Whiny Wednesday

Does everyone else hate housework as much as I do? Does anyone hate housework but also hates having their house even the tiniest bit untidy? I know, I know, you can't be anal retentive about cleanliness if you refuse to clean. You say it's just not possible. I assure you that it IS possible.

I have dreams of my house being immaculate. A place for everything and everything in its place. Ohhhhh...I am sighing at the thought of it even as I write this. Now I won't get started on my home and its lack of decor, matching furniture and its general state of not being....well, finished. You work with what you've got, and what we've got is a lot compared to some families so I am certainly thankful. But I can't for the life of me begin to make my house look the way I want it to, even with the items we already have. Then on top of all that there's the cleaning. Well, I know I am not the only woman in the world who makes a good go of making sure their house is neat and tidy everyday. As we all know it rarely stays that way. Kids, spouses, the dust that refuses to remove itself from every teeny-tiny nook and cranny; all of these things refuse to keep your home looking the way you feel that it should be. It's an endless, vicious cycle.

You may be asking as I rant and rave: How do I want my house? Well....inviting, warm, kid-friendly, and just homey I guess. Do I dare say that I would like it to look like it came out of a Pottery Barn catalog? Well, maybe not just the Pottery Barn catalog...But I can never seem to get that overall feeling. I feel stuck. I feel stuck between my college apartment and my "adult home". It's decorating and financial purgatory. I am ready to finally take control over my own space and make it my own, but as a young mother in a young family the money just does not seem to trickle down to those needs--I mean, wants. I want to feel pride as I walk through my front door, not defeat. I'm not asking my house to be the envy of the neighborhood.

So what to do?

Give up....for now at least. I have chosen to keep my castle in the sky image of an immaculate adult home in my mind as I concede to the mismatched furniture, the toys that permeate every piece of floor space, the never-ending dust bunnies, crumbs, and piles of who-knows-what. I remind myself that I have a roof over my head and a happy, healthy, loving family and that I want to spend my time enjoying that family. Which makes my home a home--maybe not one from the Pottery Barn catalog or Martha Stewart Living, but that's okay. Is it wrong to envy Martha Stewart or the Pottery Barn catalogs and secretly dream that your home look exactly like the one in the pictures? No. Is it possible to have your home look like the one in the pictures? Sure, but do I really want to drive myself crazy over how clean my house is and whether or not I have the most admired furnishings? No. I'm busy enough as it is trying to keep my toddler alive on a daily basis, my guy happy and myself from imploding over what ever daily catastrophe has popped up. I mean it's not like my house is a deathtrap. At least the State hasn't deemed it as such---yet.

PS: If you're Josh and you're reading this---I LOVE YOU. My incoherent verbal diarrhea is in no way shape or form a criticism of you and your title as "The Provider". You work hard day in and day out to help this family succeed and "The Management" is most thankful and appreciative. If you have any complaints next week's Whiny Wednesday is reserved just for you.

Toddler Tuesday

What was meant to be a rainy day project just for Lennon turned into---well, a Mommy and Me project (more emphasis on the Mommy than the Me). Lennon certainly had her own fun with Mimi's most recent "forgotten birthday gift", but she would have rather moved her new toy around the house all day than actually color on it like it was intended to be used. I guess it didn't help that Mommy refused to share the colors or let her color on the same areas. Ahhhh, the joys of being a toddler...again. Oh well, it killed about an hour that day and at least 30 minutes a day for the rest of the week.

Today's Meditation

You have this look and much, much more to look forward to in about 12 years.

Mommy Guilt Monday

I let Lennon spend her Easter money from Gamma on a trip to Red Robin for "boo-gahs" and a Care Bear Bubble Toy (which didn't work, even after we exchanged it!), when the money should have been put into her savings account.

Spring Break = Blogging Break

ON SPRING BREAK!!

Today's Meditation

Toddlers Gone Wild

or

Beavis and Butthead the Next Generation?

Tell All Thursday

Mommy Confession#1: I let my two year old daughter watch Chelsea Lately re-runs with me in the morning just so I don't have to get up and get moving right away.

Today's Meditation

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." ~Pablo Picasso

Whiny Wednesday

Today's Whiny Wednesday is brought to you by the letters N and R. N for Noise and R for Racket. I suppose it's inevitable when you co-habitate with a toddler. The general cacophony of shrieks of delight and terror, song singing at the highest volume possible, the din of crashes, bumps and tumbles and---if you're daughter is the Beastie---the grunts, groans and screams of frustration when your crayons, markers, dolls, etc. don't stay in the order in which you put them.

I have to say that I can generally handle the noise and racket of my daughter, however today---well recently Lennon has found an object in our home that elicits a sound that makes me want to simultaneously punch a baby, drill my brain and rip my ears from my head. At first this noise was something I thought I could handle like all the other noises by focusing on my happy place and pretending that it isn't there. But oh no, this noise requires the meditative-like qualities only yogis possess. The noise in question: her Ikea easel being pushed, dragged, pulled, slid and jerked across our wood floor.

I have begun to think that this is Lennon's way of slowly torturing her mother. I have never hated Ikea more.

