Thursday, October 25, 2007

YES!

I am so very excited.

It finally came to me. I was sitting in bed and it hit me! I have a premise for my book, characters, general plot and sketches of places. I can't wait to get started writing. My dream of writing children's books might finally come true!

Thursday, September 27, 2007

It's time for a break

I've come to the conclusion that I need to remove myself from the message boards that I frequent. It's taken over entirely too much of my time; time that is needed to care for my children, and more importantly, myself. My daughter is probably as stress-free of a baby that I could have asked for, and instead using my "off" time to help myself or work, I sit on those blasted boards for hours on end. I will miss some of the people who's posts I frequently enjoy, but for now this is how it has to be I think.

Monday, September 3, 2007

Funny. 

Watch out for those crazy crack heads. -» Video

Just thought I'd share

Terms that I just can't stand... HATE actually.
  • Webby (web site)
  • Siggy (signature)
  • Binky (pacifier)
  • Bink (pacifier)
  • Passy/Paci (pacifier)
  • Babba/Bubba (bottle)
  • Nuk Nuk (pacifier; this one is semi-tolerable since it is the name of a pacifier brand. However saying Nukie or calling a non-Nuk brand a Nuk Nuk annoys the hell out of me.)

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Just a list

Things I want to do when I grow up:

  • Get a degree, possibly Masters or PhD, in Psychiatry

  • Be a teacher to kids aged K-3

  • Volunteer for Make-a-Wish and be a wish grantor

  • Learn Flash like an expert

  • Write children's books

Rock the house? Hell no! I rock the Sun!

It's not nearly as exciting as it sounds. It's just that I've become quite addicted to Big Bang Backgammon. I think I could be some kind of backgammon addict at this point. Maybe I too could spend 82 minutes in an LA jail if I just tell everyone I'm sorry. In all seriousness, our internet connection has been down for several days, just returning Wednesday afternoon, so I've had a lot of time at night to explore what's on the ol' (new) computer. Thus far, backgammon has been the most addicting, even beating out Zoo Tycoon 2. (Anyone who knows me knows that I was ridiculously addicted to ZT1 on my PC.) Really I should have been sleeping, but no matter how tired I am my mind doesn't wind down before 10 or 11pm anymore and there is very little worth watching on tv at that time.

In other news: the word of the day today, roustabout, is inspired by my friend Cris who used it several times last week during our girls' night. I'm going to see how creative I can be and sneek it into today's musings.

[ Side thought... If only the past few days thoughts, weeks actually, could have been recorded out of my mind. I swear JKR's concept of the pensieve is so fantastic. There certainly are days that I would love to have the ability to remove memories or thoughts from my mind and store them like files. ]

In a completely unrelated topic turn, I've just found out that some friends of mine are expecting their second child. I'm so happy for them. I'm not religous and there are so many people who say that they are that I'd prefer not to continue breeding, but this couple is not one of them. They value intellect and education, teach good morals, and don't insist on pushing their views onto any other person unless the person approaches them with healthy debate or inquiry. These qualities are so much different than those of most of the so-called "religous" people I know. That's all I'm going to say about that subject.

I've noticed that I'm not at all jealous of their news. Maybe it's because of who it is, or maybe I'm just dealing with the tubal better than I thought I would. Some part of me figured that the first person to announce a new baby would just set me off into a whirlpool of tears. I'm pleasantly surprised that I was wrong.

Ok, so roustabout has not made it into this post and I have way too many other things to be doing. Maybe later....

Thursday, August 16, 2007

This. Is. Awesome.

I won't say much, other than to share this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster

Oye! It's early

I'm completely convinced that Brighthouse is against me these days. Today is the day I'm going to call them and paint their little red wagon. Why are we paying so much money for a service that is seemingly down for 10 hours per day? It never fails that each time I have a fantastic rant just itching to be blogged, the internet goes down. Therefore I'm now writing the inane crap that is floating to the surface of my tired brain this early in the morning.

It's day 4 on Weight Watchers and I've just finished my yummy FiberOne bar. So delicious. Unfortunately it's only 6:08 am, so that also means I'll be ready for lunch around, oh, 10am. Oh well. Who says lunch has to be at a certain time? When your day is starting at 5am, a 10am lunch doesn't sound so bad.

Today might just end up being the day of phone calls. I absolutely have to call the flooring guy today and see about him coming to give us a quote. I'm not completely sold on the idea of acid stain flooring just yet, but I guess it never hurts to find out. I keep hinting around at how Empire will install next day, but it seems to be falling on deaf ears. I'm still just thankful that our plumbing issues didn't end up being $5,000 as the original plumber had suggested. What a tool. And what kind of fools would we have been to have let him come and rip our house apart without him investigating it?

