Love 'em or hate 'em, they're family!

I was thrilled when I received a phone call from my mom saying that she and my dad would be coming to town for a visit. I spent most of last Friday taking care of a sick child and cleaning (and disinfecting) the entire house. They arrived on Saturday evening and everyone was so happy to see them - and Mugsy the dog. We opened some wine and enjoyed a yummy meal cooked by yours truly. Sunday was fun... Monday was nice... Tuesday was okay...Wednesday was umm, fine... and Thursday they left!!!!

Why is it that I cannot wait to see my parents, cannot wait for them to leave and then, get sad when they are gone??? Okay, it wasn't that bad that I wanted them to leave, but I was kinda thinking it. Just is case someone related to me is reading this, let me say that it was my dad who was working my last nerve, once again, causing me to feel this way... along with one dumb comment from mom, but she pretty much was in the clear.

Am I alone in feeling this way? Why do some of us treat our family crappy? Is it because we know they are 'family' so they can't break up with us?

Do the humpty hump!

Here I go with my reference to music again...

Where to begin? When my 2.5 year old daughter was about 10 months old and I would hold her on my hip, she would do this strange gyrating thing on my hip. I remember my son doing it for a brief period when he was her age so I brushed it off. In fact, I thought it was an 'exercise' that she was doing to strengthen her muscles in an effort to start walking.

A few months later she starts walking and the humping on my hip doesn't go away, but me and my husband just laughed about it.

Present time - when we're home she literally mounts all 4 edges of our coffee table and starts well, humping! We've told her repeatedly not to do that to the table, but she laughs at us. My son even tells us when she is 'humping' the table. So of course, now that she knows what hump means, what do you think happened next? We're at her doctor office and I am holding her because I don't want her walking around and touching all the nasty things found in that waiting room when all of the sudden she asks, "mom, hump you? can I hump"? I almost croaked! I started cracking up on the inside while whispering to her to be quiet and no, you cannot hump!

After finally discussing the humping with other moms of girls, most of them went through the same exact thing with their daughters... sigh.... At least now I know that my daughter is not the horn dog I thought she was. Instead, she's just like every other curious girl, right?!

Question - does your child or children have any "private" moments that they do in public?

Do you believe?

I'll start off by saying that I have not written in 2 weeks simply put, because I was lazy. Although, I don't think anyone missed me...

I few weeks ago, dear friends of mine had their second child - a beautiful, healthy, perfect little boy. They also have a beautiful, charismatic 2 year old girl who has struggled with some health problems but with loving care, is perfect herself!

I went to visit them to see the newest arrival and when holding that little miracle in my arms, I once again got to thinking. See, I have two beauties of my own and have been through this before, but thinking about 'it' never gets old... the miracle of life that is.

If you've ever given birth and been through the wonderful, and perhaps not so wonderful, nine months of preparation, you have witnessed the miracle that was growing inside of you. From the egg dropping, to the zygote with a tail (which is crazy), to the ears forming, etc. I am not going to give you the play-by-play but I bring this up because it amazes me that some people do not believe in God - Jesus Christ. I realize this subject is touchy, but it's my blog and why the heck not shouldn't I pimp Him out? When you stop and think about what goes into making a baby, you have to believe in something... I choose to believe in Jesus Christ.

I grew up in an extremely liberal household and still hold liberal views as an adult however, as a christian I can't help but be puzzled how or why there are non-believers. Anyway, regardless of whether or not you believe in a God or my God, you have to agree that the gift of life is truly a miracle...

I'll Fly Away

I'm starting to notice that most of my post titles are song lyrics. It must be because I am from a musical family, but I digress.

Last week I took an impromptu trip to NYC to visit friends and family and if you don't know me, I cannot stand to fly. It's not like hating okra or liver, I REALLY hate it. I've been flying for a very long time, but it doesn't make it any easier. I am afraid. I think part of my fear is because I am no longer in control. I always think that if I flew in the cockpit, I'd feel much better - no joke. Obviously, that is not an option. Everyone has different fears and I respect that, but some people just don't understand fears and it's so upsetting to me.

While talking with a friend of mine some time ago, we were discussing my upcoming flight and I was sharing my feelings of anxiety with her. She proceeded to tell me that flying was safer than driving, which I already know but it does not make me feel any better. I responded that if I got into a car accident, I'd have a pretty good chance of surviving, but not so much in an airplane crash. Although, I've recently learned that more people survive plane crashes that you'd think. Still not assuring. Then this person told me to just pretend that I am in a car and when we hit turbulence pretend it's like going over potholes. I honestly wanted to ring her neck! Clearly, she did not understand my fear, so I no longer discuss it with her. I am aware of the statistics of dying in an airplane crash, and I can rationalize all day long, but when I am 35,000 feet in the air, it all goes out the window. Why can't people who clearly do not understand a particular fear just acknowledge what I am going through and listen instead of offering the dumbest advice ever? This said, I made it to and from NYC without a problem (just some minor turbulence). If you suffer from a fear or know someone who does, please be sure to be sensitive to them. What are some of your fear and how do you overcome them? By the way, the best way I found to overcome flying is either chardonnay or xanax!

