Flashback Friday - My Other Half

Being a single-parent for 3+ days this week really opened my eyes to a few things.  In no particular order, here they are:

1.  Single parents have one of the hardest jobs in the whole entire world.
2.  I do not handle stress well.
3.  "Me time" is critical for sanity's sake.
4.  Sam is invaluable to me as a partner.

I'm sure there were others, but for the purposes of this flashback, I want to concentrate on #4.   

Sam and I are rapidly approaching our seventh (!!!) wedding anniversary.  I cannot even put into words how my life has changed in the past seven years.  I went from being a carefree, teenaged college student, to a wife, to a mother, to a fulltime employee and consequently working mother.  We have been blessed in so very many ways, and now, we stand as an imperfect but amazing family of five.  (When I say imperfect, I'm mostly talking about myself.  But we *all* have our moments.)

Sam is the perfect complement to my crazy self.  While I'm impatient, he's got he patience of a saint.  While I prefer to do mindless, tedious tasks, he's the thinker and problem solver.  I can never relax, and he can fall asleep at the drop of a hat (even minutes before he's slated to do a presentation at a conference for a group of peers...true story!).  When I try to bulldoze the kids into doing something, he slyly tricks them into doing it.  He loves to cook and I like to clean up.  I create clutter and he gets rid of it.  He manages the finances and I manage school lunches, permission slips, snack calendars, and outfits.  I am unable to formulate plans, and he can make an agenda like no other.  Should I continue?

When we met, I knew we were soul mates.  We can chat or sit in silence.  It doesn't matter.  We can laugh together, fight together, and get over it together.  Sometimes life makes it harder to do this as expeditiously as we would want, but that's how life is. 

I think back to our wedding day, and despite the fact that I fail to say it as often as I should, I'm so grateful to have landed in this man's life.  And even if our wedding pictures look like a couple of kids playing dress up, it was beautiful and perfect, and I will treasure the memory of it forever.

 

 

To my wonderful husband, thank you.  For your eternal patience with imperfect me. 

How to Know You're a Mom - Holy Cow, It's November!?

You thought that you could outlast your child when they got into repeat-themselves-over-and-over mode.  But you were wrong.  (As it turns out, they don't get tired of doing that.  They will continue on like that FOREVER.)

Sometimes you feel like your life is one big game of Telephone.  (For example you say, "Abby, stop being a bully."  To which she replies, "I'm not a bully [boy].  I'm a girl.")

Sometimes you just rub your cheek on your baby's cheek and breathe in, because there is nothing more intoxicating/de-stressing than the smell and feel of clean baby skin.  (And because you're a parent, it's not even creepy to say that.)

When going anywhere immediately after school/daycare pick-up, you come stocked with snacks knowing full well you don't want to be out in public when the blood sugar crashes.  Oh, and you brought some for the kids too.  (wink, wink)

You plan strategic routes through stores (when shopping with the kids) to avoid things like pudding, toys, candy, and anything fragile.

You do a cart check at the register to make sure your shopping "helpers" didn't add anything to the cart when you weren't looking.  Chances are...they did.

You think your kids are more beautiful/precious/cute than any other children ever.  Then you stop and think, "Oh no, what if they're not cute AT ALL?  And I'm just blinded by love?"  Then you come to your senses and realize that you were right.  They are, in fact, the cutest.

You swore you would never put one of those headbands on your bald baby girl...until you put on her Halloween outfit and realized that she looked like a boy without it.

In an effort to promote independence, you institute tolls/taxes on services provided to your children.  For instance, if they need help opening their fruit snacks, the toll is that they have to share.  (Because, let's face it, those things are tasty.)

When all else fails, a round of "If You're Happy and You Know It" provides a wonderful distraction.

Fringe [list] Benefits

When I got out of the shower this morning, Ben was awake (as opposed to me having to practically shake him by the shoulders while offering bribes of jelly toast and a cartoon).  When I went over to his room, he had "made his bed" (which entailed flattening out his blanket atop the fitted sheet).  When I asked him about it, he said it was because he noticed that I'd been doing it every morning and he "wanted to do that too."  CUTE!