Last night Braedan had one of his meltdowns. For the second day in a row we had a play date with one of his friends and he was completely over tired by the time 7pm came around. Of course on the day that I need help the most there was a family emergency so I was left to do bedtime by myself. It's always fun to have an infant that is over stimulated and a 4 year old who is, for lack of better term, over stimulated also. Hells bells it was a long hour from 7-8. He finally got to bed around 8:30pm and just when I thought I could relax, young Kaleigh decided it was her turn.

My god, I hope she isn't learning how to be a complete freakshow from Braedan.

I'm waiting with baited breath for her to giggle. Every day I make all the goofy faces I can in the hopes that I'll get that first little giggle. So far I've got squat. Don't get me wrong, I'm not worried, but I guess I'm just very anticipatory right now. That was one of my favorite milestones with Braedan. I'll never forget that day on his changing table when after a rendition of "belly belly belly" he giggled like I was the funniest person on the planet. Kaleigh also seems to like the "belly belly belly" game.

There are so many days that I wonder if we made the right decision by getting my tubes tied. Down deep I know we did, but there are so many things that we'll never experience again. Although most of the time I feel as though I'm a single parent with this baby. It seems as though I'm the only one with an emotional investment right now. Maybe he was that way with Braedan and I just didn't realize because we defined it as 50-50 since we both worked. This time I don't work outside of the house and so I take on all the responsibility day in and day out. This past weekend he slept in until 9:30am. On Sunday we were having a disucssion and I very lightly threw in the idea that it would be nice if I got to sleep in just ONE day of the week until maybe 7. Getting up and starting the day at 5am, while going to bed at 11pm or later each night can really start taking a toll on a person. He acted as though it was some sort of epiphony or something. Could it really have been that hard for him to come up with it on his own? Where is the consideration for me when I think of him almost constantly?

It's now 7am and need to wake Braedan for school. Luckily today is pizza day so I don't need to pack a lunch - yay! Oh, and happy day! I found my missing Bath & Body Works gift card yesterday! I'll be dropping by there today for sure!

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

I'm going to write!

I've decided that in November I'm going to write a novel. Ok, maybe not a complete novel more like a novella, but hopefully at least 10,000 words. I'm not sure if I can turn out a 10,000 word children's book like I'm planning, but it should be great fun to find out. I'm extremely excited.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

I want to complete it. I will complete it!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Colic, weight gain and love... oh my!

I had to take Kaliegh to the doctor yesterday. She wasn't sick as illnesses go, just fussy as all and wouldn't let me put her down even for the shortest amount of time. Even to take the fastest shower I had to yell, "It's ok honey, mommy is right here!" the entire time so that she'd just fuss and whimper rather than scream.

Turns out she has colic. Great. I'll be honest, I was hoping for something that would be quickly treatable rather than something random that lasts for weeks on end. At least I got the peace of mind I needed to know that I'm not a completely inept mother. I was starting to doubt myself and everything I learned raising my son.

On the bright side, though, she's gaining weight wonderfully. She's now 9 lbs. 15 oz, a full 2 pounds, 3 ounces larger than at birth. I look forward to seeing what her measurements are when we see them on August 8th for her 2 month check.

Something else happened this week... I've started falling in love with my new daughter. It's not very often that you hear a mother admit that she didn't love her child from the beginning. I'll admit it. When she was born I loved her, but was not in love with her like I am with my son. She was something unexpected for me; I was truly expecting a boy and somehow found myself utterly disappointed to be having a girl. Couple that with a lot of internalized issues I had with myself, I was not prepared to welcome a little girl into my home. I felt for sure that she'd end up with a miserable life, taking on all of my physically ugly qualities resulting in a difficult struggle for happiness. I realize now that I have a long road to get past that problem within myself, but I'm working on it daily.

Back to my point. This week she made eye contact with me and something snapped in my head. I melted. She looked at me and I looked at her. I think possibly that angels sang or bells chimed, it was etherical at any rate. Something happened in that moment and I realized how dearly I loved the little creature in my arms and how the mourning period was over for the son I had lost in mind. (Out of my own guilt I started reading about this subject. Many mothers expect something and when that expectation is not met, they need a period of mourning. It was a fantastic discovery for me to see other mothers go through this, that I'm not alone nor should I feel guilty for my feelings of having wanted another son so badly.)

For a completely unrelated subject... just a few more hours until I get to see the next Harry Potter movie!

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

A fear conquered

I am fat. There are no two ways around this fact. I'll share a secret, too: there are times that I don't actually realize that I'm fat and somehow think that if I don't tell anyone, then no one will notice. Crazy? Maybe. True? Unfortunately.

Perspective

It actually took me a long time to let myself realize how fat I am. I would look in the mirror and truly not see the person that was being reflected. Then one day when my husband and I were still dating we somehow got on the subject of how much I weigh. Somewhere deep down I knew the whole time we were dating that I was fat, I just wasn't ready to admit it. Again, I was living in this "don't ask, don't tell" world where I figured if I never told him I was fat, he'd never know. At any rate, he asked how much I weighed (not in a derogatory way, more out of curiousity pertaining to what we were talking about). I wouldn't come out and tell him, but I told him that he could guess and I would tell him if he was right. I'll be damned if he didn't guess it right on the nose.

