We’re Gonna Party Like it’s Your Birthday… June 10, 2008

Doodle’s first birthday is upon us.  It is in less than a month, in fact!  Where does the freaking time go, I tell you!  I feel like I was just hot and miserable yesterday!  As a side note, it was 118 degrees outside on July 1st, 2007, the day that Doodle was born.  One of the happiest, and hottest days of my life.

So of course, I am planning a birthday party!  Now, Mr. Man’s first birthday party was a fairly big party.  And yes, I am planning on doing the same for Doodle because I try to make everything as equal as I can for their big events so I won’t hear about it when they are 13.  Dandall is dreading this, as he hated Mr. Man’s first birthday party.  Too many people, too busy hosting, and not enough time enjoying.  I told him to suck it up, as this party is going to be the same.  When he asked how many people were going to be invited, I told him about 30, give or take a bit.  He knows me well enough to know that the words “give or take a bit” are something to panic about.

I don’t plan on getting too carried away, as we already “discussed” the invitation list last night, and it is really not too scary.  After we finally got through the “do we have to invite them?” and the “well, if we invite them, then we have to invite those people as well” discussions, we are both pretty happy about it… I think.  At least I am, and well, that is what really matters after all, isn’t it?  I joke…

So, I am anxiously awaiting for the invitations to be done so I can send them out, and starting to keep myself up at night with thoughts of the cake, food, etc.  Basically driving myself crazy.  I had a conversation with JJ about this very thing, and how stressful kid’s birthday parties have become.  She said that her mom mentioned that very thing to her.  Back in the “old days” when we were little, birthday parties were simple.  They were always at your house… not some entertainment warehouse type of place for children that ends up costing you an extra $500.00 for two hours.  There was cake and ice cream served… period.  No full-on meals, no appetizers, etc.  Also, favor bags were not invented yet.  You maybe played pin the tail on the donkey, or something similar, but that is about as complicated as it got.

When did all of this change, and when is it all going to come back?  All in favor of retro children’s birthday parties, say “I”!

Woe.Is.Me. May 23, 2008

That’s right.  I have been gone quite a while, and although I am sure no one has really noticed (except for my brother, who never leaves damn comments anyway), I noticed, and I missed the blog.  I guess I just didn’t feel like I had that much to write about.  A lot in my mind, but nothing that I can quite type out.

The fam has been really busy, which is great, and exhausting.  Mr. Man’s soccer season is coming to an end, Dandall got a great promotion and is busier than ever, Doodle Bug is growing like a freaking weed at 22 pounds and almost a year old.  Almost a year old… I can not believe I just typed that.  AND… we just got back from a fabulous Disneyland trip.  This year has been the fastest year of my life.  That, I know for sure.

I am still trying to find my way in this crazy life of motherhood, staying at home, and also working from home.  I am very lucky that I can stay at home, and am lucky that I found a job that I could do from home that allows me to have this lifestyle.  I would be lying if I said it was easy though.  The only time I can really work is while Doodle Bug naps, or after the kids go to sleep.  “Me” time has become obsolete, and well, I miss it.

I guess I am torn.  I have a great life, and am thankful for it every day.  On the other hand though, because I stay at home, I feel like I should be “Super Mom” and “Super Wife”.  I should have an impeccable house, always have nice, well balanced, carefully prepared meals on the table for my family, spend lots of time making crafts and fun games with my kids, and do it all with a smile.  No one makes me feel like I should accomplish all of this though except for me.  I do it all to myself.

And while doing all of that, I feel like I should have the time to keep up and reconnect with my friends, and make new friends… spend time working on things that I love such as baking, cake decorating, sewing, learning to knit, etc.  I feel like I should make the time and have the energy to exercise, and take care of myself.  I feel like I need to make “me” a priority once again.  Then, I feel guilty for even thinking that.

I also feel like I must be the only woman feeling this way.  Do others really make themselves this crazy and have ridiculous standards that they feel they need to live up to?  I want to say no, but I have a feeling that the answer is yes.

When I was growing up, my mom stayed at home.  She was the PERFECT mother in all ways… June Cleaver meets Martha Stewart meets Mrs. Brady, etc.  Seriously.  How did she do it ALL?  How did she pull it all off with a smile on her face?  What was her secret?  Now… she did make some decisions with my father that peeved me, and that I will probably never understand, but as a mother… WOW.  I will never measure up.  And I want so desperately to.  I have asked her how she did it all, and she just shrugs it off with a half-not really-answer.  Tell me the damn secret… WOMAN!  Or maybe the real secret is that things weren’t as perfect as I remember them to be.  The childhood memory part of my brain finds that hard to believe though.

If someone has the answer to pulling all of this off… please contact me ASAP.  Thank you.

My Babes are Growing! April 10, 2008

I’m back!  I took a haitus because I am doing medical transcribing from home to earn some extra $ to help out, and boy have I been busy!  I will try to post more often here though as well!

I wanted to share some pictures of the kiddos that were taken this week!  Man oh man, do I love those kids!

 

We Are Family… December 3, 2007

Just sharing a picture of me and my peeps from Thanksgiving.  I am a lucky gal…

And, I am pooped, so that’s it for now!

Celebrate Me Home… November 9, 2007

Does anyone else totally cry every time they hear that sappy Kenny Loggins song during the holiday season, or is it just me???

I am so excited… my baby brother is coming home!!!  He is a professional baseball player and plays back East, so we barely see him.  In fact, he hasn’t even met Doodle Bug yet! And, he is one of my very best friends, and I can’t wait for him to be around for a while!

He will be staying with us for about a month and a half.  It should be interesting, as he thought our house was crazy with just Mr. Man.  Boy is he in for a surprise with Doodle in tow now as well!

I am kind of surprised he is coming home for so long, as we had a big family blow up a couple of years ago, and since then, there has been family drama, and there probably always will be now, which is sad.  It is a long, sad, frustrating story, but bottom line is that my brother was definitely NOT in the wrong at all, but my parents always find a way to make him feel guilty in some way, which is unjustified.  My brother was affected more in the blow out than I was, and I live in LV still, where our parents live as well, so I am closer to them physically and emotionally I suppose.  I am constantly put in the middle between them, and my brother, which I hate.

My mom actually had the nerve to tell my brother today that if he was going to stay with us, that he really should pay us rent or give us some kind of money because things are tight, and he will be staying at our house, eating our food, etc.  I was SO upset.  I would never, ever take his money.  Yes, things are tight, but they aren’t that tight for God’s sake!  I think she just said that to him because she is upset that he isn’t staying with them.

My parents tend to live in the land of denial, and they think if they ignore the elephant in the room, that everyone else will too.  But we won’t… especially my brother.  And, he will never be able too.

Ugh… this is too heavy of a post!  I’ll have to be back tomorrow with something a bit lighter!