Party on… just not at my house

March 7th, 2010 . Posted in Family outings, Housekeeping, Parenting, Well-Prepared Mommy | No Comments »
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We had my son’s fifth birthday party yesterday. Fifth! Yikes. Time flies.

It was his first party that wasn’t at our house, and now after five years, I know what so many other parents already knew. It’s fabulous not to have to clean, cook or entertain for a birthday party. We had it at a place called Magic Mountain. It’s one of those places that has miniature golf, go-karts, bumper cars, a huge indoor play gym and video games. Because we live in Ohio, it wasn’t quite warm enough to do any of the outside activities so we opted for the indoor gym and video games. It seemed to go over well with the kids. It seemed to go over extremely well with my husband and me.

All week, I kept feeling like I was forgetting to do something. Generally, the week before a party, I’m making lists and runs to the grocery store and Target. This time, all I did was count the number of people who RSVP’d, place the order for the cake (this was the one item we had to take) and show up at 10:45 Saturday morning with the birthday boy, cake and a camera.

His friends arrived at 11 a.m., ate pizza and cake in a party room and then hit the games and play gym. About two and a half hours later, we loaded up the family roadster and headed home. No pre- or post-clean up. Sweet.

There are plenty of places that do birthday parties and at a range of prices. Ours was moderate to low on the price range and definitely well worth it. I can’t say that we’ll spring for it each birthday, but we’ll definitely do it again.

The day my family began

March 4th, 2010 . Posted in Parenting, Well-Prepared Mommy | No Comments »
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Oh happy day! Today is my 10th wedding anniversary. A momentous occasion indeed!

When two people marry, one of the first things the people around them start asking is, “When are they going to have kids?” We told folks we were on the five-year plan. We just made it to five years too. Our oldest was born 13 days after our fifth wedding anniversary.

We were together about six years before we tied the knot; so, in total, we had about 11 years together before the kids. I’m so glad we had all that time together – just the two of us. Yes, we adore our children immensely, but we also adore each other immensely. I can truly say that I married my best friend, and after ten years, I still love just hanging out with him. Granted, it’s just a little tougher to do these days. There’s generally someone else vying for my affection, and with our often chaotic days, who has the time to just hang out?! No matter how crazy it gets though, I never take for granted what we have in each other.

Ours is not a fairy tale. But it is a true love story. The story of two people who were just right for each other who, in a world so large, managed to find each other and at just the right time. It’s remarkable when you think about it.

Then, from that love, we created two new beings. Two little people that together we could love with all our hearts. If my children know nothing else in this world, I hope they know how much my husband and I love each other and how much we love them.

Happy Anniversary, Love. Today, we celebrate the day that started it all.

The year of purging

February 5th, 2010 . Posted in Housekeeping, Well-Prepared Mommy | No Comments »
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It’s already February and I can’t say I’ve made any real New Year’s resolutions, except this: I resolve to purge my home of items that are not useful or extremely sentimental.

This, of course, includes all the many toys with which my children refuse to play. And, sadly, there are many. A few weeks before Christmas, we started packing up toys that no longer see any action – some that truly never did. After Christmas, we packed up even more. My crawl space now runneth over. When time allows, I plan to sort through the items to see what can be donated, sold or tossed.

The purging isn’t exclusive to my children’s items. One day in January, my husband and I spent a good three hours – if not more – cleaning our bedroom and closet. Our goal was to remove all items that had not been worn recently and realistically would not be again. We also removed countless hangers that weren’t being used (how in the world did we get so many?) and other items that somehow made their way into our room and served only the purpose of cluttering our space.

We ended up tossing a large garbage bag or two and donated six large garbage bags of clothes (quite overdue!). It’s a little embarrassing, but at the same time, it feels pretty good. It’s almost like going on a diet and successfully shedding many, many unwanted pounds.

Now, the question is: how do we keep it that way? A bit of work, I’m guessing. Same as with our children’s closets and toy boxes. And with another birthday next month, we definitely have our work cut out for us.

Brotherly, sisterly love

January 26th, 2010 . Posted in Motherhood, Parenting, Well-Prepared Mommy | No Comments »
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Lunch breaks have been scarce lately so today when the opportunity presented itself, I bailed. Instead of my standard sandwich, I made my way over to Chick-fil-A. Sure, I love the food there, but there’s another reason I visit this little fast food spot. It reminds me of my sisters. My sisters and I live far away from each other, but when we’re together, we almost inevitably end up at Chick-fil-A. True Southern girls, we do fancy our sweet tea and fried chicken. It’s my comfort food.

So when I need a pick-me-up, I head to Chick-fil-A. Maybe it sounds cheesy, but it just makes me feel better. Doesn’t hurt that the people there are always super nice!

I often wonder if my own two kids will love each other the way my sisters and I love one another. I hope so. My husband and I do what we can to encourage them to play together, to share and to just be kind to one another. My son is a really good big brother. He’s very thoughtful, offering his sister snacks – even some of his, sometimes. And while my daughter has some sharing issues, she generally will offer up a cookie or fry to him as well. They also play really well together. It’s fun to watch them together. To listen to their “conversations.”

Sure, occasionally, they spat because one of them wanted the toy the other one has. And I’m sure their arguments will escalate as they get older. But, I hope that they’ll always support one another and that as they enter adulthood, they’ll appreciate the beauty of a sibling relationship.