Dream On

Has this ever happened to you? You have a dream about someone you know, perhaps a colleague or a pro football player and when you awake you seem to have a slight crush on that person? I know I am not the only one this happens to so I will assume your answer is yes! That said, last night I had a dream about a former colleague. In the dream he asked me for a piece of gum, so I said what any girl would say - the only way I'll give him a piece of gum is if you give me a kiss on the lips - fair enough, right? So as he was giving me what seemed to be the most incredible kiss, he morphed into Matt Lauer (I clearly ate too much before going to sleep last night). Long story short, when I awoke this morning and turned on the Today Show like I normally do, I smiled at Matt with a lot more affection than normal. But let's be real. Matt is a bit out of reach, so I will just have to have a crush on my former colleague for the day. If this does happen to you, you know that these dreams are harmless and the "crush" only lasts about a day - thank goodness!!

So, who have you had a dream about and did you then have a crush on that person? Do tell!

I'm hooked on a feeling!

I am sure many people can relate to the feeling I get every time I get a great deal on either clothes or groceries - doesn't matter. I can honestly tell you that I get a euphoric feeling when say, I buy a pair of shoes that were originally $100 for $25.00! Even when I buy consigned clothes - which I buy often, I still go crazy Nothing makes me happier! Okay, that's not necessarily true, but I do love it!

A few months back, I went to a junior league sale and bought ten items of clothing for $10! Not 10 crappy pieces of clothing either, I'm talking Tommy Hilfiger, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Lily Pulitzer... you get the point. I was on cloud nine and still am and that was six months ago! Until a few weeks ago, when I snatched the ultimate deal that unless you get something for free, you'll never beat! I was shopping at my local department store and had two sweaters in my hand. The original prices were marked down and there were additional markdowns but quite frankly, I never know what the actual markdown will be until the cashier tells me what I owe. So, I walk up to the counter to purchase my sweaters and the first one rings up as $17.32. So, I agree to get that sweater. The second sweater rings up as 0.01 - yes, that is ONE penny!! So I take my bag and practically run out the store with a huge grin on my face as if I had just committed a crime. When I got in my car, I examined the receipt and there it was in black and white - one cent. It was originally $44.00 marked down to a penny! How crazy is that? I called my husband from the car to share my excitement but he was not as excited as I was, so I called a friend to share in my moment...

Since I know I'm not the only person who feels like this, I'd love to hear about your deals! By the way, I can't wait until it gets cool so I can wear my one cent shirt!

Me, and enabler?

I never considered myself to be enabler to my husband and kids but someone made me see the light. Long story long, my family and I were at a friends house this past weekend for a open house to showcase all of the work her and her husband did to their house - which is amazing! My two children, ages 4 and 2, were running around with the other kids having a great time. At one point, my son had to use the bathroom and my daughter wanted more strawberries, so I excused myself from a coversation my husband and I were having with a friend and took my kids along their way. When I returned, my husband asked if everything was good and taken care of. At that point, our friend, who is a male, made a joke that I was taking care of everything while my husband just talked and drank his beer without worrying about anything. So, I got to thinking... have I gotten him used to this? Is this my fault? At first, I denied it, but after thinking about our daily routine, I realized that I was way wrong. Here are some of the ways I enable: while on vacation at the beach last week, I awoke with the kids every morning and fed them breakfast. I fed them lunch. I changed my daughters diapers. I fed them dinner. When we're at home I feed them breakfast, I feed them lunch, I change my daughters diapers and you guessed it, I feed them dinner. This is insane! What have I done? Yes, my husband will not cut the edge of their sandwiches the way I do, but will they get sick from it? No. He may forget to shut the blinds when putting my daughter in her crib for a nap, but will she get hurt from this? No. So, as of a few days ago, I have decided to delegate and let go and it feels good. It is not an easy task for a control freak such as myself, but this is a great exercise. Last night, as I was preparing dinner for myself and my husband I asked him to come up with something to feed the kids and then fix it. It was a step in the right direction. Sometimes, for the sake of our sanity, we need to let go and speak up. My husband would never have known that I was boiling inside - it's just how men are wired. It took a friend of mine bringing it to my attention and I am so glad he did, otherwise I would continue this madness.

