Did you see that, Mommy?

How do you spell "Daughter"?

2009-12-07T12:59:00.000-08:00

OK, I have totally lost my mind the past few weeks. I don't know if the holidays are stressing me out, if my two babies are expending my limited mind power, or what. Anyway, I JUST remembered I have to take my Brooklyn to the doctor in the morning, meaning I JUST remembered to fill out my time-off request for work. As I was typing the reason for the said time-off request, I was attempting to type "Doctor appointment for my daughter". It took me 3 tries...
dughter
daghter
daughtre
Geez... What's my deal? Then I realized, I've been typing the word "Son" on a regular basis for over 2 years- not to mention it's way easier than "Daughter". But Brooklyn is just 6 months old- it's so funny how it just feels like she's been here forever... She just came along and fell into our routine like it was nobody's business... Coming into the world with a "Hey, I'm here, don't want to get in anyone's way so I'll just pretty much do whatever you'd like me to..." attitude. Which is a big plus, by the way, considering her brother is a bit more high maintenance.
After I got my spelling under control, I took just a minute to reflect on my baby girl's short life, and cannot believe how fast it's moving! She's well on her way to sitting up, meaning she's a couple of months away from crawling, then walking, then driving... Ahhhh! That's not even considering Carson, who has just learned to argue... No kidding, he and Bryan argued the whole way home the other day on the color of a school bus- Bryan saying it was yellow, and Carson insisting it was orange.
Life is moving at warp speed, and it's freaking me out a little to be quite honest. I'm not even prepared for sitting independently, much less driving or boyfriends and girlfriends. Speaking of girlfriends, I have to throw in our experience while watching Christmas Vacation yesterday... I laid on the floor 1) because there were no seats left on the couch and 2) because I knew I would end up down there playing with Carson anyway. By doing so, I subjected myself to getting plowed over by Carson several hundred times while attempting to watch the movie since he can't sit still- the only break I got was the "pool scene"... You know, where Clark is envisioning his new pool, and it morphs into the chick from the lingerie counter on the diving board? Yeah, that's where my kid remains completely still... The hot girl in the bathingsuit scene. OMG what have I gotten myself into?

I'm thankful for...

2009-11-12T11:38:00.000-08:00

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it seems the latest trend on Facebook is to change your status to something different you're thankful for each day. Me personally, I like to tell it all at once.

I am thankful for...

My BEAUTIFUL babies

My husband. I have never met a man who I could ever imagine as a daddy that could even come close to being on the same level with him... Except my own dad of course.

My parents and brother. AMAZING. Always willing to help with the babies, supportive of anything I have ever wanted to do, as long as it didn't get me into trouble of course.

My in-laws. I consider myself lucky to have ALL of them. I couldn't have married into a better family.

The rest of my family. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents... The whole bunch. I love every one of them dearly.

My friends. The close friends I keep are out of this world and I love them with my whole heart.

A roof over our heads. I don't really think I have to give a reason for being thankful for this one. I just am.

The ability to meet my kids needs. There are so many out there who are so less fortunate than us. We may live in a small house, and money gets pretty tight at times. But thank God, my kids NEVER go without the things they need... And most of the things they want actually.

My job. I get to work with great people, serve a population I have a deep-seeded need to help, and get paid to do it.

My patience. Sometimes it really does run thin. But thank heavens it's adequate.

Sunglasses. Sounds silly, I seriously could not survive without them.

Cherry Carmex. Once again, sounds silly, but I have a serious addiction.

My Winn-Dixie card. I know I'm getting really petty here. But I've saved almost $400 this year with that card. Love.

Lastly, I'm thankful that God loves me anyway and has blessed me beyond belief :)

I'm sure I forgot some important things, but this is all that's running through my head right at the moment- and there's only so much room in there.

If pigs could fly...

2009-10-16T10:25:00.000-07:00

I think I would be a stay at home mom. If we weren't trying to get my husband back to school, and if he had a job outside of heating and a/c that didn't vary between 60 hour work weeks and 10 hour work weeks, if daycare didn't cost us $600 a month, if diapers weren't $10 a package, if I had chosen to breastfeed instead of going the formula route (which is NOT free!) and so on...

