One busy momma

There’s a reason I chose the name I did for my blog. Busy momma pretty much sums it up nicely! Which is why I have neglected writing a blog post recently. Not that I didn’t want to, just that I have not had a free second for writing. Oh yes, I’ve had some free time. But usually by the time I get it I’ve been through a 14 hour day with my children, including feeding, clothing, play time and listening to One Short Day 20 times. Did I say before I was happy that was Olivia’s dance song? That must have been in the good old days before Clara picked it up as her favorite song. Which means she screams “CITY” at the top of her lungs until I play it in the car. And play it in the car. And play it in the car.

On Saturday we had the audacity to take daddy’s car to gymnastics. No “city” as the cd was in my car. Clara alternately screamed city and sobbed her little heart out, while two grown adults (one who is tone deaf) tried to recreate the song by singing the 10 words we know. Yes, I know I should have it memorized, as I’ve heard it ad naseum for about a month, but I claim post traumatic stress for making me block it from my mind as much as possible.
 
Anyways, I digress. But suffice it to say I have not been in the correct mind frame for coherent writing for quite a while. So besides my children, what has been keeping me busy? Well, as a mom, I know I hardly need any other reasons, but I have them, oh do I have them! See I have this gag reflex over the word no, so if something comes along that looks semi interesting, I jump on it, and therefore I have the overcommitted syndrome.

Here is my list of craziness, in no particular order:

 

1.      My kids. Yes, they’ve been mentioned, but for their ginormous time commitment they deserve another mention. Just sayin’

2.      Ebay. No, I do not have a shopping problem. Just a small internet business reselling my kids outgrown items. August happens to be the busy season for fall and winter clothes. Who knew, right? Washing, ironing, pictures, editing, weighing, descriptions, listings, answering questions, invoicing, shipping, this all adds up to a lot of time. Goodwill sounded good by the end of the season.

3.      The consignment season. This started right after the ebay season. Although technically for me it started long before. I had lots of time spent on coordinating the Twice is Nice Sale advertising with my awesome subcommittee friends. Then I had to prep all my items to sell, as well as my client’s items. Busy but oh so fun.

4.      MOPS. For those not in the “know,” this is not some cult of women who love to clean. Nope, it actually stands for mothers of preschoolers, and it’s a group for any moms who have a kids not in school yet. We moved our MOPS group to a new site this year, and we had to deal with all the logistical challenges that came along with the move, as well as getting a brand new year going. Major shout outs to our awesome steering committee.

5.      Kindergarten. Man, school stinks! (but don’t tell my daughter I said that!) Getting Olivia to school EVERY day, homework, fundraising (b-l-a-h) and kindergarten drama add up to a whole lot of NO FUN. Can we please go back to preschool? On the up side, Olivia is reading about 10 new words on her own, and she learned all the lyrics to “trick or treat, smell my feet…..” in one session on the bus.

6.      Work. Yep, it’s only 2 days. But I spend the day before getting ready, and the day after recovering. Great job, but it’s go, go, go. Of course, if it wasn’t I’d be bored, and I’d probably add a 7 to my list!

From Sin City to the Happiest Place on Earth

So, life is unpredictable, right? For instance, this momma and world famous blogger (okay, okay, maybe not WORLD famous, but I'm working on it!) had a girl's trip all planned for Las Vegas in July. It seemed like the perfect idea, everyone knows Las Vegas is hot, hot, hot, so the deals should be pretty good for anyone crazy enough to visit in the middle of the summer, right? Well, not so much. So after some last minute deliberations, my bff and I decided a change of venue was called for. Now, for what it would have cost for plane tickets alone, we're going to.....Disney World! Be still my heart!

I love Disney. I never went as a child, my family favored vacations that involved fresh air and the great outdoors, but once I was in high school I traveled to Disney Land every year with the band. Yes, I was a total band nerd, so here's your chance to snigger and stare in disbelief (I've come a long way baby!)

I went a few times as an adult with Mike, and once with my brother, but it wasn't until I moved to Indiana and had kids of my own that I contemplated visiting the big Disney, Disney World. We booked a vacation for Olivia's 3rd birthday, and it is hands down the very best trip I've ever taken. Part of it was a fabulous planning site, Tour Guide Mike, part of it was the ol' Disney magic, and seeing that from Olivia's eyes for the first time, but mostly it was the fact that we slowed down, and focused on each other as a family, instead of the television, computer, or blackberry.

I've been begging for a repeat trip, and it's a little known fact that the money I make from all my resale businesses is squirrelled away as I plan to pay for our entire trip with that money. Our current trip date is March 2013, since Mike wants to wait for Clara's 3rd birthday to repeat the magic.