So my question to you is do you ever resent your spouse for anything?

Back to school... again!

Today was my son's third time heading to preschool and I had looked forward to this day since May, but much to my surprise, I was overcome with sadness. To give you a little background, I am not the kind of mom who weeps at the thought of her children going to kindergarten or preschool for that matter. In fact, I am the kind of mom who counts down the days 'til school starts and this time was no different. Taking care of two children as opposed to one, is just harder - for me anyway. It's easier taking one to the grocery store than two, especially if they're in fighting mode. So, this day couldn't come fast enough. Yet this morning, as I combed my sons hair, packed his backpack and took a picture of him, my eyes started to well up. I shook my head in disbelief as I was not one of those moms. The fact is, no matter how much our children drive us nuts during the summer months and how excited we get when August rolls around, we miss our children. Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled that I can run errands in peace this morning, but am still missing my little man.

So, how do you handle going back to school?

Pet Peeves

The other night, my hubby and I were watching some mindless television and came across an interesting topic. The show is about a bunch of newleyweds competing for money and one of the questions was "what is one thing that drives you nuts about your spouse?" So my husband said he couldn't think of anything that I do that drives him crazy and I of course replied with the same answer... however, I got to thinking. There are SEVERAL things that he does that drive me bonkers. First, he paces, even for no reason at all. It's annoying. Second, he flosses his teeth in the morning. Doesn't this defeat the purpose? There are several others, but I also got to thinking that if these are the things that drive me crazy about my husband, then we're in pretty good shape.

So, what drives you nuts-o about your spouse?

And the verdict is... GUILTY!

Why as parents, moms especially, do we walk around with a load of guilt on our shoulders? Whether it's wondering if you spent enough time playing with your children or not looking when your son scores his first soccer goal - every day I struggle with guilt. Today is no different... Today was my sons first day of camp and I read the instructions on what to send with a fine tooth comb the night before. So, this morning was a piece of cake and he and I both were excited about this new adventure.

My first piece of guilt was not doing anything with my daughter. I wondered what I did with my son when he was her age. So, I took her for a walk, albeit a short one. Then we played and watched television together. I felt guilty. So, I decided that we'd color and play board games but at the moment I was filling the aquadoodle pen with water, my cell phone rang and it was my sons camp! They asked if I had packed his lunch and of course I told them I did and what was in the brown bag, but decided to look in the frig anyway to make sure. Low and behold, there was lunch. I forgot to put it in his backpack! Why were they calling me at 12:15 instead of 9:15 when they should have been realizing this I thought. I told them I would be there in mere minutes. What should be a 15 minute drive only took me 8 looong minutes. I felt terrible at the thought of the other kids munching on their turkey sandwiches and Jack sitting there quietly. When I arrived, his face lit up and he gave me the biggest smile. Little did he know that I walked out crying. He didn't know the difference, but all I could think about was how bad a mom I was and his teachers didn't give me a reason to feel any different. All of this said, why why why do we feel so much guilt all of the time? We're not bad parents. Forgetful? Yes. Bad? Not a chance.

Fav Products

Okay - because I am probably the biggest makeup and skin care junkie around these parts, I thought I'd share some of my fav products and you can share yours with me. First, I have to give a shout out to the Murad Resurgence line. Give it up for Dr. Murad - whoop whoop! At the age of 37 I never in a million years thought that my skin would be hormonal, but guess what? It is and this stuff works!! I honestly cannot say enough about it. My skin looked like crap for a long time and I tried everything under the sun and I mean everything and this works. Check out the site at www.murad.com.

Okay - second. I just started using Mally Beauty Cancellation Concealer and love it. It's light but the coverage is great. It also comes with finishing powder, and brush and a cute pouch to hold everything. It's definitely a must have.

Mascara - I used Lancome Definicils for the longest time... until I stopped working to raise my kids. I mean, who the heck can afford $25 bucks for mascara these days? So, through trial and error I found a very close second for a fraction of the price. It's Maybelline Define-A-Lash. Save yourself the extra $$ and buy a new blush! Speaking of blush, I am awaiting a new cream blush by Trish McEvoy so I will have to report back on that one.

Those are just a few of my favorite things. Please share some of yours!

Clipping away...

I consider myself to be pretty saavy when it comes to clipping coupons. In fact, I save our family approximately $40 each month, but think it could be even more. Especially after seeing countless couponing moms on morning shows telling me how I can get $250 worth of groceries for just $50... WHAT? I understand their concept of buying things when they're on sale and using coupons for the sale items, but don't these moms have a running tally of items they need for their next trip to the store? What if they are low on deodorant? Do they wait until their deodorant goes on sale to buy it? All this said, do you have any couponing or money-saving tips when it comes to grocery shopping that can make my monthly grocery bill less than my mortgage?