As with so many things regarding children, time will tell. For now, I’ll enjoy the beauty of their relationship – the laughter roaring from my daughter as my son does something silly, the two of them sharing a chair to watch cartoons, their good night hugs to one another and the wonder of what’s going through their little heads.

A bad case of the hives

January 12th, 2010 . Posted in Motherhood, Parenting, Well-Prepared Mommy | No Comments »
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Ever heard of Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria? Me either until last Friday. But my two-year-old apparently has it. So what is it? It sounds pretty intense. It’s actually just a fancy way of saying “hives.” About a month or so ago, my daughter broke out over her entire body. Bright red splotches. With whelps. At first, we thought she might be having a reaction to an antibiotic she was on for an ear infection. Then, the doctor said it could be a virus. A day or so later, she did have a really high fever. But after being off the antibiotic for more than a week and having been over the fever for more than a week, her rash would still come and go. So, when I took her in on Friday for her check up, Doc decided it likely was just a case of the hives.

He said that being sick, angry, worried, etc. could cause the hives to come out. I believe him. While we waited in the exam room for the doctor, I checked my daughter for hives. Nothing. Moments after the arrival of Doc — when her anxiety over his arrival increased — she began breaking out on her back. They didn’t last long. Were probably gone by the time we got in the car.

Doc said they sometimes last just a year or two, and then the child may not experience them anymore. We’ll see, I suppose.

Talking ’bout my girl

December 30th, 2009 . Posted in Motherhood, Parenting, Well-Prepared Mommy | No Comments »
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Two years ago today, I met someone who would become one of my favorite people. She didn’t speak to me at first. In fact, she cried at the sight of me. I shed a tear or two as well. But I think our mutual admiration was understood.

These days, we have pleasant conversations, make each other laugh often, dance together, play together and give each other big, loving hugs. (And occassionally truly frustrate one another.)

“She” is, of course, my daughter. My sweet little girl, who turns two today.

Born four weeks early, just like her older brother, her entrance into this world brought me a joy that only another parent can comprehend. Her laugh fuels me. Her smile strengthens me. Her hugs comfort me.

Happy birthday, Sweetheart.

My new gadget

December 29th, 2009 . Posted in Holidays, Well-Prepared Mommy | No Comments »
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I got a handy new gadget on Christmas. One of the first gifts handed my way was labeled, “To: Well-Prepared Mommy.” It was clearly in response to the “Not so fast, Santa” piece I wrote. It turned out to be quite useful. It was called “Open it!” and claimed to be five tools in one.

“Let’s see if this one actually works,” I mumbled reluctantly. Well, guess what? It did. We used it to cut through some hard plastic ties, used its retractable blade to slice open quite a few boxes,cut through a clam shell and even pulled the screwdriver out for assistance. The downside is that the screwdriver is only one size (Phillips) so you may still need to have more nearby.

I’m not big on product pitches, but if something works, I like to spread the word. The site listed on the package for more information about the product and other similar products is www.enjoyzibra.com, if you’re interested.

My Open It! will get more use later this week on birthday presents as my girly turns two! More on that tomorrow. (By the way, thanks to the Well-Prepared Daddy for the swell gift.)

You better watch out…

December 21st, 2009 . Posted in Funny sayings, Holidays, Parenting | No Comments »
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On the way to school this morning, my 4-year-old asked if Santa would come back and take your toys away if you’re bad after Christmas.

That kid is always thinking.

I took a moment before responding and then answered this way. “No,” I said. “But you want to continue being good because Santa’s watching for next year.”

Let’s hope he bought it.

Then later in the day I began to wonder… what if? What if, after some particularly grueling day with the kids a few months from now, you decided to do just that… take their toys away. Under the cover of darkness, you could Grinch everything Santa had so thoughtfully left under the tree and then toss it or donate it to charity. I realize, of course, that donating it to charity would be the better option, but then I suppose that really depends on how bad the day was.

Would the kids take notice? Maybe, although I can’t be sure. We’ve taken toys away from our son and they’ve sat for months on a shelf in our closet with nary a care from the little guy.

Eh, I’m not opposed to giving it another try though. Just think of it… we could start a new tradition. Who’s with me?!

It’s in the cards

December 15th, 2009 . Posted in Holidays, Well-Prepared Mommy | No Comments »
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When you have kids, card giving can get a bit more complicated. When it was just you and your sweetie, card buying at Christmas probably went something like this. You’d buy a card for your sweetie, one for his parents, one for your parents. Maybe one for your siblings. But, once you have kids, it has the potential to get out of control. You have to consider: a card from you to your sweetie, a card to the kids, a card from the kids to your significant other, a card from you and your sweetie to your parents, a card from you and your sweetie to your in-laws, a card from the kids to their grandparents – and then there are all the aunts and uncles and cousins to consider. Confused? I know – it’s a lot!

Then, think about this: do you get your siblings a card from you? And then also get them an aunt or uncle card from the kids? We’re talking some serious Hallmark Gold Crown points.

If you still have to buy cards for Christmas, think about the approach you want to take: maybe one card for your sister, signed by the whole family, as opposed to a sister card and an aunt card. And, by all means, take a list! You don’t want to forget someone!

A couple more “to dos” before Christmas morning

December 12th, 2009 . Posted in Holidays, Well-Prepared Mommy | No Comments »
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As if your list of things to do before Christmas morning probably isn’t long enough, here are a couple of additions. First, get a tool kit – even just a basic one. Why? That brings us to the second “to do.” Read “Not so fast, Santa” on www.MommyTracked.com/guide.

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