Toddler Tuesday

Today Lennon and I attended the Toddler Story Time at the Corvallis Benton County Library. I immediately regretted taking her there, not because the story time wasn't satisfactory, but because we would rarely ever get to come back and visit. The story time is held every Tuesday at 10am, a time that, for the moment, does not fit into my schedule. Insert frowning face here.

Visiting story times are nothing new to Lennon and I. We attended one regularly when we lived in Silverton and we occasionally frequent the one held here in Salem. But there was something about this story time that finally got Lennon excited, attentive, eager to learn and make new friends. Maybe it's the fact the she is now 2 but there was a new light and energy radiating from her as she shook her sillies out, danced the hokey-pokey, braved sitting all by herself with the group, looked to her peers for approval and camaraderie and followed along to each puppet rhyme and book that was read. Her enthusiasm was so infectious that I became the annoying mother who fully participated and loudly praised everything my child did. Lennon and I both beamed with pride and happiness as we left the library, making it a damn good day.

I highly recommend this activity and this library---and I'm not just saying that because I am a volunteer there. The staff is always helpful and knowledgeable, especially the librarians in the Children's Section. I can't count how many times I have had a general inquiry about potty training, air travel with a toddler, owning a pet (the list goes on and on) where the librarian hasn't practically held my hand and led me to any and all the information you could need on the subject. Then he or she will proceed to hand you books that fit the exact topic and reading and comprehension level of your child--not to mention that the books they suggest are always entertaining. I urge you to check out this library and all it has to offer at www.thebestlibrary.net

Today's Meditation

Does it take 9 pairs of panties to truly feel protected?

Mommy Guilt Monday

Mommy Guilt...Ugh. Where do I begin? For me it seems inescapable. I know I'm not the only one who feels it rear its ugly head at least once a day---and that's if I'm lucky! I know that this is something many mothers go through as much as they try to relax and be the best version of themselves that they can be. Unfortunately with all the pressure and competition to be "The Best Mommy" and make all the right choices for your kids this feeling is almost impossible to shake. There are even times where you forget to remind yourself that you are a great Mommy--at least your kid probably thinks so! So, in order to brighten other Mommies' days I am now instating Mommy Guilt Monday.

Every Monday, or at least the ones I can remember, I will post my very own admission of Mommy Guilt. Hopefully, for those of you who may be reading this and are also mothers, you will feel a bit better about yourself and the job you're doing as a mom after you read what horrible things I am guilty of. : O )

Mommy Guilt Admission #1: I pray for an early and looooong nap time every day just so I can sit on my tush, check my e-mail and Facebook, dick around on the Internet, eat my meal in peace and maybe catch up on some addicting T.V. shows I Tivo'd.

Oh, Mommy Guilt.

An AH-HA Moment or S**ts and Giggles

So as I was sitting in the living room, on the couch, with my laptop in my lap watching the Marriage Ref and skimming the Internet (DURING NAP TIME for those of you like to judge) when I had what Oprah would call an AH-HA Moment. WHO READS THIS THING?

I started this blog as a family update for family and friends when Shutterfly screwed me by "misplacing my account" and everything that was in it. I haven't been super diligent with posting tidbits regarding family life ala the Sweet-Wongs, but I have put effort and time into it. Which, let's face it a stay-at-home-mom/college student really doesn't have time for (or should have time for). But is all this effort for naught? Am I spending the time doing this for no one in particular? If the people who I intended to check out this blog aren't actually checking this blog out, then aren't I really just putting randomness out into the universe for no reason? And if I am just doing this for no one in particular, shouldn't I use this blog for whatever the heck I want? I think the answer is YES!!!!!

So here it is, an official announcement:

If you are a family member, friend or pseudo-friend who is faint of heart and disapproves of foul, vulgar language and likes to read sweet little entries about Lennon, Josh and I--then this blog is not for you. Turn away and stop following. 'Cause this blog is about to change. It will be a slow and steady process, but you have been warned. Now don't get me wrong--there will be some of the old blog sprinkled within the new but if may be few and far between. We shall see.

Now, if you are a family member, friend or pseudo-friend who likes to hear it like it is, enjoys foul, vulgar language and hearing me rant and rave about whatever--including the two loves of my life: Josh and Lennon--then this blog is for you. I'm not promising anything spectacular or worth reading, but what do you care? You're probably not reading this anyway. If that is the case then I'm just doing this for shits and giggles, and obviously to fuel my own narcissism. And what better reason is there to start a blog? The world deserves another Mommy Blogger. Right?

Where Did February Go??

For those of you who keep track or actually read our family blog (I'm still skeptical that anyone reads this at all) you will notice that the month of February has been bypassed. Yes, as horrifying as it is, February was not immediately noted.

I will say this of the month-that-should-not-be-named: It was crazy, hectic, over-scheduled, best forgotten, even though it had a few memorable moments.

To try and make up for this loss I am hoping to post some fabulous and fantastic photos of our trip to Hawaii. Due to my going camera happy over a sea turtle--which completely jacked up all my memory card space--I have very few photos to share. There is a light at the end of this tunnel however, but it's controlled by Mimi who has promised to give me all the photos she took (where she went camera happy over her granddaughter). If any one of you knows Mimi well, as much fun as she is and as much as we all love her, this promise could take till next February to fill. I love you Mom! (She probably doesn't read this either).

Disappointed much? I figured. Me too. Stupid month-that-should-not-be-named.