I also think if I were a stay at home mom I would have time to keep all our laundry clean, make a homecooked meal every night, whip up some homemade cookies every now and then... And THEN I think, wait, I already do all that. So, my internal conversation continues with, OK, so what would be the benefit of staying at home? And of course the obvious comes to mind... I get to spend all day every day with two beautiful, sweet kids who both nap very well :) We would go to the park, play outside, have picnics, read books and all the wonderful things that stay at homers do. Of course along with all that beautiful shiny happiness would come the temper tantrums, the bad days and the chore of taking both of them to the grocery store. But, I could take it all in stride and still enjoy the heck outta being a full time mommy.

Next, I think about the disadvantages... Like, every now and then I get off work half an hour or so early- then i go take the best nap ever before I go pick them up. Call me a crappy mom, I don't care- I work hard, keep the house in working order, and LOVE my kids, so what if I want a nap every now and then and hold off picking up the kids for a little while. Oh, and did I mention I pay $600 a month in daycare? Then by God they can work for that money! Anyway, back to disadvantages... Carson started walking and talking early, and I feel like part of that was him being around bigger kids all day at school. He just wanted to keep up! Also, my babies get sick rarely and I believe the "other kid germs" that they are in contact with have played a small part in strengthening their immune systems which is a big plus for me. They also learn social skills and make their first friends in daycare. If I was a stay at homer I wouldn't appreciate a nap as much, and would wonder if my kids were getting the socialization they need to become independent adults.

So, I guess there's pros and cons to everything, but this whole entire conversation I have with myself always ends with "Oh well, since pigs can't fly, doesn't look like this conversation was worth having with myself." And then I decide I can have the conversation with myself as much as I want since I'm inside my own head and no one else knows what goes on in there. You get the idea.

Anyway, I guess my point is, being a working mommy isn't so bad, plus I have a pretty great job where I get to do work that benefits a population I care greatly about. (I would still be a stay at home mom if I had the choice! You know, they have a part time option at daycare...)

Sweet Victory

2009-10-12T12:38:00.001-07:00

Birthday Party= HUGE Success!

Can't believe we pulled it off without a hitch! See that happy little toddler with the army helmet and the Spongebob shirt (complete with his name on it, mind you, thanks to Aunt LaLa)? That's MY kid, at his birthday party, absolutely positively excited that all these presents and people are here for HIM. One day he'll appreciate my preparation, I just know it.

I know you're wondering, and YES the cake was also successful!

He'll also appreciate that... At least he better!

We had so much fun! Food was good, lots of good friends and family showed up, it did rain, but no damage done... Well except for the high quality crepe paper decorations from Oriental Trading I strung on my dad's brand new back porch sort of bled when they got wet and sort of dyed the new white porch railing with a little yellow... But I was assured it was easily fixed, so it's fine I suppose. Other than that, no difficulties whatsoever!

Carson got tons of new toys with tons of tiny pieces to get lost under every available couch and bed in our house, but that's OK too- that's what having little boys is about, and I've learned to rather enjoy the little surprises I find stashed all over the house. He wakes up in the morning now, and when I turn on the light to start getting him ready he gets this great expression on his face while looking at the "toy wall" and says "TOYS!". So cute!

Brooklyn was her usual pleasant self over the weekend and was fine with getting passed around from grandma to grandma to aunt to cousin and so forth. Such a good kid. Someone tell me what I did so right again? She was fine with letting her brother have the spotlight, so long as she had a bottle in her mouth.

So, all in all, a great time was had by all, and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted now that the cake is almost all gone. Ahhhh...

The Death of Me...

