thinking ...

there are days that I love being a Mom and there are other days that I don't love it quite as much. After a rough couple of days around here, I have come to the realization that when things are not going smoothly I can usually trace the problem to my own 'distraction'. As long as I am focusing on the kids 24/7 and don't let anything else get in the way, smooth sailing. The stresses of everyday life, PTO drama, phone calls, bills, side-projects ... even making a complicated dinner with kids at home can cause major drama in our home.

I don't think I have the skill set to majorly multi-task. I can be a mom OR design a program for a client OR spring clean the house OR send out invoices OR deal with a PTO issue ... you get the point. I know admitting you have a problem is the first step ... but I am honestly not certain how to solve this issue. The various aspects of my life seem to blend together - and they will do so even more when school is over in two weeks. I want the summer to be a great one with lots of cooperation and peace here in the house. Yet ANOTHER project to work on!!

Have a sunny day

i might be losing it ...

OK, this 40 thing might not be going so smoothly after all. I was downstairs making dinner and had a bit of a 'panic attack' about getting ready for Easter. HELLO, EASTER???? Easter was two months ago ... how can I be standing at the sink and suddenly panic about a holiday that is long gone ... and we had another major holiday or two since then!! Might be losing it...

SPRING SPORTS ARE OVER!!!

and this is how I spent the last weekend ... no early morning drives over hill and dale to obscure lacrosse fields with peanut butter sandwiches and gatorade for lunch. I am sad that the lacrosse season is over ... there is nothing I love better than watching the kids on the field ... but I like the freedom of this one week after field sports are over and before swimming starts up again for the summer!!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

everything I want to post about today is TOTALLY inappropriate for such a lovely holiday. My husband was an absolute dream this weekend - giving me time off from being "the nagging mom" and took over that very nasty task ... he also got me a lovely gift from "Coach" ... the kids on the other hand failed miserably!!! Love them dearly, but they have taken a perfectly wonderful holiday and made me question the last 11 years of parenting.
Tomorrow will be better, I am certain of it!

procrastination

If a genie were to grant me three wishes, my SECOND wish would be ... take away all of my procrastinating tendencies!!!!!!! I am the WORST PROCRASTINATOR EVER ... and the computer just makes my tendencies even more prounounced. I have been putting off doing a major household project for more than three weeks now, and I am shocked at just how well I can put off doing it. Each and every month, my bill-paying schedule gets later and later ... again, simply because of procrastination. I hate, hate, hate trying to deal with uncomfortable situations, and at the moment paying bills and not having any money left over afterwards is just way too uncomfortable ... so I am avoiding it at all possible costs.

How do you overcome procrastination ... oh, and while we are at it ... how about tips on stopping fingernail biting? Yeah, I am a little immature!!

40's coming ...

a brief update on the weight debacle ...

I am averaging walking 3 days a week (yes, I want it to be 5 ... but at least it is not 0)
my meal portion is reduced
I threw margarine out of the house and now use Smart (something)
I am working really hard at not mindlessly snacking - I have a sit-down snack between meals but try to not just finish the chip bag

I guess the best thing to say is I AM AWARE ... and while I can only claim a 4 pound loss in 2 weeks, again, thank goodness it is a loss as opposed to a gain.

That being said, I have many many issues with myself regarding will-power, taking time to plan my meals, increasing my workouts ... and on an on. But the way I see it, I am only in REAL TROUBLE when I don't know what to change to try to continue to lose.

SO, -4

oops ...

Molly and I obviously touched something we shouldn't have when we were in Washington on Wednesday ... the FLU (no, not the pig flying one, just the painful wishing I could die version) struck on Friday night and I finally got out of bed on Sunday and am actually feeling kind of normal today. Poor Molly suffered all weekend as well and went back to school yesterday but came home and slept for hours.

Fever, aches, pains, sore throat & ears and an awful headache when the fever was up. Having suffered from migraines for so many years, I swear my body is conditioned to upchuck when I have a bad headache - which made keeping painkillers down kind of tough. It was a bit of a catch-22 for a while.

But, on the up-side, we watched some great movies (thank goodness for on-demand), I watched waaaayyyy too much 90210 on Soap Network and basically watched my wonderful family take care of us. Love to all of them!!!

the nation's capital

We had an inservice day on Wednesday. Now, usually I am the boring Mom who doesn't plan much beyond a trip to the local playground and maybe, if the kids are really good, a trip to the local McDonalds on mid-week days off. After a couple of really good weeks, great report cards, and a huge stack of paperwork on my desk that REALLY NEEDS to get done - I decided to treat everyone to a day away from the house. Until the minute we left home, the kids thought I was joking about going away for the day - "Mom, you are just teasing us, that is not nice!!"

We got up at 5am, packed sandwiches, Gatorade and krimpets, hopped in the car and drove 2.25 hours to the closest Washington DC metro stop, hopped on the metro (don't I sound cosmopolitan) and rode 30 minutes to the Smithsonian stop and spent a WONDERFUL day in the Nation's Capital.

First stop on our tour - the American History Museum where it was the kid's job to find the red ruby slippers - since they are on the top floor, it took us 3 hours of learning, reading, exploring and laughing until we finally found them. A quick stop at the gift shop for a harmonica and our "pet tornado, Chaos" and we were on to our next stop. I love this museum, and the renovation is just amazing!! The new flag exhibit brought tears to my eyes and we all "stood" on Route 66 and sang the entire song - everyone thought we were NUTS!

Next stop - walk to the White House so our 6 year old could see the outside. We stood like fools for about 45 minutes because, I swear, it looked like a presidential motorcade was about to leave any minute .. . but it never did.

On to the Natural History Museum. It was about 2:30, and honestly, everyone was getting a little tired ... plus we had just done this museum last year - so we hit the highlights - the new ocean exhibit (WOW), the mammal room - love love love the giraffes and the dinosaurs. Brief detour downstairs for a hit of ice cream and we we off to our final stop of the day.

The New Visitor's Center at the US Capitol. I didn't really think we would make it to our last stop of the day, so I didn't research it properly, and we only had 25 minutes before they closed. But, it is beautiful and so worth it to go back again!! What an amazing (but brief) history lesson for the kids and we had so much fun going back over all of their civics lessons and teaching Thomas all about the three branches of government.

Hopped back on the metro, back in the car by 6 and home by 8:30. It was a truly awesome day!! Pictures to come soon!