Now I just need to convince him to make mine too.  (wink, wink)

While I'm here, a few more updates:

#4 Vote in all city and county elections.
I had an interesting experience during yesterday's election.  Long story short, I made my selections, pressed 'cast ballot', received an error that said 'ERROR, ballot canceled, see pollworker' and an ejected card, then saw the pollworker who then argued with me that my ballot was in fact cast. With 3 kids, I wasn't able to argue long. Evidently I was not the only person to receive an error after voting.  I thought about it all night long, and contacted the Board of Elections this morning.  I felt terrible for not pursuing it further on the spot.  I feel selfish for admitting it, but I just didn't have the energy with the kids in tow.  Now I feel slightly vindicated for at least reporting it.  To make matters more exciting, the race was so close (there was no majority won) that there is a runoff on December 1st.  I'll have another chance to make my vote count.  This time, I think I'll vote sans kids.  (But pat on the back to myself for taking an interest in local politics and being a responsible adult!)

#29 Convince my mother to schedule her mammogram.
This might well be the most difficult one on the list.  I know that she does not respond well to badgering, and unfortunately that's the best idea I have.  Last week, I sent her a heartfelt plea in the mail last in an attempt to appeal to her emotional side (if not for yourself, do it for your family, blah blah blah).  It wasn't a guilt-trip AT ALL.  ;)  No appointment made...yet.

#40 Begin and maintain a prayer journal.
I started it on Monday night.  I'm so looking forward to seeing how my prayers are answered.  

#90 Get Lost in a Maize Maze

Hip Hip Hooray for Corn Mazes!

Thanks to Ben's kindergarten teacher and the inability of the person she was following to read a corn maze map, I can say that I successfully completed getting lost in a maze of maize!  Hooray for field trips!

This was the first time I've ever been in a corn maze (sad but true).  It was the picture perfect day.  My cheeks even got a little pink from the sun.  Ben only fell in one mud puddle (HAHAHA), and managed to get a spot of it in the most unseemly of places.  (Seriously...click the picture to make it bigger.  Poor kid.)

#90 Check!

#14 and #18...check and check!

#14 Make my bed every day for two weeks before leaving for work. (15+/14)
Did it!  Done.  And I have to say, this one will continue on and on.  It takes zero time/effort to make the bed.  And if I'm already running late, 30 seconds won't make or break anything.  Plus, I get to come home to a bedroom that looks clean.  Hooray!  (Maybe morbid, but I always worry when my house is in disarray that I'll die and people will come to my house and be like, "Eww, this girl lived in deplorable conditions.")

#18 Sell something on ebay.
I was quickly reminded why I don't sell things on ebay.  The buyer was a total jerk.  BUT, I won't say mean things on the internet about people I don't know.  The point is that this thing....

...is out of my house.  Hooray!









Other list-related news:

I have revised the list once again.  I don't know if this is really "allowed", seeing as how I'm one month into it.  I guess it's my list and I can do what I want to (to the tune of "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to").

I removed the one about establishing a family game night after reconsidering how I would include the entire family in an undertaking such as that.  Not to mention, scheduling entertainment like that sucks the joy right out of it for me.  I have felt a conviction and feel that starting and maintaining a prayer journal is a more important thing to have on the list.  I wholeheartedly intend to have fun time with my family, and I hope that it happens more than once a month.  I just don't want it to happen because it's on a list.

#27  Reach two new "tens-places" in my weight.  (For instance, if I start at 480lbs, I need to get to 460.) (0/2)  I am happy to report that I am a mere 1.5 pounds from a new 10's spot.  Although, I admit the Halloween candy isn't helping that go away.

#34   Even when I'm pg, I can't remember to take my vitamin every day.  I have some sort of mental block against taking medicine/pills of any variety.  That being said, I'm on Day 6 of my vitamin.  No, I didn't start it at the beginning of a month, but like I said.  This is my list and I'll do what I want!

#55  We are plugging right along in the arena of Dr. Seuss.  We read #23 last night, putting us beyond 1/3 of the way through the list.

Now that it is November, I need to remember to do my monthly tasks (sending 2 notes of cheer and taking treats to the teachers)!

I hope that this exercise is equally challenging for everyone else taking part in it.  I've already challenged myself to grow and I love it!