2009-10-07T09:13:00.000-07:00

Carson's birthday party will be the death of me. I have no doubt. I wake up in the middle of the night with ideas running through my head on what would be the best way to get the fondant on the cake. I've decided I need to buy about 28 more 2-liters because the 24 I already have will not be enough, and this cake, OH this CAKKKEEEE!!!
I am sort of a perfectionist and later I want to be remembered by my kids like I remember my mom. We always had the greatest birthday parties, got great presents, she was (and still is, that's right, I'm 25 and my mom still makes me a stocking at Christmas) the best stocking stuffer of all time, she spent hours vaccuuming the carpet because she's slightly obsessed with vaccuum cleaner marks, and every time it was her turn to bring the snacks for our ball teams after the game everyone got excited because it was no bobo brand fruit snacks and juice boxes for her- no, she rolled up a cooler full of full-size candy bars and cokes!
Back to the matter at hand, I'm writing about it hoping it won't look so bad on paper and I can calm down a little. I've been planning this party for over a month now. My 2 year olds birthday has taken a month's worth of planning... Sad. He's a huge Spongebob fan, so that's the theme we're going for. The one character I always hoped my kid wouldn't like, and he's in LOVE with that yellow square guy! So, I ordered the decorations (I'm not even going to admit how long ago I did that) and party favors from Oriental Trading. I was so excited to get that seventy dollar box of junk I assembled the goodie bags that very night. I got my Grandma's sour cream pound cake recipe and made it about 2 weeks ago. Then I decided that wouldn't be enough to feed everyone, so I made another layer, then put them both in the freezer. I bought the cups, plates, napkins, ballooons, etc. a few weeks ago also, then bought more last week because I was afraid I didn't have enough.
Now, the cake deserves a paragraph all it's own... I googled "Spongebob cakes", and you would be amazed at the things that popped up, but I found the perfect one. Absolutely flawless, and that's my model. Granted, it was probably made by a stay at home cake expert with older kids so she could give the cake full attention, but, like I said, I'm a perfectionist. So, two days ago I set to work making the fondant. Fondant, is a pain in the ass my friends. The recipe I used was for marshmallow fondant, and the lady made it sound so easy! Don't let anyone fool you. My shoulders are still sore from working it trying to make it into "a smooth, pliable ball that doesn't tear easily". At least it is marshmallow fondant and will taste good and not end up peeled off the cake and tossed. Then I would be really mad. Then, last night I thawed out the cake layers and started making the pineapple buttercream icing that you have to put on the cake first so the fondant will stick (that was news to me, thank goodness I reserched how put fondant on a cake 3 weeks ago). The recipe called for "one small can of pineapple and its juice. So that's what I used. Ya'll, I could have drank it! I ended up using more than twice as much powdered sugar than the recipe called for to make it thick enough to spread on the cake. But, I did it, by God, then cleared out a whole self on my refrigerator to fit the cake box in there. I also have to note, because I am so proud, that I am using pineapple buttercream icing because Spongebob lives in a pineapple under the sea, in case you didn't know!
So, I have plates, cups, napkins... damn, still got to get plastic forks, knew I forgot something. Anyway, I have a pinata, streamers, balloons, and even pineapple garland. I have the goodie bags ready, the candy for stuffing the pinata hid from my husband because he will eat it ALL, all the chips and ingredients for the various dips, my fantastic cousin is bringing fruit (with lots of pineapple of course), and an aunt on Bryan's side is bringing stuffed grape leaves and hummus (his family is Lebanese, and these things are out of this WORLD!). I put the hubby in charge of the gift. He can handle that responsibility, and he's a boy, so he knows what boys like.
Sounds like I'm ready, except for the cake. I keep coming back to that cake. It haunts my dreams. I will post several hundred pictures of it and all it's perfect-ness when I get done, because it will be perfect. I will probably have more pictures of the cake from the party than I do of my kid. Just kidding, he'll be the star of the show, and I know he'll love the cake as long as it bears some resemblance to Spongebob, so that's all that matters. OK, so finish the cake... Oh, and plastic forks... That doesn't sound so bad, panic mode averted... For now.

Mama's Boy

2009-09-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we jokingly call Carson a Mama's Boy. But, he's not even 2 yet, so he pretty much doesn't care.

He likes for me to pick him up only while I'm doing something that requires my full attention to not be on him for 2 seconds, or when he's in a large group of people he doesn't know all that well (sometimes I still want someone to pick me up and let me rest my head on their shoulder so I don't have to socialize either), so it's fine. But you can bet, my son's wife will thank me later for assuring that he is not a genuine mama's boy. Here's why:

The kid has a head that could crack rocks- he's come awful close to giving me a black eye and knocking my husband unconcious with it. When he falls, I do not freak immediately. Usually he gets back up, or he starts playing with a piece of fuzz or something on the floor to make it look like he fell on purpose. This way, he will be able to pick himself up and dust off later without expecting the world to cease. Don't get me wrong, or go report me to DFCS or something, if he is genuinely hurt I can tell immediately and it hurts him for a few minutes, but it hurts my soul to see him in any kind of pain.

Next, he does not always get what he wants- he's been known to throw a fit, but it NEVER works. Sometimes we have to compromise, but he never gets what he wants by throwing himself to the ground and kicking his feet... In fact I don't even know how kids figure out how to do this- must be some brat at daycare... Anyway, he's spoiled in the "right" ways- by grandparents- but he will grow up just like my brother and I- knowing not to take things for granted and always having enough to get by easily, but not too much so as not to appreciate it.