Luckily when I suggested Disney as a potential location to Candace, she was all for it. Her husband hates rides and crowds, so the best chance she has to go to Disney is with me. We booked our hotel and plane tickets last week, and we fly out in July. I feel a little guilty going without Olivia, but mostly excited to ride the rides that she's too small for. It's only a 2 day trip, so we won't see everything, and it's more suited for a quick grown up trip than a kid's vacation anyways.

While I'm there, I'll get a picture with Mickey for you. And if you see Olivia, please don't mention my impending vacation, she thinks I'm going to the beach!

She's going the distance!

Ever thought about the best soundtrack for running? I've been spending a lot of time on this one lately, as I've decided that having music to listen to while I run might help me go farther and faster. Or if not, to at least enjoy the time out there a little more. I want to make my perfect music mix, but so far have only one song.  It's a song from my misspent teenage years, Cake's The Distance.  If you've never heard it, you really should. Click on the link below and at least listen to the beginning, and you'll see why it's a great song for running.

http://youtu.be/__PU5CVSegg

Many of you know I completed my first 5K on Sunday. It was an awesome run, not only because I met my goal and finished the race, but because runner is never a word I would have thought could describe me. I've always been tall, so technically I should be a great runner, but I was also painfully shy and awkward. As a kid, I played a little softball, but I felt so bad when I made a mistake, that I never improved. I just got more and more nervous that I would mess up and let everyone down. After that great team sport experience, I decided to just tuck sports away and be the best student I could be.  At least that's an individual challenge, and to me a lot less stressful.

Through the years my friend Sarah tried to get me to run. In middle school she convinced me to go out for track. It was kind of the perfect sport, since they don't cut anyone, so I knew I could be on the team. I never minded running races and being last place, until my coach decided to put me on the relay team. Oh, and as the anchor. Yes, our team stunk, and I believe the race was over before I even started my lap, but I still had to run my slow, slow way around the track. No more track team for me!

Our senior year in high school, Sarah again tried to get me to run. She would wake me up at ungodly hours to go running. Of course, I was completely out of shape and running was nothing but pain.  I'd heard of the runner's high, but I thought maybe it was a campfire story they make up to convince people that running is fun, because for me, it was anything but.

Fast forward about 10 years. For the past 4 years, I'd been active in Baby Boot Camp. I had gotten in shape and knew I could meet challenges, but I still never wanted to run. In February, Baby Boot Camp started it's 3 month MoLo challenge. Each month you had a different area to focus on, strength, flexibility, and, gasp, running! I did just fine months 1 & 2, but when it came to April and the running portion I was a little nervous.  Of course, I'm also very competitive, so I decided to just start running a little around my neighborhood, so I could improve my half mile times. About halfway through the month, our instructor suggested we all run about 3 miles together. I didn't think I could run the whole way, but I thought it would be fun to hang out with my friends and try.   I did end up making the whole run, and I was hooked.

I signed up for the local 5K, and decided to give it a whirl.  I was pretty nervous, but I didn't want to let anyone know. I went to the race on Sunday morning and hung out with my friend Angel while we waited for the race to start and I tried not to vomit.

And we're off!

The crowd of runners was electric. Every time I thought I needed to slow down, I looked around at the other runners and kept going. The best was when I was able to pass people that got tired, it gave me a boost of confidence!

Most of the race I had a guy in a banana suit in front of me.  I had to sprint at the end so I could beat him, since who wants to be beaten by a banana?

 There I am, behind the guy in the green shirt. Get out your magnifying glasses! And if you look far behind me, you can see Mr Banana!

And done!

The family came out to support me. Olivia was sure I would win, but I don't think she was too disappointed that didn't happen!

Now that the race is complete, I feel like I CAN call myself a runner. And I want to run more races, I'm hooked!

The daily grind

Started back at my old job today.  I haven't worked at the Health & Wellness Center since before I had Clara, and I love the people and the job, so if I have to work it's a great place to do it. Today was spent catching up with Laura, my boss, and helping with paperwork. Since it's summer, we don't have many clients, which will give me a chance to get back in the swing of things before the craziness starts. So, all in all it was a good day, but it still left me feeling torn about working.

I work part time, and as a part time working mom, I feel like I don't fit in completely anywhere.  When I'm working, I hear from the other women about how great it is to keep my foot in the door, and keep my skills fresh. I hear how getting away from your children and speaking to grown ups, in grown up voices, is a blessing. I  am told that children have to conform to your schedule, since you are the working woman, and the world does not revolve around them.

At the same time, when I am with stay at home moms, I hear about how valuable these early years are in my child's life. About how no daycare teacher, no matter how great, can be as loving or attentive as a child's own mother. I hear about attachment parenting, and making my child feel loved and valued with my time and attention. I hear that money and my own professional goals should never be more important than my child.