Why Let Grandparents Rule?

I have been vacationing at my parents house for a week or so, which is why I have not posted a blog (jen), but have realized while I've been here that it does not matter what I do or say to my parents about the way I discipline my children, because it goes in one ear and out the other! I understand that grandparents are supposed to "spoil" their grandkids - I get it, really, but I don't necessarily agree with it one hundred percent. There are some things that I won't get crazy over, but not disciplining my children is unacceptable... chocolate for breakfast I can get over. So, do we as parents say something to our parents or do we let it slide because it's not every day our kids see their grandparents?

I wear my sunglasses at night...

Well, actually I don't, but it bothers me when people do. So, let me set the scene up for you. Last Friday night, my family and I were enjoying a dinner out on the town at a local restaurant and we were sitting on the patio. There were two women and one man wearing sunglasses and albeit, it was sunny outside, but we didn't see the sun because it was setting on the other side of the restaurant, so there was no need for sunglasses. Not only did both of these women (or in one case, girl) have on sunglasses, but the sunglasses were enormous! They took up her entire face and she looked completely ridiculous! It clearly bothered me enough to post it... so my question of the day is, do oversized sunglasses bother you as much as they do me?

Teething Woes

So, my daughter who is 22 months, has had a runny nose for over two weeks and has been cranky as hell. She's even waking at night which is strange for her so I was certain she had an ear infection, which she gets often. Her brother had croup the week before so I thought for sure he had shared something with her for the first time in his life... I was wrong. I had my husband take her to the dr. where I knew they would write a prescription for her and life would be good.... wrong again. No ear infection. I asked the hubby if he asked the dr. what could be causing her fussiness, but he didn't ask... so I decided to start playing nancy drew and figured out that her 2 year molars were coming in. It's been a nightmare and I don't like pumping her with Tylenol all of the time. So, the question of the day is, have you had terrible teething experiences and if so, what did you do to remedy the prob?

Cable woes

Isn't it the most annoying thing in the world when your cable company runs one year long promotions? Why don't they just offer it to me as a set price so I will stay will them instead of going to DirecTV? Question of the day - what sets you off about your cable company?

Tears of... joy???

So, a friend of mine updated with Facebook page by writing that she was so sad that her little baby was starting preschool in the Fall and what was she going to do, etc... Don't take this the wrong way but I couldn't wait for my son to start preschool. Okay - you can take it anyway you want... but even though I cried on my sons first day of preschool the tears were mostly because I felt like he was so grown up and quite frankly, it bothered me that I wasn't going to be in control of his life for four hours! So, my question is does it make you a bad mom to be excited about your wee ones being gone for a few hours a week? I'm thinking that it shouldn't!

Clear vs. Yellow...

So, you're hosting a playdate at your house and one of the moms calls to say her child has a runny nose... but it's clear. Do you let them come over despite the little snot nose, or tell the mom you can't take any chances?

To drink or not to drink...

... that is the question. When at a playdate, if the hostess offers say a mimosa or margarita, do you pass and opt for a latte or indulge in a morning bloody mary?

Breakfast, lunch and dinner....

Question of the day... Are you and your kids burned out of the same old food and if so, can you share some ideas/tips on getting your kids to try new foods?

Too tired for....

The question of the day is: Are you too tired for s-e-x or do you make it a point to have intimacy with you spouse?

Breastfeeding bites....

Todays question of the day is:

"Why is it that every time your children awake all throughout the night, only moms can hear them?" I find that to be so strange....

Breastfeeding bites....

Welcome to breastfeeding bites! This blog will hopefully be an outlet for women and moms alike, to get and give advice while hopefully chuckling along the way. Why is it called breastfeeding bites you ask? Well, as a mother of two children I found it hysterical that while pregnant with my first born, when asking moms how breastfeeding was, all of the responses I received were positive. Such as, "it's so bonding, " "there's nothing I'd rather be doing, etc." It's hysterical because I could have thought of a million other things I'd rather be doing! Listen, I nursed both of my children, but I would never tell another soon-to-be-mom that being sleep deprived, having my nipples sucked on for hours until they bled, and did I mention being t-totally exhausted was wonderful... because it wasn't!! But, I have no regrets, because it did get easier and I was feeding my children from my body - which I think is a complete miracle. So, the format of this blog will always start with a thought or question of the day and then I leave it up to you, the reader, to start a discussion. If nothing else, this will be a great way to help each other out, complain about our... dare I say children, or maybe even your spouses.

So, the question of the day is, if you breastfed, did it bite or did you enjoy it? Be honest!!