When he gets older, he will learn how to do laundry, clean his room, somewhat fend for himself in the kitchen, and maybe even iron one day (or at least learn how to set the dryer to get the general idea of wrinkles out of his clothes). Don't get me wrong, I'll be there, and honestly will probably still do his laundry, because that is one of my huge pet peeves; I've decided there is a chromosome that males have that tells them wadding clothes up and stuffing them in a drawer is the correct way to store them. But, at least, when he gets to college, he will not have to bring home baskets of clothes for me to wash each weekend!

Honestly, I love my son with all my heart and soul, and my daughter the same way, and I really would probably be OK if they never grew up and I could carry on doing their laundry, scoooping them up with every tiny cry and cooking their every meal. But, I know that the day will come when I have to watch them go to college, take their vows, and start a family of their own (yes, I'm tearing up right this second), and I want them to succeed in every endeavor they ever take on. And I want them to WANT me around for those things- not need me!

I have a very close friend who married a Mama's Boy. Unfortunately we did not know how serious the situation was, and it got even worse once they got married. His mother ruined their marriage. I cannot imagine knowing I was responsible for my child losing the person they once thought was the love of their life because of ME. So, in my continued efforts to raise strong, independent children, I will cry more times over letting them go than they will ever know- but it doesn't matter because that's what moms are supposed to do, right? If it's this hard when they're almost 2 years and 3 months, how the hell am I going to get through the first day of school???

My problem with the world today

2009-08-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

I know everyone has their issues with how people in the world today act... For some racism is an issue, for others it's women's rights, everyone has their soapbox. My soapbox is the R-Word.

If you don't know, the R-Word is retard. You can go here to read more about why exactly that is a dirty word: http://www.r-word.org/. If you are in my presence, never, ever, EVER say the R-Word. I will politely ask you to refrain from using that word when I'm within earshot. If you read my first post, you know I work for Special Olympics, so this is an everyday matter for me. "Mental Retardation" used to be common in every day speech when referring to people with intellectual disabilities. When "retard" became a word people used when someone did something stupid or when referring to one of "lesser mental capacity" (meaning a generally dumb person, not someone with an actual disability), I do not know, but that's how it ended up.

Regardless, that word is just as bad as any four letter word mothers have hoped to never hear come out of their child's mouth since the beginning of speech. Maybe worse, because it's meant to degrade a population who has never been able to defend itself. I ask this of anyone reading- if you think this post is ridiculous and I'm overreacting to use of a common word, go back to http://www.r-word.org/ first and notice the counter at the top of the screen that says nearly 50,000 people have taken the pledge to not use that word then browse the site and read the athletes' stories. I am NOT alone in this fight (I know this because a very good friend of mine actually got in a physical fight this weekend, essentially, because he asked a guy to please not say that word. No kidding.)! Next, if you still don't believe me, take a day to volunteer for something to do with people with intellectual disabilities. Every state in the US has a Special Olympics program- you can start there, Georgia alone trains nearly 23,000 athletes a year. If you still don't believe the r-word is offensive after witnessing the joy these athletes bring, well, you might need to go ahead and sign up for the program while you're there because SOMETHING IS WRONG!

I know this fight is not as big as women's rights, or racism, or lots of other things, but my mission is not to save the world, it's just to open a few eyes about the meaning behind such a nasty word. So, if I've succeeded, you can go to www.specialolympics.org if you're curious. If you aren't curious that's OK- I've succeeded in getting the seed planted so maybe next time you start to use that word you'll hesitate a little anyway.

The story behind "Did you see that?"

2009-08-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

You may wonder, what is all this "Did you see that" nonsense... Well, here you go.

My son asks the question "Did you see that?" after everything he does. After he throws a ball, after he takes a drink of water, after he pees in the potty... You name it, he wants to make sure everyone saw it. So, we have to be sure we are always paying attention so when he asks we can always say "Yes, I did see that!" and ask him a question, do a little cheer, maybe a dance, whatever the occasion calls for.

I think "Did you see that?" is a question that we should always ask ourselves a little more often. Who would have ever thought you could get so much joy out of watching a toddler jump off our 2 inch high stone thing where a woodburning stove should reside, but does not for various reasons- the biggest of which being a 2 year old running around with a particular fascination for things that he knows he is not supposed to touch. Oh, and the fact that we live in South Georgia and rarely need the heat- much less a woodburning stove. Yet again, I digress. Back to "Did you see that?" I think if everyone paid attention to the things a 2 year old pays attention to and wants everyone else to see, we would all find a lot more joy in life. For example, if you were to watch a grasshopper for an extended period of time, you would notice that he does lots of entertaining things- rubs his legs together, hops on occasion, flaps his wings if he's the flying type. A grasshopper on the sidewalk around my parent's pool entertained Carson for a full 5 minutes. This from the kid who sits still for nothing; if you make it through a whole page in a book before he finds something more entertaining, you've accomplished something. And yet, a tiny grasshopper is source of unlimited wonderment!