I constantly feel like I need to apologize. To the working moms for not working "enough." To the stay at home moms for working at all. But mostly to my children. Today, my first day back, I got that call. You know, the your child is sick call. Daddy had the afternoon off, so he picked Ms O up, put her on the couch, and nursed her until I got home. I hated not being able to drop everything and go get her. When your child is sick, they want their mommy, and only their mommy. At the same time, when I stay home I feel like I constantly have to explain to my daughter that women can work, women can do anything they want, that mommy is just as smart and important as daddy, even if she doesn't bring home a paycheck.

So I've made this compromise, and I'm working for now. And I can't tell you until when, or if I'll work more days, or less days, or give it all up in a month, or never. But I am doing the best that I can, and I am learning more and more each day that none of us women have an easy road, or an easy choice, and that we all want the best for our children, even if we don't know the exact way to get it.

It's the end of the year as we know it....

The school year that is. Clara switched schools last week, changing from her sheltered nursery school classroom to a real preschool with, *gasp* outdoor time! She hates it, as she does any change, but I think if I give her a few weeks she'll adjust.

Since we were leaving her first class at Clay, I wanted to do something nice for her uber patient teachers, who had put up with my non-sleeping, super-clingy, over-crying daughter for 9 months. The irony is, she just settled down with them, and they were not happy to see her go!

Being the green thumb that I am, I decided on flowers.  I want to do perennials, so they would live a long time and remind her teachers about her for years to come. I chose three different plants so everyone could chose one they like, and put them in three different colored pots. I printed "Thanks for helping me grow" on nice sturdy paper and attached it to some colorful pots.  I was pretty pleased with how it turned out.

You can see that the plants probably already need re-potting to something bigger, but they look good for now :) I think I'll reuse this idea for the MOPPETS workers this week.

What a fabulous Friday. The sun was out, the kids were in relatively good moods, and I officially submitted my student grades to finish out the semester. This is how we kicked it, Evans style today.

First, we headed to Baby Boot Camp. Olivia sat in the stroller while Olivia colored in the bleachers. We're moving outside next week so I let O soak up her last chance at freedom, it's back in the stroller, (and back to me pushing 75 pounds of children) next week. Today was the final day of our 3 month challange. To complete the challenge we did a 1/2 mile timed run and got weighed and measured. Not to go into specifics, but I did well overall. I was extrememly happy with my 1/2 mile time, and with how my measurements ended up.  I wish the challenge would go for another 3 months, it definitely motivated me to take my fitness seriously again.

After class O had a birthday party to attend. I dropped her off looking all fancy and happy at Martin's School of Cooking. Clara and I preceeded home for lunch and a nap (for both of us!)

O arrived home from her party, where she had a great time. O likes to cook and eat, so this party was right up her alley. She shared a dark chocolate kit kat with Clara and with me. Yep, pretty much the sweetest 4 year old there is.

Next, O, C and I went on a little girl's shopping trip. We had to exchange a bathing suit that didn't fit Ms O, and she tried on about 10 before she found the right one. Since we were at Kohl's, we headed to Shoe Carnival to try and find some shoes for Clara. Now, she has shoes, lots of shoes, but only about 3 pair she can wear. Her little feet are so fat and wide, that none of her shoes fit. She can wear her Robeez, and that's abuot it. She's starting at O's preschool next week, and she needs some real shoes for the playground. We were successful in finding a pair, although she loves to take them off, so we'll see how that goes.

Dinner and few rounds of Old Maid to end the day, and I am one happy momma.

Go go crazy!

I just hosted my newest house party like event, from child's play parties a Gogo's Crazybones party! Before I was selected for this party, I had never even heard of a Gogo. I received my package full of Gogos in the mail and opened one up.  The little weird looking Gogo stared back up at me, and I thought that no child in their right mind would find these things fun.


Well, then I read through the literature. A Gogo's crazybones is a little collectible figurine. They each have names and special abilities. You try to fill your collection, while trading Gogos and stickers with your friends. There are some simple but fun games to play, from a Gogo battle to one that reminds me of the game from my childhood Pig Mania. Gogos are small, so are intended for ages 4 and up, so I had to plan my party away from Clara. Of course, if you're a mom of a little one and a big kid, you know big kids like to have their own toys anyways, that their baby siblings aren't allowed to touch, so this is a bonus in our house.


After educating myself on Gogos, it was time to party! A group of happy kids descended on the Gogos. I was worried about disappointment, but I didn't need to be. The kids loved them! From my own 5 year old to 11 and 12 year old kids, everyone got into the spirit, opening their packages to see which Gogos they had received and trading them with their friends.

As a mom, I even had fun, since I took charge of O's stickers and put them in the book. Don't tell, but I actually kind of want my own Gogo's collection. And are they still weird looking? A resounding yes. But weird in a good way, since they're all unique. So now I guess we are Gogo's collectors :)