on my own, I had not prepared myself for the disruption Daddio's overall lack of presence (and good night kisses) would present. Right now our household has major drama and a major problem - Mommy cannot provide enough attention to two attention-hungry babes! And this is...well...hard!

The hard part is Sydney is not able to cry at the same level as her baby sister. Therefore her questions and conquest for attention end up being not as recognized. So after hearing Mommy's countless, "just a second, Sydney" following her 100 attempts of "look at me, Mommy" she gives up and looks for another way to get my attention...and that's by going to the dark side. Sydney, Kitty and all of her animals have probalby had more timeouts in the last three days than all of their months existing.

This is hard (did I already say that?) because I know what she's doing. After a certain point, any way Mommy can pay her attention is attention she didn't have before...and that hurts.

Luckily for us, this limbo stage is temporary. I think about single mothers that have these circumstances (and more) every day. And it's these circumstances that put my situation in perspective. Sure it's "hard," but manageable....if only my (almost) three year old could understand that, though...

Tomorrow is a new day... Good night.

Time to Make the Donuts

Every Monday morning, for whatever reason, the Dunkin' Donuts commercial chimes in my head... Our moonbeam clock illuminates the room, and the drill begins.

I knew before motherhood that being a mom would no longer allow me the sleep that I once had. I knew I'd be challenged for "me time". I also knew that I'd probably not always look my best either. One thing I didn't quite think about prior to motherhood was how much of my time would be spent packing bags. I swear most of the tasks I do fall around packing a bag. It's practically become art. And Monday mornings are the "mother" of all bag packing days.

There's Sydney's daycare bag - a blanket for nap time, her hat and sunglasses for outdoor play, any necessary change of clothes. Since it's summer, she also has water play. So that's another bag of swimsuit, towel, swim shoes and sunscreen. Then there's the baby's bag - blankie, bottles, pacifier, butt cream. Usually on the weekends I purchase stuff that we've run out of - diapers, wipes, formula.

Thank goodness I got several diaper bags for my baby shower. I have learned over time to keep them each packed for a certain occasion. There is the Target diaper bag - extra diapers, wipes, plastic keys to chew on, fruit snacks and a sippy cup. Then there is the dinner diaper bag - pretty much the same as Target bag but add in crayons, stickers and a couple more "chew toys". Then we have the travel bag. This one is our big bag full of all the above plus an extra change of clothes, more snacks and lots of Wet Ones.

We'll be heading out later this week for a little road trip. We'll be packing all of these bags plus the stroller, pack-n-play, Bumbo seat, suitcase full of clothes, DVDs, CDs, books, Doodle pad, medicine, blankies and special stuffed animals... Little people = lots-o-stuff. Another thing I didn't realize pre-kids.

Thank goodness we got that van... did I just say that??