At that very moment the entire world collapsed around me. I'm not kidding when I say that it was like standing in front of 1000 fun house mirrors and having them shatter around me simultaneously leaving only one mirror with a really fat, ugly woman being reflected back at me. It was crushing and that one moment seemed like it lasted for an hour. The entire world blanked out for a brief time and I got tunnel vision. I had never told him how fat I was, how could he possibly have known? Then it hit me: maybe I didn't actually have to tell people I was hideously overweight. Maybe, just maybe, they could actually see it for themselves. Since that day I've become almost compulsively self-conscience. One of my biggest hang ups has been my arms. I absolutely refuse to wear something without sleeves revealing my arms that are, in some cases, larger than some women's thighs. (Ok, maybe larger than an anorexic super model's thighs, but still, it's possible.)

Breakthrough

Then, for whatever reason, my best friend, the best friend I've ever had my entire life, gave me a present. Really it was more of a gift I would say, and not in a material sort of way, but in a spiritual way. She had a shirt she couldn't wear for her own reasons and thought she would pass it along to me in hopes I could get some use out of it. She knows my arm issues; God love the poor girl for shopping with me in so many situations where I reject every possible option because of a garment's lack of arm coverage. There are times she deserves a medal for putting up with my mental instability.

Back to this shirt. It has no sleeves. None. There is no coverage whatsoever. Your arms are naked as the day you're born. I told her I'd probably never wear it and she made some remark that I can't quite remember, but probably was along the lines of, "Shut up and wear it." She's great for telling me exactly what I need to hear. Today I took her advice and I just shut up and wore it.

For as strange as it sounds, it was an experience I don't think I can forget. I took so many chances and broke outside of my box today. I put myself into situations where I would normally feel extremely vulnerable and afraid. Not only did I wear it at home with my husband, but his friend came over as well. Then I picked up my son from school, went to the health food store for some Gripe Water, and eventually went out to dinner at a local restaurant we frequent and are friends with the owner. All the while wearing the shirt that normally terrified me. Today, though, it didn't terrify me, it liberated me! Liberation! At last! My arms were free to feel fresh air! I could walk with confidence that I looked nice because it is a really nice shirt. Oddly, however, it put me back into my closet of denial. With my liberation and confidence came my little voice that said, "You're not fat. No one will notice how big your arms are. You look as skinny as the teacher in the playground!" Was I willing to let the little voice in today? Sure. Am I going to delude myself daily that I'm a skinny, beautiful woman this time? No. But for a day, for one day, it was great to throw that fat girl back into the darkness of my mind and let myself live freely without the fetters of my physical appearance. Toss in some really great music in the car and I had the makings of a real emotional breakthrough today.

The Picture of Liberation

So this is it. This very simple shirt is it.

This is the shirt that will liberate me. It will make me beautiful for a day. It will bring me confidence that I normally can't even muster from the bottom of a bottle of Coconut Rum. It will bring me strength when I need it. It will allow me to find the freedom that I so desperately need lately.

This is the shirt that reminds me that I'm not just a mom who needs to exercise. I'm also a woman. I can be beautiful. I can be sexy. I can be a lot of things besides just plain fat.

Today I let beautiful come out, even if everyone didn't see it like I did. I felt it. I lived it. I will hold onto it tomorrow when my arms go back into their shelters and the sleeveless shirt moves to the laundry basket awaiting the next time it will release me from the bounds of my own mind.

Back to blogging

I'm getting back to blogging.  Why you might ask?  ("You", of course, being the absolute zero audience I have.  Ha.)

To be honest, it's all about the inner voice that I have in need of release.  Too often lately I've found myself driving around with this dialogue going in my head; the kind of thing that makes for a dramatic chick-flick monologue or at the very least a good chapter from a really a great book about life.  Not just any book.  The kind of "life" book that might not be the best literature or win awards, but the kind that makes you say, "Yeah, I get that.  I feel that way sometimes too."

I've just experienced my second, and final, childbirth.  I plan to stay home with this child since my husband and I are in a financial situation where this can be accomplished.  However, it's bringing to light some of the feelings I wish I wasn't feeling; daily I go through the motions of being insecure, feeling like a failure and, most importantly, losing my sense of self-worth.  Most people I talk to tell me things like, "Motherhood is the most important job" or "You have nothing to be insecure about, you're a great mom!"  And while I can appreciate their sentiment, it doesn't always help me.  I'm missing something in my life.  I know in my heart I have another purpose, but I'm just not sure what that is quite yet.

So here it is, my blog.  This will mark my daily, or at the very least semi-daily journey through life, my rogue thoughts, and a lot of wacky sounding dialogue meant for a book that I will most likely never completely write.  

Welcome to the diary of a (not so) super mom.