So there you go. His constant asking of the question "Did you see that?" teaches me to really see things for their inherent value, however small. Because of that little boy I notice balloons again, take joy in blowing bubbles, and yes, even appreciate being able to pee in the potty.

Who is Supermommy?

2009-08-17T12:48:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you first, I am completely new to this blogging thing and am definitely unsure of the whole concept right now. I do enjoy reading other mommy blogs, so I guess I thought some other mommies might enjoy reading mine! Not sure if there is an order to things in the blogging world, but it seems introductions are in order...

I am a 25 year old mommy of 2 legally named Kelly (although I also answer to "Supermommy") from Southern Smalltown, USA. My husband, Bryan, is pretty much the best dad and husband any woman could ever imagine. Seriously, I believe that. I have an almost 2 year old boy named Carson and a 2 month old girl named Brooklyn. Since I have the best husband on the planet, of course we also managed to breed 2 of the most wonderful children on the planet (which is how any good mommy sees her children, I'm absolutely sure of it).

Carson is truly amazing in every way a boy can be. He gets dirty, drinks out of dog bowls, throws a baseball (overhanded, mind you) and does everything with the kind of reckless abandon that is expected of a boy. He and his escapades will probably be the main topic of this new little endeavor of mine- at least until his sister is old enough to do more than smile sweetly and roll over on occasion.

My husband and I got married in April '07, and yeah, if you do the math you might figure out I was pregnant when we got married. Now, if some of you are in a location of the "Northern Persuasion" maybe that is not so scandalous, not sure how ya'll operate up there, but I was born and raised in the South and down here that is the subject of a little smalltown gossip, and I'm OK with that. I'm a big girl, Bryan and I were planning to get married anyway. Carson just sped up the process a little is all, and I wouldn't change the way things happened for anything. Here we are, happy as can be with baby #2 now in the picture.

In addition to currently being a mommy of 2 under 2, I also work full time for Special Olympics. Yes, that's right, Special Olympics does have a full time (albeit minimal) staff that actually get paid to work with exceptional individuals with intellectual disabilities everyday. If you become a habitual visitor to this page, you will probably also get caught up on one of my soapboxes at some point. I absolutely love working for the population SO serves, and take a lot of pride in what I do. My job also requires some travel- usually a night or two a month. One of the reasons I am convinced my husband is ranked right up there with the greatest is because I never worry about my kids being well taken care of while I'm gone, and he never makes me feel guilty or inadequate as a mother because there are some nights when I am simply not there to put my babies in bed- which, by the way, I despise more than anything. It also helps to have my parents right up the road with a pool, large yard, and various other sources of entertainment for my kids... But I digress.

Bryan and I both have wonderful families, and the babies are fortunate enough to have 3 great-grandmas (Grandma, Grandma, and Mamaw), and 3 grandmothers who answer to GiGi, Oma, and Sittie, and nothing even close to Nana, Granny, or any other classic "Grandmother" connotation as well as a Grandaddy and a Pop. One of the joys of being young parents is having plenty of grandparents to take along for the ride!

Anyway, there's the basics- I'm sure I will think of more as this thing plugs along. Oh, if you were wondering why exactly I call myself Supermommy, since I may or may not have succeeded in making myself sound exceptionally "super" in these few words, here's why: My kids go to bed every night bathed and with their teeth brushed (or gums brushed in my daughter's case), and make it to day care in the morning still reasonably clean and usually dressed in clothes that match. I ALMOST always remember when one of them needs diapers, wipes, or whatever else and they never go hungry. I work full time and travel out of town to do that job, and still make time to do laundry in my own slightly OCD way. Last night, I even made cookies. From scratch. My home may have toys, bottles and clothes strewn from one end to the other, but it is always essentially clean, in fact I'm a bit of a germ-o-phobe. So, I do not intend to brag by calling myself Supermommy- I only intend to point out that every mom who has kids with their needs met, and kids who are loved are in fact Super and are succeeding at the most important job a woman could ever have. Our imperfections make us perfect, ladies.